Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017

Hawai`i Public Radio's new tower at Kulani helps reach farther into Ka`u, with more improvements promised as
HPR-1 and HPR-2 change their programming. Photo by Don Mussell

HAWAI`I PUBLIC RADIO, with two stations that can be heard in Ka`u at 89.1 FM and 91.3 FM, launched two separate and distinct formats on HPR-1 and HPR-2 today, as well as a new mobile app for IOS and Android devices and a new logo.

      Gov. David Ige and Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui proclaimed Feb. 14-21 Hawai`i Public Radio Week. The proclamation asks the public to “join us in tuning in to the two locally grown HRP stations” and recognizes HPR for delivering “the highest standards of independent broadcast journalism, music and entertainment.” HPR has been operating for 35 years and Ka`u completes its coverage of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands with the recent activation of broadcasting from a tower at Kulani. HPR plans to expand its coverage in this district. See the proclamation at bit.ly/hprweek.
     The new mobile application was developed by Public Media Apps and, besides live streaming, gives on-demand access to individual stories and programs, including some no longer carried on HPR. The app also includes a donation link which gives the user the option to immediately connect to the station via phone or online form.

 The new format at HPR-1 focuses on news and information programming, augmented by local and national talk shows, as well as entertainment, jazz, blues, and world music. HPR-2 has been dubbed "your home for classical music" and provides an uninterrupted classical music environment 24 hours a day. Detailed program schedules may be found at hawaiipublicradio.org.

        Flagship programs Morning Edition on HPR-1 and Morning Café/Morning Concert on HPR-2 are extended by half an hour. New programs include the widely syndicated midday news program from WBUR and NPR Here and Now on HPR-1, as well as a new HPR-produced music program Classical Pacific on HPR-2, which features the orchestras, opera companies, and classical artists of the Pacific region. The entire suite of local talk programs, from the public affairs/arts and culture show The Conversation to the showcase of Hawai'i's tech industry Bytemarks Café are scheduled with encore broadcasts to make them accessible to more radio listeners.

Hawai`i Public Radio's new
President and GM José Fajardo 

     HPR’s new President and General Manager José A. Fajardo explains, "The goal of this program realignment is, first and foremost, about our mission to enrich our community with the unique news and cultural programming we offer. There is another goal, however, and we'll be completely transparent about it: we want our audiences to listen longer, because that leads to station loyalty, and loyalty leads to financial support."

     HPR has a corps of "phone concierges" to answer listeners' questions about program realignment. Special hours for the phone lines at (808) 955-8821 are listed at hawaiipublicradio.org. Comments and questions may also be submitted online at bit.ly/hprrealign.

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IMMIGRANTS HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY IN HAWAI`I, reports a new study, according to Pacific Business News. Reporter Anna Hrushka writes that  Hawai`i ranks third in the U.S. for jobs created by immigrant-owned businesses, sixth for median household income of foreign-born population, sixth for share of foreighn-born workforce and sixth for share of foreign-born population.

     The story is familiar in Ka`u where a majority of the farmers of the famed Ka`u Coffee are immigrants.

Willie Tabios is one of the many immigrants to
Ka`u who contribute to the economy with his
famous Rising Sun Ka`u Coffee, Will & Grace
store, and his work in house and farm renovations.
Photo by Julia Neal

     Overall, Hawai`i ranks tenth in the country when it comes to "immigrant workforce, socioeconomic contribution, brain gain and innovators and international students," as analyzed by WalletHub across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

     While immigrants were shown to contribute mightily to the economy, Hawai`i ranked 20th in net difference between state and local revenues and expenditures per individual immigranat. It ranked 23rd in percentage of foreign-born Science, Technology and Engineering workers, and 23rd in economic contributions of international students per capita.

     The Pacific Business News story noted that "Earlier this month, the state of Hawai`i sued President Donald Trump over his executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim nations. The president’s order also included a suspension in admission of refugees to the U.S.
     "At a news conference, Hawai`i Attorney General Doug Chin said the executive order “keeps Hawai`i families apart, it blocks Hawai`i residents from traveling, it harms Hawai`i’s tourism industry... it blocks Hawai`i businesses and universities from hiring as they see fit. Most importantly, it degrades the values that Hawai`i has worked so hard to protect.” See more at www.bizjournals.com/pacific

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HAWAI`I ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, the parent company of American Savings Bank, Hawaiian Electric Light Co. on the Big Island and the utility companies on O`ahu, Maui, Moloka`i, Lana`i and O`ahu, today reported a 2016 profit of $248.3 million. The 2015 profit was reported as $159.9 million.
   According to HEI Chair Connie Lau, the increase in profit involves the cancelled merger with the Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc, which paid HEI $60.3 million. It also involves a cancelled spin-off of American Savings Bank and a liquified natural gas contract that was also terminated.
     Lau released a statement saying that “In 2016, Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries invested $318 million, over twice the utility’s earnings, in the modernization and improvement of Hawaii’s electric grids, and we achieved an energy portfolio powered by 25 percent renewable resources in 2016. American Savings Bank closed 2016 with a strong fourth quarter and achieved important strategic objectives. We plan to build upon the bank’s success in the coming years with the building of its new headquarters.” 

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Photo from Wikepedia

NEW TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN worries Sen. Mazie Hirono who testified and voted against his confirmation in the U.S. Senate yesterday. Hirono contended that Mnuchin "helped to bring about the 2008 financial crisis and profited off the misery that followed. During his campaign, President Trump promised to crack down on Wall Street abuses. In one of his campaign ads, the President said that the CEO of Goldman Sachs was part of 'a global elite' that was 'robbing our working class.' He said that on Wall Street 'it's the powerful protecting only the powerful.' Given his campaign promises, it is astounding that President Trump nominated Steve Mnuchin, someone whose business record embodies the worst abuses from the financial crisis..."

     Hirono recalled that "In the Fall of 2008, when I served in the U.S. House, then Treasury Secretary Hank Carlson came to Capitol Hill and painted a dire picture. He told us that without drastic intervention by Congress and the White House, the entire entire global financial system would collapse. The situation was so dire, he argued, that we could not even pause to provide additional, meaningful relief to the millions of families across the country facing home foreclosures...."

     Hirono reminded the Senate that "many banks sold mortgages to people who couldn't afford them, packaged these mortgages into complex financial instruments, colluded with ratings agencies and sold these 'products' as solid investments. The American people stepped in with hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Wall Street, but without effective broad laws in place before the financial crises to prevent predatory lending, millions of people lost their homes and trillions of dollars in household wealth. Many of these victims have yet to recover....

     "In the years that followed, we learned more and more about the numerous abuses these banks perpetrated on the American people. After years of pushing subprime loans on minority homeowners who couldn't afford them, foreclosures devastated minority communities across the country.... Many banks also violated judicial foreclosure proceedings when they signed hundreds of thousands of foreclosure documents without reviewing them, also known as robo signing."  

      She said Mnuchin's questionable business practices earned him the title of "Foreclosure King." She said that as a senior executive at Goldman Sachs for 17 years he was "an evangelist for the types of financial transactions, credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations that crashed the economy in 2008. He said these instruments were 'an extremely positive development in terms of being able to finance different parts of the economy and different businesses effectively.' So what was essentially just business to him, devastated the economy and the lives of millions of people."  She also said that Mnuchin was deeply involved in subprime lending and was responsible for tens of thousands of foreclosures across the country. She said that his OneWest company "was among the worst offenders in robo-signing foreclosure documents." Hirono said a vice president of OneWest "admitted to signing 750 foreclosure documents per week while spending less than 30 seconds on each one.... A one West subsidiary Financial Freedom foreclosed on more than 16,000 seniors living on fixed income who had reverse mortgages....." She said a 90 year old woman's home was foreclosed over a 27 cent debt.

     Hirono also gave the example of a retired Navy civilian woman with a OneWest mortgage in Hilo who lost her home and described Mnuchin as "one of the architects of our meltdown." Hirono said Mnuchin is responsible for tens of thousands of foreclosures.

     Concerning Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary, Hirono testified,  "Throughout his campaign, President Trump made it clear that he wants to dismantle Dodd-Frank, eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and roll back financial regulations that will prevent another financial crisis. As Treasury Secretary, Mr. Mnuchin would be charged with implementing this agenda. Credible economists have warned that we could end up in another financial crisis. My question is who would a Secretary Mnuchin try to saveWall Street or the millions of people who will  be adversely impacted. His record shows which path Steve Mnuchin would choose."

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Lito Arkangel performs at Volcano on Wednesday evening.

Ka`u Farm Bureau meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the auxiliary room at the new gymnasium in Pahala at 6 p.m. Election of new officers is planned for the meeting, said Ka`u Farm Bureau President Brenda Iokepa-Moses.

Lito Arkangel is in concert Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Kilaeua Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The entertainer and songwriter shares his original compositions and other Hawaiian favorites. He  hails from the former sugar plantation town of ‘Ōla‘a, now known as Kea‘au. His love for Hawaiian music started as a young keiki, turning pages for his tūtū wahine (grandmother) while she played piano, and from decades of backyard jam sessions. Arkangel has since established himself as a popular entertainer throughout Hawai‘i. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing Nā Leo Manu Heavenly Voices presentations. Free.

        

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Feb. 13, 2017

There is no sign of a lava delta rebuilding as lava continues to spill into the ocean from the 61g lava flow near Kamokuna. Today,
a new bill was introduced to the U.S. Senate to improve early warning and monitoring capabilities at volcano observatories around the
 country, including the first in the nation, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. See Story below. Photo from USGS

A CALL TO ACTION CAMPAIGN CONCERNING THE IMPACT OF DRUGS, DOMESTIC ABUSE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE is the headline of Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, Inc.'s 19th Annual Rural Health Conference set for Friday, March 17 at Pahala Community Center.

     KRHCAI's founder Jessie Marques said today that the meeting has drawn sponsorships and presentations by the state Department of Health Maternal & Child Health Branch;  the Sexual Prevention Program of the Family Health Services Division; the Office of Primary Care & Rural Health; Hawai`i Medical Services Association and Hawai`i Island Rural Health Association.
     All Ka`u residents are invited. Preregister by calling 928-0101 by Monday March 6.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar     

VOLCANO VILLAGE GUN CONTROL ADVOCATE Ross Rammelmeyer is asking people to weigh in on legislation before the U.S. Senate on Tuesday that would roll back a rule that keeps guns out of the hands of mentally ill people who have been deemed by the Social Security Administration as unable to take care of their own affairs.
     Rammelmeyer points to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence which calls on people to email Senators "and tell them to vote No on Senate Joint Resolution 14 and keep  guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others! Don't let the gun lobby's influence rollback life-saving measures of the Brady background checks that protect all Americans."
  "Between 6,000 and 18,000 persons with mental illness kill themselves with guns every year.     Approximately half of all mass murders are people with mental illness. And those are just the fatalities. Many more are injured. The Senate resolution takes 75,000 seriously mentally ill who would likely be put in the NICS gun background check system" of the list, writes  DJ Jaffee, Executive Director of Mental Illness Policy Org., a non-partisan think tank.
     He points out that Pres. Donald Trump's policy platform states, “Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the (gun background check) system — and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended.”

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar     


EARLY WARNING AND VOLCANO MONITORING improvements are the goals of a new bill in congress, introduced today by Ka`u's Sen. Mazie Hirono, Washington state Sen. Maria Cantwell and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The three said in their announcement that the aim is to better develop "warning capabilities that help keep communities and travelers safe."

Lava hitting the ocean is causing fist-sized
spatter to be thrown back on land, creating
danger to viewers. Photo from USGS

     Said Hirono, “For the past 34 years, we have experienced first-hand the threat of volcanic activity to our daily lives with the ongoing eruption at Kilauea. As recently as 2014, we had evacuations and damage to critical infrastructure and residences. This bipartisan bill is important as it updates and unifies the five volcano observatories across the nation and creates a grant program that will support critical monitoring research and technology development that will be used to save lives.”
     The bill, S. 346, would strengthen existing volcano monitoring systems, which include the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Alaska Volcano Observatory, and the Cascades Volcano Observatory, and would unify them into a single connected system called the National Volcano Early Warning System. These observatories monitor, warn, and help protect citizens and travelers from volcanic activity, particularly from high-threat volcanoes. The bill would also create a Volcano Watch Office that would operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week, to provide continuous situational awareness of all active volcanoes in the U.S. and its territories.
     The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory located on the rim of Kilauea was the first volcano observatory in the United States and has been monitoring volcanoes, including the two most active, Kilauea and Mauna Loa, for more than a century. Additional and modern monitoring and science is needed to help protect communities living near these volcanoes, said Hirono.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar     

THE HIRE VETS ACT (H.R.244) passed the U.S. House of Representatives today by a vote of 409 to 1. It was introduced by Ka`u's Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Rep. Paul Cook of California. The bipartisan legislation would incentivize employers to hire veterans, and recognize employers that provide a supportive work environment to retain veteran employees. The legislation now moves to the U.S. Senate.
     In a speech on the House floor Gabbard said today, “This is personal for us. This is about our brothers and sisters in uniform from different generations, who have been honored and thanked for their service in uniform, but unfortunately are often forgotten about when they lay that uniform down.
     “Most people aren’t aware that every single day, roughly 500 veterans are transitioning from military life to civilian life, joining the more than 2.9 million veterans who have returned home since 9/11 alone. Through their service and training, these are men and women who are highly trained, have experience leading and making decisions under pressure, acting and working well as a member of a team, and accomplishing the mission.

    “Data shows that veterans are civic assets in our communities. They have higher rates of voting, engaging with local governments and community organizations, participating actively in community service, and more.
     “Together, these qualities make our veterans especially valuable to employers, whether in private sector, the public sector, or the non-profit sector.
      “Unfortunately, returning to the civilian job market is not as easy as it should be. Veterans often face an unfriendly job market or an unfriendly culture that does not fully understand them and what they bring to the table. Many people don't understand that our veterans are not seeking pity or a handout—they are simply looking for an opportunity to continue to serve and to continue to contribute to our communities and our country.
     “This legislation is focused on encouraging employers to hire more veterans. We’ve seen different programs and initiatives in my home state of Hawaiʻi and in states across the country that focus on recruiting and retaining veterans, but the fact is there are still more than 400,000 unemployed veterans across the country. We need to do more."

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar     

TESTIMONY ON THE MAUNA KEA THIRTY-METER TELESCOPE will come from all quarters tomorrow and Wednesday at public hearings in Hilo. Many Native Hawaiians have testified, protested and plan to testify that the location on top of Mauna Kea is sacred and would be desecrated.
      An organization claiming to be the only Native Hawaiian group that will testify in favor of the telescope released a statement today. The group called PUEO - Perpetuating Unique Educational Opportunities - wrote: "Because so much press has focused on Native Hawaiians who are against science and technology on Mauna Kea, the PUEO board felt it was important to intervene and dispel the myth that all Native Hawaiians oppose the project. PUEO hopes to bring a vision of clarity and unity to the process through the perpetuation of unique educational opportunities."

Thirty Meter Telescope artist rendition. Image from TMT

   PUEO officers and directors expected to speak in favor of TMT include PUEO President Keahi Warfield, who is also executive director of the RISE Out of School Program and Keaukaha One Youth Development; PUEO Vice-President William H. Brown, President of the Panaewa-Hawaiian Homes Community Association; PUEO director Patrick Kahawaiola‘a, who is president of the Keaukaha-Hawaiian Homes Community Association; and Richard Ha, PUEO director and owner of Hamakua Springs Country Farms.

Richard Ha plans to testify in
suport of the Thirty Meter Telescope

      The contested case hearing is being held at the Grand Naniloa Hotel’s Crown Room in Hilo. It will also stream live at naleo.org.
     Accordomg tp PUEO's statement, the organization is "a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the educational opportunities of Hawai‘i’s youth and their communities. Its board is comprised of native Hawaiians from Hawaiian communities on Hawai‘i Island. PUEO seeks to provide and enhance opportunities for our children in terms of Hawaiian cultural traditions of exploration and learning. The group’s intent is based on a unifying vision of Hawaiian language, culture, science, technology and exploration."
    For more information about PUEO, see http://alohapueo.org/.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar     

Valentine’s Day Cards, Tuesday, Feb 14, 2 – 3 p.m., Kahuku Park. Ages 6 – 12. 929-9113

Valentine’s Day Buffet, Tue, Feb 14, 5 – 8 p.m., Kīlauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Prime rib, lemon-buttered fish, vegetable stir-fry with tofu and more. $27.95 adult; $14.50 child (6-11 yrs old). Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. 967-8356

The Hylaeus Project and the Newly Endangered Bees of Hawai‘i, Tue, Feb 14, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Natural historian Lisa Schonberg discusses seven species of the yellow-faced bees of Hawai‘i that became the first bees to ever be listed as endangered. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Ka`u Farm Bureau meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the auxiliary room at the new gymnasium in Pahala at 6 p.m. Election of new officers is planned for the meeting, said Ka`u Farm Bureau President Brenda Iokepa-Moses.

Lito Arkangel will be in concert on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Kilaeua Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The entertainer and songwriter shares his original compositions and other Hawaiian favorites. He  hails from the former sugar plantation town of ‘Ōla‘a, now known as Kea‘au. His love for Hawaiian music started as a young keiki, turning pages for his tūtū wahine (grandmother) while she played piano, and from decades of backyard jam sessions. Arkangel has since established himself as a popular entertainer throughout Hawai‘i. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing Nā Leo Manu Heavenly Voices presentations. Free.

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017

"New legislation in support of tiny houses is in motion," according to One Island, which held a Tiny House Community
Conversation on the Big Island in late January and plans another for late February. See story below. Photo from One Island

THREE  BILLS ON MAKING IT EASIER TO PLACE TINY HOUSES on  land in Hawai`i are making their way through the Hawai`i legislature with support from both Ka`u state Senators Russell Ruderman and Josh Green and west Ka`u's House of Representatives member Richard Creagan. In one bill, tiny houses, under 500 square feet, are seen as a way to provide housing for farm workers, farmers and ranchers.

    House Bill 2 is specifically written for Hawai`i Island: "Authorizes tiny homes of less than 500 square feet for farm workers in agricultural districts in a county with a population of more than 180,000 but less than 250,000, notwithstanding any county ordinance or regulation to the contrary." It was introduced by Rep. Cindy Evans of Kona.

    House Bill 229 would prohibit "the State and counties from adopting building codes that require minimum floor space or room sizes unless necessary for safety or environmental standards."

The Hawai`i Legislature is considering allowing smaller homes with alternative
materials and designs. See One Island.

     House Bill 1375 could allow larger dwellings and could open up the mobile home market in Hawai`i, as it takes up the problem of affordable housing.  It states: "The legislature finds the supply of affordable housing in Hawai'i does not sufficiently meet demand. Many financially vulnerable residents are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless......The purpose of this Act is to allow counties to grant zoning exemptions for alternative dwellings and alternative dwelling parks that can be built by private parties."

     The bill would give the counties the authority to oversee sanitation, inspections, safety and other requirements but would provide exemptions to allow alternative dwellings to include: "mobile homes, recreational vehicles, converted shipping container units, micro  housing units, pre-fabricated sheds, indigenous Hawaiian dwellings using traditional Hawaiian architectural practices and materials, tents, yurts and lean to shelters that are leased by a willing lessor to a willing lessee per rental agreement between parties."

     The alternative dwelling parks are defined in the bill as "more than one alternative dwelling that may have common shared elements including but not be limited to bathrooms, showers, dining facilities, swmimng pools, playgrounds, sewage, water, trash collection, or, electricity."

      The House Committee on Housing noted concerns raised by the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness that the bill "may result in the formal establishment of homeless encampments. Both the Hawai`i Interagency Council on Homelessness and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness have recommended against the formal establishment of homeless encampments."

      See testimony on the bill and submit testimony at House Bill 1375.

      A nonprofit-organization called One Island has taken up the tiny houses and sustainability cause and is organizing Tiny House Community Conversation meetings around the island as well as encouraging testimony to the legislature. See One Island.

       The next Tiny House Community Conversation meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m at the Hawaii`i Cultural Center of Hamakua.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar     

DEATH WITH DIGNITY IS A TOPIC DR. RICHARD CREAGAN, a member of the state House of Representatives, is talking about at the Capitol this session. He said today that he supports a proposed law, House Bill 201, entitled Related to Medical Aid in Dying. The bill was introduced by House Speaker Rep. Joseph Souki and is described by Creagan as "designed by and for the people of Hawai`i, taking into account our unique geographical needs, and is based on best practices from more than 30 combined years of safe practice in six states. The law works as intended, with none of the dire results that opponents predicted."

Physician and Representative
Richard Creagan
Photo by Ann Bosted

     

     Creagan noted that former Hawai`i Governors George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Benjamin Cayetano and Neil Abercrombie agree on the measure. They and an organization called Compassion & Choices Hawai`i "and a supermajority of our electorate are asking for your support for this important, timely and merciful measure. It is time for Hawai`i citizens who want this relief to be able to get it without the disruption and stress of moving to another state," said Creagan.

     Compassion & Choices launched a legislative campaign earlier this year and supports a lawsuit on behalf of Hawai`i resident John Radcliffe and a physician, asserting that the Hawai`i constitution and state law allow the practice of medical aid in dying. The organization also sent a letter to Congress last week urging it to allow the District of Columbia's recently approved Death With Dignity Act to remain in place.

     Creagan, the Ka`u physician who serves west Ka`u in the state House of Representatives, wrote a position paper on the legislation proposed for Hawai`i: "The people of Hawai`i have been asking for a medical aid in dying option (also known as “death with dignity”) for almost 20 years. Today, 80 percent of Hawai`i residents believe medical aid in dying should be an option in our state," Creagan reports.
     He defines it: "Medical aid in dying is an end-of-life medical practice in which a terminally ill, mentally capable individual who has a prognosis of six months or less to live requests, obtains and — if his or her suffering becomes unbearable — self-administers medication that brings about a peaceful death."     

      The physician contends that "If you ask terminally ill people how they would like to die, most will say, 'I would like to die peacefully, at home, in my sleep.' As a former emergency room doctor, I can tell you that all too often, this is not the case. In their final stages, terminally ill people can be rushed to the ER repeatedly, admitted to an ICU and hooked up to ventilators, feeding tubes and IVs. Of course, if this is the individual’s wish, then every measure to sustain life should be taken. However, if this becomes a case of prolonging the dying process well beyond what the individual wants, to a stage some would call torture, we must agree it is not right," Creagan reasons.
    "Even terminal sedation (increasing pain meds until the patient stops breathing) might not be the ideal choice for some, who wish not to be sedated into unconsciousness and death at another’s direction and hand, but to make that final and most important choice on their own."
     Creagan writes, "We can offer that choice. A physician who practiced in Oregon, where medical aid in dying has been legal for nearly 20 years, told a story about the first person she prescribed life-ending medication to. The woman, who was dying a prolonged and agonizing death from ovarian cancer, wanted to die at home, in her own bed, with her husband holding her hand and her two dogs on the bed with her. She wanted a peaceful and meaningful end to her meaningless agony while she was still mentally intact and she achieved that goal. 

     "Yes, palliative care and hospice are a great boon to many. But for some, they may not relieve all the physical suffering or mental agony. When people are dying, facing only agony and are ready to go, they should have the means to a peaceful passing, if that is what they wish.

Cancer victim John Radcliffe, left, has sued the state with help of 

attorney Anderson Meyer, pollster Barbara Ankersmit, and

 Compassion & Care Hawai`i campaign manager Mary Steiner.

Photo from Compassion & Choices

     "How would I feel if I had a terminal illness and were in a constant unwavering pain that even the most powerful medications could not alleviate? If I had lost my bodily functions and all the skills and tools I had spent my life developing? I would be comforted just knowing a medical aid in dying option was available to me — and I certainly would not deny another the right to consider this option," states Creagan.

     Creagan says that "opponents argue that people will be coerced. In fact, no doctor will be compelled to prescribe if they do not wish to, but there are many that will find it part of a difficult but profoundly meaningful part of their final duty as a physician to their patients. No person who has a religious objection — or any objection — would be pressured or forced to utilize this choice. Coercing an individual to use a medical aid in dying option would be a crime, as it is in all authorized states.
     "The idea that the Hippocratic oath forbids physicians to do this is ludicrous. Over 40 years ago, when I graduated from medical school, we were told that that oath was a traditional part of the ceremony but was an antiquated relic and that we should not even repeat the words if we felt uncomfortable doing so. I certainly did not repeat those words from another time and place," writes Creagan.
        Compassion & Choices has launched a petition that supporters can sign. More can be read on the legislation and pro and con testimony can be provided to the Hawai`i Legislature by clicking on HB201.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar

Senior IDs, Monday, Feb. 13, from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., St. Jude’s Church in Ocean View. For residents 60 and older. 928-3100

Valentine’s Day Cards, Monday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m., Nā‘ālehu Community Center. Ages 5 – 10, 939-2510

Valentine’s Day Cards, Tuesday, Feb 14, 2 – 3 p.m., Kahuku Park. Ages 6 – 12. 929-9113

Valentine’s Day Buffet, Tue, Feb 14, 5 – 8 p.m., Kīlauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Prime rib, lemon-buttered fish, vegetable stir-fry with tofu and more. $27.95 adult; $14.50 child (6-11 yrs old). Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. 967-8356

The Hylaeus Project and the Newly Endangered Bees of Hawai‘i, Tue, Feb 14, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Natural historian Lisa Schonberg discusses seven species of the yellow-faced bees of Hawai‘i that became the first bees to ever be listed as endangered. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Brenda Iokepa-Moses

Ka`u Farm Bureau has set its first meeting of 2017 for this Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the auxiliary room at the new gymnasium in Pahala at 6 p.m. Election of new officers is planned for the meeting, said Ka`u Farm Bureau President Brenda Iokepa-Moses. She recently returned from the National Association of Conservation Districts meeting in Denver, representing the state of Hawai`i.