The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island

Dennis Kamakahi performs his Wahine `Ilikea for the hula of Erin Cole, of Ocean View, last November. Photo by Julia Neal

DENNIS KAMAKAHI LOVED KA`U. He planned to retire here, create a music studio and continue teaching local youth and people from afar his skills in slack key, `ukulele, harmonica, singing and songwriting. However, he lost a battle with lung cancer at age 61 yesterday.

Kamakahi is the composer of more than 500 songs and master of slack key guitar, music composition and harmonica. He spent a week each November in Pahala, where he taught local youth on scholarships and adults from around the world and provided the community with a free concert with his friends George and Keoki Kahumoku, Sonny Lim, John and Hope Keawe and many more. Kamakahi inspired many Ka`u young musicians to write songs, to tell stories and to approach life with humor and love.

Dennis Kamakahi, a Christian minister, famed composer and teacher to many Ka`u
youth, died on April 28. He had planned to retire and move to Ka`u.
Photo by Julia Neal

Kamakahi was not only a musician but also a Christian minister, providing his fans with both a spiritual and Hawaiian musical journey.
He said, each year when he was here, that his long-term plan was to move to Na`alehu where his wife grew up, and that he aimed to set up a recording studio there.
Many of Kamakahi’s songs are standards of Hawaiian music. He composed Wahine `Ilikea, Pua Hone and Koke`e. He earned Na Hoku Hanohano Awards and brought home three Grammy awards. Formerly one of the Sons of Hawai`i, Kamakahi earned a Hawai`i Music Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Kamakahi was the first modern Hawaiian music composer with his six-string slack key guitar, albums, sheet music and personal photographs welcomed into the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s permanent collection.
His music is featured in films, including Lilo & Stitch 2 and the Oscar-nominated soundtrack from The Descendants.

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A BILL TO BATTLE THE COFFEE BERRY BORER comes to a final vote this week at the state Legislature. House Bill 1514 originally called for $3 million in subsidies to help coffee growers purchase Beauveria bassania, a naturally occurring fungus that kills the pests. After making its way to the Senate and then to conference committee, the final bill seeks $500,000 for these purposes.

“Because it was not as good a year, financially, as we had hoped, and because we were asking for appropriations, it certainly made it more challenging,” Hawai`i Island Rep. Nicole Lowen told Colin M. Stewart, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. “I was really pleased that this bill made it through conference.” Lowen introduced the bill.

State Rep. Nicole Lowen

According to the bill, research has shown that subsidizing the cost of pesticides is an effective and necessary incentive to encourage farmers to adopt recommended pest management strategies.
“I worked really closely with farmers and the Department of Agriculture in coming up with this bill to work together to find a solution,” Lowen told Callis. “There’s always sort of this dynamic of the neighbor islands pleading to O`ahu to take our problems seriously, and it’s been an uphill battle conveying this issue.”
The program would allow the Department of Agriculture to disburse funds on an annual basis to coffee growers for up to 75 percent of the costs of the pesticide before July 1, 2016, and for up to 50 percent of their costs after June 30, 2016 and before July 1, 2019.
The idea, Lowen said, is to encourage coffee growers to take up use of the pesticide as part of their coffee berry borer control program, reported Callis.
Control of the pest relies largely on all growers in a given area following control measures, including use of pesticides, which can be especially expensive for small family farms, Lowen said.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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82 percent of Hawai`i students graduate.
Jaeneise Cuison graduated from Ka`u High
in 2011. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I’S OVERALL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION rate is 82 percent, according to a report by GradNation. This compares to the slightly lower national average of 80 percent. The organization’s goal is to raise the national graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020.

The report highlights key developments in the effort to boost high school graduation rates during the past decade. It also outlines what it will take to get to 90 percent and identifies critical areas to help the nation reach its goal, including closing the opportunity gap between low-income students and their middle-to-high-income peers, solving “the big city challenge,” which pertains to low-income students, improving outcomes for students with disabilities and boosting graduation rates for young men of color in key states.
See gradnation.org.

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GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE HAS RELEASED more than $52.4 million for various capital improvement projects to improve state public housing facilities and address aging technology to increase the state’s work and energy efficiency.
“These funds will help bring positive change to the lives of those in public housing and provide much-needed job opportunities,” Abercrombie said. “This administration has now released more than $3 billion for capital improvement projects that are helping to stimulate our economy. Hawai`i’s labor force is at an all-time high, and the state’s unemployment rate is at its lowest level since August 2008.”
Allotment of funds for the following projects, identified by state legislators, has been approved by the governor:

$45,000,000 for Lump Sum Public Housing Development, Improvements and Renovations, statewide – Design, equipment and construction funds to develop, upgrade or renovate public housing facilities, including ground and site improvements, infrastructure, equipment, appurtenances and all related or associated project costs for public housing across the state. Hawai`i Public Housing Authority administers a public housing portfolio of 85 properties, consisting of 6,195 public housing units.
$2,000,000 – Modernization of Eligibility Determination System, statewide – Design funds for plans to modernize the eligibility determination system for public assistance programs under the Benefits, Employment and Support Services Division, which will be integrated with Medicaid’s new eligibility system.
$2,000,000 – Modernization of Case Management System, statewide – Design funds for plans to modernize the case management system for the Social Services Division. The new system will be partially integrated with Medicaid’s new Kauwale On-Line Eligibility Assistance System.

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TOMORROW IS THE DEADLINE TO ENTER the Ka`u Coffee Festival’s Triple C Recipe Contest that takes place this Sunday at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Participants can earn up to $500 in prizes for the best recipes in adult and student categories. The registration form can be printed out from these Ka`u News Briefs or from kaucoffeefestival.com.

For more information, call Ka`u Coffee Mill at 928-0550.

HA`AO SPRINGS & MOUNTAIN HOUSE Agricultural Water Cooperative meets Thursday at 4 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. Information about the organization is available at haaosprings.org.

KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL EVENTS BEGIN FRIDAY with a Pa`ina Open House at Pahala Plantation House.
The Miss Ka`u Coffee Scholarship fundraiser includes music, hula, refreshments and house tours. Candidates for Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Peaberry are introduced. Performers include Bolo presenting his new CD, Keoki Kahumoku and his `Ukulele Kids and Halau Hula O Leionalani. New Ka`u products, including Ka`u Coffee Mill’s Ka`u Coffee Singles and Alan Moores’ Iki Art, are introduced. Co-sponsored by Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, the event takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

DINNER & GUITAR NIGHT IS FRIDAY at 7:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Dinner is available at Crater Rim Café, followed by Hawaiian slack key and Italian finger-style guitar playing at KMC Theater. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Hawai`i State Legislature adjourns tomorrow.

HAWAI`I STATE LEGISLATURE HAS DECIDED THE FATE of many bills before it adjourns tomorrow:

KA`U COFFEE GROWERS ARE GETTING HELP from the state in their battle against the coffee berry borer. The state Legislature passed House Bill 1514 yesterday, which appropriates $500,000 toward the purchase of Beauveria bassiana. The naturally occurring fungus kills the pest by causing called White-Muscardine disease, according to researcher Madeline Campbell. “When the spores of the fungus come into contact with the cuticle of the host insect, it slowly grows on the body of the insect, in its joints, through the cuticle, into the body and eventually kills the insect in a matter of days,” she said.

White-Muscardine disease on an insect similar to coffee berry borer.
Photo from Global Citizen Year

The program allows the Department of Agriculture to disburse funds on an annual basis to coffee growers for up to 75 percent of the costs of the pesticide before July 1, 2016, and for up to 50 percent of their costs after June 30, 2016 and before July 1, 2019.
Ka`u’s Rep. Richard Onishi co-introduced the bill.

FUNDING TO RESEARCH LITTLE FIRE ANTS has been rejected by the state Legislature. Senate Bill 2920 would have established and appropriated funds for an LFA pilot project administered by Hawai`i County Department of Parks & Recreation, for an LFA canine detection team pilot project and for a public awareness and education campaign to address the LFA threat in Hawai`i.
Ka`u’s Sen. Russell Ruderman co-introduced the bill.

A BILL CALLING FOR LATE VOTER REGISTRATION has passed the state Legislature. The House and Senate approved House Bill 2590, which allows voters to register at early voting sites beginning in 2016 or at their assigned polling places on Election Day starting in 2018.

MINIMUM WAGES WILL INCREASE WITH APPROVAL by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. The final version of Senate Bill 2609 increases the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 over the next four years. For workers who earn at least $7 more than the minimum wage, businesses can deduct a 75 cents tip credit. The current tip credit is 50 cents.
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Hawai`i PUC Chair Mina Morita

HAWAI`I PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION has announced major decisions and orders that collectively provide key policy, resource planning and operational directives to Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries. The orders require the HECO companies to develop and implement major improvement action plans to aggressively pursue energy cost reductions, proactively respond to emerging renewable energy integration challenges, improve the interconnection process for customer-sited solar photovoltaic systems and embrace customer demand response programs.

The PUC’s guidance and direction to the HECO companies were outlined in the following decisions and orders:
Integrated Resource Planning (Docket No. 2012-0036, Order No. 32052, IRPOrder) rejected the HECO companies’ Integrated Resource Plan submission and, in lieu of an approved plan, has commenced other initiatives to enable resource planning and proffered a white paper entitled, Commission’s Inclinations on the Future of Hawai`i’s Electric Utilities. The white paper outlines the vision, strategies, and regulatory policy changes required to align the HECO companies’ business model with customers’ changing expectations and state energy policy; and provides specific guidance for future energy planning and project review, including strategic direction for future capital investments.
Reliability Standards Working Group (Docket No. 2011-0206, Order No. 32053, RSWG Order) makes various rulings regarding the final work product of the working group and provides the PUC’s observations and perspectives regarding integrating utility-scale and distributed renewable energy resources in a reliable and economic manner. It also directs the HECO companies, and in some cases, the Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative, to take timely actions to lower energy costs, improve system reliability and address emerging challenges to integrate additional renewable energy.
Policy Statement and Order Regarding Demand Response Programs (Docket No. 2007-0341, Order No. 32054, Demand ResponsePolicy Statement) provides specific guidance concerning the objectives and goals for demand response programs and requires the HECO companies to develop a fully integrated demand response portfolio that will enhance system operations and reduce costs to customers.
Maui Electric Company 2012 Test Year Rate Case (Docket No. 2011-0092, Order No. 32055, MECO Order) accepted the PUC consultant’s report reviewing MECO’s System Improvement and Curtailment Reduction plan and directs MECO to file a Power Supply Improvement Plan to address the SICR plan’s shortcomings.

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DICK ROSENBLUM, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF HECO, issued the following response to the PUC’s decisions and orders:

“In this challenging, fast-changing energy environment, we welcome the PUC’s clear direction and roadmap. We’ve been working on many of these initiatives, and these directives confirm the energy policy priorities that will guide our strategies and implementation.
“We have many of the building blocks already in place, including our grid modernization work, the initial phase of our smart grid project and our progress in renewable energy - now at more than 18 percent. We’ve begun deactivating older fossil fuel plants, such as Honolulu Power Plant and others on Maui and Hawai`i Island. And we’re taking other steps to lower costs to customers, such as use of low-cost liquefied natural gas as a transition fuel.
“We understand the importance of moving quickly and see this as an unprecedented opportunity to move aggressively on a shared vision for the utility of the future and on our role in meeting the needs of our customers.
“We look forward to working with the PUC and the Hawai`i State Energy Office as we move forward to develop and execute these comprehensive plans.”

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Many Ka`u Coffee Festival sponsors are participating in the Buy Local, It Matters prize
drawing at the Ho`olaule`a.

KA`U RESIDENTS HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN a $1,000 check at the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a. It’s easy to enter the “Buy Local, It Matters” drawing. Bring in business cards, product labels or receipts from any participating Ka`u business by 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. “The more you collect, the better your chances,” said festival organizers.

Last year, Jeanette Howard took home a $1,000 check for winning the raffle, which is geared toward promoting the local economy.
Winner must be present at the time of the drawing, scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Ho`olaule`a.

A complete list of participating sponsors is available at kaucoffeefest.com.

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TODAY IS THE DEADLINE TO ENTER the Ka`u Coffee Festival’s Triple C Recipe Contest that takes place this Sunday at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Participants can earn up to $500 in prizes for the best recipes in adult and student categories. The registration form can be printed out from these Ka`u News Briefs or from kaucoffeefestival.com.
For more information, call Ka`u Coffee Mill at 928-0550.

INTERESTED KA`U COFFEE GROWERS MUST SIGN UP today for CTAHR’s Spray Equipment Calibration and Calculation Field Day set for Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Rusty’s Hawaiian Coffee Farm. The event covers available risk management measures to manage the coffee berry borer, demonstrates calibration of various types of spray equipment and shows growers how the establish field trials.

Contact Gina at 322-4892 or ginab@hawaii.edu.

HA`AO SPRINGS & MOUNTAIN HOUSE Agricultural Water Cooperative meets tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. Information about the organization is available at haaosprings.org.

FRIDAY IS THE PA`INA OPEN HOUSE at Pahala Plantation House. The Miss Ka`u Coffee Scholarship fundraiser includes music, hula, refreshments and house tours. Candidates for Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Peaberry are introduced. Performers include Bolo presenting his new CD, Keoki Kahumoku and his `Ukulele Kids and Halau Hula O Leionalani. New Ka`u products, including Ka`u Coffee Mill’s Ka`u Coffee Singles and Alan Moores’ Iki Art, are introduced. Co-sponsored by Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, the event takes place Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park hosts a Dinner & Guitar Night Friday at 7:30 p.m. Dinner is available at Crater Rim Café, followed by Hawaiian slack key and Italian finger-style guitar playing at KMC Theater. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Masako Sakata, seen here with Keoki Kahumoku at last year's Triple C Recipe Contest, and Alice Yonemitsu have donated their winnings to this year's Miss Ka`u Coffee education scholarship fund. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I HOUSE AND SENATE HAVE APPROPRIATED $102 million for 2015 to Hawai`i Health Systems Corp. The funding is $48 million less than the state hospital system requested.

Shyann "Makamae" Flores-Carvalho is one of
three Miss Ka`u Coffee contestants.

Alice Hall, the hospital system’s acting president and CEO, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the shortfall compels HHSC to consider cutting services or staff.

“We believe all our services are essential,” Hall said. “But we must examine all options in order to make up for the huge deficit that we’re anticipating for next year.”

The Legislature rejected a proposal to allow HHSC to partner with a local nonprofit provider such as Hawai`i Pacific Health, the Queen’s Health Systems or Kaiser Permanente Hawai`i.
Unfunded wage increases negotiated through collective bargaining make up most of the shortfall, Hall said. “The way our system is set up right now is unsustainable. We did come up with what we think is the best solution, but then it died at the last minute. These are major changes, and it takes a long time for people to be comfortable with major changes.”
Hall said HHSC will ask for an emergency appropriation for next year.

See staradvertiser.com.

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INDUSTRIAL HEMP WILL BE USED IN HAWAI`I for soil remediation and biofuel crop research, following Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s approval of Senate Bill 2175 (Act 56). The measure allows University of Hawai`i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to establish the two-year program.
Act 56 authorizes the growth and cultivation of industrial hemp in accordance with requirements established by the federal Agriculture Act of 2014, which allows higher education institutions and state departments of agriculture to conduct industrial hemp research.
“Hawai`i’s environment and economy will benefit from this research,” Abercrombie said. “Industrial hemp can be used to decontaminate soil and increase the state’s production of biodiesel, therefore reducing our dependency on imported fuel.”

Gloria Ornelas is participating in Sunday's
Miss Ka`u Coffee Pageant.

Act 56, which takes effect July 1, requires the state Department of Agriculture to certify the industrial hemp seed stock and verify that plants grown are not marijuana. The program will be limited to one test site. It also states that the dean of the UH CTAHR must submit a final report, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature prior to start of the 2016 legislative session.
With the state Legislature adjourning today, more bills approved by the House and Senate are on their way to Abercrombie. The governor can sign bills into law, allow them to become law without his signature, or veto them.

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BEFORE ITS REJECTION AT THE U.S. CONGRESS, Sen. Brian Schatz called on Republicans to pass legislation to raise the national minimum wage. Schatz cosponsored the Minimum Wage Fairness Act, legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and increase earnings for more than 28 million workers across the country, while helping grow our economy. The Hawai`i Legislature passed a bill raising the state’s minimum wage to $10.10.

“Hawai`i showed leadership again on an issue that’s important to families and our economy by increasing the state’s minimum wage and giving workers a raise,” Schatz said. “Nobody who works full time should be in poverty. It’s time Republicans do the right thing and allow more Americans across the country a fair shot to support their families.”
President Barack Obama had also praised Hawai`i’s Legislature for its work on minimum wage increases.

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KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL EVENTS BEGIN TOMORROW and fill the weekend.

Amery Silva is a Miss Ka`u Coffee
candidate.

TOMORROW IS THE PA`INA OPEN HOUSE at Pahala Plantation House. The Miss Ka`u Coffee Scholarship fundraiser includes music, hula, refreshments and house tours. Candidates for Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Peaberry are introduced. Performers include Bolo presenting his new CD, Keoki Kahumoku and his `Ukulele Kids and Halau Hula O Leionalani. New Ka`u products, including Ka`u Coffee Mill’s Ka`u Coffee Singles and Alan Moores’ Iki Art, are introduced. Co-sponsored by Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, the event takes place Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

TASTING SUCCESS: THIRD ANNUAL KA`U FARMERS’ TABLE is set for Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Kalaekilohana Inn & Retreat . The event, which has been sold out every year, features locally sourced fine dining, and premium, live entertainment.
See kau-hawaii.com or call 939-8053 for more information.

TRIPLE C RECIPE CONTEST takes place Sunday at noon at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Discovering the top original recipes for cookies, candies and cakes infused with a Ka`u Coffee flavor is the goal of the contest. Participants can earn up to $500 in prizes for the best recipes in adult and student categories. The event includes free coffee and recipe tastings.

Among those donating to the Miss Ka`u Coffee Scholarship Fund are Masako Sakata and Alice Yonemitsu, who won at last year’s Triple C Recipe Contest. Sakata and her mentor Alice Yonemitsu will be named for a $250 scholarship. Sakata, with the help of Yonemitsu, created Ka`u Coffee Cookie Delights to take first place in the Amateur Cookie category and win $150. She also took second place and $100 in the Amateur Cracker category with her Coffee Icing on Cracker. Sakata said she wants her donation to go toward the Education Scholarship for Miss Ka`u Coffee.

See more scholarship donators in future Ka`u News Briefs.

MISS KA`U COFFEE CANDIDATES are in their final days of preparation for the pageant. Doors at Ka`u Coffee Mill open at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Shyann “Makamae” Flores-Carvalho, age 16, is daughter of Helena Carvalho and Glen Hashimoto and sister to Buddy Flores and Andre Carvalho. She lives in Pahala and is a junior at Ka`u High School. “I like playing basketball, riding horses and spending time with my family and friends,” said Flores-Carvalho. After she graduates from high school, she plans to study nursing. Her talent is Tahitian dance.

Gloria Ornelas, age 16, is daughter of Osamea Ornelas and granddaughter of Memmy and Mario Ornelas. She has one brother, Carlos. She lives in Wai`ohinu and is a sophomore at Ka`u High. “I play volleyball for Ka`u High. I love coaching T-ball, and I love to spend time with family,” she said. Ornelas aspires to be a nurse or lawyer. Her talent is hula.
Amery Silva, age 21, is daughter of Michael Silva and Wendylee Napoleon. She lives in Pahala, is a member of Halau Hula O Leionalani and works as retail associate at Ka`u Coffee Mill. “I want to attend college to study business management,” Silva said. Her siblings are Kavelle, Kevey, Savannah, Cameron, Chisum, Shanialee and Wrangler. She said she is enjoying running in the pageant with her little sister Shania, who is a Miss Peaberry candidate. Her talent is hula and singing.

See Miss Peaberry candidates in future Ka`u News Briefs.

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KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park hosts a Dinner & Guitar Night tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Dinner is available at Crater Rim Café, followed by Hawaiian slack key and Italian finger-style guitar playing at KMC Theater. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS SPONSORS its Spring Fling Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the gardens of Punalu`u Back Shop. The event features art and entertainment by Ka`u residents. For more information, call 854-1540.

HAWAI`I COUNTY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL representatives, including founder George Yokoyama, discuss OEOC programs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.

Kamalani Fujikawa sits surrounded by family, Ka`u High School administrators and
her volleyball coach as she signs her letter of intent to attend Shoreline Community
College. Left to right behind her are Terrie Louis, Principal Sharon Beck, her mother
Shaunda Fujikawa, Athletic Director Kalae Namohala, grandmother Wendy Davis,
father Kamake Fujikawa and Coach Joshua Ortega.

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR KAMALANI FUJIKAWA, of Wai`ohinu, has accepted a scholarship offer to play volleyball at Shoreline Community College. Fujikawa signed a letter of intent on April 16 and will join the Dolphins for the 2014 – 2015 volleyball season. Known for outstanding outside hitting and defense for the Trojans, Fujikawa participated in four years of girls high school volleyball. An all-around athlete, she also competed for two years of soccer and three years of varsity softball. She received Division II, Second Team honors her junior and senior years for volleyball and was named to the Honorable Mention team for soccer both years.

Shoreline Community College’s women’s volleyball team is coached by a husband and wife team comprised of Mark West and former Olympian Raquel Chumpitaz-West. The Dolphins team is a member of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.

The college is located in Shoreline, Washington, 12 miles north of Seattle.
Fujikawa said she plans to pursue a degree in psychology. She is the daughter of Shaunda and Kamake Fujikawa and grandaugher of Wendy Davis.

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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Miss Ka`u Coffee & Miss Ka`u Peaberry contenders have been learning about makeup and skin care from Myra Sumida (back center) and Ursula D'Angelo (back right) during sessions at the Old Pahala Clubhouse. The pageant is this Sunday at 6 p.m. at Ka`u Coffee Mill Drying Room. Photo by Nalani Parlin

KINDERGARTEN IS NOW MANDATORY FOR FIVE-YEAR-OLD children in Hawai`i. Gov. Neil Abercrombie has signed Senate Bill 2768 (Act 76), which makes kindergarten mandatory for children who will be at least five years of age on or before July 31 of the school year, unless otherwise exempt.

Cristina-Nicole Kawewehi is a Miss Ka`u Peaberry contestant.

“Mandatory kindergarten builds on this administration’s early childhood education initiative by providing continuity in a child’s learning experience,” Abercrombie said. “This legislation assists in implementation of Common Core State Standards designed for kindergarten to grade 12 and places our students on the path to success in today’s global marketplace.”
Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said, “This bill aligns with the Department of Education goals and supports our young children so they may be successful learners.”
Act 76 takes effect by the upcoming 2014-2015 school year.

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KA`U’S STATE SEN. JOSH GREEN has announced funding approved by the state Legislature for Ka`u projects.
Lawmakers approved $2.5 million for design and construction of improvements to irrigation systems in Ka`u, including ground and site improvements, equipment and appurtenances.
Ka`u Agricultural Water Cooperative District has been working for about a decade on restoring plantation water sources for agriculture between Kapapala Ranch, Wood Valley, and above Pahala, across lands, including Makanau and Hilea, as well as property above Na`alehu and to Wai`ohinu.

Calaysa Koi participates in the Miss Ka`u Peaberry Pageant Sunday.

The Legislature also appropriated $725,000 for plans and design for expansion of water resources at Ocean View, where one well went into operation in July 2012 after several decades of work by Ocean View residents.

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OCEAN VIEW WELL IS CURRENTLY DOWN, according to Kanoni Aton, of Hawai`i County Department of Water Supply. The drinking water spigot station remains open for community access. The standpipe facility is now closed to water haulers. Troubleshooting the repair continues. DWS requests residents’ cooperation, patience and understanding during this emergency.

For more information, call 961-8790.

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KA`U RESIDENTS ARE INVITED TO Hawai`i County Democratic Party’s Convention from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow at Sangha Hall in Hilo, where more than 160 delegates will gather to hear speeches and consider proposed modifications to the County Party’s platform, resolutions and rules that will go to the state Democratic Convention on May 24 and 25 in Honolulu.
Numerous elected officials are confirmed speakers, including Gov. Neil Abercrombie, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.

Madison Okimoto will also be on stage at Ka`u Coffee Mill.

Invitations have been extended to all Hawai`i Island elected officials and Democratic candidates with active campaigns for either statewide or county positions, including OHA trustees.
Also, candidates for Chair of the state Democratic Party will have an opportunity to address the delegates.
Two proposals from the Rules Committee will be discussed. The first proposes to periodically move the biannual state convention to neighbor islands.
Another proposal is to establish a fair, consistent and transparent statewide procedure for the selection process of candidates for appointments to fill mid-term vacancies for state Senate and state House positions. This follows an appeal of the Party’s recent election of Na`alehu resident Richard Creagan to replace state Rep. Denny Coffman, who resigned.
“This county level pro-active approach is to firmly embed defined procedures to ensure that Hawai`i County Democratic Party is accountable, responsive and inclusive to everyone who is Proud to be a Democrat,” said a statement from the Party.

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MISS KA`U PEABERRY CONTESTANTS LIGHT UP THE STAGE at Ka`u Coffee Mill Sunday, with doors for the Miss Peaberry and Miss Ka`u Coffee Pageants opening at 6 p.m.
Cristina-Nicole Kawewehi, age 9, is daughter of Angelica Kawewehi and Bill Lorenzo, of Pahala. She is in third grade at Pahala Elementary School. “When I grow up I want to be a teacher,” said Kawewehi. She enjoys dancing, singing and swimming. Her siblings are Keana and Zachary Kuluwaimaka. She plans to do a Zumba dance for her talent.
Calaysa Koi, age 9, is daughter of Cory and Connie Koi, of Pahala. She is sister to Callen and Casey Koi. Her pet family includes a dog, cat, bird and guinea pig. She is a fourth-grader at Pahala Elementary. She enjoys playing and videos. “When I grow up I want to be a star in Hollywood,” said Koi. Her talent is singing.

Chazlynn Marie Kapualokelanioku`uleinani is one of five Miss Ka`u Peaberry contestants.

Madison Okimoto, age 8, is daughter of Malcolm and Sheilah, of Wai`ohinu. She has three sisters, Sydnie, Siena and Melia, a former Ka`u Peaberry first princess, and three dogs. She is a third-grader at Na`alehu Elementary School. “I aspire to become a doctor or geologist,” said Okimoto. She enjoys baking with her Easy-Bake Oven, swimming, playing baseball, playing with her dog, riding her ripstick and barbecuing with her family. Her talent will be hip-hop dancing.
Chazlynn Marie Kapualokelaniokuʻuleinani Pua-Queja, age 7, is daughter of Jerilynn Pua and Chad Queja, of Pahala. She is in second grade at Pahala Elementary School. She has one brother, Preston, and two sisters, Zeishalynn and Jaymelynn. She is still considering the many possibilities of what she could be when she grows up. Her talent is hula.
Shania Lee Napuamaelo`i`okewe Silva, age 8, is daughter of Wendylee Napoleon and Michael Silva, of Pāhala. She is in the third grade at Pāhala Elementary. She has seven brothers and sisters. “I want to apply for scholarships for becoming an E.R. doctor,” she said. She enjoys playing T-ball and Coach Pitch baseball. Her talent is hip-hop dancing.

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Miss Ka`u Peaberry contestant Shania Lee Napuamaelo`i`okewe Silva is the sister of
Amery Silva, who is a Miss Ka`u Coffee contender.

TUTU & ME TRAVELING PRESCHOOL is taking orders for fresh Krispy Kreme donuts through next Friday, May 9. This is a fundraising effort to help support the work of Partners in Development Foundation statewide.

All pre-paid orders must be picked up in front of Pahala Community Center or in front of Na`alehu Ace Hardware from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, May 16. Any orders not picked up by 1 p.m. will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Payment is by cash only. Price is $10 per dozen.
Call 929-8571 for more information about placing orders.

THE PA`INA OPEN HOUSE, Ka`u Coffee Festival 2014’s first event, happens this evening at Pahala Plantation House. The Miss Ka`u Coffee Scholarship fundraiser includes music, hula, refreshments and house tours. Candidates for Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Peaberry are introduced. Performers include Bolo presenting his new CD, Keoki Kahumoku and his `Ukulele Kids and Halau Hula O Leionalani. New Ka`u products, including Ka`u Coffee Mill’s Ka`u Coffee Singles and Alan Moores’ Iki Art, are introduced. Co-sponsored by Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, the event takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

TASTING SUCCESS: THIRD ANNUAL KA`U FARMERS’ TABLE is set for tomorrow from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Kalaekilohana Inn & Retreat . The event, which has been sold out every year, features locally sourced fine dining, and premium, live entertainment.

See kau-hawaii.com or call 939-8052 for more information.

TRIPLE C RECIPE CONTEST takes place Sunday at noon at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Discovering the top original recipes for cookies, candies and cakes infused with a Ka`u Coffee flavor is the goal of the contest. Participants can earn up to $500 in prizes for the best recipes in adult and student categories. The event includes free coffee and recipe tastings.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS SPONSORS its Spring Fling tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the gardens of Punalu`u Bake Shop. The event features art and entertainment by Ka`u residents.
For more information, call 854-1540.

HAWAI`I COUNTY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL representatives, including founder George Yokoyama, discuss OEOC programs tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.

KA `OHANA O HONU`APO INVITES KA`U RESIDENTS to Sunday in the Park, May 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event features La`au Lapa`au, Hawaiian Healing, with Momi Subiano. For more information, email kaohanaohonuapo@gmail.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Bolo sings Kaiholena, about the misty mountain of Ka`u, with dancer Kamaluhia, of Volcano, at last night's Ka`u Coffee Festival kickoff event at Pahala Plantation House. Photo by Julia Neal

THE HAWAI`I STATE SENATE HAS ADJOURNED the 2014 legislative session, passing more than 240 bills that align with its initial priorities supporting Hawai`i’s keiki, kupuna, workers and the environment. Many of the notable bills this session focused on prevention and maintaining core services and projects. Lawmakers funded initiatives that address imminent problems (as part of the joint majority package) such as the rise in kupuna population, spread of invasive species and effects of climate control. Lawmakers also remained committed to providing continued support for the people most in need, including Hawai`i’s keiki, kupuna and workers who earn the lowest wages.

Miss Ka`u Coffee 2013 Tiare-Lee Shibuya dances last night at the opening of
the Ka`u Coffee Festival, as Miss Ka`u Peaberry candidates, anticipate
Sunday's pageant. Photo by Julia Neal

The following bills have been forwarded to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who has 45 days from the time a bill was received to veto it, sign it into law or allow it to pass into law without his signature.

SB2609 increases minimum wage rate to $7.75 per hour beginning on Jan.1, 2015; $8.50 per hour beginning on Jan.1, 2016; $9.25 per hour beginning on Jan. 1, 2017; and $10.10 per hour beginning on Jan. 1, 2018. It also increases the tip credit to 50 cents per hour beginning on Jan. 1, 2015 and 75 cents per hour beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, provided that beginning Jan. 1, 2015, the combined amount the employee receives in wages and tips is at least $7 more than the applicable minimum wage.
HB1671 increases the current cap on transient accommodations tax revenues to be distributed to the counties for two fiscal years and establishes a working group to determine future county allocation ceiling amounts and the appropriate division of the provision of public services between the state and counties.
HB1713 SD2 and SB2346 SD1 HD2 support Hawai`i’s kupuna through funding of aging, long-term care and investor education programs.
HB1714 establishes an interagency sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation committee under the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.
HB1716 appropriates $5 million to the Hawai`i Invasive Species Council for invasive species prevention, control, outreach, research, and planning, passed out of committee earlier this month.
HB2590 allows and appropriates funds for voter registration at absentee polling places beginning in 2016 and late voter registration, including on Election Day, beginning in 2018.

See more regarding bill highlights in future Ka`u News Briefs.

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THE KANA`IOLOWALU ROLL OF NATIVE HAWAIIANS now lists 125,631 people, reports Susan Essoyan, of Honolulu Star-Advertiser. About 10,000 signed up after registration reopened March 17. The last day to sign up was Friday.
Clyde Namuo, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, told Essoyan there are another 5,000 names to be certified, which would bring the total of signers to about 130,000.

Halau Hula O Leonalani opens up Ka`u Coffee Festival 2014, under the direction of
Kumu Hula Debbie Ryder, last night at Pahala Plantation House. Photo by Julia Neal

The names form a base for the election of delegates to a constitutional convention, or Governance `Aha, where Hawaiians will consider different options for self-determination, including state, federal and international recognition as a nation.
The registry, which was launched July 20, 2012, has signed up about 40,000 new registrants, including those still to be processed, Namuo said. Other names on the list came from previous registries such as Kau Inoa, Operation `Ohana and the Hawaiian Registry.
A state law recognizing Native Hawaiians as the only indigenous people of the islands was passed in 2012. The law also called for creation of the commission to identify them.
Fewer than 500 people contacted the commission to have their names removed from Kana`iolowalu Roll, Namuo said.

See staradvertiser.com.

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DUE TO A BREAKDOWN YESTERDAY, the Ocean View water well has been under emergency repair. At this time, the well is in operation, and water is flowing into the storage tank, reports Department of Water Supply spokesperson Kanani Aton.

The drinking water spigots will remain open for normal operating hours. While water spigots remain open for general community access, users are asked to limit their consumption to potable needs only. Community cooperation extends current water availability in the reservoir.
Although spigots are open, the standpipe facility for water haulers is closed until Monday, May 5.
For more information, call 961-8790.

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Keoki Kahumoku & the `Ukulele Kids with friends sang songs of the late DennisKamakahi, one of their teachers during last night's
party for the Ka`u Coffee Festival that runs through May 11. Photo by Julia Neal

MAY IS ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH. The observance originally began as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, which was established through a joint U.S. Congressional resolution in 1978. The month of May was chosen due to two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: May 7, 1843, when the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States, and May 10, 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad was completed with substantial contributions from Chinese immigrant workers.
“While celebrating my own Pacific Island heritage, I am proud to honor the unique culture and rich tradition of all Asian American and Pacific Islanders,” said Ka`u’s U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. “Throughout our nation’s history, AAPIs have made tremendous contributions to our communities as leaders at every level. Leaders like Hawai`i’s Sen. Daniel Inouye and Sen. Daniel Akaka have broken through barriers, leading the way for generations to follow. Our own Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink was a champion for women and equal treatment throughout her life. Because of these leaders, our communities and our nation are stronger, and our future is brighter.”
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KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL KICKOFF PA`INA last night drew a crowd to the free event at Pahala Plantation House for music, food and hula. Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative President Gloria Camba welcomed farmers, neighbors and visitors to the ten days of activities that wrap up with the Ho`olaule`a Saturday, May 10 at Pahala Community Center and Ka`u Coffee College on Sunday, May 11. Last night’s performers included some of those performing at the Ho`olaule`a, including Keoki Kahumoku and his `Ukulele Kids, Bolo and hula dancer Kamaluhia, and Halau Hula O Leionalani, with Kumu Debbie Ryder. Among those attending was the cultural ambassador from La Reunion, a volcanic island off Africa in the Indian Ocean governed by France, which has similar agriculture to Ka`u and is developing a sister relationship with the Big Island. Also on hand was state Rep. Richard Creagan.

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TASTING SUCCESS: THIRD ANNUAL KA`U FARMERS’ TABLE is set for today from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Kalaekilohana Inn & Retreat . The event, which has been sold out every year, features locally sourced fine dining, and premium, live entertainment.
See kau-hawaii.com or call 939-8052 for more information.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO THE Triple C Recipe Contest tomorrow at noon at Ka`u Coffee Mill. The event includes free coffee and recipe tastings, along with entertainment by Keoki Kahumoku and the `Ukulele Kids.
Discovering the top original recipes for cookies, candies and cakes infused with a Ka`u Coffee flavor is the goal of the contest.
Participants earn up to $500 in prizes for the best recipes in adult and student categories.

KA`U COFFEE MILL ALSO HOSTS the Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Ka`u Peaberry Pageant tomorrow, with doors opening at 6 p.m. Three young Ka`u ladies are vying for Miss Ka`u Coffee, while five keiki participate in Miss Ka`u Peaberry.

KA`U SCHOOL OF THE ARTS SPONSORS its Spring Fling today until 4 p.m. in the gardens of Punalu`u Bake Shop. The event features art and entertainment by Ka`u residents.
For more information, call 854-1540.

KA `OHANA O HONU`APO INVITES KA`U RESIDENTS to Sunday in the Park, tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event features La`au Lapa`au, Hawaiian Healing, with Momi Subiano. For more information, email kaohanaohonuapo@gmail.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Volcano resident Bill Doar photographed the stages of life of the Kamehameha butterfly.

FREE SOLAR HOT WATER SYSTEMS are available to select low-income households in Ka`u. Households must consist of a family of three to six persons with limited income who currently use an electric hot water heater.

The program is jointly sponsored by Hawai`i County Economic Opportunity Council and Hawai`i Energy. Applicants must attend an energy class to be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 8 at Ocean View Community Center. Others who are interested in energy conservation are also welcome.

Qualified Ka`u residents can apply for free solar hot water systems.
Diagram from energybible.com

Mary Finley, of HCEOC, said heating water comprises the largest residential use of electricity in the state. It is the goal of Hawai`i Energy to replace conventional electric hot water with hot water produced by solar power. HE estimates solar hot water will save a family 30 to 40 percent of their electricity cost per month while at the same time reducing the state’s dependence on foreign oil.
Call HCEOC at 961-2681 to register.

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HAWAI`I STATE LEGISLATURE, WHICH ADJOURNED Thursday, passed several bills related to government reform.
SB2629 requires lobbyists and specified individuals to report to the Hawai`i State Ethics Commission, within 30 days of adjournment of a special session of the Legislature, on contributions and expenditures made to lobby on legislative matters considered during that special session.
SB2634 requires individuals who spend more than $750 on lobbying during a statement period to itemize each expenditure in certain categories, as applicable.
Under SB2682, fifteen boards and commissions will be required to file public financial disclosure statements.
HB2139 creates a Sunshine Law exemption for counties. It authorizes a limited meeting where any number of county council members may attend a board’s or community group’s meeting to discuss council business, provided that certain requirements are met. The law remains in effect until June 30, 2016.
Under SB2591, police departments have to disclose more information about police misconduct, reporting to the Legislature how many officers were suspended or fired in a given year and whether the disciplinary action resulted in criminal charges or was still subject to a union appeal.
The status of these and other bills is available at capitol.hawaii.gov.

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A Kamehameha butterfly poses on a lemon flower. Photo by Bill Doar

KAMEHAMEHA BUTTERFLIES enjoy living in mamaki tea plants, and area residents are on the lookout for these endangered native butterflies. While exact locations of the rare Kamehameha are not being revealed by those documenting their whereabouts, some photos of the caterpillars and emerging young Kamehameha butterflies are being taken by photographer Bill Doar in Volcano. Doar recently recorded the caterpillar and its complete transformation into a butterfly.

Doar said there are additional Kamehameha caterpillars that he is documenting, including those living inside a rolled up mamaki leaf. He also reported a Kamehameha butterfly on a lemon tree. University of Hawai`i scientists are studying how temperature affects development time of the chrysalis for such insects, hoping to establish a lab colony of Kamehameha for research. It may be that it takes longer in colder elevations for the caterpillar to become a butterfly. Those seeing the Kamehameha butterfly are asked to send photos and reports to pulelehua@ctahr.hawaii.edu.

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Rachelle Agrigado

Janine Balsis

SEVEN DISTINGUISHED JUDGES MAKE THEIR CHOICES for Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Ka`u Peaberry this evening at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Rachelle Agrigado was the choreographer of the Junior Miss Hawai`i Filipina pageant opening number and a trainer for Miss Hawai`i Island Filipina. She is currently director of Lihu`e Hawai`i Productions that produces the Young Miss Lihu`e Hawai`i and Miss Teen Lihu`e Hawai`i pageants, a preliminary to the state Miss Hawai`i Junior High and Miss Hawai`i High School pageants. She is an accomplished hula dancer, formerly with Ray Fonseca’s Halau Hula `O Kahikilaulani.
Janine Balsis is student activities and testing coordinator at Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary School. After spending a few years on the East Coast and O`ahu, Balsis is enjoying reconnecting with her home on the Big Island. She will be re-igniting her own educational goals at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa this summer as she works toward earning her master’s degree in Educational Foundations with a focus on Educational Leadership in the Asia-Pacific region.

Jennifer Ka`aihue

Ulu Makuakane

Jennifer Ka`aihue was 1992 Miss Hawai‘i Island Filipina. She was a co-coordinator for the 2011 Miss Hawai‘i Island Filipina pageant. She has been involved as a pageant judge in previous pageants such as Young Miss Hawai`i Filipina, Miss Hawai`i Island Filipina and Miss Ka`u Coffee. She is currently a director of Lehua Hawai`i Productions that produces the Young Miss Lehua Hawai`i and Miss Teen Lehua Hawai`i pageants, a preliminary to the state Miss Hawai`i Junior High and Miss Hawai`i High School pageants.
Ulu Makuakane was born and raised in Ka`u and now resides in Makakilo, O`ahu. She is a 2010 Ka`u High School alumna who after graduation moved to O`ahu to further her college education and gain more opportunity. She works at the Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa, as a performer and hula dancer, performing for multiple family programs including the Aulani Starlit Hui. For work, she has recently been offered the title as a Hui trainer, and this position will allow her to train new cast members the hula choreography for a weekly show. Since her reign as Miss Ka`u Coffee 2010, Makuakane has entered two other pageants. She said, “After gaining the Miss Hawaiian Islands title, I was fortunate enough to compete for Miss South Pacific in December hosted in the Solomon Islands. As a former Miss Ka`u Coffee, I know what it feels like to be in these young ladies’ shoes. They have all worked very hard, and I know they will do their best to represent Ka`u, Ka`u Coffee, their families and their community. I wish them all the best of luck. Laki Maika`i!”

Bruce Mathews

Mitch Roth

Bruce Mathews is a professor of soil science and agronomy at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo and has worked there since 1993. Mathews currently serves as interim dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management. He has traveled to the Philippines on several projects related to his work and did a sabbatical leave there during 2001-2002.
Mitch Roth came to Hawai`i in 1983 to attend the University of Hawai`i at Manoa and then received a Jurist Doctorate at Whittier Law School in Los Angeles. After graduating, he returned to Hawai`i as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Honolulu. In 1998, he left Honolulu to become a Deputy Prosecutor and Community Oriented Prosecutor in Hawai`i County. Since coming to the Big Island, Roth has held key positions in numerous government and community organizations and he has been involved with a number of activities in the community.

Kevin Hopkins

Fred Tomas

Fred Tomas is an event consultant and designer. In 2003 he founded and owns Tomas International, which specializes in full-service event planning, design and management for social celebrations, corporate events and nonprofit and community festivals. He is also the chief floral stylist for Kammy’s Flower Garden in Hilo. Currently he serves as Board of Governor for the United Filipino Council of Hawai`i and Director for the Big Island Filipino Community Council. Tomas also volunteers for nonprofit organizations such as Junior Achievement.

Pageant auditor is Dr. Kevin D. Hopkins, an internationally known scientist who has managed aquaculture and fisheries development projects throughout the world for more than 35 years. Hopkins is currently a professor in the College of Agriculture, Forestry & Natural Resources Management at University of Hawai`i at Hilo. He has served as auditor in previous Miss Hawai`i Island Filipina pageants and in numerous Filipino cultural fashion shows.

For more information about the pageant, call Gloria Camba at 928-8558.

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THE INN AT KALAEKILOHANA hosted its third annual Farmers’ Table event last night for the Ka`u Coffee Festival with dozens enjoying fresh food from Ka`u. Organically grown vegetables came from the new Earth Matters Farm at the corner of South Point and Kama`oa Roads. Grass-fed beef came from the Galimba ranch, and fish from the sea.

Host and chef Kenny Joyce noticed that there was record attendance of farmers at the annual dinner, among them Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative President Gloria Camba and Rogelio Aquino, famed coffee farmers Lorie Obra and Lisa Dacalio and Greg Smith from Earth Matters. Music was by `Eke Kekauoka Trio. Ka`u Coffee ice cream and pastries by Chef Janel Panek were featured. Host Kilohana Domingo also expressed his appreciation of the agricultural community and bounty of Ka`u.

The public is invited to Ka`u Coffee Mill for today's Triple C Recipe Contest, featuring
free coffee and recipe tastings, as well as entertainment. Photo by Julia Neal

For more on Kalaekilohana, see kau-hawaii.com.

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THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO THE Triple C Recipe Contest today at noon at Ka`u Coffee Mill. The event includes free coffee and recipe tastings, along with entertainment by Keoki Kahumoku and the `Ukulele Kids.
Participants earn up to $500 in prizes for the best recipes in adult and student categories.

KA `OHANA O HONU`APO INVITES KA`U RESIDENTS to Sunday in the Park, today from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event features La`au Lapa`au, Hawaiian Healing, with Momi Subiano. For more information, email kaohanaohonuapo@gmail.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Miss Ka`u Coffee 2014 Amery Silva (back center), Miss Ka`u Peaberry Madison Okimoto (front center) join other pageant participants who received educational scholarships. Photo by Julia Neal

MISS KA`U COFFEE 2014 is Amery Silva. Miss Ka`u Peaberry is Madison Okimoto. The pageant, chaired by Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative president Gloria Camba and directed by Nalani Parlin, joins young women with keiki in performance, fashion, poise and knowledge to celebrate the Ka`u Coffee industry. It also raises scholarship money for the young women and girls. It drew a full house to the Ka`u Coffee Mill Drying Room last night.

Miss Ka`u Coffee 2014, Amery Silva, in her backpack and coffee bag work
clothes, with the first and second princesses also honoring the hard work
of the Ka`u Coffee farmers. Photo by Julia Neal

Silva danced hula. For her sportswear presentation, she wore overhaul shorts made of Ka`u Coffee Mill bags and donned the kind of backpack worn by farmers to spray their crops. Silva is the daughter of Mike Silva and Wendylee Napoleon, of Pahala. She is a member of Halau Hula O Leionalani and works as a retail associate at Ka`u Coffee Mill. She received a $1,000 scholarship from Edmund C. Olson.
Winner of the Miss Ka`u Coffee Scholar Category was Shyann Flores-Carvalho, who earned a $750 scholarship from Hawai`i Coffee Co. and Ka`u Chamber of Commerce. Daughter of Helena Carvalho and Glenn Hashimoto, she was also named First Princess, taking home a $500 scholarship from Miss Bobby Tucker and Halau Hula O Leionalani. Her talent was hula.
Second Miss Ka`u Coffee Princess is Gloria Ornelas, of Wai`ohinu, whose talent was painting, live on stage, a depiction of a Ka`u Coffee cup with the wording “Aloha to the World.” Daughter of Osamea Ornelas and granddaughter of Memmy and Mario Ornelas, she took home a $400 scholarship from CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union and Miranda Farms.
Miss Ka`u Peaberry is Madison Okimoto, daughter of Malcolm and Sheilah Okimoto, of Wai`ohinu. Her talent was dance. She aspires to be a doctor or geologist. She received a $500 scholarship from the Ka`u Coffee Festival Committee. She also became Miss Peaberry Scholar, taking home a $400 scholarship from Hawai`i Coffee Co. and retired Na`alehu School Principal Peter Volpe and wife Fran.

First Miss Peaberry Princess is Chazlynn Pua-Queja, daughter of Jerilynn Pua and Chad Queja, of Pahala. Her talent was hula. She won a $350 scholarship from Hawai`i Coffee Co.

Second Miss Peaberry Princess is Shanialee Silva, daughter of Wendylee Napoleon and Michael Silva, of Pahala. Her talent was interpretive dance. She won a $250 scholarship from Punalu`u Bake Shop.

Miss Ka`u Peaberry Madison Okimoto in the gown
competition. Photo by Julia Neal

Third Miss Peaberry Princess is Christina-Nicole Kawewehi, daughter of Angelica Kawewehi and Bill Lorenzo, of Pahala. Her talent was Zumba. She won a $150 scholarship from Ka`u’s state Rep. Richard Onishi.

Fourth Miss Peaberry Princess is Calaysa Koi, daughter of Cory and Connie Koi, of Pahala. Her talent was singing. She won a $125 scholarship from Ka`u’s state Rep. Richard Creagan.

See more on all the winners and the pageant in tomorrow’s Ka`u News Briefs.

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Keana Kuluwaimaka took first among students
with Ka`u Coffee Chocolate Cake.

THE TRIPLE C RECIPE CONTEST drew tasty Ka`u Coffee recipes to the Ka`u Coffee Festival event yesterday at Ka`u Coffee Mill. For Coffees, Candies & Cakes, in the adult division, Cathy Haber, of Na`alehu, won $500 with her first-place Flourless Mocha Cake. Second and $250 went to Joyce Foley, of Hilo, with her Chocolate Mascarpone Torta. Third and $150 went to Leona Lorenzo, of Pahala, with her Coffee Mocha-Mochi.

In the student division, first place and $300 went to Keana Kuluwaimaka, of Pahala, with her Ka`u Coffee Chocolate Cake. Second and $150 went to Sara Beth Passarelli, of Na`alehu, with her Chocolate-Dipped Espresso Cookies, and third and $100 went to Lorie Lee Lorenzo, of Pahala, with her Ka`u Coco Brownies.
Judges were Miguel Meza, who works with Rusty’s Hawaiian 100 Percent Island Coffees, Olson Trust Land Manager John Cross and Miss Ka`u Coffee 2013 Tiare-Lee Shibuya.

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John Cross, Miguel Meza and Tiare-Lee Shibuya were judges at the Triple C Recipe Contest. Photos by Julia Neal

Sara Beth Passarelli took second among
students with Chocolate-Dipped
Espresso Cookies.

PRESERVATION OF KAUNAMANO PROPERTIES along the Ka`u Coast has received unanimous approval from Hawai`i County Council’s nine members. Res. 351-14 authorizes the Director of Finance to enter into negotiations for acquisition of the more than 1,200 acres. The 2012 Annual Report of the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission lists the properties as a key priority for purchase. Reasons given in the nomination papers for Kaunamano were cultural, archaeological and natural resources, along with education, recreation and preserving scenic vistas.

“This is a good deal,” said Ka`u’s County Council Member Brenda Ford. She said that the owner is willing to sell and that the Trust for Public Lands is willing to help. Although acquisition of other Open Space properties is currently taking place, she hopes that the Kaunamano deal gets done “sooner than later.”

An archaeological survey of the property in 2004 reported 444 sites with more than 3,900 features, including enclosures, mounds, platforms, walls, salt pans, walled terraces, trails, petroglyphs, papamu, heiau, a refuge cave and other lava tubes, ceremonial sites and burial sites.

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Third-place student winner Lorie Lee Lorenzo
for her Ka`u Coco Brownies with Triple C
Recipe Contest coordinator Brenda
Iokepa-Moses.

HAWAI`I COUNTY’S DRUNK DRIVING STATISTICS are improving, according to a story in Honolulu Star-Advertiser. So far this year, the number of traffic fatalities on Hawai`i island stands at five, compared to 12 last year. According to police, one was due to alcohol, one due to drugs and one to a combination of both.
From 2008 to 2012, 72 percent of Big Island traffic fatalities involved alcohol- or drug-related driving. Of those, 54 percent were alcohol-related and 44 percent were drug-related.
Hawai`i County showed improvement last year, 52 percent of 25 traffic fatalities, or 13 of them, involved impaired drivers
In her story, Leila Fujimori compares Hawai`i Island statistics with those of O`ahu. Last year, O`ahu had 58 fatalities, with six of them by impaired drivers, for a rate of 10 percent.

Cathy Harber took first in yesterday's Triple C Recipe Contest
with a Flourless Mocha Cake.

Of O`ahu’s 57 fatal accidents in 2012, 19 percent, or 11 of them, involved impaired drivers. That same year, 73 percent of Hawai`i County’s 38 fatalities, or 28 of them, involved impaired drivers.

So far this year in Hawai`i County, there have been 422 DUI arrests compared with 432 during the same period last year, a decrease of 2.3 percent.

While the number of fatalities has decreased, the number of major accidents has increased. There have been 525 major accidents so far this year compared with 438 during the same period last year, an increase of 19.9 percent.

“As an ER doc on the Big Island, drunk and drug impaired driving is one of my greatest concerns,” Ka`u’s state Sen. Josh Green, chair of the Senate Health Committee, told Fujimori. “I’ve seen many avoidable tragedies. We offer too little treatment for addiction on the Big Island. Also, treatment should always be covered by insurance. Too often it’s not. Long commutes and exhaustion also make the problem much worse. The police do what they can, but they need more resources to bust impaired drivers.”

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Leona Lorenzo took third in the Triple C
Recipe Contest with a Coffee Mocha-Mochi.

SUMMER FUN REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE today through Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Pahala and Na`alehu Community Centers. The programs take place June 9 to July 18, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 928-3102 in Pahala or 939-2510 in Na`alehu.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S CRATER RIM CAFÉ in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers a Cinco de Mayo Buffet today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Menu includes Mexican chicken casserole, stuff-your-own-burrito bar, short ribs fajitas, Spanish rice, ice cream sundae bar and a beverage for $18 for adults and $9 for children ages 6-11. KMC is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

Call 967-8356 for more information.

JOE LACEBY DEMONSTRATES HIS CYANOTYPE techniques tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the porch of Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, in conjunction with National Parks Arts Foundation, launches its first artist-in-residence program at tomorrow’s After Dark in the Park.
Rick Makanaaloha Kia`imeaokekanaka San Nicolas provides a public exhibit and lecture about his feather work, his inspiration from Hawai`i’s sacred volcanoes, and the history and culture of Hawai`i. The free program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium Park entrance fees apply. $2 donations support After Dark programs.

HAWAI`I NEWS NOW CARRIED A SEGMENT on the Ka`u Coffee Festival this morning. Business reporter Howard Dicus, interviewing festival Chair Chris Manfredi, suggested the destination as a last-minute getaway. They also talked about the continuing success of Ka`u Coffee growers, displaying several local brands on air.

Joyce Foley took second in the Triple C Recipe Contest
with her Chocolate Mascarpone Torta.

Ka`u Coffee Festival events continue this week and through Sunday. On Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be the Ka`u Mountain Water System Hike at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Fee of $40 includes lunch. Call 928-0550.

On Friday at 10 a.m. will be Coffee & Cattle Day with an all-you-can-eat buffet for $25 at Aikane Plantation Coffee Farm. Call 927-2252.

Also on Friday will be Ka`u Star Gazing from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., starting at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Participants enjoy Ka`u’s vast open landscapes and night skies unmarred by city lights. Fee of $35 includes refreshments. Call 928-0550.
The annual Ho`olaule`a takes place on Saturday at Pahala Community Center, with entertainment from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ka`u Coffee farmers show off their world-class beans with tasting and sales at their booths. Tours of Ka`u Coffee farms and Ka`u Coffee Mill are scheduled throughout the day. The Ka`u Coffee Experience presents the taste and aroma of select Ka`u Coffees, prepared by trained baristas, in a program organized by Ka`u Farm Bureau President Ralph Gaston, Joan Obra and Miguel Meza.

Ka`u Coffee College closes the festival on Sunday, when visiting coffee experts offer educational talks from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.

See more on the events at kaucoffeefest.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Giving back to the pageant, Miss Ka`u Coffee 2013 Tiare-Lee Shibuya provided congeniality scholarships to Miss Peaberry and
Ka`u Coffee candidates on Sunday night after the candidates and friends performed a paparazzi skit onstage. Photos by Julia Neal

Cristina-Nicole Kawewehi is
Miss Popularity

Photogenic Chazlynn Pua-Queja

MISS KA`U COFFEE AND PEABERRY TALENTS won over the weekend and Ka`u Coffee farmers donated the trophies at the annual pageant as part of the ongoing Ka`u Coffee Festival. While Amery Silva won the title of Miss Ka`u Coffee and Madison Okimoto won Miss Peaberry, Miss Peaberry Popularity was taken by Cristina-Nicole Kawewehi who received a trophy from Roberto and Maria Miranda. Miss Peaberry Photogenic Chazlynn Pua-Queja received a trophy from Franklin and Anabelle Orcino and Miss Peaberry Congeniality Queja-Pua received a $50 scholarship from 2013 Miss Ka`u Coffee Tiare-Lee Shibuya. Miss Peaberry Madison Okimoto received trophies for her title from Bong and Gloria Aquino, for Peaberry Sportswear from Don and Ku`uipo Dacalio, for Talent from Ruby and Amy Javar and for her Gown from Efren and Maile Abellera. Fourth Miss Peaberry Calaysa Koi earned a trophy from Pablo and Maria Mauricio, Third Miss Peaberry Christina-Nicole Kawewehi from Berta and Jose Miranda, Second Miss Peaberry Shanialee Silva from Leonardo and Jackie Castaneda and First Miss Peaberry Chazlynn Pua-Queja from Jerffrey and Donna Gascon. Miss Ka`u Coffee Popularity went to Shayan Flores-Carvaho, who received a trophy from Milton and Verna

Miss Peaberry Madison
Okimoto also became
Miss Peaberry Scholar

Miss Ka`u Coffee Princess
Shanialee Silva

Dacalio. Miss Ka`u Coffee Photogenic Gloria Ornelas received a trophy from Melchor and Fely Fernandez. Amery Silva, who received her title trophy from Chris Manfredi of Ka`u Farm and Ranch and her $1000 scholarship from Edmund C. Olson, received her Congeniality $100 scholarship from 2013 Miss Ka`u Coffee Tiare-Lee Shibuya, her Sportswear trophy from Wayne and Danarie Dacalio, her Talent trophy from Leo and Herme Norberte and her Gown trophy from Ricardo and Mimi Sambajoh. Second Miss Ka`u Coffee received her trophy from Will and Grace Tabios. First Miss Ka`u Coffee received her trophy from Lorie Obra.

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HAWAI'I COFFEE COMPANY, which provided $1,000 in scholarship money for the Miss Ka`u Coffee and Miss Ka`u Peaberry winners on Sunday, is prepared to sell all of the 100 percent Ka`u Coffee it can purchase, according to CEO Jim Wayman.

Last weekend was the beginning of Hawai`i Coffee Co. participation in the Ka`u Coffee Festival with a donation to the scholarship pageant. Over the last year, the company has become active in selling Ka`u Coffee through its brands Royal Hawaiian and Lion Coffee, The company also owns Royal Kona Coffee and Hawaiian Islands Tea. Its website states that Hawai`i Coffee Co. is Hawai'i's leading supplier of coffee to the islands' hotels, restaurants and retail stores.
Royal Hawaiian Coffee recently rolled out a a brand of 10 percent Ka`u Coffee, sold under the name Alan Wong. Wayman said that with the high market demand for Ka`u Coffee, he is hoping that thousands of acres will be planted in Ka`u Coffee. He said his company has given exclusive rights to the Royal Hawaiian brand to a company called Western Exports, which plans to sell 100 percent Ka`u Coffee into Japan and Europe.

Miss Ka`u Coffee Princess
Calaysa Koi. Photos by Julia Neal

Presenting the scholarships on behalf of Hawai`i Coffee Co. last weekend at Ka`u Coffee Mill was Roger Ka`iwi, of Royal Hawaiian Coffee Co.'s Kona operation. The $750 Miss Ka`u Coffee Scholar award co-sponsored by Hawai`i Coffee, Ka`u Chamber of Commerce, Masako Sakata and Alice Yonemitsu, went to Shyann Flores-Carvalho. Hawai`i Coffee Co. also co-sponsored a $450 scholarship with retired Na`alehu Principal Peter Volpe and his wife Fran for Miss Peaberry Scholar Madison Okimoto, as well as the $350 scholarship for the First Miss Peaberry winner Chazlynn Pua-Queja.
Miss Ka`u Coffee pageant chair Gloria Camba, who is a retired school teacher, coffee farmer and president of the Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative, said she appreciated all of the funding that goes to the "education of our bright and talented young women and girls of Ka`u. We also appreciate all of the dedication and contributions of our cooperative farmers to make this event a reality," said Camba. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL WEEK CONTINUES tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a Ka`u Mountain Water System Hike starting at Ka`u Coffee Mill. The $40 fee includes lunch. Call 928-0550.
On Friday at 10 a.m. will be Coffee & Cattle Day at the Aikane Plantation coffee farm and ranch with an all-you-can-eat buffet for $25 . Call 927-2252.

Friday evening is the time for Ka`u Star Gazing from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., starting at Ka`u Coffee Mill and traveling tot he table top mountain of Makanao. Participants enjoy Ka`u’s vast open landscapes and night skies unmarred by city lights. Fee of $35 includes refreshments. Call 928-0550.
The annual Ho`olaule`a takes place on Saturday at Pahala Community Center, with entertainment from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ka`u Coffee farmers show off their world-class beans with tasting and sales at their booths. Tours of Ka`u Coffee farms and Ka`u Coffee Mill are scheduled throughout the day. The Ka`u Coffee Experience presents the taste and aroma of select Ka`u Coffees, prepared by trained baristas, in a program organized by Ka`u Farm Bureau President Ralph Gaston, Joan Obra and Miguel Meza.
Ka`u Coffee College closes the festival on Sunday, when visiting coffee experts offer educational talks from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
See more on the events at kaucoffeefest.com. To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.

PREDICTED CLIMATE CHANGE IN HAWAI`I is front and center in a new study released by the White House yesterday. Science Insider reports: "From Hawai`i to Maine, from the fishing industry to manufacturing, the report’s 30 chapters emphasize that “evidence of human-induced climate change continues to strengthen and that impacts are increasing across the country.” The 1300-page document is available to read at http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/ . Pres. Barack Obama suggests dealing with climate change in a three prong approach: Cut greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impacts and lead internationally in dealing with the issue.

Specific Hawai`i concerns include the bleaching of reefs, the change in fish populations including the tuna fishery as the ocean warms, more drought, infusion of ocean water into fresh water sources as the sea level rises and the risks of continued construction along the shoreline where increased severe weather and inundation threaten. Planning for future development, natural resources and invasive species management as well as populations moving inland and food production all come into play in planning for what the study describes as inevitable climate change.

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OCEAN VIEW SUMMER FUN AT KAHUKU PARK will from Mondays through Fridays from June 9 through July 18 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children must be five years or older as of Dec. 31, 2013 and enrollment is open to all elementary school students up to those who this year will have completed grade 6. Register through May 8 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Kahuku Park. Registration is first come first served, and will continue until the enrollment limit of 40 is met. Cost has been reduced to $20 per child, thanks to donations and fundraising efforts by Friends of Kahuku Park, O Ka`u Kakou, the Edmund C. Olson Trust, Queen Liliu`okalani Children's Center, Ocean View Community Development Corp. and many community volunteers," Ocean View Summer Fun director Teresa Alderdyce.

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Down home decorating for Ka`u Coffee Festival events, Ka`u Coffee Growers President Gloria Camba, left, with cooperative members
Donna Gascon, Jackie Caastaneda and Jamie Kailiawa, prepare for the pageant last Sunday and will help decorate the stage for this
Saturday's Ho`olaulea at Pahala Community Center. Photo by Julia Neal

COFFEE BERRY BORER FUNDING gives Ka`u Coffee farmers another gift to celebrate during their Ka`u Coffee Festival all week long. Sen. Mazie Hirono, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and the U.S. Department of Agriculture this week announced the release of $1 million to help combat the coffee berry borer that has been ravaging Hawai`i Island coffee farms for almost four years.The funding will be distributed through the Integrated Pest Management Program at USDA and be divided between Hawai`i ($700,000) and Puerto Rico ($300,000). The program is a scientifically-based approach to fighting invasive species.

Coffee berry borer drilled into this coffee cherry and will drill again
into the bean where it will live and dine on Ka`u Coffee. Farmers
try to kill it before it gets to the bean inside the coffee cherry.
Photo from Big Island Video News

“I wrote directly to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this year to urge continued funding to fight the coffee berry borer and am very pleased that USDA recognizes the threat of this highly destructive invasive species to Hawaii’s farms and economy,” said Hirono. "I’ve met and listened to farmers whose crops are being impacted by this alien pest species. Coffee is an important agriculture crop and export for our state - we produce some of the world’s best beans – and it is crucial that we provide the resources our farmers need. Over the past year, there has been encouraging progress as stakeholders from the federal, state and county levels work with farmers. Moving forward, the Integrated Pest Management Program funding combined with the recent Coffee Plant Health Initiative in the Agricultural Act of 2014 will help us combat the coffee berry borer.”

Gabbard chimed in: “The Coffee Berry Borer has destroyed more than $9 million worth of our world-renowned coffee since 2010, leaving many small businesses and families in our rural communities devastated. Coffee farms are a major pillar in our rural Hawai‘i Island communities, and a majority are family-owned and operated,” said Gabbard. “They provide jobs on farms and at processing plants, purchase equipment, fertilizers, and other hardware necessary to bring the famous Kona and Ka‘u coffee to consumers worldwide. This $700,000 award to further fund the Coffee Plant Health Initiative program in Hawai‘i will help researchers combat this and other new invasive pests, and will also help to restore our farmers’ ability to grow and market world-class coffee, which is the only domestically grown coffee our country has to offer.”

A`ali`i Kumukani by Randall Shiroma, of Volcano is
sponsored by State Foundation for Culture & the Arts

Hawai`i Island is home to more than 700 small coffee farms. In 2011, coffee farmers in Hawai`i produced more than 8 million pounds of coffee, valued at more than $30 million. The borer is an insect native to Central Africa that lives, feeds and reproduces in both immature and mature coffee berries. This damage can have a significant negative impact on the quality and quantity of coffee crop yields. As a direct result of the coffee berry borer, many farmers in 2012 have expressed concerns that their yields were in jeopardy. The Agricultural Research Service commenced an integrated pest management program in 2013 to study and develop a management plan for the coffee berry borer.

The state Department of Agriculture will have a booth this Saturday to educate the public and farmers about the borer at the Ho`olaulea at Pahala Community Center.

Shiroma installs his sculpture at Ka`u High School
Photos by David Berry

SCULPTURE INSTALLATION at Ka`u High & Elementary School is nearly complete. The artist for the sculpture, entitled A`ali`i Kumukani, which means a`ali`i shrub standing in the wind, is Volcano resident Randall Shiroma. He said the concept is "showing the strength in the face of adversity." Shiroma was granted a $100,000 commission to include an artist in the schools program at Pahala where he is expected to go into classrooms for a second round of teaching tomorrow. The commission also funds Shiroma to create the sculpture specifically for the place on the lawn near the entrance to the school and office building. Shiroma is famed for working in stone and also using terrazzo. For some of his works, chips of marble are set in concrete that is cut, shaped and polised. The sculpture in Pahala features a steel armature on the inside with a concrete exterior. Some of the layers of the concrete have pieces of stone. Shiroma is known for creating organic abstract forms using a method similar to those used in working with clay.

Shiroma grew up in Hawa`i and talks about his connection to the ocean and the earth. A ceremony and dedication with the artist will be held after the installation is complete with landscaping, most likely during the next school year. The commission is sponsored by the State Foundation for Culture & the Arts. See sfca.hawaii.gov.

STAMP OUT HUNGER is an invitation from U.S. Postal Service workers who are accepting donations of food through this week locally at the Volcano, Pahala, Na`alehu and Ocean View post offices. Postal workers are joining their colleagues in more than ten thousand cities and towns across the country to "collect the goodness and compassion of their postal customers," says a statement from the postal service. It calls Stamp Out Hunger the largest one-day food drive in the nation. The effort has delivered more than one billion pounds of food during the past two decades. The drive is an initiative of the National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO). It is also supported by AARP, food banks, United Way and others. Residents will find blue plastic bags and a card explaining the drive in mail boxes over the next few days.

KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL continued today with a hike to the old plantation water systems above Ka`u Coffee Mill. Hikers explored the possibilities of the water that is already coming out of horizontal shafts in the side of Mauna Loa being used for hydroelectricity by the coffee mill and other value-added agricultural bounty of Ka`u. There is also the possibility of using the electricity for homes in the area, said Olson Trust Land Manager John Cross. The old water system was used for transporting sugar cane in flumes to the mill in Pahala. In more recent years, it has been used for irrigating diversified crops and watering cattle. For the hydro plant the water would come down the mountains and go through a small facility and continue to provide water below for such crops as taro and possibly aquaculture. Also on hand were Shalan Crysdale and Grady Timmons, of The Nature Conservancy. The event was sold out. See more on Ka`u Coffee Festival events at www.kaucoffeefestival.com. Also see www.kaucoffeemill.com

Coffee & Cattle Day is Friday at Aikane Plantation.
Photo by Laura Bly/USA Today

FRIDAY IS COFFEE & CATTLE DAY at 10 a.m. with lunch and a tour of the Aikane Plantation coffee farm and ranch on Kalaiki Road in the mountains between Pahala and Na`alehu. Hosts Merle and Phil Becker explain their diversified approach to farming in Ka`u. See the cattle, horses, coffee trees, processing plant and gardens. Learn the history of this Ka`u Coffee farm, which was started in 1894 by "Papa" J.C. Searle. Cost is $25 and includes an all you can eat buffet. Call 808-927-2252 for reservations for this official Ka`u Coffee Festival event. www.aikaneplantation.com

STARGAZING IS FRIDAY on the mountain of Makanao, from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The fee is $35 with refreeshments. Call 9238-0550 for registration for this official Ka`u Coffee Festival event. www.kaucoffeemill.com

BUY LOCAL, IT MATTERS is the promotion this week that calls on all those going to the Ka`u Coffee Festival this Saturday to shop or visit sponsors, collect a business card, receipt or other evidence and turn it in for chances at winning a $1,000 check from the Ka`u Coffee Festival. The sponsors are: Aikane Coffee Plantation, Carlsmith Ball attorneys, Creative Arts Hawai`i, Crop Production Services, Greenpoint Nurseries, Hana Hou Restaurant, Hilo Fire Extinguisher, Hawai`i Coffee Co., Hawai`i Public Radio, Isla Custom Coffees, Kailiawa Coffee Farm, Kalaekilohana Inn, Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative, Ka`u Coffee Mill, Ka`u Farm and Ranch, Ka`u local Products, Kuahiwi Ranch Natural Beef, McCall Flower Farm, OK Farms, Orchids in the Mist, Pacific Quest, Pahala Plantation Cottages, ProVision Solar, Punalu`u Bake Shop, R&G Farms, Royal Hawaiian Orchards, Rusty's Hawaiian, The Ka`u Calendar and Wikiwiki Mart. See a printable map with the locations at www.kaucoffeefest.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

Water and rainforest and a system for nature and agriculture, as shown on the Ka`u Coffee Festival hike above Ka`u Coffee Mill yesterday. Photo by Jesse Tunison

THE KA`U WATER SYSTEM HIKE yesterday drew explorers to learn about the rainforest, the history of agriculture and the future of conserving natural resources and developing alternative energy.

During the Ka`u Coffee Festival hike along the old sugar plantation water system that has been restored by Olson Trust above Ka`u Coffee Mill, Wood Valley resident Jeff Silva talked about the pristine waters of Ka`u and noted that the potable water system in Wood Valley is the only health department approved non-chlorinated public drinking water system in the state. He noted that the water is clean because the forest is preserved.

Olson Trust land manager John Cross talks about the opportunity for hydroelectricity
to be developed without interrupting water for the rainforest. Photo by Jesse Tunison

Johnny Navarro, of Pahala, showed the hikers the infrastructure in the forest where he grew up hunting along the old plantation flumes, a system that he helped to repair in recent years.
Shalan Crysdale, of The Nature Conservancy, stood by Clark Tunnel and talked about the importance of keeping out invasive species to help the forest capture water as a fog drip. He explained that the native koa and `ohi`a trees are excellent at converting fog into drops of water that accumulate on the leaves and fall as rain. Without the tall canopy of the native trees, the forest would be much drier, soil erosion and storm runoff would travel downslope and impact land all the way to the coast and into the nearshore waters.
Olson Trust land manager John Cross talked about the plantation workers building the horizontal ash bed tunnels. He explained how rain falls through lava flows and into the ash beds and said the tunnels release the captive water form Mauna Loa. He also explained the Olson Trust plan to build a hydroelectric plant to help run Ka`u Coffee Mill, other agricultural production and electrify homes. He noted after the hike that native birds sang all day long. “The apapane, oma`o, amaki`i were all around us.”
Among those on the hike were Rep. Richard Creagan, Stephanie Donohue, of county Department of Research & Development and Debbie Ward, of the Sierra Club.
According to Cross, the water system hike is available only on a limited, by-appointment basis. Call Ka`u Coffee Mill at 928-0550.

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From left are Margaret Callan, Andy Tayamen and Mary Peralta, Ka`u nominees for
Outstanding Older American. Photo by Tim Wright

KA`U WAS WELL REPRESENTED DURING the Outstanding Older Americans Awards luncheon held May 2 at Hilton Waikoloa. Prudencio “Andy” Tayamen, of Na`alehu, is 92 years old. “His infectious soul has influenced many in the community,” said nominators from Na`alehu Nutrition and Senior Club. Tayamen “is always willing to learn and has taught us all a lesson, through example, of how to live a happy life.” Nominators pointed to his accomplishments playing the bass in the music group at the senior center and being a hole-in-one winner on the ground golf team.

Margaret Callan has been called “the most generous lady I know” by her peers and supporters. The 79-year-old is an avid contributor and participate in activities at Na`alehu Nutrition and Senior Club. Callan volunteers to help serve lunches to seniors and to bag and distribute Food Bank donations. “Through it all, Margaret is always smiling and laughing and enjoying life,” said her nominators.

Mayor Billy Kenoi greets Margaret Callan.
Photo by Tim Wright

Mary Peralta, of Pahala, is a key member of Hawai`i County Nutrition Center. She helps transport seniors to and from the nutrition site at Pahala Senior Center, picks up the lunch and assists with serving the meals. As a volunteer driver for Coordinated Service for the Elderly, the 73-year-old helped transport seniors for medical appointments, shopping and recreation in Pahala and Hilo. She also spends many hours in the Pahala Senior Garden, helping grow fresh produce for Ka`u’s seniors.

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GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE HAS SIGNED A MEASURE that allows the University of Hawai`i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to establish a two-year industrial hemp remediation and biofuel crop research program.
Act 56 authorizes the growth and cultivation of industrial hemp in accordance with requirements established by the federal Agriculture Act of 2014, which allows higher education institutions and state departments of agriculture to conduct industrial hemp research.
“Hawai`i’s environment and economy will benefit from this research,” Abercrombie said. “Industrial hemp can be used to decontaminate soil and increase the state’s production of biodiesel, therefore reducing our dependency on imported fuel.”
The measure, which takes effect July 1, requires the state Department of Agriculture to certify the industrial hemp seed stock and verify that plants grown are not marijuana.
The program is limited to one test site. It also states that the dean of the UH CTAHR must submit a final report, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature prior to start of the 2016 legislative session.

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Ka`u's U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard speaks in support of labeling
of genetically engineered foods.

FOLLOWING NEWS OF THE FIRST STATE LAW to require labeling for genetically engineered food, Ka`u’s U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has reiterated her call for a federal labeling law. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin indicated he would sign a GE food labeling bill into law on May 8.   

“This is a very simple issue,” Gabbard said. “People have a right to know what is in the food they eat and feed their families. I commend Gov. Shumlin for his support for GE food labeling legislation.”
Gabbard is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act (HR 1699). “Labeling GE food will provide consumers with the straightforward, transparent information they need to make informed decisions about their food,” Gabbard said. “Congress must act immediately on the legislation I have co-sponsored that will create clear, consistent labeling standards across the country.”
More than 1.5 million Americans have filed comments with the FDA urging it to label GE foods, and national surveys have shown that more than 90 percent of people support it. Currently, 64 countries around the world have mandatory labeling laws.

The FDA already requires labeling of more than 3,000 ingredients, additives and processes, but it has resisted labels for GE foods. “Changing this outdated policy would add the consumer-demanded GE food label to that robust list; a step which would not be cost-prohibitive for companies or consumers,” Gabbard said.

Hawai`i state Senate last month passed a resolution requesting that the state’s U.S. delegation introduce legislation to clarify food labeling requirements pertaining to genetically modified organisms.

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KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL EVENTS CONTINUE tomorrow through Sunday.

TOMORROW IS COFFEE & CATTLE DAY at 10 a.m., with lunch and a tour of Aikane Plantation coffee farm and ranch on Ka`alaiki Road between Pahala and Na`alehu. Cost is $25 and includes an all-you-can-eat buffet. Call 927-2252 for reservations.

STARGAZING IS TOMORROW on the mountain of Makanau from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The fee is $35 with refreshments. Call Ka`u Coffee Mill at 928-0550 to sign up.

PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER IS THE SITE of Ka`u Coffee Festival’s Ho`olaule`a Saturday and Ka`u Coffee College on Sunday.

THE FREE HO`OLAULE`A FEATURES COFFEE TASTINGS, entertainment, farm and mill tours, educational and vendor booths from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For $5, the Ka`u Coffee Experience invites participants to sample Ka`u Coffees prepared using a wide variety techniques and served by expert baristas.

KA`U COFFEE COLLEGE RETURNS with its reverse trade mission and educational series. Speakers include Blake Hanacek,  founder and CEO of A.G.R.O. Roasters and AGRO Café, Inc., Mark Inman,  trader with Olam Specialty Coffee and Rob Curtis,  acting branch manager of Plant Pest Control with Hawai`i Department of Agriculture.

St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Ocean View holds its annual Cinco de Mayo dinner tomorrow at 6 p.m. Call 939-7000.

KA`U HIGH ATHLETIC STANDOUTS ARE ON O`AHU for Hawai`i High School Athletic Association Division II championships.

Ka`u Trojan volleyball players leave yesterday for the state high school tournament
on O`ahu. This is the first year Ka`u High boys have won the island division
championship. Photo from the team

Ka`u High School boys volleyball team participates in the HHSAA state volleyball tournament after winning their first ever BIIF Division II championships last week. Ka`u Trojans are seeded at number three in the tournament bracket and received a bye in the first round. Ka`u Trojans play Aiea High School today in the second round at McKinley High School Gym at 5 p.m. Representing the Ka`u Trojans are Jovan Padrigo, Lehre Vidal, Cameron Enriques, Franklin Orcino, Jr., Anthony Emmsley-Ah Yee, Kihei Serrao, Brian Gascon, Larry Al-Navarro and Chance Emmsley-Ah Yee. Ka`u High Trojans are led by Head Coach Joshua Ortega.
Trojan Esteve Salmo participates in track and field championships tomorrow at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama.
Tiani Castaneda-Naboa challenges Stephanie Times, of Aiea High, in the state judo championships round one Saturday at Stan Sheriff Center.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

An outdoorswoman and all-around talent, Miss Ka`u Coffee Amery Silva rides horse at Coffee and Cattle Day at Aikane Plantation this morning. She dances hula tomorrow at the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U COFFEE MILL HAS BEEN NAMED Best New Business in the editors choice awards, Hawai`i Business Magazine announced last night. According to reporter Gina Gelber, the mill posted sales of about $1.4 million in 2013, with about 50 percent of revenue coming from international exports. The company exports coffee to Europe and China and is planning to sell to other Asian markets, “where the demand for coffee is rising,” Gelber says.

Ka`u Coffee Mill team includes, front row from left, Amery Silva, Brenda Iokepa-Moses,
Helena Carvalho, Kalikoweo Keolanui-Daniele and, back row from left, John Cross,
Louis Daniele, Chris Jara and Lee Segawa. Photos from Ka`u Coffee Mill

Ka`u Coffee Mill buys coffee cherry from local farmers for $2.20 per pound. Before the mill was up and running, Ka`u farmers would earn about $1.50 per pound in Kona, the story says. “They were told that their coffee was traded at a discount because it was not technically grown in Kona and couldn’t be sold for a premium,” manager John Cross told Gelber. “That just wasn’t a fair situation.”
The story profiles Leo Norberte, who runs a 30-acre Ka`u Coffee farm, “where rich volcanic soil, sunny mornings and rainy afternoons synchronize to yield award-winning crops.
“Despite idyllic conditions, running a business was a nightmare for Norberte and about three dozen other coffee farmers in the area. The rub: there was no local mill to roast their beans.”

The story describes how Norberte had to drive the long distance to Kona twice a week, once to take his coffee to be processed and another time to pick up the roasted coffee. “It was a real drain on all kinds of resources,” Norberte told Gelber. “Now my commute is three minutes down the road.”

Kalikoweo Keolanui-Daniele shows Ka`u Coffee Mill's Diedrich CR-50
roaster, which can roast over 100 pounds of green beans at a time.

Gelber reports on the mill’s efforts to gain international visibility by entering coffee into high-profile contests, including the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Roasters Choice Competition, where it received a Top 10 ranking in 2013.
Ka`u Coffee Mill founder Ed Olson told Gelber, “I wanted to help out a community that had been financially depressed by the collapse of the sugar industry.”
“Keeping in line with its philanthropic spirit, the company plans to continue sharing its spoils with the Ka`u coffee farmers,” Gelber says. She points to a larger and more powerful eqiupment that the mill recently purchased “to help expedite the roasting of coffee.”
“My goal is to help out wherever I can,” Olson told Gelber. “I think we are making a difference.”

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HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES is receiving $466,182 from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to support conservation and recovery efforts of Hawaiian monk seals, green turtles and hawksbill turtles in the main Hawaiian Islands. Funding will also assist public education and outreach initiatives.
Additional funds, for a total of $3.1 million, will support the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, University of Hawai`i Marine Option Program and Pacific International Center for High Technology Research.
“As one of the most biodiverse places in the world and our nation’s only island state, it is vital that Hawai`i balances economic growth with natural resources conservation and environmental protection,” said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono. “These federal funds will promote a sustainable future for Hawai`i through ocean research, education and management efforts.”

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Ka`u High volleyball team plays in the state semifinals today. Left to right, front row:
Chance Emmsley-Ah Yee, Anthony Emmsley-Ah Yee and Lehre Vidal. Back row:
Jovan Padrigo, Kihei Serrao, Larry Al-Navarro, Franklin Orcino Jr., Brian Gascon,
Cameron Enriques and Candy Hashimoto. Photo from Candy Hashimoto

KA`U HIGH’S TROJAN VOLLEYBALL boys team defeated Aiea last night in the Hawai`i High School Athletic Association Division II quarterfinals. The match was held at Farrington High School on O`ahu. The Trojans were challenged by Aiea with scores of 16-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-18 and 15-5. Ka`u, the third-seeded team, faces second-seeded Seabury Hall this evening at Farrington at 5 p.m. The Maui Interscholastic League champion Spartans swept Hanalani 25-16, 25-19, 25-17 in their quarterfinal.

During last night’s win, Trojan Cameron Enriques pounded 22 kills, and Larry-Dan Al-Navarro made seven kills and came up with five digs. Other contributors to the win were Anthony Emmsley-Ah Yee with six kills and Brian Gascon with four kills and 28 assists.

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PROTECTORS OF HONU`APO, KAWA ESTUARIES and other migratory bird resting places in Ka`u can join people from around the world in celebrating World Migratory Bird Day tomorrow.

This year’s theme “focuses on the role sustainable tourism can play in conserving one of the world’s true natural wonders: the spectacular movements of migratory birds along their flyways.” The statement from sponsoring organizations says that through a new project led by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and promoted through this year’s World Migratory Bird Day, “some of the world’s estimated 50 billion migratory birds should soon be able to benefit from sustainable tourism development.” Called Destination Flyways, the program aims to develop sustainable tourism at destinations along the world’s major migratory bird routes.

The Pacific Golden Plover is a migratory bird in Hawai`i.
Photo by Jim Denny

The project aims to be a vehicle for both environmental and socio-economic sustainability, benefiting wildlife, local communities and tourists. “By providing an adequate framework for sustainable tourism management, diversifying tourism and channeling its revenue back into the conservation of the project sites and the communities around them, Destination Flyways will work to safeguard the birds’ habitats, while creating job opportunities for local communities along the flyways,” according to the statement.

“As tourism continues to grow, so too will the pressures on the environment and wildlife. Without proper management and protection, as well as investments in greening the sector, thousands of magnificent species will suffer,” said UN Under-Secretary-General Achim Steiner.
“Tourism has been identified as one of the ten economic sectors best able to contribute to the transition to a sustainable and inclusive green economy. This important initiative will help to accelerate the transition to the green economy while protecting tourism – a major source of revenue for many communities – and the thousands of species it spotlights,” he added.

See worldmigratorybirdday.org/statements, World Migratory Bird Day 2014 Events around the world at worldmigratorybirdday.org/events and Destination Flyways at biodiv.unwto.org/content/flyways. Also UNWTO Consulting Unit on Tourism and Biodiversity at biodiv.unwto.org, Convention on Migratory Species cms.int.

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With Ka`u Coffee trees on the left and pastures on the right, Marie Gerente, from
La Reunion island in the Indian Ocean enjoys Coffee & Cattle Day as part of the
Ka`u Coffee Festival. Photo by Julia Neal

AIKANE PLANTATION COFFEE CO. hosted Coffee & Cattle Day this morning at the farm and ranch on Ka`alaiki Road between Pahala and Na`alehu. Coffee farmers Merle and Phil Becker hosted coffee enthusiasts from as far away as La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, where coffee is also grown on a volcano. Miss Ka`u Coffee Amery Silva was on hand, showing off her ranching skills on horseback. Her talents not only include handling animals at local rodeos, but also singing and hula. She will perform with her Halau Hula O Leionalani tomorrow at the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a.

In addition to being one of the local Ka`u businesses that has extended the Ka`u Coffee Festival from two to ten days, Aikane Plantation owners manage the information booth at the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a each year. At their farm and ranch, they employ not only local residents to farm and process their coffee, they support several families on O`ahu who sell the Aikane brand at local markets. The history of growing Ka`u Coffee for the Aikane familly dates back to the late 1800s.

See aikaneplantation.com and visit the Beckers between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Pahala Community Center tomorrow during the Ho`olaule`a.

KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL’S STARGAZING ON MAKANAU takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. this evening. The fee is $35 with refreshments. Call Ka`u Coffee Mill at 928-0550 to sign up.

Aikane Plantation Coffee Co. is one of the local entities that help take the Ka`u Coffee
Festival from a two-day to a ten-day event. Photo by Julia Neal

A HOST OF COFFEE FARMER, EDUCATIONAL AND VENDOR DISPLAYS will greet the public at tomorrow’s Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a at Pahala Community Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Among them are Ali`i Hawaiian Hula Hands Coffee, Ka`u Coffee Mill, Ka`u Royal Coffee, Ka`u Specialty Coffee, Kehau’s Coffee Farm, Paradise Meadows, Pumehana’s Coffee Farm, Rusty’s Hawaiian Coffee, The Rising Sun Coffee and Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative with a food booth.
Also on hand will be Ka`u Farm Bureau, 4-H Livestock Division, Aikane Plantation Coffee farm hosting the Information Booth and Flyin’ Hawaiian Ka`u Coffee Wagon.

Here are more of the organizations that will be represented: Keoki Kahumoku’s music school; Hawai`i Life Flight; `O Ka`u Kakou, Orchid Isle Auto Center; Big Island Poi Company; CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union; Ka`u Rural Health Community Association; Ka`u Police Department Agricultural Theft Division; Tutu & Me; state Department of Agriculture Marketing Division; state Department of Agriculture Pest Control Division; Clippie Couture; Friends of the Ka`u Libraries; Strictly Native Gear; Provision Solar; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawai`i Islands; Charlene Carlos Massage Therapy; U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service; and Soil and Water Conservation District. Ka`u Learning Academy and Science Camps of America will also be represented.

Vendors include Diane’s Ceramics, Hawai`i Tart Co., Maka`ala Nui, Crystal McIntosh with Avon products and baked goods, Operation Christmas Child, Bay Clinic and Family Health Center, JJ’s Mini Orbits, Ada De Mayo with baked goods, Southside Volleyball, Pahala Filipino Club, Ka`u High School Class of 2016 and Holy Rosary Church. Admission is free.

KA`U COFFEE COLLEGE RETURNS with its reverse trade mission and educational series on Sunday. Speakers include Blake Hanacek,  founder and CEO of A.G.R.O. Roasters and AGRO Café, Inc., Mark Inman,  trader with Olam Specialty Coffee and Rob Curtis,  acting branch manager of Plant Pest Control with Hawai`i Department of Agriculture.

FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK host a Walk in the Park tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cheryl Gansecki leads a four-mile exploration of Kilauea Iki Crater. Participants should bring a bag lunch. Free for FHVNP members; nonmembers can join the organization in order to attend. Annual memberships are $30 for individuals and $45 for families Call 985-7373 or email admin@fhvnp.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Ka`u Coffee Festival stargazers at Makanau last night could see the glow from Kilauea Caldera as it light up the clouds above, at far left. Photo by Peter Anderson

LAST NIGHT’S STARGAZING EVENT was a rousing success. Visitors from Vancouver, Calgary, Germany, Japan and a Peruvian-raised coffee expert witnessed the skies to see the Hokule`a star from the top of Makanau, the sacred mountain. Hawaiian rancher Tyler Johanson showed the `ili `ili stones that are found on the top of the mountain, these stones used in hula having been carried from the shoreline to the tabletop of Makanau. The story of Koha Ikalani, Thunder from the Heaven, was shared with the visitors by John Cross. Tom Giballe, lead astronomer at the Gemini Telescope on Mauna Loa, described the stars and planets that could be seen last night.

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Ka`u Coffee growers listen as a representative of Gov. Neil Abercrombie reads a
commendation and proclamation of Ka`u Coffee Week. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS RECEIVED A COMMENDATION from Gov. Neil Abercrombie and also a declaration for Ka`u Coffee Week. The announcements came as the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a began at Pahala Community Center this morning.
Free activities until 5 p.m. include coffee tastings, food and entertainment introduced by Skylark. Farm and mill tours and Ka`u Coffee Experience are also available. The winner of a drawing this afternoon receives a $1,000 Visa Gift Card.
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KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL WRAPS UP 10 days of events with Ka`u Coffee College tomorrow at 9 a.m. at Pahala Community Center. The reverse trade mission and educational series features speakers Blake Hanacek,  founder and CEO of A.G.R.O. Roasters and AGRO Café, Inc., Mark Inman,  trader with Olam Specialty Coffee and Rob Curtis,  acting branch manager of Plant Pest Control with Hawai`i Department of Agriculture.

For more information, call 928-9550.

Phil and Merle Becker man the information booth at Ka`u Coffee Festival
Ho`olaule`a. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS VOTED to support geothermal energy. The 58-28 vote at last Saturday’s convention in Hilo came after members debated whether or not to include language about geothermal in the party platform. The platform calls for “energy independence via geothermal as the base load carrier.”

David Corrigan, of Big Island Video News, was on hand to tape the debate. One speaker explained that the U.S. only recognizes three base load carriers, which are used to create firm electricity – fossil fuels, geothermal and nuclear. Another said geothermal would help lower costs of electricity, while another said the six companies that have submitted proposals for geothermal production here have not said “geothermal would ever lower their costs.” He also said, “There are health problems that no one’s looked into.”
The platform reads, “We support energy independence and self-sufficiency, first for Hawai`i County and over time, statewide, through conservation and development of indigenous, sustainable, reliable, low-cost alternative energy sources. We are committed to finding immediate and long-term ways to reduce the high cost of electricity here on Hawai`i Island, including energy independence via geothermal as the base load carrier.”
The platform also encourages government officials to require utilities to provide for “the unlimited use of solar power.”
See bigislandvideonews.com.

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The Ka`u Coffee Experience introduces participants to favorite brewing methods.
Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U HIGH BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM meets Honoka`a today at 1:30 p.m. at Blaisdell Arena on O`ahu, playing for the third place berth in the state tournament. Seabury Hall overcame the Trojans during yesterday’s semifinal match in three close games with scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-16.
During the regular season, the Trojan’s won their match against Honoka`a to become Ka`u High’s first ever Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II boys volleyball champions.
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THE ENRIQUES BROTHERS OF PUNALU`U helped Kamehameha-Hawai`i reach finals in the state Division I volleyball tournament. Senior Evan had 40 kills, 16 digs and five aces. Junior Emmett had 17 digs, and freshmen Avery and Addison together had 46 assists. The team, coached by their father Guy Enriques, overcame second-seeded Moanalua 3-2 with scores of 24-26, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23 and 16-14.

The third-seeded Warriors play top-seeded Punahou for the championship tonight at 7 p.m. at Blaisdell Arena on O`ahu.

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TIANI CASTANEDA PARTICIPATES IN THE STATE JUDO Championships today at Stan Sheriff Center on O`ahu.

KA`U RESIDENTS ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE in Hawai`i County government meetings this week. Committees meet Monday, with Public Works and Parks & Recreation meeting at 9 a.m.; Government Relations & Economic Development, 9:15 a.m.; and Finance, 10:15 a.m.
Hawai`County Council meets Tuesday at 9 a.m.
A special meeting of the council takes place Wednesday at 9 a.m. for the first reading of Operating and Capital Improvements Projects budgets.
All meetings occur at Council Chambers in Hilo. Videoconferencing is available at Ocean View Community Center.
Agendas are available at hawaiicounty.gov.

Volunteers can sign up through Monday to help Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park remove invasive faya plants. Photo by Carol Johnson

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FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK host a volunteer Forest Restoration project this coming Friday, May 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This month they will be removing invasive, non-native faya plants in an area of cindery soil. Most of the faya will be ones that have grown since they worked in the area two years ago. Many faya will be seedlings that pull easily; a few are maturing trees that we will cut with handsaws. “This is a wonderful `ohi`a forest with a nice variety of native understory plants,” said coordinator Elizabeth Fien. “We’ll also learn about the park’s native forest restoration and invasive plant control programs.”
Volunteers should be at least 12 years old and be able to hike at least one mile over uneven terrain through brush in an area with a moderate slope. Sturdy walking shoes and long pants are required, along with gear for variable weather conditions plus drinking water and a snack.
Those interested in volunteering can contact Patty Kupchak at forest@fhvnp.org or call 985-7373 by Monday evening, May 12. Include your first and last name, email address and a phone number.

Stargazers on Makanau last night point to one of the many stars visible in Ka`u's
clear skies. Photo by Peter Anderson

KA`U FARMERS AND DISTRIBUTORS CAN FIND OUT HOW TO SELL farm-fresh fruits and vegetables to local schools during a free informational meeting with Glenna Owens, director of the School Food Services Branch of the Hawai`i Department of Education.
The USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program provides funding that enables eligible schools to purchase locally grown produce for morning and afternoon snacks.
This is an opportunity for farmers and distributors to introduce local fresh fruits and vegetables to public schools and provide island keiki with healthy, nutritious food grown on the island.
Farmers will learn how to participate in the FFVP and which fruits and vegetables are in highest demand, and Owens will explain to distributors the process of purchasing for and selling to Hawai`i’s FFVP.
The meeting is at CTAHR Komohana Station, 875 Komohana St. in Hilo Tuesday, May 13 at 4 p.m.

Registration is free, but space is limited. RSVP by May 12 online at ffvp.eventbrite.com or call The Kohala Center at 887-6411.

A FARMERS RESOURCE WORKSHOP will be held in Hilo Friday, May 23 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Aupuni Center. This free workshop is a collaborative effort between state and federal agencies and the university to provide information on a variety of agriculture-related issues such as pesticide use, financial assistance, marketing, conservation, sustainable farming systems and food safety certification.
Registration is not required, but RSVP is requested to Steve Russo at 973-9409 or steve.russo@hawaii.gov.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf.

Miss Ka`u Coffee Amery Silva joins her dancing sisters of Halua Hula O Leionalani at the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a yesterday. Photo by Julia Neal

THE 2014 ANNUAL KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL HO`OLAULE`A was one of the best attended to date. Farmers, visitors and community members enjoyed music, hula and farm and mill tours. Many of the Ka`u Coffee farmers provided tastings and showed off their international awards at their booths.

The Rising Sun offered tastings of its award-
winning coffee. Photo by Julia Neal

R&G Farms presented its Ka`u Royal
Coffee. Photo by Julia Neal

Inside Pahala Community Center, the Ka`u Coffee Experience provided brewing and barista skills to showcase a number of Ka`u Coffee brands.
On behalf of Gov. Neil Abercrombie, East Hawai`i liaison Wendy Cortez-Botelho commended the farmers for their success and those who supported the festival. The governor also proclaimed this week Ka`u Coffee Week.
The festival’s emphasis was the local economy. A Buy Local It Matters promotion gave Ka`u residents a chance to earn a $1,000 check from the Ka`u Coffee Committee. Participants turned in business cards or receipts and received one chance in the drawing for each business they patronized. Krystalyn Gascon was the lucky winner of the prize funded by the Ka`u Coffee Festival Committee.

Rusty's Hawaiian 100 Percent Ka`u Coffee
is another award winner. Photo by Julia Neal

Halau Hula Kalehuaki`eki`eika`iu, under the direction of Kumu Ab Valencia, performed at Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a.
Photo by Julia Neal

Vendors at the ho`laule`a ranged from local community groups raising funds for their activities and sports to Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperation raising money for their programs.

Ali`i Hawaiian Hula Hands is an award-
winning Ka`u Coffee. Photo by Julia Neal

Skylark, who has emceed at the ho`olaule`a for years, emphasized the success of the farmers after nearly two decades
of developing a new industry following the collapse of sugar.
Mayor Billy Kenoi also commended the farmers. He said he wants to help the farmers with their land security issues so they will not fear losing their lands after most of their leases have expired.
Ka`u’s state Rep. Richard Creagan, who attended the festival, said farmers can look forward to funding to fight the coffee berry borer that extends beyond the half million dollars approved by the state Legislature. He said that a barrel tax and funding provided to fight invasive species could be tapped to fight the pest that threatens to take down the industry. The funding, which could amount to millions of dollars, will be administrated by the state Department of Agriculture.
Chris Manfredi, chair of the Ka`u Coffee Festival, also commended the farmers on building their industry and noted the growing reputation of Ka`u Coffee worldwide.
Ka`u Coffee College, the final event of the 10-day Ka`u Coffee Festival, takes place today The reverse trade mission and educational series features speakers Blake Hanacek,  founder and CEO of A.G.R.O. Roasters and AGRO Café, Inc., Mark Inman,  trader with Olam Specialty Coffee and Rob Curtis,  acting branch manager of Plant Pest Control with Hawai`i Department of Agriculture.

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THE THIRD NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT REPORT by the U.S. Global Change Research Program shows an urgent need for Congress to renew energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation and for the Environmental Protection Agency to be able to curb carbon, said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. The report details potentially devastating impacts around the country, including in Hawai`i and the Pacific, where coastal flooding, decreasing freshwater availability and impacts on animal populations are real and pose threats to food and water security, infrastructure and public health and safety.

Science Camps of America founder Mike Richards shows science experiments
to Miss Peaberry Second Princess Shania Lee Silva and Miss Peaberry
Madison Okimoto. Photo by Julia Neal

“Climate change is happening. The new National Climate Assessment report is a harsh reality check for anyone who thinks we don’t need to act on climate change,” Schatz said. “Rising ocean temperatures and sea levels have and will continue to threaten Hawai`i’s food and water security, unless we act now. We can’t afford to wait.”
Schatz also called on climate deniers in Congress to stop their repeated attempts to strip the government of its ability to reduce carbon pollution through limits on EPA authority and attempts to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
“In the same week that another sobering report is released, the Senate is again faced with attempts by Republicans to weaken the government’s ability to fight climate change,” said Schatz. “We should be moving forward with comprehensive climate legislation, not having to defend reality against those who refuse to believe in science or are in the pocket of big oil or big coal interests.”

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Mayor Billy Kenoi commended Bull Kailiawa and all Ka`u Coffee farmers for
building an industry after losing their jobs in sugar nearly two decades ago. Kailiawa
has promoted Ka`u Coffee over the past five years at coffee conventions in
Anaheim, Houston, Portland, Boston and Seattle. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U’S U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD IS COSPONSORING two bipartisan bills to increase affordability and efficiency in the healthcare industry.  “All people deserve access to affordable, quality healthcare and a system of care that is transparent and efficient,” Gabbard said. “It is absolutely unacceptable that some auditors and insurance companies take advantage of our healthcare system for their own monetary benefit by fraudulently denying Medicare payments or making prescription drugs unaffordable to people who need them the most. I am cosponsoring two bills that will reduce inefficiencies and wrongful payment denials, and also make sure that certain drugs are affordable, especially for people fighting cancer, multiple sclerosis or chronic arthritis, for example. No sick patient should lose access to treatment or have to pay excessive prices because of blatant abuse, inefficiencies or fraud in the system. No patient should be forced to choose between medicine or groceries because of skyrocketing prescription costs.”   

The Medicare Audit Improvement Act establishes limits for the number of medical records requests that can be made by Recovery Audit Contractors. RACs are private organizations that contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to identify and collect improper payments made by Medicare to healthcare providers. RACs are paid on commission, which incentivizes them to make inaccurate denials and create inefficiencies in the process. RACs often deny claims similar to those that have been overturned on appeal, gaining their commission and forcing health providers to go through the same appeal process repeatedly.

Kumu Hula Debbie Ryder, of Halau Hula O Leionalani, entertains the crowd at
Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a. Photo by Julia Neal

The Patients Access to Treatments Act prohibits insurance companies from charging more for specialty drugs in a Tier-4 prescription category. Currently, companies typically charge for Tier-1 generics, Tier-2 brand medications and Tier-3 off-formulary brand medications, increasing in price in each tier. Insurance companies have moved toward using a Tier-4 category for specialty drugs and charge a percentage of the drug cost instead of a co-pay. If patients are charged this way, the cost of specialty drugs could jump from hundreds of dollars per month to thousands of dollars, making it unaffordable for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis or cancer, for example, to receive the treatment they need.

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KA`U OFFERS SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Hana Hou Restaurant in Na`alehu has several breakfast and lunch specials for the ladies. The dinner menu includes prime rib, surf and turf, crab pasta and fresh ono. Earnie Kalani provides entertainment this evening. Call 929-9717 for reservations.

South Side Shaka’s restaurant in Na`alehu is offering prime rib and snow crab, along with live entertainment. Call 929-7404.

Mother’s Day Buffet is available at Kilauea Military Camp’s Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Menu includes prime rib, shrimp alfredo with mushrooms, Asian-infused Hawaiian ono, salad bar, green beans, red potatoes, rice, chocolate chip cake, ice cream bar and a beverage for $27 for adults and $14.50 for children age 6-11. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

Hannah's Makana `Ohana shared their hula at Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaule`a yesterday. Photo by Julia Neal

PEGGY STANTON TEACHES ACRYLIC PAINTING to all levels tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Free for VAC members; $20 for non-members. For more information, email peggystanton007@yahoo.com.

Krystalynn Gascon not only danced for the Ka`u Coffee Festival Ho`olaulea with
Halau Hula O Leionalani, she won the $1,000 Buy Local It Matters drawing for
patronizing local businesses. Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U SCENIC BYWAY COMMITTEE meets tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Na`alehu Methodist Church. For more information, email richmorrow@alohabroadband.net.

THE 1924 EXPLOSIVE ERUPTION OF KILAUEA is the topic at After Dark in the Park Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Don Swanson and volunteer Ben Gaddis address what happened, what caused the explosive eruption and how it stacks up against much larger eruptions of the past and, probably, the future. Free; park entrance fees apply. $2 donations support After Dark programs.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

The 1924 explosive eruption of Kilauea is the topic at tomorrow's After Dark in the Park program. Photo from NPS

KA`U COFFEE COLLEGE brought in coffee experts to Pahala yesterday. They encouraged farmers and marketers to continue building the Ka`u Coffee brand as distinguished from other regions and particularly from coffee that is blended with coffee from elsewhere.

Blake Hanacek

Blake Hanacek, of Vancouver, Canada, said that Canada is a fast-growing consumer market for specialty coffee, with Vancouver being the center, quickly becoming the kind of specialty coffee hub that one sees in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco. He said that people are looking for coffee from special places and that Ka`u is more of the kind of place they look for when they think of coffee origins. He talked about the qualities of the place, the longest uninhabited coastline in the state and the unexpected small coffee farms up dirt roads and along walking paths in the mountains. He talked about the farmers and the interest the public has in connecting the coffee they drink with the story of the farmer. He said that Ka`u is an attractive place for coffee origin tours.

Hanacek also talked about the need to bring young people into the coffee business. He said that increasingly in Vancouver, it is the younger people who are opening up the specialty coffee shops and that many young people are attracted to careers where they can be entrepreneurial and also creative. The same could happen with running Ka`u Coffee farms. Gloria Camba, President of the Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative, said that the co-op is starting to attract younger members since the industry is starting to show that coffee farmers and marketers can make a good living with Ka`u Coffee.
Hanacek is a roaster and cafe owner. He is also an expert in sustainable business, with a master’s degree in watershed management. He is a co-founder of Agricultural Growers Resource Organization Developing Economic Viability. He campaigns to improve environmental and social conditions in the coffee industry and voices support for the small farmer movement.
See more on the Ka`u Coffee College in tomorrow’s Ka`u News Briefs.
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Ka`u's U.S. Rep. Richard Creagan, at right, joined Ka`u Learning Academy Founding
Board members Kathryn Tydlacka and Joe Iacuzzo at the meeting where the
Department of Education granted approval of the charter school.

KA`U LEARNING ACADEMY HAS RECEIVED APPROVAL to open its charter school. On May 8, Hawai`i State Public Charter School Commission found it to be the only applicant for a charter that meets newly instituted standards set out in state law governing charter schools. At the meeting, Ka`u’s state Rep. Richard Creagan expressed strong support for KLA and its goals.

Ka`u Learning Academy was established by Kathryn Tydlacka, who taught at Na`alehu Elementary School. Tydlacka is executive director and a member of the school’s Founding Board of Directors. During her nearly 20 years as an educator, she has specialized in working with children from lower socio-economic areas.

Ka`u Learning Academy will open in August 2015 and offer grades four through six during its first year. It will expand to grades kindergarten through eight over the following four years and anticipates campuses in Na`alehu and Ocean View. The exact location of the initial campus has not yet been formalized.
Founding Board member Joe Iacuzzo said KLA will provide a strong academic curriculum along with arts and culture programs and that its goal is to prepare students for college and careers.
As a public charter school, all students are welcome with no tuition. The curriculum will be “a rigorous academic schedule based on a ‘blended learning’ model that incorporates classroom and computer-based learning,” Iacuzzo said.
For more information, see kaulearning.com.

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DR. TYRONE HAYES, A PROFESSOR at University of California at Berkeley, comes to Hawai`i Island to tell his findings from 15 years of research on atrazine and his struggle with Syngenta Corporation, maker of the herbicide. His story was recently featured in the New Yorker magazine.

Hayes is an advocate for the critical review and regulation of pesticides and chemicals that cause adverse health effects in communities. He says atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicide in America, is a disruptor of the endocrine system, emasculating male frogs and transforming them into fully functioning reproductive females. He has been published in peer-review journals since the 1990s.

The free event at UH-Hilo’s Science & Technology Building, Room 108 on Monday, May 19 begins at 6 p.m. with refreshments and an opportunity to meet Hayes. A question-and-answer period follows his presentation.
Also, Paul Towers, from Pesticide Action Network, presents an overview of pesticide use nationally and internationally and the significant role Hawai`i plays in open-air pesticide experimentation.
Hayes also speaks on Tuesday, May 20 at Kona Island Naturals’ upstairs meeting room from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
See the New Yorker article at newyorker.com/reporting/2014/02/10/140210fa_fact_aviv?currentPage=all.
For more information, email gmofreehawaiiisland@gmail.com.

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“IT’S TIME TO PUT YOUR FEET TO THE FLOOR and start training for the Volcano Rain Forest Runs,” said race director Sharron Faff. “Whether you’re running or walking in the Half Marathon, 10K or 5K, it’s time to give those legs a shake and start exercising.”
Volcano Rain Forest Runs are set for Saturday, Aug. 16. The Half Marathon begins at 7 a.m., 10K at 7:45 a.m., 5K at 8 a.m. and the kids’ runs at 10 a.m.

Volcano Rain Forest Runs director Sharron Faff.

Keiki can register in the free 100- or 200-yard dash (1-4 year olds for the 100-yard dash; 5-7 for the 200-yard dash), sponsored by Kilauea Lodge. Start/Finish for all events is at Cooper Center in Volcano Village on Wright Road.
Awards go to the first, second and third place male and female winners in all three races, plus top two male and female for 10-year age divisions in all races.
Entertainment, face painting, animal balloons, health and fitness booths, food booths and a silent auction await at Cooper Center finish line. The Hiccup Circus will amaze and thrill the audience. “Be one of the participants in the races or part of the cheering crowd welcoming the athletes across the finish line,” Faff said.
The Dine & Dash Pasta Party on Friday night, Aug, 15 is open to the public as well as race participants, raising money for the Friends Feeding Friends program at Cooper Center.
To register or volunteer, see volcanorainforestruns.com or call Faff at 967-8240.

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POSTERS CREATED BY PAHALA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL students are on display at Pahala Public & School Library through May 18 during the 59th annual Big Island Children’s Book Week sponsored by Hawai`i State Public Library System. The students entered state library system’s Book Week poster contest, doing artwork based on a book that they have read.
Winners are as follows:
Kindergarten – First place: Isaiah Manila-Louis. Honorable Mentions: Kaden Libunao-Martinez, Krystal Keka-Velenzuela Eder and Chassis Kaleohano.

First grade – First Place: Kalino Judalena. Honorable Mentions: Cheska Aurelio, Raymond Perry and Jestin Penera.
Second Grade – First Place: Erianne Abibilla. Honorable Mentions: Ocean Nihipali-Sesson, Korina Kailiawa-Escobar and Leeroy Koi.
Third Grade – First Place: Emman Badua. Honorable Mentions: Marcky Tamayo, Ciara Ortega and Shanialee Silva.
Fourth Grade – First Place: Micah Espejo. Honorable Mentions: David Ramos, Zechariah Leialoha-Puentes and Cherrisse Althea Calumpit.
Fifth Grade – First Place: Arniel Libuanao, Jr. Honorable Mentions: Rebecca Kailiawa-Escobar, Clarence Travis Cabrera and Elysa Abellera.
Sixth Grade – First Place: Sarah Kailiawa-Escobar. Honorable Mentions: Kiara Kailiawa and Alohi Kaupu-Grace.

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Ti leaf kupe`e is worn as an adornment by hula dancers. Photo from NPS

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY GEOLOGIST Don Swanson and volunteer Ben Gaddis discuss the 1924 explosive eruption of Kilauea and how it stacks up against much larger eruptions of the past and, probably, the future at After Dark in the Park. The free program tomorrow begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply, and $2 donations support After Dark programs.

TEANA KAHOOHANOHANO SHARES HER KNOWLEDGE and love of native hula adornments during a ti leaf kupe`e demonstration Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

A STAFF MEMBER FROM U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD’S office meets with constituents and assists with casework and other issues Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. For more information, call 987-5698.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

One of the goals of Ka`u Farmers Union United, which holds its second meeting Saturday, is to increase food production in Ka`u.
Photo by Julia Neal

COFFEE BERRY BORER was one of the main topics at the Ka`u Coffee College last Sunday. Sponsored by the Ka`u Coffee Festival, with help from the state Department of Agriculture, scientists came to the festival and the college to both encourage and to warn farmers about the pest as well as new pests that may just be entering Hawai`i. A new disease that is complex, involving fungus and bacteria, with mites as the vectors, was discussed. It may be slow moving, but growers on one farm in South Kona took down all of their coffee trees to make sure they did not become the breeding ground that would spread the pest throughout the coffee lands, said Rob Curtis, an entomologist with the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture.

Ka`u Coffee farmers are warned to look out for coffee rust, which can devastate
coffee plantations. Photo from Smartse

Coffee farmers were also warned to be on the look out for rust, which is not yet in Hawai`i, but destroys coffee trees in other parts of the world. Rust could come in on plant materials, imported illegally without inspection. It could come in on spores on bags of coffee that are imported. One way to prevent rust from coming here is by refraining from bringing coffee plants or beans from overseas, recommended scientists attending the Ka`u Coffee College.
Keeping out pests coming in with shipments of plants or coffee is difficult. In New Zealand, for example, a shipment of grain with a pest that could destroy grain crops there would be destroyed. In Hawai`i, such a shipment of a commodity with a pest would more likely be treated and still allowed into the state. New Zealand has more protective laws for keeping out invasive species and pests than Hawai`i, Curtis said.
Hawai`i identifies about 20 new pests each year, and the agricultural inspection of imports is far from 100 percent. People can bring in a pest with a handful of plant seeds in their pocket on the airplane. A pest can come on imported potted plants or in bags of beans or other raw foodstuffs shipped into the islands. Scientists try to fend off the invasive pests and weeds with pesticides and by looking for predators of the pest – other insects, for example, that can be imported after being approved for release in Hawai`i.
One concern with the coffee berry borer is that it is similar to a native beetle, and agriculturalists have to be careful to protect the native beetle while going after the borer.
One improvement in the way plants are inspected is planned coordination between federal and state agricultural inspectors, said Curtis.
See more on Ka`u Coffee College in tomorrow’s Ka`u News Briefs.

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“RENEWABLES MAKE SENSE, NOT ONLY ENVIRONMENTALLY, but it makes economic sense as well in Hawai`i because we have the opportunity to displace that high price of imported oil,” Hawaiian Electric Industries president and CEO Constance Lau said at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Honolulu last week. “Our job is to integrate as much as we can, and the company is committed to doing that.”

Constance Lau, CEO of HEI, says
renewable energy makes economic sense.

Duane Shimogawa, of Pacific Business News, reported Lau saying that 850 solar-energy systems had been installed by 2008, while 40,000 had been installed by last year. In this year’s first quarter, 3,000 systems were integrated into the grid, Lau said.

“We are trying to set a pace for the future,” she said. The state Public Utilities Commission “wants lower, more stable bills, expanding customers’ options and improving reliability. We share this vision, and our strategy is based on these principles. It’s critical to continue to modernize our grid; it’s the backbone of the utility of the future (with) such investments as smart-grid technology and energy storage.”
HECO reported a first-quarter net income of $35.4 million, up 45 percent from $24.4 million in the same quarter in 2013. The company cited lower operational and maintenance expenses and higher revenues.
According to Shimogawa, Lau also said Hawaiian Electric Co. imported three million fewer barrels of fuel last year because of its use of renewable energy, saving $350 million. She also said 18 percent of the energy on HECO’s grid is renewable, higher than the target of 15 percent. “We have integrated distributed renewables at a record-setting pace,” she said. “We are making Hawai`i a leader in clean energy.”
See bizjournals.com/pacific.

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U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ APPLAUDED PRESIDENT OBAMA and his administration following an announcement that the President will be making more than 300 private and public sector commitments to create jobs and cut carbon pollution by advancing solar deployment and energy efficiency. The President announced executive actions that will lead to $2 billion in energy efficiency investments in federal buildings; smarter appliances that will cut carbon pollution by more than 380 million metric tons and training programs at community colleges across the country that will assist 50,000 workers to enter the solar industry by 2020.
“These clean energy actions by President Obama will protect our environment and cut carbon pollution by more than 380 million metric tons – the equivalent of taking 80 million cars off the road for one year,” Schatz said.

Sen. Brian Schatz supports clean energy.

According to Schatz, America has increased its electricity generation from solar more than tenfold and tripled electricity production from wind power since 2009. Last year, about a quarter of new power generation capacity was from solar – second only to natural gas. Growing deployment, led in large part by the utility sector, has driven down costs: over the last three years, the cost of a solar energy system has dropped by more than 50 percent – helping to give more and more American families and businesses access to affordable, clean energy.
Last month, Schatz co-introduced the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives Act, legislation that would boost energy efficiency in government, in industry, and in commercial and residential buildings, which account for more than 40 percent of energy consumption in the United States.
Schatz is also a cosponsor of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. This bipartisan bill uses a variety of low-cost tools to reduce barriers for private sector energy users and drive adoption of off-the-shelf efficiency technologies that will save businesses and consumers money, make America more energy independent and reduce emissions.

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HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL HOLDS A SPECIAL MEETING tomorrow at 9 a.m. to consider the operating budget submitted last week by Mayor Billy Kenoi. The budget is 3.4 percent larger than the budget in effect when Kenoi took office in 2008. “This budget continues our strategic investments in county services and infrastructure to support our working families and businesses, while carefully controlling the cost of government,” Kenoi said.

Mayor Billy Kenoi

Kenoi’s budget cites funding for additional police officers in Ka`u and staffing positions at the Ka`u District Gym & Shelter as examples of support for and investment in the community.
Kenoi says the state Legislature’s recent increase in the cap on the amount of transient accommodations tax will provide an additional $1.86 million to Hawai`i County. He allocates the entire amount into pre-funding future employee health benefits, also known as GASB 45. “That allows the county to increase its contribution to GASB 45 to $6.09 million for Fiscal Year 2014-2015, which is nearly double the contribution budgeted for the current fiscal year,” Kenoi says.
Kenoi concludes, “The recent, modest gains in property values point to a gradual economic recovery, and we remain cautiously optimistic that the economic and budget outlook will continue to improve. We believe our efforts to promote renewable energy, agriculture and higher education are an investment in the future of our island.”
The budget Kenoi submitted to the County Council is available on tomorrow’s meeting agenda. See hawaiicounty.gov.

Ka`u residents can participate in the meeting via videoconferencing at Ocean View Community Center.

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TEANA KAHOOHANOHANO SHARES HER KNOWLEDGE and love of native hula adornments during a ti leaf kupe`e demonstration tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

A STAFF MEMBER FROM U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD’S office meets with constituents and assists with casework and other issues tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. For more information, call 987-5698.

KA`U FARMERS UNION UNITED’S second meeting is set for this Saturday, May 17 at 5 p.m. at Ka`u Coffeehouse & Guesthouse next to the 76 gas station in Na`alehu.
“We set out some strong goals with our last meeting, and we have a lot of momentum to keep going,” said organizer Malian Lahey. The goals include growing more food in Ka`u, long-term leases for ag water from Department of Land & Natural Resources and integrating agricultural and environmental education into the public school system. Also, “People need to eat food from Hawai`i and know where their food comes from,” Lahey said.
For more information, email Lahey at malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

Joel La Pinta, of Kennedy Wilson, said 5,800 Ka`u acres, including the 400 acres where award-winning Ka`u Coffee grows, have potential buyers. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

“WE’VE GOT OUR CONTESTANTS IN PLACE,” said real estate broker Joel La Pinta regarding the Lehman Brothers sale of the 5,800 acres which includes the Moa`ula and Pear Tree lands where most of the Ka`u Coffee farmers are growing their famed coffee. When asked yesterday whether Lehman was still taking offers, La Pinta, who works for Kennedy Wilson, the company that is representing the seller, said that “we always take offers until closing,” but that the potential buyers have been identified.

At risk is the future of the Ka`u Coffee farmers who have built an industry over nearly two decades, since the sugar plantation shut down in 1996. Almost all of the coffee farmers’ leases have run out, and without new leases, buyers could decide to farm the lands themselves or to require the farmers to sell all or a portion of their coffee to them so they could become controlling brokers of the coffee. The land, which was set up for subdivision by the owners foreclosed on, could be subdivided by new owners and sold off as estates where the famous Ka`u Coffee grows. Most farmers, who already own other homes in Pahala and Na`alehu where they live with their families, say they could not afford to purchase such estates. Prices would likely be beyond the farmers, as subdividing would require expensive infrastructure necessary for housing but unnecessary for the Ka`u Coffee farms.

Ka`u land for sale by broker Kennedy Wilson is located above Pahala and Honu`apo
Park, at Waikapuna and in Na`alehu.

A number of the coffee farmers have created their own brand names, selling coffee to restaurants, by mail order and to specialty coffee stores and markets. These entrepreneurs are not only farmers but involved in the value-added economics of owning their own mercantile businesses, elevating their income and keeping the money in the local economy. They say they want to be free to sell coffee to the markets they have developed for themselves.
Mayor Billy Kenoi said recently he would do everything he could to keep the farmers on the land. Proposals have included encouraging any new owners to create an agricultural park on 400 of the acres where the coffee is farmed in order to take subdivision and real estate speculation out of the future of the Ka`u Coffee farmers’ lands. To create such an agricultural park, land where the coffee farms are located could possibly be purchased using Legacy Land funds and possibly funds from the “two percent” of property taxes that are used to preserve valuable lands for the county, in the same way that Honu`apo and Kawa were preserved here and a large parcel of agricultural land was set aside on O`ahu. Other proposals have included strict agricultural easements on the property to prevent it from being subdivided for coffee estates, similar to Napa Valley-style estates that cropped up in the wine-growing country in California.
The work of the Ka`u Coffee farmers has been described as one of the most successful post-sugar plantation economies in Hawai`i, with land security being the major risk to the farmers.
The land where most of the farmers have their coffee was foreclosed on by lender Lehman Brothers when developers failed to pay back a $45 million loan plus interest, which they borrowed against the land. Lehman put the 5,800 acres up for sale, including ranch lands above Na`alehu, coastal lands at Waikapuna and coffee farms and pastures above Pahala.
Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative President Gloria Camba said she hopes whoever buys the land will allow the farmers to stay there.

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Funding from Hawai`i County will help defray the cost of
Beauveria bassania in the battle against the coffee berry
borer. Photo from Global Citizen Year

KA`U FARM BUREAU has received $25,000 in funding from the county of Hawai`i to fight the coffee berry borer, according to Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative President Gloria Camba. The money went from the county to the state Farm Bureau and to Ka`u Farm Bureau. The fund is being used to match money spent by qualified farmers – up to 50 percent of the cost of the spray – to fight the borer. Farmers are required to take a class on application of the spray before being funded. According to Camba, farmers must provide receipts showing they purchased the spray in order to be refunded 50 percent. She said she hopes that all the farmers will use best practices to help eliminate the coffee berry borer from Ka`u farms. Scientists from the state Department of Agriculture said during Ka`u Coffee College on Sunday that some Kona farmers have reduced coffee berry borer infestation to five percent with good practices, which include timely spraying and keeping farms clean, even when they are surrounded by other abandoned farms infested with the borer.

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U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ LEADS U.S. REP. COLLEEN HANABUSA 49 percent to 34 percent in the race for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll conducted May 9-11 on behalf of Democracy for America, a progressive political action committee that endorsed Schatz in February.
The poll cited Shatz’s support of expanding Social Security and increasing the minimum wage as reasons given by those polled.
“Sen. Schatz is proving that fighting for economic populism that builds the middle class is a winning strategy for Democrats,” said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America. “These results are a forceful rebuke to those Democrats who supported cuts to Social Security, sending a clear message that Hawai`i wants a senator willing to go to Washington and fight against income inequality every day.”
The two candidates compete in the Aug. 9 Democratic primary.

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A Hawai`i public education campaign focuses on equity for domestic workers.

THE ABERCROMBIE ADMINISTRATION HAS LAUNCHED a multilingual public education campaign about a new law that establishes equity for Hawai`i’s domestic workers. Signed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie last year, Act 248, Session Laws of Hawai`i 2013, provides for minimum wage, overtime, discrimination, and harassment protections for domestic workers. Prior to Act 248, domestic workers were excluded from these basic protections of state wage, hour, and fair employment laws afforded to others.
“Hawai`i is the second state to pass laws that protect domestic workers from discrimination at work and provide overtime and minimum wage protections that all workers deserve,” Abercrombie said. “The goal of the ‘Domestic Workers Have Rights’ public education campaign is to raise awareness because these new protections are meaningless if workers and their employers do not know about them.”
Dr. Nancie Caraway, First Lady of the state and chair of the Domestic Workers Have Rights Working Group, said, “This education campaign is about peace and justice in the home. It’s about showing the humanity of a long devalued kind of work.”
Workers protected include housekeepers, childcare workers, caretakers, maids and gardeners among others that work in the home of their employers. Mila Kaahanui, executive director of the Office of Community Services, said, “These workers are often hidden from view, and many may have limited English proficiency.”
The Domestic Workers Have Rights campaign has created informational material in 10 different languages and English. The campaign will reach out into the community through OCS’s Immigrant Resource Centers on Kauai, O`ahu and Hawai`i. Educational material will also be available on the DLIR website and disseminated through community organizations.

For more information, see labor.hawaii.gov/domestic-workers-rights.

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VOLCANO SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES presents Middle School Theatre Night tomorrow, with classes offering four one-act productions beginning at 6 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theatre in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

The fifth grade presents a Russian folk story, The Frog Princess, by Cathy Howard. This tale is a lesson in acceptance.
The sixth-grade presentation is a western melodrama, Mine, All Mine or From Ghost Town to Kaboom Town, by Denise K. Burr. As with all melodramas, audience members will want to cheer the hero and boo the villain.
The seventh grade is showcased in The Brothers Grimm: Out of Order. This comedy contains many favorite fairy tale characters, in a funny take on a community group putting on a show.
The eighth grade presents Doc, Doc…Goose! by Patrick Rainville Dorn, a fun romp with many favorite nursery rhyme characters.

CATHY AND TYSON BLACK DEMONSTRATE coconut leaf weaving Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Volcano Art Center Gallery porch in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8222 for more information.

KA`U FARMERS UNION UNITED meets Saturday at 5 p.m. at Ka`u Coffeehouse & Guesthouse next to the 76 gas station in Na`alehu. For more information, email Malian Lahey at malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

Maile David during the last County Council election campaign where she faced a runoff with Brenda Ford. She's shown here at a Volcano parade with local supporters Phoebe Gomes and crew. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I COUNTY ETHICS BOARD AND COUNCIL HAVE MADE DECISIONS regarding Maile David’s candidacy for County Council District Six. At issue is David’s position as deputy clerk for the county. The Office of the County Clerk is responsible for voter and candidate registration and elections. The office also assists the County Council in carrying out its legislative activities, provides legislative drafting services for all county departments, records legislation and preserves legislative records, provides reprographic and mail services for all county departments and assists with public participation in local government.

Hawai`i County Clerk Stewart Maeda

Nancy Cook Lauer reports in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald that the county Ethics Board has finalized an advisory opinion that allows David to keep her job while running for County Council, and the County Council has decided not to cut her work schedule and salary.

David ran for Council in 2012 and 2010 before becoming deputy clerk. In 2012, she received 3,052 votes and lost by 164 votes, or 2.5 percent, to Brenda Ford in a runoff. In the primary, David got 1,531 votes compared to 2,098 for Ford, 559 for Bradley Westervelt and 179 for Lee McIntosh. In the 2010 primary, David got 657 votes, compared to 1,679 for Brittany Smart, 1,525 for incumbent Guy Enriques and 281 for Marie Burns. Smart went on to win in the general election.

According to Cook Lauer, the informal advisory opinion finds no ethics violation as long as certain “shields” are kept in place to protect the integrity of the election. David would not be permitted to work in the Elections Division. Cook Lauer reports that the Ethics Board “also wants David to go to the state Office of Elections to get assurances the integrity of the election won’t be compromised by her continuing to work as deputy clerk.”

County Clerk Stewart Maeda told Cook Lauer he has spoken with state Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago and didn’t see that there would be a problem.
Cook Lauer reports Nago saying, “We’re not going to give them our blessing, if that’s what they’re asking for.”
A proposed amendment that would have cut David’s job and salary by half did not pass at yesterday’s Council meeting on the county budget.
“We need a deputy clerk to be in line to the clerk,” said Kona Council member Dru Kanuha. “To cut the time and cut the pay is absolutely ridiculous.”
Brenda Ford, who cannot run for re-election due to term limits, said, “The clerk is the chief elections officer of this county. … If we lose the clerk … the deputy clerk has to step into this position.”
Also currently signed up to run for County Council District Six are Richard Eugene Abbett, of Ocean View, and former Hawai`i Tribune-Herald publisher Jim Wilson, of Volcano. Fred Fogel, also of Volcano, has pulled papers but not filed. The deadline for candidates to file is Tuesday, June 3.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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State DBEDT Director Richard Lim

THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM projects stable economic growth in 2014 and beyond. “Though the economic indicators were mixed during the first quarter of 2014, we were happy to see that the value of building permits increased 20.6 percent during the first quarter of this year,” DBEDT Director Richard Lim said. “Our labor force and employment figures are reaching record highs while unemployment claims continue to decline.”

Lim added, “It is encouraging that our unemployment rate during the first quarter was the 6th lowest in the nation.”
DBEDT economists noted that economic indicators in the state are “mixed” so far this year. “While the labor market condition continues to improve, visitor arrivals decreased 3.2 percent and visitor spending decreased 3.1 percent during the first quarter.”
“In a broad sense, our economy is transitioning from tourism to construction,” Lim said, “Nevertheless, our analysis indicates that hotel room capacity, high room rates and the depreciation of the Japanese yen and Canadian dollar are some of the factors limiting our tourism growth this year. Most of those factors are fluid.”
Due to the slower than expected growth in personal income and reduced tourism performance, DBEDT has lowered the economic growth rate to 2.4 percent for 2014 from a 2.6 percent projection in February this year. Future growth predictions remain at about 2.2 percent.

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Ka`u's U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

KA`U’S U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD HAS VOTED against increasing the federal deficit to give tax breaks to corporations. Gabbard voted against the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014 (H.R. 4438), a bill which makes the research and development tax credit permanent.
The bill is estimated to add $155 billion to the deficit over 10 years.

“I support innovation and the American entrepreneurial spirit and believe that the research and development tax credit should be extended permanently. However, we cannot take this action on the backs of the American people, adding $155 billion to our deficit for the next generation to pay for,” Gabbard said.
“This bill does not pay for this permanent tax credit, therefore other programs will, by default, need to be cut. We cannot debate devastating cuts that negatively impact seniors, children and families or our service members and veterans, while at the same time giving expensive tax credits to corporations that haven’t been paid for. In order to fund critical programs, we must also support economic growth – we can do this by closing tax loopholes for special interests and U.S. companies that avoid taxes by moving operations overseas,” she said.
The R&D tax credit was one of nearly 60 tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013.

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FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK is seeking committed, talented and conscientious volunteer board members who want to be part of the World Heritage site and lead and strengthen the organization. FHVNP holds monthly forest restoration projects, Sunday Walks in the Park and field seminars through its Hawai`i Volcanoes Institute. Interested parties can contact Pat Naughton at president@fhvnp.org.

Ka`u High's bowling teams will be challenged for a place to compete with Hilo
Lanes shutting down. Photo from Ka`u High School

KA`U HIGH SCHOOL’S BOWLING TEAMS will be affected by the recent closing of Hilo Lanes. The team travels to Hilo for practice and matches against other high school bowlers.

A sign on the door to the bowling alley says it will be closed “indefinitely until further notice.”
Hilo High School bowling Coach Damien Chow told Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, that eight of the island’s 10 high school bowling teams are on the east side, and he’s not sure how many will continue to participate without Hilo Lanes.
“It’s going to be a trying season for us, the high schools,” Chow said. “Some schools might pull out if they can’t afford it.”
Ka`u High’s team also practices and plays at Kilauea Military Camp’s lanes in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Other schools are also considering this as an option, although it has a limited number of lanes.

The nearest large venue is in Kona.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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BOYS & GIRLS CLUB FUNDRAISING DINNER PICK-UP is tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. To help set up, call 756-5282 or 929-8641.

CATHY AND TYSON BLACK DEMONSTRATE coconut leaf weaving tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Volcano Art Center Gallery porch in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8222 for more information.

VOLUNTEERS CAN PARTICIPATE IN Stewardship at the Summit Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and help remove invasive Himalayan ginger from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park trails. Meet at Kilauea Visitor Center to. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Hula Halau Na Pua Ha`aheo`o Ku`ualoha presents a hula kahiko informance Saturday.
Photo from Volcano Art Center

KUMU HULA BOBO PALACAT and Hula Halau Na Pua Ha`aheo`o Ku`ualoha present a hula kahiko informance Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform near Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

KA`U FARMERS UNION UNITED meets Saturday at 5 p.m. at Ka`u Coffeehouse & Guesthouse next to the 76 gas station in Na`alehu. For more information, email Malian Lahey at malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND HOLDS ITS next Ka`u Coast Cleanup on Saturday, May 24. “We currently have room for a handful of volunteers in our vehicles but are always recruiting more volunteers (many hands make light work!) and extra four-wheel-drive vehicles and drivers, said coordinator Megan Lamson.

Volunteers are asked to RSVP to kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com as soon as possible to make sure they have room, especially those who need a ride . Volunteers meet at 7:45 a.m. at Wai`ohinu Park on the morning of the cleanup and caravan/carpool to cleanup site from there.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

Ka`u Learning Academy charter school plans to open in fall of 2015 at Discovery Harbour golf course clubhouse, where it serves dinners on Fridays and Saturdays to raise funds for the nonprofit enterprise. Photo from bigislandgilligans.com

Ka`u Learning Academy founder
Kathryn Tydlacka

FOUNDERS OF KA`U LEARNING ACADEMY “have the potential to provide insights to the (public school) system as a whole,” Charter School Commission Executive Director Tom Hutton told Erin Miller, of West Hawai`i Today.

Hutton highlighted KLA’s planned work with the Marshallese students, “a population the state has really struggled to serve academically.”
KLA Board member Joe Iacuzzo told Miller that Founding Executive Director Kathyrn Tydlacka “was personally able to make great connections with the Marshallese and Native Hawaiian children” when she taught at Na`alehu Elementary School.
KLA plans to create personalized education plans for each student. Tydlacka told Miller, “Those plans will help teachers ‘go in and fill the gaps from the past.’”
The charter school’s website at kaulearningacademy.com explains Tydlacka’s approach to education. Students will
be assessed monthly and quarterly for progress in reaching certain academic benchmarks, and teachers will be given time to analyze data from those benchmarks and the school plan.
Having a school work with students in this way, “is going to make a world of difference” for Ka`u, Iacuzzo told Miller. “It’s going to change their lives.”
According to Miller, the school has a two-year lease for the former Discovery Harbour golf course clubhouse, and founders hope to have a permanent campus built on five acres in Discovery Harbour by the end of the lease. They plan to open for this fall semester.
See westhawaiitoday.com.
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Image from recruiting video on youtube by Perez Sports Associates, LLC

CHARLES CLAY, A CHILD OF VOLCANO who grew up to become a tree hugger and Warrior at University of Hawai`i in Manoa, landed in Green Bay, Wisconsin yesterday with hopes of becoming a Green Bay Packer. Clay spent his first 13 years in Volcano, played high school football at Hilo High and college football at Southern Methodist University in Texas and UH-Manoa. His father Charles Clay, is a builder. His mom, Jenna Clay, an artist and member of Volcano Art Center’s Board of Directors, said last night that her son is totally into nature and also football. The Packers called him, and he flew to Wisconsin, where he was given a number and a helmet yesterday to compete for the position of safety during Green Bay’s rookie mini-camp. This weekend, he graduates from UH with a degree in environmental science.

Clay is 5’11” tall and weighs 205 pounds.

See his recruiting video at youtube.com/watch?v=iDo5F3TAYVo.

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Mark Inman

A SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA former president, Mark Inman, gave a talk at Ka`u Coffee College last Sunday. Inman, a trader at Olam Specialty Coffee in Healdsburg, California, emphasized the importance of agricultural innovation and investment in quality. If Hawai`i has the desire to move beyond “Coffee for Tourists” or coffee that is just earmarked for the traditional Japanese market, farmers and marketers need to invest in growing and processing that leads to higher cup quality, said Inman. In addition, Hawai`i needs to invest in marketing and branding of its various growing regions. Ka`u, for example, has as much going for it as Kona, yet few are aware of this, Inman stated.

He later described Ka`u as a coffee region on the brink of real discovery – outstanding climate, incredible soil conditions and real care in growing by the farmers he met. Ka`u is the region in Hawai`i where serious coffee drinkers will buy specialty coffee, said Inman.
Inman said he believes that business can be environmentally and socially progressive while remaining profitable. For over twenty years, Inman has been a leader in the specialty coffee industry for sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, green entrepreneurship and social justice.

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Graph from Hawai`i Department of Labor & Industrial Relations

HAWAI`I’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR APRIL is the lowest since August 2008, according to the state Department of Labor & Industrial Relations. The 4.4 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down from 4.5 percent in March.

The national unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in April, down from 6.7 percent in March.
The DLIR report is available at labor.hawaii.gov.

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GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE HAS FILED NOMINATION papers and entered the gubernatorial race. “Since beginning my term in the depths of the recession and amid a severe budget crisis, my administration and I have worked tirelessly to build a stronger economy and brighter future for Hawai`i,” Abercrombie said. “We turned state finances around, improved our economy, created jobs and reduced the state’s unemployment rate to among the lowest in the country. We are now laying the foundation for a more hopeful future by investing in our infrastructure, providing increased access to preschool, improving education and preserving our environment. We have much more to do.
“I’m energized to meet these challenges. I believe that leadership means working to solve problems and doing what’s right for the people of Hawai`i by honoring the right values and having the right priorities.”

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Sen. Mazie Hirono with members of Hawai`i Air National Guard.
Photo from Office of Sen. Hirono

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO HAS INTRODUCED the National Guard Leadership Act, legislation to provide the Chief of the National Guard Bureau with greater input into the selection of senior leadership for the Army National Guard and Air National Guard.

“The citizen soldiers of the National Guard do an outstanding job protecting our families both abroad and at home. From counterterrorism missions to providing relief following natural disasters like Hurricane Iniki, it has been a privilege to see firsthand what the Hawai`i National Guard and Air National Guard accomplish for our communities,” said Hirono. “Given the importance of the National Guard, especially as our nation rebalances to the Asia-Pacific region, I have introduced the National Guard Leadership Act to help the Chief of the National Guard Bureau have a stronger role in the selection of his or her leadership team. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of the National Guard deserves consistent input into who occupies critical leadership positions within the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.”
Currently, the NGB’s internal recommendation process is fluid and not governed by law or regulation. As a result, input of the chief of the NGB may or may not be sought. This legislation ensures that the Chief of the NGB plays a larger role in determining who leads the men and women of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard.

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HAWAI`I ISLAND POLICE ARE INFORMING THE PUBLIC that the national Click It or Ticket campaign begins Monday and runs through June 1. During this period, police will increase islandwide enforcement of seat belt and child restraint laws.

Under a law that went into effect on last May, the driver now is responsible for all other occupants of the vehicle. If the driver is stopped and any passenger is not using a seat belt, car seat or booster seat — whether in the front seat or back seat — the driver will be the one cited.
National statistics have shown that the use of seat belts is the single most effective step drivers and passengers can take to protect themselves in a traffic crash.

KUMU HULA BOBO PALACAT and Hula Halau Na Pua Ha`aheo`o Ku`ualoha present a hula kahiko informance tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the hula platform near Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

KA`U FARMERS UNION UNITED meets tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Ka`u Coffeehouse & Guesthouse next to the 76 gas station in Na`alehu. For more information, email Malian Lahey at malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.

KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK presents People and Lands of Kahuku Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This guided, 2.5-mile, moderately difficult hike over rugged terrain focus on the area’s human history. 985-6011

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

Ka`u residents are invited to participate in Hawai`i Volcanoes Institute's native plant identification field seminar.
Photo by Tim Tunison

“SOLAR COMBINED WITH ENERGY STORAGE IS FIRM POWER,” according to Ka`u’s state Sen. Russell Ruderman, who spoke at a public hearing held by U.S. Department of Energy in Hilo this week. The topic was DOE’s Hawai`i Clean Energy Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. Ruderman said, “Solar combined with energy storage is the most robust, the most reliable and the cheapest solution that we have available to us. It addresses all the concerns.”

Sen. Russell Ruderman Image from youtube video by
Occupy Hilo of U.S. Department of Energy meeting

Ruderman, who is vice chair of the state Senate Committee on Energy & Environment, said that when he asked a Hawaiian Electric Industries official why the company doesn’t go more into solar, the official said, “We can’t handle the reliability." When Ruderman asked, “Why don’t you do energy storage?” the official replied, “That’s too expensive.”
“Compared to what?” asked Ruderman. “Compared to ... reliability of our electric grid, compared to buying oil forever, compared to the cost of the cable?”
Ruderman called plans to create electricity on Hawai`i Island using geothermal sources in Puna and transmitting it to O`ahu via undersea cable “absurd.” He said geothermal is still the utilities’ “Holy Grail for Hawai`i’s energy future” 20 years after solar energy costs have gone down 20 to 30 times. “The cost is dropping year by year dramatically, and it will continue to drop,” he said. “Renewable energy infrastructure … would be cheaper than cable,” he said.
“We don’t like geothermal because we’ve had experience with it,” Ruderman, a resident of Puna, said. “The reality of geothermal in Hawai`i is so different than the reality of geothermal worldwide. It’s more toxic than elsewhere because our volcanic geology is more unstable than elsewhere.”
“We love solar power. … You won’t find anybody objecting to solar power or an aggressive expansion of solar power in the state. … Each island needs to be independent energywise. … There’s no need to harm communities to take care of the population (on O`ahu). Each island must take care of its own issues,” Ruderman said.

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Janna Wehilani Ahu

LAW STUDENT JANNA WEHILANI AHU, who grew up in Miloli`i, has been named the 2014 Patsy T. Mink Legislative Fellow at William S. Richardson School of Law. Ahu receives a $5,000 stipend from the Law School to pay for a summer internship in Washington, D.C., working in the office of Sen. Mazie Hirono for 10 weeks.

Ahu is completing her first year at Richardson Law School and was inspired to study law to help her village of 400 people. “It’s the last traditional Hawaiian fishing village, and 100 percent of the people subsist by fishing, and a little hunting,” said Ahu. “There are no stores in the area.”
This is the 12th anniversary of the fellowship launched by UH law students in 2002 – the year of U.S. Rep. Mink’s death – to honor her legacy and to provide an educational experience for a law student. One of Mink’s crowning achievements in her 24 years in the Congress was passage of Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972 that provided women equal access to opportunities in education.
Mink Fellowship awardees are encouraged to research areas in which they are particularly interested. “I want to focus on fisheries management, and I came to law school to learn how to keep our fisheries healthy,” said Ahu. “We actually have our three different opelu koa schools of fish that we feed throughout the year. Fishermen have gone out and ‘fed’ these fish for generations to keep them there so we can continue to fish. One of the spots where we feed the fish is directly in front of my family’s property.”
Ahu, who learned to speak Hawaiian from her grandmother and then studied the language at Kamehameha Schools and also at UH, hopes to spend some of her time in Washington researching fisheries management as well as education issues in small, remote rural areas.

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Dr. Ishakh Thodi

A UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I RESEARCHER is looking for Ka`u coffee farms and growers to work with on coffee berry borer research. Dr. Ishakh Thodi is looking for farms of size around two to five acres that are accessible by vehicle. He is planning a biweekly systematic sampling from coffee trees and if possible fallen berries. “Technically, we would like farms that are well managed, but I plan to look into unmanaged plots at some point,” Thodi said.

Those interested can contact Thodi at ishakhpt@hawaii.edu or 969-8255.

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PROPER PESTICIDE USE AND SAFETY is the topic Monday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. UH-CTAHR’s Risk Management Hawai`i program is conducting the informational workshop. Assistant Extension agent Andrea Kawabata will talk about the Federal Worker Protection Standard for agricultural workers and pesticide handlers on such topics as pesticide use and application, handling, storage and disposal which are major production, labor, marketing, legal and financial risks that growers face.
Many insecticide, nematicide, herbicide, fungicide, rodenticide and miticide products, including those that are certified organic or contain horticultural oils or soaps, are considered pesticides and are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Kawabata said. Agricultural growers and homeowners must follow all label directions which include, but are not limited to, personal protective equipment, re-entry interval periods, rates, crops allowed to be treated, storage and disposal, or risk inspection, citation and possible crop destruction. Federal regulations also require proper signage and record keeping of pesticide use.
Workers and applicators are personally at risk when handling and spraying pesticides. Neighbors, property owners and managers, children, pets, consumers and the environment can also be put at risk if there is improper use, handling, storage and disposal of pesticides, Kawabata said.

At the workshop, workers, pesticide applicators, agricultural growers, owners, employers and managers will learn how to be compliant and how to implement the WPS requirements, thereby minimizing their risk of pesticide inspections and citations.

Michael Holl

MICHAEL HOLL, PRESIDENT OF TAX SERVICES OF HAWAI`I and Michael Holl and Associates, gives an updated lesson for farmers and ranchers about business taxes Thursday, May 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. This UH-CTAHR Risk Management Hawai`i workshop will help participants manage labor, financial and legal risks. Holl is experienced in resolving issues between taxpayers and the IRS including appealing unfair or prohibitive penalties; halting and lifting garnishments, liens and levies; preparing and filing late returns; and negotiating installment plans and offers in compromise.

Holl has presented numerous tax workshops on behalf of the IRS, for the SBA Women’s Business Center, the National Association of Tax Preparers, the University of Hawai`i, Kapiolani Community College and various nonprofits and foundations.
Farming and Taxes is a workshop specifically designed to enable Ka`u and other Hawai`i farmers to lower their tax liabilities by a better understanding of business deductions; tax preparation and record keeping to minimize taxes and chances of an audit; business entities for your farm; how employment laws and independent contractor requirements affect a business; how to obtain relief from 75 – 90 percent of federal penalties for violating independent contractor/employment laws; and special provisions in the tax code regarding farm income averaging to significantly lower taxes resulting from “bumper” crops.
For more information, contact Stuart Nakamoto at snakamo@hawaii.edu or 808-956-8125.

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Tim Tunison leads a native plant identification field seminar this month.
Photo by Lanaya Deily

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES INSTITUTE PRESENTS Know Your Natives: A Native Plant Identification Field Seminar Saturday, May 31 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The public is invited to join botanist Tim Tunison for this educational adventure and become acquainted with the rich native flora of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and develop skills to identify native plants.
The workshop will focus on the native trees, shrubs and vines of the park’s rain forest Kipukapuaulu, or Bird Park. Guided practice using illustrated identification keys specific to these habitats will develop identification skills. Learning how to use the identification keys will empower participants to return to these diverse, forests and identify additional species on their own. The identification keys also include information about the ecology and ethnobotany, or original Hawaiian uses of these plants. A 40-page full-color Native Plant Identification key is included for each participant.
This event is sponsored by the Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Program cost is $45 for Friends members and $65 for non-members. Students (K-12 and college with valid student ID) are half-price. Non-members are welcome to join the Friends in order to get the member discount. Proceeds support the Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park educational programs.
To register, contact Friends at fhvnp.org, institute@fhvnp.org or 985-7373. Park entrance fees apply.

KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK presents People and Lands of Kahuku tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This guided, 2.5-mile, moderately difficult hike over rugged terrain focus on the area’s human history. 985-6011

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

After Dark in the Park presents Sam Low's film The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific Tuesday evening. Photo from NPS

FARMERS NEED TO JOIN TOGETHER to promote locally grown food, protect agricultural land from development, restore water sources to ensure equitable distribution for irrigation and ranch use, and educate future farmers. These were some of the ideas bought forth at the second organizing meeting of Ka`u Farmers Union United yesterday. It was held in Na`alehu at Ka`u Coffee House & Hawai`i Island Inn.

Marla Hunter, member of the new Ka`u Farmers Union United, owns Eke Nui
mango farm with her husband Peter on the Pahala side of Na`alehu.

Founding members talked about their diversified involvement in agriculture. Ka`u Coffee House proprietor Shane Johnson said his establishment wants to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables to prepare food for sale and to also sell fresh produce. “We would like to see a more local-based economy.” He told farmers, a number of them over 55 years of age, “The new generation needs all of you.”
Pahala resident and backyard gardener Lynn Hamilton said, “It is of massive importance for small farmers to have a voice.” She noted the community challenge over the last few years when outside investors proposed a refinery and biofuel plantation that could have displaced ranchers and limited expansion of coffee and diversified farming.
Ann Fontes, who owns a coffee and diversified small farm on the edge of Pahala, said she is concerned that “nice” ag land could be subdivided for fancy homes.

Mike Klungness, who worked for University of Hawai`i and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, talked about farming organizations elsewhere helping to sustain agriculture for generations. He pointed to almond growers and beekeepers as examples of farmers with strong cooperatives. He also talked about the need for agricultural education at Ka`u High, which used to have a thriving Future Farmers of America organization with students selling macadamia nuts to wholesalers and vegetables on the side of the road. The students also grew ornamentals, native plants, pigs and other farm animals on campus.

Manuel Marques is one of the Ka`u Coffee farmers who joined Hawai`i
Farmers Union United. Photo by Julia Neal

Wally Young, a coffee farmer, said he was born and raised in Ka`u. His parents were coffee farmers in Ka`u. His family grew tomatoes and cucumbers.
Kawehi Ryder, who recently moved from Lana`i to Pahala, said he plans to grow dryland taro in Wood Valley and is interested in farm education for youth.
S Reha, from a Wood Valley farm that has grown organic vegetables and fruit and nut trees, as well as koa, said she is retiring but hopes to sell her farm to someone who will invigorate ag on the land.
Manuel Marques said that coffee prices are good and he plans to stay in the industry. He said he has also tried taro, but not having a poi mill made it hard to sell, even with a shortage of poi statewide.

Marla Hunter, who owns a farm with 27 mango varieties just east of Na`alehu, talked about need for value added products. She said she has sometimes faced difficulty selling mangoes from her 70 trees at the local farmers market, which she helped to organize years ago. The group discussed the need for a commercial kitchen in Ka`u, open for farmers to make products from their produce.

Another founder of farmers markets in Na`alehu, Marilyn Creagan, suggested that farmers label their foods better, saying that “people want to know where food is coming from.” She said the goal at her family farm is “to feed ourselves” and to sell or trade the excess with other Ka`u farmers.

John Ah San, a coffee farmer, said he has been in ag for 50 years. He said he wants “commercial” and organic farmers to work together so that the Ka`u ag community won’t become polarized.

The Kawehi Ryder family bought a house in Pahala recently and plans to
plant dryland taro and work with local youth in farming.
Photo by Julia Neal

Richard Creagan, who represents Ka`u and South Kona in the state House of Representatives, said that different farm groups can work together. He noted that in Kona a number of farmers belong to both Farmers Union United and Hawai`i Farm Bureau. Both support funding to support the fight against the coffee berry borer that has damaged Kona and Ka`u farms.
Malian Lahey, who owns a farm in Wood Valley, has led the organization of Ka`u Farmers Union United. She said the statewide leadership of the organization supports GMO labeling and regenerative agriculture that improves soils. She said not all Farmers Union United members, however, are organic farmers. The organization is neutral on this issue, she said. It was also noted that all of the Ka`u Farmers Union United meetings are open to the public.
Richard Creagan talked about another major threat to ag in Ka`u – the insect that is killing macadamia trees and threatening the viability of one of Ka`u’s major employers, the mac nut industry. He said funding is coming from the Legislature. If farmers don’t treat mac nut trees, their orchards will be the source of the insect spreading across the district, he said.
He also talked about water in Ka`u, saying that restoration of old sugar plantation sources could provide six million gallons of water a day. Additionally, wells and water recycling programs could provide up to 300 million gallons a day. He said some of this water could be used to make pumped hydroelectricity.
Both Richard Creagan and Lahey talked about the possibility of Ka`u developing its own electricity and water systems.
Another new Farmers Union United member said she plans to integrate food production and a forest on 17 acres off South Point Road. She said her plan includes “building a food forest” with some farmer housing and value added food product production. She mentioned the “seven layers of food production” in a permaculture program.
The group ended the meeting with some stated objectives: integrated ag and environmental education in Ka`u for grades K- 12; promoting the idea that people need to eat food grown in Ka`u; and encouraging the state Department of Land & Natural Resources to move foward on granting leases for ag water from the old plantation system.

Khloe Kamalani Moses won first place in her
Kendama tournament.

KHLOE KAMALANI MOSES, OF PAHALA, took first place in the five and under division at the Kendama tournament this weekend at Waiakea High School. Her older brother Kameron took fourth in his age division.

Kendama has taken the youth community by storm. Kendama is a traditional Japanese game with three wooden cups of different sizes on the center of a wooden spike and another cup on the base of the spike. A ball is attached by a string, and the aim is to catch the ball in a cup. The game may have originated in France and arrived via the silk road into Asia and on to Japan around 1777. Such games may have originated independently in the Arctic and other locations as hand-eye training for children in communities dependent on hunting. In Japan, there are national tournaments.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY is seeking to fill two primary and four alternate seats on its advisory council. The council ensures public input into sanctuary matters and provides advice to sanctuary management.
“The members of our advisory council represent an extremely important element of our community,” said Malia Chow, sanctuary superintendent. “Their input, experience and expertise assist sanctuary managers in making informed and timely decisions on how best to protect and conserve our important cultural and natural resources.”
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council provides advice and recommendations on managing and protecting the sanctuary. The council is composed of government and non-governmental seats for a total of 53 representatives who serve on a volunteer basis, represent a variety of local user groups, the general public, and state and federal governmental jurisdictions.
Applications are due June 30. To receive an application kit or for further information, contact council coordinator Daniela Kittinger at Daniela.Kittinger@noaa.gov, 808-725-5905 or hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.

Participants learn about proper pesticide use and safety at a workshop tomorrow.
Photo from UH-CTAHR

PROPER PESTICIDE USE AND SAFETY is the topic tomorrow from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. Participants learn how to be compliant and how to implement federal worker protection standard requirements, thereby minimizing their risk of pesticide inspections and citations.

KILAUEA DRAMA & ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK holds auditions for its summer musical tomorrow and Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Parts in the July production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s musical Ruddigore include lead roles for five men and four women, mortals, ghosts, officers, ancestors, villagers and professional bridesmaids.

For more information, call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK GOES TO THE MOVIES Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park when Sam Low presents his film, The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific. The film features Satawalese navigator Mau Piailug, the sailing vessel Hokule`a and her crew. Low answers questions and signs his book, Hawaiki Rising – Hokule`a, Nainoa Thompson and the Hawaiian Renaissance, which, along with the DVD, will be on sale at the bookstore. Free; park entrance fees apply. $2 donations support After Dark programs.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, May 1, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, May 2, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, May 3, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, May 4, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, May 5, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, May 8, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, May 9, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, May 10, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, May 11, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, May 12, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, May 15, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, May 16, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, May 17, 2014

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, May 18, 2014