The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island

Tropical Storm Nora continues to weaken and track well south of Hawai`i Island. Map from NOAA

OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS APPLAUDED the Circuit Court decision invalidating the Department of Land and Natural Resource’s Mauna Kea emergency rule.

Photo of Mauna Kea emergency rules sign from OHA

Judge Ibarra last week ruled that the department did not comply with the requirements for rulemaking because it failed to provide its reasoning supporting a finding that the rule was necessary to prevent “imminent peril to the public health, safety, or morals, or to natural resources.”
“OHA questions whether such ‘imminent peril’ can be demonstrated. For this reason, and our concern that the rule violated constitutionally protected rights of Native Hawaiians to reasonably engage in traditional and customary practices, OHA urges the DLNR to refrain from seeking reinstatement of the rule,” OHA Ka Pouhana and CEO Kamana`opono Crabbe said. “We appreciate the significant efforts of plaintiff Kalani Flores and his attorneys from the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation for their work in calling to the attention of the courts the shortcomings of the Mauna Kea emergency rule.”
OHA said it is the key funder of NHLC, a nonprofit law firm that seeks “to perpetuate, through legal and other advocacy, the rights, customs and practices that strengthen Native Hawaiian identity and culture.”

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Gary Oamilda, of Ocean View, was one of 20
arrested on Mauna Kea in April.

CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED for 20 people who were arrested for violating Department of Land & Natural Resources’ emergency rule limiting access to Mauna Kea. According to Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, Hawai`i County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth based his decision on Third Circuit Judge Robert Ibarra’s invalidation of the rule.

Officers arrested Thirty Meter Telescope opponents at the site twice after Gov. David Ige signed the rule closing the area between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., except for vehicles moving on the road.
Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. attorney David Kauila Kopper said dropping the charges is the “right thing to do,” Callis reported. “However, it does not make up for the months on Mauna Kea that Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and the public lost to the state’s invalid rule.”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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THE NET ENERGY METERING PROGRAM for Hawaiian Electric Companies’ customers “is fully subscribed … and is closed to new participants,” Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission announced in a decision yesterday. Applications submitted after the date of the order are not eligible for the program, which significantly drops electric bills for customers who have rooftop solar and sell excess energy back the utilities.
According to the commission, it approved revised interconnection standards “to streamline and improve the HECO Companies’ interconnection process.”
“This Order initiates the first step in an evolution of distributed energy resource policies in the state,” the decision says.

Hawai`i PUC Chair Randy Iwase

Nothing about the NEM program will change for existing NEM customers or customers who have already applied and are waiting for approval. HECO will continue to process new interconnection applications as they normally would, and new customers will be able to apply for fast-track approval to interconnect their distribute energy resource systems under the self-supply option or standard review for the grid-supply option.

“This evolution in DER policies is essential given the extraordinary levels of distributed renewable energy already achieved in Hawai`i and the state’s commitment to meet a 100 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2045,” the PUC stated.

Sierra Club of Hawai`i Director Marti Townsend said, “It is not clear why the PUC just threw net metering off the cliff, when it has been so effective at moving people off fossil fuels. All of us need to be off fossil fuels by 2045. To get there, we need to be expanding policies that encourage renewable energy use, not ending them.
“Without net metering and such a low cap on the amount of energy solar producers can export to the grid, the transition to renewable energy will certainly slow down. It will be even harder for Hawai`i’s poorer residents to make the transition to renewable energy.   

“This is an unfortunate setback in the battle against climate change. The PUC has an opportunity to salvage this messy shift in local energy policy by establishing well-reasoned ‘time-of-use rates’” that could encourage customers to consume less electricity and actually increase electricity generation to the grid during peak hours of use.

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NORA, 400 MILES SOUTHEAST of South Point at 11 a.m., is barely holding on as a tropical cyclone. According to Central Pacific Hurricane Center, Nora will become a shallow post-tropical low and be steered completely by low-level trade winds as it passes well south of the Big Island over the next few days.
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A new book by local historians features the story
of Ka`u in photos.

DISCOVER THE HISTORY OF KA`U in a new book. Images of America: Ka`u District is available for purchase beginning Monday, Nov. 2. The book by historians Dennis and Marge Elwell, of Discovery Harbour, tells a story in pictures, many which have never been published.

Chapters include The Discovery of Hawai`i an Fishhooks Revelations; Sugar, Plantations and Population Change; Wai`ohinu and Mark Twain’s Monkeypod Tree; Na`alehu, a Plantation Town; Pahala and the End of the Sugar Industry; Ranching and the Paniolo in Ka`u; Ocean View and Kula Kai Caverns; Coastal Ka`u, a Hidden Treasure; and Life on the Slopes of Mauna Loa.
“Sometimes, we forget how incredibly fortunate we are to live here,” said Ka`u resident and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando in the foreword. “The remarkable convergence of culture, geology, biology, history and numerous other factors enhancing our quality of life contributes to all that is unique about Ka`u and its rich heritage.”
The book can be purchases at bookstores, independent and online retailers or through the publisher at 888-313-2665 or arcadiapublishing.com.

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KA`U INSPIRED, A SHOW/FAIR of artists who live and work in Ka`u, takes place Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Dee Dee Bodine and Suzanne Dix host the event in conjunction with Ocean View Community Association. All proceeds from the show benefit OVCA.
A sampling of the artists participating is: Anita Broennimann (Fine Art Prints), Dale Addlesberger (Pastels & Mixed Media), Susan O’Malley (Handmade Books), Hosoi (Mixed Media), Olivia Ling (Ceramics & Fine Jewelry), Dee Dee Bodine (Hawaiian Landscapes & Photos), Sandy Mayville (Abstract Paintings), Don Elwing (Trash Art Sculpture), Suzanne Dix (Hawaiian Landscape Paintings), Ronald Kaliko (Hawaiian Shell Jewelry) and more.
Don Elwing will have his Trash Art car in the upper parking lot. He will be inviting people to contribute to environmental awareness by working on the art car at the show.
Mars Cavers will have Wayne Stier’s wood sculptures & books available.

There will be a Silent Auction of artworks donated by participating artists.

For more information, email suzanne@dixstudios.com.
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The Hawaiian Room in New York City is the subject of a film screening tomorrow.
Hula Preservation Society photo from Volcano Art Center

VOLCANO ART CENTER in Volcano Village screens The Hawaiian Room by Ann Marie Kirk tomorrow at 7 p.m. The film documents the Hotel Lexington when young Hawaiian girls wooed New York City with their songs and entertainment.

Between 1937 and 1966, hundreds of Hawaiian dancers, singers and musicians from the Hawaiian isles became part of the legacy of the pioneering Hawaiian Room.
Over the course of three decades, the Hawaiian Room became an incomparable venue through which aloha and Hawaiian culture were shared.
After the film, several original Hawaiian Room talents appear in person. Sammi Fo, who lived in Ocean View and teaches hula there, is a former Lexi Girl.
VAC appreciates $5 donations.
For more information, see volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.

HAPA HAOLE HULA WORKSHOP takes place Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Participants learn how to hula with TeMoana Makolo, one of the Lexi Girls who performed at the Hawaiian Room in New York City’s Hotel Lexington. $15 members; $18 non-members. 967-8222

People of Japanese ancestry were detained at Kilauea Military
Camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo from NPS

THE UNTOLD STORY: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawai`i is the title of one of several films to be screened during Ka`u Plantation Days on Saturday. Within hours of the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941, people of Japanese ancestry in Hawai`i were rounded up, arrested and kept in holding cells and local jails before being transferred to camps across the islands. Mainly male leaders of the immigrant community, a handful of women and some Nisei, including about 100 local Germans and Italians, were interned. This abrupt aftermath diminished the quality of life for many local Japanese, stripping dignity and separating families. Children often had minimal contact with their fathers, and many people didn’t even know if their loved ones were alive long after they were taken away.
Kilauea Military Camp was one of several sites where detention occurred.

Ka`u Plantation Days takes place at Pahala Plantation House Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Pa`u riders return to Pahala Saturday to participate in the Ka`u Plantation Days parade. See more below. Photo by Julia Neal

HAWAI`I ISLAND HAWKSBILL Turtle Recovery Project will be conducting a nest excavation at Punalu`u, next to the lifeguard stand, today at 4:30 p.m. Nine volunteers are joining project manager Lauren Kurpita and the project’s field technician. Students from local schools have also been invited to attend.

Hawsbill hatchlings head for the ocean at Punalu`u this afternoon.

Photo by Dave Berry

The Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project is a partnership of National Park Service, Hawai`i Natural History Association, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Wildlife Service.

According to the Turtle Recovery Project, some 80 honu `ea lay multiple nests each season, which can run from spring to early winter. After emerging from eggs, hawksbills spend their lives at sea dining on sponges, unlike the green sea turtles that bask on the shore at Punalu`u. Threats to the hawksbill include lights that disorient their journey to and from the ocean, fishing nets and other floating debris which can entangle and drown them, plastic bags and other choking litter, driving on the beach where vehicles can destroy nests, and development close to nesting sites. Mongooses, rats, cats, dogs and pigs can dig into turtle nests to eat hawksbill eggs and hatchlings.

For more information about the Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project, call 985-6090 or email HAVO_Turtle_Project@nps.gov. Report people harming sea turtles to 974-6208 and dead, sick or injured sea turtles to 327-7780.

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NOAA RAIN GAUGES at Pahala, Kapapala Ranch and Volcano, inside Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, will soon be upgraded, according to Stephen Butler, who maintains them. Butler, who retired from NOAA, came back to work again. He said that the three gauges in Ka`u that communicate by telephone will be swapped out with instruments that send data over satellite. The Pahala, Kapapala and HVNP gauges only collect rain data, reporting in every six hours. Whenever rain exceeds a quarter-inch in 15 minutes, however, an alert goes out to warn of flooding. Another NOAA weather station at South Point already communicates through satellite and collects temperature, rain, wind and other data.

Sen. Brian Schatz

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SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ’S gun control stance was sent this morning to Volcano gun control advocate Ross Rammelmeyer. In a letter to Rammelmeyer, Schatz stated, “I have supported recent gun control efforts because I believe that we can protect the Second Amendment rights of Americans while preventing the kind of senseless gun violence that has torn apart communities across the United States. I believe it is important to bring national gun control standards in line with the high standards in place in Hawai`i, where we have the lowest number of gun deaths per capita in the nation.

“My heart goes out to the victims of gun violence and their families who have worked tirelessly to get their elected leaders to support common sense reform. I want to assure you that there is nothing more important to me than the security of our communities.”
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Dr. Carey Gear with his wife, Kim.
Photo from Ka`u Hospital

DR. CAREY GEAR WILL BE JOINING the medical staff of Ka`u Hospital Rural Health Clinic. Gear is a board-certified family physician. He has practiced both Family Medicine and Emergency medicine in small towns and big cities and has done volunteer medical work in China, Zambia, Nicaragua and Cambodia.

Over the years, Gear has enjoyed many family trips to the Hawaiian Islands, drawn to the ocean and warmth of the people and culture.
He and Kim, his wife of 35 years, will be moving to Ka`u along will their entire family, so their intention is to make Ka`u their new home. They are going to be joined by their two married daughters, two sons-in-law and six grandchildren.
“The Gears were really looking for a community, not just a job, and I think they have found it in Ka`u,” Ka`u Hospital Administrator Merilyn Harris said. “It was important to us to find someone who would want to stay here and call Ka`u home, so we’re very happy that Dr. Gear is looking forward to both serving and joining the Ka`u community. He says he is anxious to get to know his new patients and that he will give his best efforts toward helping them stay healthy.”
In his new permanent position, Gear will be working in the clinic, caring for patients in the hospital and providing occasional coverage in the emergency department.

USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT has funding available for grants and guaranteed loans to Ka`u small businesses and for-profit agricultural producers for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Grants will cover up to 25 percent of the total project cost of renewable energy or energy efficiency improvements.

Examples of energy efficiency improvements include high efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; insulation; lighting; cooling or refrigeration units; doors and windows; electric, solar or gravity pumps for sprinkler pivots; switching from a diesel to electric irrigation motor; and replacement of energy-inefficient equipment.
Applicants must meet U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Size Standards. See https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/Size_Standards_Table.pdf.
Deadlines are Nov. 2, 2015 for grant requests under $20,000 and May 2, 2016 for grant requests over $20,000.
Information, forms and resources are available at http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-program-renewable-energy-systems-energy-efficiency/hi.

A Volcano Village author's new book
will be available next month.

Contact John Antonio, Rural Development Business Programs Specialist at 933-8318 john.antonio@hi.usda.gov for more information.

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A VOLCANO VILLAGE AUTHOR’S book about living in the rainforest will be available in November. Rainforest Pu`uhonua is Kahikahealani Wight’s memoir of her awakening in the 1980s when she bought a cottage near the erupting summit of Kilauea and lived there for five years. She found pu`uhonua – sanctuary, refuge – in the endangered Hawaiian rainforest ecosystem, and she shares the feeling of being in a landscape alive with ancestral voices singing through mist and fire, native birds and insects, plants and ferns.

“Discovering the fullness of herself in these sacred uplands,” a press release states, “Wight inspires us to find our own healing places, to connect more fully with the intuitive knowing that springs out of ancient awareness embedded in our land, and continues to be chanted on the wind.”
Wight grew up in a time when society did not value Hawaiian language, culture or landscape. Her Hawaiian father always emphasized learning Western ways and would not directly teach his daughter about their genealogical roots, although he couldn’t help but transmit to her his indigenous sensibilities and wisdom. Her New England mother, like most parents at that time, discouraged her daughter’s interest in her Hawaiian heritage.
Wight grew up conflicted. She loved Hawaiian stories and songs and wanted to learn Hawaiian language and connection to the natural world, but she was discouraged from doing so.
Wight’s rhythmic prose along with 62 paintings and photos by local artists convey the depth and magic of the Hawaiian rainforest and bring the ancestral songs to life.
The author will be reading from her book and signing copies on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village.
See rainforestpuuhonua.com.
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The Hawaiian Room screens this evening. Hula Preservation
Society photo from VAC

THE HAWAIIAN ROOM IS THE SUBJECT of a film to be shown today at 7 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Ann Marie Kirk’s film documents the hundreds of Hawaiian dancers, singers and musicians from the Hawaiian isles who became part of the legacy of the New York City venue from 1937 to 1966.

After the film, several original Hawaiian Room talents appear in person. Sammi Fo, who lives in Ocean View and teaches hula there, is a former Lexi Girl.
VAC appreciates $5 donations.
For more information, see volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.

NOE NOE KEKAUALUA shares Hula Arts tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during Aloha Friday at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

HAPA HAOLE HULA WORKSHOP takes place tomorrow from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Participants learn how to hula with TeMoana Makolo, one of the Lexi Girls who performed at the Hawaiian Room in New York City’s Hotel Lexington. $15 members; $18 non-members. Register at 967-8222.

Orchid cultivation is the topic of a workshop Saturday. Image from VAC

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN LEARN Orchid Cultivation Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Participants take home knowledge and a plant. Fees are $20 for VAC members and $25 non-members. Register at 967-8222.

SATURDAY IS KA`U PLANTATION DAYS. The fifth annual event takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The 2015 theme is For the Good Times. A parade begins at 9 a.m. at Pahala Community Center and travels down Maile Street.
At one of many booths, local residents will display books containing photographs of camp housing and documenting stories related to them. Everyone who experienced the camps is encouraged to stop by and share their stories.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

Honu `ea hatchlings head to the ocean yesterday as Ka`u residents and visitors watch them leave the nest at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach. See story below. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY will partner with a family and community to build at least one home in Ocean View, probably breaking ground next June, according to West Hawai`i Executive Director Patrick Hurney. The house lot is secure and family, who will contribute their own sweat equity in order to own the home, has been chosen, he said.

Proceeds from Habitat for Humanity's ReStore support the organization's
efforts to eliminate poverty housing.

Donations of money and supplies are being taken. Habitat, founded by Pres. Jimmy Carter, is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating, and preserving homes. It advocates for fair and just housing policies and provides training and access to resources in order to improve lives of families and help them get back on their feet. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety.
Habitat operates a ReStore in Kona at 73-4161 Ulu Wini Place. Residents can support Habitat by donating gently used home improvement products or purchasing items previously donated.
For more information and photos and to donate, see habitatwesthawaii.org.

HAWAI`I BIGEYE TUNA FISHERY has reopened. National Marine Fisheries Service had closed the fishery two months ago because fishermen had caught the annual quota. According to an Associated Press story in Honolulu Star-Advertiser, NMFS instituted a rule that allows fishermen to report some of their catch as from the Northern Mariana Islands.

“Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives kept our boats tied at the docks,” said Kitty Simonds, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council executive director. “The struggling vessels and small businesses they support accumulated millions of dollars in debt each month, causing untold anxiety for our local fishing community and consumers.”
David Henkin, an attorney for Earthjustice, said, “What the fisheries service has been doing in response to industry pressure is absolutely the wrong thing for consumers who want to have sustainable food and food to put on the table for their children and their children’s children. And really, ultimately it’s not the right thing to do for longliners themselves if they want to continue that tradition in their families.”

See staradvertiser.com.
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Keiki got a close encounter with honu `ea before Hawksbill
Turtle Recovery Project personnel released the hatchlings.
Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

HAWAI`I ISLAND HAWKSBILL Turtle Recovery Project successfully opened a nest at Punalu`u yesterday. Keiki from local schools, other Ka`u residents and visitors looked on as project manager Lauren Kurpita and others helped the honu `ea escape their shells and deep nest. Students examined the hatchlings up close in containers before setting them off on their journey to the Pacific, where they will live out the rest of their lives munching on sponges and other treats.

Honu `ea come ashore only to nest, with confirmed sites from Ka`u into Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at Awili Point, Pohue Bay, Kawa, Punalu`u, Kamehame, Halape and `Apua Point. More than 90 percent of the nests statewide are found on this island.
Volunteers who would like to help monitor and protect nests can contact Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at 985-6090 or email HAVO_Turtle_Project@nps.gov. Report people harming sea turtles to 974-6208 and dead, sick or injured sea turtles to 327-7780.

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“MAUNA LOA IS NOT ERUPTING,” Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported in its current update on the status of the world’s largest active volcano. HVO is providing weekly updates following its elevation of Mauna Loa’s Volcano Alert Level from Normal to Advisory on Thursday, Sept. 17. Scientists based the level on long-term trends in both earthquake and deformation monitoring data.

HVO is keeping a close watch on Mauna Loa after raising
its alert level one month ago. Photo from USGS

The seismicity rate is elevated above background but at a lower weekly rate than reported in mid- to late-summer. Earthquakes occurred beneath Mauna Loa’s upper Southwest Rift Zone at depths less than eight miles. Deformation data are still consistent with inflation of magma reservoirs beneath Mauna Loa’s summit and upper Southwest Rift Zone.
Mauna Loa rises gradually to 13,681 feet above sea level. Its long submarine flanks descend an additional three miles below sea level to the ocean floor. The ocean floor directly beneath Mauna Loa is, in turn, depressed by the volcano’s great mass another five miles. This places Mauna Loa’s summit about 56,000 feet above its base.
Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since its first well documented historical eruption in 1843. Its most recent eruption was in 1984.
For more information on Mauna Loa and its hazards, see the USGS Fact sheet available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3104/fs2012-3104.pdf.

See hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
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Gov. and Mrs. Ige celebrated Hawai`i's thirty-year sister-city relationship
with Quangdong Province, China. Photo from Office of the Governor

GOV. DAVID IGE and First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige returned from a trip to Japan and China on Wednesday, Oct. 14. They traveled with a delegation from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to promote economic development, renewable energy cooperation and international student exchange.

While there, the governor and Mrs. Ige participated in celebrations of the 30th anniversary of sister-relations with Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Guangdong Province, China and expressed Hawai`i’s commitment to further strengthen these relationships through educational, cultural and economic exchanges in the years ahead.
“Hawai`i and Okinawa share many similar characteristics, and I was able to observe how Okinawa’s energy companies and educational institutions are developing programs and initiatives that have global impact,” Gov. Ige said. “The Prefectural Government is also committed to developing a workforce skilled in international relations. Our similarities will continue to unite us as we strive to achieve new models of economic development priorities.”

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Hawai`i's Larger Game Birds. Illustration
by H. Douglas Pratt

THE 2015-2016 GAME BIRD HUNTING season opens on Saturday, Nov. 7. With lingering drought impacts in many parts of the state, Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife biologists are predicting a below average season of bird hunting.
The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. A valid hunting license and a game bird stamp are required for all game bird hunting on public and private lands.
Kapapala Ranch Cooperative Game Management Area and Kapapala Forest Reserve will be open on Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays for the entire game bird season.
Kipuka ‘Ainahou will be open on weekends and state holidays throughout the game bird hunting season. Special permits are required and available from the DOFAW offices in Hilo. Hunters are to avoid nene geese that are in the area. Mammal hunting in this area is closed from Nov. 1 through February.
Pohakuloa Training Area will be at the direction of the Department of Defense, subject to training schedule. Hunters can call the Pohakuloa hunter’s hotline at 969-3474 for information on hunting days, open areas and access routes.
Further information may be obtained by contacting DOFAW’s Hilo office at 974-4221.
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TOMORROW IS KA`U PLANTATION DAYS. The fifth annual event takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. The 2015 theme is For the Good Times.

The events begins with the arrival of the sugar cane truck and pa`u parade of horses and riders bedecked in lei, colors and costumes representing each island.

A cane haul truck opens festivities tomorrow at Ka`u Plantation Days.
Photo by Julia Neal

The parade starts at 9 a.m. at Pahala Community Center and travels down Maile Street to Old Pahala Clubhouse, with emcee Clyde Silva. Derrick Andrade will drive a decorated sugar cane truck that hauled sugar from the fields to the mill in Pahala until the plantation closing in 1996.
A mounted pa`u court with Queen Lorilee Lorenzo will follow. Walkers and riders will include representatives of the many ethnic groups who built the agricultural community of Ka`u, which has evolved from sugar plantations to ranching, macadamia and coffee orchards and food and tea farms. Educational groups such as Friends of Ka`u Libraries and Ka`u Rural Health Community Association will participate.

KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I Volcanoes National Park offers free programs this weekend.
Participants explore Kahuku’s rich geologic history, traverse the vast 1868 lava flow and see different volcano features and formations tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on a guided, easy-to-moderate hike. They will also learn to identify many parts of Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone.
People and Lands of Kahuku, Sunday at 9:30 a.m., is a moderate two-mile, three-hour guided hike that loops through varied landscapes to explore the human history of Kahuku. Emerging native forest, pastures, lava fields and other sites hold clues about ways people have lived and worked on the vast Kahuku lands – from the earliest Hawaiians, through generations of ranching families, to the current staff and volunteers of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.

Call 985-6011 for more information.

Information for homeowners with septic systems is available
later this month. Image from HDOH

HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Wastewater Branch and Safe Drinking Water Branch’s Groundwater Protection Program are joining together to provide free onsite disposal system information. Homeowners with septic systems are invited to attend. Participants learn how to determine if they have a septic system, how to locate the system and provide proper operation and maintenance.

Hawai`i Island sessions are in Kona on Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Kealakehe School Library and in Hilo on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Aupuni Center.
Maximum enrollment is 50 per session. Registration information is provided at health.hawaii.gov/wastewater/home/training.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

After leading the Ka`u Plantation Days parade, the cane truck parked on the side of Maile Street so that field workers riding on front could view pa`u riders and marching community organizations. Photos by Ron Johnson

THE SKIES CLEARED as the cane truck traveled down Maile Street to begin Ka`u Plantation Days this morning. Eli Vierra drove an ATV for Ka`u Multicultural Society, which organizes the event.

Ka`u Pa`u Queen Lorilee Lorenzo led pa`u riders through Pahala
to begin Ka`u Plantation Days.

Pa`u riders representing the Hawaiian Islands followed, with Pa`u Queen Lorilee Lorenzo and her mother Mahina, father Frank and brothers Frank, Jr. and Jesse leading others.
Ua and Gavin Galimba represented Ni`ihau; Kehau and Mana Ke, Kaua`i; Merle Becker and John Wacker, Oa`hu; Keana Kuluwaimaka and La`a Ke, Moloka`i; Mikela and Donnell Akana, Lana`i; Teani Souza, Kaho`olawe; Alexa Wacker and Kailee Kahalua-Stacy, Maui; and Samantha Wacker and Kealia Galimba, Hawai`i.
Others joining the parade were Friends of the Ka`u Libraries, Boys & Girls Club, Miss Ka`u Coffee Maria Miranda, Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative, and Hunny Ke cleaning up after the horses.
Ka`u Coffee growers also set up displays about the history of the industry that is flourishing almost 20 years after the sugar plantation closed down.
Residents also are shared stories about camps where they lived and played.
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The Lorenzo family joined Queen Lorilee as her court.

TROPICAL STORM OLAF will be a major hurricane when it crosses into the Central Pacific Tuesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Once Olaf gains enough northern latitude, a drier environment with an increase in southerly or south-southwesterly shear should result in weakening.
Olaf follows thunderstorms from remnants of Tropical Depression Nora that battered Ka`u last night. Many residents reported lightning and thunder that appeared to be directly overhead. Lightning struck a transformer in Pahala, causing power outages to several residents.
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GOV. DAVID IGE SIGNED an emergency proclamation that enables the state to quickly funnel money toward the facilitation of rapid construction of a temporary shelter for homeless families, the immediate extension of existing contracts for homeless services and an immediate increase in funding for programs that promote immediate housing.

Friends of the Ka`u Libraries marched in the parade before manning
their booth to raise funds to support their cause.

State funds of more than $1.3 million were identified this month, paving the way for the emergency proclamation. The monies will serve an additional 1,000 homeless individuals between now and July 31, 2016, providing increased funding for homeless services and programs that promote permanent housing for families and the chronically homeless.
The emergency proclamation will also facilitate construction of a transitional housing facility for homeless families. The facility will be temporary and have a clear sunset date.
State, city, federal governments and various service providers have worked together to place 158 individuals and 25 families from Kaka`ako on O`ahu into shelters since the effort began in early August. That’s 54 percent of homeless individuals surveyed in Kaka`ako in early August and more than 80 percent of the families surveyed.
“The lesson learned is that great things can be accomplished when we all work together,” Ige said. “Despite the recent success of enforcement efforts in the Kaka`ako Makai area, homelessness remains a serious issue in every county throughout the state. We plan to replicate the Kaka`ako model as we work to address homelessness in communities across the state.”

Pa`u riders honored their ancestors.

“There’s still much work to do,” said Scott Morishige, Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness. “Hawai`i has the highest rate of homelessness per capita among the 50 states, with an estimated 465 homeless individuals per 100,000. The alarming increase in unsheltered individuals and families over the past two years is particularly significant on O`ahu. This proclamation will expedite the state’s plans to help these individuals and families to more quickly transition to permanent housing.”
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PAUL GIBSON, OF OCEAN VIEW, is spending five years in prison, John Burnett reported in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Gibson was charged with second-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening as the result of an altercation on May 10, 2014. David Coombes was stabbed 12 times, and Hilo Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura yesterday ordered Gibson to also reimburse Coombes for his medical expenses.
“We’re looking at a mutual affray gone wrong … and Mr. Gibson has responsibility in his role in that,” Gibson’s attorney Michael Zola told the judge. “And what happened after that is that Mr. Coombes, who is a trained fighter at BJ Penn’s gym and is a much heavier guy, got the better of him and he got him on the ground. … The underlying premise here is that Mr. Gibson was being choked out and decided, whether rightly or wrongly, that he needed to pull out his pocketknife and stop (Coombes) from killing him.”
Burnett said Gibson’s lawyer asked the judge to consider probation and intermittent jail stays or to delay Gibson’s imprisonment so he could finish contracted work “and provide for his family,” but Nakamura ordered immediate incarceration, noting “the seriousness of the offenses.”

Keiki rode in the cane truck with driver Derrick Andrade.

“You do have a prior criminal history,” Nakamura said. “The court believes that prison terms are appropriate for the purpose of punishment and the deterrence of others. And I think these considerations would override any concerns that one would have for provision for your family.”
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KA`U RURAL HEALTH COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION continues pre-registration for its fifth annual Floating Lantern Celebration. The deadline is Sunday, Nov. 15 for the event on Saturday, Nov. 28. The celebration at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach Park’s Medicine Pond from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. honors and remembers love ones, friends, families and caregivers.
For more information, call 928-0101 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See krhcai.com for photos of past celebrations.

PEOPLE AND LANDS OF KAHUKU, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., is a moderate two-mile, three-hour guided hike that loops through varied landscapes to explore the human history of Kahuku. Emerging native forest, pastures, lava fields and other sites hold clues about ways people have lived and worked on the vast Kahuku lands – from the earliest Hawaiians, through generations of ranching families, to the current staff and volunteers of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Participants learn about the powerful natural forces at work here and how people have adapted to, shaped and restored this land.
Call 985-6011 for more information.

Pa`u riders and their lei-bedecked horses ride down Maile Street in Pahala.

SOCIAL SECURITY WORKSHOPS COME to Ka`u and Volcano next week: Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Na`alehu Community Center; Thursday, Oct. 22 at Cooper Center in Volcano Village; and Friday, Oct. 23 at Ocean View Community Center. Times for all workshops are 6:30 p.m. 8 p.m.

Topics include what baby boomers need to know, how divorce affects benefits, how spousal benefits are calculated, how benefits are taxed, effects of employment income, how disability benefits work, how retirement benefits are calculated and more.
See ad below for more topics. Reserve at 327-5410.

THE ART EXPRESS is scheduled for a week from today on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Hall. At the painting workshop, participants can learn something new or work on forgotten projects. Instructions will be on oil, acrylic or watercolor.
Sign up with and receive instructions from Meliha at himeliha@yahoo.com.

Ka`u Multicultural Society organizes the annual
Ka`u Plantation Days.

HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY’S Arbor Day Tree Giveaway will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7 at its office at 1200 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo. Trees will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or while supplies last.
Trees to be given away this year include ko`oko`olau, kokio keokeo, kou, kukui, mamaki, milo and niu.
The annual event is a partnership with Kua O Ka La Public Charter School, Ho`oulu Lahui, Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program and HELCO. To help perpetuate native species, a variety of organizations across the state routinely organize educational events to distribute native trees and shrubs to the community.
Information on how to properly plant, site and care for the tree also is distributed. Students and instructors will be available to educate the public on how to care for their trees and explain the cultural significance of the native plants.

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

For Affordable Computer Help, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Pakala cloths draped the veranda at Pahala Plantation Manager's House for Ka`u Plantation Days yesterday, signaling a passage to "before time." Photo by Ron Johnson

THE FIFTH ANNUAL KA`U PLANTATION DAYS saw residents and visitors learning and sharing their experiences of “before time.” Following a pa`u parade led by a decorated cane truck, Ka`u residents and visitors headed to Pahala Plantation Manager’s House. Palaka cloth draped the veranda, where residents shared artifacts and children’s activities from a bygone era. Attendees watched films of the past, including Ka`u Sugar: A Town Remembers, Canefield Songs: Hole Hole Bushi and The Untold Story: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawai`i.

Traditional Ka`u Plantation Days games, with homemade toys. Photo by Julia Neal

In the dining room, residents looked through collections of various camp photos, identifying homes of families and friends.
Food, entertainment and arts and crafts filled the front and side lawns. Attendees could choose from Portuguese, Hawaiian, Chinese and more ethnic foods. Entertainment ranged from hula to country music.
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DELAYS IN CONSTRUCTION of Ka`u Gym & Shelter are examined in today’s issue of West Hawai`i Today. Nancy Cook Lauer noted that a sign on the Ka`u High & Pahala Elementary School campus bears a completion date of Nov. 15, 2014.
After the county found that the new concrete floor didn’t meet specifications, Summit Construction had it removed. Department of Public Works Director Warren Lee told Cook Lauer that the contractor is paying to replace the floor. “The county does not pay for this. We already paid for it once,” Lee told Cook Lauer.

Darlyne Vierra and Liz Kuluwaimaka hosted Ka`u Plantation Days yesterday,
sponsored by Ka`u Multicultural Society. Photo by Julia Neal

Summit Construction has, however, been paid an extra $166,069 in a change order that was added to the original contract. The change order was for “unanticipated changes not included in original design,” according to a July communication to Hawai`i County Council.
Previous delays include additional time needed for State Historic Preservation burial treatment permits, grading, drainage, sidewalk and driveway location changes and rerouting of telephone lines.
Cook Lauer said the facility should open sometime next year.
See westhawaiitoday.com.
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HURRICANE OLAF CONTINUES to strengthen as it heads west toward the Central Pacific. After it crosses longitude 140 and out of the Eastern Pacific early Tuesday morning, Olaf is forecast turn north and pass Hawai`i to the east.
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Hannah's Makana `Ohana dance on the grounds of Pahala Plantation House.
Photo by Julia Neal

SCOTT GLENN IS HAWAI`I’S NEW director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control. Glenn will officially take up his duties in November. His appointment by Gov. David Ige is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Glenn is leaving his position as an environmental planner that he has held since 2010. He focused on the intersection of planning, asset management and risk analysis in clients’ strategic decision making. He has managed project budgets and held key roles on many multi-million dollar projects for clients in public and private sectors. Recently, his focus has been on integrating climate change adaptation into federal asset decision-making tools.
As a volunteer, Glenn serves as vice chair and past chair of Sierra Club Hawai`i and holds the same positions on the state Environmental Council. He is also co-founder and president of Better Block Hawai`i, a nonprofit dedicated to exploring collaborative, innovative approaches to improving urban livability.

Clyde Silva emceed the pa`u parade and Ka`u
Plantation Days event. Photo by Julia Neal

Glenn earned a B.A. in philosophy and classical archaeology from the University of Evansville and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawai`i. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
“Scott is passionate about working with diverse stakeholders to plan together for a better shared future,” Ige said. “His education, work experience and volunteer service have prepared him to make a difference in this position.”
“I am humbled to serve as the director and thankful to the governor for the opportunity,” Glenn said. “The office has a key role in the stewardship of our environment and economy. I look forward to bringing a collaborative approach grounded in technical expertise to the office and working with my fellow board members on the Environmental Council to reach out to the public and all stakeholders.”
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HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY scientists use geologic mapping to look to the past to reveal the future.
“Geologic mapping is considered by some to be old school science,” scientists explain in the current issue of Volcano Watch. “By current standards, there’s certainly nothing glitzy or high tech about walking miles across seemingly barren rock or through dense forests to map lava flows.
“The motivation for mapping ‘old’ lava flows is based on the geologic principle of Uniformitarianism, which fundamentally says that the key to understanding the future is to look at the past. By definition, Uniformitarianism is the theory that natural processes behave more or less the same today as they have throughout the past, and will continue to do so in the future.
“As an example, if we are assigned the task of figuring out future threats posed by an unknown or poorly understood volcano, we start by examining its eruptive products or deposits. By looking at these old deposits, we can establish if the volcano is predominantly effusive (eruptions characterized by lava flows) or explosive in character. Then, by systematically mapping the spatial distribution of the deposits and age-dating them through various techniques, we can identify the areas affected by volcanic activity and how frequently it takes place.

Collections of photos and memorabilia from ranches, farms, dairies and sugar
camp life filled the carriage house and the old plantation manager's house.
Photo by Julia Neal

“Our mapping tools are basic: a hand lens, notebook, topographic map, hammer and compass (or handheld GPS for some geologists!). Our ‘computer’ sits on our shoulders: head, brain and eyes. Field geologists must also be in tune with the natural environment in order to derive clues on the character, origin and age of the substrate. These clues can include subtle changes in vegetation, ground surface roughness, rock color and other characteristics.
“Geologic mapping requires extensive field work in which we walk the contacts between old lava flows to distinguish individual flow units and intraflow boundaries, including gradational transitions between pahoehoe and `a`a flows. This field work relies on aerial imagery and paper topographic maps to plot the flows.
“Where terrain or jungle obscures the contacts between different lava flows, we create a grid pattern of transects to examine sparse outcrops of rock. The resulting boundaries between distinct lava flows are then extrapolated between transects from aerial photo interpretation and geological and botanical inferences. …
“Sleuthing out the eruptive history of a volcano is challenging, time consuming, and tedious. But there’s no better way to figure out a volcano’s future behavior than to examine its past – and geologic mapping shows us the way!”

Filipino, Japanese, Portuguese and Hawaiian foods celebrated the multi-ethnic
community of Ka`u. Photo by Julia Neal

Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

NATIVE DRYLAND PLANTS WORKSHOP is a week from today on Sunday, Oct. 25 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Kahuku Park Pavilion in Ocean View. Sponsored by Ho`omalu Ka`u, a nonprofit working to build a cultural center north of Ocean View, presenters showcase plants well suited to Ka`u’s climate and environment and that can be used to great effect as landscape features. Sign up at hoomalukau@gmail.com or 929-8526.

JAZZ IN THE FOREST CONTINUES with two performances this Saturday, Oct. 24, featuring Keahi Conjugacion with Volcano Art Center’s Jazz Ensemble. The concert series offers an extraordinary opportunity to hear the highest caliber jazz – anywhere – up close and personal.

Hawaiian kupuna Jeanette Howard, of Punalu`u, represented Hawaiian
Civic Club of Ka`u. Photo by Julia Neal

Conjugacion is a Hoku and Grammy nominated vocalist who has performed throughout the mainland, Asia and Europe. Considered one of Hawai`i’s finest jazz and blues singers, Conjugacion is the eldest sister of the famous musical family (Brother Noland & Tony C). She has played Carnegie Hall in New York, Jazz Alley in Seattle and at jazz festivals in Sicily. She returns by popular demand, as she delivered an emotional and inspiring performance to an SRO audience in her previous appearance at Jazz in the Forest.
The Wine and Beer Room will be open to enjoy before and after the concert. Also, an area has been set aside for dancing.
Two shows are offered, with a matinee at 4:30 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).

Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and at Basically Books in Hilo. The last day to purchase tickets online, at VAC Gallery, or Basically Books is Friday, Oct. 23. After that, tickets will be sold at the door if they are not sold out.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Here comes Major Hurricane Olaf, 1,280 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 11 a.m. Olaf, a category 4, is expected to turn north and
pass well east of Hawai`i late this week. Map from NOAA. See more below.

LAWFUL HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT, organized to reinstate Hawaiian government from March 1999, today released results of its elections held Saturday, Sept. 12. Elected were its Ka`u Representative, Noble, and Prime Minister of the Hawaiian Islands. Two polling places were set up in Ka`u, at Pahala and Ocean View, for all kanaka 18 years and older to vote.

Image from The Lawful Hawaiian Government

John Kalua`u is the elected Noble of Ka`u district, and Eli Whitney is District Representative. Henry Noa is Prime Minister. “Congratulations to these men who stepped up to represent all kanaka, keiki and kupunas for a four-year term,” said Hope Cermelj, of LHG.

LHG is not affiliated with Office of Hawaiian affairs, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands or the Hawai`i State government and departments.
For more information about the elections and the Lawful Hawaiian Government, see thelawfulhawaiiangovernment.org, or call Alohalani (last name not provided) at 808-896-9201.
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HAWAI`I’S MARSHALLESE COMMUNITY is the topic of a series of articles in Civil Beat. Today, reporter Chad Blair focused on Jonithen Jackson and the community he leads in Ocean View. Blair, who visited with Jackson and Ka`u state Rep. Richard Creagan, a physician who served in the Peace Corps in the Marshall Islands, reported that about 300 Marshallese “live in the houses at Jackson’s makeshift commune or frequent the worship hall and recreational area that he has built there.” Jackson also starred in The Land of Eb, a film about the plight of Marshallese in Ocean View.

According to Blair, Jackson’s hope is to return to the Marshall Islands as mayor of Enewetak, a series of atolls where he has not lived for nearly 25 years.

Marshallese leader Jonithen Jackson is the topic of a Civil Beat story today
on Marshallese in Ocean View.. Photo by Julia Neal

The United States contaminated the area by testing nuclear devices at Enewetak nearly 60 years ago. Hawai`i’s Marshallese community consists of what Blair refers to as “nuclear nomads,” people exiled due to unsafe radiation levels found in people, fish and coconut crabs.
Jackson first went to Majuro, then Washington state before arriving in Ka`u. He was an auto mechanic here before electronic systems replaced his skills. He now “works with the Big Island coffee industry, which has frequently hired Marshallese to pick coffee beans,” Blair reported.
Blair explained that land “is at the very core of identity for Marshallese and all Micronesians, a primordial bond that cannot be broken even by nuclear devastation and removal from their ancestral lands. The Enewetakese, for example, organize their society based on land ownership, and traditional rituals involve the land.”
“What you have, in my home, on my island, when I sit and look around, I feel like … comfortable,” Jackson told Blair. “You feel like you are not in Hawai`i. I live here and worry what people are going to say. But in home, back home, well, it’s nothing like that. I am just relaxed. We bring everybody; we talk story. It’s nothing like here.”
See civilbeat.com.
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Hurricane Olaf is strengthening and heading into the Central Pacific.
Map from NOAA

HURRICANE OLAF HAS CONTINUED to rapidly intensify into a category-four storm. At 11 a.m., Olaf was 1,280 miles east-southeast of Hilo. It is expected to cross longitude 140 west into the Central Pacific basin tonight, but is still forecast to turn north and pass several hundred miles to the east of Hawai`i on Saturday.
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RISING TEMPERATURES COULD SPREAD MOSQUITOS and avian malaria, which has devastated native bird populations. However, some species are apparently developing a resistance to the disease. A story by Ivy Ashe in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald said that some populations of amakihi are increasing despite the birds being infected by malaria.
“Apapane and amakihi are the two that seem to adapt,” USGS research biologist Carter Atkinson told Ashe. However, birds with chronic avian malaria hold the disease.
Research to be published next month compares disease prevalence between 2011 and 2013 with that done at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge in the 1990s. According to Ashe, bird populations have increased in the refuge, while disease prevalence has fallen.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Sen. Brian Schatz

U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ has introduced legislation to explore the viability of creating a National Museum of the American People in Washington, D.C. The proposed museum would be the first of its kind to tell the immigration stories of every American and celebrate the contributions of every ethnic and cultural group in the country. It would provide a venue to unite the diverse stories that connect us as Americans. The museum will offer a unique narrative regarding the people and communities that have helped forge who we are today and highlight the links that bind together past, present and future generations.
“The story of America is a story about immigration,” Schatz said. “ For generations, people from around the world and from all walks of life have come to the United States to build better lives for themselves and for their families. From the sugar cane plantations on Maui to the shipping ports in Maine, immigrants throughout our history have made tremendous contributions to America. But many of their stories are left untold. Building the National Museum of the American People would help tell the story of every immigrant of every ethnic group and would be a great way to celebrate the patriotism, contributions and achievements of all Americans.”

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Ka`u High Trojan wahine won their Senior
Night match. Photo from KHPES

KA`U HIGH GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAMS won their final two match-ups of regular-season play last week.
The Trojans met Christian Liberty Academy on Senior Night last Tuesday, Oct. 13. Both Ka`u teams won in two sets. Varsity’s scores were 25-19 and 25-20; Junior Varsity, 25-16 and 25-18.
On Friday, Oct. 17, Ka`u wahine hosted Hawai`i Academy of Arts & Sciences. Varsity overcame HAAS 25-23 and 25-13, and JV overpowered their opponents 25-9 and 25-7.
“Great way to end the season,” Ka`u Athletic Director Kalei Namohala said.
Big Island Interscholastic Federation championship play for the Trojans begins tomorrow at 6 p.m. at home.

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SEAN “OLANUI” ROBBINS PRESENTS a Hawaiian music concert Wednesday at 6:30 p.m at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Robbins’ recently released debut CD, Olanui, will be available for purchase.
Free; park entrance fees apply.
Call 985-6011 for more information.

HOW TO INFLUENCE STATE LAWS is the topic at free workshops this Friday. Keanu Young, of the state Legislature’s Public Access Room, provides the public with tools and resources to help them become active participants in the legislative process. Workshops are at 11 a.m. at Ocean View Community Center and 2:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
See par@capitol.hawaii.gov or 974-4000 x7-0478 for more information.

RESIDENTS CAN LEARN about Social Security this week. Workshops take place Wednesday at Na`alehu Community Center, Thursday at Cooper Center in Volcano Village and Friday at Ocean View Community Center. All sessions are from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. See ad at left for topics covered. Reserve at 327-5410.

JAZZ IN THE FOREST CONTINUES with two performances this Saturday, featuring Keahi Conjugacion with Volcano Art Center’s Jazz Ensemble.
The Wine and Beer Room will be open before and after the concert. Also, an area has been set aside for dancing.
Two shows are offered, with a matinee at 4:30 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).
Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and online at volcanoartcenter.org. The last day to purchase tickets in advance is Friday, Oct. 23. After that, tickets will be sold at the door if they are not sold out.

What will Ka`u residents vote for to grace
the cover of The Directory 2016?

BEAUTY OF KA`U ART SHOW opens two weeks from today. The annual show generates the cover for The Directory, Ka`u Chamber of Commerce’s business and community guide for Ka`u. The Chamber raises scholarship money for higher education for Ka`u students through memberships and Directory participation.
Registration is $5 per adult entry, $2.50 per youth entry and $1 per keiki entry.
Hours for public viewing at CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2 through Thursday, Nov. 5.
Each day, the public may sign in and receive a ballot to vote for their favorite entry. The adult winner of the popular vote will be featured on the cover of The Directory 2016 and receive $50 and an article inside The Directory. Each ballot, a numbered ticket, will also be entered into a drawing for door prizes to be held each hour, and the winner does not need to be present. Prizes are being donated by various Ka`u merchants.
A reception to view the winners and greet the artists will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, with light refreshments.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Forecasters so far are confident that Hurricane Olaf will stay east of Hawai`i as it travels north. Map from NOAA

EAST HAWAI`I REGIONAL BOARD of Hawai`i Health Systems Corp., which manages Ka`u Hospital, has signed a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement with Adventist Health. “We are in the very early stages of exchanging information in terms of finance and operations,” Board Chair Kurt Corbin told members of the state House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance yesterday, Colin M. Stewart reported in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald.

Richard Creagan

HHSC’s East Hawai`i administrators in June began talks with the California-based company that operates Castle Medical Center on O`ahu. East Hawai`i Region laid off 87 employees this year to eliminate a $7 million budget deficit, and Regional CEO Dan Brinkman told the committee that it could face another $7 million shortfall and more budget cuts.
Ka`u’s state Rep. Richard Creagan attended the meeting and told The Ka`u Calendar that he was happy to learn that Dan Brinkman has moved from acting CEO to permanent CEO for the East Hawai`i region. “He is doing a great job supporting hospital workers and doesn’t demonize the unions. The hospital system is faced with funding union-negotiated employee raises approved by the Legislature,” Creagan said. The Legislature will be called on to help fund the raises.
Creagan said, “East Hawai`i is doing a good job of cutting costs while maintaining quality patient care.” He also suggested that any private-public partnerships between East Hawai`i hospitals and private or nonprofit health care entities be delayed at least a year, until “we see how the new partnership on Maui (with Kaiser Permanente) works out.”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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COUNTY ACQUISITION OF KAHUA `OLOHU Makahiki Grounds in Na`alehu is on hold. Hawai`i County Council considered Ka`u council member Maile David’s Resolution 287-15 this morning. According to the resolution, the property is listed as a key priority for purchase in Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Committee’s 2014 Annual Report for its historical significance and cultural importance.

Maile David

Jerry Warren, of Na`alehu, testified that the site is actually low on PONC’s priority list; it was listed as number 11. He said the PONC process has become “a welfare program for grant seekers,” who apply for stewardships of preserved land. He also referred to the property as “an albatross” that the owners want to get rid of.
Property owner James Weatherford said he bought the 13-acre parcel in 2008 for agriculture and learned of its “great historic significance” in 2011, when Hawai`i County surveyed the property as a possible site for a sewage treatment plant.
He praised the PONC staff for their quality help. He said he is willing to sell at an appraised value or his original purchase price, whichever is less, and that he is not interested in making money.
Weatherford also said he has another interested, unnamed buyer who would use the site for ecotourism, but he prefers to sell to the county.
After hearing Warren’s testimony, council member Danny Paleka asked Weatherford to respond to Warren’s statements. Weatherford told the council, “Everything Warren said is false.”
Council member Aaron Chung asked David to investigate Warren’s statements further, “for the sake of transparency.” He asked if Weatherford has a vested interest in the property and if Weatherford was involved in creating the PONC process during his time working for former Ka`u Council member Bob Jacobson. He also questioned nonprofits’ use of county funds for stewardship “to generate money.”
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Improvement to The Cooper Center are on the way.
Photo from Volcano Community Associaton

THE COOPER CENTER in Volcano Village will make improvements with $15,000 appropriated by Hawai`i County Council. Council member Maile David’s Resolution 308-15 passed unanimously this morning. Funds will be used to purchase building materials.

   The center is the hub of the Volcano community and used by hundreds of people weekly. In her testimony, the organization’s president Linda Ugalde said the funds go toward a new roof and a new water tank “to support all of the activities” at the center.
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FORECASTERS ARE CONFIDENT that Hurricane Olaf will stay well east of Hawai`i as it travels north. The category-four storm was 1,065 miles east-southeast of South Point at 11 a.m.
High surf is expected on east-facing shores, intensifying over the next several days until the storm passes beyond Hawai`i Island on Saturday morning.
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Sean "Olanui" Robbins Photo from NPS

SEAN “OLANUI” ROBBINS PRESENTS a free Hawaiian music concert tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Robbins is quickly earning a reputation as a ki ho`alu (slack-key) rising star and a haku mele (Hawaiian songwriter). The 21-year old local boy is often described as an old soul contained in a young body, and the protégé of slack key master and legendary musician Cyril Pahinui.

With a great respect for the “old style” of Hawaiian music playing taught by kupuna, Robbins was also taken under the wings of the famous musical Keli`iho`omalu `ohana in Kaimu, Kalapana. Robbins’ first CD, Olanui, is a Hoku award winner and a taste of what is to come.

Olanui will be available for purchase.
Park entrance fees apply.
Call 985-6011 for more information.

RESIDENTS CAN LEARN about Social Security this week. Workshops take place tomorrow at Na`alehu Community Center, Thursday at The Cooper Center in Volcano Village and Friday at Ocean View Community Center. All sessions are from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. See ad below for topics covered. Reserve at 327-5410.

WRITTEN TESTIMONY: THE BARE BASICS is one of the topics at free workshops in Ka`u on Friday about the state Legislature. Keanu Young, of the state Legislature’s Public Access Room, will explain how to properly submit testimony for consideration.

Keanu Young

According to the Public Access Room, testimony should be addressed to the appropriate committee and chair. It needs to include the bill number and the hearing date, time and place. After introducing yourself, state the measure you are testifying on and whether you support or oppose it. Explain the reasons for your positions, including facts or experiences. In closing, clearly re-state your position. Also, include name and contact information.

Friday’s workshops are at 11 a.m. at Ocean View Community Center and 2:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.

See par@capitol.hawaii.gov or 974-4000 x7-0478 for more information.

KEAHI CONJUGACION and Volcano Art Center’s Jazz Ensemble present Jazz in the Forest Saturday.
Two shows are offered, with a matinee at 4:30 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).
Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and online at volcanoartcenter.org through Friday. After that, tickets will be sold at the door if not sold out.

Ka`u Coffee growers can learn how to operate more efficiently from Fernando
Augusto Vicentini next month. Photos from UH-CTAHR

IMPROVEMENT OF COFFEE FARM and Mill Efficiency is the topic at Ka`u Coffee Cooperative’s meeting two weeks from today, on Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. UH-CTAH’s Cooperative Extension Service, in cooperation with USDA and the Hawai`i Coffee Growers Association, is bringing Fernando Augusto Vicentini, a mechanical engineer from Brazil, to provide information for better efficiency of coffee cultural control and production.

Vicentini has expertise in field and mill equipment modifications that potentially reduce costs, improve efficiency and assist with CBB control and management of other coffee pests and diseases. All growers and processors are welcome.
Seating is limited. Call 808-322-4892 to RSVP or email ginab@hawaii.edu at least one day before the event.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Hurricane Olaf looks threatening, but forecasters say it will move north instead of west and bypass Hawai`i. Image from NOAA

HURRICANE OLAF WAS 845 miles southeast of Hilo at 11 a.m. Maximum sustained winds are near 120 miles per hour with higher gusts, Central Pacific Hurricane Center forecasters reported. Olaf is a category three hurricane. Gradual weakening is expected through Friday morning.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 140 miles. According to CPHC, Olaf will turn northeast and bypass Hawai`i several hundred miles to the east.

KRHCAI logo

Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

KA`U RURAL HEALTH Community Association, Inc. is receiving support from Hawai`i County Council for two of its programs.

Resolution 293-15 provides a grant of $3,000 for the KRHCAI’s fifth annual Lantern Floating Celebration scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28. Funds will be used to purchase materials for the event.
KRHCAI Director Jesse Marques told the council that the event has seen increasing participation each year since its inception.
Resolution 294-15 provides $2,000 for KRHCAI’s Better Choices, Better Health domestic violence support group. Funds would be used for CPR/First Aide Certification, a leadership conference and travel and lodging expenses.

Ka`u's council member Maile David introduced both resolutions yesterday, and County Council approved them.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

HAWAI`I’S OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL Quality Control wants to stop commercial aquarium fish collection activities. Civil Beat published a letter from Director Jessica Wooley to Department of Land & Natural Resources Chair Suzanne Case. In the letter, Wooley asked Case for immediate issuance of a moratorium, for at least 180 days, “to allow time for DLNR to evaluate the health of nearshore waters and work with potentially affected permittees to find solutions.” Wooley claimed that new information shows “significant negative effects” of the industry and “the importance of protecting areas, at least for a period of time, to allow fish populations to recover.”

Wooley cited reasons for her request as “the immediacy of the crisis facing our nearshore waters due to unprecedented and ongoing coral bleaching and … the removal of critical herbivore populations.”
Wooley also wants commercial aquarium activities to go through an environmental review process before allowing them to reoccur.
See civilbeat.com.

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SEN. MAZIE HIRONO TOOK to the Senate floor to oppose a Republican attempt to strip hundreds of cities and local jurisdictions across the country of key federal funding that would prevent local officials from protecting their communities.

“Hundreds of cities and local jurisdictions across our country have financial, constitutional and public safety concerns with using scarce local tax dollars to hold immigrants in jail when they otherwise would be entitled to release under the law,” Hirono said. “These cities and towns are being called ‘sanctuary cities’ because they have made a local and fact-based choice to keep their community safe rather than serve as an arm of immigration enforcement.

“This bill would create new criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants and make life even harder for them – most of whom are honest, hardworking people – not criminals.

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono

“The bill also takes severe steps to penalize these sanctuary cities by stripping them of critical community block grants and federal homeland security and law enforcement funding.

“While this bill purports to protect our communities, it is strongly opposed by law enforcement, victims’ advocates and local and state government leaders.
“Instead of turning hardworking immigrants into bogeymen, we should be focusing on real solutions for violence in our communities.
“If my colleagues who support this bill are serious about addressing violence in America, then they should come to the table to talk about how we can strengthen our laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
“And I have been saying this for over a year now: if my Republican colleagues want to discuss immigration reform, I welcome that debate. …
“The current sanctuary cities debate is not the first time that some have tried to use myths about immigrants to scare Americans. This rhetoric couldn’t be further from truth, and I urge my colleagues to oppose these scare tactics.”

The measure failed 54-45.

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SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ last week spoke before members of Women in Renewable Energy about working with Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force, to implement clean energy solutions. WiRE is a nonprofit organization for women working in the fields of energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency and transportation.

Sen. Brian Schatz with Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James (center) and WiRE
board members. Photo from Office of Sen. Schatz

Schatz highlighted the partnership between Hawai`i and the Air Force to research, develop and implement clean energy solutions. “The Air Force and other military services are not moving toward clean energy simply because they view it as their responsibility to be good stewards of the environment,” Schatz said. “It is because leaders like Secretary James understand that their efforts to transition to clean energy are good for the environment and for their war-fighting mission.”  
According to Schatz, the Air Force has shown it is committed to making Hawai`i a test bed for energy innovation, including a new micro-grid demonstration project at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam that will strengthen energy resiliency for the 154th Wing of the Hawai`i Air National Guard.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

KA`U VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GROWERS are invited to a Wholesale Success Workshop  sponsored by The Kohala Center and a U.S. Department of Agriculture Small Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant. The two-day workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and Wednesday, Nov. 4 in will train new and seasoned fruit and vegetable growers to meet food safety standards and the needs of wholesale markets.

Consultants and trainers will be covering topics such as the business and marketing of wholesale distribution, food safety, cooperative models and working with institutions. A $50 registration fee includes lunch on both days, a half-day farm tour and a Meet & Greet pau hana on the first day. Day One runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Day Two runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Register at koha.la/wholesale. Walk-in registration may be available for $70 with lunch contingent on availability. Limited scholarships are available; contact scaban@kohalacenter.org to apply.

Hawai`i State Legislature's website offers many ways
for Ka`u residents to participate.

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN LEARN about Social Security this week. Workshops take place this evening at Na`alehu Community Center, tomorrow at The Cooper Center in Volcano Village and Friday at Ocean View Community Center. All sessions are from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. See ad below for topics covered. Reserve at 327-5410.

KEANU YOUNG, OF THE STATE Legislature’s Public Access Room, will explain easy-to-use tools on the state Legislature’s website during We the Powerful workshops in Ka`u on Friday. At capitol.hawaii.gov, Ka`u residents can access information easily, keep track of it and deliver testimony efficiently. The dashboard allows the public to access everything the website offers from a single screen. Tracking lists help residents assess the status of numerous pieces of legislation and provide an easy format for downloading.

Friday’s workshops are at 11 a.m. at Ocean View Community Center and 2:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
See par@capitol.hawaii.gov or 974-4000 x7-0478 for more information.

KA`U RESIDENTS ARE INVITED to hear Chicken Skin: Obake Stories Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Master storyteller, kumu and actor Lopaka Kapanui tells true ghost stories of Hawai`i. Tickets are $20 in advance at CD Wizard and Irie Hawai`i; $25 at the door. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests.

Keahi Conjugacion Photo from VAC

Park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8371 for more information.

TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE for Jazz in the Forest on Saturday. Keahi Conjugacion returns to perform with Volcano Art Center’s Jazz Ensemble.
Two shows are offered, with a matinee at 4:30 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).
Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and online at volcanoartcenter.org through Friday. After that, tickets will be sold at the door if not sold out.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

Ka`u Hospital's East Hawai`i Regional Board voted this week to look for a partner for Hilo, Ka`u and other East Hawai`i
medical care facilities. Photo by Julia Neal

KA'U HOSPITAL'S parent organization, East Hawa'i Regional Board for the Hawai'i Health Systems Corp., voted this week to seek partnerships with outside health care providers. Among those apparently being considered is Castle Medical Center's parent Adventist Health. Gov. David Ige announced today that similar negotiations would begin today between HHSC's Maui hospitals and Kaiser Permanente.

East Hawai'i Board Chair Kurt Corbin said the strategy for Hilo, Ka`u and health providers here is to “secure our financial situation and preserve patient care services.” The vote followed a Hilo meeting with Ka'u Rep. and physician Richard Creagan and the state House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance members who toured the Big Island. At the meeting, East Hawaii Regional CEO Dan Brinkman predicted a $7 million shortfall next fiscal year. A shortfall of $7 million this year led to 87 job and other cutbacks. The state legislature's approval of union negotiated pay and retirement benefit increases has led to the hospital system seeking funding from the legislature to fund the shortfall.

In a memo to employees, reported in Hawai'i Tribune Herald by Colin M. Stewart, , Corbin wrote, “This year-to-year cycle of financial uncertainty, as well as the limited availability of state funds, is of great concern to our board. They take very seriously their responsibility to preserve and enhance the health-care services in our community. At our board meeting (Wednesday), they approved a motion that directed our region to actively explore partnerships with other health-care entities as a strategy to secure our financial situation and preserve patient care services. As a part of our next steps, we will be working to have legislation introduced and passed that will allow our region and other regions to enter into partnerships.
“We are still at the start of this journey that involves many steps and many decisions. Our board and executive management team are committed to doing all that we can to ensure the health of our community and the well-being of our employees. I strongly believe that these two objectives can be accomplished in a way that is fair to our employees and their families and still preserves the essential services so vital to our community.
“As we talk further with Adventist and other potential partners, we will actively inform and communicate new developments. Our board and executive team are committed to an open and transparent process. After all … we are all in this together.” See more at http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/local-news/hospitals-board-votes-pursue-mergers. Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

Shaka has a clean bill of health, mistaken
in news reports for a Shaka's in Pahoa.

SHAKA SOUTH SIDE RESTAURANT & BAR meets waste disposal standards, has a clean bill of health, and is not the recipient of state Department of Health fines. Owner Rory Koi reported this morning that television news repo broadcast that a Shaka restaurant on the Big Island was fined more than $80,000 by the health department for illegal use of a gang cesspool. Koi stated this morning that the Shaka's Bar & Grill referred to is in Pahoa and that he has asked news outlets for clarification. Koi said that Shala's in Na'alehu spent more than $20,000 to install a new sewage system and does not use a cesspool.
Na'alehu town is also in line to receive a public sewage treatment plant for homes and businesses. Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

ANTI-SOLAR HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC describes the utility, according to Alliance for Solar Choice. The organization has filed a law suit objecting to the cap on net metering, which allows residents to sell existing rooftop solar energy back to the electric company, according to a Pacific Business News story this morning.
Alliance for Solar Choice members Sunrun, SolarCity and others sued the Public Utilities Commission, objecting to the recent decision. Reporter Duane Shimogawa wrote that the "program has been one of the main drivers behind the record-breaking growth of rooftop solar in the state, the solar group said Wednesday."
"The lawsuit seeks an injunction on the decision, and alleges that the PUC exceeded its statutory authority, violated state and federal law and violated constitutional due process requirement."

In a public statement, Alliance for Solar Choice spokesman Bryan Miller wrote, “We’re acting on behalf of Hawaii residents like Marge Tam, who are denied the opportunity to install solar because of an unlawful and flawed decision. The PUC decision goes far beyond anything proposed by even notoriously anti-solar Hawaiian Electric.”
See more at http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2015/10/21/group-files-lawsuit-seeking-injunction-on-rooftop.html?ana=e_lulu_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2015-10-22&u=jHGEhsiEHoSS7JAcLV44hlCEoOy&t=1445538228 Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

HURRICANE OLAF was spinning at 110 mph, some 710 miles east southeast of South Pont at 11 a.m. today and still expected to veer northeast of the Hawaiian islands, but weakening. Some high surf and rain are expected.

HAWAIIAN TELCOM OUTAGES were reported today. A statement from the company said, the "telephone communication system is currently experiencing difficulties and the disruption may affect the ability to place a call to the 9-1-1 system. Hawaiian Telcom Technicians are currently troubleshooting the problem. This disruption may also affect some cellular telephone services. For persons needing emergency assistance anywhere on Hawaii Island and unable to place a call through the 9-1-1 system, please report to the nearest police or fire station." Repairs were completed by mid day.

SOCIAL SECURITY PLANNING workshops are open to the public this evening at The Cooper Center in Volcano Village and Friday at Ocean View Community Center. All sessions are from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. See ad below for topics covered. Reserve at 327-5410.

HOW TO PROVIDE TESTIMONY AND KEEP UP with the Hawai'i Legislature is the workshop Friday at 11 a.m. at Ocean View Community Center and 2:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. The free sessions will be led by Keaunu Young, of the state Legislature’s Public Access Room. He will explain easy-to-use tools on the state Legislature’s website during the workshops entitled We the Powerful. At capitol.hawaii.gov, Ka`u residents can access information easily, keep track of it and deliver testimony efficiently. The dashboard allows the public to access everything the website offers from a single screen. Tracking lists help residents assess the status of numerous pieces of legislation and provide an easy format for downloading.
See par@capitol.hawaii.gov or 974-4000 x7-0478 for more information. Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

A finance workshop for coffee farmers will be held Sunday at Pahala
Community Center. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

KA`U COFFEE GROWERS COOPERATIVE announces that Anna-Lisa Okoye, a rural business development specialist with The Kohala Center, will provide a farm finances workshop on Sunday, October 25, 2015 from 12 Noon to 4:00 PM at the Pahala Community Center. The workshop will cover farm financing options, including The Kohala Center's microloan program, Kiva Zip, and loans from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and USDA Farm Service Agency. The training will also provide an introduction to business financial statements and developing a farm financial recordkeeping system to track income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. Refreshment will be served. For more information call Ann Fontes at 808 987-7448. Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

CHICKEN SKIN: OBAKE STORIES will be shared Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Master storyteller, kumu and actor Lopaka Kapanui tells true ghost stories of Hawai`i. Tickets are $20 in advance at CD Wizard and Irie Hawai`i; $25 at the door. Park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8371 for more information

TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE for Jazz in the Forest on Saturday. Keahi Conjugacion performs with Volcano Art Center’s Jazz Ensemble with a matinee at 4:30 p.m. And evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Matinee tickets are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members). Evening tickets are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members). Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and online at volcanoartcenter.org through Friday. Tickets will be sold at the door if not sold out.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

Halau Kala`akeakauikawekiu, under the direction of Kumu Hula Aloha Victor, performs tomorrow in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. See details below. Photo from Volcano Art Center

KAHUKU PARK IS THE SITE of the new Ocean View Boys and Girls Club. The club operates on Fridays (school days) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., when the park closes. Membership registrations are being handed out to all interested youth ages 6 to 17 at the club site. The club’s purpose is Play, Learn and Grow Together. The program is Fitness Fun For Youth!
A grant for the program involves implementing the SPARK afterschool fitness program to increase fitness and physical activity. Goals are to instill physical activity habits early in life to prevent obesity and its many associated chronic diseases. Resources of the SPARK After School Physical Activity Program, identified by the Center for Disease Control as a model obesity prevention program, will be used to increase moderate to vigorous physical activity for youth participants.

For more information, call Dolly Kailiawa at 756-5285.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

A tower on Mauna Loa connects with the statewide
ANUENUE Network. Photo from USCG

MAUNA LOA IS ONE OF 15 SITES that comprise the new ANUENUE digital microwave system throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Full operating capability has been achieved on shared infrastructure designed by State of Hawai`i and U.S. Coast Guard engineering professionals to provide robust and survivable communication links and facilities throughout Hawai`i.
The ANUENUE Interisland Digital Microwave Network consists of high-capacity microwave links, radio towers and facility buildings that interconnect and support the systems and networks relied upon by first responders, search and rescue, law enforcement, emergency services and critical government operations. Twelve ANUENUE “high sites” on mountaintops, many at remote locations, connect with eight sites at state office buildings and USCG properties.
“A shared vision and trust between the state of Hawai`i and the Coast Guard resulted in a partnership that shares resources and capabilities to achieve a common goal of protecting and serving the people of Hawai`i,” Gov. David Ige said. “As a result, Hawai`i is more secure and better prepared for emergencies.”
The network was designed to survive disasters, natural or otherwise. Its towers and buildings are designed to survive the 155 mph winds of a Category Four hurricane, generators are ready to run for a week without commercial power and earthquake Zone Four-rated backbone facilities are located away from tsunami inundation zones. The microwave radio backbone provides a secure connection across the state.
ANUENUE replaced the Rainbow Microwave System, a technologically outdated predecessor that initiated the concept of shared communications infrastructure and fostered the cooperation and resource sharing critical to the current success.
Facilities were built or refurbished to minimize impacts to sensitive areas and view planes and to be environmentally friendly.
Users of ANUENUE include the Statewide Shared Blended land mobile radio system; Maritime Wireless Network System; Hawai`i Emergency Management Agency; and the Departments of Public Safety, Transportation, Health and Land and Natural Resources. State-sponsored users include agencies of all counties, and USCG-sponsored federal users include the National Park Service.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD co-introduced a bipartisan resolution to recognize #GivingTuesday, a global day of charitable giving and volunteerism. #GivingTuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, begins the holiday season in the spirit of service, following widely recognized shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

“Every single day, each of us has the opportunity to find a way to give back to our communities, to help those in need and to have a positive impact on those around us,” Gabbard said. “#GivingTuesday highlights this opportunity and the special importance of service and giving back.
“Too often, national politics and media focus on the issues that divide us, rather than those that unite us. Service, volunteerism and giving back are principles that unite us and allow us to transcend the many labels that can often divide us.”

Giving Tuesday was launched by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation in 2012 and has since become a worldwide movement, harnessing the power of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change. In its first year, Giving Tuesday brought together more than 2,500 organizations in all 50 states, and it has continued to gain momentum every year since, with more than 35,000 partners in the United States and around the world.

Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

KA`U HIGH GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM ended their chances to move on in Big Island Interscholastic Federation Championships with a loss to Pahoa on Tuesday. The Trojan wahine won the second set to tie the match, but Pahoa took charge and won the next two. Finals scores were 20-25, 25-20, 21-25 and 14-25.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.

BEAUTY OF KA`U ENTRY DROP-OFF is a week from today on Friday, Oct. 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 31 from 9 a.m. to 11a.m. for the Nov. 2 – 5 show at CU Hawai`i in Na`alehu. Winner of the popular vote is featured on the cover of The Directory 2016.
For more information, see kauchamber.org, or call Donna Masaniai at 238-0505.

THIS AFTERNOON IS YOUR CHANCE to learn how to provide testimony and keep up with the Hawai'i Legislature. A free session 2:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center will be led by Keaunu Young, of the state Legislature’s Public Access Room. Young will explain easy-to-use tools on the state Legislature’s website. At capitol.hawaii.gov Ka`u residents can access information easily, keep track of it and deliver testimony efficiently.

See par@capitol.hawaii.gov or 974-4000 x7-0478 for more information.

LOPAKA KAPANUI PRESENTS Chicken Skin: Obake Stories tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The master storyteller, kumu and actor tells true ghost stories of Hawai`i. Tickets are $20 in advance at CD Wizard and Irie Hawai`i; $25 at the door. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests.
Park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8371 for more information.

A SOCIAL SECURITY PLANNING workshop is open to the public this evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. See ad below for topics covered. Reserve at 327-5410.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to purchase advance tickets for Jazz in the Forest performances tomorrow. A matinee begins at 4:30 p.m., with an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. Matinee tickets are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members). Evening tickets are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members). Tickets are available at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village, VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and online at volcanoartcenter.org through Friday. Tickets will be sold at the door if not sold out.

ROBERT WEISS, WHOSE COLLECTION of plein air paintings is currently on display at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, offers a free teaching demonstration at the gallery tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

KUMU HULA ALOHA VICTOR and Halau Kala`akeakauikawekiu poresent a hula kahiko performance tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the hula platform near Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
Free; park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8222 for more information.

THE ART EXPRESS COMES to Discovery Harbour Community Hall tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the painting workshop, participants can learn something new or work on forgotten projects. Instructions will be on oil, acrylic or watercolor.
Sign up with and receive instructions from Meliha at himeliha@yahoo.com.

NATIVE DRYLAND PLANTS WORKSHOP takes place Sunday from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Kahuku Park Pavilion in Ocean View. Presenters showcase plants well suited to Ka`u’s climate and environment and that can be used to great effect as landscape features.
Email hoomalukau@gmail.com or call 929-8526.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE until next Friday, Oct. 30 for Hawai`i Community College Alumni & Friends 75th anniversary fundraising dinner. Hawai`i CC has been a member of the Hawai`i Island community since 1941, and the fundraiser dinner will be a chance to celebrate this milestone while also raising money for student scholarships.
The event takes place on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the University of Hawai`i-Hilo Sodexo Dining Room from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. It includes a silent auction, door prizes and entertainment.
Net proceeds from the event will help Hawai`i CC Alumni & Friends establish an endowment to provide student scholarships.
For online ticket, see uhfoundation.org/HawaiiCC75. Alumni may also contact Anne Chung at 934-2547 or archung@hawaii.edu.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee expects to finalize the plan at its meeting this week. See more below.
Photo from Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo

KA`U HOSPITAL EARNS FIVE STARS, and a baby is born in the ER.

Baby born in Ka`u Hospital's ER on Friday, Oct. 23, delivered
by Dr. Douglas Davenport and nurses Jerelyn Hammer and
Debra Javar, is doing fine. Photo from Ka`u Hospital

Medicare surveyors from the federal Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Assurance gave Ka`u Hospital a five-star rating this month. The team reviewed not only the long-term care services but also inpatient and emergency departments to ensure that Ka`u Hospital meets all the standards and provides safe, quality care.
Director of Nursing Nona Wilson reported that “the results of the survey were excellent in both long-term care and acute care services. Medicare has a rating system for long-term care services called Nursing Home Compare. It is a bit like the rating for hotels. Because of our consistently good surveys, we continue to maintain a five-star rating. The inpatient and ER areas are not rated in the same way, but just like in long-term care, they continue to achieve milestones in quality.”
Wilson stated that the administration at Ka`u Hospital is “incredibly proud of our staff for their accomplishments.” However, “the icing on the cake occurred on Friday at 0730 when a surprise birth occurred in our ED. Dr. Davenport and nurses Jerelyn Hammer and Debra Javar handled the situation with ease, and both mom and baby did very well.”

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HOW TO SHEPHERD LEGISLATION through the Hawai`i Senate and House of Representatives drew coffee farmers, Ka`u library advocates, senior citizens and members of Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos and Hawai`i Ocean View Estates communities to two meetings yesterday in Ka`u. The workshops were given by Keanu Young, of the Public Access Room at the state Capitol, a veteran of working for state legislators. He showed the path and ways citizens follow legislation and provide pro and con testimony to committees considering it, all the way up to the point at which the governor signs, vetoes or allows it to become law without the gubernatorial signature.

Young talked about the gut-and-replace tactic used to change the meaning of legislation or take it over for another purpose, making it critical for advocates to keep track of changes as bills move through the process. Citizens attending showed interest in protecting neighborhoods from industrial solar farms, keeping local libraries strong and open and protecting farmlands, particularly the Ka`u Coffee lands that are being sold to a real estate investment firm in Colorado.

Young noted that Hawai`i is a leader in providing ways for the public, even those living remotely, to track and give testimony and to search for people and subjects involved in legislation. He encouraged people to vote and to know the House and Senate members representing Ka`u, who would typically sponsor bills coming from the community. “The most important people involved in the Legislature are the members of the public,” Young said.
He gave instruction on giving testimony online.
The Public Access Room offers online help through emails and phone calls, Internet access to archives of bills, reports and testimonies, and a place to work at a computer and desk when visiting the Legislature in person.
See more on the legislative process, PAR’s blog, newsletters and links at lrbhawaii.org/par/. Contact 808-587-0478 or par@capitol.hawaii.gov.
The Hawai`i Legislature opens on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. Deadline for submission – up to ten bills by each legislator (20 for each committee chair) allowed each session – soon follows the opening day.
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Hele-On buses now run on a mixture of biodiesel and imported diesel.

HAWAI`I COUNTY HAS BEGUN using biodiesel in its Hele-On buses, trucks and some off-road vehicles. Called B20, the fuel is a mixture of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent imported diesel.

“It puts us in a great position to lead by example, and we have a facility here that actually produces high-quality biodiesel,” County deputy managing director Randy Kurohara told Ivy Ashe, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald.
Pacific Biodiesel plant in Keau`u refines its biofuel from waste products, including cooking and vegetable oils and animal grease.
“We can’t get to 100 percent renewables if we don’t start at 20 percent,” Pacific Biodiesel vice president Kelly King told Ashe. “It’s great because the more volume we have, the more we can start looking at where to build the next biodiesel plant in the state. It’s really gratifying for us to be able to provide those kind of jobs.”
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Keli`i Akina Photo from Kanu Hawai`i

A FEDERAL JUDGE HAS RULED that a Native Hawaiian election for convention delegates may take place next month as scheduled. According to U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright, the election is a private poll not run by the state.

Filed in August, the lawsuit argued that it’s unconstitutional for the state to be involved in a race-based election, but the state said it’s not involved in the vote.
Plaintiff Keli`i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawai`i, told Timothy Hurley, of Honolulu Star-Advertiser, that he is confident the ruling would be overturned by a higher court. “It is simply wrong for the state to use public resources in order to promote a racially discriminatory process,” Akina told Hurley.
However, Bill Meheula, attorney for Na`i Aupuni, the group holding the vote, said it will be difficult to overturn Seabright’s ruling. According to Meheula, the judge “basically said they lost at both levels (state and federal), and they needed to win on both levels. We only need to win on one level. So for them to win on appeal, they have to reverse him basically twice.”
Office of Hawaiian Affairs chair Robert Lindsey said, “The federal court has confirmed that Native Hawaiians have the right to bring our voices together to be heard. It’s now up to us. This is our opportunity as a community to take on the kuleana — the rights and responsibilities — to improve our lives. Native Hawaiians have the chance to engage in Na`i Aupuni’s process to ultimately create greater well-being for our people today and for generations to come.”
See staradvertiser.com.

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VOLCANO ART CENTER in Volcano Village presents Jazz in the Forest today. A matinee begins at 4:30 p.m., with an evening performance at 7:30 p.m. At the door, matinee tickets are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members), and evening tickets are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).

ANNA-LISA OKOYE, A RURAL BUSINESS development specialist with The Kohala Center, provides a farm finances workshop tomorrow from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. The workshop covers farm financing options, business financial statements and a record-keeping system to track income, expenses, assets and liabilities. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, call Ann Fontes at 987-7448.

HO`OMALU KA`U OFFERS a Native Dryland Plants workshop tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Kahuku Park Pavilion in Ocean View. Presenters showcase plants well suited to Ka`u’s climate and environment and that can be used to great effect as landscape features.

Email hoomalukau@gmail.com or call 929-8526.

NA`ALEHU LIBRARY PRESENTS a Feng Shui Lecture Tuesday at 4 p.m. Speaker Clear Englebert is the author of Feng Sui For Love & Money.

For more information, call 939-2442.

KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN Steering Committee meets Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center.
The committee is scheduled to make final CDP recommendations to the county during the meeting. The committee will be acting on its preliminary decisions about CDP revisions based on community feedback. Those decisions were made during August and September meetings. Minutes from each of those meetings are available in the Steering Committee folder at kaucdp.info.
The public is invited, and testimony on agenda items is welcomed.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaualendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee meets Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. See more below. Photo by Julia Neal

NEW HAWAI`I FARM BUREAU PRESIDENT is Randy Cabral, a retired manager for Royal Hawaiian Orchards, which grows and processes macadamia in Ka`u and beyond. Cabral owns a small ranch and home in Ka`u. Vice president is coffee broker Chris Manfredi, who stepped aside as Hawai`i Farm Bureau president and was founding President of Ka`u Farm Bureau. Manfredi also remains as a liaison for Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation to the state Legislature.

Also voting on behalf of the Ka`u Farm Bureau members at the statewide meeting, held last week at Sheraton Kona, was Ka`u Farm Bureau President Brenda Iokepa-Moses.
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IT’S COUNT WEEK AT PAHALA Public & School Library. Library staff and Friends of the Ka`u Library will take statistics of everyone who comes into the library all day long this week, counting materials that were looked at and used, as well as questions asked.

Pahala Public & School Library

“This is very important to the library,” Manager Debbie Wong Yuen said. “The stats show how busy we are, and are a contributing factor for our staffing needs and budget. Please encourage people to use the library throughout next week.”
Also this week, the library is looking for judges for its food decorating contest on Thursday at 4 p.m. Volunteers are also needed to help with the Halloween bash on Friday from 2:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday; and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.
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IN ONE WEEK, HAWAI`I IS MOVING enrollments from its Health Connector insurance exchange to healthcare.gov, the federal exchange.

According to a story by Kristen Consillio in Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Jeff Kissel, the head of the state exchange, said taxpayers lost $300 million by not using the federal exchange from the start.

“Hawai`i should never have had to build its own exchange,” Kissel told Consillio. “It was a costly event, and mistakes were made. If this had never happened, Medicaid would have saved hundres of millions, and the Connector would have saved hundreds of millions, and we still would’ve been able to bring the tax benefits … to the state for our population.
“Hawai`i relied on the judgement of the federal government in selection its contractors, and it proved to be a disaster for both the federal government and (the state).”
Kissel told Consillio the root of the problem was lack of oversight and planning. “There were serious errors on the part of the people who ran the business” … and “the people who made policy at the federal and state levels, and that cost the taxpayer a lot of money nationwide,” Kissel said.
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DISTRICT FAMILY COURT JUDGE Melvin H. Fujino has been appointed to the Third Circuit Court of Hawai`i Island.

Judge Melvin H. Fujino
Photo from Margaret Wille

Fujino, 55, has served as a judge with the District Family Court of the Third Circuit since 2008. Previously, he worked as deputy attorney general and was a team leader responsible for the Statewide Wiretap Review Unit and Asset Forfeiture program. Fujino was also a deputy prosecuting attorney and supervisor, as well as a community-oriented prosecutor for the West Hawai`i branch of Hawai`i County’s Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Fujino is a 1981 graduate of the University of Washington and 1985 graduate of the Gonzaga School of Law.
Gov. David Ige selected Fujino from a list of nominees provided by the Judicial Selection Commission.
“We were fortunate to have a highly qualified pool of nominees,” Ige said. “We appreciate their time and the effort that this process required. I extend my warmest congratulations to Judge Fujino.”
The appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation.
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“IT HAPPENED AGAIN. DID YOU NOTICE?” Hawaiian Volcano Observatory researchers ask in the current issue of Volcano Watch. “Last week, a portion of Kilauea Volcano’s south flank slowly slipped seaward. Its movement is part of a recurring phenomenon called a ‘slow earthquake,’ which last occurred on Memorial Day 2012.
“Beginning in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 2015, a tiltmeter near Ka`ena Point on Hawai`i Island’s coastline south of Kilauea’s summit began to tilt away from the coast in a direction that is diagnostic of a slow earthquake event. A combination of tiltmeter and GPS networks continued to detect slip for the next two to three days. In total, the south flank slipped about three centimeters (1.2 inches) southeastward.
“Earthquakes typically occur along faults – places where rocks slip past each other. To generate the seismic waves that travel through the earth and shake our houses, roads and buildings, the slip has to be fast, typically seconds to minutes long, depending on the size of the earthquake.

“By contrast, slow earthquakes occur over the course of several days, and in Hawai`i, happen along a fault at the boundary between Kilauea Volcano and the old ocean floor. The slip associated with last week’s slow earthquake was so gradual that it did not generate seismic waves. But, had all the slip that took place during this slow earthquake occurred rapidly, it would have resulted in an earthquake of around magnitude six. The slip along the fault did, however, redistribute stresses and triggered earthquakes on adjacent segments of the fault and in the overlying crust.

USGS map shows magnitudes of earthquakes, amount of motion
and area of slippage that occurred six miles below the surface.

“Slow earthquakes on the south flank of Hawai`i are periodic, typically occurring about every 26 months. The previous one was on May 28, 2012, so scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory had been expecting another one to occur since July 2015. Interestingly, Hawai`i Island’s slow earthquakes tend to occur in the same part of south flank over and over again, so instruments have been strategically placed to capture them when they happen.
“The occurrence of ‘typical’ earthquakes in the central part of Kilauea’s south flank is often the most conspicuous indicator that a slow slip earthquake is happening. During the slow earthquake last week, there were over 110 ‘aftershocks.’ These earthquakes began on Oct. 15, after the slow earthquake had begun, and high earthquake rates continued through Oct. 17.
“Most of these aftershocks were small – less than magnitude three. However, on the evening of Oct. 15, there was a larger, magnitude-3.9 earthquake located northeast of the main cluster of seismicity. The epicenter of this earthquake was in the same region as the 1989 magnitude-6.2 earthquake. This part of Kilauea’s south flank is one of three areas on the volcano that generate magnitude-4 or greater earthquakes.
“The timing of the magnitude-3.9 earthquake suggests that it may have been triggered by the slow earthquake. This is not particularly common during slow earthquakes that have been observed since 1998, except for one instance of a magnitude-3.4 earthquake triggered during a slow earthquake in late 1998.
“Another interesting effect of last week’s slow earthquake was the additional seismic activity within Kilauea Volcano’s rift zones. Since the slow earthquake, both the East Rift Zone and the Southwest Rift Zone have experienced an increase in the number of small earthquakes, including a magnitude-three earthquake near Pu`ukou, an area of the Southwest Rift Zone that has had enhanced seismic activity since March 2015. The exact process that might tie the slow earthquake to increased seismic activity in the rift zones is the topic of ongoing research.
“Despite having no clear impact on our daily lives, understanding more about slow earthquakes may answer questions that do have societal impacts. In particular, we’d like to know what effect slow earthquakes have on the volcanic hazard and if larger, more destructive earthquakes are more likely during a slow earthquake. Finding the answers to these and other questions about the slow and unsteady movement on Kilauea’s south flank will keep researchers busy in the coming years.”
See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
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Clear Englebert

NA`ALEHU LIBRARY PRESENTS a Feng Shui Lecture Tuesday at 4 p.m. Speaker Clear Englebert is the author of Feng Sui For Love & Money.

For more information, call 939-2442.

KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN Steering Committee meets Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The committee is scheduled to make final CDP recommendations to the county during the meeting.
The public is invited, and testimony on agenda items is welcomed.
See kaucdp.info for more.

THE LAST VOLCANO IS THE TITLE of a book and Tuesday’s After Dark in the Park program. Author John Dvorak, a former staff member of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, presents a special program and book signing. Dvorak’s book tells how Thomas Jaggar and his wife Isabel Maydwell solved the mystery of why volcanoes erupt and found something else – enduring love.
The free program begins at 7 p.m at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

A swarm of earthquakes northeast of Pahala has been occurring over the past couple of days. Circles indicate timing of quakes: red, within the last two hours; blue, two days; and yellow, two weeks. Map from USGS/HVO

A SWARM OF SMALL EARTHQUAKES has been occurring over the past couple of days just northeast of Pahala, on the makai side of Hwy 11. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists said they have seen swarms in this vicinity before. “Deep earthquakes (20-40 km) at this location have not correlated with any change in activity of the volcano,” HVO reported. “Instead, they seem to be part of the conduit system that feeds magma from the mantle hotspot to the volcano’s summit.”

See hvo.wr.usgs.gov for more about earthquakes.

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TAKE IN THE HOMELESS, urges a partnership between the Hawai`i Association of Realtors and Gov. David Ige’s office, who are asking landlords to rent to those living on streets and beaches and in abandoned buildings. Social service agencies are joining in by counseling landlords on their fears of becoming entangled with homeless people, many who need help with substance abuse and mental health issues.

Gov. David Ige and his Scott Morishige, his Coordinator on Homelessness,
held a press conference this morning. Photo from Office of the Governor

“This is an opportunity to alleviate some of the misinformation that’s out there,” Myoung Oh, director of government affairs for the Hawai`i Association of Realtors, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a story published this morning. “For some people, it’s a little hard for them to open their doors. A lot of it is education.”

For more information on the Hawai`i Association of Realtors’ Landlord Summit, including how to register, see hawaiirealtors.com or tinyurl.com/nj3q6ws.

“There’s no silver bullet for this,” Oh said. “Everyone should be doing their part to end homelessness because we’re a small community. We as an organization are trying to do our part, and everyone should, as well, because we’re a small-knit family, one big `ohana.”
Another initiative, Heroes Housing Heroes, resulted in 25 homeless vets finding housing on O`ahu.
Homeless people in Ka`u find shelter on and off at such places as lands around Punalu`u Beach Park and Honu`apu, the empty Na`alehu Theatre, an old parts warehouse left over from the Ka`u Sugar mill in Pahala and wooded lands around Ka`u towns.
Hawai`i Island will receive a portion of more than $600,000 earmarked for homeless programs on Neighbor Islands. “We realize homelessness is not just on O`ahu; it really is an issue that impacts every community throughout Hawai`i on every island,” Scott Morishige, the governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness, said in another Star-Advertiser story. “We’re seeking to increase the level of funding for HOPE Services, which currently administers the Housing Placement Program on the island, as well as Catholic Charities Hawai`i, which administers the state Homeless Emergency Grant Program. We’re also working with Bridging the Gap, which is a coalition of homeless service providers on the Neighbor Islands, to start to roll out funding for Housing First.”

Bridget Velasco

Chad Cabral, director of development for HOPE Services Hawai`i, told the Star-Advertiser that his organization will receive $108,000 “to basically build our capacity with the Housing Placement Program to house more homeless families on Hawai`i Island. It’s basically to help families find housing in the private rental market.”

See staradvertiser.com.

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PREVENTING DROWNINGS IS THE GOAL of a new effort to educate visitors who are unfamiliar with oceans and waterfalls.
According to Rosemarie Bernardo, of Honolulu Star-Advertiser, ideas being considered are display posters at airport baggage claim areas and promoting ocean safety in guidebooks.
Bernardo said drownings are the leading cause of fatal injury among nonresidents in Hawai`i, according to Bridget Velasco, of the state Department of Health’s EMS and Injury Prevention Systems Branch. The branch is responsible for relaying basic safety messages as well as providing resources to help keep everyone safe. Velasco told Bernardo that an advisory committee defined visitor education and safety message refinement as priorities.
“One drowning is one too many,” Velasco said.
See staradvertiser.com.

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DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS is holding statewide meetings seeking beneficiary input on proposed rule changes related to the following topics:

Genetic Testing – Proposes DHHL accept DNA tests to establish family ties in order to qualify for the Hawaiian Home Lands program;
Lease Transfer – Proposes a process and requirements for transferring a vacant homestead lot (i.e., a lot with no home or other improvements built upon the land).
Subsistence Lots – Proposes a new option in DHHL’s agricultural program that supports a subsistence rural lifestyle.

DHHL is currently re-examining Administrative Rules governing department operations and proposing to remove, add or modify these rules to meet the changing needs and priorities of beneficiaries. The department plans to propose several rule changes throughout the course of the current administration. This first round of proposed rule changes are in direct response to beneficiary feedback the department received over the years.
The rulemaking process could take up to two years. Meetings are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at DHHL West Hawai`i District Office in Waimea on Monday, Nov. 9 and Keaukaha Elementary School Cafetorium on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Beneficiaries have until Jan. 11, 2016 to provide mana`o on this first round of proposed changes.
For more information and to provide feedback via web, see dhhl.hawaii.gov/DHHLRules.

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KA`U HIGH TROJAN GIRLS WILL TRAVEL to Hana, Maui, Kamuela and Hilo for three- and four-day basketball tournaments in December.

Sign-ups and tryouts will be held starting on Monday, Nov. 9 at 2:45 p.m. at the Ka`u High gym and continue daily through Friday, Nov. 13.
The parent meeting will be the following Monday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. at the school’s band room.

Girls basketball season will start the first week in December with Tuesday games. Additional tournaments will include a three-day session in Kamuela at Hawai`i Preparatory Academy, the first weekend in December, followed by a four-day trip to Hana, Maui during the second weekend in December and a tournament at Hilo High the third week of December.
Coaches are Cy Lopez, Jennifer Makuakane, April Jara and Bridgett Pasion.

Fundraising for the team and tournament travel includes the annual Chinese Pretzel sale, with presale tickets and distribution the last Sunday of November at Pahala Shopping Center. To donate to the team, call Lopez or Makuakane at 345-6895.

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FENG SHUI IS THE TOPIC of a lecture tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Na`alehu Library. Speaker Clear Englebert is the author of Feng Sui For Love & Money.
For more information, call 939-2442.

John Dvorak discusses his new book tomorrow.
Image from NPS

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee meeting tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The committee will make final CDP recommendations to the county.
The public is invited, and testimony on agenda items is welcomed.
See kaucdp.info for more.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK presents a program about The Last Volcano tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Thomas Jaggar traveled the world studying volcanic eruptions. In 1912, he started Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at Kilauea. A widowed schoolteacher, Isabel Maydwell, came to Hawai`i from California to restart her life. She and Dr. Jaggar fell in love and lived in a small house at the edge of Kilauea caldera. Together, they solved the mystery of why volcanoes erupt and found something else – enduring love.

The Last Volcano is the story of the science and romance of volcanoes and why some people choose to dedicate their lives to confronting nature in its most magnificent form.

Join author John Dvorak, a former staff member of HVO, for this program and book signing.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

Ka`u Libraries offer safe ways to celebrate Halloween, with parties on Friday afternoon. Na`alehu Library staff members Jennifer Losalio and Sara Kamibayashi invite the public to participate in a costume contest. See more below.

NA`ALEHU’S WASTEWATER TREATMENT plant is planned for state land east of town, makai of Hwy 11. Tom Callis, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald, reported that the preferred site selected by the Environmental Management Department borders Kahua `Olohu, the 13-acre Makahiki Grounds being considered for acquisition and preservation by the county.
Twelve other sites were considered, but Environmental Management Director Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd told Callis that issues with them included being too small, having archaeological features and lava tubes and requiring pumping sewage uphill.
According to Todd, the department will hold a public meeting before the end of the year and then draft an environmental assessment.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Anna-Lisa Okoye gave a class for Ka`u Coffee growers Sunday.
Photo by Julia Neal

KA`U COFFEE FARMERS took a four-hour workshop on financing their businesses and land on Sunday. Anna-Lisa Okoye, a Rural Business Development Specialist, gave the class and encouraged farmers to further educate themselves in the creation of business plans, cash flow projections, tax returns, record keeping and financial statements. She also displayed various financing options available to farmers, including operating and ownership loans. One from the state Department of Agriculture offers loans of up to $800,000 each. A 40-year loan for buying property has a current interest rate of 3.75 percent. A similar federal loan has an interest rate of four percent for buying land.

Farmers said they are learning more about financing as they seek land security for their Ka`u Coffee farms that created a new industry after sugar shut down almost 20 years ago. The land where most of them grow coffee at Moa`ula and Pear Tree is being sold to Resource Land Holdings, LLC, of Denver, and the property could eventually be subdivided and sold. The farmers are currently negotiating for licenses from Resource Land Holdings, which is proposing 15-year rental terms, as the growers attempt to find a longer-term, more secure solution. The workshop for the farmers was sponsored by The Kohala Center.

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Image from wikipedia

TWO PEOPLE ON HAWAI`I ISLAND are being tested for dengue fever, chikungunya and zika. Rosemarie Bernardo reported in Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Infected mosquitoes can spread the diseases through their bites. So far this year, 13 cases have been confirmed statewide. There were 14 cases last year.
“We hope to receive the (test) results sometime next week,” state Department of Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo told Bernardo.
Characteristic symptoms of dengue are sudden-onset fever, headache (typically located behind the eyes), muscle and joint pains and a rash that blanches when pressed. The alternative name for dengue, breakbone fever, comes from associated muscle and joint pains.
As there is no commercially available vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites.
DOH recommends bed rest and acetaminophen to treat fever and pain.
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EIGHT OF 22 KA`U YOUTH SWIMMERS earned ribbons at the novice swim team championships held Saturday, Oct. 24 at Kawamoto Swim Stadium in Hilo. The county Parks & Recreation event followed an islandwide meet at Pahala Pool on Oct. 10 with more than 200 swimmers.

Ka`u swimmers who placed in the Kawamoto championship are:
In the boys 25-yard races, Diesel Kaleohana took fifth in freestyle with 21.49 seconds. He also took fourth in breaststroke with 29.53 seconds and third in butterfly with 26.56.
In the girls 25 yard races, Kawena Brown took sixth in breaststroke with 25.06.
In the boys 50-yard races, Justin Denny took first in freestyle with 27.25, second in butterfly with 16.34 and first in the individual medley with one minute, 18.72 seconds.
Ryder Brown took third in freestyle with 30.64, first in backstroke with 38.58 and first in breaststroke with 40.15.
In girls 50-yard races, Olivia Kanahele took second in freestyle with 32.41. Tiare Wong Yuen took third in freestyle with 34.44, fourth in breaststroke at 47.09 and third in butterfly in 18.34.
In the 100-yard races, Weston Davis took first in freestyle with one minute, 07.30 seconds, third in breaststroke at one minute, 32.47 seconds and first in butterfly with one minute, 35.13 seconds. Zachary Blanco-Louis took fifth in freestyle with one minute and 17.50 seconds, fourth in backstroke with one minute, 45.32 seconds and fourth in butterfly with one minute, 42.07 seconds.
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Is this trick or treater safe? Photo from wikipedia

HAWAI`I COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT shares information to keep children safe to enjoy the festivities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly four times as many children ages 5-14 are killed while walking on Halloween evening than other time of the year. Here are some tips for staying safe while having fun:
Trick or Treaters should plan routes and share them with family. If possible, have an adult go along. Carry flashlights to see and be seen. Use reflective tape or stickers on bags or costumes. Cross the street only at corners, using crosswalks when available. Walk on sidewalks. If no sidewalks are available, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible. Look both ways before crossing the street. Use face paint or makeup instead of masks, which can obstruct vision. Avoid costumes that are so long that they become tripping hazards. Only visit homes that have porch lights on. Accept treats at the door, and never go into a stranger’s house. Be cautious of strangers and animals. Have a grown-up inspect treats before eating.
Motorists need to be especially careful in residential areas by slowing down and looking for keiki on roadways, medians and curbs. Watch for keiki darting out from between parked cars. Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully. Don’t drink and drive; make sure to have a reliable, licensed designated driver before starting to drink.
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KA`U LIBRARIES OFFER SAFE WAYS to celebrate Halloween on Friday afternoon.
Na`alehu Library holds a party from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. with goodies, crafts, activities and a costume contest. Call 939-2442 for more information.
Pahala Library’s Halloween Bash begins at 2:15 p.m. and continues to closing at 5 p.m. Manager Debbie Wong Yuen invites residents to be creative in a food decorating contest. Entries are due by 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. “No need to go out and buy things; use household items,” she said. The winner will be announced at the party Friday afternoon.
For the movie matinee on Friday, the Pahala Library features two Halloween movies. There will also be games and a snack-making demonstration. For more information, call 928-2015.
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At the first of many upcoming community forums, Gov. Ige said he supports
the TMT project. Photo from Office of the Governor

GOV. DAVID IGE REAFFIRMED his support of the Thirty Meter Telescope planned to be built at the summit of Mauna Kea. At the first of several community forums to be scheduled, Ige said, “When I became governor on Dec. 1, the courts had already made a decision to approve the TMT project. As governor, I must support that decision.
“On a personal note, I support the Thirty Meter Telescope as it is an opportunity for Hawai`i to become a leader in astronomy, but the state must do a better job of managing Mauna Kea.”
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THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee meeting today at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The committee will make final CDP recommendations to the county.
Testimony on agenda items is welcomed.
See kaucdp.info for more.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK presents a program about The Last Volcano this evening at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

`Ulana lauhala is the topic tomorrow at Kilauea Visitor Center. Photo from NPS

Author John Dvorak, a former staff member of HVO, discusses and signs his book that tells how Thomas Jaggar and his wife Isabel Maydwell solved the mystery of why volcanoes erupt and found something else – enduring love.

PARK RANGERS AND CULTURAL practitioners share the art of pandanus weaving tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Kilauea Visitor Center’s lanai in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply. Call 985-6011 for more information.

KA`U HIGH SWIM TRYOUTS AND PRACTICE start early in November under coach Bruce Simmerman. The girls and boys Trojan swim teams will travel to schools around the island into February. Swim tryouts and practice are from 2:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays at Pahala Pool. This is the first year for coaching for Simmerman, who teaches pre-algebra, `ukulele and art at the school. He swam competitively as a student.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park warns motorists that nene, which are at their most vulnerable now, during breeding and nesting season, blend in with their natural environment and hard to spot. See more below. NPS Photo by Kathleen Misajon

A NEW ERA FOR MANAGEMENT of 5,800 coastal, ranch and coffee farm acres in Ka`u is expected to begin with Colorado-based company Resource Land Holdings, LLC closing on the purchase from Lehman Brothers Holdings in early November.

Resource Land Holdings is expected to close next month on 5,800 acres of Ka`u
coastal, coffee and ranch lands. Photo by Julia Neal

The land, once the property of C. Brewer and its sugar company in Ka`u, is coveted by preservation groups involved in conserving the Ka`u Coast, ranchers who have cattle high above the shore of Waikapuna and coffee farmers who have developed small businesses and a new industry in Ka`u during the last two decades. All three groups are hoping that the land can be acquired from Resource Land Holdings for protection of natural resources, ranching and coffee and other agriculture.

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BRENDA IOKEPA-MOSES IS EXPECTED to assume the position of Ka`u land manager when Resource Land Holdings, LLC closes on the purchase of 5,800 acres in coffee, coastal and ranch properties from Lehman Brothers Holdings in November. She said she is serving as an interim consultant for RLH until the land transfer closes. Iokepa-Moses, a Pahala resident for more than 20 years, has a long history of working with farmers and ranchers on the land formerly owned by C. Brewer sugar company. “I started my career in Ka`u with C. Brewer and was part of the team that helped the displaced sugar workers retain a license for five acres free of rent for five years,” she said. “After the close of the plantation, I worked for WWK Holdings, which purchased some 2,000 acres that these very same farmers occupied.” She praised the famers who became successful with their award-winning Ka`u Coffee “despite the uncertainty of their future.”

Brenda Iokepa-Moses

After working with WWK, Iokepa-Moses transferred to a job with Olson Trust under the land division, working with John Cross on land leasing to open up property to more coffee farmers as well as other diversified agriculture ventures. She worked in many different capacities for the Trust, the latest position at Ka`u Coffee Mill Visitors Center on Wood Valley Road in Pahala.
Iokepa-Moses said, “I am really excited to work with new landowners in securing long-term licenses for our hard-working coffee farmers who have been tossed around since the close of the plantation. Over the last 20 years, I have built relationships with the Ka`u farmers. I know them personally and understand their hardships.
“I will work hard to help them secure a future not only for themselves but also the next generation of Ka`u coffee farmers,” she promised.
Iokepa-Moses also serves as President of the Hawai`i Agricultural Conservation District, President of Ka`u Farm Bureau, Chair of Ka`u Soil and Water Conservation Board, and is a member of the Hawai`i County Board of Water Supply, `O Ka`u Kakou and the Ka`u Coffee Festival Committee. She is a retired member of the U.S. Army Reserves.
John Cross, of Olson Trust, who is another Brewer veteran, is also signed up as a consultant with Resource Land Holdings.
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Ka`u CDP staff and Steering Committee members are all smiles after voting to send the final document to the county. From left to right: Leina`ala Enos, Ron Whitmore, Simon Torres, Ron Ebert and Isobel Donovan, Michelle Galimba, Loren Heck, Patti Barry, Nalani Parlin, John Cross and Bob DaMate. Photo by Ron Johnson

ALMOST PAU WAS THE MESSAGE on the celebratory cake at yesterday’s meeting of the Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee. The committee approved final revisions to the draft Ka`u CDP and voted to send the document to the county.
After seven years of work, Project Manager Ron Whitmore thanked committee members for their service to the county and community. He noted the “thoughtful, diverse and productive conversations” that led to the final document. He said the committee “kept the county’s feet to the fire” as the project progressed to this “major milestone” in the process.

The majority of committee members voted to forward the document to the county. No one voted not to forward it, and Ron Ebert, of Punalu`u, was the only member to abstain.
Committee member Michelle Galimba, representing Ka`alaiki and Honu`apo, said, “It is a good document.”
Loren Heck, of Ocean View, said of last night’s meeting, “It’s easy to have a good, positive meeting when there’s so much good, positive preparation.”
Non-voting member John Cross said, “We have agreed to disagree, and that’s good” and said some of the policies in the document “will raise eyebrows.”

The committee enjoyed a dinner of roast pork, rice, sushi and salad after adjourning.

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A trio of nene enjoy the view at Jaggar Museum.
NPS Photo by Michael Szoenyi

IT’S BREEDING AND NESTING SEASON for nene, and park visitors are urged to drive with caution and to give the endangered Hawaiian goose space.
Nene, the largest native land animal in Hawai`i, are present in the park and other locations on Hawai`i Island year-round, but this seasonal window is vital for their survival, and it’s also when they are the most vulnerable to being run over by drivers. While getting ready to nest, the geese are focused on eating and often forage from dawn to dusk. They blend in with their surroundings, and in low-light periods, they are especially hard for motorists to spot.
“One of the most important things people can do is give nene space,” said Kathleen Misajon, Nene Recovery Program manager at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. “This means not approaching them and never feeding them. Nene are easily habituated to food hand-outs from people and vehicles, and these birds often fall victim to vehicle strikes.”
Nene crossing signs posted throughout the park call attention to roadside areas frequented by nene. These include sections of Hwy 11, Crater Rim Drive and Chain of Craters Road. Motorists are urged to use extra caution in signed nene crossing areas and to obey posted speed limits.
Most nene fly between nighttime roosts and diurnal feeding grounds. The female builds a simple ground nest and incubates one to four eggs for a full month while her devoted mate acts as a sentry. Shortly after they hatch, goslings leave the nest and follow their parents to their traditional foraging grounds, which can be more than a mile away. At 14 weeks, nene can fly, and along with their parents, they join large flocks where they meet their relatives and potential mates. They usually mate for life.
See nps.gov/havo/photosmultimedia/nene_psa.htm for more information. To report nene on the road in the park, call 985-6001. Outside the park, call 974-4221.
For more information on nene and other endangered species the park works to protect, see the new On the Brink of Extinction brochure posted at nps.gov/havo/learn/nature/onthebrink.htm.

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KAUAHA`AO CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH in Wai`ohinu will be having a fundraising bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and invites individuals, school/athletic groups, clubs and churches to be vendors at the flea market. The church is located on the corner of Hwy11, Kamaoa Road and Pinao Street, just above Wong Yuen Store and Gas Station.
The charge for a 10’x10’ vendor space is $10. Vendors need to bring their own 10’x10’ tent, tables, chairs and, if needed, a generator. Vendors can sell anything except hot food and plate lunches.
The church will be selling Kalau Pig plate lunches and containers of Kalua Pig plus hot dogs, baked goods and more. There will be entertainment throughout the day.
For more information and to reserve a vendor space, call Walter Wong Yuen at 928-8039 after 7 p.m.

Overall winner will grace the cover
of next year's Directory.

LEGAL AID IS AVAILABLE TOMORROW from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7033 for more information.

BEAUTY OF KA`U ENTRY DROP-OFF is Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the Monday, Nov. 2 through Thursday, Nov. 5 art show at CU Hawai`i in Na`alehu.

See kauchamber.org or call Donna Masaniai at 238-0505 for more information.

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN HELP Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and the `aina by cutting invasive himalayan ginger on park trails Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Loppers and gloves are provided. Participants are encouraged to wear long sleeve shirts, long pants and close-toed shoes.
Work is often in the shade of the forest with sweet sounds of native honeycreepers like `apapane, `amakihi and a`ma`o above. Water, snacks, rain gear and sun protection are recommended.
This project is open to the public, and no reservations are required. Interested people can stop by Kilauea Visitor Center to get directions and more information. The hike is around a one mile, moderate round trip into Kilauea caldera down Halem`auma`u Trail. The hike involves walking over rough, uneven terrain on a dirt and rock path, with up to a 400' elevation change.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Ka`u High School graduate Marley Strand-Nicolaisen shows her focus playing volleyball for UH-Hilo, as UH President David Lassner, in yellow shirt, watches the Vulcans win their match with Chaminade University. See more below. Photo by Tim Wright

HAWAI`I’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION today praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service’s announcement that it will provide a green bean pricing valuation for Hawai`i-grown coffee starting in January 2016. Currently, Hawai`i coffee “farm gate value” is based on parchment rather than green bean. Green bean coffee valuation will more accurately reflect market values and make reporting easier for growers.

A new pricing valuation for Ka`u and all Hawai`i coffees goes into effect
in January 2016. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

“Despite achieving global recognition, Hawai`i-grown coffee has long been valued differently than most of the global coffee market,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said. “This announcement by the USDA to value Hawai`i coffee in the same way as the global coffee marketplace will better align with global valuation standards, increase the value of Hawai`i-grown coffee and help attract additional research and development funds to support our local coffee farmers and industry. Hawai`i is our nation’s only domestic coffee producer, and this change will help strengthen our coffee industry and increase its potential for growth.”

Sen. Brian Schatz said, “The USDA currently understates the value of Hawai`i’s coffee crops, which impacts the availability of financing and the importance of coffee to the U.S. economy. This action by the USDA will make it easier for Hawai`i farmers to get loans and to secure federal funding for research and pest control.”

Sen. Mazie Hirono said, “This is a big win for our coffee farmers and was made possible thanks to members of the Hawai`i agriculture community, who have been working with me on this issue for years, and our ongoing collaboration with the USDA.”

Sens. Schatz and Hirono and Rep. Gabbard
represent Ka`u in U.S. Congress.

The plan calls for Hawai`i coffee to be valued under a “non-citrus fruits and nuts” model from its current “field crop” model. This shift will allow for a more timely publication of data, with preliminary data published in January and final data published in July. Hawai`i’s coffee stakeholders will be provided with valuable data including bearing acreage, yield, total production, utilized production, average price and value of production on a cherry basis.

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SEN. MAZIE HIRONO, A MEMBER of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, voted to support the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. The legislation overwhelmingly passed the Senate 74-21.
“Embracing the promise and vulnerabilities of the Internet age requires a delicate balance between promoting security online and protecting users’ privacy and Constitutional rights, Hirono said. “The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act strikes that balance in a number of important ways.
“This legislation will help prevent cyber attacks by facilitating a common awareness in the cyber realm. When the private sector has a common view of cyber threats and shares cybersecurity information, companies can more effectively defend their networks.
“And although the privacy provisions should be strengthened further, the voluntary nature of the bill and the cyber threat awareness it would promote are worthy of support. Consumers deserve to know how their information is used, and maintaining Americans’ privacy remains a key priority as we finalize this legislation.”

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A HUI THAT SUPPORTS CREATING an energy cooperative on Hawai`i Island on Tuesday defended itself against allegations by Hawaiian Electric Co. and Next Era Energy. In a motion to Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission, the merger applicants stated, “Intervenor Party Hawai`i Island Electric Cooperative has sought to introduce into the record evidence concerning plans or proposals for future electric cooperatives in Hawai`i.” The applicants consider such information to be outside the scope of the PUC’s current investigation.

Marco Mangelsdorf

HIEC responded that it “has not sought to introduce any such proposal that the commission adopt or approve a cooperative model for electric utility service. Further, HIEC is not aware of any cooperative or municipal ownership proposals introduced by other intervenors in this docket.”

HIEC said, “It is both unnecessary and premature to insist that the commission address the hypothetical introduction of a plan or proposal for cooperative or municipal ownership at this time.”

In earlier testimony, HIEC Director Marco Mangelsdorf explained the purpose and relevance of HIEC’s evidence regarding the cooperative ownership model. “Given the critical importance of these issues, and the potential long-term, nearly statewide impact of the proposed merger, HIEC believes that, in order to properly and effectively determine the likely impact of the transaction on the public interest and cost to the consumer, the merits of the proposed merger should be examined and evaluated in relation to potential alternatives, including the alternative of a cooperative ownership model,” he said.

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VISITOR ARRIVALS CONTINUE TO REACH record highs, Hawai`i Tourism Authority President and CEO George D. Szigeti reported.

Visitor arrivals have remained strong for the first nine months of the year, reaching 6.5 million visitors and pacing just slightly above projections. However, growth in spending is beginning to plateau; currently only 2.6 percent ahead of last year, reaching $11.3 billion.

George D. Szigeti

According to Szigeti, Hawai`i will see a boost in air seats during the fourth quarter. Three new flights from two new carriers begin, pushing total air seats to the state to a record 11.8 million for 2015. Virgin America will begin flying from San Francisco to Honolulu in November and to Kahului in December, and Jin Air, a low-cost carrier from South Korea, will begin service from Seoul to Honolulu in December.

“It is important for us to collaborate with our marketing and industry partners to ensure there is sufficient demand to support these new flights and all of our existing routes,” Szigeti said.

HTA expects to see continued growth from core U.S. markets due to lower domestic fuel prices. However, it continues to monitor unstable economic conditions in Canada, Japan and China.

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KA`U HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE Marley Strand-Nicolaisen, now an outside-hitter for UH-Hilo, led the Lady Vulcans on Wednesday, Oct. 28 to a victory over Chaminade University in five sets. Enjoying the game was UH President Dr. David Lassner. With over 200 kills and over 20 aces so far this season, Stand-Nicolaisen is on Lady Vulcan’s Leader Board.

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KA`U STUDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE in Hawai`i Community College’s first-ever Express Admissions Day on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Manono campus in Hilo and the Palamanui campus in Kona.

Express Admissions Day is Saturday, Nov. 14 at Hawai`i Community
College campuses in Hilo and Kona. Photo from Hawai`i CC

Express Admissions Day is the fast way to apply for the Spring 2016 semester. Prospective students can complete an application; receive their MyUH Student Number; schedule the next steps in the enrollment process, such as academic advising, orientation and placement testing; and have their questions answered by Hawai`i CC representatives.
“Express Admissions Day is designed to make enrollment as easy as possible,” said Jason Cifra, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Hawai`i CC.
The deadline to apply for the Spring 2016 semester is Dec. 1, and classes start on Jan. 11.
Attendees of Express Admissions Day can enter to win a scholarship, and current Hawai`i CC students who bring a friend can also enter to win a scholarship.
For more information, call 934-2800 (East Hawai`i) or 969-8816 (West Hawai`i), or see hawaii.hawaii.edu.
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TODAY AT 3:30 P.M. IS THE DEADLINE to enter fruit and vegetable creations in Pahala Library’s food decorating contest. Winners will be announced during the library’s Halloween Bash tomorrow from 2:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event also features two Halloween movies, games and a snack-making demonstration.
For more information, call 928-2015.

NA`ALEHU LIBRARY HOLDS ITS Halloween party tomorrow from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. with goodies, crafts, activities and a costume contest.
Call 939-2442 for more information.

KA`U ARTISTS CAN DROP OFF THEIR Beauty of Ka`u entries tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the Monday, Nov. 2 through Thursday, Nov. 5 show at CU Hawai`i in Na`alehu.

See more in ad at right, at kauchamber.org, or call Donna Masaniai at 238-0505.

SOUTH SIDE SHAKA'S Restaurant in Na`alehu celebrates Halloween tomorrow. Call 929-7404 for more information.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S Halloween Party is tomorrow from 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. DJ Thomas Ramirez keeps the music going in the Lava Lounge in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Entry is $3 for partiers in costume; $5 without. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.
Call 967-8371 for more information.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Tiger sharks pup and migrate to the main Hawaiian Islands in the fall, increasing the population during this time of year. See story below. Photo by Albert Kok from Wikipedia

TWO CASES OF DENGUE FEVER are confirmed on Hawai`i Island. The state Department of Health is also investigating four more probable cases of the disease in Hawai`i residents and visitors that were acquired on the island. Further testing and confirmation at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention is pending. The department sent out a medical advisory to Hawai`i County clinicians yesterday to alert them and urge them to report suspect dengue fever cases.

Aedes aegypti carried dengue fever. Photo from Wikipedia

“Although dengue is not endemic to Hawai`i, we do have the mosquito species capable of transmitting the disease,” state Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said. “It’s likely an infected traveler infected the local mosquito population, which led to this cluster, so we want the public to be aware of this mosquito-borne disease and the steps they can take to prevent infection.”
Hawai`i District Health Officer Aaron Ueno said local environmental health assessments have not found significant mosquito activity in the affected area, but the department is conducting mosquito prevention activities such as spraying with consent from property owners.
Travelers to areas with infected mosquitoes where dengue fever is endemic are at the highest risk of acquiring the disease. Mosquitoes breed in areas of standing water, such as planters, old tires and pet water bowls.
Hawai`i DOH recommends using mosquito repellents containing 20–30 percent DEET and wearing long sleeves and pants in areas where mosquito-borne disease is a concern.
For tips on mosquito control, see http://health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2013/06/Vector-mosquitohandout.pdf.
For more information on dengue fever, see health.hawaii.gov/docd/dib/disease/dengue.
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FOLLOWING THE SEVENTH HUMAN/SHARK encounter in the state this year, Dr. Carl Meyer, of the Hawai`i Institute of Marine Biology, said there are more tiger sharks in water surrounding the main islands now than at other times of the year. “Tiger sharks pup during the fall, and migrations from the northwestern Hawaiian Islands … during this time of year are proven facts. Native Hawaiian oral traditions clearly link the fall months to a risk of shark bites. This traditional knowledge is reflected in our current shark incident statistics.

“In recent decades, almost one third of all shark bites in Hawai`i have occurred during the months of October and November. It is also important to remember that shark bites occur in all months of the year in Hawai`i and that the number of encounters at any time of the year is extremely low compared to the number of people in the water.”

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono

In December 2013, a tiger shark bit a bodyboarder at the Ninole Horseshoe area of Punalu`u. The 29-year-old Captain Cook man was paddling out for his second session with two friends when a shark knocked him off his board. He received stitches at Ka`u Hospital.

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SEN. MAZIE HIRONO VOTED EARLY this morning to support a budget agreement that removes caps put in place by the Budget Control Act for two years and keeps the country from defaulting on its debt. The measure overwhelmingly passed the Senate 64-35.

“This bipartisan measure is a reasonable compromise that protects our seniors, keeps our economy on track and takes a number of manufactured crises off the table for two years,” Hirono said. “By removing harmful sequester caps on both military and domestic spending, this legislation is the first step to enacting a National Defense Authorization Act that appropriately supports our military and avoiding a government shutdown in December. While this agreement is not the one I would have written, it is a pathway to negotiating appropriations bills that adequately fund priorities like education, housing and community development, medical research and job creation.”
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U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ VOICED his opposition to the Obama Administration’s announcement that it will deploy a small number of Special Operations Forces to Syria.

“The Administration’s announcement that it will deploy Special Operations Forces into Syria to combat ISIL marks a major shift in U.S. policy – a shift that is occurring without congressional debate, is unlikely to succeed in achieving our objective of defeating ISIL and instead threatens to embroil the United States in Syria’s civil war and could bring us into direct confrontation with the Russian Federation military and Syrian government forces,” Schatz   said.
“In the 16-months since the United States began its participation in the regional fight against ISIL, our military involvement has escalated without a clear sense of how our escalating involvement will achieve our strategic objectives. With ISIL’s control of northern Syria, we cannot reasonably expect that the deployment of Special Operations Forces would be limited in scope or duration.
“As we have seen from our failed train-and-equip program, U.S. support for moderate Syrian opposition has its limits. Rather than ratchet up our own involvement, we must look for other opportunities to strengthen the coalition’s ability to effectively prosecute the fight against ISIL.    “This shift in policy is a strategic mistake. Regardless of my views, the War Powers Resolution requires Congress to debate and authorize the escalation of U.S. military involvement in Syria.”
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NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION offers tips on keeping safe this Halloween.

When choosing a costume, stay away from billowing or long-trailing fabric. If you are making your own costume, choose material that won’t easily ignite if it comes into contact with heat or flame.
Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costumes. If your child is wearing a mask, make sure the eye holes are large enough so he/she can see clearly out of it.
Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decorations well away from all open flames and heat sources, including light bulbs and heaters.
It is safest to use a glow stick or battery-operated candle in a jack-o-lantern. If you use a real candle, use extreme caution. When lighting candles inside jack-o-lanterns, use long fireplace-style matches or a utility lighter. If you choose to use candle decorations, make sure to keep them well attended at all times. Do not leave them near flammable objects or where trick-or-treaters may walk. Remind your children to avoid open flames. Make sure children are watched at all times when candles are lit.
Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes.

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Yoga participants at Na`alehu Hongwanji use a variety of props to maintain
alignment and avoid injury. Photo from Stephanie Pepper

IYENGAR YOGA TEACHER Stephanie Pepper now offers Gentle Senior classes on Monday as well as Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Na`alehu Hongwangi. Pepper uses props to help students get into proper alignment safely, avoiding injury. All props are provided, and the first class is free.

Donations are $10 for 10 classes for participants over 65 and $5 per class for those 65 and under.
On Wednesdays, Velvet Replogle leads a meditation class for about an hour.

KA`U LIBRARIES CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN this afternoon.
Na`alehu library holds its Halloween party from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. with goodies, crafts, activities and a costume contest.
Call 939-2442 for more information.
Pahala Library’s Halloween Bash is from 2:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event features two Halloween movies, games and a snack-making demonstration.
For more information, call 928-2015.

KA`U ARTISTS CAN DROP OFF THEIR Beauty of Ka`u entries today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the Monday, Nov. 2 through Thursday, Nov. 5 show at CU Hawai`i in Na`alehu.
See more in ad below, at kauchamber.org, or call Donna Masaniai at 238-0505.

SOUTH SIDE SHAKA’S Restaurant in Na`alehu celebrates Halloween today. Call 929-7404 for more information.

Janice Morimoto

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S Halloween Party is today from 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. DJ Thomas Ramirez keeps the music going in the Lava Lounge in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Entry is $3 for partiers in costume; $5 without. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.
Call 967-8371 for more information.

AUNTIE JAN READS ISLAND KINE STORIES a week from today on Friday, Nov. 6, at 1:30 p.m. at Pahala Public & School Library. Janice Morimoto shares humorous folktales, poetry and participatory games from around the world adapted to local style. The program is suitable for ages 5 and older, and parents or caregivers must accompany young children.
Call 928-2015 for more information.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_October2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

`Ohi`a Lehua is the topic of a free program at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park's Kahuku Unit tomorrow. Photo from NPS

STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS CANNOT REVEAL information about dengue patients or locations on Hawai`i Island “because the investigation into the source of the mosquito-borne disease is ongoing,” according to Colin M. Stewart, of Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. Stewart reported they think that, since the disease is not endemic to the island, dengue was brought here by a traveler.

Hawai`i health officials think a traveler brought dengue fever to Hawai`i Island
from a country where it is endemic, shown in red. Map from Wikipedia

“Unfortunately, we cannot pinpoint a place. … It’s so hard to know,” state Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park told Stewart. “We’re not trying to hide anything, we’re just not sure at this point. It’s looking like pretty much a good portion of the Big Island is a potential risk. … I do suspect that there is not one particular hot-spot. We’re looking for a few, at least.”
Park said mosquitoes tend to stay within 200 yards of where they hatched, and the biggest factor in spread of the disease is movement of humans infected with it.
Aedes aegypti, the species most likely to spread the disease, is found on the Big Island.
DOH recommends that those infected stay indoors while recovering to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes that could spread the disease.

See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY seeks public comment on its proposal to ban chlorpyrifos from use in agricultural fields some 15 years after the agency banned the pesticide from residential use. The announcement came after a recent court of appeals decisions gave EPA a deadline to take meaningful action on a 2007 legal petition to ban the chemical.

Chlorpyrifos a crystalline organophosphate insecticide. It was introduced in 1965 by Dow Chemical Company and is known by many trade names, including Dursban and Lorsban. It acts on the nervous system of insects.

Earthjustice Attorney Patti Goldman

According to EPA, based on its current analysis, “there do not appear to be risks from exposure to chlorpyrifos from food, but, when that exposure is combined with estimated exposure from drinking water in certain watersheds, EPA cannot conclude that the risk from the potential aggregate exposure meets … safety standard.”
EPA stated that issuing a proposed revocation provides an opportunity for public input prior to any final decision.
“This is what we have been seeking for years,” said Patti Goldman, the Earthjustice attorney handling the case. “EPA’s and other independent findings show that chlorpyrifos causes brain damage to children and poisons workers and bystanders. At long last, the agency is signaling its intention to protect children, workers and their families by banning this hazardous pesticide. It is imperative that EPA move quickly to protect workers and children by finalizing this important rule.”
“It’s a step forward on the path to environmental justice,” said Virginia Ruiz of Farmworker Justice. “Farmworkers and their families, who are predominantly poor and majority people of color, bear the brunt of poisonings from pesticides and pesticide drift.”

To submit comments, see regulations.gov following publication next week. Docket is EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0653.

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HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY researchers return to the June 27th lava flow that threatened Pahoa last year in the current issue of Volcano Watch.

“One year ago, the now infamous June 27th lava flow was headed toward the middle of Pahoa and threatening to cross the main village road and cut off Hwy 130 for thousands of residents,” the article states. “During this time, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory was forecasting that, if the flow continued, it could also cut Kahakai Boulevard and overrun Keonepoko Elementary School.

“Fortunately, at the same time, the supply of lava from the Pu`u `O`o vent on Kilauea Volcano's East Rift Zone was decreasing. Tiltmeters at the summit of Kilauea were recording a deflationary trend, which suggested that less magma from the summit reservoir was getting to Pu`u `O`o and ultimately, that less lava was reaching the flow front in Pahoa.
“As a result, the tip of the flow stalled about 155 meters (170 yards) from Pahoa Village Road on Oct. 30, 2014. This was because lava was no longer traveling through the tube all the way to the flow front. The delicate balance of lava supply needed to continue growing the lava tube had tipped to the town’s favor.

“The stalled front and apparent clogging of the lowermost part of the tube instead resulted in upslope breakouts of lava, spawning numerous surface flows that widened the flow field in the following weeks.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists' one-on-one interactions
with Pahoa residents provided up-to-date information
about the June 27th lava flow. Photo from USGS

“Before the June 27th lava flow became a threat, many people in the Puna District – long-term residents and recent arrivals alike – were unfamiliar with the vocabulary of volcanology. Summit deflation and inflation, lines of steepest descent, lava breakouts and flow advance rates were just abstract concepts initially. But residents quickly became well versed in these terms, making it easier for them to realize the unpredictable nature of slow-moving pahoehoe flows.

“As the lava flow approached Pahoa, the questions asked by the community were difficult to answer with certainty and required full explanations instead of short sound bites.
“How far would the flow eventually travel? When will lava arrive at this or that location? How wide will the flow spread? How long will Pu`u `O`o erupt lava into the tube? Is ‘my’ house going to be covered by lava? How will scientists know when the June 27th flow will stop?
“HVO scientists answered these questions and shared new information about the flow in all kinds of ways. They provided written updates, image, and maps of the flow’s activity, location, and likely flow path(s) on the HVO website (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov) and responded to hundreds of individual questions by telephone and email through askHVO@usgs.gov.
“But perhaps most importantly, nearly all of HVO’s staff, at one time or another, participated in dozens of Puna District community meetings that were organized by the Hawai`i County Mayor’s office between Aug. 24, 2014 and Jan. 22, 2015.
“At these meetings, HVO summarized the flow activity and discussed lava flow behavior, Hawaiian volcanism and volcano hazards through an illustrated slide presentation. Afterwards, HVO staff interacted with residents through one-on-one discussions at map stations set up around the room.
“Without a doubt, these meetings were vital for HVO scientists, emergency management officials, business leaders, community organizations, elected government representatives and hundreds of residents at a time to listen to each other. Through these interactive discussions, people developed a common language, which helped everyone better understand the flow activity and the ways in which response plans were being developed and implemented. Online broadcasts of the community meetings allowed even more people to listen in.
“The meetings helped Puna communities to appreciate the challenges and uncertainties HVO scientists faced in trying to forecast lava-flow paths and advance rates. Residents were able to speak directly with scientists, emergency managers and representatives from other government agencies about the lava flow activity and their individual concerns. Everyone was able to learn of plans for the worst-case scenario, all the while hoping for the best possible outcome.
“The Puna Resiliency Block Party in Pahoa this past weekend was welcomed by HVO scientists as a time to visit once again with Puna residents and to talk about Kilauea’s eruptions and ongoing hazards, as well as Mauna Loa’s recent unrest. It was also a reminder of the ways in which the community meetings helped us develop a common volcano language and understanding. Mahalo Pahoa! We appreciate your resiliency!”

See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.

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Community Tea-in is a week from today.
Photo from VAC

KA`U RESIDENTS CAN LEARN about the vital role of `ohi`a lehua in native Hawaiian forests, the many forms of the `ohi`a lehua tree and its flower tomorrow. Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers a free, easy, one-mile walk at 9:30 a.m. Call 985-6011 for more.

TEA IS THE TOPIC AT TOTUS Awards Community Tea-In, which follows Tea of the United States competition to be held on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The event a week from today, on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., features talks and presentations by professionals in the art and science of tea worldwide, plus an exhibition of TOTUS competition entries.
Speakers and topics include Bruce Richardson, The Book of Tea’s Influence on Western Art; Jane Pettigrew, The World’s Less Well-Known Tea Growing Regions; Kevin Gascoyne, Talking Terroir and Tea and Scotch Pairing; Selena Ahmed, Tea and the Taste of Climate Change; and Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson, The Social History of Tea in Britain and America.
All events are held at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Admission is required with preregistration before 12 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6 at $20 per person and $18 for VAC and Hawai`i Tea Society Members. Tickets may also be purchased at the door at $25 per person or $20 for active VAC and Hawai`i Tea Society members.
See totus1awards.com and volcanoartcenter.org.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_Oct2015.pdf.

Ka`u `Ohana Band is preparing for a holiday concert at Ocean View Swap Meet on Saturday, Nov. 28. See more below.
Photo from Lisa Archuletta

KA`U STUDENTS ARE TAKING fewer tests this year. The state is ahead of President Obama’s call to reduce testing in schools. Last school year, Hawai`i Department of Education performed a review of all assessments required by the state. Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and Deputy Superintendent Stephen Schatz listened to concerns from the field, including administrators and teachers, and held discussions with Hawai`i State Teachers Association. As a result, HIDOE streamlined state requirements for testing students for this school year.

Kathryn Matayoshi

“Teaching and learning is the primary mission of our schools and our work,” Matayoshi said. “Tests play a role in supporting teaching and learning, but that role must be balanced with the critical importance of instruction and student supports.”

HIDOE eliminated the requirement for five tests and has proposed eliminating an additional required test. Actions to reduce testing for this school year include:
Ended mandatory statewide requirement for three End-of-Course exams. The state no longer requires that high school students take a 60- to 90-minute test at the end of their Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and U.S. History courses;
Ended mandatory statewide requirement for ACT exams in grades 9 and 10. This reduced testing for high school freshman and sophomores by four hours per student in each grade; and
Proposed to U.S. Department of Education to eliminate statewide requirement for grade 8 ACT test, which is a readiness measure in the Strive HI Performance System for middle schools. This would reduce testing of eighth-graders by 3.5 hours/student.
In July 2015, Matayoshi sent a letter to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium expressing concern about the “burden of test administration during the spring testing window and the time required for testing.” She will be reiterating the call for more streamlined Smarter Balanced testing at a meeting of all state superintendents this month.
The Smarter Balanced Assessments in mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy are aligned to the Hawai`i Common Core Standards and designed to measure whether students are “on track” for readiness in college and/or career. These are mandatory assessments given to students in grades 3-8 and 11. On average, tested students in Hawai`i took seven hours to complete the tests. The test is not timed; students are given appropriate time to answer all questions.
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KA`U NEWS BRIEFS are five years old today, a daily Internet extension of The Ka`u Calendar newspaper, which is mailed to 5,500 postal addresses at the south end of the Big Island, with an additional 2,000 in stands. Ka`u News Briefs are at kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com and on Facebook and Twitter. These outreach sites were designed by Geneveve Fyvie, and the Facebook page is managed by intern William Neal. Editor for all three is Ron Johnson. Publisher is Julia Neal.

The Ka`u Calendar was founded by Neal in November 2002, 13 years ago, with Associate Editor Nalani Parlin. Art director is Tanya Ibarra.
The Ka`u Calendar and Ka`u News Briefs are supported by volunteer photographers and news gatherers from throughout Ka`u. Send news and images to ron@kaucalendar.com. The print version is supported by volunteers who meet each month to assemble the paper, including a contingent from Na`alehu Hongwanji.

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U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO EXPRESSED CONCERN about the Obama Administration’s announcement of additional military commitments in the Middle East.

“Congress and the American people need to hear more details from the Administration about how the deployment of a team of approximately 50 Special Operations Forces to Syria and other additional resources being provided to our regional partners fit into a broader strategy to defeat ISIL and stabilize Syria, Hirono said.
“The President’s latest decision, which follows a number of other instances where Special Operations Forces have been on the ground in Syria, raises the question of whether a prolonged military campaign against ISIL requires the need for specific Congressional authority.
“The civil war in Syria and our coalition fight against ISIL there add layers of complexity in a country and region where there are no easy answers. These two complicating factors in Syria require a multi-pronged approach. I support Secretary Kerry’s efforts to bring parties, including Russia and Iran, to the table to begin to find a diplomatic path forward to end the Syrian civil war.
“In our effort to degrade and destroy ISIL, the President has reiterated that it is not in our national interest to send U.S. combat troops into yet another ground war in the Middle East. I agree, and as a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, I will hold the Administration to that commitment.”
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HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK has announced flight plans for November 2015:
Nov. 2, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., and Nov. 6, between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., flying camp supplies and equipment from lower `Ainahou fuel break to Keauhou campsite for guinea grass control;
Nov. 4, between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., for training and short-haul recertification at Kilauea summit;
Nov. 4, 10 and 19, between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., to transport fencing material and equipment to Kahuku-Kapapala boundary between 7,000- and 9,000-ft. elevation;
Nov. 10, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., for ungulate surveys and control work in Kahuku between 3,000- and 7,000-ft. elevation; and
Nov. 12, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., to transport fencing material to `Ola`a approximately 4,000-ft. elevation.
Management of the park requires the use of aircraft to monitor and research volcanic activity, conduct search-and-rescue missions and law enforcement operations, support management of natural and cultural resources and to maintain backcountry facilities.

In a statement, the park said it regrets any noise impact to residents and park visitors. Dates and times are subject to change based on aircraft availability and weather.

Interested Ka`u residents can learn all aspects of the farming business.
Photo from The Kohala Center

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APPLICATIONS ARE DUE by this Wednesday, Nov. 4 from Ka`u residents for The Kohala Center’s Beginning Farmer-Rancher Development Program. Since 2012, the program has taught 78 aspiring farmers and ranchers on Hawai`i Island the knowledge and skills essential to running an agricultural business. Instructors include researchers and extension agents from the University of Hawai`i, agricultural experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, successful farmers and food producers and professionals providing support services to ag businesses.
The 14-session course begins this Saturday, Nov. 7 in Honoka`a and meets every other Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Subjects covered include production planning, farm design, soil management, composting and vermicomposting, cover cropping, pest management, business planning, marketing, sales and accounting. See k oha.la/farmer for more information and to apply or call 887-6411.
Although no previous farming experience is required, preference is given to applicants who have taken steps to become agricultural producers but would benefit from a comprehensive curriculum. The course includes classroom training, hands-on field days at The Kohala Center’s Demonstration Farm, visits to local farms and farm apprenticeship opportunities. Students who successfully complete the course and create viable farm and business plans may receive one-on-one technical assistance from the center’s Rural and Cooperative Business Development Services team to access start-up capital and/or leasable land.

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Yoga practitioners line up for class at Na`alehu Hongwanji.
Photo from Stephanie Pepper

NA`ALEHU HONGWANGI OFFERS YOGA tomorrow. Stephanie Pepper teaches classes in the Iyengar tradition on Mondays as well as Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. She uses props to help students achieve proper alignment safely, avoiding injury. All props are provided, and the first class is free.

Donations afterward are $10 for 10 classes for participants over 65 and $5 per class for those 65 and under.

For more information, call 937-7940.

THE BEAUTY OF KA`U opens tomorrow at CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu. Hours for public viewing and voting are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Thursday, Nov. 5. Each day, the public may sign in and receive a ballot for their favorite entry. Each ballot, a numbered ticket, will also be entered into a drawing for door prizes to be held each hour, and the winner does not need to be present. Prizes are being donated by various Ka`u merchants.

The overall winner, chosen by judges, will be featured on the cover of The Directory 2016 and receive $100 and an article inside The Directory.

Ka`u growers can learn about Korean Natural Farming Saturday.

KOREAN NATURAL FARMING comes to Ka`u this Saturday. Drake Weinert shares his knowledge during a free workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. According to Weinert, the method improves soil quality and boosts nutrients using non-toxic materials farmers can find in their own homes. It can also help reduce costs while increasing long-term health of farms.

Sponsored by Ka`u Specialty Coffee, the event takes place at 96-2384 Wood Valley Road above Pahala. Go past Ka`u Coffee Mill. About five minutes later on the left there is a small gravel road. Go past the gravel road until on the left appear a big pasture with some little green and grey buildings at the bottom and a small blue house with white roof at the top of the hill.

For more information, email malian@kauspecialtycoffee.com.

KA`U `OHANA BAND PERFORMS at Ocean View Swap meet at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28. Holiday music selections feature something for everyone with beautiful, moving songs as well as fun and lighthearted tunes. The concert is free.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_Nov2015.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf
and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf.

Ka`u families must sign up by Friday to be included in the free lunch count for Kahuku `Ohana Day on Saturday, Nov. 21. See more below. Photo from NPS

HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING originally to be held on Wednesday has been rescheduled to tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 9 a.m. at Council Chambers in Hilo.
On the agenda is Ka`u Council member Maile David’s resolution authorizing the county to negotiate the purchase of Kahua `Olohu Makahiki Grounds in Na`alehu. During the Council’s last meeting, David postponed the resolution after Council member Aaron Chung asked her to investigate property owner James Weatherford’s interests in the property.

Maile David

According to the resolution, the property is listed as a key priority for purchase in Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Committee’s 2014 Annual Report for its historical significance and cultural importance.
Also meeting tomorrow are Public Works & Parks & Recreation Committee at 1 p.m. and Planning Committee at 1:15 p.m.
Ka`u residents can participate via videoconferencing at Na`alehu State Office Building. Meetings are also streamed live, and agendas are available, at hawaiicounty.gov.
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WITH AN INFLUX OF IMMIGRANTS from Micronesia to Hawai`i, Civil Beat’s editorial board is calling for amendments to the Compact of Free Association treaty, which ends in 2023. The treaty provides aid to countries such as the Marshall Islands that suffered damage during nuclear weapons tests. Ka`u has a large population of Marshallese who left their homes due to inadequate health, education and infrastructure and a dire economic situation.
“Hawai`i continues to be ill-prepared to welcome our newest immigrants, even though the consequences of that lack of preparation have become more troubling and obvious in recent years,” the board stated. “But it is both naive and dangerous for Hawai`i to sit on its hands, waiting for a knight in federal armor to alleviate the financial burden associated with Micronesian immigration. ...
“A more urgent conversation needs to begin, and it must include all stakeholders — state and federal policymakers and the leadership of Micronesia as well. ...
“While Gov. David Ige says that his administration has stepped up outreach to Micronesian organizations in Hawai`i, he also admitted that the state does not have a plan to deal with increasing COFA costs and immigration.
“His recent homelessness declaration includes an all-hands-on-deck effort to deal with the particular problem of homeless Micronesians — and there are hundreds in Hawai`i — but his administration must be more pro-active in addressing COFA immigrants needs before they fall into homelessness.
See civilbeat.com.
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AS THE HOLIDAY SEASON APPROACHES, Hawai`i Island police advise the public to take precautions against car theft, identity theft and theft of items from within vehicles.
This time of year, more cars are parked at shopping areas or at home while their owners are out shopping or attending parties, offering criminals more opportunity to break the law. To help prevent vehicle thefts and thefts of items in vehicles, remove your keys from the ignition and take them with you. Lock your vehicle. Never hide a second set of keys in your vehicle. Park in attended lots. Park in well lit areas. Never leave your vehicle running, even if you will be gone for only a minute. Completely close all windows of parked vehicles. Do not leave valuables or paperwork in plain sight. To eliminate drawing unwanted attention to contents in your vehicle, place packages or bags and other tempting items – especially cell phones and other electronic equipment – out of sight. At home, park your vehicle in a locked garage, if you have one. Back a rear-wheel-drive vehicle into your driveway to make it more difficult to tow. When parking on the street, turn your wheels toward the curb to make your vehicle more difficult to tow. Set the emergency brake to make a parked car more difficult to tow.
To reduce the threat of theft or identity theft when shopping, do not leave purses or bags unattended in shopping carts. All it takes is a split second for a thief to walk by, remove your bag and flee undetected. Shoppers should keep their bags or purses on their person and zipped or snapped shut.
When paying for merchandise, be wary of openly displaying checkbooks or credit cards, as they contain vital financial information that identity thieves can write down or photograph with smart phones. If paying with cash, avoid openly displaying contents of your wallet.
When approaching your vehicle to load your purchases, keep at least one hand free to open your trunk or doors. While loading your packages, don’t leave your handbag or purse unattended.

Hana Hou Restaurant and the Kava Bar co-hosted Bottle of Blue's album release.
Photo by Babette Morrow

Do not leave any papers with personal information in your car. Even blank papers might tempt a thief to break into your car in an attempt to steal your identity.
Police ask the public to report any suspicious activities by calling the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.
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RESTAURANTS IN NA`ALEHU celebrated Halloween over the weekend.
Hana Hou Restaurant and the Kava Bar held a Bottle of Blue album release party on Saturday night.

Shaka’s Restaurant held a costume party, with keiki and adults putting their imaginations to work and becoming princesses, superheroes, skeletons and more.
With Halloween over, Shaka’s is preparing for Thanksgiving Day. The special for lunch starts at 11 a.m. with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, cranberries and pie for $16.95.
Dinner for $19.95 starts at 5 p.m. and adds soup or tossed green salad.

Superheroes, princesses, ghouls and others participated in Shaka Restaurant's
Halloween costume contest. Photo from Shaka's

For more information or reservations, call 929-7404.

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THE BEAUTY OF KA`U opens today at CU Hawai`i Federal Credit Union in Na`alehu. Hours for public viewing and voting are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Thursday. Each day, the public may sign in and receive a ballot for their favorite entry. Each ballot, a numbered ticket, will also be entered into a drawing for door prizes to be held each hour, and the winner does not need to be present. Prizes are being donated by various Ka`u merchants.
The overall winner, chosen by judges, will be featured on the cover of The Directory 2016 and receive $100 and an article inside The Directory.

IMPROVEMENT OF COFFEE FARM and Mill Efficiency is the topic at Ka`u Coffee Growers Cooperative’s meeting tomorrow from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. UH-CTAHR’s Cooperative Extension Service, in cooperation with USDA and the Hawai`i Coffee Growers Association, is bringing Fernando Augusto Vicentini, a mechanical engineer from Brazil, to provide information for better efficiency of coffee cultural control and production.
Vicentini has expertise in field and mill equipment modifications that potentially reduce costs, improve efficiency and assist with CBB control and management of other coffee pests and diseases. All growers and processors are welcome.
Seating is limited. Call 808-322-4892 to RSVP or email ginab@hawaii.edu today.

SIGN UP BY FRIDAY TO BE INCLUDED in the free lunch count for Kahuku `Ohana Day, a day of botanical discovery on Saturday, Nov. 21. Plants growing all around us can be used for all kinds of amazing things that can help us in our lives. On this `Ohana Day, participants learn a few of the many ways to use Hawaiian plants. Call 985-6019 to register kids up to age 17 and their families.

Bruce Richardson Photo from VAC

BRUCE RICHARDSON SPEAKS about The Book of Tea’s influence on western art during this Saturday’s Community Tea-In at Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village VAC presents a day of enlightening talks and presentations by professionals in the arts and science of tea worldwide from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More than a historical talk, Richardson focuses on how teaists today can be aware of the tea spirit as they live each day. American artist Georgia O’Keeffe owned two copies of The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo. As her eyesight failed in her last years in New Mexico, O’Keeffe asked for chapters from the 1906 book be read aloud to her nightly. This classic introduction to the Japanese tea spirit was revered by others in the art world as well, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Isabella Stewart Gardner.
In 2011, Richardson edited a new edition for Benjamin Press. He will recreate for attendees a lecture delivered recently at the O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.
Preregistration fee before 12 p.m. on Friday is $20 per person and $18 for VAC and Hawai`i Tea Society members. Tickets may also be purchased at the door at $25 per person, $20 for active VAC and Hawai`i Tea Society Members.

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

FOR AFFORDABLE COMPUTER HELP, call John Derry at 936-1872.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for Retail Sales Associate: Full-Time, Competitive Wages, Medical & Dental Plans. Apply at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Call 928-0550 for an appointment.