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| Deadline to enter Ka`u Coffee Festival's Recipe Contest has been extended from today to Friday. See more below. Photos from Ka`u Coffee Festival |
KA`U CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS are included in Mayor Billy Kenoi’s eighth and final budget. His Capital Improvements Budget includes 55 projects requiring a total of $144.8 million.
Ocean View Recycling & Transfer Station would receive $3 million, with $374,000 previously allotted. |
| Mayor Billy Kenoi |
Work on local wastewater systems would continue, with $650,000 appropriated for Na`alehu, which previously received $2.987 million.
In Pahala, $645,000 would be used for land acquisition, infrastructure improvement and planning of a sewage treatment plant, with $250,000 previously allotted.
“Through the tough economic times our county faced during the Great Recession, we preserved funding for public safety and essential core county government services,” Kenoi said. “We protected funding for services to seniors and preserved and expanded programs for our youth. We maintained county funding to nonprofit organizations serving the people most in need.
“In this proposed budget, we continue this commitment to investing in our communities.
“This budget represents our departments’ collective, collaborative effort to address the needs of our island’s growing population in a way that is both responsive to our community and fiscally responsible. Our administration’s final budget reflects eight years of careful planning and conservative budgeting that has positioned our county to maintain services to our residents, meet our obligations to our employees, and continue to invest in our communities.”
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CREATE A LEI HAKU, Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. at Kīlauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Learn how to make the traditional haku-style of lei, which involves braiding material into a base of leaves to create a full adornment. Free; park entrance fees apply.
“Through the tough economic times our county faced during the Great Recession, we preserved funding for public safety and essential core county government services,” Kenoi said. “We protected funding for services to seniors and preserved and expanded programs for our youth. We maintained county funding to nonprofit organizations serving the people most in need.
“In this proposed budget, we continue this commitment to investing in our communities.
“This budget represents our departments’ collective, collaborative effort to address the needs of our island’s growing population in a way that is both responsive to our community and fiscally responsible. Our administration’s final budget reflects eight years of careful planning and conservative budgeting that has positioned our county to maintain services to our residents, meet our obligations to our employees, and continue to invest in our communities.”
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION has awarded a $20,000,000 grant to the University of Hawai`i for a clean water research project. The project, titled `Ike Wai, from the Hawaiian words for knowledge and water, will address the critical needs of the state to maintain its supply of clean water, most of which comes from groundwater sources.
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| University of Hawai`i will conduct a clean water research project. Photo from Hawai`i Department of Land & Natural Resources |
“Due to our volcanic origins, our system of aquifers is far more complex than we once thought,” Sen. Brian Schatz said. “This grant will allow scientists to use modern mapping tools to provide policymakers with critical information about our water resources and help ensure that there is enough for the needs of people, agriculture and future generations.”
“Hawai`i’s water is a precious resource, and this competitive funding will support the University of Hawai`i’s research into protecting our fresh water sources for future generations,” Sen. Mazie Hirono said. “Ike Wai and other projects that build an innovative, sustainable future are essential to understanding and finding solutions for our island state’s unique needs and also underscore the importance of significant federal investments in research in these critical areas, something that I strongly support.”
“Pollution, fracking, unsustainable farming practices and overdevelopment have put serious pressure on our clean water supply across the globe. It is essential that we protect and maintain access to fresh and clean water in Hawai`i due our isolated location in the Pacific,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said. “There is still much unknown about how water flows through the unique landscapes and volcanic foundations of our islands. This grant from the National Science Foundation will help us to better understand how to use our precious natural resources to ensure a continuous and high quality water supply.”
The `Ike Wai project, awarded under the NSF’s Research Infrastructure Improvements Program, will greatly improve understanding of where the water that provides for the needs of Hawai`i’s cities, farms and industries comes from and how to ensure a continued, high quality supply. This supply is under increasing pressures from population growth, economic development and climate change. The funding provided by the NSF will encourage collaboration with federal, state and local agencies and community groups concerned with water management.
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“Pollution, fracking, unsustainable farming practices and overdevelopment have put serious pressure on our clean water supply across the globe. It is essential that we protect and maintain access to fresh and clean water in Hawai`i due our isolated location in the Pacific,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said. “There is still much unknown about how water flows through the unique landscapes and volcanic foundations of our islands. This grant from the National Science Foundation will help us to better understand how to use our precious natural resources to ensure a continuous and high quality water supply.”
The `Ike Wai project, awarded under the NSF’s Research Infrastructure Improvements Program, will greatly improve understanding of where the water that provides for the needs of Hawai`i’s cities, farms and industries comes from and how to ensure a continued, high quality supply. This supply is under increasing pressures from population growth, economic development and climate change. The funding provided by the NSF will encourage collaboration with federal, state and local agencies and community groups concerned with water management.
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| Reuniting Filipino WWII veterans with their families has been a priority for U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono. Photo from Office of Sen. Hirono |
CERTAIN FAMILY MEMBERS of Filipino World War II veterans can soon apply to come to the United States to be reunited with their aging Filipino veteran family members who are U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents under a program announced by the Obama Administration last year. Applications will begin to be accepted next month.
Filipino veterans were granted citizenship in recognition of their service to the United States during World War II. Their children, however, were not granted citizenship. Due to backlogs in the U.S. immigration system, it can take more than 20 years for immigration applications to be reviewed. Under the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Policy, Filipino veterans whose service has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense, or their surviving spouses, may apply to bring their children to the U.S. The policy will allow families who have been waiting, in some cases decades, for their immigration applications to be approved to be together rather than apart while their applications are processed.
Sen. Mazie Hirono has made fighting for Filipino veterans to receive this benefit a top priority during her time in Congress. After years of advocacy by Hirono, the Obama Administration announced last July that it would create a parole program to reunite the families of Filipino World War II veterans. Hirono pushed the Administration to quickly implement the program and make children eligible for expedited consideration to come to the United States.
“President Obama has taken an important action for Filipino WWII veterans who have been waiting patiently for decades to be reunited with their families. Filipino World War II veterans and their spouses, who are in their eighties or nineties, will finally be able to apply to bring their adult children to the United States,” Hirono said. “I have heard from so many of these veterans in Hawai`i and across the country who simply want family reunification. We will now have a concrete path for making that a reality. I will continue working with Filipino organizations and advocacy groups in Hawai`i to ensure eligible veterans receive the necessary information and assistance with their applications so they can be with their spouses and children.”
Sen. Mazie Hirono has made fighting for Filipino veterans to receive this benefit a top priority during her time in Congress. After years of advocacy by Hirono, the Obama Administration announced last July that it would create a parole program to reunite the families of Filipino World War II veterans. Hirono pushed the Administration to quickly implement the program and make children eligible for expedited consideration to come to the United States.
“President Obama has taken an important action for Filipino WWII veterans who have been waiting patiently for decades to be reunited with their families. Filipino World War II veterans and their spouses, who are in their eighties or nineties, will finally be able to apply to bring their adult children to the United States,” Hirono said. “I have heard from so many of these veterans in Hawai`i and across the country who simply want family reunification. We will now have a concrete path for making that a reality. I will continue working with Filipino organizations and advocacy groups in Hawai`i to ensure eligible veterans receive the necessary information and assistance with their applications so they can be with their spouses and children.”
“We celebrate this long awaited and historic day for our World War II Filipino-American veterans and their families,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “We thank Sen. Hirono for her leadership on this victory. We stand ready to assist in the implementation of this program, and we rededicate ourselves to the hard work ahead to achieve permanent and comprehensive solutions to our broken immigration system.”
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| Miss Holly K returns as DJ during Ka`u Coffee Recipe Contest. |
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KA`U COFFEE COOKS have this week to enter the Ka`u Coffee Festival Recipe Contest. Today was the original deadline, but Ka`u Coffee Mill extended it to Friday. The contest rewards creative cooks for their original recipes containing Ka`u Coffee. Three main categories in Adult and Student divisions are Pupu (appetizers), Entrees and Desserts. Miss Holly K, of Native-FM, will DJ and assist 2015 Miss Ka`u Coffee Queen Maria Miranda award winners.
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KA`U ROPING & RIDING ASSOCIATION is preparing for its annual Fourth of July Rodeo. The nonprofit is raising funds so that it can be a Buckle Rodeo. About 24 buckles would be awarded to winners of each event. Each buckle costs between $100 and $150. Donors will be recognized and can have banners hung at the rodeo if they wish.
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| Jaycee Amaral, here with Ralph Kaapana, holds the buckle she won last year. Photo by Julia Neal |
Donations are due by May 31 to allow time to order and receive buckles by July. Make checks payable to Ka`u Roping & Riding Association, and send to Tammy Kaapana, KRRA Donation Chair, PO Box 423, Na`alehu HI 96772.
“Your generosity is greatly appreciated, and anything would help make this rodeo a successful and memorable one,” Kaapana said.
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AUTHOR TOM PEEK PRESENTS the story behind the story of his award-winning novel Daughters of Fire tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. $2 donations support After Dark in the Park programs; park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
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| See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html and kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.pdf. |
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| See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_May2016.pdf. |