Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Friday, June 3, 2016

The Birth of Kahuku explores Mauna Loa's Southwest Rift Zone on Sunday. See more below. Photo from NPS

HAWAI`I DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY is looking for a few good men and women to join the state Sheriff Division.

Recruitment is now open on the Department of Human Resources and Development website. The recruitment period ends on June 17.
To qualify, the applicant must be a high school graduate; be able to demonstrate knowledge of English grammar, spelling and punctuation; have the ability to read and comprehend complex written material; write a clear, factual report; and have at least two years of work experience which demonstrates these abilities.

After initial recruitment, chosen applicants will be tested on physical fitness (pushups, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run) and have to complete a written test to gauge their reading, writing and comprehension skills. They will also take a pre-employment law enforcement assessment. After successful completion of the physical ability test, written test and the pre-employment assessment, the applicant may be scheduled for an interview.

Individuals who pass the testing and are selected will participate in a six-month Law Enforcement Recruit Class, which will consist of classroom and on-the-job training in the laws, rules, regulations, principles, practices, procedures and techniques of law enforcement; the operation of firearms and other equipment; as well as physical conditioning.
To apply, see http://dhrd.hawaii.gov/job-seekers/civil-service-hawaii-state-government-jobs/. Enter the word Sheriff in the search box.
There you will see the Sheriff Division recruitment links to the application forms.
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HAWAI`I CHIEF JUSTICE MARK E. Recktenwald has appointed M. Kanani Laubach to the District Family Court of Third Circuit on Hawai`i Island. Laubach will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable Melvin H. Fujino to the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit.

Laubach has been in private practice since 2011 when she opened the Law Office of M. Kanani Laubach, L.L.L.C. Since 2012, she has been a partner at the law firm of Laubach & Frenz, A.A.I., L.L.L.C., handling criminal cases in District, Family and Circuit Court. She also has extensive experience in family law cases involving temporary restraining orders, divorce, paternity and child custody proceedings.

Between 2006 and 2010, Laubach served as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Hawai`i County’s Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, where she worked on criminal cases in District, Family and Circuit Court. In 2007, she joined the Violent Crime Unit and was tasked with prosecuting violent crime cases ranging from child sex assault to homicide.
From 2003 to 2006, Laubach served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the City and County of Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney in the Domestic Violence Misdemeanor, Misdemeanor Jury Demand and Felony Trials divisions.
In addition to her legal experience, Laubach has previously worked with families in both the school and home environments, including teaching parenting skills and child development as a Visitation Specialist at Parents and Children Together in Waipahu, O`ahu.
Laubach currently holds the office of Vice-President of Hawai`i County Bar Association and has been providing pro bono services at Hilo Self-Help Center since it opened in 2012. Laubach has served as a Director on the Waiakea High School Foundation Board since 2014 and as a volunteer arbitrator in the Court Annexed Arbitration Program since 2011.

Bernie Sanders and Raina Whiting

Laubach is a graduate of the University of Hawai`i William S. Richardson School of Law and was admitted to the Hawai`i State Bar in 2003. She is also a graduate of Chaminade University of Hawai`i, where she received a master’s degree in Counseling psychology in 2000.

The Chief Justice appoints District Court judges from a list of not less than six nominees submitted by the Judicial Selection Commission. If confirmed by the state Senate, Laubach will serve a term of six years.

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RAINA WHITING, A CANDIDATE from Ocean View who is running for Hawai`i County Council to represent District Six, and Hawai`i state Democratic Party Chair Tim Vandeveer met with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders at his rally in Modesto, CA yesterday. Whiting nominated Vandeveer for chair at the party’s convention on O`ahu last weekend.

Sanders spoke to Whiting and Vandeveer about keeping the Vermont senator's campaign's momentum alive and thanked Hawai`i for its hard work so far. “He gave us advice on our Hawai`i campaigns and keeping folks engaged,” Whiting said.

Bernie Sanders met with Hawai`i Democrats Raina
Whiting and Tim Vandeveer in Modesto, CA.
Photos from Raina Whiting

Whiting is Hawai`i County Democratic Party's District Five Council Vice Chair and Precinct 5-02 President. Her education includes a bachelor's degree in language and literature from University of Hawai`i at Manoa and she is studying for a master's in educational leadership from Johns Hopkins University. She also studied history, art and culture at colleges in Spain and Chile and attended Central Michigan University's Global Campus, where she focused on master's work in public administration.

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MAJOR UPGRADES TO HAWAI`I’S geographic information system take advantage of current advances in server-based GIS and cloud services and improve data sharing, accessibility and cost-effectiveness.

“It’s an exciting time for GIS in Hawai`i state government,” said Office of Planning Director Leo R. Asuncion. “The ultimate goal is to make it easier for all state employees, contractors and the public to use, make and share geospatial data, maps and applications on any device at any time.”

The state GIS database has been deployed on a centralized state server that allows agencies to share information, increasing its accessibility beyond the source agency and encouraging a “create once, use many” philosophy. The upgrade also reduces the development of redundant databases, helps to standardize the information being analyzed by decision makers and serves as a means of collecting and distributing the most up-to-date authoritative GIS data.

The same data has been migrated into the “cloud” and will be available to the general public as web services. This will make the data even more widely available for use by anyone with a mapping application connected to web services. Included in the cloud deployment is an open data portal that adds extensive data search and download capabilities.

GIS data have already been incorporated into information products that are diverse and have far-reaching impacts which include tracking the spread of invasive species; surveillance of and tracking human and animal disease; analyzing clusters of pedestrian accidents; planning and maintaining facilities and assets; and analyzing transit oriented development. Many state agencies have also developed an assortment of tools for public use, including web-based applications to find the closest place to get a flu vaccination; locate the nearest recycling redemption centers; determine the zoning of a particular tax map key parcel number or address; and identify lands suitable for renewable energy development.
The Statewide GIS Program is also making a variety of new imagery data layers and historic maps available as web services, including historical topographic maps from 1881 through the 1960s, imagery dating back to the 1950s and the latest WorldView 3 high resolution satellite imagery and 2015 coastal imagery.
For more information, see planning.hawaii.gov/gis.
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Tropic Care continues through tomorrow morning.
Photo by Sue Dela Cruz/Blue Zones Project

TODAY AND TOMORROW MORNING are the final opportunities for Ka`u residents to receive free medical screenings, school sports physicals, dental services, eye exams, hearing screenings, nutritional services, veteran services, prescription eyeglasses and more.

Tropic Care hours at Ka`u High School and Ocean View Community Center are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. It closes at 12 p.m. tomorrow.
Bring water, snacks and current glasses and medications.

Bus transportation is available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to and from Ocean View Community Center at Princess Kailulani at Lotus Blossom, Kahuku Park and Hele-on Park & Ride.
For more information about Tropic Care, call 808-874-6035.

KAHUKU UNIT OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES National Park offers free programs this weekend.
Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., learn about the vital role of `ohi`a lehua in native Hawaiian forests, the many forms of the `ohi`a tree and the lehua flower. Visitors will be able to identify the many differences of the most prominent native tree on this program, which is an easy, one-mile (or less) walk.
Explore the rich geologic history of Kahuku Sunday at 11 a.m. during The Birth of Kahuku. Traverse the vast 1868 lava flow, see different volcanic features and formations and identify many parts of the Southwest Rift Zone of Mauna Loa. Learn about the Hawaiian hotspot and the creation of Kahuku.

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