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| Moloka`i High Farmers eight-man football players invite the Trojans to come to their island for a game Oct. 5. Photo from Moloka`i High |
EIGHT MAN FOOTBALL IS A GO, as Ka`u High School becomes the pioneer in launching this faster, higher scoring game considered appropriate for smaller high schools. Parents, players and supporters of Ka`u athletics are expected to meet this evening at 6 p.m. at Na`alehu School cafeteria and Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center for a mandatory meeting of parents or guardians of students playing Ka`u Trojan sports.
At least four eight-man football games are planned so far including competing agaist Kealakehe and Moloka`i. There is a possible game with a team from Maui. Supporters said they plan to raise about $11,000 for travel money to take the team to Moloka`i to play Moloka`i High School on Oct. 5. Regular 11-man football was cancelled before school started, when Ka`u could not come up with 30 players for the roster. The eight-man team requires a minimum of 18 players, who have signed up for this new form of football for Ka`u. Eight-man football is popular in rural and small community areas across the country. It is particularly big in Oklahoma where many games are posted on You Tube. Ka`u’s effort could lead to a Hawai`i Island league with such schools as Pahoa, Kohala and some private schools like Christian Liberty joining in. Maui has a league and a third league could lead to a state playoff.
Fundraising begins this coming Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when a group of supporters, players and coaches will run a concession at Na`alehu Ballpark in conjunction with an islandwide softball tournament. The supporters also plan to have additional fundraisers with such items as t-shirts and plate lunches. Donation letters are being sent to area businesses.
Fundraising begins this coming Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when a group of supporters, players and coaches will run a concession at Na`alehu Ballpark in conjunction with an islandwide softball tournament. The supporters also plan to have additional fundraisers with such items as t-shirts and plate lunches. Donation letters are being sent to area businesses.
The eight-man football Trojan head coach is Dwayne Kainoa Ke. Darrel Shibuya and Donavan Emmsley are among the other coaches. To donate to the team, call Athletic Director Kalei Namohala at 928-2012.
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| Maps, drawings and other illustrations of life in Ka`u and future possibilities can be seen at the Ka`u Community Development Plan website at www.hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp |
OCEAN VIEW RESIDENTS learned more about the county’s Ka`u Community Development Plan’s draft publications last night at Ocean View Community Association Center. They learned about a host of planning tools that could help the community achieve its goals, including preserving open space and the rural character of Ocean View.
The CDP documents provide a wealth of historical, geographical and population data on Ka`u as well as ideas for planning. All of the information can be read online and in hard copy. Planner Ron Whitmore gave an overview of the documents and maps and encouraged people to study them and give feedback. “We want people to read it and respond,” he said this morning.
The county lists many Tools and Alternative Strategies for planning, including examples used by communities in other places to reach similar planning goals.
Steering Committee member Lauren Heck, who lives in Ocean, said this morning that he wants it to be made clear that the planning tools are options and not requirements and that the community will take the lead on suggesting ways to plan the future for Ocean View. He gave the example of the idea of Transferring Development Rights, where people could sell off or trade rights for building houses or keeping open space or other property rights in order to make parks or other community amenities. The planning document gives the example of the Florida Keys, where a “TDR program is one of several incentives given property owners not to develop in obsolete subdivisions in high hazard zones.” The document also includes such tools as Land Pooling, Land Swaps and Land Banking as ideas for community consideration.
Whitmore explained that planning tools could be used or not used by Ocean View residents. He said that many Ocean View residents have expressed their desire to live remotely and that the county has no intention of trying to condemn people’s houselots, or prevent them from building on their land.
The CDP documents provide a wealth of historical, geographical and population data on Ka`u as well as ideas for planning. All of the information can be read online and in hard copy. Planner Ron Whitmore gave an overview of the documents and maps and encouraged people to study them and give feedback. “We want people to read it and respond,” he said this morning.
The county lists many Tools and Alternative Strategies for planning, including examples used by communities in other places to reach similar planning goals.
Steering Committee member Lauren Heck, who lives in Ocean, said this morning that he wants it to be made clear that the planning tools are options and not requirements and that the community will take the lead on suggesting ways to plan the future for Ocean View. He gave the example of the idea of Transferring Development Rights, where people could sell off or trade rights for building houses or keeping open space or other property rights in order to make parks or other community amenities. The planning document gives the example of the Florida Keys, where a “TDR program is one of several incentives given property owners not to develop in obsolete subdivisions in high hazard zones.” The document also includes such tools as Land Pooling, Land Swaps and Land Banking as ideas for community consideration.
Whitmore explained that planning tools could be used or not used by Ocean View residents. He said that many Ocean View residents have expressed their desire to live remotely and that the county has no intention of trying to condemn people’s houselots, or prevent them from building on their land.
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| Ocean View, Wood Valley and Discovery Harbour are described in detail with visions and comments of their residents at www.hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp |
Heck said this morning that he appreciates all the work that the county has done on the CDP and that “95 percent of the information provided in the planning documents is constructive and has possibilities.” He said that he is only concerned about some of the wording that could lead people to thinking that the county could be aggressive in directing Ocean View’s future.
Whitmore restated that it is up to the community to decide which ones, if any of the planning tools, are to be used. They are included as options for the community to study.
Laura Foster, manager of the HOVE Road Maintenance Corp., said she hopes the county could work on easing the restrictions for consolidating lots, which could address the huge number of parcels in Ocean View. There are more than 11,500 lots in Ocean View and more than 12,000 with Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos and Kula Kai subdivisions. Some landowners may want to take the initiative to combine two or more of their lots to make larger parcels.
Heck said this morning that “Some of the lots are 70 feet wide and you put two of them together, they could be more buildable.” Consolidating could possibly save on property taxes and on road maintenance fees. The county would not require any landowners to consolidate. It would be up to individual Ocean View landowners.
Ralph Roland, also an Ocean View resident, said he looks forward to reading a hard copy of the draft at the Ocean View Community Center, which has been provided with several copies. He said he would like to see more publicity about upcoming meetings.
Whitmore said that hard copies of Ka`u CDP documents are available at all the libraries and community centers in Ka`u. The documents, community input, maps and announcements of meetings and biographies of steering committee members are online at www.hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp
The next Ka`u CDP meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. To comment on this story or “Like” it, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
Whitmore restated that it is up to the community to decide which ones, if any of the planning tools, are to be used. They are included as options for the community to study.
Laura Foster, manager of the HOVE Road Maintenance Corp., said she hopes the county could work on easing the restrictions for consolidating lots, which could address the huge number of parcels in Ocean View. There are more than 11,500 lots in Ocean View and more than 12,000 with Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos and Kula Kai subdivisions. Some landowners may want to take the initiative to combine two or more of their lots to make larger parcels.
Heck said this morning that “Some of the lots are 70 feet wide and you put two of them together, they could be more buildable.” Consolidating could possibly save on property taxes and on road maintenance fees. The county would not require any landowners to consolidate. It would be up to individual Ocean View landowners.
Ralph Roland, also an Ocean View resident, said he looks forward to reading a hard copy of the draft at the Ocean View Community Center, which has been provided with several copies. He said he would like to see more publicity about upcoming meetings.
Whitmore said that hard copies of Ka`u CDP documents are available at all the libraries and community centers in Ka`u. The documents, community input, maps and announcements of meetings and biographies of steering committee members are online at www.hawaiicountycdp.info/kau-cdp
The next Ka`u CDP meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. To comment on this story or “Like” it, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| Sen. Josh Green |
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| Sen. Russell Ruderman |
TWO STATE SENATORS REPRESENTING KA`U could be reduced again to one, if plaintiffs win their case saying that reapportionment after the last U.S. Census was unconstitutional. The group of O`ahu voters filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court last Friday, according to a story by Chad Blair in this morning’s Civil Beat. The plaintiffs claim that a senatorial post was unconstitutionally removed from O`ahu in order to give Hawai`i Island an additional senator, leaving non-resident military and out-of-state students without representation– most of them on O`ahu. The state Reapportionment Commission excluded nonpermanent residents – the military,
out-of-state college students and some prisoners from the population count for voting. Hawai`i Island state Sen. Malama Solomon and others argued that including the military skewed the population in favor of O`ahu, and left Hawai`i Island and its growing population underrepresented.
The O`ahu group appealed to the U.S. District Court, which rejected their argument on July 11, ruling that the state redistricting commission upheld the constitutional guarantee of one man, one vote. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to take up the issue by this fall.
The next election is Aug. 9 of next year with the filing deadline July 10, 2014. See more at www.civilbeat.com. State Senators for Ka`u are Josh Green for the westside and Russell Ruderman for the eastside. To comment on this story or “Like” it, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT ADVOCATES won a battle for making more state and county meetings publicized and open. On Aug. 8, with a decision involving private meetings regarding a land development, the “Hawai`i Supreme Court articulated an expansive view of the public’s ‘right to know’ and the open meeting requirements of the state’s Sunshine Law that should make openness advocates giddy,” reported Ian Lind on Civil Beat. “It was the first time in 20 years the high court has tackled Sunshine Law questions head on, and they made up for lost time in a strong statement upholding the public’s broad right to observe and participate in government decisions of all kinds,” Lind concluded.
The O`ahu group appealed to the U.S. District Court, which rejected their argument on July 11, ruling that the state redistricting commission upheld the constitutional guarantee of one man, one vote. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to take up the issue by this fall.
The next election is Aug. 9 of next year with the filing deadline July 10, 2014. See more at www.civilbeat.com. State Senators for Ka`u are Josh Green for the westside and Russell Ruderman for the eastside. To comment on this story or “Like” it, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT ADVOCATES won a battle for making more state and county meetings publicized and open. On Aug. 8, with a decision involving private meetings regarding a land development, the “Hawai`i Supreme Court articulated an expansive view of the public’s ‘right to know’ and the open meeting requirements of the state’s Sunshine Law that should make openness advocates giddy,” reported Ian Lind on Civil Beat. “It was the first time in 20 years the high court has tackled Sunshine Law questions head on, and they made up for lost time in a strong statement upholding the public’s broad right to observe and participate in government decisions of all kinds,” Lind concluded.
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| Ian Lind |
“Instead of a limited technical decision, the court in this case emphasized the ‘spirit and intent’ of the Sunshine Law and its broad requirements for public knowledge and involvement….
“The court used the occasion to put public agencies on notice they must go beyond technical compliance with the letter of the law and comply with its far broader spirit and intent,” wrote Lind.
The attorney who represented the plaintiff said the lawsuit resulted from “a sense of outrage about how the (county) council was really trying to ram this thing (the development) through and just disregarded the sunshine law.”
The court reaffirmed that public agencies “are constrained at all times by the spirit and purpose of the Sunshine Law.”
The court stated that the “The Sunshine Law is essentially a procedural guarantee to protect the public’s interest in government decision-making” and that the public “should have a realistic, actual opportunity to participate,” rather than a theoretical right to participate “in name only,” Lind stated. See more at www.civilbeat.com and www.ianlind.net. To comment on this story or “Like” it, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
“The court used the occasion to put public agencies on notice they must go beyond technical compliance with the letter of the law and comply with its far broader spirit and intent,” wrote Lind.
The attorney who represented the plaintiff said the lawsuit resulted from “a sense of outrage about how the (county) council was really trying to ram this thing (the development) through and just disregarded the sunshine law.”
The court reaffirmed that public agencies “are constrained at all times by the spirit and purpose of the Sunshine Law.”
The court stated that the “The Sunshine Law is essentially a procedural guarantee to protect the public’s interest in government decision-making” and that the public “should have a realistic, actual opportunity to participate,” rather than a theoretical right to participate “in name only,” Lind stated. See more at www.civilbeat.com and www.ianlind.net. To comment on this story or “Like” it, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
KA`U PLANTATION DAYS organizers meet today at 6:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center. The Together Again themed event is sponsored by the Ka`u Multicultural Association and will begin with a parade at 9 a.m. down Pikake Street, followed by music, dance, food and historic displays from the many cultural communities of Ka`u on Saturday, Oct. 12. For more information, call Darlene Vierra at 640-8740 or Liz Kuluwaimaka at 339-0289.
VOLCANO RAINFOREST RUNS are this Saturday, with Miss Ka`u Coffee Tiare Shibuya firing off the starting gun. A half marathon, 10K, 5K and keiki runs will lead to a day of fun at the Volcano Art Center's Niaulani Campus. All distances are open to runners and walkers of all ages and abilities. The event is a fundraiser for Volcano Art Center and its educational programs.
Entry fees are $85 for the half marathon, $50 for the 10K run and $35 for the 5K run/walk.
Entry fees are $85 for the half marathon, $50 for the 10K run and $35 for the 5K run/walk.
A total of $500 in athletic equipment can be won by the Ka`u school who sends the most competitors to the event. The equipment can be for track, cross country, volleyball, tennis, football, soccer – any sport. The school with the most students represented wins the $500 gift certificate from Sports Authority.Competitors can enter any of the races to qualify their schools, which can be elementary, middle or high school. Registration fee is $20 per entry. Registration is available at rainforestruns.com.
FREE TEA CULTIVATION AND PRODUCCUTION education comes to Pahala Plantation House this Sunday, Aug. 18 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The workshop will be led by tea grower Eva Lee. It is sponsored by Kohala Center and the Department of Agriculture. To sign up, call 928-9811. Also see www.teahawaii.com
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM ANDKAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.
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PUBLIC NOTICES
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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM ANDKAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.
SUPPORT YOUR KA`U BUSINESSES
PUBLIC NOTICES
