Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Friday, July 8, 2016

Lava continues to cascade down Pulama Pali and advance toward the ocean near Kalapana.
Photo from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

THE LAVA FLOW TO THE SOUTHEAST of Pu`u `O`o continues to advance across the coastal plain and does not pose a threat to nearby communities, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported this morning.
When mapped on Thursday afternoon, the flow front had advanced about 0.1 miles since Wednesday’s measurements and was about 0.7 miles from the ocean.
At Kilauea’s summit, tiltmeters continued to record an inflationary trend during the past day. The level of the summit lava lake at Halema`uma`u this morning stood at 82 feet below the crater floor.
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Southside Boys Volleyball team returns to Ka`u
from Dallas today. Photo from Katherine Okamura

SOUTHSIDE BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM members who traveled to Dallas, TX and participated in USA Volleyball Championships found themselves in the midst of danger during yesterday’s tragedy there. During a peaceful protest regarding police shootings of men in Minneapolis, MN and Baton Rouge, LA the day before, snipers shot and killed five police officers and injured more.

The team and chaperones were staying at a hotel on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. “Our boys are OK, but we are all kind of shaken with everything that is going on,” Brenda Iokepa-Moses said. “We were all at a movie when the shootings happened. The theater was about a mile away from our hotel, and we could not get a ride back. I had to run our team through total chaos and police barricades back to the hotel while there were active snipers still on the loose. It was terrifying, and we had to maneuver through dark alleys to get back to our hotel but did it and very proud of our team that stuck together and kept their cool.”
The team returns home today.
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SEVERAL ITEMS WERE STOLEN from `O Ka`u Kakou within the last five days. Items include four 20x20 gray tarps with hardware and bungee cords (no poles) and six 10x10 pop-up tents. All are marked with OKK. The community service organization asks the public to be on the lookout for these items and to call Na`alehu Police Station at 939-2520 with any information.
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Hurricane Blas is expected to weaken considerably before
reaching the Central Pacific. Map from NHC

HURRICANE BLAS IS STILL a long way away, 1,680 miles east of South Point at 5 a.m. National Hurricane Center reported that rapid weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Blas is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by early Saturday and become a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles.
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MORE BILLS PASSED BY THE STATE Legislature are now law, following Gov. David Ige signing them yesterday.
SB 2395 Act 226 requires the state’s Medicaid-managed care and fee-for-service programs to cover services provided through telehealth.
SB 2630 Act 227 authorizes Hawai`i Correctional Industries to sell inmate-made products and services on the open market to the general public. It also requires the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to conduct a feasibility study on establishing a re-entry for training and entrepreneurial services

Gov. Ige used a pen made by a Kulani inmate to sign a bill
allowing sale of such products to the public.
Photo from Gov. Ige's Office

Ige used a pen crafted by an inmate in the Hawai`i Correctional Industries program at Kulani to sign SB 2630.

“It was an honor and privilege to be able to sign SB2630,” Ige said. “Not only will this bill help the program to be self-sustaining, it will also give individuals in the program a source of income to help meet their financial obligations while incarcerated.”
SB 2659 Act 228 establishes an industrial hemp pilot program through the Department of Agriculture which allows cultivation of industrial hemp and distribution of hemp seed in Hawai`i for purposes of agricultural or academic research.
HB 1997 Act 229 implements the recommendation of the Hawai`i Agriculture Workforce Advisory Board to create an agriculture workforce pipeline initiative to conduct training on all islands for teachers and school administrators in agricultural self-sufficiency.
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REDUCING FOOD WASTE is the goal of legislation co-introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz. According to Schatz, forty percent of food produced in America is never eaten – damaging the environment, costing consumers money, and wasting an opportunity to reduce hunger.
The Food Recovery Act would reduce food waste in stores and restaurants, at schools and institutions, on farms and in homes.

Sen. Brian Schatz

“Most Americans would probably be surprised to learn that as much as 40 percent of the food we produce is thrown away,” Schatz said. “While many families across the country struggle each day to put food on the table, we are tossing safe and edible food because of the way it looks or the way it’s labeled. Our bill takes commonsense steps to help end food waste, feed families and ensure our environment and food supply remain sustainable.”

The Food Recovery Act would reduce food waste at the consumer level through inclusion of the Food Date Labeling Act to standardize confusing food date labels.
It would also reduce food wasted in schools by encouraging cafeteria’s to purchase lower-priced “ugly” fruits and vegetables and by expanding grant programs that educate students about food waste and recovery.
The legislation also calls for reductions in wasted food throughout the federal government through the creation of an Office of Food Recovery to coordinate federal efforts, and by requiring companies that contract with the federal government to donate surplus food to organizations such as food banks and soup kitchens.
It will reduce wasted food going to landfills by encouraging composting as a conservation practice eligible for support under USDA’s conservation programs.
The Food Recovery Act directs the USDA to develop new technologies to increase shelf life of fresh food, and requires the USDA to establish a standard for how to estimate the amount of wasted food at the farm level.
The legislation is supported by Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, Natural Resources Defense Council, United Technologies Corporation, World Wildlife Fund and Feeding America.
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Join Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park to explore
Pu`u Huluhulu Sunday. Photo from FHVNP

FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES National Park, led by Ab Valencia, explore Pu`u Huluhulu Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free for Friends members; non-members can join in order to attend.
Registration is required at admin@fhvnp.org or 985-7373.

THE MUSIC MAN COMES to Kilauea Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park this evening. KDEN’s performances take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through July 24.
Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors, $10 for children 10 and under.
Park entrance fees may apply.
Call 982-7344, or email kden73@aol.com.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND staff and volunteers meet at 8:45 a.m., rather than 7:45 a.m. as previously reported, at Wai`ohinu Park to carpool to Kamilo for tomorrow’s Ka`u Coast Cleanup.
Coordinator Megan Lamson said there are a still a couple of spots available. Register at kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers Mongolian BBQ tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at $.85 per ounce includes rice and beverage.
KMC also invites theater-goes to enjoy a casual dinner before KDEN’s Friday and Saturday evening productions of The Music Man through July 23.
KMC is open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.

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