Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016

Halau Ulumamo o Hilo Paliku presents a hula performance tomorrow evening in Hawai`i
Volcanoes National Park. See more below. Photo from National Park Service

CONCERN FOR PROTECTING KA`U WATER RESOURCES is welling up from conservationists studying the plan for building a plastic water bottling plant in Pahala. Ken Sugai, who owns the house at nearby Honua`po, is addressing the issue. On The Ka`u Calendar Facebook page, Sugai wrote, “I have concerns on pumping water that took thousands of years to filter through the lava and export it out of the state for profit. It sounds like what Nestlé does. It would seem that it would affect the natural springs and watershed.”

Conservationists are concerned about a proposed
water bottling operation's effects on Ka`u Forest
Reserve, a watershed for the aquifer.

The development, which is currently under review by Hawai`i County Planning, calls for more than 136,000 square feet in buildings with a water bottling facility, storage and retail stores, along with parking for tour buses, vans and cars along Maile Street.

Sugai also said this morning that “Ka`u’s water resources are precious. It takes rain thousands of years to percolate through the volcano down to the lens to recharge the aquifer. Thinking about the value of water is like thinking about the preservation of a koa tree. A koa tree may take a hundred years to grow. The pure water of Ka`u takes much longer. People need to realize the importance of protecting this water, especially as people around the world demand bottled water as their own clean water resources are diminished.”

Regarding plastic bottles of water being shipped from Ka`u to the world, Sugai said that “it is ironic that organizations like Hawai`i Wildlife Fund spend countless volunteer hours cleaning up the plastics from the coast and that plastic bottles could be sent from Ka`u overseas, and some of it could come back as plastics in our ocean for us to clean up on our coast.”

One of HWF's Ka`u Coast Cleanups takes place this Saturday. To sign up, email kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

The Planning Department is accepting public comments on the proposal. Emails can be sent to planning@hawaiicounty.gov, susan.gagorik@hawaiicounty.gov and larry.nakayama@hawaiicounty.gov.
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COMPLETING FREE APPLICATIONS FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID for college is now a completely different ball game. Families and students, for the first time, will be able to submit financial aid forms as early as Oct. 1 for the 2017-2018 school year instead of the usual date of Jan. 1.

Additionally, for the first time they will also be able to use the previous year’s tax information instead of estimating the numbers for their upcoming taxes. They can use their 2015 tax returns to complete the FAFSA.

Financial Aid Nights are scheduled at Kealakehe High School Library on Oct. 5, University of Hawai`i-Hilo Classroom Building Room 100 on Oct. 18 and Kea`au High School Cafeteria on Oct.19. Each begins at 5:30 p.m. Ka`u High School is also in the process of arranging a Financial Aid Night for students and families. The date and time have not yet been arranged.
See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/announcements/fafsa-changes.
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VOLCANO ART CENTER ANNOUNCED WINNERS of its juried exhibit Return of `Alala: Restoring The Voice of Hawai`i’s Native Forests, a statewide multimedia art competition featuring Hawai`i’s endemic crow.

Best of Show award was granted to Reyn Ojiri for his oil painting titled `Alala No. 2.

Two first-place awards were also presented in the professional category. First place in the 2-D category went to John D. Dawson for his watercolor titled Into The Forest Again, and first place in 3-D was awarded to Elizabeth Miller for her `Alala Caws and Coaxes Her World Awake, a hand-tooled aluminum and India ink wall sculpture.

Reyn Ojiri's `Alala No. 2 won Best of Show.
Image from VAC

Three awards were also granted in the hobbyist division: first place to Maria Macias, second to Lisa Komarczyk and third to Alice Hostica.

The exhibit is on display at VAC Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park through Oct. 9. Proceeds support the Hawai`i Endangered Bird Conservation Program and celebrate the reintroduction of the `alala into Hawai`i’s forests this November. The exhibit is open to the public and free of charge; park entrance fees apply.
“Volcano Art Center wishes to express a sincere thank you to the participating artists who submitted work,” gallery manager Emily C. Weiss said. “The juried show is a terrific representation of this unique species, in many different media, by over 40 different artists. Special mahalo to the jurors: Paul Banko, Ph.D., Clifford Hague and Michelle Schwengel-Regala, who had the difficult task of choosing 43 artworks from the over 80 entries submitted to include in the exhibit.
“The community support and public outreach included in this exhibition exceeded expectations,” Weiss said.
These works plus the other 36 pieces juried into the exhibition can be viewed daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
VAC has expanded the exhibit to its Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village, with artwork not selected by the jury on display Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., also through Oct. 9. All works are for sale with proceeds supporting Hawai`i’s endangered birds.
“VAC is proud to support this conservation effort. We welcome the public to view the exhibit in person or online at volcanoartcenter.org to find out more ways to help support the `alala,” Weiss said.
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HAWAI`I PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION has instructed Hawaiian Electric Companies, including Hawaiian Electric Light Co., to offer a new time-of-use program, which allows customers to manage electricity consumption to reduce monthly bills and benefit the overall grid.

Traditional electricity prices are flat and do not change based on time of day. TOU programs are designed to price electricity in a way that reflects electricity’s true costs by charging customers different rates at different times of the day, instead of a flat rate. This encourages customers to reduce electricity use during times when electricity is more expensive to produce, while allowing them to take advantage of less expensive electricity being offered at other times.

The optional TOU rates approved by the PUC offer lower electricity prices during daytime to encourage customers to use energy when solar and other lower-cost renewable sources are available. In exchange, the TOU rates are higher during the evening when the overall electricity demand is greatest (the system peak). The TOU program is the result of collaborative efforts of the utility companies and interested stakeholders, including local community groups, nonprofit organizations and renewable energy companies.

The on-peak TOU period coincides with the time of day during which the utilities typically experiences the highest volume of residential customer demand. This period has the highest TOU electricity rate, higher than the price a typical customer would be subject to under the current residential tariff. The midday period represents the time of day during which the utilities typically experience relatively lower residential customer demand and higher level of solar and other renewable generation. This midday period features the lowest TOU period rate, below what a typical customer would pay under the current residential tariff. TOU rates are intended to encourage customers to shift their demand from the on-peak evening period to the midday period and to enable more cost-effective integration of renewable energy.
The program offers open, voluntary, optional enrollment to all residential customers.
The rate structure has three distinct time periods, each with its own TOU rate: a mid-day period from 9 a.m. up to 5 p.m., an on-peak period from 5 p.m. up to 10 p.m. and an off-peak period overnight from 10 p.m. up to 9 a.m.
Another program feature is a shadow bill feature, which allows participants to compare bills under the TOU program to what they would have been under their previous residential tariff, in order to determine if the program is beneficial to them.
The two-year program duration is subject to change by the Commission.
Customers are able to opt out of the program at any time, without penalty.

The PUC instructed the utilities to file a tariff for the interim TOU program within thirty days, at which time the tariff will take effect and the program will be open for enrollment. The complete order, as well as links to the docket record, may be found at http://puc.hawaii.gov/.

Sarah Allen Photo from Mauli Ola Festival

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MAULI OLA FESTIVAL OPENS TOMORROW EVENING and continues through Saturday, with yoga, healing arts, human rights presentations, sustainability workshops, music and more. Thursday’s events include Liko Martin speaking about Indigenous Concepts of Land and Human Rights, Sarah Allen on Empowering Women, a program examining Economics of Coffee in Hawai`i and Holly Baade’s Introduction to Sensual Sight & Shamanic Flight.

For more information and tickets, see mauliolafestival.com.

HALAU HULA ULUMAMO O HILO PALIKU under the direction of Kumu Mamo Brown performs tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
Free; park entrance fees apply.

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