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| Youth organizers and their mentors, including Ka`u High and Pahala Elementary School Principal Sharon Beck, manned educational displays like the one for Big Island Substance Abuse Council at the Ka`u Unity Celebration on Saturday. See story below. Photo by Julia Neal |
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| Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in Big Island Town Hall meeting in April. |
"In the last few months, the thing I have found the most personally alarming, as a citizen and as a soldier, is the virtual evaporation of any movement or motion for peace in the United States. We have seen our new president dangerously escalate conflicts in North Korea and Syria with little or no regard for the consequences on the ground and for the inevitable blowback such actions have to our country. Even as he employs bigger and flashier weapons in an attempt to impress and intimidate, there is a disturbing lack of opposition to these reckless acts.
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"Make no mistake, these interventions weaken us strategically and increase human misery, even when they are embarked on with humanitarian intent. There is no denying that the regime change wars in Iraq and Libya that were propagated as necessary to relieve human suffering have in fact increased human suffering in those countries -- many times over.
"As a direct result of our intervention in Iraq, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, human suffering there has increased dramatically. Terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda took advantage of the Maliki Shia-led government that persecuted and oppressed the Sunni people. ISIS therefore gained a stronghold in Iraq, kidnapping, terrorizing, and killing thousands and thousands of innocent people.
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| Sophomore Helena Sesson shares hula at the youth-organized Ka`u Unity Celebration. Photo by Julia Neal |
"In Libya, when the U.S. led the bombing campaign to overthrow Gaddafi, which began with a no-fly zone, the result was incredible loss of life, total chaos, with Libya resulting in a failed state, and a haven now for ISIS and other terrorist organizations. There is no reason to believe that escalating the regime change war in Syria or initiating military actions on the Korean peninsula will be any less disastrous.
"We can’t help anyone anywhere, try as we might, if we don’t have strict principles about when, where and why we intervene. We must have realistic appraisals and criteria of what conflict means in the regions where we initiate it and here at home. But we can’t start this conversation in a vacuum. With both parties on Capitol Hill intent on fanning the flames of war, will you join me in starting a nationwide conversation about the true costs of war?"
KA`U YOUTH BROUGHT UNITY to a festival on Saturday. Organized by students of Ka`u High School and mentors from teachers to community organizers, the Ka`u Unity Celebration met with great success at the new Ka`u District Gym. Senior Chloe Gan, Junior Daryl Moreira and Sophomores Monique Hughes and Brennan Nishimura were the lead youth organizers.
They were inspired by the Good Life Alliance national movement and Alliance 98 represented by David Rojas. They formed a local organization called The Collective, with adult mentors Hawai`i Police Department’s Aron Tomota, Ka`u’s community policing officer; Nona Makuakane and Elijah Navarro, of Hawai`i County Parks & Recreation; Terry-Lee Shibuya of Big Island Substance Abuse Council; Dolly Kailiawa of Boys & Girls Club, and teachers Kevin Sun and Dexlyn Navarro. Catholic Charities of Hawai`i, O Ka`u Kakou and Imua Ka`u partnered with the youth.
They brought together numerous community groups and agencies, singers, bands, dancers and artists to put on a day of goodwill, fellowship, education and entertainment.
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| Ka`u High musicians were in the lineup for the Unity Celebration. Photo by Julia Neal |
Community advocates ranged from Habitat for Humanity, which would like to help with more home ownership in Ka`u; to Child & Family Services, which is looking to establish foster homes in Ka`u; to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, which recently completed its ninth youth ranger training program with Ka`u High School youth; to Recycle Hawai`i, which provided hours of education on zero waste; and Ka`u Community Children’s Council, which works with Imua Ka`u.
One health organization taught children how to help their parents get healthier, noting a poll showing 46 percent of kids worry about their parents’ health and 69 percent would like parents to make changes to be healthier.
The new activity room at Ka`u District Gym was full of artwork from Ka`u and Volcano students.
After the Ka`u Unity Celebration, organizers said that next year they plan to invite more artists and crafters and to continue to leave the organizing, planning and execution to the responsible hands and creative minds of the youth.
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Hawai`i Coffee Association President Chris Manfredi, Brandon von Damitz of Big Island Coffee Roasters, Miguel Meza of Isla Coffees, Kelleigh Stewart of Big Island Coffee Roasters and Juli Burden and Patrick Oiye who are familiar faces behind the bar at the Ka’u Coffee Experience, coming up on Saturday, May 27 at Pahala Community Center. |
KA`U COFFEE IS POPULAR AT SEATTLE GLOBAL EXPO: Ka`u Coffee farmers and brokers are back from the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Global Expo in Seattle in April. This marks the tenth anniversary of Ka`u participating in the Expo, beginning with Chris Manfredi, now President of the Hawai`i Coffee Association, entering 15 local coffees in 2007 and coming home with a sixth and ninth place finish for Ka`u.
That accomplishment was followed by years of competition at SCAA. Ka`u Coffees continued to rank high in international competition. They were represented from Boston to Portland and Seattle at booths sponsored by the Hawai`i Coffee Association and Ka`u Coffee Mill, with local farmers, Hawaiian flowers, Ka`u Coffee, macadamia, live music and hula drawing in the tasters and buyers. This year Ka`u Coffees were represented at the SCAA in the Hawai`i Coffee Association booth. Coffees served included those from Isla Custom Coffees, Ka`u Coffee Mill, Ka`u Local Products, Ka`u Specialty, Palehua Ka`u Farmers Cooperative, Rusty’s Hawaiian, and Silver Cloud Ka`u Coffee.
Said Manfredi, “All the coffees served in the HCA booth were evaluated by a cupping panel prior to the event to ensure Hawai`i is properly represented to the Specialty coffee community.
“Our booth featured a full service espresso bar and pouring stations that represented coffees and growing origins throughout the state. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.” Also unveiled was the new Hawai`i Coffee Association logo.
The next celebration for local coffee and the community is the annual Ka`u Coffee Festival with events from May 13 – 28, with a full day Ho`olaulea at Pahala Community center on Saturday, May 27. See www.kaucoffeefest.com
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Dance Imagined with Karen Masaki begins on Tuesday, May 2 at 10 a.m. at the Volcano Art Center campus in Volcano village. The five-session series begins with a general warm up, moving through all body parts to get the blood flowing and joints loosened. Attention will then shift to explorations of spinal and joint movements and breathing exercises to build fluidity and strength. No dance experience required. See www.volcanoartcenter.org.
Dance Imagined with Karen Masaki begins on Tuesday, May 2 at 10 a.m. at the Volcano Art Center campus in Volcano village. The five-session series begins with a general warm up, moving through all body parts to get the blood flowing and joints loosened. Attention will then shift to explorations of spinal and joint movements and breathing exercises to build fluidity and strength. No dance experience required. See www.volcanoartcenter.org.
A Hula Pele Workshop with Kumu Ab Valencia, begins on Tuesday, May 2 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Volcano Art Center. As King David Kalakaua said, “Hula is the language of the heart, therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian People.” The classes continue Tuesdays, May 9, 16, and 23. See www.volcanoartcenter.org.
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