Kaʻū News Briefs Saturday, September 8, 2018

Hurricane Olivia could be a Tropical Storm when she reaches Hawaiʻi Island on Tuesday and could pass over the island Tuesday night. Civil Defense warns residents to be prepared. Winds could be over 60 mph. Satellite image from NOAA

BE PREPARED FOR OLIVIA is the word throughout Kaʻū from community groups and Civil Defense. During the annual meeting of the Wood Valley Water Cooperative today, members said they expect to be threatened by flooding and are preparing for an emergency that could arrive as early as Tuesday evening.
    Olivia blew into the Central Pacific today. At 5 p.m., Olivia was 935 miles east of Hilo, with winds of 80 mph, moving west near 16 mph. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center stated, "This motion is
expected to continue with some slowing in forward speed through Monday. A turn toward the west-southwest is expected by Tuesday. On the forecast track, Olivia will be near the main Hawaiian Islands later Tuesday."
     The National Hurricane Center stated: "Olivia is forecast to approach the main Hawaiian Islands from the east on Tuesday, and pass close to or over the Islands on Wednesday. It is too soon to determine the exact location and magnitude of any impacts, but interests in Hawaiʻi should continue to monitor the progress of Olivia, and use this time to enact your hurricane action plan."
     The National Hurricane Center also warned: "Do not focus on the exact track or intensity forecast, or any specific landfall location, as errors can be large at extended time ranges. Tropical storm or hurricane conditions could be felt anywhere in the islands as significant impacts could extend well away from the center."

Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Waddington and Capt. Kristie Twining  made history as the first female Hurricane Hunter crew. They  flew into Hector near Hawaiʻi last month. Photo from NOAA

     The Central Pacific Hurricane Center predicted that the most likely start of tropical storm force winds would be about 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Near her center, Olivia's winds could remain at 75 mph on Tuesday, and 65 mph when possibly crossing over the island Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

     Civil Defense warns of possible heavy flooding and high winds.
     A Hurricane Hunter crew planned a flight into Olivia this weekend. Last month, two women pilots made history, flying into
Hurricane Hector, which threatened Hawaiʻi. Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Waddington and Capt. Kristie Twining were the first all-woman crew to pilot a hurricane mission.

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SUPPORTING THE STATE'S EFFORT TO PROTECT GUN CONTROL LAWS, received a nod from the Hawaiʻi County Council this week. The Council voted to pay for a private attorney to challenge the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in July that would allow the public to openly carry firearms. A Hilo man went to court with a California backer of Second Amendment Rights footing his attorney bills after the county refused to issue him a permit, usually reserved for security guards and law enforcement officers. The county is cooperating with the state in deciding whether to appeal the decision. See story in yesterday's Kaʻū News Briefs.

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PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR VACATION RENTALS drew some 20 speakers and recommendations from the County of Hawaiʻi Planning Department at a Windward Planning Commission meeting Thursday. The draft regulations originated from the County Council and continue to circulate through the county administration, planning commissions and council meetings for input.
     In its current form, it would require registration of all existing vacation rentals except house sharing rooms, like AirBnBs where the operator lives onsite.
     Owners would pay $250 per year for a county license for each vacation rental unit. New vacation rentals would be prohibited in residential and agricultural areas. They would be allowed in the resort zone. Existing vacation rentals would be grandfathered if registered and complying with building codes. Vacation rentals on agricultural lands would be grandfathered in if registered and on lots established before June 4, 1976.
     The purpose of the regulations, according to a handout from the county Department of Planning, is to:
     Limit the conversion of the Island's much needed residential housing into visitor vacation accommodations and to protect the quality of life in local neighborhoods;
     To encourage preservation of workforce housing opportunities within the County's mixed-use, urban centers;
     Identify appropriate Zoning Districts that best support the operation of Short Term Vacation Rentals;
     Establish policies serving to permit an regulate single-family and multi-family residential dwelling units that will be approved to operate as visitor accommodations;
     Provide an opportunity for continued operation of legal, preexisting Short Term Vacation Rentals located outside of appropriate Zoning Districts through the granting of a nonconforming Use Certificate;
     Provide a process for the registration of all Short Term Vacation Rentals; and
     Adopt standards for the management of all Short Term Vacation Rentals.
     The proposal moves next to the Leeward Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Sept. 20.
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David M. Forman

Karen T. Nakasone

THE JUDICIAL SELECTION COMMISSION GAVE SIX NOMINEES for a vacancy in the Intermediate Court of Appeals to Gov. David Ige this week. The position has been vacant since Associate Judge Lisa M. Ginoza was elevated to the position of Chief Judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals in April. Ige has until Friday, Oct. 5, to make his selection.

    David M. Forman, 52, is currently the director of the Environmental Law Program at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Forman attended UH Mānoa and Harvard College before receiving his Juris Doctor at the William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa. While at Harvard College, Forman was a National Merit Scholar and a member of the Ivy League varsity football championship team of 1987.

Geoffrey K. S. Komeya

     Keith K. Hiraoka, 59, is a Judge with the First Circuit Court, State of Hawaiʻi. He is a graduate of the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa, and the Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley, California. Judge Hiraoka has also been an attorney in practice for 33 years, a USSF soccer referee and a musician. He is a member of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Permanent Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure and Circuit Court Civil Rules. He is also a member of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Civil Justice Improvements Task Force.

     Geoffrey K. S. Komeya, 52, is an attorney/shareholder at Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina & Fairbanks, Attorneys at Law. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he earned a B.A. and M.A in English. Komeya earned his Juris Doctor at the William S. Richardson School of Law, where he also was an adjunct professor from 2004-2005.

John M. Tonaki

     Karen T. Nakasone, 48, is currently a Judge in the First Circuit Court. She attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the University of Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan and Bryn Mawr College where she earned a B.A. in Political Science. Judge Nakasone earned her J.D. at the Boston University School of Law. She was a congressional intern for U.S. Rep. Patsy Pink, and the recipient of the 1989 Okinawan Prefectural Government Scholarship.

Clyde J. Wadsworth

     John M. Tonaki, 58, is a public defender with the State of Hawaiʻi. He earned a B.A. at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa before attending Hastings College of Law at the University of California where he earned his Juris Doctor. Tonaki was the director of the Mānoa Youth Baseball League from 2004-2009.