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| From left, Kahu Paul Neves led the blessing for beginning of renovations at Naniloa Hotel in Hilo. Willie K's plans to return Hilo to its Hawaiian music glory days at the hotel received support from Mayor Billy Kenoi and Ed "Z" Bushor, managing partner for the new Naniloa. Photo by Julia Neal |
“HELPING HILO WILL HELP KA`U,” said Ed Olson yesterday after the blessing of the start of renovations at Naniloa Hotel. Olson, who founded Ka`u Coffee Mill Visitor Center and has macadamia and coffee orchards in Ka`u, is a major investor in the Naniloa Hotel on Hilo Bay. He was joined yesterday by former Big Island Visitors Bureau Executive Director George Applegate, who said he is making it his mission to help the east-side visitor industry from Ka`u into Hilo and up the Hamakua Coast. Applegate pointed to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park as a major visitor attraction and said more good accommodations, like a renovated Naniloa, will only encourage people to spend more time on this side of the island, including more time in Ka`u.
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| Ed "Z" Bushor, at left, Willie K celebrated the beginning of renovations at Naniloa Hotel with Sammie Stanbro of Ed Olson, of Olson Trust. Photo by Julia Neal |
Kahu Paul Neves led the blessing and said he looked forward to the many jobs that a new Naniloa will create. He urged all involved with the project to treat each other with respect. Neves also took a moment to pray for people of Puna, where a lava flow is approaching the Pahoa community and said the entertainment center at the new Naniloa will be for them, too.
At Neves’ side was famed Hawaiian musician Willie K, who said it will be his mission to return Hilo to its entertainment glory days. He said he got his start in the Crown Room at the Naniloa. Everyone played there. He said he wants to help make Hilo the world’s capitol for Hawaiian music. He recalled that his own father played at the Crown Room and said Hilo was a beacon for entertainment.
“I am here to bring that back. I said I will help you to bring it back. Bring this town back to what it was. This is my place; this is my world. This is where I stand,” declared Willie K. “Hilo, I am here for you.” He talked about the days when everyone had so much aloha for visitors, with live music welcoming at the harbors and airports. “The core of the visitor industry was entertainment, not just shows and fire knives,” said Willie K.
Managing partner for the new Naniloa, Ed “Z” Bushor, of Tower Development, Inc., said, “Every piece of real estate needs a heart.” He described the “one heart on this property, Hawaiian music.
“We need Willie K to represent Hawaiian music and bring it back,” Bushor said. He lamented that many hotels in Waikiki “get rid of music and bring in retail shops.”
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| Lava may reach Pahoa Village Road within two weeks. Arrows show projected path. Map from USGS/HVO |
“LIFE IN PUNA WILL CHANGE DRAMATICALLY if lava buries Hwy 130,” Ka`u’s state Sen. Russell Ruderman told Dan Nakaso, of Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Ruderman owns the natural food chain Island Naturals with a store in Pahoa, where USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists expect lava to reach in around two weeks.
“Some people will not be able to make the very long and inconvenient commute, which is going to cause some people not to be able to go to town and back,” Ruderman said. “Some people will have to relocate for the sake of their jobs and their kids. We’re not going to have a free flow of trucks and gasoline, and we'll have to improvise some basics. Some people will commute by fishing boat.
“Everyone talks about sustainability,” Ruderman said. “This is going to force real sustainability. It’ll force people to do gardening and farming and feed each other and have micro-communities that don’t depend on traveling to town every day. It’s going to force a situation that everyone’s been imagining for a long time, like more solar-powered homes and co-ops and community-based businesses.”
Ruderman expects tourists wanting to see lava will inundate Puna and the emergency roads being built for residents to get to and from work and school.
According to Nakaso, Ruderman is preparing for the possibility that the entire town may be evacuated. “The hard part is the slow, agonizing dread of having weeks to worry and not knowing what’s going to happen. It’s kind of unique, in many ways, as a natural disaster.”
“Everyone talks about sustainability,” Ruderman said. “This is going to force real sustainability. It’ll force people to do gardening and farming and feed each other and have micro-communities that don’t depend on traveling to town every day. It’s going to force a situation that everyone’s been imagining for a long time, like more solar-powered homes and co-ops and community-based businesses.”
Ruderman expects tourists wanting to see lava will inundate Puna and the emergency roads being built for residents to get to and from work and school.
According to Nakaso, Ruderman is preparing for the possibility that the entire town may be evacuated. “The hard part is the slow, agonizing dread of having weeks to worry and not knowing what’s going to happen. It’s kind of unique, in many ways, as a natural disaster.”
See staradvertiser.com.
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| Hawai`i County is expanding its little fire ant treatment at county parks. Photo from Hawai`i Department of Agriculture |
HAWAI`I COUNTY’S DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION has received grant funds from the state Department of Agriculture and the Hawai`i Invasive Species Council to expand its little fire ant treatment program at various county parks.
To ensure the public’s safety and maximize treatment effectiveness, county parks or designated areas in the parks will be temporarily closed for a few hours on days spraying is scheduled. Every effort will be made to reopen the affected parks or areas as quickly as possible.
Signs will be posted at each park to notify the public. In a statement, the Department of Parks and Recreation thanked park patrons for their patience and cooperation while efforts are made to eliminate little fire ants from Hawai`i County parks.
For more information, contact Jason Armstrong, Public Information Officer, at 961-8311 or jarmstrong@hawaiicounty.gov.
To ensure the public’s safety and maximize treatment effectiveness, county parks or designated areas in the parks will be temporarily closed for a few hours on days spraying is scheduled. Every effort will be made to reopen the affected parks or areas as quickly as possible.
Signs will be posted at each park to notify the public. In a statement, the Department of Parks and Recreation thanked park patrons for their patience and cooperation while efforts are made to eliminate little fire ants from Hawai`i County parks.
For more information, contact Jason Armstrong, Public Information Officer, at 961-8311 or jarmstrong@hawaiicounty.gov.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| HCEOC has an office in Na`alehu. Photo from Hawai`i County |
HAWAI`I COUNTY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL is receiving a capital improvement grant of $170,000 from the state for three vehicles for its transportation program and equipment to help maintain its fleet at lower costs by being able to perform some maintenance work in-house.
HCEOC is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1965 under provisions of the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Its purpose is to prevent, alleviate, and eliminate poverty in Hawai`i County by mobilizing and channeling private and public resources into anti-poverty actions, to stimulate new and effective approaches to the solution of problems, to strengthen communication, mutual understanding, planning, coordination and implementation of anti-poverty programs in the community, and to educate children and youth to become responsible, contributing adults in society.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the grant as part of a release of more than $1.52 million for various capital improvement and operating grants to Hawai`i-based nonprofit organizations whose missions benefit island communities.
“Nonprofits play an integral role in addressing the needs of our communities,” Abercrombie said. “These funds will provide important services and facilities to those in need to create a better Hawai`i for all of us.”
Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the grant as part of a release of more than $1.52 million for various capital improvement and operating grants to Hawai`i-based nonprofit organizations whose missions benefit island communities.
“Nonprofits play an integral role in addressing the needs of our communities,” Abercrombie said. “These funds will provide important services and facilities to those in need to create a better Hawai`i for all of us.”
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| U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard |
KA`U’S U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD HAS CALLED for greater U.S. military aid and weapons for Kurdish Peshmerga forces who are fighting against ISIS in Iraq. The congresswoman is an original cosponsor of H. Res. 718, a bipartisan resolution to call on the Department of Defense to expedite all necessary military equipment, weapons and ammunition to the Kurdish Peshmerga to defeat ISIS.
“We have the ability to support the Kurdish Peshmerga forces as they bravely fight off the surge of ISIS fighters in the region,” said Gabbard, a captain in the Army National Guard who served two tours of duty in the Middle East. “The Kurds have the will and the motivation to destroy our common enemy in these Islamic extremists. We need to do everything we can to empower these courageous fighters who are serving on the front lines right now. H. Res. 718 expresses support for our allies and calls on the Defense Department to provide heavy weapons and other substantial, meaningful assistance to the Kurds, so they can take the fight to our enemy, and defeat them. They can’t fend off this threat with small arms; they need the full backing and aid of the United States so they can get the job done.”
In Washington. Gabbard met with Falah Mustafa Bakir, Minister of Foreign Relations for the Kurdistan Regional Government, to get an update on the situation their forces are facing. He reiterated the serious need for heavy weapons and military aid and KRG’s strong commitment to working to defeat Islamic extremists.
“We have the ability to support the Kurdish Peshmerga forces as they bravely fight off the surge of ISIS fighters in the region,” said Gabbard, a captain in the Army National Guard who served two tours of duty in the Middle East. “The Kurds have the will and the motivation to destroy our common enemy in these Islamic extremists. We need to do everything we can to empower these courageous fighters who are serving on the front lines right now. H. Res. 718 expresses support for our allies and calls on the Defense Department to provide heavy weapons and other substantial, meaningful assistance to the Kurds, so they can take the fight to our enemy, and defeat them. They can’t fend off this threat with small arms; they need the full backing and aid of the United States so they can get the job done.”
In Washington. Gabbard met with Falah Mustafa Bakir, Minister of Foreign Relations for the Kurdistan Regional Government, to get an update on the situation their forces are facing. He reiterated the serious need for heavy weapons and military aid and KRG’s strong commitment to working to defeat Islamic extremists.
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`OHANA DAY & KA`U COFFEE TRAIL RUN is tomorrow at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Half Marathon, 10K and 5K races begin at 7:30 a.m.
Packet pickup is available at 6:30 a.m.
Family activities, entertainment, silent and live auctions, free giveaways, information and vendor booths are on site from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
See okaukakou.org for more information.
HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK’S KAHUKU UNIT offers two programs this weekend. Palm Trail Hike takes place tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This moderately difficult 2.6-mile loop trail provides one of the best panoramic views Kahuku has to offer.
During Hi`iaka & Pele on Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., participants discover the two Hawaiian goddesses and the natural phenomena they represent.
Call 985-6011 or see nps.gov/havo for more information.
LISA LOUISE ADAMS TEACHES THE AGE-OLD technique of paper making tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. $25 supply fee. $60 VAC members; $70 nonmembers.
Call 967-8222 for more information.
GET THE DRIFT & BAG IT IS THE GOAL of Hawai`i Wildlife Fund’s Ka`u Coast Cleanup on Sunday. Volunteers meet at 7:45 a.m. at Wai`ohinu Park to carpool to Ka`u Coast locations for this annual cleanup as part of an international effort.
Call 769-7629 or email kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
