Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Sept. 29, 2014

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK is preparing for a huge increase in traffic once Chain of Craters Road opens for Puna residents in the event that lava covers Hwy 130 near Pahoa and cuts off access to the rest of the island.

      “Our law enforcement presence is going to have to go way up because we don’t want illegal fishing along the coast,” Superintendent Cindy Orlando told Dan Nakaso, of Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “We’re going to have to patrol it regularly so we don’t have illegal activities down there. We’re also going to require a lot more traffic management, and that 19 miles (of Chain of Craters Road) is also going to have increased maintenance and operating costs.”
      Orlando hopes to get more rangers and specially trained law enforcement rangers from other national parks in Hawai`i or from the mainland.
      “And we still have to take care of the 5,000 visitors we get every day,” she said.
      Nakaso reported that, according to Orlando, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Environmental Planning is requiring the portion of the road on federal land to be one lane of unpaved road to protect Hawaiian archaeological sites and endangered species, including the nene.

      “There will be impacts,” Orlando told Nakaso. “I hope people remember that this is a national park and we need to ensure the impacts are lessened as much as possible. With one lane, we do not expect any significant impacts.”

      While the flow has been stalled for several days, it is showing signs of activity, with breakouts upslope from the flow front having advanced to the north about 100 yards, Civil Defense reported this morning.

      See honolulustaradvertiser.com.

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OTHER OPTIONS HAWAI`I COUNTY OFFICIALS are considering are building a bridge over the lava flow expected to cross Hwy 130 and taking out part of the road to allow lava to flow across the area rather than be impeded by man-made berms.
      Regarding the bridge, county spokesman Kevin Dayton told Hawai`i Tribune-Herald reporter Tom Callis, “We’re asking if something could be constructed. We don’t know” if that’s possible.
      According to Callis, removing a stretch of the road could help keep the lava’s path narrower over the route and allow it to cool sooner if the flow stops. County officials say that could make it easier for crews to re-establish the highway.
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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HAWAI`I ISLAND RANCHERS MAKE MORE MONEY by shipping cattle to the mainland, according to a story in West Hawai`i Today. Prices for beef cattle in drought-stricken areas of the mainland are currently $2.25 per pound, compared to $1.50 to $1.65 per pound in Hawai`i.
      Although consumers increasing want local, organic and healthy meats, 60 to 70 percent of local beef is shipped out of state. Glen Fukumoto, an extension agent with the University of Hawai`i’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, told reporter Brett Yager that current infrastructure can’t support much increased production in the short term. Fukumoto also said more pressure comes from high water costs and development pressures.
      Yager reported that less than nine percent of beef consumed in the state is local. If ranchers kept all their beef cattle here, it would meet less than 40 percent of demand, Fukumoto said.
      See westhawaiitoday.com.

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THE STATE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY CONTROL is accepting public comment through Oct. 23 on the University of Hawai`i’s application to the state Department of Agriculture and Board of Agriculture for a permit to release wasps as a biological control of Mediterranean fruit flies. Fopius ceratitivorus combats Mediterranean fruit fly found in coffee and other crops throughout Hawai`i by laying its eggs in the pests’ larvae.
      The target pest, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the most important agricultural pests in the world, infesting hundreds of species of fruits and vegetables, according to the application. In Hawai`i, it is a direct pest and a quarantine pest of crops including citrus, eggplant, guava, loquat, mango, melon, papaya, passion fruit, peach, pepper, persimmon, plum, star fruit, tomato and zucchini. Current control practices for medfly rely on a combination of pesticide-treated bait sprays and field sanitation, use of sterile insects, release of mass-reared parasitoids and semio-chemical-based male annihilation. “The sustainability of the latter three techniques, once the federal government stops the influx of implementation funding, is questionable. The use of GF-120 as a bait spray is safer than the previous alternative (malathion); but has nevertheless been shown to be toxic to a wide array of beneficial and non-target insects,” the application states.
      “Numerous entomologists have emphasized the importance and potential economic benefit of introducing new parasitoids of tephritid fruit flies into Hawai`i and other infested regions. Biological control is increasingly viewed as a practical, safe and economically effective means of fruit fly control, and its importance continues to grow as pesticide use becomes more restricted. Imported parasitoids can incrementally increase fly mortality, reduce infestations and contribute to a systems approach to quarantine security for fruit and vegetable industry exports.”
      See oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov.

ONE MORE WEEK REMAINS TO REGISTER to vote. During the two weeks prior to the Nov. 4 General Election, absentee walk-in voting will be available at Pahala Community Center. 

      Voters have five proposed state constitutional amendments and one proposed amendment to the County Charter to vote on this General Election. One state constitutional amendment relating to disclosure of judicial nominees asks, “Shall the Judicial Selection Commission, when presenting a list of nominees to the governor or the chief justice to fill a vacancy in the office of the chief justice, Supreme Court, intermediate appellate court, circuit courts or district courts, be required, at the same time, to disclose that list to the public?”
      Another relating to agricultural enterprises asks, “Shall the state be authorized to issue special purpose revenue bonds and use the proceeds from the bonds to assist agricultural enterprises on any type of land, rather than only important agricultural lands?”
      The state Legislature proposed that the mandatory retirement age for all state court justices and judges be increased from seventy to eighty years of age. Voters will decide next month.
      Relating to early childhood education, another proposed amendment asks, “Shall the appropriation of public funds be permitted for the support or benefit of private early childhood education programs that shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex or ancestry, as provided by law?”
      The fifth proposed amendment asks, “Shall the state be authorized to issue special purpose revenue bonds and use the proceeds from the bonds to offer loans to qualifying dam and reservoir owners to improve their facilities to protect public safety and provide significant benefits to the general public as important water sources?”
      Term of appointment for the County Clerk is the subject of a proposed Hawai`i County Charter amendment that would create a four-year term for the position, with the County Council having the authority to remove the County Clerk from office by a two-thirds vote of its membership.
      Voter registration forms are available at local post offices and libraries and online at hawaiicounty.gov/elections-voter-registration.

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KA`U CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S ART SHOW began today at CU Hawai`i Credit Union in Na`alehu. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Thursday. Along with People’s Choice, which will be on the cover of The Directory 2015, first, second and third place will be awarded in categories of Graphic, Wood, Craft, Sculpture and Quilting. Keiki categories for grades one through six are Graphic and Photo.

KA`U YOGIS CAN BE A PART OF THE THIRD annual Time for Yoga Global Community Practice as National Yoga Month Goes Global. Yoga studios, teachers and students unite on tomorrow, Sept. 30 for a worldwide yoga practice.
      At 7 p.m. local time at Na`alehu Hongwanji Mission, yoga students of all levels are encouraged to practice yoga as an international observance and the culmination of Yoga Month. A gentle one-hour yoga practice will be followed by savasana at 8 p.m. and a 15-minute meditation for universal peace and well-being at 8:15 p.m. “By participating during your own local time, a wave of yoga will take place around the globe,” said yoga teacher Stephanie Pepper.
      September is National Yoga Month, a national observance designed to build awareness of yoga’s health benefits and provide people with actionable guidance and tools to enhance their own well-being.
      Pepper is offering a free yoga class to new students through October. She teaches each Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Na`alehu Hongwanji. For more information, call 937-7940.

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