 |
| Alexandar Calumpit's AC Ka`u Coffee placed first in Ka'u and second in the statewide Creative Division at Hawai`i Coffee Association's cupping contest. Photo by Julia Neal |
ALEXANDER CALUMPIT, of Pahala, took first in Ka'u and second statewide with his AC Ka`u Coffee in the Creative Division cupping contest held yesterday by Hawai`i Coffee Association. Leo Norberte was the top Ka`u Coffee in the statewide Commercial Division with his JN brand.
 |
| Alden Calumpit is one of two brothers who returned home to help their family grow Ka`u Coffee. Photo by Julia Neal |
Calumpit has been involved with Ka`u Coffee since early days at Pear Tree, where he farmed for five years starting in 1998. It was a family affair that he gave up in a labor shortage when his two sons moved to Las Vegas in 2003. Upon their return, however, Alexander, now 70, and sons Alden and Allan, in their 40s, started farming coffee on Olson Trust land on the edge of Wood Valley, growing their enterprise to care for both a five-acre and a seven-acre coffee farm.
Only three years into the new venture, the Calumpits wholesale their Ka`u Coffee. Their major buyers are Rusty’s Hawaiian and Olson’s Ka`u Coffee Mill.
They call their coffee AC. The A stands for Alexander and children Alden, Allan, Alpha and Arlene, as well as the mother’s nickname, Anching. With the statewide win, said Alexander and Alden, they may think of marketing their own brand of Ka`u Coffee. Like many of the coffee farmers, the Calumpits have been successful enough to own their own home in Pahala and drive from the village each day to work on the farms.
They call their coffee AC. The A stands for Alexander and children Alden, Allan, Alpha and Arlene, as well as the mother’s nickname, Anching. With the statewide win, said Alexander and Alden, they may think of marketing their own brand of Ka`u Coffee. Like many of the coffee farmers, the Calumpits have been successful enough to own their own home in Pahala and drive from the village each day to work on the farms.
John Cross, Olson Trust land manager, described Calumpit’s operation as “a model farm.”
In the Creative Division, which is designed for small, specialty lots of coffee, Calumpit scored 85.5 points, just behind Hula Daddy of Kona. Other Ka`u Coffees in the top 20 included Lorie Obra’s fourth-place finisher with 85.4 points, her 11th place with 84.6 and 18th place with 83 points in three separate entries of Rusty’s Hawaiian that was all grown at Cloud Rest. Leo Norberte’s JN Coffee took tenth place with 84.7 points with the beans grown at Cloud Rest. Gloria Camba and Bong Aquino’s Ka`u Royal Coffee from Pear Tree scored 83.4 points to take 17th place.
The top three coffees from Ka`u were Calumpit’s AC Coffee, Rusty’s Hawaiian from Obra, and Norberte’s JN.
In the Commercial division, Norberte’s JN Coffee from took first in Ka`u and fifth statewide with a score of 83.1, the coffee grown on Olson Trust land. Ka`u Coffee Mill on Olson land took seventh with a score of 82.5 and 15th with a score of 80.
The conference, held over the last three days at King Kamehameha Kona Marriott Courtyard, included technical talks on fighting the coffee berry borer pest and creation of a cold, canned Hawaiian coffee by a major Japanese drink manufacturer.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
HAWAI`I NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS have time to implement conservation strategies to protect the state’s unique bird species from further decimation by avian malaria, according to researchers at U.S. Geological Survey and University of Wisconsin-Madison. They said an increase of mosquito populations and their range is expected by mid-century, putting previously protected bird species at high risk.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
In the Creative Division, which is designed for small, specialty lots of coffee, Calumpit scored 85.5 points, just behind Hula Daddy of Kona. Other Ka`u Coffees in the top 20 included Lorie Obra’s fourth-place finisher with 85.4 points, her 11th place with 84.6 and 18th place with 83 points in three separate entries of Rusty’s Hawaiian that was all grown at Cloud Rest. Leo Norberte’s JN Coffee took tenth place with 84.7 points with the beans grown at Cloud Rest. Gloria Camba and Bong Aquino’s Ka`u Royal Coffee from Pear Tree scored 83.4 points to take 17th place.
The top three coffees from Ka`u were Calumpit’s AC Coffee, Rusty’s Hawaiian from Obra, and Norberte’s JN.
In the Commercial division, Norberte’s JN Coffee from took first in Ka`u and fifth statewide with a score of 83.1, the coffee grown on Olson Trust land. Ka`u Coffee Mill on Olson land took seventh with a score of 82.5 and 15th with a score of 80.
The conference, held over the last three days at King Kamehameha Kona Marriott Courtyard, included technical talks on fighting the coffee berry borer pest and creation of a cold, canned Hawaiian coffee by a major Japanese drink manufacturer.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
 |
| Hunting at PTA is on hiatus. Photo from PTA |
HUNTING WILL BE ON HIATUS at Pohakuloa Training Area for approximately three weeks as Army staff focus on enhancing U.S. Army Garrison-Pohakuloa’s hunting program.
The hiatus runs through Aug. 3.
“We’re taking a look at the recent hunting activity and assessing how it may affect our long-term management goals. This break is a part of those efforts,” said John Polhemus, game manager, USAG-Pohakuloa.
Hunting opportunities at PTA differ from other public hunting areas because availability depends on military training schedules, which can change from week to week.
“We aren’t able to offer a traditional season over the course of several months, so having a better understanding of the animals’ short-term responses to hunting pressure and finding the right balance between applying and removing pressure is important to maintaining a sustainable program,” Polhemus said, adding that he appreciates the hunting community’s understanding during the short break.
Army officials anticipate resuming hunting Aug, 8-9, pending training area availability. The Army opens areas at PTA for hunting most weekends; however, hunting is subject to military training needs.
For the latest information, call PTA’s Hunter’s Hotline at 969-3474 or visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the Hunting tab.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
“We’re taking a look at the recent hunting activity and assessing how it may affect our long-term management goals. This break is a part of those efforts,” said John Polhemus, game manager, USAG-Pohakuloa.
Hunting opportunities at PTA differ from other public hunting areas because availability depends on military training schedules, which can change from week to week.
“We aren’t able to offer a traditional season over the course of several months, so having a better understanding of the animals’ short-term responses to hunting pressure and finding the right balance between applying and removing pressure is important to maintaining a sustainable program,” Polhemus said, adding that he appreciates the hunting community’s understanding during the short break.
Army officials anticipate resuming hunting Aug, 8-9, pending training area availability. The Army opens areas at PTA for hunting most weekends; however, hunting is subject to military training needs.
For the latest information, call PTA’s Hunter’s Hotline at 969-3474 or visit garrison.hawaii.army.mil/pta and click on the Hunting tab.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
HAWAI`I NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS have time to implement conservation strategies to protect the state’s unique bird species from further decimation by avian malaria, according to researchers at U.S. Geological Survey and University of Wisconsin-Madison. They said an increase of mosquito populations and their range is expected by mid-century, putting previously protected bird species at high risk.
 |
| I`iwi and other Hawaiian birds are increasingly at risk of avian malaria. NPS Photo by Paul Banko |
Climate changes during the second half of the century will accelerate malaria transmission and cause a dramatic decline in bird abundance, according to the researchers. Different temperature and precipitation patterns produce divergent trajectories where native birds persist with low malaria infection under a warmer and dryer projection, but suffer high malaria infection and severe reductions under hot and dry or warm and wet futures.
Similar climatic drivers for avian and human malaria suggest that mitigation strategies for Hawai`i have broad application to human health.
Michael Samuel, of the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, told Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “We knew that temperature had a significant effect on mosquitoes and malaria, but we were surprised that rainfall also played an important role. Additional rainfall will favor mosquitoes as much as the temperature change.”
Similar climatic drivers for avian and human malaria suggest that mitigation strategies for Hawai`i have broad application to human health.
Michael Samuel, of the USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, told Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “We knew that temperature had a significant effect on mosquitoes and malaria, but we were surprised that rainfall also played an important role. Additional rainfall will favor mosquitoes as much as the temperature change.”
See staradvertiser.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
THE CURRENT ISSUE OF VOLCANO WATCH describes several alarms available to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists to keep them aware of Kilauea’s status.
HVO’s Swarm Alarm counts earthquakes occurring in a certain region of the volcano — say, Kilauea’s summit area — within the past hour. The system automatically notifies our monitoring group if the number surpasses the threshold set by HVO’s seismologist. This is because an unusual cluster of earthquakes could signal a change in the volcanic system that may lead to a new outbreak of lava.
Another alarm system monitors the slope of the ground using electronic tiltmeters. Slow changes in tilt are not unusual as the volcano adjusts in response to magma shifts within shallow reservoirs. However, if more rapid changes are detected, a computer program sends texts to notify us that it’s time to take a closer look at what else is happening.
 |
| The appearance of new lava on the floor of Pu`u `O`o triggered an alarm on May 7 that sent this thermal image to HVO geologists. |
HVO deploys thermal cameras that look into the Pu`u `O`o crater. These cameras take fresh pictures every two minutes, and, if a hot spot fills more than five percent of the images, send us a text message with an embedded image. Upon receiving such a message, we check other data (including more recent webcam images) to see if lava is filling or overflowing the crater.
HVO also uses Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) thermal imagery to look for elevated ground temperatures in areas other than at Kilauea’s summit and on the Pu`u `O`o lava flow field. If elevated temperatures are found, a computer program sends a text message with an embedded image to HVO geologists so that the situation can be further investigated.
Alarms have long been used at HVO, but they have certainly evolved from their low-tech origins. During the early episodes of Kilauea’s ongoing East Rift Zone eruption, HVO scientists wanted to know exactly when lava began spilling out of the Pu`u `O`o crater, which usually indicated the onset of lava fountains. This was in 1983, years before the advent of webcams! So, HVO staff had to lug a heavy and ungainly spool of copper cable over rugged lava flows and across the spillway where lava would first flow down the side of Pu`u `O`o. Using this cable, a steady voltage was radioed back to HVO, and when readings from this electronic tripwire were suddenly interrupted, we knew lava had broken the circuit.
We now have far more sophisticated ways to trigger alarms when the status of Hawai`i’s active volcanoes changes. As instrumentation and computer technology advance, even better techniques for triggering and evaluating volcano alarms will no doubt evolve.
HVO also uses Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) thermal imagery to look for elevated ground temperatures in areas other than at Kilauea’s summit and on the Pu`u `O`o lava flow field. If elevated temperatures are found, a computer program sends a text message with an embedded image to HVO geologists so that the situation can be further investigated.
Alarms have long been used at HVO, but they have certainly evolved from their low-tech origins. During the early episodes of Kilauea’s ongoing East Rift Zone eruption, HVO scientists wanted to know exactly when lava began spilling out of the Pu`u `O`o crater, which usually indicated the onset of lava fountains. This was in 1983, years before the advent of webcams! So, HVO staff had to lug a heavy and ungainly spool of copper cable over rugged lava flows and across the spillway where lava would first flow down the side of Pu`u `O`o. Using this cable, a steady voltage was radioed back to HVO, and when readings from this electronic tripwire were suddenly interrupted, we knew lava had broken the circuit.
We now have far more sophisticated ways to trigger alarms when the status of Hawai`i’s active volcanoes changes. As instrumentation and computer technology advance, even better techniques for triggering and evaluating volcano alarms will no doubt evolve.
 |
| Aikido instructor Alan Moores Photo by Julia Neal |
In addition, we will continue to fine-tune algorithms specifically for each volcano and each type of data stream to minimize false alarms. Perhaps someday an expert program will synthesize all the different datasets to present a preliminary interpretation. Until then, human intervention is essential to evaluate and validate the information. Even in the middle of the night. Ping!
See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
MONDAY IS FULL OF FITNESS PROGRAMS for Ka`u residents. Pahala Pool offers public recreational swim from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Adult lap swim is from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. See more hours at hawaiicounty.gov/pr-recreation or call 928-8177.
Exercise for Energy takes place from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Discovery Harbour Community Center with DVD instruction. Participants bring their own band, ball and mat. Free with donation of non-perishable food. Also Wednesday. For more information, call Judy Knapp at 939-8149.
Zumba Fitness is at 5:30 p.m. at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Volcano with certified instructor Linda Fanene. Also Thursday. Call 990-3835.
Certified Zumba instructor Erin Cole teaches Zumba from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Also Thursday. Contact her at 938-4037.
Aikido with Alan Moores begins at 6 p.m. at Old Pahala Clubhouse. Also Wednesday. Moores can be reached at 928-0919 or artbyalan2011@gmail.com.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
Zumba Fitness is at 5:30 p.m. at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Volcano with certified instructor Linda Fanene. Also Thursday. Call 990-3835.
Certified Zumba instructor Erin Cole teaches Zumba from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Also Thursday. Contact her at 938-4037.
Aikido with Alan Moores begins at 6 p.m. at Old Pahala Clubhouse. Also Wednesday. Moores can be reached at 928-0919 or artbyalan2011@gmail.com.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
 |
| See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf. |
 |
| See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_July2015.pdf. |
