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| Thirty Meter Telescope opponents have agreed to remove structures erected at right, near Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station. Image from MKVIS |
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BIG ISLAND-BASED GVS TRANSMEDIA ACCELERATOR has won a $50,000 prize from the U.S. Small Business Administration, one of three awarded to Hawai`i organizations. Founded in 2014, GVS Transmedia Accelerator is a partnership between Global Virtual Studio, the Hawai`i Strategic Development Corp., Hawai`i County and GTA Development Fund. GVS aims to empower Hawai`i-based creative entrepreneurs and help them launch original transmedia franchises.
“We are pleased to see the state’s investment in innovation gaining national recognition,” Gov. David Ige said. “These accelerators … demonstrate that Hawai`i’s innovation community is active throughout the state and across various industries.”
Accelerators are components of a healthy startup environment. They help drive entrepreneurship and attract investment by assisting entrepreneurs in developing their businesses and raising venture capital through mentorship and networking.
Luis Salaveria, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said, “The SBA awards recognize the important role venture accelerators play in launching startups and are evidence of Hawai`i’s ability to compete as an innovation hub at a national level.”
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Accelerators are components of a healthy startup environment. They help drive entrepreneurship and attract investment by assisting entrepreneurs in developing their businesses and raising venture capital through mentorship and networking.
Luis Salaveria, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said, “The SBA awards recognize the important role venture accelerators play in launching startups and are evidence of Hawai`i’s ability to compete as an innovation hub at a national level.”
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| Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer |
ALOHA `AINA DEBUTS on Hawai`i Public Radio this Monday, Sept. 21. Every weekday at 8:18 a.m. through Dec. 18, Aloha `Aina airs on HPR-1 during NPR’s news magazine Morning Edition. An encore broadcast is planned on HPR-2, with the second 13 weeks starting in January 2016.
The series, comprised of 65 approximately two-minute segments, explores the roots and historical endurance of the values of aloha `aina, commonly translated as love of the land. Commentary is provided by noted Hawaiian scholars and leaders, such as Puanani Burgess, Sam `Ohu Gon, Davianna McGregor, Jonathan Osorio and Walter Ritte. The series is researched, written and narrated by Julia Steele. The series will be archived on hawaiipublicradio.org.
Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer, president and CEO of The Kohala Center, said, “When we first sat down with HPR a year ago, our goal was to help listeners — all listeners — deepen their reverence for the land and natural resources that sustain us. With the words ‘aloha `aina’ gaining heightened prominence in local, and even global, discourse and consciousness in recent months, the timing of such an exploration couldn’t be better. We’re excited and truly grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Hawai`i Public Radio to bring this series to the people of Hawai`i and the world.”
HPR’s President and General Manager Michael Titterton said, “The Kohala Center brought all the necessary elements with their proposal. They share our commitment to community enrichment and, as a research organization, they have the credibility to shape a rigorous and thoughtful exploration of the connection between indigenous wisdom and our modern relationships with the natural environment. Aloha `Aina is the perfect complement to our earlier series Mahalo `Aina, which illustrated the importance of healthy Hawaiian forests.”
Beamer said, “Here in Hawai`i, we are surrounded by a unique and incredible natural and cultural landscape, but what does it really mean to engage, to connect, to develop an intimate kinship with the environments and ancestral knowledge that have nourished and sustained these islands for centuries? Our hope is that this series, and the voices who contributed their mana`o to it, will invite listeners to deepen their understanding of aloha `aina and inspire them to incorporate these values into their everyday lives.”
Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer, president and CEO of The Kohala Center, said, “When we first sat down with HPR a year ago, our goal was to help listeners — all listeners — deepen their reverence for the land and natural resources that sustain us. With the words ‘aloha `aina’ gaining heightened prominence in local, and even global, discourse and consciousness in recent months, the timing of such an exploration couldn’t be better. We’re excited and truly grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Hawai`i Public Radio to bring this series to the people of Hawai`i and the world.”
HPR’s President and General Manager Michael Titterton said, “The Kohala Center brought all the necessary elements with their proposal. They share our commitment to community enrichment and, as a research organization, they have the credibility to shape a rigorous and thoughtful exploration of the connection between indigenous wisdom and our modern relationships with the natural environment. Aloha `Aina is the perfect complement to our earlier series Mahalo `Aina, which illustrated the importance of healthy Hawaiian forests.”
Beamer said, “Here in Hawai`i, we are surrounded by a unique and incredible natural and cultural landscape, but what does it really mean to engage, to connect, to develop an intimate kinship with the environments and ancestral knowledge that have nourished and sustained these islands for centuries? Our hope is that this series, and the voices who contributed their mana`o to it, will invite listeners to deepen their understanding of aloha `aina and inspire them to incorporate these values into their everyday lives.”
Ka`u residents can find HPR-1 at KAHU 97.1 FM.
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| Alex Wegmann Photo from DLNR |
A NON-TOXIC PREDATOR BAIT experiment on Lehua Island is considered a success
as the initial step toward creating Hawai`i’s first predator-free island.
Lehua is 17 miles west of Kaua`i, just off the northern tip of Ni`ihau. State, federal and nonprofit partners conducted helicopter application of non-toxic bait that they hope will ultimately lead to use of rodent bait to eliminate Lehua’s rat population. Invasive rats are the primary predator of three federally listed and/or endangered and threatened candidate seabird species that could establish breeding colonies on Lehua. Newell’s shearwaters, Hawaiian petrel and the Band-rumped storm petrel may have been nesting there prior to the introduction of rats and rabbits. Rabbits have been eradicated from the island.
Joshua Atwood, the invasive species coordinator with the Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources, explained, “This was a trial run; a chance to fly a helicopter over Lehua and drop non-toxic bait onto the island. This is the same formulation we’d use in a rodent-control project, except it didn’t have rodenticide in the mix at all. This will give us a better understanding of where rodents are on Lehua and now they interact with the food web and threaten the endangered birds.”
Leading the research is Island Conservation, whose mission is to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. Alex Wegmann, the nonprofit’s Hawai`i Program manager, said, “On Lehua, we have the opportunity to create the largest predator-free habitat for threatened and endangered seabirds anywhere in Hawai`i. Lehua is roughly 360 acres and when it becomes predator-free it can serve as critical breeding and nesting habitat for the three endangered seabird species, as well as for others.”
The results of this week’s aerial application will provide guidance for the potential development of a project to use a rodenticide to control Lehua’s invasive rat population. The project would be at least one year out.
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Joshua Atwood, the invasive species coordinator with the Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources, explained, “This was a trial run; a chance to fly a helicopter over Lehua and drop non-toxic bait onto the island. This is the same formulation we’d use in a rodent-control project, except it didn’t have rodenticide in the mix at all. This will give us a better understanding of where rodents are on Lehua and now they interact with the food web and threaten the endangered birds.”
Leading the research is Island Conservation, whose mission is to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. Alex Wegmann, the nonprofit’s Hawai`i Program manager, said, “On Lehua, we have the opportunity to create the largest predator-free habitat for threatened and endangered seabirds anywhere in Hawai`i. Lehua is roughly 360 acres and when it becomes predator-free it can serve as critical breeding and nesting habitat for the three endangered seabird species, as well as for others.”
The results of this week’s aerial application will provide guidance for the potential development of a project to use a rodenticide to control Lehua’s invasive rat population. The project would be at least one year out.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
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| Kua O Ka La charter school hosted yesterday's Hiki No on PBS. Image from PBS |
MOLOLI`I’S KUA O KA LA charter school hosted Hiki No last night, the first statewide feature and news TV program in the country written, shot and edited by students. Shown on PBS, Miloli`i students introduced stories from around the state, ranging from students interacting with peace leader Desmond Tutu, of South Africa, to a girl facing her eating choices after learning she has diabetes. The show kept coming back to Miloli`i and its history with shorts on the lava flow that destroyed the old Hawaiian village, the tsunami that washed the historic church out to sea and back, the charter school location at the community pavilion with a Native Hawaiian Library and powered by solar, Pa`a Pono Miloli`i cultural and environmental projects and Elvis Presley’s filming Girls, Girls, Girls at Miloli`i. See the show at pbshawaii.org.
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| Ka`u keiki can join Camp `Imi-Possible next month. |
`IMILOA ASTRONOMY CENTER is seeking Ka`u junior explorers and innovators in grades K-3 for Camp ‘IMI-Possible’s Fall intersession program, slated for Oct. 5-9. Students will be immersed in a weeklong adventure of exciting science experiments, hands on activities, and art projects.
Throughout the five days of activities, keiki will explore Maunakea from its base on the floor of the ocean to its summit window on the farthest reaches of the Universe. The camp runs from Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Drop off is available as early as 7:30 a.m. with pick up by 4:15 p.m. Lunch and snacks are not included, so participants should pack a snack and healthy lunch so they can keep up with each day of exploration.
Enrollment for the intersession program is open, but space is limited. Tuition for the program is $225 for members and $250 for non-members. Financial aid is available.
Applications and information can be found at www.imiloahawaii.org/183. Submit completed applications and payment to the front desk.
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RACE DAY REGISTRATION for the second annual Ka`u Coffee Trail Run is available tomorrow until 6:30 a.m. at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Race packets are available from 6 a.m. to 6:40 a.m. for entrants in the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon that start at 7 a.m.
For more information, see race360.com/21357.
Enrollment for the intersession program is open, but space is limited. Tuition for the program is $225 for members and $250 for non-members. Financial aid is available.
Applications and information can be found at www.imiloahawaii.org/183. Submit completed applications and payment to the front desk.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
RACE DAY REGISTRATION for the second annual Ka`u Coffee Trail Run is available tomorrow until 6:30 a.m. at Ka`u Coffee Mill. Race packets are available from 6 a.m. to 6:40 a.m. for entrants in the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon that start at 7 a.m.
For more information, see race360.com/21357.
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| Halau I Ka Leo Ola O Na Mamo performs tomorrow. Photo from VAC |
VOLCANO ART CENTER GALLERY in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park presents hula tomorrow. Loke Kamanu and `ohana present All Things Hula from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Na kumu hula Pelehonuamea Harman and Kekoa Harman with Halau I Ka Leo Ola O Na Mamo perform from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Free; park entrance fees apply.
Call 967-8222 for more information.
HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND HOLDS a Ka`u Coast Cleanup on Sunday. Volunteers meet staff at Wai`ohinu Park at 7:45 a.m. to carpool to Kamilo for this event, part of the International Get the Drift & Bag It.
Register at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.
ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASE for Sunday’s Jazz in the Forest: Evening of the Jazz Divas at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village ends today. If not sold out, tickets will be available at the door.
Tickets for the 4:30 p.m. matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the 7:30 p.m. evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).
See volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
Call 967-8222 for more information.
HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND HOLDS a Ka`u Coast Cleanup on Sunday. Volunteers meet staff at Wai`ohinu Park at 7:45 a.m. to carpool to Kamilo for this event, part of the International Get the Drift & Bag It.
Register at 769-7629 or kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.
ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASE for Sunday’s Jazz in the Forest: Evening of the Jazz Divas at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village ends today. If not sold out, tickets will be available at the door.
Tickets for the 4:30 p.m. matinee are $15 for VAC members ($20 non-members) and for the 7:30 p.m. evening show are $20 for VAC members ($25 non-members).
See volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
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| See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_September2015.pdf. |
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| See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015/swf and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf. |