Ka`u News Briefs Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015

EAST HAWAI`I REGIONAL BOARD of Hawai`i Health Systems Corp., which manages Ka`u Hospital, has signed a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement with Adventist Health. “We are in the very early stages of exchanging information in terms of finance and operations,” Board Chair Kurt Corbin told members of the state House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance yesterday, Colin M. Stewart reported in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald.

      HHSC’s East Hawai`i administrators in June began talks with the California-based company that operates Castle Medical Center on O`ahu. East Hawai`i Region laid off 87 employees this year to eliminate a $7 million budget deficit, and Regional CEO Dan Brinkman told the committee that it could face another $7 million shortfall and more budget cuts.
      Ka`u’s state Rep. Richard Creagan attended the meeting and told The Ka`u Calendar that he was happy to learn that Dan Brinkman has moved from acting CEO to permanent CEO for the East Hawai`i region. “He is doing a great job supporting hospital workers and doesn’t demonize the unions. The hospital system is faced with funding union-negotiated employee raises approved by the Legislature,” Creagan said. The Legislature will be called on to help fund the raises.
      Creagan said, “East Hawai`i is doing a good job of cutting costs while maintaining quality patient care.” He also suggested that any private-public partnerships between East Hawai`i hospitals and private or nonprofit health care entities be delayed at least a year, until “we see how the new partnership on Maui (with Kaiser Permanente) works out.”
      See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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COUNTY ACQUISITION OF KAHUA `OLOHU Makahiki Grounds in Na`alehu is on hold. Hawai`i County Council considered Ka`u council member Maile David’s Resolution 287-15 this morning. According to the resolution, the property is listed as a key priority for purchase in Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Committee’s 2014 Annual Report for its historical significance and cultural importance.

      Jerry Warren, of Na`alehu, testified that the site is actually low on PONC’s priority list; it was listed as number 11. He said the PONC process has become “a welfare program for grant seekers,” who apply for stewardships of preserved land. He also referred to the property as “an albatross” that the owners want to get rid of.
      Property owner James Weatherford said he bought the 13-acre parcel in 2008 for agriculture and learned of its “great historic significance” in 2011, when Hawai`i County surveyed the property as a possible site for a sewage treatment plant.
      He praised the PONC staff for their quality help. He said he is willing to sell at an appraised value or his original purchase price, whichever is less, and that he is not interested in making money.
      Weatherford also said he has another interested, unnamed buyer who would use the site for ecotourism, but he prefers to sell to the county.
      After hearing Warren’s testimony, council member Danny Paleka asked Weatherford to respond to Warren’s statements. Weatherford told the council, “Everything Warren said is false.”
      Council member Aaron Chung asked David to investigate Warren’s statements further, “for the sake of transparency.” He asked if Weatherford has a vested interest in the property and if Weatherford was involved in creating the PONC process during his time working for former Ka`u Council member Bob Jacobson. He also questioned nonprofits’ use of county funds for stewardship “to generate money.”
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THE COOPER CENTER in Volcano Village will make improvements with $15,000 appropriated by Hawai`i County Council. Council member Maile David’s Resolution 308-15 passed unanimously this morning. Funds will be used to purchase building materials. 

       The center is the hub of the Volcano community and used by hundreds of people weekly. In her testimony, the organization’s president Linda Ugalde said the funds go toward a new roof and a new water tank “to support all of the activities” at the center.
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FORECASTERS ARE CONFIDENT that Hurricane Olaf will stay well east of Hawai`i as it travels north. The category-four storm was 1,065 miles east-southeast of South Point at 11 a.m.
      High surf is expected on east-facing shores, intensifying over the next several days until the storm passes beyond Hawai`i Island on Saturday morning.
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SEAN “OLANUI” ROBBINS PRESENTS a free Hawaiian music concert tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Robbins is quickly earning a reputation as a ki ho`alu (slack-key) rising star and a haku mele (Hawaiian songwriter). The 21-year old local boy is often described as an old soul contained in a young body, and the protégé of slack key master and legendary musician Cyril Pahinui.

      With a great respect for the “old style” of Hawaiian music playing taught by kupuna, Robbins was also taken under the wings of the famous musical Keli`iho`omalu `ohana in Kaimu, Kalapana. Robbins’ first CD, Olanui, is a Hoku award winner and a taste of what is to come. 

      Olanui will be available for purchase.
      Park entrance fees apply.
      Call 985-6011 for more information.

RESIDENTS CAN LEARN about Social Security this week. Workshops take place tomorrow at Na`alehu Community Center, Thursday at The Cooper Center in Volcano Village and Friday at Ocean View Community Center. All sessions are from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. See ad below for topics covered. Reserve at 327-5410.