Photo courtesy of Ken Charon

(Media release) — The artist’s group known as Art Day Group is showing a selection of their art works in an exhibition at the Pahoa Museum for the next three months.

Art Day Group was started over 15 years ago by Barry Wilkinson and Sara Steiner-Jackson as a way to encourage themselves and others to dedicate one day a week to creating art in a communal setting. The group meets every Friday at Ahalanui Park warm pond pavilion in Lower Puna and is open to art lovers of all ages. “It seemed like a good match to have our new exhibit at the museum,” says exhibit organizer Ken Charon.

Pahoa Museum emphasizes Lower Puna and an all-encompassing “healthy living culture.”

Art Day Group includes Barry Wilkinson, Sara Steiner-Jackson, Ken Charon, Rebecca Rosen Charon, MoonStar Rae, Jack Marshall, Paul Boylen, Linda Stevens, Kerri Ligatich, Bruce Black, John Mydock, Isla Harmon, Diane Cohen, Kat Alvarez, Irma Melo, Michael Donenfeld, Ann Rathbun, Vince Callager and children’s work by Jolina and Hasya Garber.

The Pahoa Museum, located in historic downtown Pahoa, is open Monday through Saturday.  Call Sarah Williams at (808) 430-1573 for details.

George "Boogie" Kalama

(Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in the July 7, 2010 edition of the Big Island Weekly.)

By Tiffany Edwards Hunt

To imagine what Uncle Boogie’s Pohoiki Bay Surfing Classic was like over July Fourth weekend is to envision what the surf-side village of Kalapana must have been like before the lava took it away in the early 1990s.

The massive lawn of the newly renovated Isaac Kepo’okalani Hale Beach Bark was filled with families camping out under tarps and in tents.  Nevermind the occasional rain and persistent wind.  The two-to-three-foot-average waves kept the surfers in the water, from morning to night.

“Aloha kekahi i kekahi,” George “Boogie” Kalama repeatedly told participants.  Whether it was Boogie’s constant reminders or the fact that participants truly embodied the true sense of the Hawaiian term for Love One Another, the love was flowing at Pohoiki.

Those who camped out at Pohoiki and participated in Uncle Boogie’s Surfing Classic embodied not only the true meaning of aloha, but also ohana.

Whether they were related or not, they treated each other like family.

Sure, they were gathered for a surf competition, but the competitiveness appeared to be a minimum outside of the water.

Participants shared meals and tasks, like preparing the maile leaf leis that were to be given to the first through fourth place winners of each division. Read the rest of this entry »

(Media release) — Hawaii County’s 2010 Health Care Conference: “Building a Healthier Future Together,” will convene on Friday, August 13, 2010 at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott.

The free, public day-long conference is being organized by the Office of Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi and will focus on community building and collaboration for improving our island’s health and health care services.

Several hundred attendees representing healthcare providers and the community at large will discuss solutions to Hawaii Island’s most pressing healthcare challenges — access to care and an acute shortage of healthcare providers. Read the rest of this entry »

Laurie Justus Pace art

Aloha Friends,

Please join us at the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce West Hawaii Building & Design Expo this weekend, at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa.  Admission is free!  Philip and I will be performing Friday evening from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with our friends from the Sakura Ensemble to help kick off the event.

Special thanks to Arts of Kona for inviting us, come visit their table at the Expo on Saturday and Talk Story with us from 11:00 to 1:00.  Philip (Simmons) and I will be glad to fill you in on what’s happening with the Orchestra of the Hawaiian Islands, as we prepare for our next concert “Pacific Moon Under the Stars,” coming up Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.  Tickets are available, visit www.americanmusicfestivals.com.

As we make our way around the Big Island community, we are often asked questions like:

How and why did you start the orchestra?

What is your relationship to other performing groups in Hawaii?

What is American Music Festivals?

When will you expand to a full symphony, and have a regular season?

Come talk story with us this weekend!  We want to hear your thoughts about the Orchestra of the Hawaiian Islands, and how our program can benefit the community.

Mahalo!

Jennifer (Schack)

Images courtesy of Shannon Migliori

(Media release) — Tomoko Nakazato and Matt Rechs, talented young artists will share their recent works via a show & tell presentation on Saturday, July 24, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Donkey Mill Art Center. Nakazato and Rechs celebrate their third year residency originally invited as part of the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation.

The free evening’s activities include a show and tell style presentation, art pieces from both artists (ceramics, prints, drawings) and art installations specific to their Donkey Mill residency experience. The public is welcome to join Donkey Mill members and friends the artists have met along the way for a wine and pupu potluck.

Originally from Sacramento, Rechs grew up in the Historic “Gold Country” city of Grass Valley, California. He studied Ceramic Art at Sacramento State University and later San Francisco State University, deriving techniques from Professors Robert Brady, Peter Vandenburg, Jeff Downing, and David Kuraoka. Read the rest of this entry »

You are formally invited to a Big Island Chronicle-hosted Puna Community Candidate Forum and Debates, slated for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010.
The format will be as such:

9 a.m.  doors open
10 a.m.  State Senate District 2
10:45 a.m. State House District 4
11:30 a.m. break
11:45 a.m. County Council District 5
1:30 p.m. break
1:45 p.m. State Senate District 2
2:30 p.m.  State House District 4
3:15 P.m. break
3:30 p.m. County Council District 5
5 p.m. pau

The first round will consist of random, yet moderated, questions from the public, and the second round will include candidate platforms and moderated debates with topics to be announced in advance.
Candidates will have several opportunities to distribute campaign literature and mingle with their constituents.

Volunteer to be a moderator, assistant moderator, time keeper, floor manager, greeter, and note taker.  Being sought is a Puna-based non-profit organization interested in selling refreshments as a fundraiser at the Aug. 7 forum and debates.

Please RSVP at (808) 938-8592 or via email at newswoman@mac.com no later than July 31, 2010.

The public is encouraged to comment on this post with potential questions for the candidates, or general topics for them to debate.  Please spread the word to guarantee this is a widely attended event.

Aloha e,

The next date for public testimony on O’oma Beachside Villages (OBV) request to reclassify 181 acres of coastal Conservation land into Urban is this Thursday at the King Kamehameha Hotel.

PLEASE NOTE: This will likely be the last time that public will have an opportunity to testify on this matter.  Public testimony will be taken after the parties have presented their final witnesses.  I would estimate that will be around 11 a.m.

Talking points against this application include:

1)    The Land Use Commission has already twice denied upzoning of this land.

2)    Reasons to keep this land in Conservation have become much greater over the past two decades.

3)    The infrastructure deficit in Kona has dramatically increased, such as traffic and sewage treatment. Read the rest of this entry »

RJ Mendoza photo

By RJ Mendoza

Well, I guess I better mention that despite the theatrics and dramatics surrounding the “divorce” (and I use this word because what happened was more than a breakup, but I haven’t found the best term.) I met someone. A new gentleman, who seemingly has many qualities that I was always hoping to show up in my last relationship.

Things have progressed rather quickly. No, I am not shacking up with him, he has his own life and career in Kona, and given the circumstances, we are both happy with the current situation. Me in Hilo, and him in Kailua-Kona, with nice conversations Monday through Thursday, and us spending our weekends together.

Let’s call him Mr. Maui. I want to protect his privacy, and plus he, in many ways has show himself to be a Hawaiian Superman.

Anyway, Mr. Maui and I spent the past weekend together on his home turf. (If you could even call it his home turf — he is actually Part-Hawaiian raised on the Mainland… sound familiar?) And I think we spent most of the time eating. We checked out a new place along Ali’i drive — which neither of us ended up caring for, enjoyed a breakfast the next morning at a quaint cafe/restaurant that is actually a “slow food establishment” (which I have yet to figure out, it does not take hours to be served at this charming place.) Lunched with some friends down Ali’i drive, and headed out to the NELHA Farmer’s Market.

I was able to convince him to go to the farmer’s market because I knew that Olelo Pa’a Ogawa was performing a cooking demonstration. Read the rest of this entry »

Tiffany Edwards Hunt photo. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.

By Sarah Williams

Inspired by Tiffany’s writings about improving quality of life in Pahoa, a number of citizens have started to build a garden in the heart of the village.  The Pahoa Village Museum is serving as a drop-off site and coordination center for the project; to get involved in the project contact the Museum.

Rooted in the spirit of Aloha, this is a grassroots movement by the citizens to improve our village.  Its exciting because this garden has a central, high impact location, (across the street from Cash n Carry) thus, it will absolutely affect the character, identity, and esteem of Pahoa Village. Where there were weeds and beer bottles, there will be hapu’u and orchids.  (Need any of you be reminded that Pahoa is part of Paradise.)  We deserve a more beautiful reflection, for the sake of our children and the entire planet… let us be the change we need.

Although some plants may be stolen, way more will be given than taken; let us have the heart to be a part of the solutions.  Let us be empowered by our contributions and we are all rewarded by the production. Read the rest of this entry »

(Media release) — The Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce selected Kokua Kailua as this year’s winner of its prestigious Visitor Industry Marketing Award. The award was announced at the Chamber’s annual meeting last week.

The uniqueness of Kokua Kailua, which closes Kailua Village’s Alii Drive in to vehicular traffic one Sunday per month, coupled with targeted marketing and public relations efforts has proven to be an ideal formula that was cited in naming Kokua Kailua as award recipient. Kokua Kailua was also singled out for its role in bringing residents and visitors back to Historic Kailua Village. Read the rest of this entry »

Aadil Palkhivala founded Yoga Centers® in Bellevue, Washington, and The College of Purna Yoga, a 200-hour, 500-hour and Certificate-Level teacher training program licensed by the State of Washington and Yoga Alliance Certified. Image courtesy of Monthly Yoga DVD.

(Media release) — Big Island Yoga Center welcomes Aadil Palkhivala for his Summer Purna Yoga Intensive slated for July 16-19, 2010.

Aadil and his wife, Mirra, are the founders of Purna Yoga™, described on Aadil’s website as “a holistic synthesis of yogic traditions based on the work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.”  The couple also founded Yoga Centers® in Bellevue, Washington, and The College of Purna Yoga, a 200-hour, 500-hour and Certificate-Level teacher training program licensed by the State of Washington and Yoga Alliance Certified.

Watch Aadil invite you to this summer intensive at our website and for a complete list of classes, for a printable brochure, with a detailed schedule and more payment options, go to www.bigislandyoga.com.

The Full Purna Intensive, July 16-19, 2010, $545 after June 20. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos by Tiffany Edwards Hunt. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.

The 9th Annual International Student ROV Competition commences today, June 25, 2010, at the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

There are two types of teams in the 2010 International ROV competition: Explorers and Rangers. The Explorers are more advanced. The only Hawaii team in the Explorer class is Kapiolani Community College. Pictured are Mishkat Rahman (R), Cyrus Legg, Mark Anthony Baptista, Max Lindsey.

Organized by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center, 58 teams from around the world are participating, including five from Hawaii.

Represented are Kapiolani Community College, Kealakehe Intermediate School, Moanalua High School, Highlands Intermediate School in Pearl City and Hilo High School.

The teams spent Thursday preparing their ROVs for the competition and completing their poster board presentations on their team’s mission.  The poster boards are to be on display in the UH-Hilo gym through the duration of the competition.

ROVs are remotely operated vehicles, also known as underwater robots or robot submersibles. They have had plenty of ink lately, since they are key in the attempts to manage the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Read the rest of this entry »

BJ (L) and Jay Penn

(Media release) — The Penn Training and Fitness Center of Hilo is now offering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) training at a satellite location in Pahoa. Classes will be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility (also known as the Pahoa Community Center).

Classes will be taught by Jay Penn, a BJJ black belt instructor at the Hilo academy. Penn’s younger brother, BJ, (the first non-Brazilian to win the BJJ black belt world championship in Rio de Janeiro) will help teach one class per month as his schedule permits. Classes are available to both children and adults.

“We know there are many people in Puna who want to train BJJ, but it’s tough for them to get into Hilo two or three times a week,” says Jay. Read the rest of this entry »

Gipper (L) and Tony Finau are Utah brothers featured in the Big Break Disney Golf who are expected to attend jr. golf clinic in Hilo Wednesday. Stuart Johnson photo. Image courtesy of Desert News

(Media release) — The County of Hawai‘i, Big Island Candies, Rodney Acia PGA, and Big Island Junior Golf Association are co-sponsoring the Second Annual Golf Clinic and Long Drive Demonstration by stars Tony and Gipper Finau of Golf Channel’s The Big Break Disney Golf on Wednesday, June 23, 2010, at the Hilo Municipal Golf Course.

The brothers from Utah have played in PGA events and are renowned for their long-hitting prowess. Tony Finau is said to be the longest hitting player among PGA tour players, having hit drives of more than 400 yards. Also appearing at the clinic will be the Finau brothers’ father, Gary Finau, who has guided his sons’ careers.

The Finau brothers, who recently were featured on Golf Channel’s The Big Break Disney Golf also invites the public to follow as they play the front 9 of our Hilo Municipal Golf Course.

“We are so pleased that the Finau family will be returning to Hilo”, said Jodie Kimura, president of the Big Island Junior Golf Association. Read the rest of this entry »