TO:  Superintendent Cynthia Orlando
Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

RE:  Mission Critical Administrative Aviation Plan/Environmental Assessment

Dear Superintendent Orlando,

Once again, I am extremely disappointed that Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park planners have chosen not to take responsibility for the pollution you are forcing your neighbors to endure.  By limiting the scope of this assessment to park airspace you are failing to acknowledge the destruction park-sanctioned, low-flying aircraft do to the surrounding countryside.  This circumvents the entire point of the environmental review process.

What I can’t seem to get through to you is that the Big Island is, in fact, quite small and that any loud and intrusive activities you sponsor will affect not just the park, but the entire island ecosystem.  You have a moral as well as legal obligation to deal with the pollution you generate that devastates the neighboring homes, businesses, schools, churches and conservation land.  Any federal action regarding overflights must include not just what goes on after flights pass inside your boundaries, but also the destruction done to the neighborhoods located between airports and your park.  Please understand that the following suggestions apply not just in the park, but everywhere on the Island of Hawaii. Read the rest of this entry »

(Media release) — The Ka‘ū Coffee Festival kicks off 5-9 p.m. Saturday, May 5, 2012, with Ka‘ū Farmers’ Table: A Feast for the Senses hosted by Kalaekilohana Bed and Breakfast. The event features an intimate evening of music with world-renowned Hawaiian entertainer Robert Cazimero and the culinary magic of Executive Chef Morgan Starr of Mi’s Italian Bistro. The locally sourced fare includes a paired five-course gourmet meal and a Ka‘ū coffee dessert bar. Tickets are $100 in advance. The event is being sponsored by Mi’s Wine and Cheese Shop, Hana Hou Restaurant and Kalaekilohana. For information and tickets, contact Kalaekilohana at (808) 939-8052.

Third, on Saturday May 12, get set for the 4^th Annual Ka‘ū Coffee Festival Ho‘olaule‘a featuring the Ka‘ū Coffee Experience in the heritage town of Pāhala.  Read the rest of this entry »

Donald Jusko art

Hello Tiffany,
I wanted to communicate some thoughts that came to me in wake of 3/20 report in Star Bulletin that court awarded $15 million to family of 2 people killed in Oahu trail fall.
This is of interest to me (and many others) because I am an avid hiker and in recent years I have had increasing run-ins with property owners for trespassing on their land.
I reflected on this last summer when I visited Marin County Calif (just north of San Francisco) where I grew up. Here we have miles of sanctioned hiking trails adjacent to dangerous conditions, i.e. steep cliff abuting the Pacific ocean, yet public access is allowed everywhere and suing for falling off a cliff fails in court.
Several months ago, I tried to hike various places on this island such as hills above Waimea and giant tract of property adjacent to Kona Airport.  In both place I was stopped by hyper-aggressive security guards who threatened me with arrest.  Very unpleasant.  And everywhere I went in West Hawaii, I noticed more and more no trespassing signs (a sight rare in Marin County)
And this was BEFORE the $15 millon ruling.
I am not sure people realize the implications of this $15 million verdict to  public access in Hawaii.  It will be far worse…
Seems there is potential for some new coverage here…
Keep up the good work on your blog.  Aloha, Mark Dougherty, Hilo resident since 1978

(Media release) —  The Office of Hawai’i County Mayor Billy Kenoi is pleased to announce the Student Malama Award, the first Hawai‘i Island student sustainability award to highlight and celebrate youth led stewardship and sustainability initiatives on the Big Island.  Outstanding student leaders in this field will be awarded $500 scholarships.

Individual students and student groups from public, charter and private schools, as well as for-profit or non-profit youth organizations are eligible to apply.

Projects may include, but are not limited to topics such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, agriculture such as school gardens and local foods; resource management such as zero waste, community-based volunteerism, social and community service, and environmental projects such as conservation and preservation of the ocean, land and forest.

Scholarships will be awarded to winners in K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grade categories.  An awards ceremony luncheon with Mayor Billy Kenoi will be scheduled for the end of the school year.

Nomination applications may be found on the Office of the Mayor’s website at www.hawaiicounty.gov/office-of-the-mayor/categories/SMA.  The nomination deadline is April 15, 2012.

For more information contact Barbara Kossow at (808) 323-4448 or Lisa Robertson at (8080 961-8211.

(Submitted by Desiree Cruz.)

Everyone interested in the future of Pāhoa is invited to attend a community gathering geared toward developing the Pāhoa Plan at 3 p.m., Saturday March 24, 2012, at the Pāhoa Community Center.

The free public event will include refreshments and entertainment.

Visit Friends of Puna’s Future (FoPF) for the full press release and agenda.

(Media release) — A Big Island man died Saturday after jumping into the Wailuku River in Hilo.

He has been identified as 23-year-old Joseph Tancredi of Hilo.

South Hilo patrol officers responded to a 6:30 p.m. report of a drowning in an area of the river just above Rainbow Falls.

Tancredi’s acquaintances were attempting to revive him with cardiopulmonary resuscitation when officers arrived. He had reportedly jumped into a tide pool about 1/8-mile from the river bank and been held under water by white wash for about two minutes.

Fire Department personnel took him by helicopter to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:17 p.m.

Police do not suspect foul play. They have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
(Submitted by Hawaii Police Department via Nixle.)

(Media release) — Big Island police have initiated an arson investigation in connection with a fire at a Puna beach park early Monday morning.

Sometime between 1:15 a.m. and 1:27 a.m. unknown persons set fire to three portable toilets at Ahalanui Beach Park in Kāpoho, rendering them unusable. Fire Department personnel extinguished the flames. Damages were estimated at $3,100.

Police ask that anyone with information about this case call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
(Submitted by Hawaii Police Department via Nixle.)

Dorothy Fukushima

Meet Dorothy Fukushima.  She is a 2007 Pahoa High and Intermediate School graduate now at University of Hawaii Hilo triple-majoring in Japanese studies, astronomy and physics.  She is also one of two Puna RISE interns — with the acronym standing for “rewarding internships for sustainable development.”  Alex White, a recent UHH graduate, is another RISE intern working in Kea’au.

Administering the RISE internships throughout the state, the 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, Kupu, has partnered with Hawaii Energy to reduce Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels. As part of the RISE internship, for $15 per hour, Fukushima is in Pahoa, working with recently-awarded-teacher-of-the-year Nancy Iaukea.  Fukushima and science teacher Iaukea are working on an application for the Green Ribbon Schools initiative and to trying to help the implement green initiatives at the school, like switching to more energy efficient lighting, recycling, and seeking out local vendors for fruit and vegetables and other products.

Sascalia art

(Media release) — A Waiakea park that has been in the works for 22 years has come to fruition.

Hawai’i County’s Department of Parks and Recreation added to its inventory of nearly 200 facilities Friday by opening a new community park in the Waiakea area of Hilo.

Roughly 100 people, including many from the Machado Acres community, gathered under sunny skies during a morning blessing ceremony for Machado Acres Park. The 7.9-acre site features concrete walking paths that form three distinct loops, along with grassy play areas. It’s located on Keone Street, between Haihai Street and Ainaola Drive.

“A park is a pu‘uhonua (place of refuge),” Mayor Billy Kenoi told attendees. “It’s a safe haven for our children to go to get away from drugs, gangs and violence. It’s a safe place to build a healthy community.”

Generations of park users will be able to benefit from the wonderful area, Kenoi added.

Perseverance and cooperation were key factors in making the park a reality, said Hilo Councilman J Yoshimoto.

“I think this park signifies what beautiful things we can do when we work together,” Yoshimoto said. He was joined by Hilo Councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, Hilo Councilman Donald Ikeda and former Hilo Councilman James Arakaki.

Yoshimoto presented Thelma Machado with a framed copy of Ordinance 11-90, officially naming the facility Machado Acres Park. Machado Acres subdivision is named after the Machado family, which developed the community. Read the rest of this entry »

Aloha Tiffany

I find it fascinating that tho it was front page on today’s printed Trib it is nowhere to be found on their web page ; that the Senate passed the bill adding med-pot to a patients bill of rights [sorry I 'ferget' the bill number --so many numbers -- so little time -wink]

it was a rather favorable article and the reason I was going to fwd it to you was in hopes you would repost the link and also it is important that the bill crosses over to the house and that now it’s the time for pro med-pot advocates to prepare their testimony how pot helps their pain and if and how they fear pharmaceuticals like Oxycontin

They should have it ready to fire off as soon as we get notice which often is less than 72 hours -keep an ‘ear to the ground’

Now it the time to teach, through our legislators that, law is law, but it is not medicine, when it comes to law enforcement treating patients as tho it were the hammer and we are the nails Read the rest of this entry »

(Editor’s note: The following guest column published in the local newspaper Monday, and is being republished here with permission from the author.)

Image courtesy of Austin Conservative Blogspot

By Edward Gutteling

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. “

Unfortunately, these noble words are from the Declaration of Independence, not our Constitution. From these principles American’s claim a unique and revolutionary legacy: that every person possess their own sovereignty just by being born, and that these rights don’t come from any government or person.

Individuals have all the rights, and give a few of them up voluntarily to our governments.  This is the basic principle on which our country was founded, but they are not the law. This is in direct contrast with an opposing view: that GOVERNMENT has all the rights and powers, and gives whatever IT decides is appropriate back to individuals.

Note the incredible distinction: who is the master, and who is the servant?

Most folks expect that our government leaders were elected with this concept in mind, to keep us safe, to manage our grouped resources most efficiently for our mutual benefit, but to otherwise respect our sovereignty to live our lives as we each choose. Nearly all of us grew up understanding this intuitively as part of American culture.  Bit by bit, however, it’s been turned on its head. Like frogs not noticing the boiling temperature if the heat is turned up sufficiently slowly, our community lets our freedoms die progressively bit by bit and allow politicians more and more power over our daily lives.

A small recent example is the Hawaii County ban on plastic bags. Apart from the bogus “voodoo environomic” claims about the benefits, all of which are contradicted by scientific fact, it is another small grab of power by our government. Five of 9 councilmen and the Mayor tell 185,000 people another tiny detail of how to live their lives without even the courtesy of a referendum, where at least we’d all get a vote. Read the rest of this entry »

Barry Mizuno, a renewable energy consultant for Puna Geothermal Venture, drives around with the words “powered by geothermal electricity” on the passenger side of his Nissan Leaf. Mizuno maintains his Nissan Leaf obtained from New City Nissan is powered geothermal electricity because it plugs into the HELCO grid that is partially subsidized by geothermal.

“I love the car,” said Mizuno, who noted that he paid $37,000 for the Nissan Leaf, but received a state tax rebate of $5,000 and a federal tax rebate of $7,500.  He said the battery lasts for 100 miles. He has a separate meter at his home for the car plug-in and reports that he pays between $35 and $40 per month to run the car.  Bay City Nissan is among four car dealerships in Hawaii that sell the Nissan Leaf, according to Blake Nakahara, a Bay City Nissan sales representative. For more information about the Nissan Leaf, click here. 

Dear Beekeepers and Friends of Beekeepers,

If you have not been following the progress of SB2332 through the Senate process, you are about to be royally served.  Forces opposed to the idea that small honey producers may sell their product directly to the public have come up with a plan to put us all out of business.  Please read the attached bill that has been passed by the State Senate.  Note that I have cc’d all of our state senators on this email.  They need to hear from us.

Are you ready for?:

    (3)  Labels each container of honey sold with:

        (A)  The name and address of the producer;

        (B)  The net weight and volume of the honey, by standard measure;

        (C)  The date the honey was produced; [and]

        (D)  The statement, “Honey should not be consumed by infants
under one year of age.” in clear and conspicuous print;

      [(D)]  (E)  The statement, “This product is home-produced and
processed.” in clear and conspicuous print[.]; and

        (F)  The statement, “This product was not produced in a
department of health-inspected facility and may place you at
greater risk of contracting a food-borne illness or being exposed
to environmental contaminants.” in clear and conspicuous print;

    (4)  Attends a department-approved food safety workshop and passes
the food safety certification examination; and

    (5)  Maintains records of honey production volume and honey product
distribution for at least two years, and makes these records
available to the department upon request.”

This is totally different from the current Home Based Honey Producers Act
that has served small scale producers up until now.

We don’t need this.  Honey is not jam or jelly.  It is a naturally
antiseptic food like whole fruits and vegetables.  Indeed, under the guise
of regulating producers without access to county water, this act forces
all home-based honey producers to comply with onerous labeling,
bookkeeping, and training requirements.  You will not be able to legally sell your product unless you comply.  And supposedly this bill is supposed to “help” small producers sell their product so you can cope with all those nasty pests that lack state enforcement allowed to enter our state.

We don’t need this.  We cannot afford this.  Please contact your state
Senator now!  This cannot wait.

-Cary Dizon