Ka`u News Briefs April 3, 2011

Miloli`i Halau has a computer room and library and could have a classroom for telecommuting to school.  Photo by Julia Neal

SENATOR GIL KAHELE said yesterday that he sees a lot of hope at the 2011 state Legislature. Along his regular weekend journey through Ka`u to meet constituents and visit his birthplace, Miloli`i, he gave a rundown on proposals that could affect this area.

THE HAWAI`I 2050 Sustainability law will be incorporated into the Hawai`i State Plan, he said. It passed its last committee last week without amendment and will bring a balance to food security, energy security and economic development, Kahele predicted. “Now we need to take it and run,” said the senator. 

Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences
seeks new classrooms.

VOLCANO SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES is another mission of Kahele, who said he is trying his best, during tough budget talks, to fund the design of new classrooms. He said he may also approach the Office of Hawaiian Affairs since many of the students are Hawaiian. 

BOTH KULANI PRISON, near Volcano and Hawaiian Homelands near Hilo could be used to bring home inmates from expensive prisons, far away from their families on the mainland. Kahele said that it is unfortunate that so much money is being spent each year to house prisoners on the mainland, with little connection to their culture, families and the kind of programs that could help them become productive citizens when they are released in Hawai`i. He said that many prisoners are of Hawaiian descent and that the Hawaiian community is eager to help them here. He said putting at least one of the prisons closer to Hilo will also save transportation costs of going to court, work projects and rehabilitation programs. 

Kulani Prison between Hilo and
Volcano could be reopened.

THE MEN OF PA`A was credited by Kahele as Hawaiian men working together to mentor recently paroled prisoners to help them find work and positive meaning in their lives. He said such programs can go a long way to helping inmates heal.

EDUCATION FOR MILOLI`I children who are very isolated is another program that Kahele wants to work on. He talked about possible telecommuting to school from the Halau at Miloli`i, with successful Hawaiian mentors helping the children to receive good education while respecting their backgrounds.

TRANSPORTATION FOR STUDENTS, taking them long ways to campuses, is becoming a huge economic burden to the state. Kahele called plans to cut some of the bus funding “very scary.” He recalled the days of the one-room schoolhouse in Miloli`i and his family members walking the coastal trail to the school.

VOLCANO ART CENTER’S Spring Art Market continues today at the Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Free ongoing art demonstrations, guided family nature walks, creative keiki activities and more are in store until to 3 p.m., and original works of art are available for purchase directly from the artists.