Ka`u News Briefs August 15, 2011

Clues to the reason for fires near Punalu`u are sought by police and the fire department.  Photo by Julia Neal

ED CASE opened his campaign headquarters in Honolulu and is promising to spend a lot of time listening to the issues of the Neighbor Islands during his fight to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator. He has less than a year to attract the vote, as the primary election will be held on Aug. 11, 2012 across this state. 

Ed Case

     Case was famous for coming to Ka`u frequently when he served in the U.S. Congress and known for helping to secure funding to preserve the Ka`u Coast and purchase of Honu`apo. He also introduced shoreline preservation legislation. During his days in Congress he returned from Washington, D.C. frequently and held talk story sessions, collecting questions and discussing a wide variety of issues in Ka`u with anyone who wanted to talk with him. He is considered a Blue Dog Democrat who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. 

     Expected opponents in the primary are current congresswomen Mazie Hirono and Colleen Hanabusa. For the general election the opponent is expected to be former Hawai`i governor and Republican Linda Lingle.

MAYOR BILLY KENOI is in Ka`u today for a dedication. The ceremony at the Wai`ohinu Solid Waste Transfer Station celebrates the provision of more and improved water spigots for people who need to haul water to their homes. Six new and improved water spigot centers are open around the islands where people can draw free, clean potable water for household use. There are thousands of Hawai`i Island residents who depend on these spigots to sustain their families. 

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE is helping to study and combat rat lung disease, which has been contracted by several Big Island residents. The severe disease, which can lead to coma, severe pain and death, is most inadvertently contracted by unwittingly consuming a tiny slug on a leaf of lettuce or other uncooked vegetable. Experts on the disease are coming to Hawai`i from Thailand, Brazil, China and Jamaica. They include scientists and physicians.
     To prevent rat lung disease, wash vegetables well, cook them or soak them in saltwater before eating. 

HAWAI`I COUNTY’S more than 400-strong police force, whose members belong to the union SHOPO, the State of Hawai`i Organization of Police Officers, are hoping for a new contract soon as their wage hikes have been frozen while the county and police union engage with a federal mediator. The police officers may avoid pay cuts that the Hawai`i Government Employees Association members agreed to and the cuts that the state imposed on the teachers union. Other unions still working out a contract with the counties across Hawai`i are the Hawai`i Firefighters Association and United Public Workers. 

ALTERNATING LANE CLOSURES on Mamalahoa Highway 11 in both directions are planned near South Point Road today through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for pavement resurfacing and guardrail installation.

POLICE AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT are continuing to ask for clues to the possible setting of fires at Punalu`u over the past week. Burned brush still showed hotspots and smoke yesterday. Anyone with clues can call the non-emergency police line at 935-3311. Those wanting to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Herbert Matayoshi

FLAGS ARE FLYING AT HALF-STAFF for Herbert Matayoshi, who served as mayor of Hawai`i County from 1974 to 1984. Gov. Neil Abercrombie gave a statewide order for flags to fly at half-staff for Matayoshi, this county’s second elected mayor. He also served on the County Council and county Board of Supervisors, the precursor to the County Council. 

SINGER, SONGWRITER AND KUMU Kihei Nahale-a performs at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

KA`U PLANTATION DAYS is coming up this Saturday, Aug. 20 at Pahala Plantation House. Plantation Days starts at 9 a.m. and will feature a cane truck driving through Pahala just like the old days. Representatives of the union and many cultural groups will present historic displays. One display features old photos of houses, and residents can come and find their home. Also planned are ethnic foods, music and dance from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.