Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 10, 2011

Residents and visitors enjoyed the Acoustic Hawaiian Music Jam sponsored by Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo
at Honu`apo Park yesterday.  See Ka `Ohana's website at honuapopark.org.  Photo by Julia Neal

OCEAN VIEW’S WATER WELL IS PAU, the HOVE Road Maintenance Corp. reported during its meeting on Saturday, Oct. 8. Mike Million said that contractors are removing their equipment, and that the county’s next step is to run tests on the water. He expects water to be available for pick up from the spigots in two or three months. 

FOUNTAIN GRASS REMOVAL has been an ongoing effort in Ocean View since 2005. At the meeting, David Benitez, of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, presented information about semi-annual programs to uproot the invasive weed that colonizes new lava flows and increases fire hazard for the community. The next removal date is planned in January or February. Contact Benitez at 985-6085 for more information. 

Milton Pavao

THE COUNTY BOARD OF WATER meets today and will take up the search for a new manager. Milton Pavao has worked for the county Department of Water Supply for almost 40 years and has been its chief for more than 15 years. Pavao, 62, has announced that he will retire. 

THE NEW PUBLIC LAND REDEVELOPMENT CORP., which could lead to state lands being developed outside of county zoning and state Land Use Commission classification, has hit a snag, according to a report this morning on CivilBeat.com. Enabling legislation passed by the state Senate and House of Representatives during the 2011 Hawai`i Legislature lacks a mechanism to transfer land from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Development Corp, according to the attorney general’s office. Civil Beat reporter Sophie Cocke quotes Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz as saying he disagrees and plans to visit the attorney general’s office. Dela Cruz has called the new effort to develop state lands “an out-of-the-box opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs to partner with the state to get the economy going again,” according to the Civil Beat story. 

     About a third of the land in Ka`u District is owned by the state.

Marie Burns

UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE, AN ANCIENT HAWAIIAN TRAIL AND A HEIAU are unmapped in the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Nani Kahuku `Aina resort development, according to Marie Burns, of Ocean View. She said yesterday that she and other volunteers were walking the property to document assets when they came upon a large unexploded military ordnance. She said she contacted police, the military and developers. She also said her hui plans to submit information to the state on trails and other archaeological sites that are not listed in the draft EIS for Nani Kahuku’s `Aina’s Kahuku Village resort. She said she also plans to bring the issues to the Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee. 

THE KA`U COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at St Jude’s Episcopal Church in Ocean View. The church is located at 92-1572 Keaka Parkway at the corner of Paradise Circle.

Soil sampling at the old Pahala sugar
mill site.  Photo by Julia Neal

A NEW MACADAMIA NUT DRYING FACILITY may be developed on the old Ka`u Sugar Company mill site in Pahala. Drilling rigs taking core samples of the soil on the mill site were operating last week, and workers said the plan may involve building concrete slabs and “pods” for drying macadamia nuts. Nearby macadamia orchards and a husking plant are operated by ML Macadamia, with nuts shipped to Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. in Kea`au. 

THE PUBLIC HEARING ON NEW COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT lines is this Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Na`alehu Community Center at 6 p.m. Six maps show different district lines for council member representation.
     District lines will change, as required by law, since the county has experienced a population growth rate of almost 25 percent in a decade.
     Concerning state redistricting, Ka`u residents have been lobbying to prevent the Ka`u district from being split in half. A preliminary redistricting plan would put state Rep. Bob Herkes with Puna, as he lives in Volcano. People living between Honu`apo and Ocean View would be represented by a district that would run all the way to Kona, and Herkes would no longer be able to represent them. 

     Testimony will be taken at the state Reapportionment Commission's meeting at the state Capitol in Honolulu this Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

KUMU MAILE YAMANAKA OFFERS lessons in hula, lei making and `ukulele tomorrow at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The lessons are free, and park entrance fees apply. Call 967-8222 for more information.

PU`UKOHOLA HEIAU IS THE TOPIC at tomorrow’s After Dark in the Park at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Superintendent Daniel Kawaiaea, Jr. shares information about this place where the history-makers of Hawai`i lived and where their history comes to life.