Ka`u News Briefs Oct. 7, 2011

Miloli`i residents look for fish from their canoes and say that aquarium fish exporters have damaged the fishery.
Photo by Kaiali`i Kahele

BANNING AQUARIUM FISH COLLECTING is the goal of the County Council, which passed a resolution 6-2 yesterday calling for shutting down the industry statewide. Kaimi Kaupiko, of Miloli`i, was one of many who testified, saying that fish collecting was hampering the life of the fishing village. The resolution lacks the authority of law but sends a message to the state Legislature, which could pass the ban into law. The Legislature has been considering phasing out or limiting the collecting. Miloli`i residents have been meeting to discuss programs that would restore the fishery in the area. 

AN OPEN OCEAN ROCKET LAUNCH some 1,400 miles south-southeast of South Point recently put a satellite into space. Ka`u is one of the closest inhabited lands to the launch, with the rocket lifting off from the equator at 54 degrees longitude. The 209-foot-tall Sea Launch rocket blasted off from the Odyssey Launch Platform and carried a 10,000-pound satellite for Eutelsat Communication. The satellite moved into a geostationary orbit for digital broadcasting to the Middle East and North Africa. 

Sea Launch illustration from Boeing, which
developed technology and equipment.

     The Odyssey Launch is a refitted oil rig platform and was unmanned during the blast off. It was accompanied by a command ship where launch control was managed. 

     Ka`u was previously proposed for a spaceport, with one of the prospective sites between Hwy 11 and the ocean just below Pahala. The site would have required Hwy 11 to be shut down during launches.
     Sea Launch officials say their ocean platform is more affordable than most land sites and, on the equator, provides a more direct route to orbit.
     The Odyssey Launch platform made news statewide over the last few days when it pulled into port in Honolulu, en route to its homeport in Long Beach. Sea Launch is owned by Russian and other European investors. 

THE NEW CHIEF OF STAFF for Gov. Neil Abercrombie will be Bruce Coppa, the state’s comptroller. Current chief of staff, Amy Asselbaye, and deputy chief of staff, Andrew Aoki, say they will leave to spend more time with their families. 

     Coppa, the director of the state Department of Accounting and General Services, was head of Coppa Consulting, Inc. before joining the Abercrombie administration in December 2010. Coppa also served as chief operating officer of Communications Pacific and executive director of Pacific Resource Partnership. 

     Asselbaye served Abercrombie for 18 years, first as a legislative assistant in Congress, working her way up to Abercrombie’s Congressional chief of staff.
     Aoki worked with Abercrombie in the 2010 gubernatorial race as deputy campaign manager before joining the Abercrombie administration.

KAISER PERMANENTE health insurance is now available not only to businesses in Ka`u but also to individual residents looking for coverage. Kaiser has clinics in Hilo and Kona, as well as on Maui and O`ahu. Certain approved emergency room services are covered at Ka`u Hospital. Kaiser maintains its own hospital on O`ahu, where it sends its patients when necessary.

Joyce Ibasan made two kills during the second
set playing Kanu `O Ka `Aina Charter School.
Photo by Nalani Parlin

KA`U VARSITY VOLLEYBALL WAHINE dominated Kanu `O Ka `Aina Charter School at last night's match at the Ka`u High gym. In less than an hour, the Trojans swept all three sets. Sophomore Tiana Pascubillo helped her team to clinch the second set with a string of seven or eight serves, two of them aces. In the third set, junior Marley Strand-Nicolaisen's made four aces, contributing to a Trojan eight-point run. Sophomore Toni Beck found Kanu’s defensive weak spot and made four kills in the final set. Scores were 25-16, 25-5 and 25-9.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND sponsors an anchialine pond cleanup tomorrow. Volunteers meet at Wai`ohinu Park at 7:45 a.m. to carpool to Ho`ono-ua Pool near South Point. Register at 769-7629 or Kahakai.cleanups@gmail.com.

THE PALM TRAIL opens at the Kahuku Section of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park tomorrow with a celebration and guided hikes at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Kahuku is open weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed first Saturday of each month. The Palm trail winds through a pasture along a cinder cone with panoramic views.

PETER MOON JOINS CYRIL PAHINUI and Bolo tomorrow, Saturday, at Kilauea Theater in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Email concerts@volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.

Keoki Kahumoku

ACOUSTIC HAWAIIAN JAM is the theme of this year’s Ka `Ohana O Honu`apo celebration at the oceanfront park this Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Slack key and `ukulele master Keoki Kahumoku encourages everyone to bring along instruments. The event is free and underscores stewardship of the wetlands and public gathering place at Honu`apo. 

THE KA`U COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE begins Sunday. “Our pantry is kept stocked purely by donations,” said Ka`u Family Center coordinator Teresa Alderdyce. Those needing food can stop by the center with a photo I.D. Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and receive emergency food for their family once a month. Normally the center gives a two-day supply, but lately, due to low rations, only a one-day supply is available.
     Food drive collection sites are Pahala Community Center, Monday to Friday, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.; Na`alehu Island Market, Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Ka`u Family Center, Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Discovery Harbour Community Association, Monday to Wednesday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.; and Kahuku Country Market, daily 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
     For more information, call Alderdyce at 929-9611, ext. 10.