Archive for June, 2011
June 29th, 2011 | Author: Kau Anamei
Not too long ago, I took my first trip down Road to the Sea. This is a long 4×4 road that leads from Ocean View/ Manuka area down to the coast. It was well worth the forty five minute drive.
We visited two beaches that day. They were both within walking distance from each other but were completely different. One was mainly rocks, pebbles and smaller coral pieces. The other was fine, green sand. This beach was the larger of the two, and with all of the great sand it would have been great for swimming. But the beach was at so much of a slant that the shore dropped off a few feet into the water. And, because of a high surf advisory, we didn’t go swimming, anyway. We sure got our feet wet, though. J
We found out later that a fork in the road we had seen about two thirds of the way down led to a larger swimming beach. This fork was on the right; we had continued on straight.
We walked a little way down a trail leading from the cliff overlooking the sandy beach towards a white sand beach on the Pohue Bay side. We followed the path almost to its end; it seemed to lead up the mountain, not to the other beach. I saw on a map later that there was a fishing heiau (temple) up there. Too bad we didn’t follow that trail all the way to the end. But it was getting late (not to mention the flies were coming out. Yikes!) so we headed back up the long bumpy road to town. Next time we go I hope to finish that trail.
Earlier this week we had planned to go down to Pohue Bay to go beach; but we heard from friends that people had been getting arrested for “trespassing” while passing someone’s property, and that you now have to have a gate card (price: around $300) to get down to the water. AS IF anyone has the right to charge for beach access. I guess that trip will be postponed for awhile.
This last Saturday I spent down at Kalae again. So, as a follow-up, I explored some new areas on the beachfront/tidepool area that I hadn’t seen yet, saw the Pu`u Ali`i burial site, and drove around on some of the numerous 4×4 roads. Had a very fun time counting waves from the shore but didn’t go out. South Point has a very strong current that flows non-stop down to Antarctica, and so the swimming is for very experienced swimmers only.
A new newspaper I would recommend reading is The South Point Messenger. Very informative, and has Hawaiian Sovereignty articles that are sorely missing in The Ka`u Calendar. It’s good to hear Ka`u voices in print.
Also: does anybody know if there are any Ki`i (petroglyphs) down Road to the Sea, and where? We couldn’t find any… perhaps down the right fork? Comments welcome!
Here are some helpful links with information about Road to the Sea:
Until next time,
A Hui Hou!
*Ka`u Anamei*
Posted in 
June 17th, 2011 | Author: Kau Dave
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
District 6 Matters: Redistricting of Hawai‘i County
Wednesday, July 13, 7:00 PM – The Cooper Center (Volcano)
Wednesday, July 20, 7:00 PM – Yano Hall (S. Kona)
Wednesday, July 27, 7:00 PM – Na’alehu Community Center (Na’alehu)
Come to an open community meeting in your area to discuss the upcoming redistricting for Hawaii County with Councilmember Brittany Smart. On-hand to help answer any questions or concerns will be Michael Udovic, the attorney from the Office of the Corporation Counsel assigned to the Redistricting Commission.
Light refreshments will be served.
Mahalo,
Jenny Knippling
Council Aide
District 6 – Upper Puna, Ka’u, South Kona
Councilmember Brittany Smart
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 961-8536
jknippling@co.hawaii.hi.us
June 2nd, 2011 | Author: Kau Dave
Aloha Friends,
This month there will be more District 6 Matters (D6M) community meetings to gain public input and opinions on a couple different subjects that affect Ka‘u.
District 6 Matters & Resolution 60-11:
Thursday, June 9th at 7:00 PM at the Na’alehu Community Center
This is a public meeting to discuss proposed Resolution 60-11, which delays Hawai‘i County Council action on any rezoning or general plan amendments in Ka‘u until a Community Development Plan (CDP) is completed and in place, or December 31, 2012, whichever comes first. Questions and statements are encouraged, light refreshments will be served.
District 6 Matters & PATH:
Wednesday, June 8th at 7:00 PM: Ocean View Community Association
Wednesday, June 29th at 7:00 PM: Cooper Center (Volcano)
Councilmember Brittany Smart will host the District 6 Matters (D6M) meetings with special guest Executive Director of the People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawaii (PATH) Laura Dierenfield.
Ms. Dierenfield will be discussing Complete Streets, the Bike Plan Implementation Plan as well as having open dialog on pedestrian and bicycle safety and needed infrastructures. Direct questions and comments are welcome on any subject dealing with pedestrian and bicyclist issues. Light refreshments will be served.
Aloha,
Brittany Smart
Hawai’i County Councilmember
District 6 – Upper Puna, Ka’u, South Kona
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 961-8536
hccdistrict6@gmail.com
June 2nd, 2011 | Author: Kau Dave
NEWS RELEASE
June 1, 2011
Contact Person: Chris Chin-Chance, Recycling Specialist, at 961-8554
Free Residential Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event Information
Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection events will occur between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., as follows:
· Saturday, June 4, at the Hilo Solid Waste Transfer Station.
· Saturday, June 11, at the Kailua-Kona (Kealakehe) Solid Waste Transfer Station.
These events are for household generated and self-hauled waste only. No business or farm wastes and NO electronic waste will be accepted.
The County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management holds these collection events so residents can conveniently dispose of acceptable HHW in a manner that protects both public health and the environment. Some acceptable HHW are automotive fluids, used batteries, fluorescent lights and pesticides. For a more complete list of acceptable or unacceptable HHW, please visit our website www.hawaiizerowaste.org. The website includes other useful information on solid waste diversion and recycling.
If you are unable to attend the events described above, the next HHW Collection Events will be on September 3, 2011 in Wai‘?hinu (tentative), December 3, in Hilo and December 10, in Kailua-Kona.
Please direct your comments or questions regarding these HHW Collection Events to Chris Chin-Chance, Recycling Specialist with the Department of Environmental Management at 961-8554 or email to recycle3@co.hawaii.hi.us. Mahalo for your k?kua.
June 2nd, 2011 | Author: Kau Dave
Aloha,
The June 2011 Ka`u CDP project update is attached. Highlights include:
NEW CONSULTANTS CONTRACTED: As of last week, the County officially
engaged three consultants to address remaining gaps in the draft CDP.
Project funds left over from the original consultant contract (not
additional funding) were used.
The Hawai`i Alliance for Community Based Economic Development (HACBED)
has been a sub-consultant for the CDP since 2009 and will continue its
work on the economic development and capacity building elements of the
CDP. HACBED (www.hacbed.org) is a statewide nonprofit that provides
community planning, capacity building, and asset building services.
PBR Hawai`i & Associates was also a project sub-consultant and prepared
the Ka`u Community Profile for the CDP. PBR will focus on strategies to
develop and preserve Ka`u’s “green infrastructure” and to repair its
“nonconforming” subdivisions. PBR Hawai`i (www.pbrhawaii.com) has been
a full-service planning firm in Hawai`i for 40 years and has an office
in Hilo.
Chris Hart & Partners will develop strategies to revitalize Punalu`u in
character with rural Ka`u and craft policies and actions for new towns
and resort nodes in Ka`u relative to community values, vision, and
objectives. Chris Hart & Partners (www.chpmaui.com) is based on Maui
and has extensive experience with both private and rural community
planning, including the Lana`i and Moloka`i community plans.
OTHER RELATED TOPICS:
Resolution 60-11: Councilmember Brittany Smart has introduced Resolution
60-11, Delaying Council Action on Certain Land Use Approvals, and she is
holding a “District 6 Matters” meeting to discuss it with the community
on June 9, at 7:00pm, at the Na`alehu Community Center.
Dunk Your Favorite Planner: Help raise money for the Bay Clinic’s new
Na`alehu facility at the Family Fun Fest on Saturday, June 11. I’m
scheduled to be in the dunking booth at 1:00pm, so please come and take
your best shot!
For more information about the Ka`u CDP, go to www.kaucdp.info or
contact Steering Committee Chair Leina`ala Enos (929-8641), other
Steering Committee members, Community Planning Assistant Nalani Parlin
(217-6893), or me.
Mahalo,
Ron Whitmore
Long Range Planner
Hawai`i County Planning Department
101 Pauahi, Suite 3
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 961-8137
Fax: (808) 961-8742
rwhitmore@co.hawaii.hi.us