Video From Today’s World Peace Festival on Coconut Island

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Damon

Hundreds attended the World Peace Festival held today at Moku Ola, or Coconut Island in Hilo.

World Peace Festival

Hawai’i County presented the festival in partnership with the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association (HDIA) with sponsorship support from the International Committee of Artists for Peace (ICAP) assisted by Sokka Gakkai International.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/IQUho7xzsVY]

The festival was a free family event that offered a global line-up of Hawai’i Island talent including traditional Hawaiian Slack key stylings from Na Hoku Hanohano and GRAMMY Award winner Sonny Lim, exciting percussion from Hui Okinawa’s Kobudo Taiko Troupe, fun Kachi Kachi music performed by El Leo-The Jarican Express, riveting Tahitian dance and music of Merahi o Tapiti, a Chuukese warriors dance performance by members of Micronesians United-Big Island, and the dynamic UH-Hilo Samoan Club-Tupulaga o Samoa Mo A Taeao. Soka Gakkai International youth and women’s division participants offered a range of cultural dances.

World Peace Festival

The festival included a Jumping Castle and Water Slide for the keiki, information booths, displays, artists and crafts, people selling their works plus a variety of food booths.

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Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Opening New Hiking Trail

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Damon

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is opening a new hiking trail in the Park’s Kahuku Unit on Sat. Oct. 8, 2011 with a celebration at the trailhead at 10:00AM followed by a ranger guided hike with Ranger John Stallman. A second ranger guided hike will lead by Ranger Dean Gallagher at 11:00AM.

The Palm trail is a 2.6 mile loop traversing through scenic pasture along an ancient cinder cone with some of the best panoramic views Kahuku has to offer. Along the way are relics of the ranching era, sections of remnant native forest and amazing volcanic features from the 1868 eruptive fissures.

The Kahuku Unit is open weekends from 9:00AM – 3:00 PM except the first Saturday of each month. The entrance is on the mauka (upslope) side of Highway 11 between mile markers 70 and 71. The Palm trailhead is two miles up the unpaved main road.

Kahuku can be hot and dry or cool and rainy. Bring sunscreen, rain gear, good walking shoes for the moderate hike, water and snacks. Please leave your animals at home for this event. Pets are not allowed above the airstrip and may not be left inside vehicles. Palm trail head can be reached by 2 wheel drive vehicles; however, 4 wheel drive is recommended for the road beyond the trail head.

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Kona (Hawaii) In Solidarity With “Occupy Wall Street”!

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Damon

Spring is coming to America as the American peoples’ patience with the current disastrous global financial state of affairs caused by Wall St falls. 

Please join other members of the 99% percent in our local community as we show support for the Occupy Wall St movement this Monday at 3PM on Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway across from the now-closed Borders Bookstore location.

https://occupywallst.org/

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Lunch at Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Damon
Upstairs

A Part of the Upstairs at the Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum

In July I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of the Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum, however the place was so packed with people, that despite them serving heavy pupu’s for their opening… I didn’t get a chance to eat that much!

Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum

The Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum located at the Kings Shops in Waikoloa

Well a friend of mine who helps the restaurant with some of their social media stuff, including their facebook site, invited me back to the restaurant this weekend as she knew that I was going to be on that side of the island for the Taste of the Hawaiian Range so we met for lunch on Thursday where I was treated to an arrange of awesome things.

Prepping food at Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum

Prepping food at Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum

Chef Scott Lutey brought out this treat to begin our meal that consisted of strawberries, mac nuts, goat cheese, carmel and chocolate.  I was told the proper foodie term for the dessert was “Amuse Broche“.

Amuse Broche

My friend let me choose whatever I wanted from the menu and despite having great prices on their specials that were going on…

Pupus?

Happy Hour Specials

I chose the Big Island Grass Fed Beef Cheeseburger smothered with provolone cheese and a side of sweet potato fries.

Big Island Grass Fed Hamburger with Hamakua Mushrooms

Big Island Grass Fed Hamburger with Hamakua Mushrooms

In Hawaii… we say “Broke Da Mouth” when something is really good and this hamburger definitely “Broke Da Mouth!” My friend that I was with, had one of the fresh Catch of the Day Fish sandwiches that included a great smelling pesto sauce.

Catch of the Day

Catch of the Day w/ Pesto

About half way through our food, a waitress came over and talked about this dish that was being made and the next thing you know… it arrived at our table!

Pele's Chicken Wraps With Hoisin Sauce

Pele's Chicken Wraps With Hoisin Sauce

It was called Pele’s Chicken Wraps with Hoisin Sauce and there was so much of it… I got to bring some home and have it later on in the evening!

The stairs to the second floor

After we were through eating, I took a quick tour of the Museum aspects of the Restaurant and was told that they are still building the collection.

Part of the museum

The restaurant has a real nice atmosphere and when I talked to their social media person, they are talks about possibly expanding the restaurant if it is successful.

Upstairs

The restaurant itself is located in the Kings Shops in Waikoloa and I’d like to thank both the restaurant and the person that treated me for the awesome lunch!

Eddie Would Go

Eddie Would Go

You can check out their Facebook page here and I was told that they would have their website up and completed pretty soon, Eddie Aikau Restaurant and Surf Museum.

Eddie Aikau

Painting of Eddie Aikau

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Time Period for Public Input Extended for Hawai‘i Volcanoes General Management Plan and Wilderness Study

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Damon

The National Park Service is extending the deadline for public comment on four preliminary alternatives that detail a future vision for the park. As part of an on-going effort to develop a General Management Plan and a Wilderness Study and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/Wilderness Study/EIS), written and on-line comments will continue to be received through the fall. Federal law requires formal publication of a notice in the Federal Register detailing the park’s intent to expand the scope of the project to include the Wilderness Study. Once this notice is published, the public will be notified on park and project websites of the exact deadline for the end of the comment period.

2011 Lava Lake Halema‘uma‘u Crater Webcam Image Courtesy USGS

2011 Lava Lake Halema‘uma‘u Crater Webcam Image Courtesy USGS

The GMP/Wilderness Study will document a management vision for the entire park, including Kahuku, and serve as a guidebook for the future. The NPS has included a wilderness study to analyze whether NPS-managed lands within the park should be recommended for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. As part of this added scope of the project, additional public input related to wilderness is being requested during review of the preliminary alternatives.

The preliminary alternatives developed by the park planning team are based on previous public comments, federal law and NPS policy, as well as the professional knowledge of park staff. The alternatives detail a menu of topics including conservation of the park’s natural resources and cultural significance, location of visitor and operations facilities, new or connecting trails, sustainable and climate-friendly operations, education, research, and visitor access and services at the Kahuku Unit. Wilderness eligible lands in Kahuku are also discussed.

A newsletter describing the preliminary alternatives and wilderness study is available on the park web site at www.nps.gov/havo/parkmgmt/gmp.htm or at Hawaii Island libraries.

The National Park Service is extending the deadline for public comment on four preliminary alternatives that detail a future vision for the park. As part of an on-going effort to develop a General Management Plan and a Wilderness Study and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/Wilderness Study/EIS), written and on-line comments will continue to be received through the fall. Federal law requires formal publication of a notice in the Federal Register detailing the park’s intent to expand the scope of the project to include the Wilderness Study. Once this notice is published, the public will be notified on park and project websites of the exact deadline for the end of the comment period. EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

There are several ways to submit comments including filling out a comment form available in the newsletter, submitting comments on-line through a link on the National Park Service Planning, Environment and Public Comment site, http://parkplanning.nps.gov/havo or by mailing comments to: Cindy Orlando, Superintendent, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, PO Box 52, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718-0052.

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Commentary: Ross Armetta on Bill 270

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Damon

Hi Damon,

I don’t know if you have been following the Bill 270. The Big day for this Bill is likely 10-5 the next council meeting. In a nutshell, it is very unsustainable, un-green, expensive, and can make anyone a criminal for ANY violation of the building code.

The law is so vague and undefined that even a squeaky gate could trigger that. Got a pool of any sort over 18″ that’s um-permitted ? You could be thrown in jail. This is not vague conjecture. I have heard directly from a top official they are going to start going after un-permitted homes and un-permitted additions even without complaints.

Section 5-61. Criminal prosecution.

(a) General Provisions. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this code shall be deemed guilty of a petty misdemeanor, and each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any provisions of this code is committed, continued or permitted; and upon conviction of any such violation, such person shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or by both fine and imprisonment.

Brittany Smart is making some effort to help us on this.

I have made a website hawaiiansforaffordablehousing.org and we have several cooperating organizations we are working with including the Hawaii Sustainable Community Alliance and the Stakeholders group. http://hawaiiansforaffordablehousing.org/

As you probably know there are a lot of older people retiring without a lot of money, and younger people starting out.  The new hurricane rooms, much stricter standards, and additional requirements are going to driver more people to be unpermitted: they can not get the financing and afford the newer standards (about another 7-18,000 additional). 

Any article or help you can give us on this would be greatly appreciated.

I also have plenty of letters that I have written about this (some of them on the site ) please feel free to use as you wish.  I hope also to be updating the website later today with the additional county communications regarding this and more information.

I you have any other questions or interest on this please let me know vie email or call me.

Best wishes and A hui-hou,

Ross Armetta

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