Category Archives: Big Island

Snow on Mauna Kea, February 2008

February 13, 2008 Richard Ha 1 Comment

Richard’s grandson Kapono Pa writes:

On Sunday, my family (my mom Tracy, dad Kimo, and sister Kimberly and I) went up to Mauna Kea to play in the snow.

photo by Kapono Pa

Kimo, Kimberly, Tracy (photo by Kapono Pa)

It was a nice and warm 34 degrees at the summit, with a wind chill of a face-stinging 10-15 degrees, with some winds blowing at 30 mph or more. The snow was set on thick—in some spots there was two to three feet of snow, most of which was almost ice because it has been up on the mountain for a couple weeks now. There was snow down to about 11,000 feet.

photo by Kapono Pa

There were tons of people snowboarding and skiing. Each group of people took turns picking each other up at the bottom of the hill and driving them up to the top to drop them off and start all over again. My dad (Kimo) had fun running down the small hills on his boogie-board that he just bought from Wal-Mart that morning. He wiped-out big time and ate some massive snow (but I think we shall keep that picture to ourselves).

Kimo (photo by Kapono Pa)

Sunglasses were a must because it was bright and sunny and the snow was pure white. We came back with some sunburn even though we only spent about two hours up on the mountain (I guess time seems to move slower in thin air). I personally had tons of fun, and I think we all did seeing as we all “boarded” on the snow for the first time ever.

Kapono

At the end, we spent about 15 minutes shoveling snow into the back of Dad’s truck to bring back and show everyone.

Kapono, Kimberly, Tracy and Kimo Pa (Snowman photos by Richard Ha)

The pictures of us making snow “things” were taken in the driveway of my great-grandparents (Joseph and Florinda Perreira—June’s parents).

Kimberly and June made a snowman, for which Florinda provided the hat, and I made a bear and a fish. We all used rocks for eyes.

(Editor’s note: The following email exchange took place:

Leslie to Richard: “Richard. Are you shirtless in that picture with the snowmen?”
Richard to Leslie: “Yes. This is Hawai’i.”)

All the leftover snow in Dad’s truck melted overnight and was gone by the next morning. It was a great experience and I got the awesome pictures that I wanted. Had a blast.

Big Island, Community, Water, Where We Live

Hilo Flood 2008, postscript

February 8, 2008 Richard Ha

Altogether, the farm had 31 inches of rain over the weekend.

Granted, it was a long weekend (from Friday to Tuesday morning). But still, 31 inches of rain is an awful lot.

It was 873,000 gallons per acre, or 499 million gallons of water falling on the entire farm. A half billion gallons of water. Amazing.

So here in Hamakua, we’ve had to rethink some things. Like our choice of pets:

And, also, our fashion choices:

Hilohighheels

Big Island, Community, Water, Where We Live

Hilo Flood 2008

February 4, 2008 Richard Ha 10 Comments

Kapono and I had the truck loaded with lettuce, bananas, Japanese cucumbers, green onions and five types of tomatoes, and we were just about to leave for the Kino‘ole Street Farmers Market Saturday morning, when we heard a Civil Defense weather alert announcing that severe flooding was imminent.

We looked at the weather satellite image of the Big Island and it was bad.

Here’s how it looked at 9:35 a.m. Hawai’i time Saturday morning. The blue shows the remnants of the moisture-laden air that came up from the south and dropped on land as it was pushed inland by the northeast tradewinds.

Outside, there was pounding rain with thunder and lightning. Lightning always makes me concerned for my employees’ safety. I had to make a decision: Should we go to the Farmers Market, where customers might be waiting for us, or go to the farm to see how our workers were doing? No choice—we drove to the farm.

Along the way we saw streams that are normally dry but were running at very high levels because of the storm. Roads were closed, warning lights were flashing and water was flooding across the main roads. Police and public works personnel were out in yellow rain gear directing traffic.

(All photos by Kapono Pa, except #6 and #12 were taken by Richard.)

When we came to the Bayfront Highway, we could see a few vehicles standing in water halfway up their windows.

The soccer fields and Pau‘ahi Street, which runs down from the County Building, were entirely flooded and blocked off.

We drove across the singing bridge and looked upstream. The Wailuku River was an angry beast. It looked like serpents were writhing downstream, their smoke shooting in the air.

At the farm, everybody and everything was okay. The Soil Conservation plan we follow, which retains all the former sugar company’s diversion berms, diverted the storm water just as planned. The sugar industry was on that land for 100 years before us, and they knew a thing or two about coping with heavy rains.

In 24 hours, 11 inches of rain fell at the farm, or 297,000 gallons per acre. This means 177,309,000 gallons fell on our 597-acre farm in 24 hours. I tried to explain to the County Council that the drainage is good in our area and we do not need special rules on flooding.

After checking everything—such as noting where the water was high and where we need to shore up the berms—we drove back to Hilo along the winding, scenic route.

The river beneath the six-ton bridge was raging. It was clear to me that if the bridge gave way and we fell into the water, there would be zero chance of survival. For a moment it entered my mind to turn back. But, I thought, this road has been here for more than 100 years and it was once the main route to Kona. We
drove across it, but it was unnerving.

Waterfalls down a hillside on the scenic route

We took the cutoff to Wainaku so we could drive across the second concrete bridge and look at the Wailuku River up close. Kapono took a picture of a couple of kids at the park in Pu‘ueo, doing what comes naturally in a big, flooded yard—running as fast as they could and seeing how far they could slide.

We parked and walked on the bridge. One had to speak up to be heard over the river. It was kind of scary.

Then we walked up to the third bridge; the one alongside the river and behind the Federal Building. There were lots of people out doing the same thing. There was mist in the air from the churning water careening over waterfalls and bouncing off the river walls. The next bridge upstream looked vulnerable, and I wondered if there was even a remote chance that the concrete supports under us could be undermined by the tremendous force of the water. It was a humbling experience.

We humans think we are in control. But witnessing the force of nature makes us realize that we are just passing through, and that we need to keep in mind that we aren’t in charge here.

At the very best, we are caretakers. We need to pay attention to what we’re doing.

Big Island, Community, Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea Meeting

November 28, 2007 Richard Ha

Yesterday I attended a board meeting of the Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM). I was there because I am a member of the Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board and a member of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) sub-committee.

Also in attendance were University of Hawai‘i (UH) President David McClain, UH General Council Darilynn Lendio and Dawn Chang of the consulting firm Kui Walu.

Those three were there to present the University of Hawai‘i’s plan of action regarding Judge Hara’s ruling, which addressed the need for the Department of Land and Natural Resources to draw up a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for Mauna Kea.

Besides the OMKM board members, there were perhaps 30 members of the public present.

I volunteered for this project sub-committee for several reasons: My dad was one of the bulldozer contractors hired to make the road to the summit of Mauna Kea. I was shocked to see video of him operating his bulldozer, because my family does not have many photos of him. It seemed like a good omen that when I sat there, wanting to do the right thing re: Mauna Kea, I saw Pop’s video.

Also, I used to help put on the Mauna Kea 200 motorcycle race and spent a good bit of time riding my motorcycle on the snow 30 or so years ago. Although it is not politically correct now to admit that, it’s true. I still feel an intense need to take care of the mountain.

And more than all that, I want to do what I can to make sure that if this telescope is sited on Mauna Kea it is done with respect and in consultation with the local Hawaiian community.

My involvement automatically led me to the community of Keaukaha, and specifically its elementary school, where so many Hawaiian people on the Big Island have cultural ties. It is not lost on me that while the TMT is potentially a $750 million construction project, and other telescopes on the mountains are also valued in the multiple millions of dollars, there is nothing tangible in Keaukaha—a nucleus of the Hawaiian community on the Big Island—that relates to, or is a benefit of, astronomy at the tip of the Hawaiian mountain Mauna Kea.

My friend Duane Kanuha and I did not think that was right and so we set out to do something. This turned out to be our Adopt-a-Class project.

Allan Ikawa, President of Big Island Candies, former chair of the UH Board of Regents and one of the first people who volunteered to get involved to protect the mountain, went first and gave a really, really good description of the early days—the passion, determination and selflessness of those original folks who stepped forward on behalf of Mauna Kea.

He described how difficult it was for them then to be cursed and yelled at, especially considering they were all volunteers trying to do the best they could. He made it very clear that UH had a lot of shortcomings—they tended to deal with paper and words, not so much with people. They were, then, mostly about power and control. The result is that, til today, people still do not trust the university.

Then Dr. McClain spoke. Ms. Lendio followed and gave a legal “lay of the land” and then Dawn Chang explained her involvement.

Dawn Chang assured everyone that she wants to do this right because her personal reputation is on the line—and in her business, she said, that is all she has. I kind of believed her.

She and her partner are doing the Comprehensive Management Plan. She assured us that she will consult and include the OMKM’s opinion in every facet of the CMP.

The board talked about transparency and Ms. Chang’s compensation and Ms. Lendio danced around the subject by quoting lawyer/client confidentiality. She did say it was based on hours.

Darilynn Lendio said that Judge Hara’s ruling specifies that the DLNR needs to have a CMP and that they would consult with DLNR ahead of time about the content of the plan—that it will be DLNR’s plan.

Members of the OMKM board were very wary. They expressed their desire to vote the final plan up or down when it is finally done. If the OMKM board votes the CMP down, it would not likely pass the approval of DLNR’s board.

Harry Yada, a former OMKM board member, made clear that it was not about the plan, it was about how it was to be implemented. It wasn’t the paper; it was the people. This sentiment was expressed in many different ways by different people.

I stood up and said: “The words sound good, but I’m not going home and call up my brother and tell him everything is going to be good.”

Barry Taniguchi, as chair, had the last word. He warned the University of Hawai‘i not to repeat the mistake of bypassing the Big Island people.

I cannot help but feel that most speakers there were very understated, so as not to be rude. I hope the UH does not misinterpret kindness for weakness.

So now, the ball is in UH’s court. Let’s hope they see the light, and consult and talk story with Big Island people before they develop their plan.

Readers of my blog know that I am very concerned about the drastically changing energy situation we are facing, and our island’s importation of more than 80 percent of its food. We need to come up with serious solutions to these problems, such as finding ways to produce food locally for all our residents.

We have a long way to go to address these problems, and outside money from new telescopes done in the right way will be very helpful as we work through the transition in order to take care of our island’s people.

This is, of course, in addition to doing the right thing in terms of taking care of the mountain Mauna Kea and respecting our local Hawaiian communities.

Big Island, History, Where We Live

Wailoa Pond Memories

October 2, 2007 Richard Ha 1 Comment

When I was a kid, Pop would deliver eggs from our poultry farm to the Hilo Egg Producers Co-op, which was located between the Wailoa Pond and the Hilo Civic Auditorium.

A couple days after the 1960 tsunami, we were delivering eggs when we found weke swimming in ponds on the gravel road. The waves had swept through Wailoa Pond and stranded the fish on land. This was an unbelievable sight. I was in the 10th grade then, and my brother Robert in the 7th grade.

Pop spent a lot of time mullet fishing on Wailoa Pond—sometimes from the shore and sometimes from his rowboat. Sometimes, when the mullet came close to shore, the fishermen would stand shoulder to shoulder, casting out to the middle of the school.

Mullet fishing protocol states that one must not cross over another fisherman’s line. To be in the middle of the group, closest to the fish, you had to be accurate. The less accurate you were, the further to the edge you found yourself forced.

I was not a real mullet fisherman, and after a few casts I would find myself out on the edge by myself. Pop and Robert always fit comfortably in the center of the group.

On the day I returned from Vietnam, I got home and Mom told me they were at the pond. I drove down there and they were all happy to see me.

There was what I estimate to be a 50+-pound ulua swimming along the edge of the bank that fronts the Lagoon Center, heading toward the Café 100 direction. We knew he had to come back and my brother Kenneth ran to get his spear gun.

Since I was just back from Vietnam and they were so happy to see me, they gave me the honors. The ulua swam back and passed right in front of me, only about 5 feet away. I used all my combat skills and let it fly.

Missed! I couldn’t believe it, and neither could they. That was the end of the welcome back party.

But hey, I was an Army lieutenant, a Vietnam veteran!

Big deal—I missed the ulua.

Big Island, Sustainability

Hawaii Whole System Project

August 14, 2007 Leslie Lang

Richard recently showed me a really interesting report called The Hawaii Whole System Project.

This 84-page report, prepared by the Rocky Mountain Institute, was sponsored by the Omidyar family.

To wander away from my subject for just a moment: I was curious as to why the Omidyar family is interested in Hawai‘i and put its money into this in-depth look at agriculture on the Big Island, so I poked around the web a little.

It turns out that eBay founder Pierre Omidyar has a connection to Hawai‘i—he attended Punahou School and was recently named to its Board of Trustees. A quick Google search finds an interesting interview with him from when he was inducted into the Academy of Achievement and also that the philanthropist is one of Newsweek’s 15 People Who Make America Great.

“Business can be a force for good,” he says in that article. “You can make the world a better place and make money at the same time.” It sounds a lot like our hero Richard Ha, doesn’t it?

(You wouldn’t believe how much energy I have to expend, getting Richard to allow me to say things like that about him on his blog.)

From the report itself:

The Hawaii Whole System Project is a research and action project conducted by Rocky Mountain Institute on behalf of the Omidyar family. The Omidyar Family is pleased to sponsor this project to promote innovative, long-term planning and local self-reliance.

With the underlying assumption that local food and agriculture can be good for a community (expanded upon below), the goal of the first phase of this project, the phase contained in this document, is to understand the agricultural system on the Island of Hawaii in order to:

I. Identify the reasons why locally produced food holds such a small market share (about 85 percent of locally consumed food is imported according to several sources),

II. Define the barriers to increasing local market share and strengthening agriculture,

III. Locate leverage points that, when targeted with time or investment, could have multiple positive effects on local food and agriculture, and

IV. Identify business or non-profit opportunities that could activate these leverage points.

In order to identify the barriers to more local production and consumption, Phase I of the project focused on mapping the Hawaiian agriculture and food system. The research for Phase I consisted of gathering and studying published academic and government documents and analyzing agriculture and local food statistics from diverse sources, as well as interviewing people from up and down the food and agriculture value chain, from farmer to consumer, in order to understand the whole system, how it interacts with other systems such as energy, and how to influence it.

In Phase II, based on this preliminary research, the RMI team will analyze the feasibility of the opportunities. Finally in Phase III, the RMI team will work with The Kohala Center and other partners to bring together potential entrepreneurs and investors, as well as other people who might have an interest in local food and agriculture in order to act on the research findings.

It’s coming at us from all sides now – this interest in Hawai‘i’s sustainability and food security; this certainty that Hawai‘i doesn’t HAVE to import what the Whole System Project says is now 85 percent of its food.

In October, Richard will speak on these subjects at a food summit conference called Hawai‘i Island Food Summit: Our Food, Our Community, Our Future. It will be held October 5th and 5th at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Hotel.

This two-day Summit will explore the visions, possibilities, ideas, and practical solutions to answering the question “How can Hawai’i Feed Itself?” We hope this conference will be a catalyst not only for changes in policy and practice at the island level, but a convening of the agricultural community to create a compelling vision for the future of food and farming across the state.

We’ll tell you more about all this as it comes up. You know we will.