New County of Hawai‘i Remote Testimony Site to Open Next Week in Ka‘ū.

A new County of Hawai ‘i remote testimony site will open next week in Ka‘ū. For the first time, residents will be able to provide their testimony at the Hawaiian Ocean View Community Center ( 92-8924 Leilani Circle , Ocean View, Hawai‘i, 96737).

Hawaiian Ocean View Community Center

Councilmember Smart proudly states, “I am very pleased that the Ka‘ū testimony site is now available. It is extremely import for the people to participate in local government. The Ka‘ū region is underserved by County of Hawai ‘i services and this is one small step in the right direction.”

According to County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi, “We have all been working diligently to get the remote testimony site in Ka‘ū established so that the public can participate in council and committee meetings. We are very hopeful that things will run smoothly on this test project and are proud to bring it to fruition.”

“Councilmember Smart worked extremely hard to provide her district the opportunity to conveniently participate in government. The Council is pleased to support her vision and leadership,” said Council Chairman Dominic Yagong.

All are encouraged to attend these meetings and have their voices heard. The meetings begin at 9:00AM. Please view the following link to read the Committee meeting agendas for Tuesday, Nov. 20th, 2012: http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/lb-council-committee/. The Council agenda for the Wednesday, November 21, 2012 meeting, as well as information on how to submit testimony can be viewed at: http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/lb-council-meeting/. For more information, please contact Jen at (808) 961-8536, or email district6@co.hawaii.hi.us.

Malama O Puna Conducting Mangrove Removal Next Week

Malama O Puna will be conducting a mangrove removal work week at Alula Bay starting on November 24th. The site location is on the south edge of Honokohau Harbor in Kailua Kona area, South Kona District, Hawaii Island.

Mangrove at Onekahakaha

The plan is to use chain saws and hand saws to cut the mangroves, and sickles to cut pickleweed. The vegetation will then be hand carried to a truck for transport to the green waste facility nearby.

They welcome the help of volunteers.  Email or call Ann Kobsa at ann.kobsa@gmail.com or 965-6273 (before Nov 24) if you’d like to help, or just stop by wearing closed shoes and protective clothing.

Please pass along to those you know who would be willing to assist.

 

New Chefs and New Restaurants at the Waikoloa Beach Resort

Foodies have three new reasons to celebrate at Queens’ MarketPlace, as new chefs and restaurants add their special flavors to the popular shopping center in Waikoloa Beach Resort.

Ippy Aiona at the 2012 Mealani Taste of the Hawaiian Range

First up, “Food Network Star” Season 8 finalist Philip “Ippy” Aiona premiers his new dining option in the Food Court.  Highly-anticipated, Ippy’s Hawaiian BBQ is scheduled to open in early December, serving Aiona’s special twist on the iconic Hawaiian “plate lunch.” Diners can look forward to brined rotisserie chicken basted in homemade teriyaki sauce, furikake mahi burger, miso fried chicken, BBQ ribs and more, served with Ippy’s specialty sauces, homestyle gravies, and indulgences like corn and bread puddings.

Aiona grew up in the restaurant business, learning from New York-Italian and Hawaiian parents, and is presently executive chef of the family’s Italian eatery and coffee bar, Solimene’s in Waimea. He attended California Culinary Academy and Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco, and refined sophisticated culinary techniques with mellow island style to help win a spot on Chef Giada De Laurentiis’ team on the Food Network competition.  Easy going and popular on the show, Aiona’s excellence in the kitchen, combined with a winning personality, won acclaim through the gamut of challenges to Season 8’s last episode before its grand finale.

Next, in mid December, Chef “TK” Thepthikone Keosavang opens Lemongrass Express—sister restaurant to his popular Lemongrass Bistro in Kona, in an abbreviated version for the Food Court.  With focus on quality fresh food (locally sourced whenever possible), Chef TK says Lemongrass Express will feature excellent value with inexpensive lunch and dinner specials and return-customer incentives.  He plans to offer select beers, wines and sakes to compliment the Asian Fusion cuisine, he describes as “not strictly Thai, not strictly Japanese, Chinese or any one style.”

Chef TK’s award-winning style comes from a long career with some of the best restaurants in the business, including 13 years with the MGM Grand Hotel, where he helped win “Best Japanese Restaurant in Las Vegas” two years in a row for Shibuya.  Most recently Chef de Cuisine of the AAA Four-Diamond Brown’s Beach House at The Fairmont Orchid, Hawai‘i, Chef TK brings worlds of experience to Lemongrass Express, blending French and Asian techniques into his “nouvelle Asian fusion” cuisine.  For more information, visit www.lemongrasskona.com.

Nearby, Sansei Seafood, Steak & Sushi Bar announces the appointment of Executive Chef Paul Goodwin to their award-winning team. A solid professional, Goodwin brings broad knowledge and experience from working with some of Hawaii’s top chefs into the kitchen at Sansei.  Originally from Oregon, his culinary career has included Merriman’s two Hawai‘i Island locations, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago at Four Seasons Wailea, Roy’s in Kihei, Waikoloa and San Diego, and most recently D.K. Kodama’s Sansei Seafood Restaurant in Kihei.

While he works with the staff to maintain and improve high service standards and food excellence, Chef Paul assures loyal customers that their longstanding Kama‘āina, Early Bird and Late Night specials will not change.  Specializing in New Wave Sushi and Contemporary Japanese Specialties, Sansei has won recognition from Honolulu Magazine, the Honolulu Advertiser, Wine Spectator magazine and the Gayot website. For more information, please visit www.sanseihawaii.com or call 886-6286.

Since it opened in 2007, Queens’ MarketPlace in Waikoloa Beach Resort has earned a reputation among visitors and kama’āina as “the gathering place of the Kohala Coast,” full of shopping opportunities, services and great food, along with entertainment and arts programs, movies under the stars and large-scale concerts in Waikoloa Bowl at Queens’ Gardens.  For more information, visit www.QueensMarketPlace.net or call 886-8822.

For more information visit www.WaikoloaBeachResort.com.

Youth Teams Invited to Enter HI-PAL Winter Basketball Classic

Youth basketball teams from throughout the state will gather Dec. 26-29 in Hilo to compete in the 32nd Annual HI-PAL Winter Basketball Classic.

Sponsored by the Hawai‘i County Department of Parks and Recreation and the Hawai‘i Isle Police Activities League or HI-PAL, this popular tournament is open to boys and girls ages 5 to 14 years old.

Last year’s highly successful tournament attracted more than 500 keiki athletes from 52 different teams.

This year’s games will be played at various East Hawai‘i gymnasiums. A dinner banquet for all participating teams and a special skills challenge will be part of the four-day tournament.

Teams have until December 14 to register. The fee is $80 per team, with a discounted $60 price for each team entering the 8-year-old and under category.

Tournament scheduling will give teams, coaches and parents opportunities to visit some of East Hawai‘i’s world-class attractions. The ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i’s full-dome planetarium, Hilo’s black-sand beaches, majestic Rainbow Falls, and the free Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens are all located within a short drive from the tournament venues. For those wishing to venture a little further, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park includes Kilauea Volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 1983.

For more information or to register, please call HI-PAL’s Joey Botelho Jr. at 961-2220 or 961-8121. Inquiries may also be made to Darrell Yamamoto, P&R recreation specialist, at 961-8740, ext. 25, or Jason Armstrong, P&R Public Information Officer, at 345-9105, or jarmstrong@co.hawaii.hi.us.

3.0 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes the Big Island This Afternoon

Magnitude	3.0
Date-Time	Friday, November 16, 2012 at 12:54:19 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	19.199°N, 155.335°W
Depth	49.5 km (30.8 miles)
Region	ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
Distances	15 km (9 miles) E (92°) from Pahala, HI 30 km (18 miles) SSW (201°) from Volcano, HI 30 km (19 miles) ENE (61°) from Naalehu, HI 59 km (37 miles) SW (229°) from Hawaiian Beaches, HI 62 km (39 miles) SSW (205°) from Hilo, HI 350 km (218 miles) SE (132°) from Honolulu, HI
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 0.9 km (0.6 miles); depth +/- 1.8 km (1.1 miles)
Parameters	Nph= 55, Dmin=8 km, Rmss=0.11 sec, Gp=169°, M-type=duration magnitude (Md), Version=2
Source	U.S. Geological Survey, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Hawaii National Park, Hawaii
Event ID	hv60432076

Big Island Police Looking for Owners of Recovered Stolen Laptop Computers

Big Island police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the owners of several laptop computers that have not been linked to any specific crime or owner.

The laptops were recovered in Kealakekua during the execution of a search warrant in connection with a drug case.

Anyone who had a laptop computer stolen recently must first report the crime by calling the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311. Once the crime has been reported, the owner of the stolen laptop may contact Detective Sean Smith at 326-4646, extension 262, or ssmith@co.hawaii.hi.us. To recover a stolen laptop, the owner must provide the police report number along with identifiable information such as serial number, model number, any identifiable markings, screen name or password.

Police urge the public to keep documentation and photographs of their computers, electronic devices, jewelry and other valuables to make it easier for police to locate their owners if the valuables are stolen.

Official Statement – Hostess Brands Closes Down

Hostess Brands Inc. today announced that it is winding down operations and has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to close its business and sell its assets, including its iconic brands and facilities. Bakery operations have been suspended at all plants. Delivery of products will continue and Hostess Brands retail stores will remain open for several days in order to sell already-baked products.

The Board of Directors authorized the wind down of Hostess Brands to preserve and maximize the value of the estate after one of the Company’s largest unions, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), initiated a nationwide strike that crippled the Company’s ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities.

On Nov. 12, Hostess Brands permanently closed three plants as a result of the work stoppage. On Nov. 14, the Company announced it would be forced to liquidate if sufficient employees did not return to work to restore normal operations by 5 p.m., EST p.m., Nov. 15. The Company determined on the night of Nov. 15 that an insufficient number of employees had returned to work to enable the restoration of normal operations.

The BCTGM in September rejected a last, best and final offer from Hostess Brands designed to lower costs so that the Company could attract new financing and emerge from Chapter 11. Hostess Brands then received Court authority on Oct. 3 to unilaterally impose changes to the BCTGM’s collective bargaining agreements.

Hostess Brands is unprofitable under its current cost structure, much of which is determined by union wages and pension costs. The offer to the BCTGM included wage, benefit and work rule concessions but also gave Hostess Brands’ 12 unions a 25 percent ownership stake in the company, representation on its Board of Directors and $100 million in reorganized Hostess Brands’ debt.

“We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” said Gregory F. Rayburn, chief executive officer. “Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders.”

In addition to dozens of baking and distribution facilities around the country, Hostess Brands will sell its popular brands, including Hostess®, Drakes® and Dolly Madison®, which make iconic cake products such as Twinkies®, CupCakes, Ding Dongs®, Ho Ho’s®, Sno Balls® and Donettes®. Bread brands to be sold include Wonder®, Nature’s Pride ®, Merita®, Home Pride®, Butternut®, and Beefsteak®, among others.

The wind down means the closure of 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, approximately 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores throughout the United States.

The Company said its debtor-in-possession lenders have agreed to allow the Company to continue to have access to the $75 million financing facility put in place at the start of the bankruptcy cases to fund the sale and wind down process, subject to U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval.

The Company’s motion asks the Court for authority to continue to pay employees whose services are required during the wind-down period.

For employees whose jobs will be eliminated, additional information can be found at hostessbrands.info . The website also contains information for customers and vendors. Most employees who lose their jobs should be eligible for government-provided unemployment benefits.

Ingredients Hawaii (The Trailer)

Hawaii’s food communities are a growing inspiration to reclaim culture, human health & environmental sustainability in surprising ways.

“Ingredients Hawaii” takes viewers on a sensational tour through the exotic islands in a first class seat through the agricultural revolution of one of our country’s most beautiful places.

Release date: 12/11