Congratulations to KIUC for their utilization of renewable resources to generate 90 percent of the Garden Isle’s power during January 2015.

KIUC said it used a combination of solar, biomass and hydroelectricity on its way to hitting that 90 percent mark for brief periods on four days in January. 

On a typical day, solar generates 62 percent of the island’s needs, with biomass generating 8 percent and hydro generating 7 percent. 

On an annual basis, renewables are now 38 percent of KIUC’s fuel mix for generating power, up from 8 percent in 2010, with the remaining 62 percent coming from oil.

KIUC said it reduced its oil consumption by 30 percent from 2010 to 2015, as well as its greenhouse gas emissions to well below the 1990 level.

A key to the Kauai co-op’s efforts in this area stems from the Green Energy Team’s biomass plant near Koloa on the island’s South Shore, which began delivering nearly 7 megawatts of power to the grid last month. The plant burns wood chips produced from several sources on island.

KIUC’s renewable energy goal is achieving at least 50 percent of its electricity by 2023, although it is on track to reach that goal by 2019.

El Nino continues to bring big surf to Kauai. Water is washing over some roads on a regular basis as large swells hit the Hawaiian Islands North and West shores. 

Surf reports are predicting the biggest swell to hit Kauai in
almost 20 years will be arriving tomorrow through early Thursday morning. 

Tow in surfers and the adventurous are getting the thrills of their lives and most are staying far from the water's edge. If you plan on visiting please watch the weather reports and be cautious around the shorelines. It is recommended that you go
to lifeguarded beaches and ask the lifeguards about the conditions before entering the water.

For up to the minute beach and surf conditions, you can visit the following:

http://hawaiibeachsafety.com/kauai

http://www.kauaiexplorer.com/ocean_report/

Reside Kauai was pleased to welcome Amy Frazier to our team in 2015.  

Amy was born and raised on Kauai and lives with her family in Hanalei.  She has an extensive background including two decades of high end estate management and executive assistance. Her background affords her the opportunity to provide her clients with personal attention of every detail and local knowledge of Kauai.  

Amy’s real estate experience began with her own investments on island that include a variety of translations, including CPR development, 1031 and Reverse 1031 exchanges, renovations, new construction, owning and managing vacation and long term rentals, to name a few.  She has represented buyers ranging from very excited and nervous first time home buyers to sophisticated luxury beachfront Hanalei and Haena property owners.  

You can reach Amy at amyfrazier@me.com or 808-639.9011

The annual Make-A-Wish Hawaii Surf Camp with Bethany Hamilton returned to Kauai’s North shore this week,this granting the wishes of 13 children struggling with life-threatening medical conditions from across the country.

Make-A-Wish Hawaii Surf Camp was founded in 2014 to serve wish kids from all over the nation. Meeting Hamilton was at the heart of many of the young campers. The surf camp began as an opportunity for a handful of wish kids to meet Hamilton, but quickly expanded to include surfing and other island activities with pro surfers who wanted to give back and make a difference in the lives of these special kids from across the nation.

This year, 13 wish kids bonded with surfing pros including Alana Blanchard, Brianna Cope, Evan Valiere, Kalani Vierra, Krystl Apeles, James Donnelly, Nage Melamed, Rochelle Ballard and Russell Lewis.

Other activities included professional family photo sessions, storytelling, star gazing, a Kauai backcountry adventure and a Hawaiian luau. 

The pro surfer was born and raised on Kauai. On the morning of Halloween 2003, the 13-year-old was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark. Surviving the ordeal, Bethany lost her left arm, but was back on her surfboard in just a month and continued on to become a professional surfer in 2007.

Her story, first written as an autobiography, turned into a major motion picture, “Soul Surfer,” released in 2011. She has become an inspiration to many, including wish kids across the nation.

Ching Young Village celebrated the start of the 2016 Chinese New Year this morning by lighting fireworks attached to good luck red strands of paper outside the main entrance to the shopping center. 

2016 marks the Year of The Monkey. The new year, also known as the Spring Festival, is marked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar, so the date changes from year to year.

The festivities usually start the day before the New Year and continue until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the new year. 

Each Chinese New Year is characterized by one of 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is divided into 12 blocks (or houses) just like its western counterpart, but with the major difference being that each house has a time-length of one year instead of one month.

This year it's the Year of the Monkey, the ninth animal in the cycle. The next Year of the Monkey will be in 2028.

PoP! Boom! Bang! are all happy sounds and noises that bring joy and cheer to the festivities. They are lit in front of houses and stores so that the evil spirits are scared away from the loud cracking noises.

Colorado’s Timbers Resorts has started construction on the first phase of its $750 million to $800 million development of the unfinished Kauai Lagoons master-planned oceanfront community.

The 450-acre Hokuala project will include 468 units in a mix of oceanfront and golf course homes, condominium units, hotels and townhomes. The first phase includes building the Timbers Kauai — Ocean Club & Residences. 

When the first phase is completed in early 2017, it will have 47 units spread out over three buildings. Pre-sales are set to begin later this year.

Phase one also includes the renovation of the front nine of the “Ocean Course,” formerly Kiele, which is expected to kick off in 2016. The entire 18-hole course will be renamed the Ocean Course, with plans to develop another 18-hole course in 2018.

In addition, the first phase of up to 15,000 square feet of retail will bring back a restaurant at the former Sharky’s restaurant site, with the restaurant taking up the biggest portion of that phase

About another $25 million will be spent on community amenities, including new tennis courts, a new clubhouse, the improvement of the overall maintenance of the property, the adding of nature, walking and running trails, as well as reinstituting the water taxis.

The total development cost of the first phase is pegged at $310 million with the entire development between $750 million and $800 million.

Kauai-based Koloa Rum Co. is considering opening a micro-scale sugar production facility as its business grows and the Islands brace for Hawaii’s last sugar cane plantation to close this year.

Established in Koloa Town in 1835, the Koloa Plantation and Mill's first harvest in 1837 produced two tons of raw sugar, with rum production beginning around this time as well.

Koloa Rum Company was founded to create world-class Hawaiian Rum. They are the first and only licensed distillery on the Island of Kaua`i, where sugarcane production was a traditional way of life. Their first batch of premium Hawaiian Rum was distilled and bottled in September 2009 which coincided with the opening of their Tasting Room & Company Store at Kilohana Plantation.

Bob Gunter, president and CEO of Koloa Rum Co., told Pacific Business News on Friday the company is exploring its options for growing sugarcane and harvesting its juice for rum production.

Koloa Rum originally got its sugar supply from Kauai’s Gay & Robinson Inc. plantation, which held its last harvest in 2010. Koloa is now a client of Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., a division of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. which will close this year.

The Koloa Rum property has approximately eight acres of mature sugar cane growing on the former Gay % Robinson plantation land and are looking into planting 10 to 12 more acres near Koloa town on Kauai. They have been experimenting with pressed cane juice rather than sugar to make its rum.

Island Air announced it will resume operations on Kauai in March after an absence of nearly a year, with a plan of six daily flights between Lihue and Honolulu.

Island Air says that their return will not only benefit islands with more seats and options, it will also create approximately 32 airport-related jobs on Kauai and Oahu.

The airline plans to celebrate its return to Kauai by offering a “Welcome Back” fare starting Thursday, Jan. 21 through Sunday, Jan. 24. The special fare for a one-way flight between Honolulu and Lihue will start from $63 for travel between March 15 and May 31, 2016.

On January 6, 2016, Larry Ellison’s Ohana Airline Holdings (OAH) announced plans to sell a controlling interest in Island Air to PaCap Aviation Finance and Malama Investments. The two Hawaii investor groups are managed by local investment firm PacifiCap and its founder Jeffrey Au. The sale is subject to U.S. Department of Transportation approval.

Au stated “Recognizing that for many local people interisland travel is a necessity and not a luxury, this is an important first step in our mission to benefit our local community in Hawaii by providing more seat availability and more options for interisland travel.”

The National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai has opened online registration for the March Botanical Illustration Intensive Workshop and spots are already filling fast.

The workshop is being offered in one-, two-, or three-week sessions between March 6-25 at NTBG Headquarters in Kalaheo.

The workshop will once again be lead by botanical illustrator, author, and instructor Wendy Hollender, whose works have been featured in The New York Times, Sunset Magazine, and in exhibitions at the the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England.

Hollender will teach the critical elements of plant structure and their importance through dissection and comparison. Students will create detailed botanical drawings and sketches of flowering plants, fruits, and seed pods, working with a wide variety of tropical plant material growing in NTBG’s South Shore Gardens.

Special for Existing NTBG Members: 10%-off workshop fee
Get your member discount code at
members@ntbg.org
before registering.

Three-week workshop: March 6 - 25
Two-week workshop: March 6 - March 18
One-week workshops offered: March 6 - 10 (recommended for beginners) or March 21-24 (recommended for advanced)

For More Details and to Register for Workshop, go to:
Botanical Illustration Intensive Workshop - 2016

$9.2 million has been set aside from Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s supplemental budget to upgrade Lihue Airport.

The total remodel project is expected to break ground next year and take up to five years to complete. Renovations may include expansions to the airport’s front entrance, main security checkpoint, queuing area, seating area  and holding rooms.

The airport was initially built for two airlines, Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines. Aloha has since gone out of business, leaving all the inter-island business to Hawaiian. The two-runway, eight-gate airport has now grown to accommodate 2.5 million to 2.7 million passengers each year.

The additional seasonal flights offered by Hawaiian along with the direct flights from the mainland provided by United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, West Jet, American Airlines, and Delta Airlines have picked up the pace at the airport.