Hawaii Tribune-Herald from Hilo, Hawaii • 1

Hawaii Tribune Herald Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Proudly serving Hilo and the Big Island since 1923 50 cents LIFE SPORTS Simple, fun ideas Honokaa keeps $6.7 billion infusion for Easter crafts state hopes alive to ease Medicare cuts Page B1 Page C1 Page A3 Obama rips Republican an plan But president expresses hope for compromise with GOP over nation's debt By BEN FELLER Obama, spoke hopefully of at the same time Associated Press compromise with GOP lawmak- trying to convince ers, yet still used a campaign-style voters that only his WASHINGTON With town hall event to accuse the plan would share America's global standing Republicans of offering a bleak the credit pain fairly. suddenly in question, President future for the poor, young and Republicans Barack Obama insisted Tuesday elderly with their proposals. didn't sound optithat Washington has the political The president seemed intent mistic about comwill to slash the massive U.S. debt on assuring financial markets and promise. despite fierce, fundamental dif- the watching world that U.S.

lead- House Speaker ferences with Republicans about ers will get their act together to John Boehner how to do it. address a suffocating debt while that he had picked LIGHTING THE WAY -wit 10 2 3 WILLIAM Ha'aheo Elementary School Principal Esther Kanehailua applauds, along with some 180 students, grades K-6, who watched traditional Hawaiian dedication ceremonies Tuesday for a new 22-panel 3.96 kilowatt photovoltaic system installed by Hawaii Electric Light Company atop a classroom rooftop. Ha'aheo is the ninth Big Island public school to receive a system funded through Sun Power for Schools, a partnership between HELCO and the state Department of Education to encourage development of renewable energy education. Schools benefit economically from the low-cost power generated by the system and can integrate the solar data collected from the equipment into their curriculum. HELCO will operate and maintain the Ha'aheo system for two years.

Fence lets Ka'u forest preserve bloom from animals has decreased significantly and standing water has disappeared, takDamage ing mosquitoes with it, he said. By KIM EATON By keeping feral animals out of the "It has created the type of forest floor Stephens Media preserve, the damage caused by those that you would have seen in Hawaii priA lowland forest preserve animals has decreased significantly, or to the animals," he said. "It's positive in Ka'u is with native allowing the area to heal itself, said Sha- proof that this is the type of protection spe- Ian Crysdale, The Nature Conservancy's native forests need to survive." blossoming cies once thought to have vanished. natural resources manager for Hawaii The fence, funded primarily with The Nature Conservancy's Kaiholena Island. federal money, was finished in DecemPreserve, which is part of the larger Ka'u in Ka'u, has been pig-free for Conservancy staff has seen moss ber 2007.

but it took another year to Preserve two years, after a six-mile, animal-proof begin to cover the forest floor and leaves remove the wild pigs. Nearly 40 pigs. fence was built around a portion of the fall. Ferns are now covering patches of were removed by hunters and volunteer Kaiholena Preserve. dirt created Dv rooting.

feral animals, See PRESERVE Page A6 Car charging stations open By MARK NIESSE Associated Press HONOLULU Ten electric vehicle charging stations opened Tuesday at a Waikiki hotel and in downtown Honolulu, forming the foundation for a charging network planned to spread throughout the Hawaiian islands. Charging station company Better Place launched its initial Hawaii locations as a test run for another 130 stations to- be made publicly See STATIONS Page A5 HCC chief candidates meet public Four chancellor hopefuls speak at four-hour forum By COLIN M. STEWART Tribune-Herald staff writer East Hawaii residents got their first chance Tuesday to interact with the final four candidates vying for the chancellorship of Hawaii Community College. In a four-hour-long forum, community members, college faculty, students and staff were given an opportunity to hear from each of the candidates and pose questions concerning leadership plans for the growing institution. The finalists include current Interim Chancellor Noreen Yamane and three applicants from the mainland: Alexander Capdeville of Bozeman, Kathleen Curphy of Wadena, and Daniel Bain of Independence, Kan.

Each applicant was given a total of 45 minutes Tuesday to address the forum attendees and respond to their questions. One of the more prominent subjects that interested the audience the state's budgeting process and the candidates' individual takes on how they would, coax legislators into giving the college more financial support. Attendees voiced a concern that HCC has continually been treated like a compared to UH-Hilo when it comes to funding. "I have a lot of experience in working with the (Montana) Legislature and the central office. You have to present your case in a manner where you're not presenting yourself as a victim.

We have to move ahead." said Capdeville. The former chancellor of Montana State University-Northern, Capdeville said that HCC faces a challenge with its current facilities, and he would work to update the school's buildings and "keep your name out front." "You need an identity," he added. Forum attendees also expressed the need for a chancellor who will be able to bridge the divide between the island's various ethnicities. They asked the candidates what experience they had in working with minorities, and asked what challenges the college's ethnic diversity might present. Kathleen Curphy, who has most recently served as a provost at Minnesota State ComSee HCC Page A6 Leader Eric Cantor to work with a White House commission on cutting spending.

But in doing so, Boehner said, "The American people understand we can't keep spending have. The only are the Democrats CHECK OUT MY NEW HAND Emily FennellI, 26, smiles Tuesday as she shows off her new hand at UCLA 0522 Medical Center in Me Los Angeles. For more on this story, see Page A2. wear Associated Press Hamakua ag park proceeds running Washington." More upbeat, Obama said, "Here's the good news: I believe that Democrats and Republicans can come together to get this done." Speaking at Northern Virginia Community College outside Washington, he said, "There will be those who say that we're too divided, that partisanship is too See OBAMA Page A6 OBAMA announced Tuesday House Majority By PETER SUR Tribune-Herald staff writer Work continues at the 1.739- acre Kapulena Agricultural Park in Hamakua, as inmates build fences for initial use as pasture land. A 100-acre parcel is being fenced off, said Kevin Dayton.

executive assistant to Mayor Billy Kenoi. This land, located just above the Hamakua Ditch, is informally known as the property." to distinguish it from the 250-acre mauka property See AG PARK Page A6 Index Internet Today's Issue No. 110 Big Isle history B3 Community C5 Life B1 Public notices C6 weather 20 Pages in Visit us on the Web at: Classified C6 Crossword B3 Nation A2 Sports www.hawaiitribune-herald.com Comics C4 Dear Abby B3 Obituaries A29 State A3 Page A2 3 Sections Commentary A4 Horoscope B3 Odds Ends A2 World A5 0 58551 00050 5 BOEHNER money we don't ones who don't.