State Capitol named energy finalist; reduces energy use for three consecutive months

This article is the first of many more guest blogs from the House Majority Staff Office (HMSO).

by Brandon Masuoka of HMSO

The Hawaii State Capitol recently earned special recognition in an ongoing, national energy savings competition that features more than 200 entrants.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named the Capitol as an energy-saving finalist in the office category in the 2011 National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings, according to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism State Energy Office.

L-R: Brandon Masuoka, Paulette Abe and Merissa Sakuda are the 

building coordinators for the iConserve Energy Initiative Hawaii.

The national competition features 245 buildings across 33 states and the District of Columbia in an energy-saving competition. The building that sheds the most energy waste will be declared the winner in November.

"We've received strong support from EPA's ENERGY STAR program and look forward to even greater success in the remaining months of the competition," said Estrella Seese, Acting Energy Program Administrator for the State Energy Office, in July.

Hawaii's state departments are poised to save millions of dollars with energy conservation this year, and those savings can be used to bring services to the people of Hawaii.

The Capitol recently reduced its energy use for three consecutive months in February, March, and April compared to the same timeframe in 2010, according to the most current state data available.

The Capitol has cut its energy use through a variety of strategies, including mechanical, lighting, and plumbing upgrades, efficient operations, and an occupant behavior change campaign, according to the State Energy Office.
In June, officials with the Hawaii iConserve Energy Initiative -- a conservation program highlighting state employees using personal energy-saving behaviors at work -- celebrated with a Capitol rally that drew hundreds of conservation advocates. Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, House and Senate members, department heads, media reporters, 50 Green Champion energy-conservation volunteers, and clean energy businesses, among others, attended the rally.

 

L-R: Brandon Masuoka, 4th floor coordinator; Paulette Abe, Overall and Chamber Coordinator; and Merissa Sakuda, 3rd floor coordinator of the Capitol building iConserve Energy Initiative Hawaii.

The iConserve Initiative -- spearheaded by the Department of Accounting and General Services, energy service company partner NORESCO, and the State Energy Office – has encouraged Capitol employees to change their daily routines to cut electricity, such as:

• Turning off unnecessary lights;
• Hibernating or shutting down computers when leaving for long periods;
• Turning off, unplugging, or removing personal energy-guzzling devices; and
• Closing office doors.

Last year, in partnership with DBEDT's Lead by Example energy efficiency program, state departments cut total electric consumption by 2.8 percent from 2009 and saved more than $20 million in energy costs statewide. The challenge is to surpass that $20 million amount this year in an effort to bring more services to the people of Hawaii, according to Gov. Abercrombie.

The state's energy efforts have been documented by several news outlets. Here are the Web links:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2011/05/06/hawaii-buildings-competing-in-epa.html
http://blogs.starbulletin.com/inpolitics/battle-of-the-buildings/
http://www.greenmagazinehawaii.com/6.30.11_iconserve.html
http://thegreenleaf.honadvblogs.com/2011/06/28/the-iconserve-rally/
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/15001027/state-capitol-rally-promoting-energy-efficiency?clienttype=printable
http://www.enigin.com/about/enigin-plc/news/-/enigin-news-hawaii-s-capitol-enters-energy-efficiency-battle

Also, here's the list of top contenders and complete midpoint results for all competitors in the 2011 National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. For additional information please go to the Hawaii State Capitol Building Facebook Page or http://www.noresco.com/hi.

Drinks on the House?

The Ohio Statehouse is making all kinds of national and local news today. Starting Monday, July 11th, Ohio's state capitol will re-open a remodeled cafe which now includes a full service bar, open to the public.

According to the Associated Press, the Ohio capitol building cafe, located in Columbus, will sell beer, wine and liquor. It will have flat-screen televisions and will be open to the public during certain hours. It will also be available for special events and private "happy hours".

Well, it does sound like a revenue generating activity. As for Hawaii, no plans are brewing, but an outdoor cafe/bar in the rotunda would be lovely, don't you think?

Open doors

After the start of the 2011 session, the House Sergeant-at-Arms office started a pilot project to make the Chamber gallery more accessible to the general public. The gallery is always open when the House is in floor session, usually only a few hours a day. During this pilot period, the gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m to 3 p.m. with a staff person on duty to welcome guests and provide information.

In February, there were 1505 visitors. In March, we welcomed 2225 visitors. After reviewing the numbers for April and the entire session, the House will determine whether to continue the policy. A quick look at the guest book shows visitors from all over the U.S. and the world.

Mahalo to the SAA staff for making this happen.

House Chamber Open to Visitors

The House of Representatives today announced that the House Chamber will be open daily for Hawaii State Capitol visitors and guests to tour the gallery area during the remainder of the month of February as a pilot project. After February, the project will be evaluated and a decision will be made on whether to extend access to the Chamber year round beyond the months the legislature is in session, January to May.

Access to the Chamber will be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., including the hours that the House is normally in session.

There will not be an official tour, however visitors to the Chamber will have access to look around, take pictures, and will be given a brochure explaining the history and symbolism of the Chamber architecture and design. The House Sergeant-at-Arms expects about 100 visitors to the Chamber daily.

“We have visitors and residents coming to the Capitol every day,” said Speaker of the House Calvin Say. “Normally, the only opportunity to view the beautiful architecture and symbolism of our House Chamber is during floor session. Unfortunately, not everyone can schedule their visits around that time. We are implementing this pilot project so that everyone will have access to the Chamber during regular daily business hours.”

For more information, visitors to the islands and Hawaii residents should call the House of Representative’s Sergeant-at-Arms Office at (808) 586-6500.

State Seal

Work crews have been re-installing the two refurbished state seals, in time for the 50th anniversary of statehood on August 21, 2009. This is a photo of the state seal located on the makai side of the capitol, near the Queen Liliuokalani statue.

State Seal Gets a Makeover

The state seals on the mauka and makai sides of the State Capitol have been taken down for refurbishing. If you take a stroll down the promenade between the Capitol and Iolani Palace, you'll see the seal propped by scaffolding.

Rainy Day Rally

A rally in support of a Senate Bill 1679 will be held in the Rotunda of the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from 10 – 11 a.m. The measure ensures that monies from the emergency budget and reserve fund, or "the Rainy Day Fund", will be used for its intended purpose of maintaining state education, health and welfare services.

The bill is scheduled to be heard in the House Finance Committee today at 4:30 p.m. in conference room 308.

The Rainy Day Rally is sponsored by AARP (Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons) and PHOCUSED (Protecting Hawaii's Ohana, Children, Underserved, Elderly, and Disabled).

According to a press release from the AARP, using these funds to balance the budget would undermine the state's ability to help the most vulnerable people of Hawaii.

All residents are invited to the event to show support for critical state services, including but not limited to the following programs: Kupuna Care, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Senior Centers, Healthy Start, Keiki Care, Partnerships in Community Living, Chronic Disease Management, Mental Health Services, and Healthcare for the under-insured.

Participants of the rally are asked to bring an umbrella for visual impact.

***UPDATE: House Finance Committee passed SB1679 unamended with 13 voting yes and Rep. Gene Ward and Kymberly Pine voting with reservations.

Poi Pounders

I tasted my first piece of taro when I was 6 months old. I guess you could say it was a hands-on lesson in how birds feed their chicks. My mother would break a morsel of baked taro off and then chew on it until it was mushy enough for my toothless mouth to swallow. It wasn't poi, but it was always molar-pounded with love.

My first taste of salivated-free, traditional Hawaiian poi didn't come until my family moved to Hawaii from American Samoa. I remember having poi at 5 years old for the first time at a luau during a trip to Hawaii for my dad's job interview. At first I refused to eat the poi because it looked like "dirt pudding". I only succumbed to trying it out after my dad said that it was exactly what I eat when mom chews up the taro and puts it in my mouth. (Yes! Even at five my mom would still sometimes do it. Old habits break hard.)

Why am I telling you this blatant personal and maybe embarrassing story? Because that was the first thing to pop in my head while I strolled through a maze of mats on the Rotunda ground occupied by taro lovers, taro virgins, skilled poi pounders, and excited novices eager to learn, teach and just have fun with ku'i kalo, traditional taro pounding and poi making. I bet many of the other attendees floated memories of their first taste of poi or created new ones there.

The Hawaiian Caucus, with the support of KAHEA and Na Kahu o Haloa, hosted the first Taro Festival in celebration of the Legislative Hawaiian Caucus Day. The energy was high with locals and visitors, young and old, carefully lifting the pohaku ku'i 'ai (heavy stone pounder) to the sturdy papa ku'i 'ai (poi board), trying to set a state record for the most people gathered to pound poi.

After running into one of my best friends, Monica Waiau, 26, a volunteer with KAHEA, we sat down with a young woman named Kat Newman, a student at Brigham Young University. She never tasted poi and was thrilled at the idea of making her own poi with organic Hawaiian taro to take home and enjoy. Monica sat adjacent to her and began demonstrating the proper way to pound taro into poi.

Take the poi pounder with one hand. The other hand will be used to gather water. Good. Now smash your first piece of taro. It's better if you go in from an angle. Nice. Now keep adding water to make it smoother. Then, continue to smash on the board while adding the other pieces of poi. Like that. Ok. You'll also want to wipe of the taro from the bottom of the poi pounder and mix it with the ones on the board.

While watching Monica guide Kat through the traditional process of making poi, and answer questions on the Hawaiian culture, I was reminded of the old ways of teaching and spreading knowledge and appreciation. Not through books. Not through legislation. And definitely not through the Internet. But through the experience of sitting next to someone willing and eager to share their knowledge and culture. Someone like Monica.

"I had a dream last night about being here at the Capitol for this event. We were all gathered to pound poi, but instead we started pounding the walls of the building, chipping away at the concrete with each swipe. As the building began to fall away, kalo leaves emerged from the holes," said Monica Waiau on the excitement she felt to bring taro pounding to the Hawaii State Capitol. "It's not about bringing down the building," she added. "It's about revitalizing our traditions; unearthing the true value of taro."

This festival was not just about providing a gathering place for taro lovers and poi pounders , it was also a place to plant the seed of awareness about the importance of taro and the Hawaiian culture as a whole. I hope that this festival was the fertilization needed to stimulate the new crop growth of the education and preservation of the Hawaiian culture.

VTRX technology saves water and energy at State Capitol

Photo: Installation of the VTRX technology by Energy Management Consulting and Construction, LLC.

Last June, the State Capitol became the first building in the state to install the VTRX non-chemical water treatment system in an effort to save costs on water and energy.

While it's not a new technology, VTRX is new to Hawaii via Energy Management Consulting and Construction, LLC. The technology replaces the chemical treatment normally used to treat the building's cooling tower. VTRX projects that by using the system, the state will save over 2 million gallons of water a year. In addition, the energy usage should drop as well.

If you want more information on VTRX, go to http://www.vrtxtech.com/. According to the company's website, VTRX technology is a chemical free water treatment for cooling towers and evaporative condensers. It offers continuous control of calcium, biofouling, and corrosion using kinetic energy. We are working on getting the State Capitol's actual water bill to see how much of a drop in usage, thus cost savings, there has been since the installation, and we'll share that with you as soon as we get it.

Capitol Website Down on Tuesday, October 7

The state capitol database server will be undergoing an upgrade all day Tuesday, October 7th, starting around 9:00 a.m. and completing early the following morning. Please be aware that much of the website will not be functional during this time, including Bill Status, Legislator pages and other features.

How old is this picture?

Ian Lind writes today about an old photo of the capitol, asking "what's wrong with this picture?" He was referring to a photo of the State Capitol before the walking promenade was built connecting Richards and Punchbowl streets.

The same is true of the photo of the State Capitol that we use on this blog. I noticed a while back that the promenade looked "different", and now, thanks to Ian's post, I realize that it is probably what used to be a portion of Hotel Street. Also, there's something else wrong. Notice that there is no water element surrounding the building.

I wonder how old this picture is? Time for a new photo, I guess.