 |
| After Dark in the Park offers a photo safari of Botswana's national parks and World Heritage Site on Tuesday. See more below. Image from NPS |
TO PREVENT DENGUE FEVER in the homeless, Longs Drugs is providing insect repellant and repellant wipes to community outreach groups, including Hope Services, according to a story in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald. The county is also reaching out at community events.
 |
| Hawai`i County Civil Defense Chief Darryl Oliveira |
Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira told reporter Colin M. Stewart that the county is attempting to “reach every segment of the population. We know there are some segments that may not be aware or be privy to the information, including the homeless and migrant workers and immigrant populations. They may not have access to the info, and we’re trying to address that.”
Hawai`i County Fire Department personnel have attended community events to discuss with underserved people dengue prevention and symptoms. Batallion Chief Lance Uchida was quoted in the story as saying, “We’ve been tasked by the Department of Health and the Civil Defense office with doing these screenings for the vulnerable population. Many of them don’t have the means to protect themselves.”
Informational fliers about dengue have been translated, printed and distributed to firehouses and other community locations in Ilocano, Tagalog, Spanish, Chuukese and Marshallese.
Symptoms of dengue are two or more of the following: fever, severe headaches, pain behind eyes, body and bone pain, vomiting and rash.
For more on dengue, see http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dengue-outbreak.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
Hawai`i County Fire Department personnel have attended community events to discuss with underserved people dengue prevention and symptoms. Batallion Chief Lance Uchida was quoted in the story as saying, “We’ve been tasked by the Department of Health and the Civil Defense office with doing these screenings for the vulnerable population. Many of them don’t have the means to protect themselves.”
Informational fliers about dengue have been translated, printed and distributed to firehouses and other community locations in Ilocano, Tagalog, Spanish, Chuukese and Marshallese.
Symptoms of dengue are two or more of the following: fever, severe headaches, pain behind eyes, body and bone pain, vomiting and rash.
For more on dengue, see http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dengue-outbreak.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
MORE THAN 300 TIRES landed in Wai`ohinu Transfer Station in a week, according to reports from the county. All transfer stations are accepting tires, at no charge, to help prevent dengue fever, which is spread by mosquitoes that breed in tires that collect water during rain. Tires can also be removed by private companies for a fee. The county collects tires from transfer stations and stores them in shipping containers, which will be shipped to a recycler.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
 |
| Duane Kurisu, at right, came to Ka`u for the opening of Punalu`u Bake Shop's Cookie Kitchen. Photo by Pamela Taylor |
DUANE KURISU, OWNER of Punalu`u Bakeshop and a product of growing up in a plantation community, is offering to create a plantation-style village for the homeless and women with children in need of housing.
“Those of us who grew up in plantation towns probably would have faced the same situation as a number of these homeless families do - if it wasn’t for the benevolent plantation owners who provided housing, water, sewer, built schools and churches,” Kurisu told Rui Kaneya, of Civil Beat. “So that’s what I hope to do. That’s what my heart tells me — to replicate it for those who are less fortunate.”
Kurisu told Kaneya that the project on 13 acres near Honolulu International Airport will not use public funds “because we don’t want to be pigeonholed into a position where we’re mandated to give free access to all the people in need. We want to be prejudiced in a good way — to make sure that the priority is to help children.”
See civilbeat.com.
Kurisu told Kaneya that the project on 13 acres near Honolulu International Airport will not use public funds “because we don’t want to be pigeonholed into a position where we’re mandated to give free access to all the people in need. We want to be prejudiced in a good way — to make sure that the priority is to help children.”
See civilbeat.com.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
DEMOCRATIC U.S. REP. TULSI GABBARD voted in favor of a bill that would require refugees from Iraq and Syria to receive background checks from the FBI. Republicans introduced the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015, also known as the SAFE Act, following terrorist attacks in Paris, France that may have involved refugees. The House of Representatives approved the bill 289-137 on Thursday. One hundred and thirty-five of Gabbard’s Democratic colleagues voted against it.
 |
| Rep. Tulsi Gabbard offered condolences and lei at a memorial in Paris following terrorist attacks on Friday, Nov. 13. Photo from Office of Rep. Gabbard |
“True to our history and values as a nation, I believe we must offer refuge to the most vulnerable and those in need, while simultaneously ensuring the safety of the American people,” Gabbard said. “In this regard, this bill is not meant to keep Syrian refugees from entering into the United States. This was a vote to make sure the program to vet these refugees is sufficient to protect Americans.
“ In other words, voting for this bill was not a vote against refugees. Rather, it was a vote for bringing refugees into our country safely. …
“Originally, like many Democrats, I was going to vote against the bill because I was inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to the Department of Homeland Security and the Administration – I was ready to accept their claims that the vetting process is thorough, and that this bill would be impossible to implement. But on the morning of the vote, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough failed to answer simple questions about why they were opposed to the bill, which led me to change my mind. …
“If this bill comes before the House again (if the Senate passes it and the President vetoes it), and the Administration can come up with a better argument than, ‘We’ll have to increase staff,’ I will listen with an open mind and consider voting to uphold the President’s veto. But ‘lack of staff’ is not a legitimate reason for them to refuse certifying that the refugee vetting process is thorough and complete.”
“ In other words, voting for this bill was not a vote against refugees. Rather, it was a vote for bringing refugees into our country safely. …
“Originally, like many Democrats, I was going to vote against the bill because I was inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to the Department of Homeland Security and the Administration – I was ready to accept their claims that the vetting process is thorough, and that this bill would be impossible to implement. But on the morning of the vote, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough failed to answer simple questions about why they were opposed to the bill, which led me to change my mind. …
“If this bill comes before the House again (if the Senate passes it and the President vetoes it), and the Administration can come up with a better argument than, ‘We’ll have to increase staff,’ I will listen with an open mind and consider voting to uphold the President’s veto. But ‘lack of staff’ is not a legitimate reason for them to refuse certifying that the refugee vetting process is thorough and complete.”
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY scientists discuss Rainbows on the Ground: How Satellite Radar Helps Us Monitor Volcano Deformation in the current issue of Volcano Watch.
“The surface of Kilauea Volcano is rarely stationary,” the article states. “There are a variety of processes that each move or change the shape of the volcano and, when active at the same time, create a complex pattern of ground deformation. Satellite-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar has become a key tool during the last two decades to illuminate this complexity.
“For example, InSAR recently proved important in understanding the various episodes of Kilauea’s south caldera intrusion this past spring. In April 2015, the shallow reservoir beneath Kilauea Caldera began to rapidly inflate, causing the lava lake within the Overlook crater to rise to the point where it overtopped its rim and spilled onto the floor of Halema`uma`u. It was during this time that scores of visitors crowded into the viewing area at the Jaggar Museum to catch the spectacular display of spattering.
 |
| A bullseye pattern of rainbow fringes resulted from about four inches of ground deformation. Interferogram from USGS |
“On May 11, tiltmeters began recording rapid deflation, the lava lake level dropped and earthquakes in the south caldera increased in rate and magnitude. Within a day, inflation in the south caldera was clear from our network of continuous GPS instruments and tiltmeters.
“InSAR images spanning the beginning of this event show the uplift associated with the initial inflation in great detail, revealing a complexity to the shape of the reservoir that we previously only suspected. The images also capture the transition to deflation at Halema`uma`u and south caldera inflation.
“As shown in the accompanying image, the rainbow pattern seen in the interferogram beautifully captured the shape and extent of ground uplift during this event. This image shows that the uplift coincides with the location of a known south caldera storage reservoir. This is the first evidence that we have ever had suggesting rapid magma transfer between storage reservoirs.
“So where do these rainbow patterns come from? The rainbow colors represent the change in distance between the ground and the satellite in the time between two orbits of the InSAR satellite. Each cycle of colors, from magenta to blue (analagous to the red to purple progression in a rainbow in the sky), indicates motion equal to half the satellite’s radar’s wavelength, or about 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) for the interferogram in the figure. The pattern repeats and by counting up all the rainbows, called ‘fringes,’ you get the total amount of motion.
“Over the past two decades, the increasing number of available satellites has improved our InSAR capabilities by providing a variety of wavelengths that allow for improved resolution at short wavelengths and better penetration through vegetation at longer wavelengths. HVO has used data from many different InSAR satellites to investigate motion on Hawai`i’s volcanoes, including satellites launched by the European Space Agency, Canada, Germany and Japan.
“InSAR images spanning the beginning of this event show the uplift associated with the initial inflation in great detail, revealing a complexity to the shape of the reservoir that we previously only suspected. The images also capture the transition to deflation at Halema`uma`u and south caldera inflation.
“As shown in the accompanying image, the rainbow pattern seen in the interferogram beautifully captured the shape and extent of ground uplift during this event. This image shows that the uplift coincides with the location of a known south caldera storage reservoir. This is the first evidence that we have ever had suggesting rapid magma transfer between storage reservoirs.
“So where do these rainbow patterns come from? The rainbow colors represent the change in distance between the ground and the satellite in the time between two orbits of the InSAR satellite. Each cycle of colors, from magenta to blue (analagous to the red to purple progression in a rainbow in the sky), indicates motion equal to half the satellite’s radar’s wavelength, or about 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) for the interferogram in the figure. The pattern repeats and by counting up all the rainbows, called ‘fringes,’ you get the total amount of motion.
“Over the past two decades, the increasing number of available satellites has improved our InSAR capabilities by providing a variety of wavelengths that allow for improved resolution at short wavelengths and better penetration through vegetation at longer wavelengths. HVO has used data from many different InSAR satellites to investigate motion on Hawai`i’s volcanoes, including satellites launched by the European Space Agency, Canada, Germany and Japan.
“The United States is working toward launching its first InSAR satellite. In 2014, NASA announced a joint project with the Indian Space Research Organization to build and launch a multi-wavelength InSAR satellite, dubbed the NISAR satellite, specifically designed for studying natural hazards. The groundbreaking project is currently scheduled for a 2020 launch. This and other upcoming satellites promise to provide even better and more frequent views of Kilauea and Mauna Loa’s deformation field, and we expect even more new insights to come.”
See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
AMAZING BIRDS AND MEGAFAUNA Adventures in Botswana is the title of Tuesday’s After Dark in the Park program. Park Ranger Jay Robinson and Biologist Jack Jeffrey offer a fun-filled photo safari through the national parks and World Heritage Site, ending at Victoria Falls in nearby Zimbabwe.
The free program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
Read comments, add your own, and like The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs on Facebook.
AMAZING BIRDS AND MEGAFAUNA Adventures in Botswana is the title of Tuesday’s After Dark in the Park program. Park Ranger Jay Robinson and Biologist Jack Jeffrey offer a fun-filled photo safari through the national parks and World Heritage Site, ending at Victoria Falls in nearby Zimbabwe.
The free program begins at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
 |
| See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf and kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf. |
