Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017

The late Sen. Gil Kahele, of Miloli`i, was succeeded by his son Kaiali`i Kahele in the state Senate. Kai Kahale lives in Hilo but
promises help for Miloli`i and Ka`u through his work at the Capitol. On Saturday, he released a list of bills he supports.
Photo by Kaiali`i Kahele

SEN. KAIALI`I KAHELE, whose family hails from Miloli`i and whose late father Gil Kahele served as Ka`u's state Senator, has forwarded a list of bills in the 2017 Hawai`i Legislature. He is asking the community to click on the following, read the bills , and if supportive send in testimony to support the following:
     SB1162 SD1 - RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I PROMISE PROGRAM. Establishes the University of Hawai`i Promise Program to provide scholarships for the unmet direct cost needs of qualified students enrolled at any campus of the University of Hawai`i System.

Sen. Kai Kahele

     SB1161 SD1 - RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I. Prohibits the University of Hawai`i Board of Regents from increasing tuition fees until 2027.
     SB848 SD1 - RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION. Establishes the Hawaiian Language University College as an autonomous entity within the University of Hawai`i System to be located at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo.
     SB1081 SD1 - RELATING TO TAXATION. Provides a state income tax deduction of up to $5,000 per year for student loan interest paid on qualified education loans.
     SB849 SD1 - RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION ACT. Reduces the minimum Hawaiian blood quantum requirement of certain successors to lessees of Hawaiian Home Lands from one-quarter to one thirty-second.
     SB272 SD1 - RELATING TO RAT LUNGWORM DISEASE. Appropriates funds to the University of Hawai`i at Hilo, the Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources, and Department of Agriculture for programs, studies, and activities related to rat lungworm disease.
     SB1290 SD1 - RELATING TO THE TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX. Adjusts allocation of transient accommodations tax revenues to the tourism special fund for inflation.
     SB1293 SD1 - RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY. Appropriates money to the fund for deputy canines and full-time equivalent (FTE) permanent canine handler positions within the Department of Public Safety.

Slugs, like these seen on pavement in Ka`u, can carry
rat lung disease and spread it through vegetable gardens.
  Photo by Julia Neal

   Kahele asks that as each bill is scheduled for hearing, consider sending testimony to the appropriate committee(s). Email testimony to:
Ways and Means - WAMtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov; Judiciary and Labor - JDLtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov; Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health -CPHtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov

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RAT LUNG DISEASE, a devastating affliction that is carried by slugs and can be consumed by people eating unwashed vegetables, has drawn the interest of the state legislature. An informational hearing has been set for this coming Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 9 a.m. in the State Capitol, called by the House Committee on Agriculture, led by Rep. Richard Creagan, of Ka`u, and the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment, led by Sen. Mike Gabbard. The bill is supported by Creagan and Ka`u Sen., Dr. Josh Green. See more and testify at SB272 SD1.
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Astronauts James A. Lovell, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr., members of NASA's third team of moon
explorers, carried cameras, communications equipment, and an Apollo Lunar Hand Tools scoop
during a simulation of a lunar traverse at Kīlauea Volcano in December 1969. Right: Astronauts
from NASA's BASALT field team explore Kīlauea's Mauna Ulu lava flow field within Hawaiʻi
Volcanoes National Park in September 2016. Their custom-made backpacks hold necessary
electronics and communications systems, including portable GPS, handheld
spectrometers, video cameras, and communication equipment, as well as
the tool of every geologist: a rock hammer. Photos courtesy of NASA

NASA PRACTICED FOR MARS EXPLORATION AT KILAUEA VOLCANO last September. Unpublicized to residents and the thousands of visitors going to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, a simulated Mars landing mission unfolded for two weeks as part of NASA's Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains program.
     This week's Volcano Watch, written by Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists, explains:    

BASALT works in the Mars simulation program outdoors on Mauna Loa and
inside the dome where a team is isolated as if they were living in
Mars conditions. Photo from NASA

BASALT consists of an international group of scientists, engineers, mission operators, and astronauts dedicated to furthering the human-robotic exploration of our neighboring planet, Mars. One of the main objectives of the BASALT research program is to examine how humans can effectively explore the surface of Mars for life and to understand the geologic history of the Red Planet.
      Kīlauea Volcano offers landscapes that are not perfect analogs for Mars, but that come quite close. Under special permit from Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the BASALT team of 65 scientists, engineers, computer scientists, human-machine engineering experts, and astronauts targeted the Mauna Ulu region on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone as the Mars landing and exploration area.      The BASALT team also set up a Science Mission Control at Kīlauea Military Camp, a facility located in the National Park. Two-way voice, video and data streaming was established between this command center and the field team, which consisted of two crew members who conducted field sampling under simulated Mars mission conditions around Mauna Ulu. These communications were delayed by up to 15 minutes to mimic transmission latencies due to the great distance between Earth and Mars.
     In addition to simulating Mars mission conditions, the project also evaluated the use of various mobile science platforms, hand-held devices to determine temperature and composition of rocks, and cutting-edge video and data display technologies.
     The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory supported the BASALT project by hosting communication relay antennae in our observation tower. Several HVO staff members observed the operation over the course of the project and marveled at the complicated chain of decision-making that guided the astronauts' exploration, sampling, and documentation efforts.

     Hawaiian volcanoes have featured prominently in the training of American astronauts for decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, NASA used various locations on Kīlauea and the high slopes of Mauna Kea to teach Apollo astronauts volcanology and prepare them for what they might encounter on the surface of the Moon.

      From 2008 to 2012, international campaigns carried out on Mauna Kea tested methods of extracting oxygen and water from volcanic cinder. Since 2012, the Hawai'i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS, program has conducted long-duration isolation missions in which crews spend up to a year inside a geodesic dome located at an elevation of 2,500 m (8,200 ft) on the slope of Mauna Loa.
      More than a century ago, HVO founder Thomas A. Jaggar enthusiastically promoted the active volcanoes of Hawai'i as a world-class scientific laboratory. While he may not have imagined Kīlauea as a training ground for future space explorers, he almost certainly would have approved. In fact, we expect he'd argue that the first astronaut to roam the surface of the Red Planet should be a volcanologist trained on the Island of Hawaiʻi!
      Prior to the BASALT program at Kīlauea Volcano, the NASA team conducted another simulated Mars landing in 2015 at the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho.
     More recently, NASA, along with the University of Hawai'i and state-sponsored PISCES (Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems), has conducted experiments to advance the feasibility of long-term human habitation on Mars.
        The BASALT team hopes to return to Hawai'i in 2017 to repeat the mission in another area of Kīlauea to further refine their planning for eventual exploration of Mars, according to Volcano Watch.
     For more information on NASA's BASALT program, visit: https://spacescience.arc.nasa.gov/basalt/.
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Royden Okinishi and Dexter Lee are two of Ka`u's bow hunters who
travel the island to hunt. Photo by Alan Moores

ARCHERY 
HUNTERS FROM KA`U are expected to head over to the Pu`uanahulu Game Management in March. The hunting season opens Saturday, March 4 and continues on weekends and state holidays through Sunday, June 25.        

     The Department of Land and Natural Resources announced that the daily bag limit will be one pig of either sex, one male sheep (ram), and two goats (any sex) per hunter per day. These are also the season limits for each species. 

     Hunters will need to obtain 2017 ram and goat tags to legally hunt in this area. Tags may be obtained from any Hawai‘i island Division of Forestry and Wildlife office. Sheep and goat tag fees will be $10/ tag for residents and $25/tag for non-residents.
     Hunters must be in possession of an unused 2017 ram or goat tag to continue hunting in the area. The harvest tags will not be transferable and must be placed through the hind leg of the animal immediately after each kill. ATVs will be allowed in the area and must remain on designated roads. 

     ATVs will be allowed in the area and must remain on designated roads. 

     Report game law violations or any suspicious activity to the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement at (808) 974-6208 in Hilo. After hours and on weekends and holidays, calls may be made toll-free to Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), enforcement at 643-DLNR (643-3567). The area may be closed to hunting and other public access at any time due to wildland fire or fire hazard.
     To accommodate other hunts, annual closure of the archery season in this GMA will be from July through February. Season length, bag limits, and hunting areas are those established in Title 13, Chapter 123, Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting.
     Further information may be obtained by contacting the Division of Forestry and Wildlife offices in Hilo at (808) 974-4232 or in Kamuela at (808) 887-6063.

www.kaucalendar.com

People & Land of Kahuku, Sun, Feb 19, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s Kahuku Unit. This free, guided, 2.5-mile, moderately difficult hike over rugged terrain focuses on the area’s human history. nps.gov/havo

The Art of Vocal Freedom, Sun, Feb 19, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Rebecca Folsom instructs. $50 plus $10 supply fee. 967-8222

Weave a Tī Leaf Lei, Wed, Feb 22, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Park rangers and staff from Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association instruct and provide materials. Free; park entrance fees apply.