The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Wednesday, July 20, 2022

TMT is subject of a community meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Nāʻālehu Community Center.
Photo from National Science Foundation

A MEETING ON THE THIRTY METER TELESCOPE is set for Nāʻālehu Community Center on Wednesday, Aug. 10 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. It is a scoping meeting to be held by the National Science Foundation which is conducting an environmental review and preparing an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate anticipated environmental impacts associated with a potential NSF investment in the construction and operation of an Extremely Large Telescope in the Northern Hemisphere. A statement from NSF notes:
"The only proposed Northern Hemisphere ELT is the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), which has a preferred site on the summit of Maunakea, Hawai‘i Island, Hawai'i, and an alternative site on Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, in the Canary Islands. Because the only proposed US-ELT that is located in the Northern Hemisphere is the TMT, and because many people who have a connection to Maunakea, Hawai‘i Island, have strong viewpoints about whether TMT should be built there, NSF has decided to go beyond the legal requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (Section 106) in its environmental review and provide more opportunities for meaningful public engagement at critical junctures during NSF’s processes."

NSF has announced that the NEPA scoping process has begun with soliciting public comments to identify issues to be analyzed in the EIS. NSF is also initiating consultation under Section 106 to evaluate potential effects of the Proposed Action on any historic properties within the area and will conduct future Consulting Parties meetings, to be announced at a later date.
NSF will host four public scoping meetings from Aug. 9 through Aug. 12. Contact NSF at least one week in advance of each meeting to request special accommodations such as sign language interpretation.
Dates and addresses for all four meetings are:

Flags in Pāhala waived in support of preserving
Mauna Kea by rejecting TMT. Photo by Julia Neal

Hilo: Aug. 9, 2022, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Grand Naniloa Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Crown Room 93 Banyan Dr., Hilo, HI 96720
Nāʻālehu: Aug. 10, 2022, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nāʻālehu Community Center 95-5635 Hawaii Belt Rd., Nāʻālehu, HI 96772
Kona: Aug. 11, 2022, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa, Kaleiopapa Convention Center 78-128 ʻEhukai St., Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Kamuela (Waimea): Aug. 12, 2022, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Kahilu Town Hall, 67-1182 Lindsey Rd., Kamuela, HI 96743.
Comments may be submitted verbally and in writing during the scoping meetings. Comments can also be provided in the Hawaiian language, which will subsequently be translated to the English language to facilitate NSF’s consideration of those comments.
Written comments on this Proposed Action may also be provided by the following methods: Website: https://beta.nsf.gov/tmt; Regular Mail: Elizabeth Pentecost, RE: ELT National Science Foundation, Room W9152 2415 Eisenhower Ave. Alexandria, VA 22314.
To be eligible for inclusion in the Draft EIS, comments must be received by Sept. 17, 2022. NSF

Farmer and supporter of TMT Richard Ha.
Photo from Big Island Video News

announced that it will provide additional opportunities for public participation upon publication of the Draft EIS. Information regarding the Proposed Action participation upon publication of the Draft EIS. Information regarding the Proposed Action will be posted throughout the EIS process at https://beta.nsf.gov/tmt. For further information regarding the EIS process or the Section 106 consultation process, contact Pentecost at (703) 292-4907 or EIS.106.TMT@nsf.gov.
The public is also invited to comment on NSF’s Draft Community Engagement Plan (Draft CEP), which is available at https://beta.nsf.gov/tmt and at local libraries. In Kaʻū, it is available at Pāhala Public and School Library 96-3150 Pīkake St. Pāhala. The Draft CEP includes a summary of key concepts that NSF heard during its Informal Outreach Effort as well as NSF’s intentions for effective and meaningful engagement with the community during the environmental review process. Comments can be submitted via the methods specified above.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.htm

AN ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE SURVEY HAS BEEN COMPLETED and Hawaiʻi State Rural Health
Association and its President Lisa Rantz invite interested parties to webinar on Tuesday, July 26 at 9:30 a.m.. It is sponsored by Community First and Hawaiʻi State Rural Health Association. Register in advance:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wzpcIM4STRy8EkzGrqqL-Q

CONGRESSMAN KAI KAHELE HAS ANNOUNCED FUNDING FOR RURAL HAWAI'I. Among the
appropriations announced on Wednesday are:

Rural Development: $1 million for the Floriculture and Nursery Initiative including report language encouraging ARS to work on research that includes Hawaiʻi specific needs such as breeding programs to increase tolerance from insect pests, diseases and other climate change impacts;
$500,000 for the Coffee Plant Health Initiative to address coffee leaf rust;
$500,000 to support implementation of the Macadamia Tree Health Initiative;
$5,000,000 for the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Education Grants program
$3 million for the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program for Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers;
$10 million for the Micro-Grants for Food Security Program; and
$35.5 million for agriculture quarantine inspections.

Kai Kahele at a recent talk in Kaʻū with coffee, tea and food farmers and other
residents. Photo by Julia Neal

Energy and Water Development: $1.16 million for the operations and maintenance of Barbers Point Deep Draft Harbor and projects;
Hawaiʻi beneficial language directing the U.S. Department of Energy to report back to Congress on the feasibility of incorporating engineering within Sea Water Air Conditioning and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion that would enhance open-ocean aquaculture and serve to stimulate biological productivity in nutrient-poor offshore waters as a means of accelerating capture and sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide as well as stimulating offshore fisheries.

Financial Services and General Government:

$5 million for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Native American Outreach, which creates entrepreneurial opportunities and empowerment in Native communities, including Native Hawaiian-owned businesses;
$22.5 million for the Native American Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Assistance Program, a program that helps Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities access capital, financial services, technical assistance and business training;

$110 million for the SBA Microloan program that targets women, veterans and minority entrepreneurs with limited assets;
Extends the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to provide for an additional one-year extension of Hawaiʻi's long-standing fourth "temporary" judgeship.

Interior and Environment:
Language requiring the Bureau of Land Management to continue executing the survey requirements of the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, Public Law 104–42 as soon as public health conditions allow. The Bureau shall consult with Homestead Beneficiary Associations, as defined under 43 C.F.R. § 47.1, when conducting these surveys.

Language directing the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations (ONHR) to develop a consultation policy with the Native Hawaiʻi community, similar to the one described in the Standard Operating Procedure for Consultation, for use by all federal agencies in order to promote the responsible execution of policy across the federal government. Additionally, the NHR is directed to provide an update to the Committee on the actions taken to develop the consultation policy and to seek to encourage regular and meaningful consultation by federal agencies with the Native Hawaiian community.
$34 million for the Volcano Hazards Program, a program that monitors volcano activities including at the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park;
$6.75 million for the State of the Birds Program, which assesses the status and health of bird species such as the 'akikiki, 'iʻiwi and kiwikiu birds;
$4.6 million for the Japanese-American Confinement Sites Grants to preserve the historic confinement sites where Japanese-Americans were incarcerated during World War II$2.1 billion towards military family housing nationwide, including $373 million to address issues such as mold, vermin and lead and increased oversight of military privatized housing;
$274.4 million for Child Development Centers to support increased capacity and better facilities for the 1.2 million children of active duty service members worldwide.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Tuesday, July 19, 2022

The Power Line wildfire on July 11 was reported 100 percent contained on Tuesday by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes
National Park. NPS Photo by C. Ritzman

THE POWER LINE WILDFIRE IS 100 PERCENT CONTAINED on the southeast flank of Mauna Loa in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The fire was held to 42.5 acres in size. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park reports that Mauna Loa Road remains closed to all public use, and only authorized vehicles are allowed past the gate at Kīpukapuaulu until further notice. Firefighters are working to reduce nearly two miles of hose lay around the fire, and the presence of fire personnel, heavy equipment and vehicles on the road requires its continued temporary closure. Utility crews are conducting inspections and performing tree trimming in the fire area.
Crews are also working to mop up smoldering patches in the interior of the fire. Hotter, windier weather caused flare ups in grass near the center of the fire. "Firefighters did not get much help from Tropical Storm Darby over the weekend, with less than half an inch of rain on the fire Saturday, and no precipitation since, but are working hard towards full suppression," says the Park statement.

A Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park chainsaw operator,
or sawyer, removes dry vegetation from the Power
Line fire perimeter. NPS Photo by J.Ferracane

"Falling snags from trees burned in the 2018 Keauhou fire continue to be a hazard for firefighters, making it difficult to safely access and mop up the interior of the fire. Other hazards to firefighters include loose, uneven lava rock terrain."
The Power Line fire was first reported at 6:09 p.m. on Monday, July 11 and started near a power line road at around 4,800-ft. elevation in the park. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
No homes or other structures were damaged. The burn has impacted habitat for native birds, and a 1,760-foot section of ungulate-proof fence that protects native forest was damaged. Park staff are evaluating needs and planning for rehabilitation.
Cooperating agencies that assisted the National Park Service through the initial attack include the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife; County of Hawaiʻi Fire Department, and the U.S. Army's Pōhakuloa Training Area.
"Most of Hawaiʻi is experiencing dry conditions, ranging from abnormally dry to extreme drought. Most wildfires in Hawaiʻi are started by people. Help protect the ʻāina and learn how to be fire safe by visiting www.hawaiiwildfire.org/lookout/," urges the statement from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes.

EIGHTEEN MOTORISTS WERE ARRESTED FOR DUI during the week of July 11 through July 17. Hawaiʻi Island police arrested them for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Three of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Five of the drivers were under the age of 21.
So far this year, there have been 562 DUI arrests compared with 636 during the same period last year, a

decrease of 11.6 percent.
There have been 424 major accidents so far this year compared with 422 during the same period last year, an increase of 0.47 percent.
To date, there were 20 fatal crashes (one fatal crash reclassified on 5/30/22 due to a medical condition) resulting in 22 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one of which was reclassified due to a medical condition), compared with 13 fatal crashes, resulting in 13 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents is an increase of 53.8 percent for fatal crashes, and 69.2 percent for fatalities.
Hawaiʻi Police Department promises that DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue island wide.

A FORMER HAWAI'I COUNTY HOUSING OFFICIAL PLEADED GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT HONEST SERVICES WIRE FRAUD between December 2014 and October 2021. The crime involved schemes to defraud the process of developers promising to include affordable housing in their projects. At his sentencing on Oct. 31 in U.S. District Court, Alan Scott Rudo could receive up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

According to an Associated Press story, while working as a Housing & Community Development specialist for Hawaiʻi County, Rudo involved himself in a scheme to become a partner in buying and selling affordable housing credits. Credits for a developer creating more affordable housing than required for a project can be sold or given to other developers to meet the requirements for their projects. Rudo pleaded guilty on Monday before federal judge Rom Trader.

His plea agreement states that he and co-conspirators benefited from selling credits involving three

affordable housing projects without every building a single unit. Rudo took or attempted to receive some $2 million in kickbacks or bribes involving the projects, while hiding his identity, says the plea agreement.

A story in Civil Beat reports that the housing projects involving the fraud were in Waikoloa, Kailua-Kona, South Kohala and Kealakehe. Civil Beat notes that the co-conspirators are two attorneys and a business person. The Civil Beat story also includes a statement from Mayor Mitch Roth, himself the former county prosecuting attorney, Roth said the county noticed Rudo's activities, contacted federal law enforcement, cooperated “diligently and transparently with federal investigators, and will continue to do so.
“Although these incidents happened under previous administrations, we are here to take ownership of the issue and will continue to find ways to better our transparency and ensure honest services to all in our community,” Roth told Civil Beat.

Monday, July 18, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday, July 18, 2022

KDEN celebrates 20 years of service with performing arts at Kilauea Theater and the upcoming
production of The Mikado, which opens this Friday. See more below. Photo from KDEN

AN EARTHQUAKE SWARM AT KAMA'EHUAKANALOA, also called Lo'ihi, has drawn a statement from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory about the underwater rumblings from the seamount offshore Kaʻū.

The summit of the 10,000 foot underwater volcano Lo'ihi is located 3,199 ft below sea level.

The USGS HAVO statement says that the increased seismic activity beneath Kamaʻehuakanaloa began around 2 a.m. on Saturday when USGS detected seismic tremor marked by pulses of seismic energy every 15-20 seconds. Approximately 24 hours after this activity began, two dozen M1.8-M3.0 earthquakes

Kamaʻehuakanaloa, aka Loʻihi, is the site of an earthquake
swarm at the underwater seamount, ongoing since Saturday.
See more on Loʻihi, lava flow and underwater mapping
of Hawaiian volcanoes at https://www.frontiersin.org/
articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00058/full. Also see
https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kama‘ehuakanaloa

occurred from 1:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. on July 17th. Activity was still occurring on Monday evening. The quakes are occurring about 27 miles southeast of Nāʻālehu on the mountainous ocean floor.
According to HVO Scientist-in-Charge, Ken Hon, “This seismic activity is likely the result of magma movement beneath Kamaʻehuakanaloa seamount and currently shows no sign of leading to an eruption. If the swarm intensifies or changes significantly, HVO will issue an additional notice. Because of the great depth of the volcano within the ocean and style of Hawaiian eruptions, an eruption of Kamaʻehuakanaloa would pose no threat to the Island of Hawaiʻi. Neither Mauna Loa nor Kīlauea volcanoes show any change in activity associated with this earthquake swarm.”

The earthquakes have not been felt by humans on land.

USGS summarizes that intermittent earthquake activity has been recorded in the vicinity of Kama‘ehuakanaloa since as early as 1952. The most energetic earthquake sequence occurred in July-August 1996, which included more than 4,000 earthquakes, with nearly 300 events larger than M3.0 and 95 events in the M4.0 to 4.9 range. More recently, a swarm of 100 earthquakes occurred on May 11, 2020, with 18 events in the M3.0 to 3.9 range. There are no working monitoring instruments on Kama‘ehuakanaloa volcano, whose peak is about 1,000 m (3,280 ft) below sea level. All real-time information about the volcano is derived from land-based seismometers on the Island of Hawai‘i.

To learn more about Loʻihi see https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kama‘ehuakanaloa. For info, quake maps: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/ and https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hawaiian-volcano-observatory/earthquakes

THE OPENING OF THE MIKADO CELEBRATES KDEN'S 20 YEARS of producing 27 musicals, eight non-musicals and a slew of radio play evenings.

Kilauea Drama & Entertainment Network opens The Mikado this Friday, July 22 at Kilauea Theater within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. It runs through Aug. 7. Showtime is on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. General admission is $20. It's $15 for seniors and students and $12 for children 12 and under.

Regarding the 20th anniversary, KDEN's Chairman of the Board, Karl Halemano, said, “It is pretty miraculous that any nonprofit can exist for 20 years, let alone a community theater company. We look forward to 20 more. We could not have made it this far without the overwhelming support of the community, especially during the past two years”

Executive Director Suzi Bond explained the founding of KDEN two decades ago: “A group of us wanted to remount the production of Man of LaMancha so that we could take it on the road to Hilo and Kona. While at a fair in Keaau I ran into Karen Blue, Peter Charlot, Bill Chikasuye and Tom McAlexander. I mentioned what we were thinking about doing and told them we needed a board to form a company. They all agreed to be part of this. With funding from philanthropists Anna Blackwell and Nancy Bannick, KDEN was born.”

The Mikado is the first summer musical since the pandemic began. KDEN plans more winter productions as well.

Dennis W. Jung, Chair of Hawai'i Democratic Party

THE APPROACH TO ROE VS WADE by Republican candidates for governor drew an opinion piece on Monday from Dennis Jung, Chair of the Hawai'i Democratic Party. Jung writes:
"The Democratic Party of Hawai‘i encourages Hawai‘i voters to focus on the views and opinions of Hawai‘i Republican candidates for governor on the issue of abortion. One of the Republican candidates for governor recently advocated that abstinence be taught in schools and suggested that there should be more avenues for adoption. Another Republican candidate for governor expressed a view to limit abortions and offered a position in favor of better education and more sensitivity toward and counseling for pregnant girls and younger women.
"Republican candidates for governor fail to understand that the venerable decisions of the United States Supreme Court to uphold reproductive freedom are principally decisions to protect the freedom and liberty of persons from unwarranted government interference into matters most personal. In the aftermath of the repeal of Roe v. Wade, a Republican candidate for governor offered abstinence as a solution. People need to be informed about what is appropriate for them to do with their bodies, because Republicans believe that they ought rightfully to have the power of the government to instruct people as to how they should live their lives, and so much so when such instruction has to do with matters most personal.

“Roe, and the decisions affirming Roe, offered protection of personal freedom and liberty against unwarranted government intervention.
"Republican candidates for governor fail to understand that policies recommending better education and more sensitivity and counseling for pregnant girls and younger women highlight the discriminatory nature of Republican policies, which thrusts an antiquated social stigma against intimate relations outside of marriage squarely upon pregnant girls and younger women, when a more thoughtful consideration of the issues surrounding abortion require us to more fully grasp the nature of lifestyle changes in our society, and the way we choose to interact with each other.
"Republican candidates for governor cannot understand that abortion is not a problem for pregnant girls and younger women, because Republican candidates for governor refuse to see that there is nothing inherently wrong with consensually intimate relations. There is no reason for Republican candidates for governor to single out pregnant girls and younger women. These old-fashioned proposals by Republican candidates for governor show how out of touch they are with the pulse of our contemporary community."