Kaʻū News Briefs July 13, 2024

Na'alehu Park is the target of improvements, including new lights so the park can be used at night.
Here the Park was site of Little League State Championships in 2019. Photo from Kaʻū Little League.

IMPROVEMENTS TO THREE COMMUNITY PARKS IN THE KAʻŪ AREA have been announced by County of Hawai'i Department of Parks & Recreation. "They are among the department's many efforts to ensure residents have safe, accessible, and quality parks and recreational facilities to meet their varied and numerous needs," says a statement from the County, which notes more than 130 projects at parks around the island.
    "We have worked diligently to address the years of deferred maintenance at our parks and facilities island-wide, and I am incredibly proud of our team for the tremendous progress we've made thus far," said Mayor Mitch Roth.    

    The statement says, "One of the projects, at Miloli'i Beach Park, marks a significant milestone in the decades-long effort to ensure island-wide accessibility at numerous park sites and facilities for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). When work begins at Miloli'i Beach Park in September, it will represent a significant milestone for the County as the final park site from a 1998 legal settlement to undergo construction."

Miloli'i Pavilion will be replaced with new parking, restrooms and expanded
recreational areas. Photo by Julia Neal

    Maurice Messina, Director of Parks & Recreation, said, "Ensuring everyone can access our parks has been a top priority these last several years, and we are proud to have made tremendous progress in this area. Three years ago, the department had 12 remaining ADA Transition Plan park projects to implement, but we are now about to start the final project on that list."
    Here are the Kaʻū area projects as described by the County:

    Miloli'i Beach Park – This accessibility improvement project, which will provide for a new pavilion and comfort station (in replacement of existing facilities); new children's playground equipment; improvements to the existing outdoor sports court; development of a new paved parking lot; new accessible walkways and picnic amenities; and new potable water system, fire protection system, and electrical system, is scheduled to begin construction in early September. This project is the final full park site requiring modifications for compliance with the County's federally mandated ADA Transition Plan.
    Wai'ōhinu Park – Efforts are underway to contract a design team to prepare plans for a new comfort station at this park to replace the original facilities that were closed due to multiple failures of its utilities and continued failings of the structure itself. The department is committed to seeing this new facility realized and the park's dependence on portable toilets eliminated for good.
    Nā'ālehu Park – A contract has been executed for a contractor to remove the deteriorated and non-functioning lights, ballasts, and metal platform/cages atop the tall, metal light poles that serve the ballfield. The contractor will also remove all existing electrical conductors and components due to past issues with shorts and unintended electrification of the metal poles. The intent is to safely remove these failing elements to ensure the ongoing safety of park users but retain the poles for potential future restoration of the lighting system for nighttime play. Materials have been ordered for this project and a start date is being coordinated.

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"Our Democracy must be grounded in civil discourse, said
Kaʻū's Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, following the shooting of
Donald Trump on Saturday.

HAWAI'I OFFICIALS DENOUNCED VIOLENCE IN THE PROCESS OF ELECTING PUBLIC SERVANTS, following the shooting on Saturday of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The sniper was 20-year old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Secret Service shot and killed him as he fired an assault rifle multiple times from the top of a building toward the stage where Trump was speaking. Trump survived with a bloody face and a bullet pierced ear. 

    One attendee died from a gunshot would to the head. Two other mean remain in critical condition. Trump walked away from the shooting, pumping his fist into the air, saying, "Fight, fight..." while the crowd yelled "USA, USA." Trump visited a hospital, was released and flew to New Jersey, saying he looks forward to the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, WI next week where he expects to be named the Republican nominee for the presidency.

    In Hawai'i, Gov. Josh Green said, “As a nation we can never accept violence in the political arena or any other circumstance. I wish the former president a full recovery and send my condolences to the family of the person who was killed.”

     Kaʻū's representative in Congress, Jill Tokuda, said, “Sending out my deep condolences to those affected by today’s tragic incident, and prayers of recovery and safety to everyone impacted.

    "Our democracy must be grounded in civil discourse, mutual respect, and most of all aloha. These kinds of horrific acts only serve to silence and instill fear, and do not reflect the values of our country. We are

Hawai'i Republican Party Chair Tamara McKay
 said that Americans must uphold values of
respect and civility, following the shooting
of Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.

better than this, and we must come together to reject all violence.”

    Congressman Ed Case said, “Our hearts go out to the innocent lost and we pray for President Trump and the others wounded. Violence must not be the answer. Voters, not guns, must decide elections."

    The President of the Hawai'i Republican Party, Tamara McKay, said, "This senseless act of violence is a stark reminder that we, as Americans, must reject such actions and uphold our values of respect and civility. Our country is built on the principles of democracy and peaceful discourse. This senseless act of violence is a stark reminder that we, as Americans, must reject such actions and uphold our values of respect and civility. Our country is built on the principles of democracy and peaceful discourse.”

    Vice. President Kamala Harris said that she and her husband are praying for Trump, "his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting. We are grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders, and local authorities for their immediate action. Violence such as this has no place in our nation. We must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence."

     Pres. Joe Biden said that he talked to Trump and "I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it." 

    The Biden campaign suspended its advertising and the President returned to the White House.

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Kaʻū News Briefs July 12, 2024

Project Manager for Kaʻū Community Development Plan, Ron Whitmore, has given an analysis of the Black Sand Beach, LLC development proposal, in terms of CDP compliance. He notes that commercial enterprise is planned near the coast and concludes that a new shoreline setback certification study should be done. Plan from Black Sand Beach, LLC

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT PUNALU'U BY THE PROJECT MANAGER OF KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN is going to become testimony to the Windward Planning Commission, according to the Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee. The Committee voted this week to send testimony and include the analysis by County of Hawai'i planner Ron Whitmore. It can be read along with other testimony at
https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/1/edoc/136134/2024-07-
11%20Ka%C5%AB%20CDP%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf.
    Whitmore writes that the proposal appears to be inconsistent with three Policy Controls in the Kaʻū Community Development Plan.
    Regarding Policy 6, Whitmore writes, "It does not include affordable housing." Policy 6 in the CDP says, "The development of visitor accommodations and any resort development should complement the

https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/
general-plan-community-planning/cdp/kau.

partially within the Special Management Area (SMA) in the Ka‘ū CDP Planning Area, establish shoreline setbacks at the earliest stages of the land use planning and development process at a minimum of 1,320 feet (1/4-mile); however, the applicant may request that the setback be reduced by providing information to the Department, including information required for SMA review, which would allow for an assessment of the proposed activity’s impacts and in consideration of the physical limitations of the property. For lots created prior to the date of adoption of the CDP with an average lot depth of two hundred feet or less, the shoreline setback line shall be 40 feet."
    Whitmore notes that the proposed development "clearly includes 'new facilities' as well as development on parcels that abut the shore, including Artisan Garden Hales, Museum Pavilion, Welcome Center and Beach Club Cafe, so a new shoreline setback should have peen established per Policy 28."
    Regarding Policy 29, Whitmore writes: "Necessary assessments were not completed, including for impacts on scenic resources, view planes, water quality, marine life, and cultural resources as well as the impacts of tsunamis and sea level rise." Policy 29 says, "No development, including subdivision, shall be approved in the SMA unless the development will not have any substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect."
    Whitmore writes: "The CDP Action Committee has an opportunity to play a leadership role, in collaboration with the landowner, in implementing Community Action 20: Develop and implement plans for Punalu'u."
    See his entire analysis at https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/1/edoc/136134/2024-07-11%20Ka%C5%AB%20CDP%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf. 

    Read Kaʻū Community Development Plan at https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/

general-plan-community-planning/cdp/kau.

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MORE SHAKING ON KĪLAUEA'S SOUTH FLANK - DID YOU FEEL IT? That is the topic of the latest Volcano Watch, the weekly column by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates:
    The most recent notable felt earthquake happened on Saturday night, July 6, at 8:47 p.m HST. The magnitude (M) 4.1 earthquake was on Kīlauea's south flank at a depth of about 7 km (4.4 miles) below sea level. This event produced a handful of aftershocks, including three above M2 that occurred within ten minutes of the M4.1.
    Earthquakes that occur on Kīlauea's south flank typically happen on either the Hilina fault system or the fault called the "décollement." The steep faults of the Hilina fault system are easy to visualize as they appear on the surface as steep pali (cliffs) along the southeast coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi. These steep faults continue through the subsurface and can produce large earthquakes as rocks along the nearly vertical faults slip against each other.
    The décollement, or detachment fault, sits beneath the Hilina fault system. This fault is nearly horizontal beneath Kīlauea's south flank at the interface between the island and the ocean floor. This interface can produce larger events and, according to seismologists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), was the likely source of Saturday's M4.1 based on the depth and motion.

Community Internet Intensity Map for the magnitude-4.1 earthquake on July 6, 2024, on the Island of Hawaiʻi (location shown by star). Felt reports show the intensity of shaking during the earthquake across the Island of Hawaiʻi. Not shown are felt reports from Maui and Lanaʻi for this event. USGS Map

Community Internet Intensity Map for the magnitude-4.1 earthquake on July 6, 2024, on the Island of Hawaiʻi (location shown by star). Felt reports show the intensity of shaking during the earthquake across the Island of Hawaiʻi. Not shown are felt reports from Maui and Lanaʻi for this event. USGS Map

    Slip along the décollement can be produced as a combination of gravity and changes in pressure occurring in the volcano that sits above. In the past 50 years, there have been three décollement earthquakes above M6 on Kīlauea's south flank.
    The most recent was the M6.9 earthquake that occurred on May 4, 2018. This earthquake was caused by the magmatic intrusion in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone, which led to the 2018 eruption in the lower East Rift Zone.

Road destruction from M6.9 Kīlauea earthquake in 2018. USGS photo

  The décollement also produced a M6.2 earthquake in 1989. This event caused injuries, destroyed or damaged houses in Puna District, caused landslides that blocked roads, and generated a small local tsunami.
    The most destructive of the three events was in 1975, and it was the largest earthquake in Hawai;i since 1868. A M7.7 on the décollement fault beneath Kīlauea caused several meters (yards) of horizontal and vertical movement along faults in the summit and south flank regions. The earthquakes caused building and road damage, along with a tsunami that resulted in two local fatalities.

    Within this greater context, Saturday's M4.1 was only a minor slip along Kīlauea's décollement, but its widely felt shaking serves as a reminder of the potential for this region to produce damaging and widely felt earthquakes. More than 700 people reported feeling the recent M4.1, spanning the Island of Hawaiʻi and even as far as Maui and Lanaʻi.
    As residents of a very shaky island chain, the USGS "Did you feel it?" website is a phenomenal resource that citizens and scientists alike can use to report how we individually feel earthquakes.
    While the magnitude of an earthquake is the size derived from data collected by the network of seismic instruments, the intensity of an earthquake is a measure of shaking derived from the network of people reporting how they felt it. Based on the felt reports, "Community Internet Intensity Maps" or CIIMS are generated in near real-time and help us understand how different types of earthquakes can impact different regions in Hawaii.

A coconut grove subsides into the ocean at Halape in 1975 M 7.7 Kīlauea earthquake. USGS photo

    The USGS Fact Sheet "Did You Feel It? Citizens contribute to Earthquake Science" describes the importance of CIIMs: "...as a result of work by the U.S. Geological Survey and with the cooperation of various regional seismic networks, people who experience an earthquake can go online and share information about its effects to help create a map of shaking intensities and damage...CIIMs contribute greatly toward the quick assessment of the scope of an earthquake emergency and provide valuable data for earthquake research."
    The next time you feel an earthquake, first ensure that you and your surroundings are safe. Then, if you would like to support the science happening in Hawai'i, please fill out your felt report. Mahalo to everyone who reports feeling earthquakes in Hawai;i; your reports help us understand impacts of earthquakes in our dynamic environment.

Volcano Activity Updates
    Kīlauea is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert level is ADVISORY.
    Elevated earthquake activity and inflationary ground deformation rates continue in Kīlauea's summit region, indicating that magma is repressurizing the storage system. Over the past week, about 550 events

(most were smaller than M2) occurred beneath Kīlauea's summit region and extending southeast into the upper East Rift Zone. Unrest may continue to wax and wane with changes to the input of magma; changes can occur quickly, as can the potential for eruption. The most recent summit sulfur dioxide emission rate measured was approximately 60 tonnes per day on July 9, 2024.
    Mauna Loa is not erupting. Its USGS Volcano Alert Level is at NORMAL.
    Four earthquakes were reported felt in the Hawaiian Islands during the week ending Thursday: a M3.4 earthquake 0 km (0 mi) W of Pāhala at 32 km (20 mi) depth on July 8 at 12:39 p.m. HST, a M1.9 earthquake 7 km (4 mi) SW of Volcano at 1 km (1 mi) depth on July 7 at 6:56 a.m. HST, a M3.3 earthquake 14 km (8 mi) S of Fern Forest at 6 km (4 mi) depth on July 6 at 8:51 p.m. HST, a M4.1 earthquake 15 km (9 mi) S of Fern Forest at 6 km (4 mi) depth on July 6 at 8:47 p.m. HST.
    HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

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Kaʻū News Briefs July 11, 2024

  Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee voted Thursday to submit testimony to the Windward Planning 

Commission, recommending it review the Kaʻū CDP policies and testimony before deciding on approval or disapproval of the

Special Management Area permit for development at Punalu'u. Photo by Julia Neal

TESTIMONY WILL BE SENT REGARDING PUNALU'U DEVELOPMENT to the Windward Planning Commission, according to the vote taken at the Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee on Thursday in Pāhala. The group voted to write a letter asking the Planning Commission to consider whether the proposed Special Management Permit proposed by Black Sand Beach, LLC aligns with policies of the Kaʻū Community Development Plan. Attached to the letter would be testimony from the public and an SMA permit proposal analysis by planner Ron Whitmore, who worked for the County to develop the Kaʻū CDP.
The development would include more than 200 units of condos and other units for short term rentals and residences, plus eateries and retail along with spa, tennis and golf course. There would be renovation of the golf course and existing structures on the property, which is more than 400 acres and all within the Special Management Area to protect the coast, which requires an SMA permit before taking next steps to proceed.

A poster from 2015, the County inviting public involvement in creating

 the  Kaʻū Community Development Plan, which is now a reference for

 policies concerning such developments as the Black Sand Beach, LLC

proposal at Punalu'u. See CDP at https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.

gov/general-plan-community-planning/cdp/kau.

    Action Committee member Leinaala Enos recommended that the Action Committee send the testimony. She said it is the role of the Committee to study the Kaʻū CDP and to help guide compliance. She noted the many years of work by the Kaʻū Community Development Plan Committee and the time that County of Hawai'i spent to craft the Kaʻū CDP with extensive community involvement. She also noted the abundance of testimony given at recent public hearings and Action Committee meetings, most of it in opposition to the Punalu'u development.
    Elsa Kalanikauleleiaiwi Dedman, who is a plaintiff in a contested case opposing the resort, pointed to plaintiffs Center for Biological Diversity and Hawaiians who have lived at Punalu'u and whose ancestors lived there. 

    The plaintiffs call for the Planning Commission to require a new Environmental Impact Statement and a new shoreline setback study before considering the SMA approval. The last shoreline study at Punalu'u was over 40 years ago.

    Action Committee Chair Jason Masters said that the Kaʻū CDP recommends a quarter mile setback from the coast for development and stated that there are proposed commercial enterprises next to Black Sand Beach that are not set back a quarter mile.
    Former County Council member Guy Enriques referred to the Kaʻū Community Development Plan and said it is "black and white" that the proposed development is not in line with the policies of the Kaʻū CDP.
    Action Committee member Babette Morrow said that construction of affordable housing is missing from the developer's proposal but is one of the policies recommended by Kaʻū CDP when considering development proposals. She noted that she and Masters have been studying Kaʻū CDP policies and also an analysis by planner Whitmore in preparation for drafting the letter to the Planning Commission.

    Citizens speaking at the Action Committee meeting also called for protection of the endangered hawksbill turtles that nest and the green sea turtles that rest at Punalu'u.

     Black Sand Beach, LLC planning consultant Daryn Arai asked that the Action Committee send him  and the development group a copy of the proposed testimony and attachments to the Windward Planning Commission before it is finalized so that the developers can answer to concerns and give comments. Representatives of the Planning Department said the draft will be included with the agenda of the next Action Committee meeting and available online to everyone.

     The Action Committee said another meeting will be held in August to finalize the testimony to the Windward Planning Commission.

     See more on the meeting and the Whitmore analysis, as well as more from the developer, in future Kaʻū News Briefs. See the Kaʻū CDP at 

https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/general-plan-community-planning/cdp/kau.

    Other agenda items, including a proposed water bottling plant in Pāhala and evacuation routes for Green Sands neighborhood were deferred to the next meeting, which will be held in Nāʻālehu.

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Wehilei will perform at a free back to school concert on Sunday, July 28 at Ke Ola Pu'uhonua in Nāʻālehu. Her music includes
 the song and album Music Heals the Soul, and songs Movin On and In the Mood. The event begins at noon.
  Image from Music Heals the Soul by Wehilei

WEHILEI LIM-RYDER WILL HEADLINE A FREE BACK TO SCHOOL CONCERT for Kaʻū youth on Sunday, July 28 from noon to 3 p.m. at Ke Ola Pu'uhonua in Nāʻālehu, adjacent to Punalu'u Bakeshop.

    Coordinating the event is Kumu Hula Debbie Ryder. It will also feature Keiki of Halau Hula O Leionalani. Sponsor is Uhane Pohaku Na Moku O Hawai'i. 

    Keiki will receive colorful school backpacks autographed by Wehilei. Free hotdogs and water will be available to keiki.

    Wehilei is composer of hit songs and recipient in 2023 of Na Hoku Hanohano awards for Single of the Year and Most Promising Artist of the Year. Her music includes the song and album Music Heals the Soul, and songs Movin On and In the Mood.

    Wehilei is granddaughter of Debbie Ryder and daughter of Lorna Lim, who is known for her renditions of Pua Olena and Ku'uipo, of the Lim Family of musicians. Weihilei is also daughter of Wailau Ryder, the Hawaiian Slack-key artist and music producer. She has traveled to perform throughout Hawai'i, Asia, New Zealand and Australia, as well as the mainland.

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