Ka'u News Briefs April 3, 2012

Jeremy Hodges shows U.S. Representative Mazie Hirono Kathleen Kam's mural at Keauhou Bird Conservation
Center, which will be open for tours this Friday. Photo by Marvin Buenconsejo

ONE WHALE EVERY 15 MINUTES was the average around the Big Island during the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count this season. The count helped to confirm that the humpback whale population is increasing at an annual rate of seven percent a year. The final 2012 count was held last weekend, including sites in Ka`u and Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. More than 570 volunteers gathered data from the shores of O`ahu, Kaua`i and Hawai`i Island. Participants tallied humpback whale sightings and documented the mammals’ surface behavior.
      The sanctuary, managed by NOAA and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, protects humpback whales and their habitat in Hawaiian waters where they migrate each winter to mate, calve and nurse their young. Up to 12,000 humpbacks come to Hawaiian waters every year, returning to their birthplace between November and May after migrating from as far away as Alaska. Hawaiian waters provide critical breeding habitat for approximately two-thirds of the north Pacific stock of humpback whales.

      Last weekend’s count “capped off a successful season with over 2,000 volunteers participating and observing humpback whales displaying a variety of behaviors, as well other marine wildlife including Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles, spinner dolphins and many sea birds,” said Christine Brammer, Sanctuary Ocean Count project manager. “High winds made viewing challenging along some coastlines around the state.”
      For information on becoming a volunteer for the 2013 Sanctuary Ocean Count, call 1-888-55-WHALE ext. 253 or visit www.sanctuaryoceancount.org.
      NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find out more at Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov.

ALL COOL FUEL, LLC which scooped up all 16 county agricultural land leases in a closed auction recently, has withdrawn its bid on eight of the parcels, saying it wanted to leave some for local farms. All Cool wants to grow biofuel to process at an ethanol facility it plans at the Natural Energy Lab next to Kona Airport. All Cool Fuel president Duane Bitner told Stephens Media reporter Nancy Cook Lauer yesterday that he empathized with the small farmers who had hoped for land leases. “When I saw that I was the only off-island bidder, I felt really bad,” he said, noting that he grew up on a farm in Utah and empathized with the small Hamakua farmers. Referring to the local farmers losing out on the bids to outside interests, he said, “We just hated it when people do stuff like that. That’s not how I want to start off a relationship with the island,” Stephens Media reported. All Cool Fuel is releasing 156 of the acres that it won in the bid, leaving the land for the second highest bidders, the Hawai`i Tribune Herald story says.

DISASTER TRAINING BY THE AMERICAN RED CROSS will be held at Na`alehu Elementary School on April 14 and 21. Disaster Services: An Overview is the title of the session from 9 a.m. to noon on the 14th, followed by a class on Disaster Assessment Basics from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. On April 21, the class will be on Shelter Operations and Shelter Simulation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Red Cross is recruiting disaster services volunteers on the Big Island. The first step is to take the classes. Volunteer candidates must register for and attend the entire series. See more and register online at www.hawaiiredcross.org, or call Barney Sheffield at 217-0805.

PLANS TO MOVE PAHALA LIBRARY from public to school administration are being deferred in both the state House of Representatives and Senate. Both Sen. Gil Kahele and Rep. Bob Herkes said they hope the library will remain open for the public and school students. Use It Or Lose It is the Friends of Ka`u Libraries’ campaign slogan. The organization is asking for the administration of both the schools and the library system to make hours more convenient for students and their families to go to the library and also to make it easier to check out books and other materials.

THE KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL COMMITTEE meets tonight at Pahala Community Center at 5 p.m. Anyone wanting to help with the ho`olaule`a on Saturday, May 12 is invited to attend. For more on the lead-up events with a dinner and Robert Cazimero at Kalaekilohana and the recipe contest at Ka`u Coffee Mill, see www.kaucoffeefestival.com.

PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER’S Easter Egg Hunt & Fun Day happens tomorrow. Registration and activities begin at 3 p.m., and egg hunt starts at 4 p.m. Call 928-3102 or 929-9611.

KEAUHOU BIRD CONSERVATION CENTER Tour takes place Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Attendees see and learn about native birds that the facility houses, including the ‘alala (Hawaiian crow), which is extinct in the wild; the palila, a finch-billed honeycreeper found only on the slopes of Mauna Kea; the Maui parrotbill, an insectivorous Hawaiian honeycreeper; and the puaiohi, or small Kaua`i thrush. Cost is $20 for Friends members and $30 for non-members. Students are half-price. Call 985-7373 or visit www.fhvnp.org to register.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka'u News Briefs April 2, 2012

Baby Hawksbill turtles are born along the Ka`u-Volcano Coast. Photo by Jay Robinson

PAHALA PUBLIC LIBRARY may not be turned over to Ka`u High School and Pahala Elementary School to use for other purposes. Members of the public are asking to keep the library open for both the community and the students. In a letter last week to the House Committee on Education, retired Hawai`i schoolteacher Lynn Hamilton, of Pahala, objected to testimony that “Pahala doesn’t need a public library,” that its materials and equipment could be turned over to other libraries and that the library system could focus on Na`alehu and Mt. View libraries.
       “This means that Pahala will not have a public library,” she wrote, pointing out the long distance from Pahala to Na`alehu. The Pahala Public & School library, which is adjacent to the high school campus and walking distance to all of Pahala’s residents, “is for the entire community,” wrote Hamilton. “We are a small town in a rural area, but this is our library for all the people.” She said Pahala Library has problems that could be solved. Students could check out more books if they could go there during and after school. The library is only open a few days a week from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. With students being in school next year to 3:15 p.m., the hours are incompatible with students using the library after school until the late bus takes them home. “Library hours don’t fit with many working people’s hours," she said. She also noted the value of the library in providing public and student access to the Internet and said that the Gates Foundation, in allocating funds to the library, “recognizes the need for rural areas to have computer access if they are to be able to compete in the 21st century. We want our children to have a library during school, after school, all summer, when they have graduated from school, and for a life of learning,” said Hamilton.
      On Friday, the House Education Committee recommended that the measure to turn the library over to the schools be deferred. See www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

President Obama spoke at the Conference on Conservation.

THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON CONSERVATION will be reported at the County Council’s environmental committee on Tuesday. Council member Brittany Smart attended the confab in March in Washington D.C. President Barack Obama gave the keynote address, noting that conservationists are a diverse group. “We’ve got hunters and fishermen; we’ve got farmers and ranchers; we’ve got conservationists and government leaders; we’ve got tribal leaders,” the President said. He commended them for “working hard every day” to make sure that America’s “incredible natural resources” are “here for my daughters and your children and hopefully their children to enjoy.” Obama quoted Aldo Leopold, who said conservation “is a positive exercise of skill and insight, not merely a negative exercise of abstinence and caution.” Obama said conservation can build an economy, as in preserving lands for hunting and fishing. He said the “outdoor economy” supports more than nine million jobs and brings in more than a trillion dollars nationwide each year. 

      For this Tuesday’s meeting, Smart said, she plans to include the subject of hunter access here on the Big Island.

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES arrived on schedule 92.8 percent of the time last year and earned second place in quality of performance among domestic airlines. Air Tran was first, followed by Hawaiian, JetBlue, Frontier, Alaska, Delta, Southwest, US Airways, SkyWest, American, Continental, United, Atlantic Southeast, Mesa and American Eagle. The analysis includes lost bags, delayed fights, getting bumped and consumer complaints, as well as arrival times. Authors of the report said that airlines are improving. See http://airlinequalityrating.com/reports/2012.aqr.pdf.

USGS graph shows a series of DI events, with deflation
indicated by downward tilt and inflation by upward tilt.

THE NUMBER OF VOLCANIC DEFLATION - INFLATION events at Kilauea has increased substantially, beginning with the summit eruption in 2008. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported in its latest Volcano Watch that during these DI events, sudden deflation lasts for one to three days, followed by equally sudden inflation that returns the tilt to pre-event levels. Prior to 2008, the number of DI’s averaged five to 10 per year. There were 47 in 2008, 64 in 2009, 68 in 2010 and 87 in 2011. Thus far in 2012, there were 37 DIs, “on pace to shatter the records from previous years,” the USGS scientists report. They explained: 

      “The 2008 increase in numbers of DI events corresponds to the start of the summit eruption, when gas emissions from the summit increased markedly (by about a factor of 4 to 5). As magma loses gas, it becomes denser and sinks, allowing less dense, gas-rich magma to rise toward the surface. This convection, similar to what can be seen in a boiling pot of soup, is common in magma chambers and can even be observed from circulation patterns within Kilauea’s summit eruptive vent. DI events might be an expression of such convection, with the deflation phase corresponding to sinking of dense magma, and inflation resulting from the rise of gas-rich magma.”
      DI events are often associated with changes in eruptive activity. During the deflation phase, lava effusion at Pu`u `O`o tends to decrease as the summit lava column lowers, while the inflation phase is accompanied by a rise in the summit lava column and sometimes a surge in lava from Pu`u `O`o.

Honu`ea, an art exhibit focusing on Hawksbill turtles,
invites entries in all media from all ages. Photo from VAC

AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS of all ages are invited to submit works of art for an exhibit at Volcano Art Center raising both awareness and funds for honu`ea, the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtles. Entries are open to all ages, working in all media. Entry fee is $25 for up to two works for adults, and $5 per entry for youth under 18. Submit entries by mail on or before Fri, April 20 or at VAC’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Fri, April 20 or Sat, April 21. For a prospectus, entry forms and more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.

VOLUNTEERS CAN HELP Hawai`i Wildlife Fund clean up an anchialine pond in Ka`u tomorrow. Sign up with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or meg.hwf@gmail.com.

PAHALA COMMUNITY CENTER hosts an Easter Egg Hunt & Fun Day Wednesday. Registration and activities begin at 3 p.m., and egg hunt starts at 4 p.m. Call 928-3102 or 929-9611.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT WWW.PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND WWW.KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.

Ka'u News Briefs April 1, 2012

The copper-striped, blue-tailed skink (Emoia impar) is now extinct in Hawai`i. Photo from USGS

PROPERTY TAX POLICIES, ASSESSMENTS, AND EXEMPTIONS come up for review by the County Council beginning this week, following the release of a $40,000 audit from the International Association of Assessing Officers. The auditors recommend 40 changes and identify 15 areas of major concern. Reporter Tom Callis writes in this morning’s West Hawai`i Today that “the layers of categories and exemptions in Hawai`i County’s tax policies lead to confusion among property owners and potential inequality in taxation, an independent audit has concluded.”
      The document describes Hawai`i County tax policies as confusing, possibly unequally imposed and in need of a better appeal process and transparency. County Council chair Dominic Yagong said the Council will take it up on Tuesday and takes it “very seriously,” according to the West Hawai`i Today story. Mayor Billy Kenoi said he will also review the audit with his staff and attempt to implement appropriate recommendations.
      The West Hawai`i Today story said that “some of the report’s areas of major concern include limited review of exemptions, including those that apply to agricultural land; complex multi-tiered tax rates; lack of a formal complaint and reporting system; limited training opportunities for staff; vague property class definitions; and limited use of digital maps and photographs.

Dr. Elizabeth Tam Photo from University of Hawai`i

BUILDING ACTION-BASED LEARNING to change “our own behavior” to deal with vog is a goal of Dr. Elizabeth Tam from University of Hawai`i Medical School. She was talking to the 15th annual Ka`u Rural Health Community Association on Friday about a study that began with volunteer help of Ka`u people. She said that the Big Island Community had been asking for help with research on health effects of vog since 1982, when the ongoing eruption began spewing fumes. It was ten years ago that district health director June Kunimoto asked again and received help involving Tam. By the time the new Halema`uma`u vent opened in 2008, the vog study was up and running.

      In 2002, Tam met Jesse Marques, who founded the Ka`u Rural Health Community Association, and Marques pulled in volunteers. They put the first vog monitor up on the roof of the organization’s Distance Learning Center. Help also came from far away, from the National Institute of Health, Harvard School of Public Health and University of Southern California. Without local participants and local residents helping out, however, it never would have happened, Tam told the large crowd at Pahala Community Center. She said the long-term funding for such a study is unusual.

      Researchers studied children by testing them for lung function over time and also reviewed medical records of people of all ages. They also studied the vog itself. X-ray flourescence revealed that the vog is relatively clean compared to smog in places like Beijing before the Olympics and sites with heavy traffic, ships coming into harbors and coal-burning generators where air contains metals and other toxic substances. 

Wind carries vog to different areas. Map from USGS

      Locally, to reduce irritation from vog, Tam recommended “sheltering in place.” She said, “the learning thing is to close the window at night. Closing windows dampens the effect of vog.” Protection can also be increased. “Get ventilation systems that scrub out the vog,” she recommended. She also talked about smoking, saying, “Putting volcanic air pollution into context, the particulates from the volcano are less than what is in a smoker’s home,” warned Tam, a lung specialist and chair of Medicine at U.H. John A. Burns School of Medicine.

ANOTHER EXTINCTION among Hawai`i's native species has been announced. This one is a tiny lizard, the copper-striped, blue-tailed skink. A story yesterday in Science Daily says USGS biologist Robert Fisher and researcher Ivan Ineich noted that “island extinctions around the world often share similar factors, such as the loss of habitat due to uncontrolled human development. Another is competition or predation from invasive species accidentally or intentionally introduced through human migration and activity.”
      U.S. Geological Survey director Marcia McNutt said that “no other landscape in these United States has been more impacted by extinction events and species invasions in historic times than the Hawaiian Islands, with as yet unknown long-term cascading consequences to the ecosystem. Today, we close the book on one more animal that is unlikely to ever be re-established in this fragile island home.”
      “There’s some evidence that an invasive ant was preying on these skinks,” Fisher said. “That’s a new factor we’ll need to examine as we look out for other at-risk species in the Pacific islands.” See more at www.sciencedaily.com.

A volunteer studies water at an
anchialine pond. Photo from HWF

THE DEADLINE TO ENTER photographs into Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park’s photo contest has been extended to April 16. Original Photographs taken in the park can be submitted for first, second, and third place awards given in three categories: Amateur-Beginner, Amateur-Advanced, and Professional. All images will be considered for inclusion in a multi-image slideshow Saturday, April 28. All finalists’ photographs will be exhibited June 9 - 17 at Volcano Art Center Gallery, a co-sponsor of the event. Photos must be submitted as digital images online. Entry fee for up to three photos is $25. For full contest rules and to enter, visit www.fhvnp.org.

HAWAI`I WILDLIFE FUND sponsors a cleanup of an anchialine pond in Ka`u this Tuesday. Volunteers can sign up with Megan Lamson at 769-7629 or meg.hwf@gmail.com. 

EASTER EGG HUNT & FUN DAY takes place Wednesday at Pahala Community Center. Registration and activities begin at 3 p.m., and egg hunt starts at 4 p.m. Call 928-3102 or 929-9611.

VISIT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM.