Ka`u News Briefs June 2, 2012

A slow earthquake, unnoticed by most residents, moved the south slope of Kilauea about an inch and a half this week.
Map from USGS/HVO

A SLOW-SLIP, SILENT EARTHQUAKE moved the south flank of Kilauea Volcano about an inch and a half into the ocean this week, according to scientists at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The team predicted the event, strung monitors around the crater and recorded the silent quake that went unnoticed by most Big Island residents. It was such a slow slide that it didn’t generate any large seismic waves. Instead, the scientists recorded 144 tiny earthquakes from last Sunday through Thursday morning as the slope was sliding south.
      These silent earthquakes are predictable and happen all over the world - at Kilauea, about every 26 to 30 months. Scientists will study data gathered this week to help them predict more sudden earthquakes.
      It was the team at Kilauea who discovered the slow earthquake phenomena about a decade ago. Global Positioning System stations began recording slow earthquakes around the world in such places as Japan, Mexico, Alaska, Costa Rica and the Pacific Northwest. See more at Volcano Watch:
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/view.php?id=126.

Rep. Jerry Chang

REP. JERRY CHANG, a powerful Hilo politician who chairs the state House of Representatives Committee on Water, Land & Ocean Resources, will not run for re-election. Reapportionment following the 2010 U.S. Census puts Chang and incumbent Rep. Mark Nakashima in the same district. Chang has represented the Big Island for 24 years. He did not rule out running for another office. 

      Reapportionment also changed the state political map of Ka`u. One Senate district runs from Honua`po to Kona Airport, where Sen. Josh Green is the incumbent. The other Senate district runs from Honu`apo into Puna. The redistricting left Ka`u’s current senator, Gil Kahele, unable to run here as his residence is in Hilo, and he is seeking election there. It also left Rep. Bob Herkes out of the House district serving South Kona, Ocean View and Na`alehu. Herkes is running for the new Senate district from Honu`apo through Volcano and Puna.

Harry Kim

FORMER MAYOR HARRY KIM may run for the mayor’s seat again, according to a report in this morning’s Hawai`i Tribune Herald. The Nancy Cook Lauer story says he will make the decision on Monday, the day before the deadline. Also in the primary race for the Democratic nomination are incumbent Billy Kenoi – formerly a Kim aide, and County Council chair Dominic Yagong. The primary is Aug. 11. 

      Cook Lauer writes that “Kim is expected to prove a formidable foe. He’s generally regarded as a popular mayor who led the county during flush times when there was plenty of money for employees and projects. He also has a reputation as a mediator, more likely to try to work things out between opposing views than to impose his own will on others.”
      The story reports that Kim says he is motivated by the recent attempt to waive environmental assessments for proposed geothermal exploration drilling on the island. Kim gave impassioned testimony before the state Environmental Council in Honolulu recently, and the Council voted to prohibit the skirting of environmental studies. Kim said he supports geothermal but “he wants to ensure it’s done safely,” the Hawai`i Tribune Herald story states.

Ka`u Forest Reserve Water Sources

PAHALA POOL HAS REOPENED after being closed to install safer drains. The new larger drains are designed to make it impossible for even the smallest person to become trapped at the bottom of the pool. The pool, free to the public for swimming, is open all summer. 

      Public Recreational Swim hours are 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Monday through Friday; 12:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 12:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; and 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
      Adult Lap Swim hours are 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. daily including weekends; and 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
      Water Aerobics classes that last 45 minutes are scheduled at 8 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Monthly fee for the classes is $15.

KA`U FOREST RESERVE PLANS go to a public meeting today at 10:30 a.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Food and childcare will be provided during the meeting. Copies of the plan’s Draft EA can be read at Pahala and Na`alehu Public Libraries and online at http://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/EA_and_EIS_Online-_Library/Hawaii/2010s/2012-05-23-DEA-Kau-Forest-Reserve-Management-Plan.pdf. For more information, contact Ron Terry at 969-7090 or rterry@hawaii.rr.com.

KILAKILA O KA`U takes place today, tomorrow and Monday at Aikala Ranch on South Point Road. The events celebrates the lunar eclipse and Venus transiting the sun. Activities include Hawaiian Language Scrabble Tournament, astrology, palmistry, tarot cards, psychics, psychic mediums, gems, stones, Reiki and massage.

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