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| 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.
“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.
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| 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.
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.
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| 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.
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.
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| 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.
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.