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| Volcano House reopens guest rooms Friday, with other, public spaces scheduled to open in early June. Photos from aquahospitality.com |
The Peralta family shared their music, and the Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka`u danced to Ka Nani Ao Ka`u. Lehua Lopez-Mau and Wendy Vance, both directors of the new 501C3 organization Ho`omalu Ka`u, introduced other board members Chris Reid and Blossom DeSilva.
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| Keala Ching blessed the site of Heritage Center of Ka`u yesterday. Photo by Shalan Crysdale |
After the blessing, biologist Rick Warshauer and naturalist Shalan Crysdale hiked the property and noted that the forest is very much intact with very few invasive plants. They also located and mapped a section of what is possibly an old Hawaiian trail on the property.
For more information or to help with the project, call 929-8526. Email hoomalukau@gmail.com.
VOLCANO HOUSE REOPENS GUEST ROOMS FRIDAY, offering kama`aina and “Pardon Our Dust” rates of $200 per night through May 31. Renovations are still being completed in public spaces and outlets, including the restaurant with panoramic views of Halema`uma`u Crater, which are scheduled to open in early June.
The National Park Service recently spent $4 million in retrofitting and safety upgrades, and an additional $2.5 – $3 million are being invested by concessioners, Ortega Family Enterprises, to renovate and refurbish the hotel, according to a statement from the company.
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| Artist's rendering of remodeled Volcano House lobby shows fireplace in operation as it has been for decades. |
The restored Volcano House will offer 33 historic guest rooms, a dining room, snack bar, lounge, and gift shop, along with cultural events and demonstrations. Volcano House also manages 10 newly refurbished camper cabins in the nearby Namakanipaio Campground. The rate for a cabin is $55 per night.
Reservations can be made at 866-536-7972 or aquaresorts.com. Volcano House’s front desk and gift shop are open daily from 7:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. A limited selection of grab-and-go snacks and meals is available for purchase at the gift shop.
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| Lynn Finnegan |
The Star-Advertiser also quoted Lynn Finnegan, executive director of Hawai`i Public Charter School Network: “We have worked, and will continue to work, with the commission to make sure schools understand their responsibilities and that the new accountability system will honor local decision-making in Hawai`i’s charter schools.” See more at www.staradvertiser.com.
Charter schools are funded by the state Department of Education but operate outside the statewide school board. They manage their campuses with community boards, designing their own curriculums while remaining accountable for academic results.
The mission of Volcano School is “learning through Volcano’s unique natural and cultural resources today to become creative global citizens tomorrow.” The principle is Dr. Ardith Renteria. She was born and raised in Hawai`i and is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, University of Hawai`i at Manoa and Hilo, and Capella University in Minnesota. She has worked in both the public and charter school systems. See more at www.volcanoschool.com.
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| Tomorrow's Life on the Edge talks mark five years of continuous eruptive activity at Halema`uma`u Crater. Photo from NPS |
Kilauea’s summit vent opened at 2:58 a.m., HST, on March 19, 2008, when an explosive eruption created a gaping hole about 115 feet wide on the south wall of Halema`uma`u Crater. Nighttime glow from this hole suggested the presence of molten lava, but it wasn’t until six months later that a lava lake deep within the vent was definitively observed by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists.
Since 2008, rock collapses within the vent have enlarged its opening on the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater. The vent is now about 520 feet by 700 feet (the area of about 21 Olympic-sized pools).
The summit eruption, Kilauea’s second longest since the early 1900s, can also be experienced through photos, videos, and webcam images posted on HVO’s website at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
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| Dick Hershberger portrays Thomas Jaggar tomorrow. This Sunday, he and Arlene Araki perform in Two by Tenn with Tea at Pahala Plantation House. |
LITO ARKANGEL OFFERS A FREE CONCERT Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. The singer and songwriter shares his original compositions and other Hawaiian favorites. Park entrance fees apply.
KA`U AGRICULTURAL WATER COOPERATIVE District holds its next meeting this Thursday, March 21 at 4 p.m. at the Royal Hawaiian Orchards Macadamia Field Office. For more information, contact Jeff McCall at 928-6456.
SATURDAY is Kahuku Junior Ranger Day, when participants connect the culture, people and `aina of the Kahuku Unit of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park through art, `oli, GPS, and compass and listen to the mo`olelo of Pupu-hulu-ena, Keo-ua-ku-a-hu`ula and Kamehameha I. The free event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes lunch and cultural craft demonstrations. Pre-registration required at 985-6019.
TWO BY TENN WITH TEA, an afternoon performance of two rarely performed one-act plays written by Tennessee Williams, takes place at Pahala Plantation House this coming Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. In what director Julie Dobbs describes as a “fragile mood piece” entitled Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen, Arlene Araki and Dick Hershberger, of Ocean View, portray a man and woman rooted hopelessly in an unchanging present. I Can’t Imagine Tomorrow, the second play, also features Araki and Hershberger in what Dobbs calls “a variation on the theme of the passage toward death; of endured, but unendurable, pain.”
Tea and cookies will be served, and a potluck dinner follows. Suggested donation is $5 per person.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.