Sunday, June 21, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, June 21, 2015

Volcano Village holds its Fourth of July celebration, with a parade to and festivities at Cooper Center, on Saturday, July 4.
Photo from Sher Glass
Henry Yang, of TMT
THIRTY METER TELESCOPE construction will restart Wednesday after more than two months of consultation, education and dialogue with many stakeholders. “Our period of inactivity has made us a better organization in the long run,” said Henry Yang, Chair of TMT’s International Observatory Board. “We are now comfortable that we can be better stewards and better neighbors during our temporary and limited use of this precious land, which will allow us to explore the heavens and broaden the boundaries of science in the interest of humanity.
      “We look forward to a positive relationship with all Hawaiians, while we understand that the majority of Hawai`i’s people are supporting the TMT project. We deeply respect and are mindful of those who have concerns, and yet, we hope they will permit us to proceed with this important task while reserving their right to peaceful protest.
      According to Yang, TMT plans to assess any possible oil leakage and ensure it can provide proper maintenance of machines and equipment so they operate safely and correctly in order to protect Maunakea and preserve the sensitive environment. The organization will then begin to repair and install fencing for public safety.
      Yang said TMT will allow cultural practitioners in the area of the construction site to continue customary and traditional practices. “Allowing this practice to continue to occur will require further dialogue and mutual agreement to work out the details in order to establish a cooperative and harmonious environment for all parties,” he said.
      “In an effort to be sensitive to and observant of the Native Hawaiian host culture, we will deepen our knowledge of the cultural, ecological and spiritual aspects of the mountain and continue to learn how to better respect and appreciate Maunakea’s important cultural areas,” Yang said. “On behalf of TMT, I want to express our sincere appreciation to the people in Hawaii for their understanding and support.”
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Ua Galimba and her steer Kaimana took first in show. Galimba also took first in
in showman category in both the steer and hog divisions. At her left is livestock judge
An Peischel. Photo by Rebecca Settlage 
UA GALIMBA WON GRAND CHAMPION Steer competition at this weekend’s annual Hawai`i County 4-H Livestock Show & Sale. In addition to the title with a steer named Kaimana, Galimba took first in the Junior Showman Category for steer and the Junior Showman category for hogs. Also participating from Ka`u
were Grant and Kealia Galimba and Kailee Aickin.      
     The Ka`u contingent traveled with their livestock to Mealani Research Station in Kamuela for the event, which included auctioning off the animals they raised and cared for in preparation for the competition.
       The competition included categories for poultry and rabbits on Friday afternoon and hogs, lambs, steers and breeding heifers on Saturday morning, followed by the auction.
     Local supporters of the show and auction include Aikane Plantation, Malama Market, Kuahiwi Ranch and Chris Manfredi.
      The 4-H program encourages and mentors youth from five to 18 years of age to learn animal husbandry, humane handling skills, record-keeping and financial planning, as well as the discipline of daily responsibility in raising livestock. The first livestock club program formed in 1918.
      “Supporting young people in agriculture is one of the most effective ways, besides buying local, to contribute toward sustainability of our island home,” said a 4-H press release.
      For more information about 4-H, contact CTAHR extension agent Becky Settlage at settlage@hawaii.edu.
      For more on the 2015 4-H Livestock Show and Sale and joining 4-H in Ka`u, contact Ka`u rancher and state Board of Agriculture member Michelle Galimba at mgalimba@kuahiwiranch.com.
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HOMELESSNESS IS THE FOCUS of John Burnett’s two stories in Hawai`i Tribune Herald this morning. While homeless people may be widely scattered in Ka`u near beach parks and some abandoned buildings and lots in Ka`u, the islandwide picture is much more apparent in the urban areas. 
      According to Burnett, the number of homeless people on the island has risen 43 percent since last year, with 1,241 compared to last year’s 869. HOPE Services Hawai`i, Inc. came up with the statistics during a survey conducted early this year. Brandee Menino, chief executive officer, told Burnett the numbers are probably on the low side.
      Kaui Alexander, HOPE Services’ care coordinator, said the homeless population will likely continue to rise. “A lot of families are just one setback away from becoming homeless,” Alexander said. “A job ending or a health problem that arises can quickly lead to the inability … to pay rent or utility bills, afford child care, put gas in the car, and families are left having to make tough decisions.”
      See hawaiitribuneherald.com.
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The current issue of Volcano Watch discusses Kilauea's historic lava lakes.
Photo by Thomas Jaggar, Jr. from USGS/HVO
KILAUEA’S HISTORIC LAVA LAKES are the topic of the current issue of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s Volcano Watch.
      “Although relatively new to most of us, churning lava lakes are certainly not new to Halema`uma`u Crater,” the article states. “Indeed, from 1823 through 1924, a lava lake (or lakes) was nearly always present in the caldera, generally inside Halema`uma`u. Short-lived lava lakes played in Halema`uma`u several times between 1924 and 1968. Much of the time, however, visitors witnessed a scene quite different from today.
      “As one example, this nearly century-old print shows Halema`uma`u when much more of its floor was covered by a lava lake compared to today. Towering bodies of solidified lava called crags rise above the lake surface like battleships on the sea. At times these crags were so high that they could be seen by spectators at the old Volcano House nearly three kilometers (two miles) away. Visitors could sometimes view lava fountaining and hear noises of splashing lava from the hotel. Today, the clatter of breaking and falling rocks is, with favorable wind, audible outside Jaggar Museum, and the overflows in April and May were visible from many caldera vantage points.
      “In the early 1900s, the lava lake inside Halema`uma`u resembled a dynamic body of water in many ways. Thomas A. Jaggar, founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, used terms such as cove, bay and inlet to describe lava pools and other features in the lake. The lava lake was typically impounded by levees made by overflows of lava from the lake, just as overflows of silt-laden water create levees along the Mississippi River. 
      The article includes a photograph that shows what was known as the Southeast Crag, an 11-m- (36-ft-) high peak of solidified lava that had been twisted and tilted upward. Similar features have not developed in the current lava lake. The article states that this may be “because the present lake is impounded by the walls of Overlook crater, not by its own natural levees, which can change configuration and location with time. If such self-impoundment should develop in the Overlook lava lake, we may once again see crags, bays and inlets.”
      HVO will share more of the rich photographic record of Halema`uma`u lava lakes from the last century in future Volcano Watch columns. “Although they lack the vivid and mesmerizing colors of modern photographs, there is a stark beauty in these crisp, black-and-white scenes of lava in its myriad forms that we find equally compelling,” the article states.
      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch.
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Silversword Photo by Dr. Robert Robichaux
KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP’S Crater Rim Café in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers Father’s Day Buffet today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Main entrees are prime rib, shrimp Alfredo with mushrooms and Asian-infused Hawaiian ono. Adult price is $27; child, $14.50. 
      Call 967-8356 for more details. Park entrance fees apply.

DR. ROBERT ROBICHAUX, PROFESSOR of ecology and evolutionary biology at University of Arizona and founder and president of the Board of Trustees of the Hawaiian Silversword Foundation, discusses highly collaborative, large-scale endangered plant reintroduction efforts on Hawai`i Island Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
      According to Robichaux, the native silversword and lobeliad lineages of Hawai`i are the world’s most spectacular examples of plant adaptive radiation, in which single colonizing ancestors have given rise to a stunning diversity of descendant species. Yet, the two lineages now include some of the world’s most critically imperiled plants.
      This presentation illustrates the value of integrating reintroduction efforts with ongoing ecosystem restoration efforts across large landscapes.

VOLCANO VILLAGE HOLDS ITS annual Fourth of July celebration Saturday, July 4. This free event is sponsored by Volcano Community Association, Cooper Center Council and Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Festivities start at 9 a.m. at the Volcano Post Office with a good, old-fashioned patriotic parade going down Old Volcano Road and ending at Cooper Center. Free entertainment, keiki games for 50 cents, a craft fair, silent auction and food for the whole family continue to 1 p.m.

A MEN’S BASKETBALL LEAGUE is forming for the summer, starting in July with play at the Ka`u High School Gym. Men, high school age and older are invited to form teams and join the competition which will take place Mondays and Thursdays, starting at 6 p.m. Anyone interested, call Elijah Navarro at Pahala Community Center at 928-3102 or 430-9461.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.



See kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.pdf and
kaucalendar.com/Directory2015.swf.
See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_June2015.pdf.