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Monday, October 26, 2015

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, Oct. 26, 2015

A swarm of earthquakes northeast of Pahala has been occurring over the past couple of days. Circles indicate timing of quakes: red, within the last two hours; blue, two days; and yellow, two weeks. Map from USGS/HVO
A SWARM OF SMALL EARTHQUAKES has been occurring over the past couple of days just northeast of Pahala, on the makai side of Hwy 11. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists said they have seen swarms in this vicinity before. “Deep earthquakes (20-40 km) at this location have not correlated with any change in activity of the volcano,” HVO reported. “Instead, they seem to be part of the conduit system that feeds magma from the mantle hotspot to the volcano’s summit.” 
      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov for more about earthquakes.
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TAKE IN THE HOMELESS, urges a partnership between the Hawai`i Association of Realtors and Gov. David Ige’s office, who are asking landlords to rent to those living on streets and beaches and in abandoned buildings. Social service agencies are joining in by counseling landlords on their fears of becoming entangled with homeless people, many who need help with substance abuse and mental health issues.
Gov. David Ige and his Scott Morishige, his Coordinator on Homelessness,
held a press conference this morning. Photo from Office of the Governor
      “This is an opportunity to alleviate some of the misinformation that’s out there,” Myoung Oh, director of government affairs for the Hawai`i Association of Realtors, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a story published this morning. “For some people, it’s a little hard for them to open their doors. A lot of it is education.” 
      For more information on the Hawai`i Association of Realtors’ Landlord Summit, including how to register, see hawaiirealtors.com or tinyurl.com/nj3q6ws
      “There’s no silver bullet for this,” Oh said. “Everyone should be doing their part to end homelessness because we’re a small community. We as an organization are trying to do our part, and everyone should, as well, because we’re a small-knit family, one big `ohana.”
      Another initiative, Heroes Housing Heroes, resulted in 25 homeless vets finding housing on O`ahu.
      Homeless people in Ka`u find shelter on and off at such places as lands around Punalu`u Beach Park and Honu`apu, the empty Na`alehu Theatre, an old parts warehouse left over from the Ka`u Sugar mill in Pahala and wooded lands around Ka`u towns.
      Hawai`i Island will receive a portion of more than $600,000 earmarked for homeless programs on Neighbor Islands. “We realize homelessness is not just on O`ahu; it really is an issue that impacts every community throughout Hawai`i on every island,” Scott Morishige, the governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness, said in another Star-Advertiser story. “We’re seeking to increase the level of funding for HOPE Services, which currently administers the Housing Placement Program on the island, as well as Catholic Charities Hawai`i, which administers the state Homeless Emergency Grant Program. We’re also working with Bridging the Gap, which is a coalition of homeless service providers on the Neighbor Islands, to start to roll out funding for Housing First.”
Bridget Velasco
      Chad Cabral, director of development for HOPE Services Hawai`i, told the Star-Advertiser that his organization will receive $108,000 “to basically build our capacity with the Housing Placement Program to house more homeless families on Hawai`i Island. It’s basically to help families find housing in the private rental market.” 
      See staradvertiser.com.
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PREVENTING DROWNINGS IS THE GOAL of a new effort to educate visitors who are unfamiliar with oceans and waterfalls.
      According to Rosemarie Bernardo, of Honolulu Star-Advertiser, ideas being considered are display posters at airport baggage claim areas and promoting ocean safety in guidebooks.
      Bernardo said drownings are the leading cause of fatal injury among nonresidents in Hawai`i, according to Bridget Velasco, of the state Department of Health’s EMS and Injury Prevention Systems Branch. The branch is responsible for relaying basic safety messages as well as providing resources to help keep everyone safe. Velasco told Bernardo that an advisory committee defined visitor education and safety message refinement as priorities.
      “One drowning is one too many,” Velasco said.
      See staradvertiser.com.
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DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS is holding statewide meetings seeking beneficiary input on proposed rule changes related to the following topics:
  • Genetic Testing – Proposes DHHL accept DNA tests to establish family ties in order to qualify for the Hawaiian Home Lands program; 
  • Lease Transfer – Proposes a process and requirements for transferring a vacant homestead lot (i.e., a lot with no home or other improvements built upon the land). 
  • Subsistence Lots – Proposes a new option in DHHL’s agricultural program that supports a subsistence rural lifestyle. 
      DHHL is currently re-examining Administrative Rules governing department operations and proposing to remove, add or modify these rules to meet the changing needs and priorities of beneficiaries. The department plans to propose several rule changes throughout the course of the current administration. This first round of proposed rule changes are in direct response to beneficiary feedback the department received over the years.
      The rulemaking process could take up to two years. Meetings are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at DHHL West Hawai`i District Office in Waimea on Monday, Nov. 9 and Keaukaha Elementary School Cafetorium on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
      Beneficiaries have until Jan. 11, 2016 to provide mana`o on this first round of proposed changes.
      For more information and to provide feedback via web, see dhhl.hawaii.gov/DHHLRules.
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KA`U HIGH TROJAN GIRLS WILL TRAVEL to Hana, Maui, Kamuela and Hilo for three- and four-day basketball tournaments in December. 
      Sign-ups and tryouts will be held starting on Monday, Nov. 9 at 2:45 p.m. at the Ka`u High gym and continue daily through Friday, Nov. 13.
      The parent meeting will be the following Monday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. at the school’s band room. 
      Girls basketball season will start the first week in December with Tuesday games. Additional tournaments will include a three-day session in Kamuela at Hawai`i Preparatory Academy, the first weekend in December, followed by a four-day trip to Hana, Maui during the second weekend in December and a tournament at Hilo High the third week of December.
      Coaches are Cy Lopez, Jennifer Makuakane, April Jara and Bridgett Pasion. 
      Fundraising for the team and tournament travel includes the annual Chinese Pretzel sale, with presale tickets and distribution the last Sunday of November at Pahala Shopping Center. To donate to the team, call Lopez or Makuakane at 345-6895.
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FENG SHUI IS THE TOPIC of a lecture tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Na`alehu Library. Speaker Clear Englebert is the author of Feng Sui For Love & Money.
      For more information, call 939-2442.

John Dvorak discusses his new book tomorrow.
Image from NPS
THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to Ka`u Community Development Plan Steering Committee meeting tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. The committee will make final CDP recommendations to the county.
      The public is invited, and testimony on agenda items is welcomed.
      See kaucdp.info for more.

AFTER DARK IN THE PARK presents a program about The Last Volcano tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Thomas Jaggar traveled the world studying volcanic eruptions. In 1912, he started Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at Kilauea. A widowed schoolteacher, Isabel Maydwell, came to Hawai`i from California to restart her life. She and Dr. Jaggar fell in love and lived in a small house at the edge of Kilauea caldera. Together, they solved the mystery of why volcanoes erupt and found something else – enduring love. 
      The Last Volcano is the story of the science and romance of volcanoes and why some people choose to dedicate their lives to confronting nature in its most magnificent form. 
      Join author John Dvorak, a former staff member of HVO, for this program and book signing. 

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