Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, June 4, 2017

Mosquitoes reflect the changing world as they move territory as climate warms. After Dark in the Park
on Tuesday at Kilaeua Visitor Center presents a USGS research biologist with predictions for Hawai`i.
See story below. Photo from USGS

FOLLOWING LAST NIGHT'S TERROR ATTACK IN LONDON,  Hawai`i Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who represents Ka`u, released the following statement:

     "Today we woke up to news of another terror attack in Britain. It caps a week of tragedy around the world. A suicide bombing in Baghdad claimed the lives of at least 13 people who were breaking their fast for Ramadan. There were several bombings in Afghanistan this past week, the largest killing at least 90 people. Around the world, terror attacks are increasing, but (Pres. Donald) Trump’s response is the wrong one: launching an illegal missile attack against Syria, deploying more U.S. troops into the Middle East with ambiguous objectives, and signing a massive arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard met with Hawai`i's new VA Director, Jennifer
Gutowski, last week, and said she will work with her to increase
services to Veterans of war. Photo from Tulsi Gabbard

   "For the past 15 years, we’ve spent trillions of dollars overthrowing governments we don’t like and trying to rebuild those countries in our own image. It's all been done in the guise of 'helping people,' but it hasn't helped anyone. Our policies have killed or wounded tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers, caused millions of refugees, and squandered trillions of U.S. taxpayer dollars -- money that could have been used to rebuild our country's infrastructure and establish a health care system for all Americans. This disastrous foreign policy must end.
    "These wars have made the military-industrial complex much richer through increased defense spending, while making every day Americans poorer.
    "Political campaigns have become a multi-million dollar business for the PAC and political class in Washington who think they are the powerbrokers. But they underestimate and discount the power of our voices to make real change - the voices of real people in communities all across this country who are working hard every day, and who care deeply about our country and our democracy. This movement for peace that is fueled by aloha starts with us."

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CONGRESSWOMAN COLLEEN HANABUSA, who represents urban Hawai`i in the U.S. House of Representatives, came out with a statement today on global warming:

     "Last week it became even clearer that our environment is under serious threat. Since the beginning of his term, we've seen President (Donald) Trump's administration roll back essential environmental protections and funding for our National Park Service, openly deny climate change, and threaten our vital ecosystems. And now, President Trump has pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, leaving the U.S. out of the fight to combat global warming with other countries around the world.

      As a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Hanabusa wrote, "I have made environmental protection a top issue. I know how our beautiful environment provides a livelihood for people across our great state. I’ve fought to protect treasures such as Haleakala National Park and our abundant coral reefs, as well as supported preparedness efforts to prevent the devastation of tsunamis. The bottom line is that global warming will affect us all - and like the many foreign leaders and business executives who support the Paris Climate Accord, I am disgusted by this administration's move to pull out of the agreement."

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Volunteer Fire Department Meeting, Mon, June 5, 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033.

Ka‘ū Coffee Growers Meeting, Tue, June 6, 6 – 8 p.m., Ka`u Regional Gym activity room.

I, Mosquito: Our Changing World, Tue, June 6, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. USGS Research Biologist Dennis LaPointe, Ph.D. explains the life cycle of one of the planet’s most maligned insects. While sharing information from recent wildlife studies here in Hawai‘i and sobering projections of the future, LaPointe offers practical advice and innovative adaptive strategies for coping with a changing world. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Open Mic Night, Wed, June 7, 6 – 10 p.m., Kīlauea Military Camp’s Lava Lounge in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Call 967-8365 after 4 p.m. to sign up and for more details. Park entrance fees apply.

Ka`u News Briefs Saturday, June 3, 2017

More than 4,500 attended the ninth annual Ka`u Coffee Festival, according to organizers who are
wrapping up the three weeks of activities. Photo by Jesse Tunison/Ka`u Coffee Fest

KA`U COFFEE FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS have come up with some results of their three weeks of celebrating and promoting the local industry. The ninth annual Ka‘ū Coffee Festival drew some 4,500 people to its Ho‘olaule‘a May 27, at Pahala Community Center, making it the best year to date.                 The day saw a wide range of activities, from coffee tasting to hula to music, a $1,000 award going to Pahala resident Dennis Salmo for the Buy Local, It Matters program, and a live goat going to Reggie Hashimoto, of BEI chemicals and fertilizers. He turned the goat over to coffee farmers who killed and ate it the next day.
     Throughout the Ho`olaulea day Miss Ka`u Coffee Jami Beck and her court met with visitors and local residents to talk about Ka`u Coffee.

The Buy Local, It Matters drawing netted Pahala resident Dennis
Salmo $1,000. Photo by Jesse Tunison/Ka`u Coffee Fest

     Chief organizer Chris Manfredi said, “The 2017 Ka‘ū Coffee Festival enjoyed the highest attendance in our nine-year history with more than 4,500 attendees plus 70 vendors – an increase of more than 500 attendees and 15 vendors over 2016. He said that the Ka‘ū Coffee College, held last Sunday, “was particularly successful, with more than 50 attendees, another high water mark. There were educational discussions focused on increasing efficiencies and improving quality, and the growers really drank it up!
     “There was a discussion on breeding flat bark beetles as a biocontrol to combat coffee berry borer and another on the science behind fermentation. At the conclusion of the classroom sessions we travelled to a local farm for a live demonstration of wet-milling on Penagos wet milling equipment.”
     That farm is in Wood Valley and owned by Miles Mayne, who welcomed farmers to see its transition from McCall’s Flower Farm to Ka‘ū Coffee.

Miss Ka`u Coffee Jami Beck at the Ho`olaulea.
Photo by Jesse Tunison/Ka`u Coffee Fest

        Said Manfredi, “I am thrilled by the remarkable level of engagement and the large number of participants. And if that wasn’t enough, the Penagos representative conducted a second classroom session to demonstrate detailed set-up and maintenance of their wet mills, and three days more of visits to area farms for individual meetings to fine-tune the machines already in use in Ka‘ū.”
     Manfredi, who sells Ka‘ū Coffee to Starbucks and has been introducing Starbucks representatives to Ka`u farmers, said, “The festival has evolved to include not only a celebration of the outstanding quality of Ka‘ū coffee and the remarkable people and special place that produces it, but an open forum for learning and sharing of information. This education will have the net effect of widening the profit margins for growers, putting more money in their pockets and providing more resources for their families. We’re also seeing an increase in the number of young people getting involved, not only in the festival, but in the broader industry. This bodes very well for the sustainability and resiliency of the Ka‘ū coffee industry. I could not be more happy with the results of this festival."

Chief  Coffee Fest organizer Chris Manfredi. See his
interview at www.bigislandvideonews.com

     Brenda Iokepa Moses, of Ka‘ū Mahi, the company that owns the land where most of the Ka‘ū Coffee farmers grow their crop, organized the vendors. “What a great turnout this year to honor and celebrate our coffee farmers,” she said. “Lots of hours in preparation and volunteer work but always well worth it when you see the community come together and enjoy the day with their families.
     Ka`u Coffee Festival also provided an opportunity for nonprofit organizations to raise funds by selling food and refreshments. It was a place where artists, entertainers and crafters could extend their reach.
     Julia Neal, who organizes the entertainment with support from Olson Trust, said, “It’s amazing each year how many talented people want to support the Ka‘ū Coffee Festival by sharing their music and their dance and bringing their friends and families to the event. In the early years, they performed for an hour. Now there are so many that each group fits into only about a half hour. The entertainment begs for a second stage or a longer day to accommodate all who support the Ka‘ū Coffee farmers.”
     See more at www.kaucoffeefest.com with photos and stories and links to social media.
     Ka`u Coffee farmers meet this Tuesday to plan for next year's tenth annual Ka`u Coffee Festival.

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DD Davis with Gov. David Ige.
Photo from County Office of Aging

DORIS "DD" Davis, 85, of Pahala, flew to Honolulu and met with Gov. David Ige on Friday for the state luncheon for Outstanding Older Americans. The luncheon also celebrates the Older Americans Month of May.  The governor said he was "honored to be at such an event with outstanding Kupuna who have given so much to their communities." 

        According to the Hawai`i County Director of the Office of Aging, Kimo Alameda,  Davis accepted  her award with pride and humor, "saying that she has never won anything in her life except for dinner tickets at a restaurant which ended up closing before she could and redeem it."

     Davis has held offices with various community groups in Ka`u and is an artist and author. 

     She lives with her daughter Kerry Pitcher, son-in-law Alan Morse and grandson Kyle Pitcher in Pahala.

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Volunteer Fire Department Meeting, Mon, June 5, 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033.

Ka‘ū Coffee Growers Meeting, Tue, June 6, 6 – 8 p.m., Pāhala Community Center.

I, Mosquito: Our Changing World, Tue, June 6, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. USGS Research Biologist Dennis LaPointe, Ph.D. explains the life cycle of one of the planet’s most maligned insects. While sharing information from recent wildlife studies here in Hawai‘i and sobering projections of the future, LaPointe offers practical advice and innovative adaptive strategies for coping with our changing world. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Open Mic Night, Wed, June 7, 6 – 10 p.m., Kīlauea Military Camp’s Lava Lounge in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Call 967-8365 after 4 p.m. to sign up and for more details. Park entrance fees apply.

Ka`u News Briefs Friday, June 2, 2017

Installing a tiltmeter on top of Mauna Loa Volcano. See Volcano Watch story below. Photo from USGS

EVICTING SQUATTERS FROM BIG ISLAND HOMES  is a difficult problem. County officials and elected representatives are working on solutions, said Maurice Messina from the prosecutor's office who addressed a community meeting in Ocean View Thursday evening.
     According to the Hawai`i Landlord Tenant Code HRS 521-43 (f), any absentee landowner, an owner living off island, must designate a representative in Hawai`i County with authority to act on behalf of the owner. Without that authority, the police are powerless to evict squatters from illegally living in homes or on vacant land.
    Messina, a legal assistant at the County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, is trying to get the word out by meeting with representatives of communities around the island. He encourages absentee property owners to appoint a person of their choosing – it could be a friend or a professional – as their “On Island Representative.” If the property is then illegally occupied by trespassers (commonly called squatters), the police can act on a complaint by that representative.
    According to Messina’s records, over 250 homes have been reported as being occupied by alleged trespassers.  Most of the reporting is done by neighbors who do not have the authority to get the squatters evicted, and if the owner cannot be found, and if there is no official “On Island Representative” of record, the police cannot act.

Houses in foreclosure are susceptible to being occupied by
squatters. Photo from Wikipedia 

    Properties that are the most vulnerable to squatting, include vacation homes where the legal owners may visit their property as little as once a year, and are unaware of the situation. Also at risk are homes owned by someone who died.
     When a residence is in foreclosure, it may be years before the bank can get legal ownership of the property. At that time the foreclosed house is "in limbo" and vulnerable to squatters. If the legal owner cannot be traced and the bank is not yet the legal owner, police cannot respond to complaints by neighbors.
     Asked by The Ka’u Calendar  what happens to trespassers who can be removed from the property – either by an owner who lives on the island, or by an “On Island Representative,” or by police– Messina explained that, depending on the circumstances, the squatters can be convicted of trespassing, burglary or criminal property damage, depending on police investigation.
    “Usually the legal owner just wants the police to get them off the property,” he said, adding, “Not all squatters are drug addicts – some are homeless families. If they are evicted from one property they have to find another place to live. In theory, this creates another homeless family.
     "We are trying to find a solution and are asking any interested party to come forward with solutions - no ideas are bad ideas at this time."
       Messina said that Mayor Harry Kim and the County Council need to find a way to alleviate the squatter problem. Meanwhile, all owners of real property on the Big Island, who do not live on the Big Island, need to appoint an “On Island Representative” as a first step towards protecting themselves, and the community, from squatters, he advised. 

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Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images of Kīlauea (left) and Mauna Loa (right) spanning the past several years.  Concentric patterns of colored fringes indicate magma accumulation centered near the summit calderas of both volcanoes.  InSAR is one of several techniques used by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory to track deformation of active Hawaiian volcanoes.  Image from HAVO

TRACKING THE LATEST MOVES OF KILAUEA AND MAUNA LOA is the title of this week's Volcano Watch, written by scientists at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory:
   A diverse array of techniques is utilized to monitor volcanoes around the world, including those in Hawaiʻi. These methods include tracking changes in the chemistry and volume of gases emitted from a volcano, recording earthquake activity, measuring changes in surface temperatures, documenting variations in eruptions, and tracking deformation of the ground surface.
     Ground deformation is especially indicative of changes in the volume of magma (subsurface molten rock) within a volcano. For example, uplift of the ground surface suggests accumulation of magma in underground storage areas, while subsidence can indicate magma drainage. Rapid changes in the rate of deformation often precede or accompany new eruptive activity.

Water-tube tiltmeter "pot" installed in 1956 

in an underground vault near Kīlauea volcano 

summit. Pots are connected by tubing and 

filled with water that flows between 

pots as wall tilts. Photo from HAVO

     On the Island of Hawaiʻi, deformation is measured primarily with three techniques: tiltmeters, GPS (Global Positioning System), and InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar).
     About 20 tiltmeters are currently installed on Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. Tilt is especially helpful in tracking sudden variations in deformation, like the changes that can occur as magma begins moving toward the surface. In fact, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) has implemented automated alarms that notify HVO scientists of real-time changes in tilt that might reflect the impending onset of an eruption.
     About 70 GPS stations are spread across the Island of Hawaiʻi, but are focused on Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, currently the two most active Hawaiian volcanoes. These GPS stations continuously record motion of the ground surface in three dimensions. Precise, daily average positions of GPS sites provide an important long-term record of ground deformation that indicates the locations and conditions of magma reservoirs. Real-time GPS positioning helps track the large, rapid movements that accompany changes in eruptive activity.
     InSAR is a space-based technique that compares radar data collected from satellites at different times. Variations in the distance between the satellite and the ground are caused by surface displacements between the times of the satellite overpasses. InSAR data provide exceptionally clear “snapshots” of deformation, but only when satellites are overhead (on average, about once a week).

Bore hold tiltmeter being lowered into a hold ten feet deep.
Photo from HAVO

   Using this combination of datasets, HVO scientists have tracked inflation of both Kīlauea and Mauna Loa over the past several years.
     Mauna Loa began refilling with magma (inflating) immediately after the most recent eruption in 1984. Inflation waxed and waned over the next 30 years—the longest period between Mauna Loa eruptions in historic time. The most recent and ongoing episode of Mauna Loa inflation started in 2014. Unlike previous episodes of inflation since 1984, the current one has been accompanied by significantly increased numbers of shallow earthquakes.
     GPS and InSAR data indicate accumulation of magma in a storage system about 3 km (2 mi) beneath Mauna Loa’s summit caldera and uppermost Southwest Rift Zone (SWRZ). These are also the areas that have been the most seismically active in recent years.

A strainmeter lowered into an
underground tube  drilled
to the right depth and supported
by expansive grout and cement.
Photo form HAVO

     It’s important to note that earthquakes and inflation beneath the volcano’s uppermost SWRZ does not mean that the next Mauna Loa eruption is more likely to occur along the SWRZ. Similar patterns of seismicity prior to the 1975 and 1984 eruptions did not result in sustained activity in the SWRZ.
     Mauna Loaʻs neighbor, Kīlauea, has also been inflating in recent years. Similar to Mauna Loa, inflation of Kīlauea is mainly occurring in a magma storage system beneath the volcano’s summit caldera and upper Southwest Rift Zone. But this magma reservoir is more circular and centered beneath the south part of Kīlaueaʻs caldera. Small, cyclic variations in Kīlauea tilt that occur over a few days to a week—so-called deflation-inflation, or DI, events—are superimposed on this overall inflation and result in rather dramatic fluctuations in the summit lava lake level.
     HVO has long posted a few plots of tilt and GPS data to the World Wide Web for public viewing, but HVO’s new website includes expanded flexibility and capability for viewing deformation data. Interested users can now track changes at any of HVO’s tilt and GPS stations on the island with a few mouse clicks!

     Through the new interface, everyone can track deformation of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa as it happens and keep up to date on the latest moves of our island’s active volcanoes.
     Volcano Watch (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/) is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists.

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Pu‘u o Lokuana, Sat, June 3, 9:30 – 11 a.m., Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Learn about formation and various uses of this grassy cinder cone and enjoy a breathtaking view of lower Ka‘ū on this free, moderately difficult 0.4-mile hike to the top.

Ecstatic Dance, Sat, June 3, 2 – 4 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Jo Caron offers a dynamic way to both workout and meditate all in the same breath. $15, $20 at the door. 967-8222 .

Ham Radio Operators Potluck Picnic, Sun, June 4, Manukā Park. All American Radio Emergency Service members, anyone interested in learning how to operate a ham radio and families are invited to attend. Dennis Smith, 989-3028.

Volunteer Fire Department Meeting, Mon, June 5, 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033.

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