Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Saturday, April 9, 2016

Japanese hula sisters of Halau Hula O Leionalani, under the direction of Kumu Debbie Ryder, planted trees at Makanau during Merrie Monarch Festival Week. See more below. Photo from Debbie Ryder

KILAUEA’S SUMMIT LAVA LAKE LEVEL yesterday rose slightly after a four-day deflationary period that dropped the level to about 190 feet below the floor of the caldera, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists reported. Summit tiltmeters recorded an inflationary trend starting at about 7 p.m.

An HVO geologist uses a laser rangefinder to measure depth of the lava
lake in the Overlook crater at Kilauea's summit. Photo from USGS/HVO

      During the deflation, seismic activity across the volcano did not change significantly, with fluctuations in summit tremor amplitudes related to spattering along edges of the lava lake as rocks broke loose and fell into the lake.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

MAKANAU AND PUNALU`U FISHPOND RESTORATION are among projects proposed by the Uhane Pohaku Na Moku O Hawai`i nonprofit led by Kawehi and Debbie Ryder. The group has applied for county grants “to help restore and preserve the Punalu`u ahupua`a,” makai and mauka.
      “Our project will work with at-risk youth, ages 10-21, islandwide,” Uhane’s grant application states. Makai, the project includes “clearing vegetation growing over Ninoole and Hilo`e fishponds” and replacing them with coastal plants, according to the application. Future plans include a boardwalk around the ponds and using them for aquaculture education and farming, says the proposal.

      Uhane’s mauka project is restoration of Makanau, which the group describes as being “rich in biological and cultural diversity.” The application states that the group wants to “teach the youth of its Hawaiian traditions so that the Hawaiian culture can continue to thrive in today’s youth, our next generation, so that they can continue to pass on the traditions of old.”

The heiau at Makanau is cared for by Demetrius Oliveira, of Pahala,
 under an agreement with Olson. Photo from Debbie Ryder

      Uhane requested $57,199 from the county for the projects, and County Council’s Human Services & Social Services Committee recommended $7,000. Other possible funding sources listed for the project are $346,994 for a state grant-in-aid and $75,000 from the state Office of Youth Services.

      Uhane’s projects will be managed by new Executive Director Kawehi Ryder, said Debbie Ryder. She explained that former Uhane director Steven Pavao and former project contact person Roxanne Costa are no longer with Uhane. They were working with a Safe House for girls that was established by Uhane on `Ohi`a Street in Pahala, but the program has ended, Debbie Ryder explained. Now called Hale `Ohi`a, the former safe house will be use for other community and youth programs, she said.
      She noted that Uhane recently hosted Family Court Judge Henry T. Nakamoto for a site visit to the farm that the organization is caring for in Wood Valley. She said that Uhane is applying to help youth through offering community service at the farm and other Uhane sites.
      Regarding Makanau, she said that Uhane sends a “big mahalo a nui loa to Mr. Ed Olson for the right of entry access to Makanau for the Ka`u Community doing restoration work up at the Mauna.” The organization recently hosted Japanese hula sisters with Halau Hula O Leionalani, under the direction of Kumu Debbie Ryder, at Makanau during the Merrie Monarch Festival. Uhane has also been helping Demetrius Oliveira, of Pahala, with caring for the heiau under an arrangement between Edmund C. Olson and Oliveira.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Stargazers atop Makanau enjoy Ka`u's dark skies.
Photo from Ka`u Coffee Festival 

VISITATION TO MAKANAU is allowed by appointment only. The Edmund C. Olson Trust allows community organizations to visit Makanau through requests, with consideration of the family ranching in the area and events and projects planned for the mountain. The schedule over the next two months includes a group from Kamehameha Schools and a stargazing event during the Ka`u Coffee Festival on Friday, May 20. Community groups wishing to schedule access to Makanau can call Olson Trust land manager John Cross at 987-4229.

      For the stargazing event, participants will meet at Ka`u Coffee Mill and travel together to Makanau, where they discover Ka`u’s dark skies. Cross and others will speak of the history of lands below and the significance of Makanau and the night skies. To sign up, call 928-0550.

      For more, see kaucoffeefest.com and kaucoffeemill.com.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

AS MAUNA LOA SHOWS SIGNS OF UNREST, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists discuss its spectacular 1950 eruption in the current issue of Volcano Watch.
      “In March 1950, Mauna Loa inflation was so significant that tilt was recorded at the summit of Kilauea. Two months later, continuing deformation was accompanied by a sharp increase in small earthquakes, signaling the increased probability of an eruption.
      “On May 29, an island-shaking magnitude-6.4 earthquake occurred beneath Mauna Loa's west flank. Sixty-four hours later, at 9:04 p.m., HST, on June 1, the eruption began, with fissures opening at the summit and uppermost Southwest Rift Zone of the volcano.
      “The fissure eruptions quickly spread down rift—from 3,845 to 3,350 meters (12,600 to 11,000 feet) elevation—sending floods of lava to the west and southeast. Volcanic gas emissions fed a mushroom-shaped cloud up to 3,050 m (10,000 ft) high above the volcano's summit.

      “By 10:30 p.m., the Southwest Rift Zone had ‘unzipped’ down to an elevation of 2,380 m (7800 ft), unleashing an 18-km- (11-mi-) long trail of spectacular lava fountains that fed several large-volume, fast-moving lava flows. These flows reached the south Kona coast in about three hours, endangering lives, destroying property and severing the main highway and telephone lines along the way.

During Mauna Loa's 1950 eruption, three large, fast-moving lava flows
flows advanced down its west flank and crossed Hwy 11 before reaching
the ocean. USGS/HVO from Air National Guard

      “The eruption lasted 23 days and produced 376 million cubic meters (491 million cubic yards) of lava, with over 90 percent of that volume issued during the first six days of the eruption. With an eruption rate 200 times greater than that of Kilauea's current eruption, the 1950 Mauna Loa eruption produced more lava in six days than Pu`u `O`o typically erupts in over four years! 

“Field observations and geologic sampling of lava from the entire extent of the 1950 fissures document changes in the lava chemistry and mineralogy over space and time during this phenomenal event. 

      “At elevations above 3,350 m (11,000 ft), the earliest 1950 fissures erupted comparatively low-temperature magma, cooled and partly crystallized within a shallow summit reservoir that presumably also fed earlier eruptions.

      “As the 1950 eruption progressed, lower elevation fissures erupted increasing volumes of hotter and more ‘primitive’ magma with an abundance of minerals formed at high pressures and temperatures. These minerals crystallized from their host magma within the mantle (around 18 km, or 11 mi, deep) or were incorporated as magma rose through deep roots of the massive volcano—a sign that magma ascended quickly from great depths. 

      “Chemical zonation patterns of individual mineral crystals in the 1950 lava provide clues about the earliest stages of magmatic activity beneath the volcano. Crystals erupted from lower elevations indicate that magma began to ascend within the upper mantle up to 8 months before the eruption, and that the rate and amount of magma transport was increasing in the weeks prior to the eruption.
“Laboratory experiments were performed to test how long minerals formed at high pressures in the mantle could survive low pressures at shallow depths within Mauna Loa's magma chamber. Results show that some crystals erupted below 3,350 m (11,000 ft) could not have survived longer than a day in the shallow edifice—further testament to the unusually rapid ascent of magma immediately before the eruption began.
      “During the 1950 Mauna Loa eruption, huge volumes of magma were transported rapidly from great depths with little warning of just how furious the eruption would be. Our findings suggest that key indicators of another such remarkable eruption might occur just hours before magma reaches the surface.”

Register for KRHCAI's membership meeting and conference by tomorrow.

      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov.volcanowatch.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

TOMORROW IS THE DEADLINE to register for Ka`u Rural Health Community Association’s 19th annual Membership Meeting & Conference. This year’s theme is Rural Health at Work in Our Communities. The event takes place Friday, April 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Pahala Community Center.
      Register at 928-0101.

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

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_April_2016.pdf.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Friday, April 8, 2016

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park invites Ka`u residents and visitors to explore the park's wonders
for free during National Park Week, April 16 - 24. NPS Photo by Michael Szoenyi

GOV. DAVID IGE EMPHASIZED critical balance of species and people at a workshop yesterday. Ige kicked off the final two-day workshop of the Western Governors’ Species Conservation and Endangered Species Act Initiative by emphasizing the importance of preserving the state’s array of species while also supporting the people who live on the islands.

      “It will take a great effort to balance the needs of the species here with the needs of Hawai`i’s human inhabitants,” Ige said.

Gov. David Ige hosts a Western Governors Association workshop.
Photo from WGA

      “Hawai`i has been called the endangered species capitol of the world. A number of these species exist nowhere else. Since the arrival of humans in these islands, we’ve lost dozens of endemic species. Today, we have more endangered species than any other state. Of all the plants and birds known to be extinct in the nation, two-thirds are from Hawai`i.”

      Ige listed mammals on the Endangered Species List, including the Hawaiian monk seal, whose population is currently only about 1,100 and decreasing approximately four percent per year. Other mammals on the list include the humpback whale and the Hawaiian hoary bat. Along with mammals, many species of birds, several reptiles like the honu, snails and a wide variety of plants are also on the list.

Gov. Ige pointed to an `alala recovery program as a bright spot
in reversing loss of species. Photo from San Diego Zoo
program at Volcano

      “There are some bright spots,” in reversing loss of species, Ige said. He pointed to San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research biologists, with support from our Department of Land and Natural Resources, successfully hatching and raising 11 Hawaiian crow chicks, or `alala, bringing the population to 77, a significant increase from as few as 20 birds in 1994.

      Ige detailed the state’s process for implementing habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements and incidental take licenses as recovery options for conserving and protecting the state’s threatened and endangered species. Participants are currently providing funding for a multitude of successful conservation projects throughout the state. This includes seabird colony protection through innovative fencing and predator control programs, waterbird protection through wetland restoration initiatives, forest restoration projects that enhance habitat of the Hawaiian Hoary Bat, native owl research and rehabilitation, and reestablishment of rare plant populations.
      “These efforts are invaluable in the process of recovering the state’s endangered species, and they allow the continued operation of renewable energy enterprises,” Ige said. “It will take a continued, concerted effort to balance the needs of the native plant and wildlife species in our islands with the needs of Hawai`i’s human inhabitants. In moving forward, we take direction from the Native Hawaiians who were the first stewards of these islands – from the mountains to the sea.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB has applied for county funding of its Pahala and Ocean View Out-of-School Fitness for Life program. The Pahala program requested $40,000, and the Ocean View program, $20,000. Hawai`i County Council’s Human Services & Social Services Committee recommended $8,750 and $7,500, respectively.

      The club, which implements the program at locations islandwide, describes it as a healthy lifestyle initiative that instills physical activity habits to prevent obesity and its many associated chronic illnesses. Its goals for participating youth are to increasing daily physical activity, improve attitudes toward physical activity and improve knowledge of health benefits of the program, which focuses on daily moderate to vigorous physical activity. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention have identified the program as a model for obesity prevention.
      These and other grant applications will be considered at the committee’s Tuesday, April 19 meeting.
      See future Ka`u News Briefs for more on grant applications from other Ka`u nonprofits.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz

U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ yesterday cosponsored a bill to require the Federal Aviation Administration to collaborate with experts and consumer advocates to mandate minimum seat size standards consistent with airline passengers’ health and safety needs. The bill would direct the FAA to set standards for minimum seat width, legroom, padding and aisle width on all commercial passenger planes.

      “In Hawai`i, air travel is central to our visitor industry, and residents depend on it for work, health care and to visit family,” Schatz said. “Passengers in Hawai`i and across the country are tired of getting less and less space for their hard-earned money. It is time to have the FAA step in to say enough is enough.”

      The legislation comes after Hawai`i State Senate passed a resolution, SR121, that urges the federal Secretary of Transportation to set minimum sizes for airplane seats.
      Currently, there are no federal standards on width of airline seats or on legroom length. Since 1978, legroom decreased from 35 inches to about 31 inches. Similarly, the average seat width on airlines has dropped from 18.5 inches in the 1990s to approximately 17 today.
      Opponents of the legislation argue that airlines should be unrestricted in the way seats are configured in a plane’s cabin. Even after enactment of this legislation, airlines will largely retain the ability to provide varying seat sizes depending on a customer’s preference to pay for more comfortable seating, Schatz said. The issue being addressed in this bill is establishment of a reasonable standard that provides for safety and a minimum level of comfort for passengers.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

OCEAN VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER holds its monthly Pancake Breakfast tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Call 939-7033 for more information.

Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park explore Sulphur Banks
and `Iliahi Trails Sunday. Photo from FHVNP

FRIENDS OF HAWAI`I VOLCANOES National Park explore Sulphur Banks and `Iliahi Trail Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Starting at Kilauea Visitor Center, the trail passes Sulphur Banks, crosses Crater Rim Drive and then hooks up to `Iliahi Trail. This easy walk is mostly on flat and level ground.

      Free for Friends members; non-members can join in order to attend.
      Registration required at admin@fhvnp.org or 985-7373.

CELEBRATE THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE’S 100th anniversary and the centennial of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park during National Park Week, April 16-24. Entrance fees will be waived nine full days, and a National Park Rx Day will be held on Sunday, April 24.

Hiking on the coast is one of many activities available at Hawai`i
Volcanoes National Park, which waives entry fees April 16 - 24.
NPS Photo by Jacob W. Frank

      “There’s no better way to celebrate the centennial anniversaries of both Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and the National Park Service than by inviting our community and visitors to enjoy the park at no charge,” Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando said. “Your park `ohana welcomes you to join us for a special program, reconnect with your favorite trail or stay after dark to admire the splendor of glowing lava within Halema`uma`u Crater.”
      For Junior Ranger Day on Saturday, April 16, keiki 17 and younger are invited to join park rangers in Kahuku for a fun day of discovery from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participants hike the historic lower Palm Trail and learn to make traditional string figures called hei. Call 985-6019 to register. The event is limited to 25 participants.
      On Wednesday, April 20, kupuna hula group Haunani’s Aloha Expressions performs for free at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
      On the last day of National Park Week, Sunday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the park hosts a National Park Rx Day, a community health initiative to prescribe time in parks to promote wellness. Participants join park rangers and Dr. Craig Kadooka on an easy one-mile roundtrip hike of upper `Iliahi Trail. Meet at Kilauea Visitor Center lanai at 10 a.m. The first 200 walkers receive a reusable water bottle and fresh fruit. Hawaiian practitioners Edna and Sam Baldado demonstrate the heath benefits of kalo, and Ka`ohu Monfort shares how Hawaiians use plants to heal and cure. HMSA will also provide a table with health information.

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

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_April_2016.pdf.

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html.

Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Thursday, April 7, 2016

`O Ka`u Kakou has applied for county grants to help fund its annual Keiki Fishing Tournament at Punalu`u and other events. See more below. Photo by Peter Anderson

LEGISLATION LIMITING SOLAR PROJECTS in subdivisions on land zoned for agriculture passed the state Senate Ways & Means Committee this morning. The committee approved Ka`u Rep. Richard Creagan’s House Bill 2636, which would amend a law allowing solar on ag land to require special permit approval when a project’s solar energy production would total more that 25 kilowatts. 

      Creagan introduced the bill in response to a proposed project in Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos that would place 30,000 solar panels on 26 lots scattered throughout the neighborhood. Creagan had referred to the Ranchos solar project as an “unintended consequence” of current law, which was intended to provide farmers and ranchers with an additional revenue stream.
      If both chambers pass the bill upon final reading, it will go to Gov. David Ige. According to Creagan, the governor strongly supports the legislation and “actually suggested that it be done.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Rat lungworm disease was the topic of Sen. Russell Ruderman's
meeting with researchers and other Hawai`i Island legislators.
Photo from Office of Sen. Ruderman

BILLS CALLING FOR FUNDING to research rat lungworm disease have died at the state Legislature.

      Although Ka`u’s Sen. Ruderman’s Senate Bill 2516 passed Committees on Water, Land & Agriculture and Consumer Protection & Health unamended, it did not receive a hearing before the Ways & Means Committee and died. The bill called for $1 million to go to University of Hawai`i at Hilo, the state Department of Health and the state Department of Land & Natural Resources for programs, studies and activities related to prevention and eradication of the disease.
      According to the bill, DOH reported over seventy cases of rat lungworm disease on Hawai`i Island from 2001 to 2014, and there were many more cases in 2015, including at least two on Maui. The disease has claimed lives and caused crippling chronic disability. The cost to treat one severe case can exceed $1 million.
      A companion House bill, HB 2223, introduced by Ka`u’s state Rep. Richard Creagan and other Hawai`i Island legislators, also died without being heard by assigned committees.
      Ruderman yesterday hosted a meeting of the Big Island delegation and invited Dr. Susan Jarvi of UH Hilo Pharmacy School to speak about the current status of the disease.
      “Hawai`i is the epicenter of this disease, and Dr. Jarvi has been conducting amazing research with very limited funding to raise our knowledge and awareness,” Ruderman said. “I am hopeful we can secure funding at the state level to address this disease, which has caused devastating long-term disability and even death.

      “Thank you Dr. Jarvi for all you do, and mahalo to Dr. Nerurkar, Dr. Yanagihara, Dr. Kramer and Dr. Gosnell from UH-Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine for joining the discussion and sharing your expertise.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

OKK's annual Keiki Fishing Tournament is a huge volunteer effort,
with more than 125 people donating 1,000 hours this year to make
it a success. Photo by Peter Anderson

`O KA`U KAKOU’S annual Keiki Fishing Tournament at Punalu`u is one event for which the nonprofit applied for funding through Hawai`i County. The group applied for a $5,000 grant to fund operations and supplies, which includes 1,300 breakfasts and lunches. In 2016, 125 people put in 1,000 volunteer-hours to make the event a success. The County Council’s Human Resources & Social Services Committee recommended funding of $2,125 for the event, which OKK described in its application as promoting “a healthy love for the art of shoreline fishing by providing an opportunity for family participation in a supervised fishing tournament.”

      OKK also applied for $7,000 for its annual Family Fun Fest, and the committee recommended $3,000 in grant funding. The annual event, held in conjunction with Na`alehu’s Fourth of July Parade, “provides fun, healthy activities for people of ages,” OKK’s grant application states. Last year, 60 volunteers gave 10 hours each to put on the event.

      Funds for the effort would go toward operations, supplies and equipment. On its application, OKK states that it expects to serve 550 hot dogs, 850 shave ices and 150 adult lunches. It also expects 90 bingo participants and to serve 150 adult lunches to them and the volunteers.
      “Any help we get from the county helps us give more to the community projects that we do not ask the county to help us with,” OKK’s application states.

      These and other grant applications will be considered at the committee’s meeting on Tuesday, April 19.
      See future Ka`u Calendar News Briefs for more on grant applications from other Ka`u nonprofits.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Chief Ranger John Broward
Photo from NPS

A MAN FROM HOLLAND who was missing overnight from Kulanaokuaiki Campground in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on Tuesday, April 5 has been located.
      Gerrit Voortis, 63, and his wife were camping at Kulanaokuaiki, a campground located off Hilina Pali Road Tuesday afternoon. Voortis left his wife to go on a short hike by himself and did not take water, a phone or a backpack with him. Park dispatch was notified by another concerned camper when he failed to return later that afternoon. Neither a County of Hawai`i helicopter pilot nor the park’s search-and-rescue team could locate him by nightfall. The SAR team continued to search for him on the ground until 10 p.m.
      Around 6:30 a.m. yesterday, the park’s contracted helicopter pilot spotted a glow from a small fire and located the man northeast of the campground. The pilot landed, and search-and-rescue rangers treated him for dehydration. Voortis was in good condition, but was cold, hungry and very thirsty. The small fire he built for warmth the night before was extinguished by park rangers.
      Voortis and his wife were reunited at the park’s Visitor Emergency Operations Center Wednesday morning, and both expressed gratitude for the efforts made in his rescue.
      “It’s extremely important to be prepared when going on any hike, whether it’s a short walk or an extended trek into the backcountry,” said Chief Ranger John Broward. “Plan ahead, research the area, and always have plenty of water.”

      A detailed checklist of safety tips is provided at nps.gov/havo.

      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

A large part of the Overlook crater's inner edge fell into the lava
lake overnight, enlarging the crater's circumference.
Image from USGS/HVO

HALEMA`UMA`U'S OVERLOOK CRATER enlarged overnight. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory announced that a large part of the inner ledge in the crater fell into the lake at about 1:47 a.m.

      While the crater circumference increased, the lake’s level dropped. Yesterday morning, the lake level was about 65 feet lower than it was on April 4. By this morning, the lake level had dropped an additional 31 feet to about 170 feet below the crater floor, the deepest it has been measured since Dec. 30, 2015.
      See hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

FORMER PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION Chair Mina Morita expressed her support for the $4.3 billion NextEra/Hawaiian Electric merger on her blog at minamoritaenergydynamics.com. Governor David Ige and several state agencies have rejected the deal as it currently stands, claiming that it is not in the best interest of Hawai`i residents.

Mina Morita

      “NextEra is recognized as a top performing utility and company nationally,” Morita said. “There is little doubt about NextEra being financially and technically fit, willing and able, the typical standard in judging the capabilities of a entity to acquire a public utility. Other than this question of ‘fitness,’ the larger issue is whether the approval can be conditioned to satisfy a broader concern of the regulator to address public interest as defined by the regulator.

      “It is a failure on the part of the state parties, possibly at the governor’s directive, that the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Office of State Planning and the Consumer Advocate have not made an attempt to negotiate a settlement to condition an approval.
      “We need to put into perspective the state of Hawai`i’s responsibilities in this very important transaction between two private entities. The aforementioned state agencies are responsible for our state’s business climate. The state has the ability and duty to regulate and govern the environment NextEra functions in to align its business with the public interest. However, it appears that this isn’t a question of ‘fitness’ anymore. It has become an issue of an intransigent administration refusing to negotiate a possible settlement by its agencies to bring to the regulator, possibly in an attempt to stymie a business transaction between private companies at any cost, including the already damaged business climate in Hawai`i. Unfortunately, it’s more indicative of the state lacking confidence in its ability to regulate when it has the authority and power to do so.”
      To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar.

Jeff Peterson returns to Ka`u.
Photo by Kim Taylor Reece

JEFF PETERSON presents two programs at Ka`u libraries. Programs celebrating National Library week are tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Na`alehu Public Library and Tuesday, April 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Pahala Public & School Library.

      The 45-minute programs are suitable for all ages. Young children must be accompanied by a parent or adult caregiver.
      For more information, call 939-2442 or 933-8888.

RANDY LEE SHARES THE ART of lei making tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Lee uses a variety of natural materials to fashion lei from the freshest fern, leaves and flowers that he personally gathers from the rain forests of Pana`ewa.
      See volcanoartcenter.org.

THE THIRD ANNUAL WALK YOUR TALK hog hunting tournament is coming up on Saturday, April 16. According to organizers, the tournament is provided to hunters “to prove to everyone that you, your team and your dogs are worthy of being a top contender in the hog hunting industry.”

      Hunting begins at 6 a.m., with weigh-in behind Ilima Street in Pahala from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
      Trophies go to first, second and third places in categories of biggest boar, biggest sow and longest tusk, as well as heaviest overall.

      Applications and entry fees of $50 are due by Friday, April 15.
      For more information, call 646-1316.

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

See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html.

See kaucalendar.com/KauCalendar_April_2016.pdf.