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Ramses, Kiaʻi, David, and Ocean from Tūtū & Me enjoyed the
Christmas decorations in front of Kaʻū Hospital.
See what is being offered by the program, below. Photo from Tūtu & Me |
SETTING AN EXAMPLE FOR THIS ISLAND AND ALL OF HAWAIʻI, Kauaʻi reached a milestone with 11 days in the past month month supplying the island's energy needs using only renewable energy.
KIUC claims that for five hours last Tuesday, all electricity on Kauaʻi was generated by renewable resources. The community owned electrical cooperative provides power to a population of about 100,000,
including visitors.
KIUC is a not-for-profit generation, transmission, and
distribution cooperative owned by the members it serves. Headquartered in
Lihuʻe, the cooperative serves 33,000 electrical accounts on the island
of Kauaʻi
For the past two years, KIUC says, it has routinely achieved
90 percent or more renewable generation during the middle of the day on sunny days.
Noting this important milestone, energy guru Henry Curtis
wrote: "The Big Island
"Even with the loss of Puna Geothermal Ventures, the Big
Island
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| Fields of solar panels. |
Under development is 60 MW of solar and 38 MW of
geothermal. The solar power will come from two projects, Hale
Kuawehi and Waikaloa. Hale Kuawehi will be located on 300 acres on Parker
Ranch near Waimea. The Waikaloa facility
will be built near the village of Waikaloa
Curtis pointed out that power from the Hū Honua project,
which faces some opposition, would be sold to ratepayers
for 22 cents per kilowatt hour, while the Waikaloa and Hale Kuawehi systems would supply power
for either 8c or 9c per kWh. The industrial Ocean View solar project in Kaʻū, if
allowed to go forward, would charge Big
Island
Last month on Kauaʻi, the energy cooperative took steps toward full deployment of renewables by investing in utility-scale battery storage systems at both its Tesla solar facility in Kapaia and AES Distributed Energy facility in Lawaʻi. The storage systems contributed significantly to grid stability, according to the KIUC press release.
Last month on Kauaʻi, the energy cooperative took steps toward full deployment of renewables by investing in utility-scale battery storage systems at both its Tesla solar facility in Kapaia and AES Distributed Energy facility in Lawaʻi. The storage systems contributed significantly to grid stability, according to the KIUC press release.
Both facilities on Kaua ʻi can
simultaneously feed solar power to the grid and the batteries for storage and
use after sunset. The Lawaʻi facility can provide up to 20 MW of
direct-to-grid power during the day, and 100 MW after sunset.
KIUC media contact Beth Tokioka told The Kaʻū Calendar
that last year the co-op was able to save $700,000 by using solar instead of
burning diesel oil, a reduction of 7 percent on the island's annual energy
bill.
"The price of diesel is volatile - at the moment it is 15c
per kWh and climbing, while solar is about 12c per kWh and dropping," she
said. "We estimate that the average user saved about $180 last year. Our operations personnel needed ample time
to put all the necessary pieces into place before pushing the envelope to 100 percent renewable. Now we're doing it routinely."
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Tūtū & Me families (David, Ramses, Kiaʻi, and caregivers)
singing
Christmas carols for Kaʻū Hospital residents. Photo from Tūtu & Me
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TŪTŪ & ME TRAVELING PRESCHOOL, part of the community for
many years, is ramping up its services in Pāhala. The free community service,
organized by Partners in Development, is in the process of developing a Home
Visiting program in Pāhala. Tūtū & Me staff will be able to bring activities
for keiki and resources for caregivers right into the home. Tūtū & Me is accepting
enrollment applications for the new program.
Applications are
also open for the preschool site in Waiʻōhinu. Call the office at
808-929-8571 for more information on the programs.
The Tūtū & Me
staff members are seek ways to serve the community and participate in
professional development. They volunteer at Pāhala
Elementary School Kahuku
Park
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Tūtū & Me keiki (Kiaʻi, David, Ramses, Dillon, Ocean, and
outside Kaʻū Hospital waiting to sing. Photo from Tūtu & Me
|
Recently, the Tūtū
& Me families and staff participated in holiday events in the community. On Dec. 18, a group of keiki, caregivers, and staff visited Kaʻū Hospital to sing for the residents. Said Buck, "The children had a wonderful time spreading Christmas cheer. Mahalo, Kaʻū Hospital, for allowing us to spend the morning with you."
Tūtū & Me Traveling Preschool has been a part of the Kaʻū community for many years. Children from birth to five, accompanied by an adult caregiver, can attend the preschool from 8:45-10:45 am on Mondays and Wednesdays at Kauahaʻao Church in Waiʻōhinu. Each month's activities are based on a theme, such as My Community, Healthy Living, Insects, or Ocean Animals. Keiki interact with each other and their caregivers as they participate in nearly 20 different centers. Each month a huakaʻi, field trip, is planned, and Tūtū and Me families gather together to experience the resources in the nearby communities. Special guests, Nurse Becky and Auntie Barbara, from Something Good In the World, visit monthly.
Tūtū & Me Traveling Preschool has been a part of the Kaʻū community for many years. Children from birth to five, accompanied by an adult caregiver, can attend the preschool from 8:45-10:45 am on Mondays and Wednesdays at Kauahaʻao Church in Waiʻōhinu. Each month's activities are based on a theme, such as My Community, Healthy Living, Insects, or Ocean Animals. Keiki interact with each other and their caregivers as they participate in nearly 20 different centers. Each month a huakaʻi, field trip, is planned, and Tūtū and Me families gather together to experience the resources in the nearby communities. Special guests, Nurse Becky and Auntie Barbara, from Something Good In the World, visit monthly.
 |
| Tūtū & Me staff – Melody Espejo, Stacy Davis,
Michelle Buck, and Jenny Doi – experience a cultural professional development opportunity at |
Said Buck, "The
Tūtū & Me staff enjoy planning and preparing activities, providing resources
to families, collaborating with other local partners, and serving this
beautiful community. Thank you for supporting us through the years. It is
an honor to educate the young children of Kaʻū."
AN EXTENSION FOR COMMENTS ON U.S. DOMESTIC HEMP PRODUCTION PROGRAM interim final rule allows input to be sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture until Wednesday, Jan. 29. Comments received by that date will be considered before a final rule is issued.
USDA published the interim final rule on Oct. 31, under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the 2018 Farm Bill. The rule outlines provisions for USDA to approve plans submitted by states and Indian tribes for the domestic production of hemp. It also establishes a federal plan for producers in states or territories of Indian tribes that do not have their own USDA-approved plan. The program includes provisions for maintaining information on the land where hemp is produced, testing the levels of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, disposing of plants not meeting necessary requirements, licensing requirements, and ensuring compliance with the requirements of the new part.
HAWAIʻI FIRE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES that fireworks permits will be available for purchase beginning Thursday, Dec. 26 and ending at midnight on New Year's Eve at the following locations for the upcoming New Year's celebration:
Fire Administration Office located at the Hilo County Building 25 Aupuni Street ,
Kona Fire Prevention Office, located at the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center, 74-5044
Dec. 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. Call 808-323-4760 to make appointment.
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Many fire works display will send lights, smoke, booms and bangs into
the air across Kaʻū on New Years Eve. Photo by Michael Worthington
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J. Hara Store, 17-343 Volcano Hwy , Kurtistown
BJ Alan Tent, 325 E. Maka‘ala St. , Hilo
BJ Alan Tent, 111 E. Puainako St. , Hilo
Long's Puainako, 111 E. Puainako St. , Hilo
TNT Tent, 381 E. Maka‘ala St. , Hilo
KTA Puainako, 50 E. Puainako Street , Hilo
KTA Kona; Kona Coast Shopping Center, 74-5594 Palani Rd. , Kona
Pacific Fireworks, 74-5629 Kuakini Hwy, Suite 155 , Kona
BJ Alan Tent Kona, 74-5454 Makala Blvd. , Kona
Each permit costs $25 and will entitle the holder to purchase 5,000 individual firecrackers. Multiple permit purchases are authorized. Permits shall only be issued to persons 18 years of age or older and are non-transferable and non-refundable. Permits are not required for purchasing novelties and paperless firecrackers. Setting off of fireworks are allowed between the hours of 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 1 a.m. on New Year's Day. Permits shall be visibly displayed at the site of use during the time of the firing.
For more information on purchasing fireworks permits or use of fireworks, call the Fire Prevention Bureau at 932-2912 inHilo or 323-4760 in Kona.
For more information on purchasing fireworks permits or use of fireworks, call the Fire Prevention Bureau at 932-2912 in
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MEASURING A VOLCANO'S SHAPE WITH GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE
SYSTEMS is the subject of this week's Volcano Watch, by U.S. Geological
Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicist Sarah Conway:
An important point:
measuring the volcano's shape with high precision GNSS.
When you think of
GPS, what typically comes to mind? Your phone, the navigation in your car, or
maybe your watch? The Global Positioning System is a U.S.
satellite-navigation system originally designed for military use, but now an
extremely popular and widely used technology.
In addition to
the U.S.
constellation, there are three other GNSS: GLONASS (Russia ),
Galileo (European), and BeiDou (China ). New
GNSS receivers can simultaneously track multiple constellations of satellites –
for example eight GPS satellites, three GLONASS, and two Galileo – that provide
improved accuracy.
HVO operates a
67-station GNSS network spread out across the island but concentrated near
persistent deforming features like rift zones. These high-precision GNSS
stations give scientists a 24/7 record, called a time-series, of the precise
position of the antenna every second through time.
How does this work? GNSS satellites send out
radio waves that travel at the speed of light and transmit information about
the exact position of the satellite and the current time. The antenna on the
ground listens to the radio signals from multiple satellites and passes them to
the receiver which calculates the exact location using a process called
trilateration.
Handheld GPS like
that in your phone can determine your position within a few meters or yards,
but high-precision GNSS equipment and analysis can determine a location down to
a fraction of an inch.
Currently, the
American GPS constellation has 33 operational satellites orbiting at an altitude
of 20,000 km (12,500 mi). To accurately pinpoint the location of a
high-precision GNSS station, the receiver must "lock-on" or
continuously receive data for six hours as satellites arc across the horizon in
view of the station. Only four satellites are needed to calculate a 3-D
location, but typically a GNSS receiver will track 8 or more to calculate a
more precise position.
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| GPS unit. USGS HVO photo |
To get a more
complete view of the deforming volcano, HVO also conducts yearly campaign
surveys on Mauna Loa and Kīlauea .
During these surveys, HVO staff place temporary GPS receivers and antennas on
benchmarks and leave the equipment in place for a couple of days at each site.
Benchmarks are permanent brass disks that have been drilled into the ground.
The benchmark typically has a cross inside a triangle that serves as a reference
point for centering of the antenna.
During each
survey, we return to these benchmarks to collect data and determine how the
point has moved. Data collected allow us to calculate both a horizontal and
vertical location, similar to latitude, longitude, and altitude and thus to
evaluate the change from prior surveys.
Campaign GPS
surveys have been conducted on both Mauna Loa and Kīlauea
since the mid-1990s providing extraordinary time-series records of volcano
deformation. Along with Mauna Loa and Kīlauea ,
Hualālai and Haleakalā volcanoes are surveyed periodically – approximately
every three to five years – as part of our volcano monitoring program. This
past October, HVO surveyed the western flank of Mauna Loa
to add to the picture of volcano deformation provided by the continuous
network.
Measuring the
changing shape of the volcano helps us refine models of what is happening
beneath the surface, for example, the inflation of a magma reservoir. A
combination of improved technology and new data processing techniques is providing
our best data yet in the history of satellite-based geodesy at HVO.
Volcano
Activity Update
Kīlauea Volcano
is not erupting and its USGS Volcano Alert level remains at NORMAL .
Kīlauea monitoring data continue to show steady rates of
seismicity and ground deformation, low rates of sulfur dioxide emissions, and
only minor geologic changes since the end of eruptive activity in September
2018. Rates of seismicity have been relatively consistent, although at the
summit, episodic increased rates appear to be coincident with the inflated
phase of the DI events. Sulfur dioxide emission rates are low at the summit and
are below detection limits at Puʻu ʻŌʻō and the lower East Rift Zone. The pond
at the bottom of Halemaʻumaʻu, which began forming on July 25 continues to
slowly expand and deepen.
This past week,
about 53 small-magnitude earthquakes (nearly all smaller than M2.0) were
detected beneath the upper elevations of Mauna Loa . Most
of the earthquakes occurred at shallow depths of less than 6 km (~4 miles)
below sea level. Deformation measurements show continued summit inflation.
Fumarole temperature and gas concentrations on the Southwest Rift Zone remain
stable.
HVO continues to
closely monitor both Kīlauea and Mauna Loa
for any signs of increased activity.
Visit volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo
for past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea and Mauna
Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake info, and
more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.
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See monthly and weekly Kaʻū and Volcano Events, Meetings, Entertainment, Exercise, and Meditation at kaucalendar.com.
Girls Basketball
Swimming
UPCOMING
THURSDAY, DEC. 26
Ocean View Skatepark Design Workshop, Saturday, Dec. 28, 3-5 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center. Help create a design plan and drawings of skatepark features to present to County Council. Organized by Kalanihale 501- 3c NPO. Public welcome. Kaimi Kaupiko, 808-937-1310
SUNDAY, DEC. 29
Vote for the Best Cottage Decorations at Kīlauea Military Camp through Tuesday, Jan. 1. The public is invited to stroll along the sidewalks around the KMC Cottages where the staff has entered a contest for best Christmas decorations. The outdoor displays are best seen at night. KMC is located within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
The KMC New Year's Eve Party on Tuesday, Dec. 31 from 8 p.m. at the Lava Lounge will have live music from Blue Tattoo. The $10 cover charge includes a champagne toast at midnight . Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.
Tūtū & Me Home Visiting Program is a free service to Pāhala families with keiki, birth to five years old. This caregiver support program offers those taking care of young keiki "a compassionate listening ear, helpful parenting tips and strategies, fun and exciting activities, and wonderful educational resources" from Tūtū & Me Traveling Preschool. Home visits are one hour in length, two to four times per month, for 12 to 15 visits. Snacks are provided. See pidfoundation.org or call 808-938-1088.
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See public Kaʻū events, meetings, entertainment.
Print edition of The Kaʻū Calendar is free to 5,500 mailboxes
throughout Kaʻū, from Miloliʻi through Volcano, and free on
stands throughout the district. Read online at kaucalendar.com
|
2019-2020 Kaʻū Winter Sports Schedule
Girls Basketball
Tue., Jan. 7 @Kohala
Fri., Jan. 10 host Honokaʻa
Boys Basketball
Sat., Dec. 28 host Kohala
Fri., Jan. 3 host HPA
Sat., Jan. 4 host Pāhoa
Thu., Jan. 9 @Waiakea
Sat., Jan. 11, @Konawaena
Wrestling
Sat., Jan. 4 @Waiakea
Sat., Jan. 11 @Kealakehe
Soccer
Mon., Dec. 23 Boys host Kohala, 3pm
Sat., Jan. 4 Girls host Honokaʻa, 3pm
Mon., Jan. 6 @HPA
Wed., Jan. 8 host Kealakehe, 2pm
Sat., Jan. 11 @Honokaʻa
Sat., Jan. 4 @Kamehameha
Sat., Jan. 11 @Kona Community Aquatic Center
MONDAY, DEC. 23
Cultural Understanding Through Art & the Environment: Kapa Aloha ‘Āina, the fabric of Hawai‘i with Puakea Forester, Monday, Dec. 23, 11a.m.-1p.m. , Volcano Art Center
TUESDAY, DEC. 24
H.O.V.E. Road Maintenance Corp. Board Mtg., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 10a.m., H.O.V.E. RMC office, 92-8979 Lehua Lane, Ocean View. 929-9
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25
Kōnane, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 10a.m. -noon , Kīlauea Visitor Center
Christmas Buffet, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 5-8p.m. , Kīlauea Military Camp's Crater Rim Café, in HVNP. Main entrees of Prime Rib, Roast Turkey, and Holiday Lamb Stew. $29.95/adult, $16.95/child (ages 6-11). Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.
Ka‘ū Food Basket, Thursday – last Thursday, monthly – Dec. 26, 11a.m. -noon , Pāhala Community Center
FRIDAY, DEC. 27
Kahuku Coffee Talk: Artist in the Park, Friday, Dec. 27, 9:30-11a.m. , Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. F
Monthly Mele & Hula ‘Auana Performances, Friday, Dec. 27, 4-5:30p.m. , Volcano Art Center
Amahl & Night Visitors Show, Friday, Dec. 27-Jan. 3, 5-8p.m. , Kīlauea Military Camp's Theater, in HVNP. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. 982-7344, kden73@aol.com
SATURDAY, DEC. 28
SATURDAY, DEC. 28
Birth of Kahuku, Saturday, Dec. 28, 9:30-11:30a.m. , Kahuku Unit, HVNP. Free, easy-to
SUNDAY, DEC. 29
Final Gymkhana Event of 2019, Sunday, Dec. 29, 9a.m., Nā‘ālehu Rodeo Arena. Sign-in and check-in 8:30a.m. Hosted by Ka‘ū Roping & Riding Association.
People and Land, Sunday, Dec. 29, 9:30-12:30p.m. , Kahuku Unit, HVNP. Free, moderate,
ONGOING
ONGOING
Christmas in the Country featuring 20th Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit, daily, through Dec. 31, Volcano Art Center Gallery. Free; park entrance fees app
KMC hosts a Christmas Day dinner buffet, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. , on Dec. 25 at Crater Rim Café. Main entrees of Prime Rib, Roast Turkey, and Holiday Lamb Stew. $29.95/adult, $16.95/child for ages 6-11, five and under free. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply.
Call 967-8356 or see kilaueamilitarycamp.com.
T-Ball and Coach Pitch Baseball League: Ocean View Team - Mondays and Wednesdays, Kahuku Park. Nā‘ālehu Team - Tuesdays and Thursdays,
Nā‘ālehu Park. Pāhala Team (seeking coaches) - attend Nā‘ālehu practice. T-Ball, 3:30-4:30pm, ages 5-6. Coach Pitch, 4:30-6p.m., ages 7-8. Programs take place through April 16. Wear cleats or tennis shoes, bring a glove if possible. Extras gloves available for use. All skills and genders welcome. $35 per teammate. See Ka‘ū Youth Baseball on Facebook. Josh or Elizabeth Crook, 345-0511
Tūtū & Me Home Visiting Program is a free service to Pāhala families with keiki, birth to five years old. This caregiver support program offers those taking care of young keiki "a compassionate listening ear, helpful parenting tips and strategies, fun and exciting activities, and wonderful educational resources" from Tūtū & Me Traveling Preschool. Home visits are one hour in length, two to four times per month, for 12 to 15 visits. Snacks are provided. See pidfoundation.org or call 808-938-1088.
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