Kaʻū News Briefs, Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Eruption began at Halema'uma'u on Wednesday morning. Photo by USGS

USGS HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY ISSUED A RED/WARNING Wednesday morning as Kīlauea summit eruption began in Halema‘uma‘u. At approximately 4:44 a.m. USGS detected glow in Kīlauea summit webcam images indicating an eruption commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea’s summit caldera, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Scientists record the beginning of the new eruption USGS photo

    USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory elevated Kīlauea’s volcano alert level from WATCH to WARNING and its aviation color code from ORANGE to RED as this eruption and associated hazards were evaluated. HVO noted that "opening phases of eruptions are dynamic. Webcam imagery shows fissures at the base of Halemaʻumaʻu crater generating lava flows on the surface of the crater floor. The activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu and the hazards will be reassessed as the eruption progresses. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park posted: "During the early stages of the eruption lava fountains soared as high as 15 meters (50 feet) on the regular, with bursts shooting up to a whopping 60 meters (200 feet)!
In just three hours, the lower-section of the crater was filled to the brim with lava, reaching an impressive depth of 10 meters (33 feet). The lava lake covered a massive area of approximately 370 acres (150 hectares) on the crater floor.

     "This morning, a sulfur dioxide emission rate of around 65,000 tonnes per day was measured.
As time passed, the fountain heights gradually decreased and are now ranging from 4 to 9 meters (13 to 30 feet) high. It's still a sight to behold!"
     To keep up with the changes, see : https://www.nps.gov/.../nature/june-2023-summit-eruption.htm
#KilaueaEruption #LavaLove
    Hawaiian Volcano Observatory noted that "high levels of volcanic gas are the primary hazard of concern, as this hazard can have far-reaching effects down-wind. Large amounts of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)—are continuously released during eruptions of Kīlauea volcano. As SO2 is released from the summit, it will react in the atmosphere to create the visible haze known as vog (volcanic smog) that has been observed downwind of Kīlauea. Vog creates the potential for airborne health hazards to residents and visitors, damages agricultural crops and other plants, and affects livestock." 

HVO scientists monitor the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption from within an area of Hawai‘i VolcanoesNational Park that remains closed to the public for safety reasons. They are equipped with a range of specialized safety gear and personal protective equipment such as gas masks, helmets, gloves, and eye protection. USGS photo

    For more information on gas hazards at the summit of Kīlauea, see: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/fs20173017. Vog information can be found at https://vog.ivhhn.org/.       As of 7:21 p.m.. Wednesday, SO2 levels islandwide were Good. 

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KAUKAU 4 KEIKI REGISTRATION OPENED ON MONDAY FOR FREE FOOD from June 19 through July 28. Registrations came in rapidly and new applicants will go on a waitlist. Register for the waitlist at www.vibranthawaii.org/kaukau4keiki.  Food is provided for keiki 18 and under or up to  22 years of age with a disability and enrolled in public school.

      Vibrant Hawai'i and its Resilience Hubs in Volcano, Pāhala, Nā'ālehu, Ocean View and Miloli'i will provide breakfast and lunch items weekly to families with children who sign up in advance. The fresh and shelf-stable foods will be provided for six weeks beginning June 19 and ending July 28.
     Registered recipients will be able to pick up food on Mondays from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Cooper Center Community Pantry in Volcano, 19-4030 Wright Road;  on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Pāhala Hongwanji, 96-1123 Pa'a'au Place; on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Nā'ālehu Hongwanji, 96-5695 Highway 11; on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Ocean View at 92-1421 Princess Kaiulani Blvd; and on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Miloli'i Halau at 89-1825 Miloli'i Road.
   Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. The program is sponsored by U.S. Department of Agriculture and partners, with 35 pickup locations around the island. 

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A SECOND REMOVAL OF HOMELESS PEOPLE AND THEIR BELONGINGS FROM A COUNTY PARK took place on Wednesday and more are to come, according to an announcement from Hawai'i County. The County is also expected to soon hire night time security to enforce camping and other rules at Punalu'u. The County advised that it "would like to remind the public that future enforcement efforts are planned to address various issues at parks around the island as part of ongoing initiatives to ensure the safety, cleanliness, and functionality of public spaces." County Parks in Volcano through Kaʻū and Miloli'i are at Cooper Center, Pāhala, Punalu'u, Honu'apo and Whittington, Nā'ālehu, Wai'ohinu and Miloli'i. 

    The County announcement said: "Earlier today, the Hawaiʻi County Department of Parks & Recreation, in coordination with the Hawaiʻi Police Department, Office of Housing & Community Development, and

The County removed belongings of homeless people from
another county park on Wednesday and plans to head 
around the island, with outreach to the homeless and
park cleanups. Photo from County of Hawai'i

various nongovernment service providers, conducted a park rules enforcement effort at the Kona Community Aquatic Center. This operation, led by the directive of Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth, aimed to address safety concerns and guarantee compliance with Parks' rules within the facility's grounds, ensuring the safety and functionality of the park for all residents and visitors. Seventeen individuals were impacted by the enforcement effort, with 13 receiving vital services, including housing, airfare, and relocation services. The other four refused assistance."

     The Mayor said, "Today's park rules enforcement effort at the Kona Community Aquatic Center reflects our unwavering commitment to safety, compassion, and the well-being of our community. We are not embarking on malicious sweeps; we are upholding the law while providing vital services and resources to enhance the quality of life for those affected by it. By working together with dignity and aloha, we are building a future where our public spaces are safe, clean, and inclusive for everyone."

   The announcement from the County said: "To ensure the proper handling of all personal property, the County arranged for a secure storage facility. The 21 bags of personal belongings from three individuals were carefully stored and inventoried, allowing individuals to easily retrieve their belongings within a 30-day period. Two truckloads of miscellaneous trash were also recovered and disposed of."

    Similarly to the Hale Hālāwai Parks' Enforcement Operation, outreach specialists from service provider organizations engaged with individuals in the area prior to the enforcement effort to provide support and connect them with appropriate resources. "With the successful completion of the outreach and enforcement effort, all safety and rule violations within the Kona Community Aquatic Center have been addressed. Mayor Roth's focus is now on restoring the intended purpose of the park, creating a safe and enjoyable environment for all residents and visitors," said the statement from the County.

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HAWAI'I AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION ISSUED A STATEMENT OPPOSING THE "SWEEP" OF HOUSELESS PEOPLE from a County facility on Wednesday. It said, "We are disappointed to learn that today, Mayor Mitch Roth and the County of Hawaiʻi once again stripped houseless residents of their personal belongings and forcibly removed them from their place of residence without due regard for their constitutional rights. For those impacted please follow our Community Alliance Partners on Moku o Keawe, Neighborhood Place of Puna(@neighborhood_place), and HOPE Services Hawaii, Inc.(@hopeserviceshawaii)."

Hawai'i ACLU offered tips for anyone else facing similar enforcement actions:

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Kaʻū News Briefs, Tuesday, June 6, 2023

After the access road to NOAA's Mauna Loa observatory was covered by lava flows from Mauna Loa volcano's November eruption, University of Hawai'i allowed Global Monitoring Laboratory and Scripps Institute of Oceanography to install temporary greenhouse gas sampling sites at its astronomical observatory on the nearby summit of Mauna Kea volcano. This photo shows the air intake tube for NOAA's Picarro analyzer, which was installed on the deck of the Maunakea Observatories building on Dec. 8, 2022. Photo from NOAA

"SADLY, WE'RE SETTING A NEW RECORD" for the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, said Ralph Keeling, the Scripps Oceanography geoscientist who oversees the Keeling Curve record established by his father 65 year ago from his research at Mauna Loa. Measurements of CO2 obtained by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory on Mauna Loa averaged 424 parts per million in May, the month when CO2 peaks in the Northern Hemisphere. That represents an increase of 3.0 ppm over May 2022. 

    Scientists at University of San Diego's Scripps Oceanography, which maintains an independent record, calculated a May monthly average of 423.78 ppm. That increase is also a jump of 3.0 ppm over the May 2022 average reported by the Scripps CO2 Program.

   Keeling said, “What we’d like to see is the curve plateauing and even falling because carbon dioxide as high as 420 or 425 parts per million is not good. It shows as much as we’ve done to mitigate and reduce emissions, we still have a long way to go.” CO2 levels are now more than 50 percent higher than they were before the onset of the industrial era.
    NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. said, “Every year we see carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere increase as a direct result of human activity. Every year, we see the impacts of climate change in the heat waves, droughts, flooding, wildfires and storms happening all around us. While we will have to adapt to the climate impacts we cannot avoid, we must expend every effort to slash carbon pollution and safeguard this planet and the life that calls it home.”
    The University of San Diego Scripps statement said, "CO2 pollution is generated by burning fossil fuels for transportation and electrical generation, by cement manufacturing, deforestation, agriculture and many other practices. Like other greenhouse gases, CO2 traps heat radiating from the planet’s surface that would otherwise escape into space, amplifying extreme weather events, such as heat waves, drought and wildfires, as well as precipitation and flooding."

    The statement also said, "Rising CO2 levels also pose a threat to the world’s ocean, which absorbs both CO2 gas and excess heat from the atmosphere. Impacts include increasing surface and subsurface ocean temperatures and the disruption of marine ecosystems, rising sea levels and ocean acidification, which changes the chemistry of seawater, leading to lower dissolved oxygen, and interferes with the growth of some marine organisms."

    The statement also noted that this year, NOAA’s measurements were obtained from a temporary sampling site atop the nearby Mauna Kea volcano, which was established after lava flows cut off access to the Mauna Loa observatory in November 2022. Scripps’s May measurements were taken at Mauna Loa, after NOAA staff successfully repowered a Scripps instrument with a solar and battery system in March.
    The Mauna Loa data, together with measurements from sampling stations around the world, are incorporated by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory into the Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, a foundational research dataset for international climate scientists and a benchmark for policymakers attempting to address the causes and impacts of climate change.
    Widely considered the premier global sampling location for monitoring atmospheric CO2, NOAA and Scripps observatory operations were abruptly suspended on Nov. 29, 2022 when lava flows from the

eruption of Mauna Loa volcano buried more than a mile of access road and destroyed transmission lines delivering power to the observatory campus. After a 10-day interruption, NOAA restarted greenhouse gas observations on Dec. 8 from a temporary instrument installation on the deck of the University of Hawai'i observatory, located near the summit of Mauna Kea volcano. Scripps Oceanography initiated air sampling at Mauna Kea on Dec. 14, 2022 and resumed sampling at Mauna Loa on March 9, while maintaining their Mauna Kea observations.
    Continuous daily samples were obtained from both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea by Scripps Oceanography during May, the month when CO2 levels in the Northern Hemisphere reach their maximum levels for the year. Scripps recorded a May CO2 reading from Maunakea of 423.83, which is very close to the reading of 423.78 from Mauna Loa.
    The Mauna Loa observatory is situated at an elevation of 11,141 feet above sea level, while the Mauna Kea sampling location is slightly higher, at an elevation of 13,600 feet. Scientists are able to sample air undisturbed by the influence of local pollution or vegetation, and produce measurements that represent the average state of the atmosphere in the Northern Hemisphere from both locations.
     Scripps Oceanography geoscientist Charles David Keeling initiated on-site measurements of CO2 at NOAA’s Mauna Loa weather station in 1958. Keeling was the first to recognize that CO2 levels in the Northern Hemisphere fell during the growing season, and rose as plants died back in the fall. He documented these CO2 fluctuations in a record that came to be known as the Keeling Curve. He was also the first to recognize that, despite the seasonal fluctuation, CO2 levels rose every year.
    NOAA began measurements in 1974, and the two research institutions have made complementary, independent observations ever since.

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THE ACLU DEMAND TO STOP SWEEPS OF HOMELESS CAMPS ON COUNTY PROPERTY until there is sufficient shelter for those displaced has drawn response from the County. Hawaiʻi County. Managing Director Lee E. Lord sent the response Tuesday to American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaiʻi regarding ACLU's concern about constitutional rights of homeless community members. The letter said the County appreciates the ACLU's concern and welcomes dialogue with ACLU "on this very important topic."

  In the response to the demand letter from Wookie Kim, Legal Director of the ACLU of Hawaiʻi, to stop the "sweeps" of homeless encampments, the County emphasized a commitment to a balanced approach that considers the well-being of both the homeless population and the general public. The County stated its operation conducted to removed homeless people from Hale Hālāwai beach park in Kona on May 24 was  comprehensive operation, involving "collaborative efforts and resources from various organizations, including the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Parks & Recreation, Hawaiʻi Police Department, Office of Housing and Community Development, West Hawaiʻi Community Health Center, Care Hawaiʻi – Mental Health and Crisis Outreach, HOPE Services – Shelter Outreach, and 808 Homeless Taskforce."
     The County response to the ACLU pointed out that "Prior to the enforcement action, a two-week outreach program was initiated, which led to the identification of 23 individuals experiencing homelessness at Hale Hālāwai. During the outreach, these individuals were informed about the upcoming park enforcement action, offered temporary storage solutions for their personal property, and provided access to homeless support services."
     The Mayor said, “our administration is not conducting forced homeless sweeps. We are compassionately enforcing park rules with the assistance of numerous human service organizations, who are there to provide vital resources to those affected by the enforcement efforts. Ensuring the safety of our parks for everyone, including our children, elders, local families, and employees, is our priority. We have a responsibility to address unsafe conditions within the extent permissible by law.”

     The County also reported that on May 24, "only ten individuals experiencing homelessness remained at Hale Hālāwai. All ten individuals received assistance, including temporary or long-term housing options, and, in some cases, arranged flights to reunite with their families. Most importantly, no citations or arrests were made among the remaining individuals on that day.
    "While the option of storing personal property was emphasized, none of the individuals chose to utilize this service. As a result, all unclaimed property was removed from the park, and a significant two tons of rubbish were adequately disposed of." The response stated that the County recognizes its responsibility to maintain the health and safety of its parks for the enjoyment of all residents and visitors. "The Roth Administration maintains that efforts to assist homeless individuals will continue through close collaboration with on-island service providers.
     The County emphasized its "commitment to ensuring public safety in its parks while addressing the needs of homeless community members and encouraged open dialogue with the American Civil Liberties Union on this critical matter," said a statement from the County.

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Kaʻū News Briefs, Monday, June 5, 2023

Addie Rose Flores, of South Point, won the Junior High School State Rodeo Championship and is headed with her horse Bo

to the Georgia State Fairgrounds to compete in the nationals. Photos from Addie Rose Flores

Addie Rose Flores 

ADDDIE ROSE FLORES WON THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STATE RODEO CHAMPIONSHIP in May and is headed with her horse Bo to Georgia for National Championship competition June 19-24. 

    She is the first girl from Ka'ū to take the state title. The 14 year old who lives at South Point, just completed eighth grade. She made the journey to Kaua'i for the state competition where she became Hawai'i High School Rodeo Association's 2023 Junior High Champion. She won Hawai'i District Barrel Racing, State Barrel Racing and became State All Around Champion Cowgirl. She was second in Team Roping and fourth in Breakaway Roping. On Kaua'i, she also participated in poles, goat tying and ribbon roping.
    She qualified for the 2023 National Junior High Finals Rodeo to be held in Perry, Georgia at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, about an hour and a half south of Atlanta. She will compete in Barrel Racing and Breakaway Roping.
     Addie Flores said she and her horse Bo will travel with "the goal of bringing the national title home to Hawai'i. She said she will be back to compete in the Ka'ū Roping & Riding Rodeo at Nā'ālehu Rodeo Grounds on July 8 and 9.

    Also headed off island for rodeo competition are Kalia Andrade, Owen Flores and Jamis Medeiros who take off for Waimanalo this weekend for the Hawai'i High School Rodeo Association Championships.

     Paniolo are also expected to ride in the July 1 Independence Day Parade in Nā'ālehu at 11 a.m., sponsored by O Ka'u Kakou community organization. It will also include classic cars, walking groups, floats and a celebration at the park, following the parade. See more n upcoming Ka'ū News Briefs. Call Wayne Kawachi to sign up or sponsor at 808-937-4773.

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HAWAI'I COUNTY'S PLAN TO SWEEP THE HOMELESS from parks and other public spaces should stop until shelters that can accommodate the number of houseless people displaced are designated, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. On June 2, Hawai'i ACLU sent a demand letter to Mayor Mitch Roth, county Parks & Recreation Director Maurice Messina, Hawai'i Police Department Chief Benjamin  Moszkowicz and the county's Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance. ACLU asked for a response by close of day, June 5.

     The ACLU letter pointed to the launch of clearing homeless from county parks, which began May 24 at Hale Halawai beach park in Kona, with a plan to go next to Old Airports and beyond. The letter, penned by Hawai'i ACLU Legal Director Wookie Kim, said ACLU has learned that the initial sweep "is just the first in a series of enforcement actions that the County intends to execute against houseless people within the County," with planned sweeps of county facilities across Hawai'i Island.

    "The County is engaging in these sweeps despite knowing full well that Hawaiʻi County does not have sufficient available shelter space to house the people who have been impacted by these sweeps.

    "The County’s execution of enforcement actions under these circumstances is constitutionally problematic. In 2019, in Martin v. City of Boise, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the

well-established principle that a municipality’s enforcement of an ordinance 'violates the Eighth Amendment [to the U.S. Constitution] insofar as it imposes criminal sanctions against homeless individuals for sleeping outdoors, on public property, when no alternative shelter is available to them.' And just this past fall, Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, the Ninth Circuit — a separate published
opinion — re-affirmed the principle that a municipality 'cannot, consistent with the Eighth Amendment, enforce its anticamping ordinances against homeless persons for the mere act of sleeping outside with rudimentary protection from the elements, or for sleeping in their car at night, when there is no other place in the City for them to go.' Here — when houseless people in the County have no safe place to go without being subjected to the County’s laws that punish sheltering in public spaces — enforcement actions like the Hale Hālāwai Sweep and the Planned Sweeps (if the County chooses to move forward with them) violate the mandates of the U.S. and Hawaiʻi constitutions.
    "In light of this, we write with a demand: The County must stop the Planned Sweeps unless and until the County either stands up emergency shelter spaces that can adequately house Hawaiʻi County’s houseless community, or designates a safe space where houseless community members can exist without being subject — every single day and every single second — to County enforcement actions.
    "As you may be aware, the ACLU of Hawaiʻi has challenged other unconstitutional enforcement actions on neighboring islands, including in the City and County of Honolulu and in Maui County."
    ACLU requested a response from the County by 5 p.m., Monday, June 5 and stated that ACLU is open to discussing alternatives.

Hawai'i ACLU Legal Director Wookie Kim

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HAWAI'I ISLAND HOMELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS issued a letter of support on Monday for the ACLU demand to stop sweeps of homeless people from Hawai'i County facilities until sufficient shelters are available. The group called Community Alliance Partners said that as of last Friday, June 2, all emergency shelters on this island were full. 

    Paul Normann, Executive Director of Neighborhood Place of Puna and co-chair of Community Alliance Partners, said service providers have continuously asked the county to refrain from conducting sweeps. "When County Leadership orders police to conduct a sweep, they exacerbate the homeless crisis by making it harder for service providers to contact and help people. Beyond that, these sweeps waste 

Homeless shelters on this island were completely full
as of last Friday. Photo from Community Alliance Partners

taxpayer dollars by pushing people around without providing housing or shelter."    

    Carrie Ho'opi'i, Hope Services' Outreach Team Leader, said her team has been trying to track down people they'd been working with at Hale Halawai. "People are afraid to engage. It's hard to trust anyone on the outside when you are afraid that officers will wake you up at 4 a.m. and force you out into the night."
    Aurora Leanillo, a student in Information Technology at Hawaiʻi Community College, said she understands distrust that people are feeling. "Imagine going through every day in fear of the police. Imagine constantly worrying that your space will be invaded, and feeling like you have no free will."
Leanillo was houseless for years, and said that sweeps were a traumatic part of her experience. She said she knows some of the people who were forced to leave their camp at Hale Hālāwai. "When you're living with that kind of fear, it's hard to know who will help you and who will hurt you," Leanillo said. "They're not talking to anybody trying to offer them services, because they have been harmed by people who are supposed to be public servants."
    Renee Rivera, a former Hope Services client and houseless until 2015, said,  "I was in a sweep and it was traumatizing to see kūpuna crying and begging to save items they could not carry on their back or in a shopping cart." She said that living in an encampment provides safety for people who have lost their homes and have nowhere else to go. "When I was living on the streets, I felt much safer living in an

encampment. Even though we couldn't lock our doors, we had the security of our community, knowing that someone was always there to look out for us."
    Rivera, who is now the director of He Ho'omaka Hou Ana O' Puna, a nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated women, continued "Women and kūpuna are especially vulnerable to being attacked when they are alone on the streets. Breaking up an encampment is an act of violence."
     The statement from Community Alliance Partners, said, "The risk associated with sweeps is felt acutely in the Kona community. In May of last year, the County conducted a sweep of Old Kona Airport Park, displacing several local residents. Less than a month later, a man targeting sleeping houseless people allegedly stabbed two houseless Kona residents to death. Outreach workers who knew the victims said that both had been part of the encampment that was swept at Old Kona Airport Park.
    According to the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, "People who experience homelessness have an average life expectancy of around 50 years of age, almost 20 years lower than people who are housed." 

    Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders experience homelessness at far higher rates than any other racial group. National Alliance to End Homelessness recently released its 2023 State of Homelessness report, which shows that Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders experience homelessness at far higher rates than any other racial group. The data shows they are ten times as likely as Whites, and 30 times as likely as Asians to experience homelessness.
    Community Alliance Partners stated that "this data makes sense. Outreach workers reported that in the weeks leading up to Hale Halawai Sweep, 100% of the residents they engaged with were locals from Hawaiʻi, and the majority were Native Hawaiian."
     Community Alliance Partners Co-Chair Normann said, "If the County leadership really wants to end homelessness, they need to aggressively prioritize truly affordable housing and supportive services. Sweeps are cruel, and they don't work. That's the bottom line."

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