Kaʻū News Briefs Jan. 5, 2025

Artist Stan Rillon's depiction of the tsunami in 1868 which wiped out Hawaiian villages up and down the coast, including Punalu'u and Honu'apo. The M7.1 earthquake, with epicenter in Keaiwa, buried thatched and wood homes in Wood Valley with a landslide, killing some 31 people. The Pacific Tsunami Museum educates the public about all of the devastating tsunamis that have come to this island. Located in Hilo, it is slated to receive $200,000 from Olson Trust and more from other business leaders.

OLSON TRUST DONATES $200,000 TO PACIFIC TSUNAMI MUSEUM. The announcement came Sunday on the cover of Hawai' Tribune-Herald newspaper in a story by John Burnett. The story quotes Paul Alston, the head of the newly created Edmund C. Olson Family Foundation, and notes that the non-profit Pacific Tsunami Museum was closing its doors in Hilo until the Olson funding came through.

This Okoe Bay home was destroyed by the 2011
trsunami from Japan. Photo by Kai Kahele

   Alston, who was the late Ed Olson's attorney during most of Olson's time doing business in Hawai'i, told The Tribune Herald that Olson Trust donated $100,000, will give another $100,000, and will challenge "big companies in Hilo" to also donate funding. 

    Cindi Preller, the museum’s director, called the Olson Trust "an absolute godsend for us." Preller, Alston and his wife Tanya met with Mayor Kimo Alameda last week and reported support from 
the mayor.
    Alston told the Tribune Herald that the museum is very meaningful to his own family since his wife is a survivor of the Hilo tsunami caused by a 9.5 earthquake in Chile. The tsunami, with its eight-foot waves, some as high as 35 feet, killed 61 people and wiped out the Hilo waterfront and business districts on May 23, 1960.
    Tsunamis have killed people and destroyed seven Hawaiian villages and remote homes on the Kaʻū Coast, South Kona Coast and north at Laupāhoehoe. The Pacific Tsunami Museum is a place of learning about all of the devastating tsunamis that have come to this island during ancient Hawaiian and modern times. Learn more about the Pacific Tsunami Museum at https://tsunami.org.

A November, 1975 tsunami destroyed this home at Punalu'u.

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Kaʻū News Briefs Jan. 4, 2025

A close-up view of an active lobe of pāhoehoe lava flowing in Kaluapele, the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano, on
 Jan. 3. The lava halted that evening. USGS photo by M. Patrick 

THE VOLCANO TURNED OFF HER LAVA FAUCET FRIDAY night, but particulates and S02 in the air remained high in Pāhala until the wind shifted and blew both to Ocean View, Kona and Waikoloa. USGS reported that the eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began on Monday, Dec. 23 paused at approximately 8:40 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 3, as the remaining lava fountain from the south vent shut down rapidly. Glow from the crater floor remained persistent as breakouts and overturning crustal plates exposed molten lava. This glow could persist for days. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or 
Southwest Rift Zone.

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VOLCANO AWARENESS MONTH IS HERE with events in Kaʻū including a talk story opportunity with HVO staff this Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Nāʻālehu Public Library from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; a talk summarizing eruptive activity and earthquakes over the past year at Cooper Center in Volcano village on Friday, Jan. 10; a coffee talk at Kahuku Unit of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 9:30 a.m. regarding the 2019–2020 water lake at Kīlauea summit; an opportunity to learn the art and science of geologic mapping in Hawai‘i during a talk at Volcano Art Center in Volcano village on Thursday, Jan. 16; and a talk in Pāhala at Kaʻū District Gym Recreation Room on Monday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. about earthquakes happening deep beneath that region since 2019.
   A new USGS art and poetry contest for Volcano Awareness Month 2025 is open through Jan. 20. Submit a haiku poem or art in any medium, no larger than 16x24 inches in size, related to volcanic landscapes or eruptions in Hawai‘i. Winners in several categories will be announced in a Volcano Watch article at the end of January, and a selection of entries will be on display at a scientific conference on caldera-forming eruptions, such as Kīlauea's in 2018, set for Hilo in February 2025.

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HAWAI'I INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL has arrived to Kaʻū and students, vocal coaches,  pianists, violinists began classes on Sunday and preparation for concerts in Kaʻū and 
beyond this week.
    Founders Amy Shoremount Obra, a renowned opera singer from the famed Obra Kaʻū Coffee family, and internationally renowned virtuoso violinist Eric Silberger will present a concert at Ocean View Community Center this Saturday from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m.
    Called Stars of Broadway, Opera and Ballet, it will include performances by Carlton Moe, Star of Broadway's Phantom of the Opera; Monica Chung, renowned pianist from Kaua'i; Maika'i Nash, pianist and music director from Hawai'i; and Farley Sangels, Ocean View's trumpet virtuoso. Opera stars of the future from the Garcia School will also perform, as well as Anastassiya Neznanova, a ballerina from New York.
    The Ocean View concert will be followed by a concert at Pāhala Plantation House at 7 p.m. See more and make reservations for Pāhala at
www.himusicfestival.com.

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Kaʻū News Briefs Jan. 3, 2025

 Vice Pres. Kamala Harris, on Friday, conducted the swearing in of Sen. Mazie Hirono to serve her third six-year term representing Hawai'i in the U.S. Senate. Photo from Hirono

ELECTED CONGRESSIONAL OFFICIALS WERE SWORN IN on Friday, representing Kaʻū and beyond. Mazie Hirono, began her third six-year term representing Hawai'i in the U.S. Senate, after three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. After the swearing in, she issued the following statement:
    “I’m honored that the people of Hawai'i continue to entrust me to represent our state in the U.S. Senate. We’ve got important work ahead and I will keep fighting for our communities and the values we hold dear. I remain focused on ensuring that the needs of Hawai'i’s families, keiki, and kupuna are being met. Together, we will keep working to lift all boats and protect the progress we’ve made over the last four years. Mahalo for your trust and support.”

    Contact Hirono through hirono.senate.gov. Call her Washington, D.C. office at 202-224-6361 or her Honolulu office at 808-522-8970.  

     Hawai'i's other U.S. Senator Brian Schatz is serving his third six-year term after being sworn in on Jan. 3, 2023. Both are Democrats.

Hawai'i's House of Representatives member Ed Case, who formerly represented rural Hawai'i and now represents
 urban Hawai'i, joined Jill Tokuda, who represents Kaʻū and all of rural Hawai'i after their swearing in on Friday. 

     Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, who represents Kaʻū and the rest of rural Hawai'i for the Second Congressional District of the State of Hawai'i, issued this statement after being sworn in for her second two-year term: 

     "Now that I’ve been sworn in, the real work begins as we continue to fight for our keiki, kūpuna, and hardworking families that are struggling to make ends meet. 

    “I will continue to work with anyone seeking bipartisan solutions to the challenges we face and I will fight like hell against any attempts to put benefits to billionaires over the needs of the American people. They deserve better, and you have my word that I will work with the urgency of a mother to make sure people have access to economic and job opportunities that will allow them to keep a roof over their head, put food on the table, and have equal access to the education and healthcare they need to thrive.”

    Tokuda can be reached through https://tokuda.house.gov/contact. Phone her Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-4906 or her Honolulu office at 808-746-6222.

    Rep. Ed Case was also sworn in. He represented Kaʻū and rural Hawai'i through being appointed after the death of Patsy Mink and was elected for two additional terms. He was sworn in Tuesday to serve his fourth term representing urban Hawai'i. In a statement after the ceremonies, Case said:

    “For the seventh time, I stood in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives and took the same oath as have Members of Congress throughout our history: ‘I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.’” 

    Case stated that “The deep tragedies of this brand-new year in our Hawai‘i, country and world just drive home again that we live in very difficult times. Our challenges are many, our divisions run deep, our adversaries work every day toward our failure. In this Congress we will also celebrate the 250th anniversary of our great country. Whether we overcome our challenges and divisions and persevere against our adversaries is our decision, just as it was for our founders and all of our generations since.” “I will continue to do everything in my power to do so, to chart the best way forward for our country and Hawai‘i through our challenges. My mission remains the same: to (1) contribute to national leadership; (2) help our Hawai‘i; and (3) help my constituents with their individual needs and concerns.

    Case can be reached through https://case.house.gov/contact/ or call his Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-2726 or Honolulu Honolulu Office at (808) 650-6688.

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