Ka`u News Briefs, Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Hand drawn and colored maps of lands in Ka`u and other Hawai`i Islaand regions will be discussed during
a presentation called The Value of Plantation-Era Archives in Today's World, April 18 at Hawai`i Volcanoes
National Park. See story below. Photo from HVNP

THE TINY HOMES BILL FOR AGRICULTURAL LAND goes to a hearing at the Capitol on Wednesday. Launched as a way to provide more farm worker housing; and to allow more farmers to live on the land to protect crops, animals and machinery from theft,  the bills HB2, HD2 and SD1 have drawn opposition from the Hawai`i County Planning Department and state Department of Agriculture chief Scott Enright.  It has also received numerous support letters from farmers and tiny homes advocates.

     The legislation "authorizes tiny homes of less than 500 square feet for farm workers in agricultural districts in a county with a population of more than 180,000 but less than 250,000," which means that the tiny homes would be allowed only in the County of Hawai`i.

Tiny houses, less than 500 square feet would be allowed on farms.  Photo by Julia Neal

         The Department of Agriculture chief testified that the measure "may result in adverse consequences and said, "The Department is concerned that these 'tiny homes' do not become defacto residential dwellings if the County is unable to adequately monitor and enforce the farm worker/family occupancy requirement for these 'tiny homes.'"
     County of Hawai`i Planning Director Michael Yee testified, "We appreciate the intent of this bill to authorize the construction and use of 'tiny homes' as affordable housing for farm workers to encourage the healthy and productive farming. Unfortunately, we see treat potential that this provision, should it be adopted, will lead toward unintended abuse of of the very agricultural lands we are entrusted to protect by the State Land Use Law and our local zoning code.

Tiny House from Habitats Hawai`i.
See www.habitatshawaii.com

     "As currently written, this bill will allow 'farm workers or their immediate family members' to occupy agricultural land provided that the 'farmer' has a business license and is engaged in agriculture.
     "Anyone can easily obtain a business license and there is no level of specified engagement in agriculture within the bill that would justify a 'tiny home.' A person could just obtain a business license, plan and maintain a single tree, and generate no income whatsoever, and would thereby qualify for a tiny home on agricultural land. Secondly, a maximum number of tiny homes permitted on any given agricultural lot is not specified. This could potentially turn agricultural lands into affordable housing communities with no clear expectation of any increase in agricultural productivity," stated the Planning Director. He asked the legislature to "carefully weigh the potential deleterious effect this bill, if adopted, would have upon our ability to protect our agricultural lands."
     The State of Hawai`i, Office of Planning wrote testimony contending that the Office of Planning "fully supports effort to help local farmers and grow the State's agricultural economy, but this is not an issue that can be sol, said the bill "has the potential to place farm labor families at risk of exposure to dust and pesticides and other public health and safety concerns. It also provides another pathway for non-agricultural residential use in the State Agricultural District, which could contribute to further use of these dwellings for transient accommodations, increases in agricultural land values, and exurban sprawl without attendant public facilities and services."

The One Island Sustainable Living movement endorses
the bill for tiny houses on ag land. See www.oneisland.org.

     Marc Montgomery, of the Hawai`i Island Food Alliance, testified that tiny houses can be built with locally sourced materials - for example albizia. He said that allowing tiny homes on ag land would help to encourage smaller producers as well as large farms to meet housing/office needs on site. "Our food system is cripled by a lack of housing for farmers. In order to attract more farmers to farm, we need to provide decent housing on the farm."
     He testified, "We will never change our dependency on imported foods -never - if we don't let farmers lower their cost of living by allowing them to live on the land they farm."
     Stephen Shrader, wrote that "climate and lifestyle of Hawai`i encourages an indoor/outdoor lifestyle. It is also one of the best settings in the world to implement green building and energy efficient practices. Many farmers are wanting to down size the scale of their indoor living spaces, lower their cost for housing, be on farm to monitor their crops, lower farmworker rental housing and transportation/commute costs, spend more time farming and lower the environmental impact of their housing." He noted that he is a member  of the One Island movement, convening Tiny House Community Conversations around the Big Island.  See www.oneisland.org.

      The bill passed the state House of Representatives and is before the Senate on Wednesday for a third reading. For more testimony and to weigh in, see http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=2&year=2017

Flumes that carried water in old sugar plantations are in the
photography preserved in Olson Trust archives.

SUGAR ARCHIVES ILLUMINATE HISTORY: The Value of Plantation-Era Archives in Today’s World is the topic at After Dark in the Park on Tuesday, April 18. From the 1850s to the 1990s, big sugar plantations dominated the agricultural landscape of Hawai‘i Island. The Edmund Olson Trust Archive is home to an extensive array of maps, records and documents from these plantations, and traces an powerful part of island history. John Cross, of Olson Trust, leads a visual journey through these irreplaceable historic resources and the era called “Big Sugar.” The free program begins at 7 p.m. at Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘I Volcanoes National Park.

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KUMULAU`AU – TREES is the featured category in the call to artists for the 2017 Hawai‘i Nei juried art competition celebrating the native flora and fauna of Hawai‘i Island. The annual exhibition is sponsored by Three Mountain Alliance, Natural Area Reserves System and Wailoa Center.    

Hawai`i Nei art contest brings artists to Ka`u to
the Kahuku Unit of hawai`i Volcanoes National Park
to observe the Ohi`a Lehua trees and such wildlife as this
`Io, Hawaiian hawk. Photo from HVNP 

     Amateur and professional artists of all ages are invited to submit works of art celebrating the native plants, animals and habitats of Hawai‘i Nei. A statement from the organizers says: “This year, artists can explore the foundation of the Big Island’s native forests. Trees are a crucial component of a healthy watershed. They often are referred to as kumu and even kupuna of the forest, being the base or trunk for multitudinous life but also teachers and grandparents.”
     Rules set by the organizers include: “Artwork in any medium or combination of media is welcome. Native species found only on other islands will not be accepted. All species found from ridge to reef on the Big Island are acceptable. Subjects from beyond the reef, including the deep ocean, will not be accepted. Artwork made from native species is strongly discouraged.”                      Submissions must be original, created in the past two years, not previously shown in any other exhibition, gallery or website.
     Artwork will be displayed from Nov. 3 to Dec. 15 at Wailoa Center. All residents of Hawai‘i Island are eligible to participate. All artwork must be registered online by Oct. 19 at www.hawaiineiartcontest.org. A photo of the artwork and entry fees are required with registration. Artwork drop-off dates, times and locations are 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Oct. 21 at Donkey Mill Art Center in Holualoa and 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Oct. 28 at Wailoa Center.  See  www.hawaiineiartcontest.org.

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Open Mic Night, Wed, April 5, from 6 – 10 p.m., Kīlauea Military Camp’s Lava Lounge in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. Sign up at 967-8365 after 4 p.m.

Hawai‘i Wildlife Center Presentation, Thu, April 6, from  9 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. HWC representatives focus on the center’s history, mission and vision. Free; donations accepted.

Ocean View Neighborhood Watch meeting, Thu, April 6,  at 7 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-2442 & 928-2015

Ka`u News Briefs Monday, April 3, 2017

Sen. Mazie Hirono spoke at a We Object rally over the weekend in opposition to the Trump Supreme Court 

appointment. Photo from Senator Hirono

KA`U'S U.S. SENATOR, MAZIE HIRONO, VOTED NO on the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, following her participation in a weekend We Object rally against the appointment. Before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send the nomination to the full Senate, with 11 Republicans in support and 9 Democrats in opposition, Hirono gave testimony:
     "Over the past two months, Donald Trump has nominated a parade of extreme and unqualified people to important government positions. We have an Education Secretary who doesn't even believe in public education, a Treasury Secretary who profited from the 2008 mortgage crisis and an Environmental Protection Administration administrator who seems not to believe in environmental protection."
     She said that when Trump nominated Gorsuch, "you could almost hear an audible gasp of relief. President Trump didn't nominate a member of his family. He didn't nominate a television personality. He nominated a Columbia and Harvard educated lawyer with ten years of experience on the Circuit Court. But we can not and should not evaluate Judge Gorsuch on the basis of, I have to say, of the very low bar that President Trump has established for his nominees."

Sen. Mazie Hirono has been one of the more strident questioners
of  Judge Neil Gorsuch during his confirmation hearings.

     Hirono contended that "Paper credentials are not enough. This is for the highest court of the land, a lifetime appointment, a court that makes decisions that impacts all of our lives. ....We should not give Judge Gorsuch a pass just because he has these credentials. Judge Gorsuch's nomination is the product of a years-long campaign by extreme right wing organizations to continue to transform the Supreme Court in their image."
     She said that Trump "wanted someone who would overturn Roe V Wade (banning abortion), prioritize the religious freedom of a corporation over the rights of its employees and uphold an expansive view of the Second Amendment (objecting to gun control)." She said that "right wing groups" have spent over $10 million in the last six weeks to support the Gorsuch nomination.
     It is expected that Democrats will have enough votes to filibuster the nomination on the Senate floor, but that Republicans will change the rules to allow a simple majority vote instead of the traditional 60 votes to approve Gorsuch to Supreme Court, possibly by the end of this week.

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Miss Ka`u Coffee Candidates and Pageant Director Trini Marques O(center) in 2016.
Photo by Michael Worthington

YOUNG LADIES CAN ENTER THE MISS KA`U COFFEE SCHOLARSHIP PAGEANTS, ages three to 24, by April 10. The Miss Ka`u Coffee, the Jr. Miss Ka`u Coffee, the Miss Ka`u Coffee Peaberry and the Miss Ka`u Coffee Flower pageants will be held on Saturday, May 13 at Ka`u Coffee Mill.

    Miss Ka`u Coffee contenders must be between 16 and 24 years of age and single. They will compete in the categories of Career Outfit, Talent, Evening Gown, Swimsuit and Interview.

    Jr. Miss Ka`u Coffee contenders must be between 11 and 15 year of age and will compete in the categories of Hobby outfit, Talent, Evening Gown and Interview.

    Miss Ka`u Coffee Peaberry contenders must be between six and ten years of age and compete in categories of Character Outfit, Talent, Evening Gown and Interview.

    Miss Ka`u Coffee Flower contenders must be between 3 and 5 years of age and compete in categories of Character Outfit and Evening Gown.

     To enter the pageants by April 10, call Pageant Director Trinidad Marques at 928-0606.

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Ka`u Trojan boys have lost only once this season. Volleyball home games
are Thursday, April 13, and Saturday, April 15.
Photo by Pam Taylor

KA`U HIGH IS STANDING OUT IN BOYS VOLLEYBALL this season, with the varsity team experiencing only one loss.
       Ka‘ū traveled to Parker School in Waimea on March 24 to win 25-10, 25-19 and 25-12 with the varsity team. JV also beat Parker, 25-11 and 25-21.
    Trojans traveled to Honoka‘a on March 19 and won 25-18, 25-9 and 26-24.
     Ka‘ū High beat Ehunui 25-14, 25-14 and 25-11 on March 15.
     On March 8, Ka‘ū received Parker School at the Pāhala campus and beat the JV team 25-14 and 25-23. Trojans also beat Parker varsity 25-15, 25-14 and 25-8.
      When Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy traveled to Ka‘ū on March 4, Hawai‘i Prep won with the JV games 25-23, 11-15 and 15-10. Hawai‘i Prep also took home the varsity win, with 25-15-, 25-16 and 25-5.
     When Honoka‘a came to Ka‘ū on March 1, the Trojans stood their ground, winning the JV games 25-17 and 25-9. Trojan varsity won with 25-27, 25-22, 26-24 and 27-25.
    Upcoming home games are on Thursday, April 13 and Saturday, April 15.

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KA`U HIGH GIRLS SOFTBALL TEAM  saw some tough play in March. On March 29, Trojan girls welcomed Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy to home turf. Lead pitcher Sheri Lynn Freitas accomplished three strikeouts. Analei Emmsley posted two runs batted in, two homeruns and two singles. Reishalynnn Jara hit a triple and a double. Lei Chun hit two singles. Chauna Lisa Valez hit two doubles and a single. Kanani Petrill-Abrojin hit a single and Alysha GustafsonSavella hit a single, double and triple. Hawai‘i Preparatory won the game 19- 15. In March, Ka‘ū also lost to Honoka‘a, 16-4, Konawaena 22-4, and Waiakea 17-7.

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Artist Don Elwing collaborated with
Na`alehu students on an artwork for
their school.

OCEAN VIEW MARINE ARTIST  Don Elwing is the featured solo artist at P.O.R.T.A.L. Gallery, specializing in environmental-themed art in Pāhoa, for the month of April. Elwing will also be live at Pāhoa's Second Saturday Art walk on April 8 on Main Street.
     At the end of March, Elwing set up a portable art gallery at Pāhoa Elementary with 30 pieces of what he termed "awareness art" for all grades to view and created 3 art pieces of an ‘alalā, an ‘ōhi‘a lehua and a volcano, with three 4th grade classes. Elwing also set up an art gallery of his work at Nā'ālehu Math and Science Night in March and guided attendees to collaborate on an art piece for the school. Using pieces of net and rope that washed up on the shore of Kamilo beach, sisters Rylan and Roxie Casteneda added the last pieces, turning rubbish into a ʻōhi‘a lehua work of art, which Elwing donated to the school.

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Hawai‘i County Council Meetings, Tue/Wed, April 4 and 5. Ka‘ū residents can participate via videoconferencing at Nā‘ālehu State Office Building. See hawaiicounty.gov for agendas and live-streamed and archived meetings.

www.kaucalendar.com

Nature Conservancy Update, Tue, April 4 at 3 p.m., Nā‘ālehu Public Library. John Replogle informs the public. 939-2442

Ka‘ū Coffee Growers Meeting, Tue, April 4, 6 – 8 p.m., Pāhala Community Center.

Endangered Marine Wildlife: Threats & Mitigation Measures, Tue, April 4, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Susannah Welch of the Marine Wildlife Program shares innovative ways to protect species, including promotion of barbless hooks and their usefulness in sustaining Hawai‘i’s fisheries. Free; park entrance fees apply.

An Evening with Claudia Bruhin, Tue, April 4, 7 – 9 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. La Meridiana Int’l School for Ceramic Arts administrator shows a photographic retrospective on the center’s evolution. Free; donations accepted. 967-8222

Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, April 2, 2017

Kamehame is the hawksbill turtle preserve, makai of Pahala, managed by The Nature Conservancy.
John Replogle will give an update on TNC's work in Ka`u and beyond at Na`alehu Library on Tuesday at  3 p.m.
Photo by David Rayner

KA`U STATE REP. RICHARD CREAGAN has penned a resolution asking to fund the John. A. Burns School of Medicine at University of Hawai`i to study the risk that spraying the insecticide chlorpyrifos, for agriculture, could pose to pregnant women and their offspring. The research would be done on Hawa`i Island, Kaua`i and O`ahu. 

     The insecticide with trade names like Dursban, Lorsban, Bolton, Nufos Cobalt, Hatchet, David Gray's and Warhawk, kills spiders, mites, termites and other insects by acting on their nervous systems. With studies showing that exposure during pregnancy damages mental development in children, the insecticide was banned nationwide for home use in 2001, but outdoor spraying was allowed to continue. In agriculture, it is used on bananas, citrus, corn and many other crops.

     Creagan, a physician, pointed to studies showing that exposure to high levels of chlorpyrifos is linked to biochemical and brain abnormalities. At particular risk, he said, are fetuses, babies and toddlers with rapidly developing brains and nervous systems. He said that studies are necessary since the impact of the insecticide on young brains and nervous systems may seem subtle at first but have long lasting damaging impacts to cognitive abilities.     

     The resolution comes after the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, last Wednesday, turned down his agency's request to ban chlorpyrifos in the spraying of all food crops nationwide. The recommendation to ban it came after a decade study and scientific review by the EPA. A petition brought the issue to the EPA from Natural Resources Defense Council and Pesticide Action Network. Both want the chemical banned.

     Earlier this session at the 2017 Hawai`i Legislature, Creagan, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, introduced a bill that would ban chlorpyrifos throughout Hawai`i. It failed to go to hearing after the Hawai`i Farm Bureau Federation and others asked the legislature to hold off until the EPA made its decision. Creagan said the bill for a ban could be resurrected during the next legislature. Department of Agriculture Chair Scott Enright and Senate Agriculture Chair Mike Gabbard have indicated support for the ban.

     Creagan has also proposed requiring more reporting from farmers who use restricted-use pesticides.

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"A DISAPPOINTING DECISION" is what Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is calling the decision by Congress last week "to strike down key FCC provisions that would have restricted internet service providers from selling users’ private information without their permission." She states that because of this repeal, "advertisers and large corporations can continue purchasing private online data from ISPs, without your approval, in an effort to further increase their profits."
       Whether it’s the mass collection of innocent American’s data, or corporate profiteering off of our personal information, the losers in all of this are the American people.
     "Upholding our Constitution should not be a partisan issue, and some of my more independently-minded Republican colleagues have expressed similar concerns by voting against this repeal. But there weren’t enough willing to take a stand for the people against corporate profit."
     Gabbard said that "The world is changing rapidly, and that is especially true online. The internet presents new challenges to our constitutional right to privacy, as threats posed to cybersecurity put critical information like one’s personal finances and spending habits at risk. "The Congresswoman is asking constituents from Ka`u to sign a "petition to tell Congress to stop attacking our right to privacy to boost corporate profits."

   Gabbard contends that the Fourth Amendment "protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures, and it guarantees the security of our personal property. "

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Jennifer Gutowski is the new Director of the VA's Pacific Islands
Health Care System with facilitiesin Hawai`i. VA photo

THE VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION'S PACIFIC ISLANDS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM has a new director, after a year of the post being vacant, reports Sen. Mazie Hirono, a member of the U.S. Senate's Veterans' Affairs Committee.

     Hirono applauded the appointment of Jennifer Gutowski and the response of the new Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin for quickly filling the post. When Hirono interviewed Shulkin before his confirmation hearing, she urged him to make it a priority to fill the position.

VA Secretary David Shulkin

     "Hawai`i veterans have been waiting over a year for the VA to name a permanent Health System Director," said Hirono. "Ms. Gutowski will need to hit the ground running to fill the gaps, including improving communication with Hawai`i's veterans community and addressing construction delays for facilities throughout the state."

      During the absence of a Pacific director, Hirono requested that the VA Inspector General conduct an inspection of VAPIHCS and asked the region for monthly updates on Hawai`i VA projects.
     In response to a request by Hirono, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General released an inspection report in September 2016 on a six-point plan the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System undertook to improve patient wait times for VA medical services. Click here to read the full report. Hirono sent a letter to the VA requesting formal updates for the veterans community on the status of VA projects across Hawai`i.
     "I look forward to working with Ms. Gutowski to ensure the health care needs of Hawaii's veterans are met," said Hirono.

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Ashfall on the snow from the eruption of the Bogoslof Volcano in Alaska, photo taken on March 8.
Photo by Andy Dietrick/ Alaska Volcano Observatory

HOT LAVA AND COLD WATER interacting where lava flows into the Pacific Ocean is common not only on Hawai`i Island but also on another volcanic island. This week's Volcano Watch, written by the scientists of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, focuses on Bogoslof Volcano, Alaska: Ongoing Eruption through the Bering Sea. Bogoslof was also the subject of study  and a 1907 visit by HVO's founder Thomas Jaggar.  

     HVO scientists suggest: "Let’s go north to Alaska where scientists have been tracking an intermittent eruption of lava through water surrounding a small, island volcano in the southern Bering Sea. On Dec. 21, 2016, the volcano burst to life sending clouds of ash and water vapor towering into the sky. Pilots were the first to see the eruption, calling in reports to air traffic control. Soon, scientists with the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the National Weather Service saw the eruption cloud on satellite imagery. Using information about winds aloft, warnings of the forecast ash cloud path went out to airlines.

Adding land at Bogoslof Volcano in the Bering Sea. Images from HVO

     "This volcano is called Bogoslof, a Russian name given in 1796 to a small cluster of volcanic rocks about 60 miles west of the city of Unalaska, a major fishing community in the Aleutian Islands. These islets are the summit of a submarine volcano that peeks just above the ocean surface.

     "The 2016-2017 series of events so far have included more than 30 explosions lasting minutes to hours have alternating with periods of quiet. Early explosions were ice-rich reflecting large amounts of seawater incorporated into the eruption clouds. Sulfur dioxide from one of these explosions was tracked by satellite as far away as Nebraska! By late January 2017, eruption clouds became enriched in ash as the eruptive vent became more isolated from seawater. Winds took an eruption cloud over Unalaska where residents experienced a dusting of ash.

     "The intermittent eruption dramatically changed the shape of the island as explosion debris accumulated above sea level only to be eroded by wave action in subsequent days. What had been an oasis for countless seabirds, sea-lions, and (Pacific Northern) fur seals – part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – is now an ash-covered moonscape surrounding a turbid (and acidic) lagoon.              

      "Bogoslof Volcano is far from Hawai`i but not far from our institutional history. In 1907, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory founder Thomas A. Jaggar sailed to this very island volcano in Alaska on an expedition from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their objectives, to explore Alaska’s volcanoes and search for mineral deposits, led to a report on the evolution of Bogoslof published in the Bulletin of the American Geographical Society in July 1908.

Thomas Jaggar, famous for founding Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, also visited Bogoslof Volcano in the
Bering Sea.

      "Jaggar was a keen observer and his notes on Bogoslof chronicle the record of eruptive activity summarized by mariners in the century leading up to 1907. Using these data and observations from his own several hours exploring the island, Jaggar compiled a sequence of maps of the changing island in a manner very similar to Alaska Volcano Observatory geologists today.

     "He also surmised the mechanism of Bogoslof eruptions and found similarities in the extrusive lava formations with those he had seen at Mount Pelee in the Caribbean in 1902. And, he noted evidence of uplift of the island and pondered its significance.

     "Ever the visionary, Jaggar used his trip to renew his call for the establishment of earth observatories to study volcanoes, earthquakes, and other earth processes. He was convinced that careful and systematic study of these phenomena was critical to living safely on our planet.         'Exploration, experiment, extended local observation, and permanent observatories are all needed for accumulating data concerning this old earth, which is pushing up and down its shorelines in a hundred places not yet explored, but known to geologists, and building other Bogoslofs.'

     "Such a network of volcano observatories exists today for much of the world. Jaggar would no doubt be pleased to see the array of modern technology used by the Alaska Volcano Observatory to issue warnings of each explosion. Satellites in earth orbit peer down at the volcano multiple times per day providing scientists a bird’s eye view of what is happening (weather permitting!) The World Wide Lightning Location Network (http://wwlln.net/) provides automated alerts – within minutes - of lightning near Bogoslof that often coincides with explosions of ash. And, infrasound or pressure waves from explosions are detected on seismic and infrasound sensors at nearby Okmok and Makushin volcanoes.

     Learn more about the ongoing eruption at Bogoslof by following the Alaska Volcano Observatory at www.avo.alaska.edu.

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Celtic Harp & Story, Mon, April 3, 11 a.m., Nā‘ālehu Public Library. Patrick Ball shares his knowledge & talents. 939-2442

Painting with Peggy, Mon, April 3, 12 – 3 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. $20/$15 VAC members. Participants learn to approach their painting process with a new awareness and understanding of color dynamics and composition.

Volunteer Fire Department Meeting, Mon, April 3, 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033

Hawai‘i County Council Meetings, Tue/Wed, April 4 and 5. Ka‘ū residents can participate via videoconferencing at Nā‘ālehu State Office Building. See hawaiicounty.gov for agendas and live-streamed and archived meetings.

Claudia Bruhin.  Photo from Volcano Art Center

Nature Conservancy Update, Tue, April 4 at 3 p.m., Nā‘ālehu Public Library. John Replogle informs the public. 939-2442

Ka‘ū Coffee Growers Meeting, Tue, April 4, 6 – 8 p.m., Pāhala Community Center.

Endangered Marine Wildlife: Threats & Mitigation Measures, Tue, April 4, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Susannah Welch of the Marine Wildlife Program shares innovative ways to protect species, including promotion of barbless hooks and their usefulness in sustaining Hawai‘i’s fisheries. Free; park entrance fees apply.

An Evening with Claudia Bruhin, Tue, April 4, 7 – 9 p.m., Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. La Meridiana Int’l School for Ceramic Arts administrator shows a photographic retrospective on the center’s evolution. Free; donations accepted. 967-8222