 |
Clean air provides crystal views of mauka
mountains along Hwy 11 between Kāwā and Punaluʻu. As of March 26, U.S.
Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory lowered
hazards and Aviation
Code to GREEN. This means the volcano is at a non-eruptive, background state.
ADVISORY level for ground-based hazards and Aviation Code YELLOW since October, 2018, three months
after the eruption quietened. Photo by
Julia Neal
|
MOVING USGS HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES OBSERVATORY to Oʻahu
"doesn't seem to make a lot of sense," said Sen. Mazie Hirono to U.S.
Interior Secretary Nominee David Bernhardt during a Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee hearing in Washington , D.C.
 |
| Evidence of structural damage to HVO's building at the edge of Halemaʻumaʻu. USGS photo |
Hirono reports discussions on a new
HVO facility on Oʻahu, which would relocate scientists who monitor four active
Hawaiian volcanoes: Kīlauea , Mauna
Loa , Hualālai, and Haleakalā.
U.S. Geological Survey monitored
Hawaiʻi's volcanoes from the rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater at Kīlauea
for almost a century. Last year, daily earthquakes shook Kīlauea
caldera. Its walls fell in, undermining the integrity of the HVO building. After
monitoring from the summit since 1924, scientists moved.
Hirono told the interim Interior
Secretary, "We obviously need to rebuild the facility." She urged him
to keep it where "there are active volcanoes.
"I would want to have your
commitment that you will listen to the Congressional delegation as well as
local stakeholders to put this observatory where the eruptions will likely
occur," Hirono told Bernhardt.
"I have to say, I will
absolutely look into that," Bernhardt replied.
Concluded Hirono, "Let's do
things that make actual common sense."
In the Volcano
community, some residents suggested the damaged HVO building, which also held Hawaiʻi
Volacnoes National Park's Jaggar Museum
The U.S. Department of the Interior
oversees both USGS and the National Park Service, which manages Hawaiʻi
Volcanoes National Park.
 |
| USGS photos |
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.
SECURING AMERICA'S ELECTIONS ACT was reintroduced on March 28 by
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard said the bill would address the "extreme
vulnerabilities" within our nation's elections infrastructure, "leaving
voters susceptible to potential hacking and manipulation of votes." It
would require the use of voter-verified paper ballots or a paper ballot backup
in federal elections that if needed, can be audited and counted by hand,
optical scanner, or similar device. The bill would establish voter-verified paper
ballots as the correct record of the total votes cast, in the event of any
inconsistencies or irregularities between electronic and paper vote tallies. The
bill also includes language addressing open-source technology "to further
strengthen our elections infrastructure."
Aaron Scherb,
Director of Legislative Affairs with Common Cause, said the organization appreciates
Gabbard's efforts to "secure our elections against malicious attacks."
He said the act would "help prevent foreign entities from trying to
undermine our democracy."
According to the
Department of Homeland Security, 21 U.S.
states' electoral systems faced attempted hacking in the 2016 election. Shortly
after, at the world's longest-running and largest hacking conference, DEFCON 25 revealed startling cyber vulnerabilities in US election
infrastructure. In 2017, during an Oversight Committee hearing, Gabbard highlighted
Virginia's move to a voter-verified paper ballot system following the
DEFCON revelations. She reports the Virginia Department of Elections stated
they did not receive a single complaint questioning the integrity of the 2017
election and produced the highest voter turnout in two decades. DEFCON also released a new report detailing further
vulnerabilities and the need for public funds to address them.
The Securing
America's Elections Act would complement other legislative efforts supported by
Gabbard "to protect and promote voter enfranchisement," including the
voting rights provisions in H.R.1 the For the People Act of 2019, H.R.51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, and H.R.645, the Automatic Voter Registration Act.
 |
| Kaʻū Valley Mountain Hike on Wednesday, May 1 takes participants through Kaʻū's rainforest, along the old sugar plantation waterways. Photo by Lee Neal |
MISS KAʻŪ
COFFEE COURT WILL REIGN over activities of the Kaʻū Coffee Festival through
Sunday, May 5. The events are open to the public. They are:
Pā‘ina
and Open House kicks off the fest
on Friday, April 26 at Pāhala Plantation House, 5:30 p.m. Meet the Miss Kaʻū
Coffee Court on the evening before the pageant. Enjoy live entertainment and
refreshments. Call Pāhala Plantation Cottages, 928-9811.
Miss Kaʻū
Coffee Pageant is Saturday, April
27, 6
p.m. at Kaʻū District
Gym. To volunteer or donate, call Pageant Director Trini Marques at 928-0606.
See contestants on yesterday's Kaʻū News Briefs.
Kaʻū
Coffee Recipe Contest is Sunday,
April 28, 11 a.m. at Kaʻū
Coffee Mill. Categories are pūpū, entrée, and dessert. No entry fee, all ages. Free
tastings. Contest entry info at KauCoffeeMill.com or KauCoffeeFest.com. Call
928-0550.
 |
| Pāhala Plantation House kicks off the festivities during the Paʻina with live entertainment and refreshments. Photo by Julia Neal |
Kaʻū
Valley Farms Tour and Lunch
happens Thursday, May 2, 9 a.m. to noon . Above
Nāʻālehu, visit a plant nursery, food farm, coffee and tea plantings, native
forest, and hidden valley. $40 per person. Reservations required. Call 987-4229
or 731-5409.
Kaʻū
Coffee and Cattle Day on Friday,
May 3, 10
a.m. to 3 p.m. is at
Aikane Plantation Coffee Farm. Includes farm tours, BBQ buffet, and hayride.
Visit this historic Ka‘ū Coffee farm and ranch. $25, reservations required.
Call 927-2252.
Kaʻū
Stargazing on Friday, May 3, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. , takes guests to the top of sacred Makanau during
a new-moon. Learn about the ancient Hawaiian temple and see the Hawaiian night
sky and stars. Reservations required; $45 per person, includes refreshments.
Call 938-0550.
 |
| Kaʻū Coffee Fest closes with Coffee College, where enthusiasts and farmers can learn more about coffee and new, innovative tools. Photo by Julia Neal |
Kaʻū
Coffee College, held at Pāhala Community Center 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday,
May 5, serves up education and demonstrations for coffee farmers and Kaʻū
Coffee enthusiasts.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.
KAʻŪ LITTLE LEAGUE MINORS AND MAJORS are seeking donations and sponsors to help the young baseball players of Kaʻū to participate in Kaʻū's Little League and play games all over Hawaiʻi Island. Monetary donations would go to offsetting registration fees, and uniform and equipment costs.
KAʻŪ LITTLE LEAGUE MINORS AND MAJORS are seeking donations and sponsors to help the young baseball players of Kaʻū to participate in Kaʻū's Little League and play games all over Hawaiʻi Island. Monetary donations would go to offsetting registration fees, and uniform and equipment costs.
Contact Josh or Elizabeth Crook at 345-0511 or kaulittleleague@yahoo.com.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.
FAULTING AT HALEMAʻUMAʻU crater gives opportunities for examination of 19th century lava flows. Find out why this is causing excitement for geologists in this week's Volcano Watch, written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates:
New outcrops
make good geology.
A good field
geologist is an opportunist. Never content with what outcrops are available,
she jumps at the chance to see another one, hoping that it will provide a
better understanding to some question about what happened in the past. But it
isn’t every day that new outcrops are created, and rarer still when they are on
the scale of those formed during the faulting of Kīlauea Volcano's caldera
floor in summer 2018.
As
Halemaʻumaʻu sank and widened, its crater wall began to expose lava flows that
formed during earlier eruptions and were covered by later flows. In particular,
the north side of Halemaʻumaʻu bites some 500 m (1640 ft) deeper than before,
potentially making accessible lava flows that erupted and gradually filled the
caldera early in the 19th century.
In addition,
the faults that bound the down-dropped sector of the caldera exhumed the south
sulfur bank and expose lava flows not previously observed by scientists.
 |
Aerial view of the western part of
(400 feet) below the caldera
floor. Many 19th century lava flows are exposed in the fault scarps.
Halema‘uma‘u (not visible) is to the left of this photo. USGS photo by
D.Swanson
|
Chemical and
isotopic analysis of 19th-century caldera fill exposed in the high wall of
Halemaʻumaʻu and adjacent faults will augment and refine their startling
finding. It won’t be easy to do the sampling, though, because a lot of rocky
rubble mantles much of the wall, possibly obscuring some flows. But it needs to
be done before lava returns to Halemaʻumaʻu.
The faults
cutting the caldera floor may reveal details about the 19th century caldera
fill that have long eluded geologists. Maps and sketches of the floor made at
various times show wide, multiple lava lakes and probably several editions of
"black ledges" adjacent to the lakes.
How deep
were those lakes? Were they merely shallow ponds and bays no more than a few
tens of meters (yards) deep, or were one or more of them so deep that they
connected with the magma reservoir perhaps 1 km (0.6 mi) or more deep?
The new
exposures provide cross-sections through some of the 19th century caldera fill.
These cross-sections can be examined to look for the margins and floors of
ancient lava lakes, spills from those lakes, eruption conduits, and other
features leading to a greater understanding of how the caldera was filled.
Thick
explosive deposits formed between about 1500 and the early 1800s are exposed
high on the south wall of Halemaʻumaʻu, covered only by one or two younger lava
flows. Binocular observations of the lower north wall of Halemaʻumaʻu, several
hundred meters (yards) below the caldera floor, have not seen any explosive
deposits. Yet the explosive debris must have fallen into the caldera as well as
around it.
 |
Telephoto zoom of the largest sulfur deposit forming on the
northeast talus wall in Halema‘uma‘u. The view is from the
USGS HVO K3cam. View live images.
HVO photo
|
The news
isn't all good. Shaking during the more than 60 large earthquakes last summer
caused rockfalls along the west side of the caldera that buried at least one
outcrop of explosive deposits more than 1000 years old. Luckily, those deposits
had already been sampled.
For a
tantalizing time, a much larger outcrop of these old deposits reappeared in the
caldera wall as the caldera floor dropped; this outcrop is shown in a
photograph taken a few years before the 1919 lava flow covered it. But
gradually throughout the summer 2018, this exhumed outcrop became stranded and
inaccessible as the caldera floor sunk below it. Perhaps a way will eventually
be found to study this superb outcrop.
Summer 2018
gave field-focused geologists lots to do and think about in Kīlauea Volcano's
caldera. With new samples and first-hand observations, their work will build on
what is already known or surmised and help us better understand the caldera and
how its 19th-century activity differed so much from that of the past 100 years.
Volcano Activity Updates
Three earthquakes
with three or more felt reports occurred in Hawaiʻi during the past week: a
magnitude-2.5 quake 51 km (32 mi) southwest of Kahaluʻu-Keauhou at a depth of
28 km (17 mi) on March 26 at 10:04 p.m.; a magnitude-3.0 quake 31 km (19 mi)
southeast of Waimea at a depth of 17 km (11 mi) on March 24 at 3:43 a.m.;
and a magnitude-3.5 quake 5 km (3 mi) south of Volcano at depth of 13 km
(8 mi) on March 23 at 11:13 p.m.
Visit volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo for past Volcano Watch articles,Kīlauea and Mauna
Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake info, and
more. Call 808-967-8862 for weekly Kīlauea updates.
Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.
Visit volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo for past Volcano Watch articles,
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.
 |
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
|
Kaʻū Trojans Spring Sports Schedule
Baseball:
Sat., March 30, 1 p.m. , @Konawaena
Tue., April 2, 3 p.m. , @HPA
Thu., April 4, 3 p.m. , @Waiakea
Sat., April 6, 11 a.m. , @Kealakehe
Sat., April 13, 3 p.m. , @Kamehameha
Fri., April 19, BIIF Semi-Finals
Softball:
Sat., March 30, 11 a.m. , @Konawaena
Wed., April 3, host Waiakea
Fri., April 5, 3 p.m. , @Kealakehe
Fri., April 12, BIIF Semi-Finals
Sat., April 13, BIIF Semi-Finals
Fri., April 19, BIIF Finals
Boys Volleyball:
Fri., March 29, 6 p.m. , @HPA
Wed., April 3, 6 p.m. , host Ehunui
Fri., April 5, 6 p.m. , @Christian Liberty , Varsity
Tue., April 9, 6 p.m. , host Waiakea
Fri., April 12, 6 p.m. , @Keaʻau
Wed., April 17, 6 p.m. , Kamehameha
Fri., April 19, 6 p.m. , host Honokaʻa
Track:
Sat., March 30, 3 p.m. , @Keaʻau
Sat., April 6, 9 a.m. , @Waiakea
Sat., April 13, 9 a.m. , @HPA
Free STD Testing, Monday, April 8, 2nd Monday monthly, 9 a.m. – noon, Ocean View Community Center. Sponsored by Hawai‘i Department of Health. Call for appt. on different day or time. Teenagers 14+ do not need parent/guardian consent. Confidential. Free condoms and lube. 895-4927
Kickball, Monday, April 8 through 29, 2:30 p.m – 3:30 p.m., Kahuku Park, H.O.V.E. Register keiki ages 6-12 April 1-5. Free. 929-9113, hawaiicounty.gov/pr-recreation
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.
UPCOMING
SATURDAY, MARCH 30
Count Humpback Whales – Final 2019 Sanctuary Ocean Count, Saturday, March 30, 8 a.m. to noon, Ka‘ū locations: Kaʻena Point in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Miloli‘i Lookout, Ka Lae Park, and Punalu‘u Black Sand Beach Park. Participants tally humpback whale sightings and document animals' surface behavior during survey, providing valuable data to NOAA. Register at oceancount.org; registration closes one week prior to event. Free.
Exhibit - Ancient Hula: Through the Lens of Dino Morrow, daily, March 30-May 5, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Volcano Art Center Gallery. Reception on Saturday, March 30, 5p.m. Morrow is a documentary and portrait photographer specializing in imagery of local cultures. Free; park entrance fees apply. volcanoartcenter.org, 967-8222
Classic Car and Bike Show, Saturday, March 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. Fun, food, music, and open house. Pre-registration of vehicles strongly recommended. Sponsored by Ocean View Community Association. Show prizes provided by Dune Buggy Concessions and OVCA. Raffle prizes provided by local merchants and individuals. Dennis, 831-234-7143, or Ron, 217-7982
Discovery Harbour Homeowners Mtg., Saturday, March 30 at 4 p.m., at the old Clubhouse. Bring chair.
MONDAY, APRIL 1
Scholarship Application Deadlines for American Association of University Women-Kona, Three $2,000 awards for college-bound high school students: Monday, April 1. Application packets at kona-hi.aauw.net. sharonnind@aol.com
Ka‘ū Homeschool Co–op Group, Monday, April 1, 15 and 29, 1 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. Parent-led homeschool activity and social group, building community in Ka‘ū. Confirm location in case of field trip. Laura Roberts, 406-249-3351
Ocean View Volunteer Fire Department Mtg., Monday, April 1, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. 939-7033, ovcahi.org
Vacation Rental Regulation Hearing, Tuesday, April 2, 6 p.m., Hilo County Council Chambers. Testimony accepted.
AdvoCATS, Tuesday, April 2, 7 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. Free spay/neuter for cats. 895-9283, advocatshawaii.org
Finger Puppetry, Tuesday, April 2, 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., multi-purpose room, Ka‘ū District Gym. Open to keiki grades K-6. Free. Register through April 1. 928-3102, hawaiicounty.gov/pr-recreation
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3
Hula Voices with Kumu Kini Ka‘awa, Wednesday, April 3, 1st Wednesday monthly, 5:30 p.m – 7 p.m., Volcano Art Center Gallery. Desiree Moana Cruz moderates the talk story session. Free. 967-7565, volcanoartcenter.org
Open Mic Night, Wednesday, April 3, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., Lava Lounge, Kīlauea Military Camp. Call 967-8365 after 4 p.m. to sign up and for more details. Park entrance fees may apply. Open to KMC patrons and sponsored guests, 21+. 967-8371, kilaueamilitarycamp.com
THURSDAY, APRIL 4
Women's Support Group, Thursday, April 4, 1st Thursday monthly, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., PARENTS Inc., Nā‘ālehu. Women welcome to drop in. Free. Lindsey Miller, 333-3460, lindsey@hawaiiparents.org
FRIDAY, APRIL 5
Stewardship at the Summit, Friday, April 5 and 26, Saturday, April 13 and 20, 8:45 a.m. – noon, Kīlauea Visitor Center. Volunteers remove invasive plants. Gloves and tools provided. Free; park entrance fees apply. RSVP to Paul and Jane Field, field@hawaii.edu. nps.gov/havo
Skateboard Movie Night, Friday, April 5, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., Ocean View Community Center. Free; open to public. 939-7033, ovcahi.org
ONGOING
Five Scholarships are available from American Association of University Women-Kona: Three $2000 scholarships will go to female college-bound Kaʻū High School and West Hawaiʻi high school students. Applications must be postmarked by Monday, April 1. Two $1,000 scholarships will go to any female high school graduate or older women attending a two-year vocational program leading to a marketable skill at Palamanui Campus . Applications must be postmarked by Wednesday, April 10. Application packets available at kona-hi.aauw.net. Contact sharonnind@aol.com.
Beginning Farmer Institute Cohort Applications open through Monday, April 15. Free training program which "prepares new producers of any age or operation type for a successful future in agriculture." Applications at nfu.org/education/beginning-farmer-institute.
Exhibit: On Sacred Ground by Dino Morrow is open daily, Saturday, March 30 through Sunday, May 5 at Volcano Art Center Gallery. The public is invited to see documentary and protrait photography of Hula Arts at the Kīlauea Program. Visit volcanoartcenter.org for more information.
Five Scholarships are available from American Association of University Women-Kona: Three $2000 scholarships will go to female college-bound Kaʻū High School and Beginning Farmer Institute Cohort Applications open through Monday, April 15. Free training program which "prepares new producers of any age or operation type for a successful future in agriculture." Applications at nfu.org/education/beginning-farmer-institute.
Kaʻū Coffee Fest invites non-profits, clubs, cooperatives, and businesses to sign up for booths at the 11th annual Kaʻū Coffee Fest Hoʻolauleʻa on Saturday, May 4 at Pāhala Community Center. The all-day event comes with music, hula, coffee tasting, and meeting the famous Kaʻū Coffee farmers. See
Booth fees are $100 for food vendors; $60 for non-food items and crafts, including coffee and coffee samples; and $35 for pre-approved information displays. No campaign and other political displays. Fifty percent discounts for non-profit organizations and cooperatives selling food, crafts, and coffee. Vendors must also obtain county vendor permits costing $30 each and a Department of Health permit, if serving food. Call Gail Nagata 933-0918. Apply by Friday, April 26. Application at KauCoffeeFestival.com. Email to biokepamoses@gmail.com; mail to Brenda Iokepa-Moses, P.O. Box 208 , Pāhala , HI 96777
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. See our online calendars and our latest print edition at kaucalendar.com.
