Kaʻū News Briefs Tuesday, June 26, 2018

See dramatic changes to Halemaʻumaʻu crater and Kīlauea caldera in a USGS flyover video from June 24. See story below on possible benefits to air quality due to the absence of the lava lake. Photo from USGS

REACTION TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDING THE TRUMP TRAVEL BAN was swift this afternoon, coming from Hawaiʻi's governor and congressional delegation.
     Gov. David Ige said, “Many of Hawaiʻi’s families vividly remember experiencing unjust discrimination on the basis of race and national origin. Our state will continue to be a check on this president’s irrational fear of travelers from predominantly Muslim countries. Sadly, the Supreme Court’s decision does not reflect the American values of inclusion, freedom, and opportunity. And it does not reflect the Aloha Spirit that Hawaiʻi exemplifies.”
     Sen. Mazie Hirono wrote, “Today is a dark day for our country. Every time our country has singled out a minority group for discriminatory treatment, we have been proven very, very wrong. The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Hawaii will be no different. By ignoring the President’s clear intent to discriminate against Muslims, the Court handed the President unfettered power to continue to target minorities.”
     The Supreme Court ruling today was five to four, with the majority stating that the President of the United States has the constitutional right to protect the U.S. citizenry by banning certain people from entering the country. Hawaiʻi was one of the states that sent its Attorney General to U.S. federal court to lift the ban, claiming discrimination against Muslims. Hawaiʻi won, but the Trump administration took the case to the Supreme Court to uphold its ban.

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Recent explosive events haven't produced significant ash plumes from the Kīlauea summit, but downwind, some ashfall can be experienced when previously erupted ash is remobilized, according to USGS scientists. On authorized permission from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's  Unmanned Aircraft Systems crew is conducting gas measurements and snapped this photograph from Chain of Craters Road. It shows a plume of remobilized ash on he horizon, rising from the Ka‘ū Desert  and blowing to the southwest. USGS photo

AIR QUALITY IN KAʻŪ MAY BE HEADED FOR IMPROVEMENT if recent trends continue. Halemaʻumaʻu, with its lava lake gone, is emitting lower amounts of S02 than before the current eruption. Its collapsive events - when its crater walls fall in - are throwing up less ash than eruptions in May, and the ash travels shorter distances, impacting fewer communities. No major ash falls have been reported in Kaʻū in recent weeks. However, ash is blowing into the region when the winds blow strong and pick it up from the Kaʻū Desert.
     Before the current volcanic activity, Kīlauea summit was releasing 3,000 to 6,000 tons of S02 per day when Halemaʻuma‘u's lava lake was filled. Recently, emissions have been half the levels of those before the recent volcanic activity began.
     With the ash plumes that earlier rose to tens of thousands of feet now only reaching lower altitudes, HVO lowered the aviation alert level to orange, though the volcano is still at a warning level.
     Like Halemaʻumaʻu, Puʻu ʻŌʻō's lava retreated into the volcano, dramatically reducing emissions. Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō was releasing 200 to 300 tons of SO2 per day before the current event.
     In lower Puna, East Rift Zone amounts of SO2 have been declining since the Fissure 8 emissions peaked around 25,000 tons per day last week, according to Mike Zoeller of the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes at University of Hawaiʻi-Hilo. The S02 had reached a “very high number” of 15,000 tons per day as of May 22, reported Wendy Stovall of USGS.

Timelapse of the lower East Rift Zone flows, May 16 to June 25, created from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's map updates. Map from USGS

     Air Quality Index at 2 p.m. had Pāhala at 35 (green), 65 at Ocean View (yellow), and 54 at Kona (yellow). SO2 levels at 2:30 p.m. were good (green) in Ocean View, and Kona. Pāhala hadn’t reported since 12:45 p.m., at which time it was moderate (yellow). The EPA site showed good (blue) at Nāʻālehu, Pāhala, Ocean View, and Kona, with a few locations in and around Kīlauea's summit showing caution (orange).

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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.

A GE tax increase of .25 percent, which would go straight to Hawaiʻi County, would help bolster public transportation on the island. Photo from Hele On

THE FAILED HIKE IN THE GE TAX COULD BE RECONSIDERED. A request will be taken up this Friday, July 29, at a special County Council meeting. Bill 159 would levy an additional .25 percent on the 4 percent General Excise tax for goods and services purchased in Hawaiʻi County. The 4 percent goes to the state and the .25 percent would go directly to Hawaiʻi County for transportation improvements. The tax would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2019, and be repealed Dec. 31, 2020, unless extended by ordinance. It would permanently sunset no later than 2031. The council voted against the tax hike during its last meeting, with some council members saying they wanted a .5 percent hike and others testifying against any tax hike. Mayor Harry Kim proposed the hike in the wake of the extra burden on the county budget during the lava disaster in Puna and beyond.

Michelle Galimba, Kaʻū’s new County Charter  Commissioner. Photo from Agricultural  Leadership Foundation of Hawaiʻi

RANCHER MICHELLE GALIMBA has been nominated by Mayor Harry Kim to represent Kaʻū on the County Charter Commission. Galimba served on the Kaʻū Community Development Plan advisory board, and is a member of the the state Board of Agriculture. She has volunteered for numerous community initiatives and assists with 4-H and her family's Kuahiwi Ranch in Kaʻū.

     Others nominated from their districts are Douglass Shipman Adams (Hilo); William Carthage Bergin (Kohala); Paul K. Hamano (Hilo); Kevin D. Hopkins (Hilo); Bobby Jean Akane Leithead Todd (Hilo); Sarah H. Rice (Kona); Christopher John Imiloa Roehrig (Hamakua); Marcia A. K. Saquing (Hilo); Donna Mae Springer (Puna); and Jennifer Leilani Zelko- Schlueter (Hilo). The nominations will be taken up by the County Council for confirmation this Friday.

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