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| Stacy Higa interviews west Kaʻū to Kona state Senate candidates Dru Kanuha and Brenda Ford. See the forum at naleo.tv/vod/ |
Brenda Ford, who served eight years for County Council District 6, Volcano, Kaʻū into Kona, said she is an excellent researcher, leading to the best ideas. She said she is persistent in achieving goals and bringing projects to fruition, “to get things done.” She said she is a protector of people, and has extensive leadership ability. She is a former union steward and helped with many Kona capital improvement projects when serving on the Council. Ford said an important achievement was going to the state Supreme Court during her third council term to ensure voting districts are not gerrymandered. Hawaiʻi County became the only county where redistricting is codified.
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| Candidate Brenda Ford, in the Nāʻālehu Independence Day parade. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie |
When the candidates were asked what committees in the state Senate they would most like to serve, Kanuha said he would like to chair the health or education committee. He vowed to work toward construction of a new hospital in Kona and for more telehealth medicine. He said both the kupuna and new generation need more access to health care.
Ford said she would work for a new hospital in Kona, without leaning on taxpayer money. She said it should be a teaching hospital, and offer specialty medicine to reduce the emergency airlifts and air travel to Honolulu for patient treatment by specialists. She said she is already working to bring in University of Washington Pacific Basin West Hawaiʻi keiki dental clinic, which she helped to fund as a County Council member.
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| Candidate Dru Kanuha, in the Nāʻālehu Independence Day parade. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie |
Kanuha said that constituents are calling for more access to healthcare, particularly specialists. He said there is too much travel to Honolulu . He mentioned his dad being airlifted to Honolulu for a heart attack. He said there is a growing community that needs a new hospital.
When asked to identify the biggest issue for the entire island, Kanuha said lack of locally grown food. He said he supports the Kona and Kaʻū coffee industries, but said there needs to be ample land for growing food for the people who live here. He said he advocates for importing far less food and said the community can “take care of ourselves with more food sustainability.”
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| Dru Kanuha on Decision 2018, running for state Senate. Image from Na Leo TV |
When asked about the biggest issue facing the state, Ford said the operation of the state Department of Education. She pointed to the loss of teachers and the hiring of unqualified teachers.
She said more teachers are needed, their salaries raised.
She said the state charges a high price to ride school buses and some families who have many children save money by sending them on the free HeleOn county buses. She said there too few county buses and they often break down. “We need to do something about the Department of Education using the county funds to subsidize their transportation system.”
She said more teachers are needed, their salaries raised.
She said the state charges a high price to ride school buses and some families who have many children save money by sending them on the free HeleOn county buses. She said there too few county buses and they often break down. “We need to do something about the Department of Education using the county funds to subsidize their transportation system.”
Kanuha named affordable housing as the most critical statewide issue. “I have seen a lot of my friends… not being able to buy a place… So they moved to the mainland.” He said that the minimum wage does not match up with any actual affordable housing. “This doesn’t make sense to me.”
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| Brenda Ford on Decision 2018, running for state Senate. Image from Na Leo TV |
Ford agreed and talked about small villages with a central community and social services. She said there is a need for specialized housing for those distressed mentally. She said that the eruption which displaced many people with homes has disrupted some of the activities towards helping the chronically homeless. She talked about the present Kona hospital, which she hopes to replace with a new hospital in a different location, which could be repurposed to help those with mental and physical issues who are homeless.
Read more of the candidates' answers on a variety of topics, such as emergency preparedness, the tourism board, and higher education, in Monday’s Kaʻū News Briefs.
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.
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| The active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, about 3 weeks before magma began to withdraw from beneath the crater. Behind the plume is the old Overlook parking area, which slumped into the crater by June 21. USGS photo on April 13 by Lil DeSmither |
That is the question answered in this week’s Volcano Watch by U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and colleagues:
How does the current activity at Kīlauea caldera stack up against those of other volcanoes worldwide?
We are currently witnessing extraordinary events at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. For weeks, the summit has subsided both in a continuous fashion, and in incremental and jolting drops. As Kīlauea is being reshaped before our eyes, how does the current activity compare to similar collapses at other volcanoes in the world, or even to previous collapses at Kīlauea ?
The word “caldera” tends to conjure an image of a huge crater that was the product of a voluminous eruption, like Crater Lake, Oregon or Yellowstone, Wyoming . Indeed, those are calderas; they formed when large explosions emptied subsurface magma chambers, causing the overlying surface to collapse. But calderas can also form without large explosions.
Calderas are common features on shield volcanoes, like Kīlauea and Mauna Loa , and they are not usually associated with large explosive eruptions. Instead, they form when magma drains from beneath the volcano, perhaps to feed some distant intrusion or eruption on the volcano’s outer flank – exactly what is happening at Kīlauea ’s lower East Rift Zone. There have actually been a few collapse events at volcanoes around the world in the past few decades.
Piton de la Fournaise volcano, on Réunion Island Indian Ocean , is similar to Kīlauea in many respects: it is a hotspot volcano that erupts frequently from its summit and rift zones. In 2007, a major (for that volcano) flank eruption occurred, and within a week the summit began to subside. Over the course of just a few days, an area about 1 km (0.6 mi) across dropped by more than 300 m (~1000 feet). Seismicity indicates that the crater floor dropped in a series of down-dropping events, rather than all at once.
Collapse was also observed at Miyakejima volcano, in Japan . In 2000, magma left the volcano’s summit reservoir, intruded beneath the submarine flank of the volcano. About two weeks after the intrusion started, the summit crater began to deepen in a series of step-like events accompanied by seismic events, much like what is happening today at Kīlauea . Over the course of over a month, a section of the volcano’s crater about 1.6 km (1 mi) across dropped by 450 m (~1500 ft). The collapse was accompanied by a few explosions, some of which dusted areas of the island with ash and produced cold pyroclastic surges.
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| As magma in a shallow reservoir beneath the summit drains into the East Rift Zone, the ground above it sags, cracks, and subsides. Halema‘uma‘u crater has dropped about 400 m (1,300 ft) between early May and late June, and the diameter of Halema‘uma‘u has doubled. USGS photo on June 18 by Kyle Anderson |
The 1968 eruption of Fernandina volcano, in the Galápagos, provides another example of caldera formation. Over the course of about a week, the 4 km x 6.5 km (2.5 mi x 4 mi) caldera dropped in places by 300 m (almost 1,000 ft). It is thought that a submarine eruption or intrusion must have preceded the collapse. Importantly, and unlike Piton de la Fournaise and Miyakejima, significant explosive activity accompanied the collapse of Fernandina’s caldera, sweeping the summit area and parts of the volcano’s flanks with pyroclastic surges.
Earlier calderas have formed and filled at Kīlauea ’s summit. We know of at least two such cycles. One started about 2,200 years ago, before any humans were on the island to observe the activity. After that caldera was subsequently filled with lava flows, a new one formed sometime between the years 1470 and 1510 CE. That caldera-forming event may have made its way into Hawaiian mythology as part of the Pele and Hiʻiaka saga (see previous Volcano Watch article, volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_volcano_watch.html?vwid=566).
This later collapse “lost” a volume of about 5 cubic kilometers (1.2 cubic miles), about 4 times that of Fernandina’s 1968 collapse, and 10 times what we have observed so far at Kīlauea. The caldera floor might have been at least 600 m (almost 2,000 ft) deep when the collapse stopped. We know that formation of this caldera was not accompanied by a major explosion, but it was followed by three centuries of repeated explosive activity.
For more information about the current activity and hazard at and around the summit of Kīlauea , see this report: Volcanic Hazard at the Summit of Kīlauea, June 29, 2018 Update (volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-184/Summit%20scenarios_7-5-18.pdf). For status updates on volcanic activity, visit the USGS–Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webpage at volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/status.html. Subscribe to the Volcano Notification Service to receive emails about volcanic activity, at volcanoes.usgs.gov/vns2/. Webcam images: volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_webcams.html. View live streaming of summit activity at youtu.be/JlP-8JiKOS8.
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| Keiki enjoy painting rainbows after a science lesson about light and color at a Ka‘ū Homeschool Co-op Group meeting. Photo by Candace Hendricks |
Founder Laura Roberts said the idea for the group came about after homeschooling her four children in Ocean View for two years and seeing a “huge need for social activities for homeschooled kids.”
The group is free to join, and sessions are free to attend; however, participating families are asked to commit to leading one session every 6-8 months - providing needed materials - with the freedom to select their own topic. Past sessions have included various art projects, hands-on science lessons, and sports skills. Future sessions planned include gardening, cooking, homemade value-added produce, and more. Roberts says parents are welcome to lead a class on “art, games, food, story time… any kind of activity that the kids will enjoy and perhaps learn something. July events will probably be outings due to summer.
“We would love to see people come in from the community - who might not have homeschooled children - who would like to share as well. Such as, someone who does woodworking could come in and do a demonstration,” Roberts added.
Interested families are encouraged to contact Roberts in advance to confirm the meeting location. All events are alcohol and drug free. For more, call 406-249-3351 or dreamoutloud@mail.com. See The group is free to join, and sessions are free to attend; however, participating families are asked to commit to leading one session every 6-8 months - providing needed materials - with the freedom to select their own topic. Past sessions have included various art projects, hands-on science lessons, and sports skills. Future sessions planned include gardening, cooking, homemade value-added produce, and more. Roberts says parents are welcome to lead a class on “art, games, food, story time… any kind of activity that the kids will enjoy and perhaps learn something. July events will probably be outings due to summer.
“We would love to see people come in from the community - who might not have homeschooled children - who would like to share as well. Such as, someone who does woodworking could come in and do a demonstration,” Roberts added.
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.
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| Photo by Jack Jeffrey, from volcanoartcenter.org |
“Many of Hawai‘i’s native forest birds are seldom seen and rarely photographed. Often found only at higher elevations in remote rain forests, many of these birds are critically endangered, some having only a few hundred individuals remaining in the wild. In their rainforest habitats, the weather is often rainy, foggy, cold, and wet, extreme conditions prevail, not good for photographers or their camera equipment. These primeval forests are often only accessible by helicopter or by hiking many hours along muddy slopes and trails,” says the event description on volcanoartcenter.org. In this presentation, Jeffrey brings his experiences, challenges, and joys of photographing Hawai‘i’s native forest birds with stories and photos of these elusive native forest birds in their native habitats.
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| Photo by Jack Jeffrey, from volcanoartcenter.org |
Jeffrey, a longtime resident of Hawai‘i Island, is “intimately familiar with Hawai‘i’s hidden valleys and remote rainforests.” He brings to his photographs the knowledge of 40 years of observation and study of Hawai‘i’s endemic birds. “Combined with a naturalist’s curiosity, a photographer’s patience and technical skill, Jack captures the spirit of Hawai‘i’s rare forest birds, plants and other natural treasures in his wonderful photographic images.” He is the recipient of the following awards: 2002 Ansel Adams Award for Nature Photography; 2006 The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i; and Kako‘o ‘Āina Award for Conservation Photography. Jeffrey has also co-authored three books on Hawai‘i’s birds. His bird and natural history photographs have been featured in numerous worldwide publications.
As part of Thursday Night at the Center, this event is free; although, a $5 donation to Volcano Art Center is suggested. For more information, call 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org. The once-a-month Thursday night events at Volcano Art Center focus on art, Hawaiian culture, and the environment. The series is intended to inspire and enhance appreciation of art and life experience, while fostering community connections.
As part of Thursday Night at the Center, this event is free; although, a $5 donation to Volcano Art Center is suggested. For more information, call 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org. The once-a-month Thursday night events at Volcano Art Center focus on art, Hawaiian culture, and the environment. The series is intended to inspire and enhance appreciation of art and life experience, while fostering community connections.
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| See public Ka‘ū events, meetings, entertainment. Print edition of The Ka‘ū Calendar is free to 5,500 mailboxes throughout Ka‘ū, from Miloli‘i through Volcano, and free on |
MONDAY, JULY 9
Richard Creagan Talk Story, Mon, July 9, 6-9pm, Ocean View Community Center. Current State Representative for District 5 and candidate. He is a Ka‘ū resident, farmer, and a physician. 939-7033
TUESDAY, JULY 10
Hawai‘i County Council Meetings, Tue/Wed, July 10(Committees)/11 (Council), Hilo , Tue/Wed, July 24 (Committees)/25 (Council), Kona. Ka‘ū residents can participate via videoconferencing at Nā‘ālehu State Office Building
C.E.R.T. Discovery Harbour/Nā‘ālehu, Tue, July 10, 4-6pm , Discovery Harbour Community Hall. Public invited to see what Community Emergency Response Team is about, and participate in training scenarios. Dina Shisler, dinashisler24@yahoo.com, 410-935-8087
THURSDAY, JULY 12
Story Time with Auntie Linda from Tūtū and Me, Thu, July 12, 10:30 -noon , Nā‘ālehu Public Library. 929-8571
Thursday Night at the Center - Witnesses in Words: The Literature of Kīlauea, Thu, July 12, 7-8pm , Volcano Art Center Volcano Village Kīlauea and their perspectives: William Ellis, Titus Coan, Mark Twain and Isabella Bird. Free; $5 donation suggested. 967-8222, volcanoartcenter.org
Oliver!, a KDEN Production, July 13-29; Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30pm , Sundays 2:30pm . Shows moved to UH Hilo Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $20 general, $15 seniors 60+ and students, $12 keiki 12 and under. Tickets available from July 2 at Kīlauea General Store, Kea‘au Natural Foods, Basically Books, and The Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo . Info and reservations: 982-7344, kden73@aol.com
Exhibit, Birds of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park 9-5pm , Volcano Art Center Volcano Village
2nd Annual Bi-Annual Quilt Show, Quilts In The Forest - Where the Path May Lead, Opening reception: Fri, July 13, 5-7pm. Then daily, Tue-Sat, 10-4pm , through Aug 3, Volcano Art Center Volcano Village
Pancake Breakfast and Raffle, Sat, July 14, 8-11am , Ocean View Community Center
Kāwā Volunteer Day, Sat, July 14, 9:30am , Kāwā. Sign up with James Akau, Nā Mamo o Kāwā, at namamookawa@gmail.com, jakau@nmok.org, or 561-9111. nmok.org
Realms and Divisions of Kahuku, Sat, July 14, 9:30-11:30am , Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
SUNDAY, JULY 15
Nature and Culture: An Unseverable Relationship, Sun, July 15, 9:30-11:30am , Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
5th annual Ka‘ū Coffee Trail Run registration open. Race day Sat, Sept 22, 7 a.m. ; begins and ends at Ka‘ū Coffee Mill. Register online before Mon, July 9: 5K, $25/person; 10K, $35/person; and 1/2 Marathon , $45/person. From July 9 to Aug 11: $30/person, $40/person, and $45/person, respectively. From Aug 13 to Sept 20: $35/person, $45/person, and $55/person. Race day registration ends Sat, Sept 22, at 6:30 a.m. Event organizers, ‘O Ka‘ū Kākou; start location, Ka‘ū Coffee Mill.
Libraries Rock Summer Reading Program: Hawai‘i State Public Library System, through Saturday, July 14, statewide and online. Register and log reading at librarieshawaii.beanstack.org or at a local library. Free. Reading rewards, activities, and programs for children, teens, and adults. 2018 participants have a chance to win a Roundtrip for four to anywhere Alaska Airlines flies.
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Paid Intern sought by The Nature Conservancy, to work from October 2018 through August 2019 with their Hawai‘i Island Terrestrial Program, which has native forest preserves located in Ka‘ū and South Kona.
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Disaster Recovery Center, jointly operated by Hawaiʻi County, the State of Hawaiʻi , and FEMA, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Keaʻau High School Gym. Buses run from 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. to and from Keaʻau Armory every 20 minutes and Pāhoa Community Center Shelter every hour. See the full bus schedule on the Civil Defense Website at HawaiiCounty.gov/Active-Alerts. For a list of the information applicants need to bring to the DRC, or to register online, go to DisasterAssistance.gov.
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Find Your Park, invites Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Kamaʻaina and tourist alike are encouraged to experience authentic Hawaiian cultural programs, guided hikes, After Dark events, and more from Ka‘ū to Volcano to Hilo. “While Kīlauea continues to shake the ground and blast ash from its ever-changing summit crater – causing the partial closure of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park ![]()
Visitor Contact Station hosts Ike Hana Noe ʻAu, Cultural Demonstrations and Activities, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, made possible by Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association. Sat, July 7: Lau Hala Weaving. One of the most beautiful Hawaiian fiber crafts, the leaves of the hau tree (pandanus) are woven into useful and decorative purposes. Sun, July 8: ‘Ohe Kāpala. Make your mark, and learn to create bamboo stamps with traditional and modern Hawaiian designs.![]()
Guided Hikes begin at 9:30 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday in June and July. Meet the ranger at the welcome tent. Palm Trail, Saturday, July 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Ōhi‘a Lehua, Sunday, July 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Volcano Art Center ![]()
The return of After Dark …near the park at the Volcano Art Center Mokupāpapa Discovery Center
Libraries Rock Summer Reading Program: Hawai‘i State Public Library System, through Saturday, July 14, statewide and online. Register and log reading at librarieshawaii.beanstack.org or at a local library. Free. Reading rewards, activities, and programs for children, teens, and adults. 2018 participants have a chance to win a Roundtrip for four to anywhere Alaska Airlines flies.
Benefits offered include: a $1,600 monthly living allowance (before taxes); a $5,920 education award towards higher education; health care and childcare benefits (if eligible); and receive an entry-level conservation career experience.
Applicants must be at least 17 years old by the program start date, October 2018, and possess or be working towards a high school diploma or equivalent. Applications must also have their own housing and transportation, a drivers license, and be able to pass a criminal history check.
The internship is offered through Kupu Hawai‘i. Those interested are asked to fill out an online application at kupuhawaii.org under Conservation Leaders Program as soon as possible, as spaces are limited; http://www.kupuhawaii.org/conservation/. For more, call The Nature Conservancy at 443-5401 or call Kupu Hawai‘i at 808-735-1221.
Rangers offer new and familiar programs – free of charge, with no entry fees – for visitors at the park’s Kahuku Unit, Volcano Art Center’s Ni‘aulani Campus, the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo, and at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in downtown Hilo.
Kahuku Unit
In addition to regularly scheduled Guided Hikes and the monthly Coffee Talk, Kahuku Unit has added daily Ranger Talks, and cultural demonstrations and activities on weekends.
Visitor Contact Station hosts Ranger Talks on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. ; Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Coffee Talk, in the Visitor Contact Station is held the last Friday of the month, 9:30-11 a.m.
Kahuku events are posted to the park website, nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/kahuku-hikes.htm.
You can also find your park rangers in Volcano at the Volcano Art Center 19-4074 Old Volcano Rd. , in Volcano Village 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to provide talks and answer questions about the current eruption.
Find you park rangers at Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in downtown Hilo, Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rangers provide daily eruption updates, and at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., give a talk about all five of Hawai‘i Island’s volcanoes – including Kīlauea. Get your NPS Passport Book stamped. Located at 76 Kamehameha Ave. , Hilo Mokupāpapa Discovery Center
Grand Naniloa Hotel
Two Park Rangers are stationed at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in downtown Hilo , from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. , every Sunday and Monday, in the Willie K Crown Room - as long as nothing else is scheduled in the space. The rangers will be doing daily talks at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. about the eruption. They will show the park film that is normally available to visitors to see at the Kilauea Visitor’s Center at the Summit , Born of Fire, Born in the Sea, every half-hour beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Kona Vet Center visits to Ocean View Community Center are Suspended until further notice. Veterans may call 329-0574 for VA benefit information. ovcahi.org
Tūtū and Me Offers Home Visits to those with keiki zero to five years old: home visits to aid with helpful parenting tips and strategies, educational resources, and a compassionate listening ear. Home visits are free, last 1.5 hours, two to four times a month, for a total of 12 visits, and snacks are provided. For info and to register, call Linda Bong 464-9634.
St. Jude's Episcopal Church Calls For More Volunteers for the Saturday community outreach. Especially needed are cooks for the soup served to those in need, and organizers for the hot showers. "Volunteering for St. Jude's Saturday Shower and Soup ministry is an opportunity to serve God in a powerful way," states St. Jude's April newsletter. Volunteer by contacting Dave Breskin at 319-8333.
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