Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, October 25, 2019

Sulphur Cone (left), viewed toward southwest, from 3,480 m (11,420 ft) above sea level on Mauna Loa's southwest rift zone. At right, an HVO geoscientist and technician rebuild volcanic gas monitoring equipment installed near an outgassing fissure. See Volcano Watch below. USGS photo

REACTING TO REP. TULSI GABBARD'S DECISION TO CONCENTRATE ON HER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY instead of running for reelection to Congress, state Sen. Kai Kahele, who is running for her seat, released a statement yesterday. The Democratic candidate for Hawaiʻi's Second Congressional District wrote:
     "Since announcing her Presidential candidacy in January 2019, Congresswoman Gabbard has worked hard visiting towns and cities across the United States. This dedication, while worthy of admiration, meant that her congressional district was often left without a voice in Washington, D.C. I wholly respect and appreciate the Congresswoman's decision not to seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives as she pursues the Presidency. I thank her for her service, and I wish her and her family the best going forward.

Kai Kahele takes the lead in running for the congressional seat for rural Hawai`i after Tulsi Gabbard announce she will focus on the presidency and declines to run for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives.

   "I remain fully committed to my campaign to become Hawaiʻi's next Congressman. While our opponent may change, the fundamentals of building our grassroots campaign will not. When I announced my candidacy earlier this year, I pledged that I would take nothing for granted. I am traveling to each island, engaging with every community and sitting down with our neighbors, friends and ʻohana to hear directly about their concerns and to see how I may best represent them in Washington, D.C. That's what I have been focused on for the last 10 months, and that's what I will continue to do until the primary election next August. I will continue to work hard to earn the faith, confidence and vote of every resident of the 2nd District."
     Kahele's statement noted that he serves as Majority Floor Leader and Chairman of the Committee on Water and Land in the Hawaiʻi State Senate, where he represents his hometown of Hilo. He is an 18-year combat veteran aviator who was recently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Hawaiʻi Air National Guard.
     Former Hawaiʻi Governors John Waiheʻe, Ben Cayetano and Neil Abercrombie serve as Honorary Co-Chairs of the Kahele for Congress Campaign Committee. Honolulu City Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson formally endorsed Kahele's candidacy. The Kahele for Congress campaign has raised over half a million dollars since January 21, 2019.
     The Second Congressional District encompasses Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kaua'i, Niʻihau, and the rural parts of Oʻahu, including Waimānalo, Kailua, Kāneʻohe, the North Shore, and the Leeward coast.

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THE USE OF CONSERVATION CLASSIFIED LAND for urban purposes brought more testimony to yesterday's state Land Use Commission hearing in Hilo, which continued today.
     Cultural practitioner, educator, and attorney James Mauliola Keaka Stone, Jr. opposed the idea that the use of Maunakea for a telescope campus is invalid on its land that is classified conservation. During the public hearing, he referred to a challenge from the Kanakaole family, which states that the state Board of Land and Natural Resources has no right to allow industrial activity like the telescopes on Conservation land.

James Mauliola Keaka Stone, Jr. Photo from Big Island Video News