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| Mauna Loa's last eruption was in 1984 and the USGS is asking people to always be prepared for the next one. See more below. USGS Photo |
Bill 126, approved Tuesday, was one of many steps. It adopts amendments that apply to Hawaiʻi Island to the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code into Chapter 5 of Hawaiʻi County Code. The bill next goes to the Mayor for approval.
"Using the lessons learned from the adoption of the IECC, there will be a series of bills introduced over the next six months to completely overhaul the building review process," said a statement from Public Works Director David Yamamoto and County Council member Sue Lee Loy.
Soon after Bill 126 becomes law, its amendments will be restructured into a new bill (internally called the "Administration Code bill") that will allow the consolidation of the other Public Works codes under a new Chapter 5. The existing Chapter 5 (Building Code), Chapter 9, (Electrical Code), and Chapter 17 (Plumbing Code), will all be repealed and its provisions will be placed in the new Chapter 5, so that future updates to the codes will be consistent with each other, using the same definitions, and will be easier to update. This bill is expected to reach the Public Works and Mass Transit Committee in the first half of 2020, depending on the timing of future public engagements and adjustments in response to those meetings.
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| Modernize building codes move forward with adoption of Hawaiʻi County's version of the International Energy Conservation Code at Tuesday's County Council meeting. Photo from Hawaiʻi Energy Office |
Once that bill is in place, additional bills coming later in 2020 will fill in or update those codes, with additional County amendments.
State codes are based on the fire code, the Uniform Plumbing Code, the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Energy Conservation Code, and the National Electrical Code.
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| Hawaiʻi County Public Works Director David Yamamoto said there will be more opportunity for public input into revamping the electric plumbing, building and residential codes. Photo from Big Island Video News |
According to Public Works, "Additional rounds of public engagement are anticipated, as was done prior to the introduction of Bill 126, but unlike that bill, these new codes will come with additional restrictions. The Department is cautioning that it will not accept compromised building standards that jeopardize the public's health and safety."
Acting Building Division Chief Robyn Matsumoto said, "We remain steadfast on sharing this with the community and using the topic-focused briefings to alert all stakeholders and helping the design professionals adjust to these series of code revisions and adoption timelines."
Lee Loy said, "This comprehensive policy overhaul will complement the framework needed to moving us toward a one-permit system. This legislative package pours the foundation for providing efficient services to the entire construction industry and strengthening our island's pathway to economic opportunities."
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ATTEND THE RESCHEDULED SOLID WASTE MEETING on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Nā‘ālehu Community Center. The Jan. 14 meeting was cancelled due to storm activity. Hawaiʻi County's Public Information Meeting by the Department of Environmental Management's Solid Waste Division will include discussion on improvements and changes at the county's transfer and recycling stations where people take their trash.
Visit hawaiizerowaste.org or call the Solid Waste Division Office at 961-8270 for more.
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A SKATEPARK FOR OCEAN VIEW is in the works. In a meeting Dec. 28 sponsored by the community organization Kalani Hale, members, advocates, and kids supported building a park for skate boarding, skating, scooters, and more.
Travis Aucoin, a driving force behind the project, told The Kaʻū Calendar that many ideas came out of the meeting. "Kids made cool drawings of skateparks." Aucoin said he is on a roll to meet with county Parks & Recreation on design, location, and size. He said that Evergreen Skateparks is willing to work on design with the group, which also seeks a licensed contractor.
Aucoin said more community workshops are planned to hone down the design. One idea is a Flow Park, "with lots of room and area for the Advanced Tech Skaters, and more experienced Park Users." He noted that skateboarding is an Olympic sport. "Lots of skateboarders travel to compete in professional contests." During the public meeting, "We watched videos of all kinds of skateparks and took notes on lots of different size ramps, a Pump Track Street Course, and a nice Bowl that beginners could learn to ride."
The group also viewed videos of skateboarding contests, one with a Hawaiian skateboarder taking first at an X Games in China.
Aucoin said the he plans to meet with Hawaiʻi Department of Parks & Recreation on Monday, Feb. 3.
Interested in supporting the skateboard park? Contact Aucoin at 808-345-2588.
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| One keiki attendee of the Ocean View skatepark meeting drew this colorful concept art of of a future skate park for Ocean View. Photo by Travis Aucoin |
Travis Aucoin, a driving force behind the project, told The Kaʻū Calendar that many ideas came out of the meeting. "Kids made cool drawings of skateparks." Aucoin said he is on a roll to meet with county Parks & Recreation on design, location, and size. He said that Evergreen Skateparks is willing to work on design with the group, which also seeks a licensed contractor.
Aucoin said more community workshops are planned to hone down the design. One idea is a Flow Park, "with lots of room and area for the Advanced Tech Skaters, and more experienced Park Users." He noted that skateboarding is an Olympic sport. "Lots of skateboarders travel to compete in professional contests." During the public meeting, "We watched videos of all kinds of skateparks and took notes on lots of different size ramps, a Pump Track Street Course, and a nice Bowl that beginners could learn to ride."
The group also viewed videos of skateboarding contests, one with a Hawaiian skateboarder taking first at an X Games in China.
Aucoin said the he plans to meet with Hawaiʻi Department of Parks & Recreation on Monday, Feb. 3.
Interested in supporting the skateboard park? Contact Aucoin at 808-345-2588.
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.
MAUNA LOA ERUPTION PREPAREDNESS is encouraged as January's Volcano Awareness Month wraps up. A presentation on the status of the Volcano where much of Kaʻū District is seated, will be held at Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park in the amphitheater on Wednesday, Jan. 29 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Frank Trusdell will present the current status of Mauna Loa, discuss potential volcanic hazards based on past eruptions, and describe how HVO is preparing for the next eruption of Earth's largest active volcano.
A statement from USGS asks, "What will you do when Earth's largest active volcano erupts? In 2019, the Volcano Alert Level for Mauna Loa was elevated from NORMAL to ADVISORY due to increased seismicity and deformation at the volcano. This alert level does not mean an eruption is imminent, but it is a fact that Mauna Loa, which has erupted 33 times since 1843 (most recently in 1984), will erupt again. What will you do when it does?"
The 1929 Mauna Loa eruption wiped out the village of Hoʻopuloa near Miloliʻi.
Mauna Loa is not erupting, but the update about the volcano from HVO today states that seismometers recorded 99 small magnitude earthquakes beneath the upper elevations of the volcano during the past week. The strongest was a 3.1 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Most earthquakes occurred at shallow depths of less than 5 km (~3 miles) beneath the volcano's surface.
Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements show continued slow summit inflation, consistent with magma supply to the volcano's shallow storage system. Gas concentrations at the Sulphur Cone monitoring site on the Southwest Rift Zone remain stable. Fumarole temperatures as measured at both Sulphur Cone and the summit have not changed significantly.
For more information on current monitoring of Mauna Loa Volcano, see: volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna_loa/monitoring_summary.html.
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| Lava from Mauna Loa hits the water at Hoʻopula Village, near Miloliʻi in 1929. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory urges people to be prepared anytime for another Mauna Loa eruption. Photo by Ta Sung |
U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Frank Trusdell will present the current status of Mauna Loa, discuss potential volcanic hazards based on past eruptions, and describe how HVO is preparing for the next eruption of Earth's largest active volcano.
A statement from USGS asks, "What will you do when Earth's largest active volcano erupts? In 2019, the Volcano Alert Level for Mauna Loa was elevated from NORMAL to ADVISORY due to increased seismicity and deformation at the volcano. This alert level does not mean an eruption is imminent, but it is a fact that Mauna Loa, which has erupted 33 times since 1843 (most recently in 1984), will erupt again. What will you do when it does?"
The 1929 Mauna Loa eruption wiped out the village of Hoʻopuloa near Miloliʻi.
Mauna Loa is not erupting, but the update about the volcano from HVO today states that seismometers recorded 99 small magnitude earthquakes beneath the upper elevations of the volcano during the past week. The strongest was a 3.1 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Most earthquakes occurred at shallow depths of less than 5 km (~3 miles) beneath the volcano's surface.
Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements show continued slow summit inflation, consistent with magma supply to the volcano's shallow storage system. Gas concentrations at the Sulphur Cone monitoring site on the Southwest Rift Zone remain stable. Fumarole temperatures as measured at both Sulphur Cone and the summit have not changed significantly.
For more information on current monitoring of Mauna Loa Volcano, see: volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna_loa/monitoring_summary.html.
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.
The free tournament, held each year at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park Pavillions, is a huge draw for Kaʻū residents. Whole families make a day of it. Keiki as young as one year old up to age 14 can register online at okaukakou.org, or pick up a registration form at Nāʻālehu Elementary School, Nāʻālehu Ace Hardware, Pāhala Elementary School, Mizuno Superette in Pāhala, Wiki Wiki Mart in Nāʻālehu, Kahuku Country Market in Ocean View, and Ocean View Auto Parts. For more information, contact Guy Enriques at 808-217-2253 or Wayne Kawachi at 808-937-4773.
All attendees are encouraged to bring canned or non-perishable food to the event. "One can, if can. If no can, no can."
Fishing guidelines are: a parent or legal guardian must accompany keiki at all times; handpole fishing with barbless hooks only; personally owned hand poles are allowed; hand poles, gear, and bait are provided; no chumming or using palu (bread, mackerel, etc.) allowed; all fishing is catch and release.
Last year's tournament had over 275 keiki entrants, and the shores held almost 1,000 participants and volunteers. Those fishing in the ocean catch, measure, and release their catches.
Other sponsors of the event include Department of Land and Natural Resources Enforcement Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Barbless Circle Hook Project, Marine Wildlife Program, County of Hawaiʻi, S. Tokunaga Store in Hilo, and Suisan Company, Ltd.
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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Swimming
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Tūtū & Me Home Visiting Program is a free service to Pāhala families with keiki, birth to five years old. This caregiver support program offers those taking care of young keiki "a compassionate listening ear, helpful parenting tips and strategies, fun and exciting activities, and wonderful educational resources" from Tūtū & Me Traveling Preschool. Home visits are one hour in length, two to four times per month, for 12 to 15 visits. Snacks are provided. See pidfoundation.org or call 808-938-1088.
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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 |
See monthly and weekly Kaʻū and Volcano Events, Meetings, Entertainment, Exercise, and Meditation at kaucalendar.com.
Kaʻū Winter Sports Schedule
Girls Basketball
Tue. and Wed., Jan. 28 and 29 BIIF @Civic
Wed. thru Sat., Feb. 5-8 HHSAA on Oʻahu
Boys Basketball
Mon., Jan. 27 @Kamehameha
Tue. and Wed., Feb. 4 and 5 BIIF @ Kealakehe
Thu. thru Sat., Feb. 13-15 HHSAA on Oʻahu
Soccer
Sat., Jan. 25 Girls BIIF
Wed. thru Sat., Feb. 5-8 Girls HHSAA on Oʻahu
Sat., Feb. 1 and 8 Boys BIIF
Thu. thru Sat., Feb. 13-15 Boys HHSAA on Oʻahu
Wrestling
Sat., Jan. 25 @Kamehameha
Sat., Feb. 1 @Hilo
Sat., Feb. 8 BIIF @Konawaena
Fri. and Sat., Feb. 21 and 22 HHSAA
Sat., Jan. 25 @Kona Community Aquatic Center
Fri., Jan. 31 and Sat., Feb. 1 BIIF @Kamehameha
Fri. and Sat., Feb. 14 and 15 on Maui
UPCOMING
THURSDAY, JAN. 23
PETFIX Spay and Neuter Free Clinic for Cats and Dogs, Thursday and Friday, Jan. 23 and 24, Ocean View Ranchos. Registration: contact Bridget at (808)990-3548 or petfixbigisland@gmail.com.
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TUESDAY, JAN. 28
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Ka‘ū Food Pantry, Tuesday, Jan. 28 – last Tuesday, monthly – 11:30a.m.-1p.m. , St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Ocean View. Volunteers welcome. Dave Breskin, 319-8333
Public Information Mtg. by County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management's Solid Waste Division, Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Nā‘ālehu Clubhouse, 95-5635 Māmalahoa Hwy, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend and give input. The Solid Waste Division will be discussing the facilities' operating days and the possibility of modifying the current schedule for transfer stations. Visit hawaiizerowaste.org or call the Solid Waste Division Office at 961-8270 for more.
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The Next Mauna Loa Eruption and the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption talk, Thursday, Jan. 30, 6p.m. , Ocean View Community Center, 92-8924 Leilani Circle . To close out 11th annual Volcano Awareness month, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Scientist-in-Charge Tina Neal and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno will talk about the current status of Mauna Loa, hazards of future eruptions, experiences from Kīlauea 2018 eruption, preparing for next Mauna Loa eruption, and how communities can stay informed. The meeting is free and open to public. More info at "HVO News" at volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/, (808) 967-8844, or askHVO@usgs.gov.
FRIDAY, JAN. 31
Kahuku Coffee Talk – Makahiki: A Celebrated Season, Friday, Jan. 31 – last Friday, monthly – 9:30-11a.m., Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. Free. nps.gov/havo
FRIDAY, JAN. 24
Old Style Pau 4-5:30p.m. , Volcano Art Center
SATURDAY, JAN. 25
Palm Trail, Saturday, Jan. 25, 9:30-12:30p.m. , Kahuku Unit, HVNP. Free, relatively difficult, 2.6-mile, hike. Bring snack and water. nps.gov/havo
Sounds at the Summit Hilo 5:30-7:30p.m. Hawaiʻi Island musician and composer Trever Veilleux, director. Annual concert tends to sell out. 967-8222, volcanoartcenter.org
Blue Tattoo Band, Saturday, Jan. 25, 7-10p.m. , Kīlauea Military Camp's Lava Lounge, in HVNP. $5 cover charge, free to in-house guests. Open to authorized patrons and sponsored guests. Park entrance fees apply. kilaueamilitarycamp.com
MONDAY, JAN. 27
Cultural Understanding Through Art & the Environment: Kapa Aloha ʻĀina, the fabric of Hawaiʻi with Puakea Forester, Monday, Jan. 27 – fourth Monday, monthly – 2:30-4:30p.m. , Volcano Art Center
After Dark in the Park – Seismicity of the 2018 Kīlauea Volcano Eruption, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 7-8p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium. HVO seismologist Brian Shiro recounts the 2018 earthquake story, including how HVO adapted its techniques to monitor the events, and describes current levels of seismicity and HVO’s ongoing efforts to improve seismic monitoring. Free; Park entrance fees apply. 985-6101, nps.gov/havo
H.O.V.E. Road Maintenance Corp. Board Mtg., Tuesday, Jan. 28 – last Tuesday, monthly – 10a.m., H.O.V.E. RMC office, 92-8979 Lehua Lane, Ocean View. 929-9910, hoveroad.com
Public Information Mtg. by County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management's Solid Waste Division, Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Nā‘ālehu Clubhouse, 95-5635 Māmalahoa Hwy, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend and give input. The Solid Waste Division will be discussing the facilities' operating days and the possibility of modifying the current schedule for transfer stations. Visit hawaiizerowaste.org or call the Solid Waste Division Office at 961-8270 for more.
Lava Tubes of Ocean View, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Ocean View Community Center Hawaii Volcanoes National Park HOVE – and Hawaiian lava tubes in general. Those who want to know more about what's going on under their feet, and those curious about lava tubes are invited to the free presentation, along with family and friends, said the Bosteds.
THURSDAY, JAN. 30
Ka‘ū Food Basket, Thursday, Jan. 30 – last Thursday, monthly – 11a.m. -noon , Pāhala Community Center
The Next Mauna Loa Eruption and the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption talk, Thursday, Jan. 30, Volcano Friends Feeding Friends, Thursday, Jan. 30 – last Thursday, monthly – 4-6p.m., Cooper Center, Volcano Village. Free community dinner for all. Additional packaged goods to take home for those in need. Donations and volunteers encouraged. 967-7800, thecoopercenter.org
FRIDAY, JAN. 31
Kahuku Coffee Talk – Makahiki: A Celebrated Season, Friday, Jan. 31 – last Friday, monthly – 9:30-11a.m., Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. Free. nps.gov/havo
ONGOING
Apply for Mosaics of Science by Monday, Feb. 3. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park's 12-week paid summer internship position is designed to engage university students and recent graduates with on-the-ground work experience in the National Park Service. A $4,800 stipend, and all travel costs are covered, including a week-long career workshop in Washington , D.C.
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The selected intern will assist with the development of education curriculum for Kīpukapuaulu and Pu‘u Loa trails in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
For more information, contact Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Education Specialist Jody Anastasio by email at jody_anastasio@nps.gov. To apply go to go.nps.gov/mosaics or mosaicsinscience.org.
The internship is open to U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents ages 18-30, and to military veterans up to age 35. Funding is provided under a cooperative agreement for youth conservation activities as part of the Public Lands Corps program, which mandates that these age ranges are followed.
The selected intern will assist with the development of education curriculum for Kīpukapuaulu and Pu‘u Loa trails in Hawai‘i For more information, contact Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Education Specialist Jody Anastasio by email at jody_anastasio@nps.gov. To apply go to go.nps.gov/mosaics or mosaicsinscience.org.
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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