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| Keiki to Kupuna are invited to this year's Bon Dance in Kaʻū. Following the one last year in Pāhala, shown above, the 2024 Bon Dance in Kaʻū will be Saturday at Nāʻālehu Hongwanji, its first since the pandemic. Photo by Julia Neal |
THE 2024 KAʻŪ BON DANCE will sunset Obon season on the island this Saturday at Nāʻālehu
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| Live singing and playing traditional Japanese instruments at the bon dances. Photo by Julia Neal |
People of all faiths are invited to take part in the traditional Japanese ceremonies at 4 p.m., followed by taiko drumming, music, song, dance and foods to honor those who came before.
Bon Dance and services are traditional and nowadays rare in Japan. They ring in the harvest and ceremonially share the abundance with ancestors. During last year's service in Pāhala the priest said, "Let us take a moment to think of our loved ones who have helped you become who you are, those who have cared about you, and those who have been loved by you." The service included Israel Kamakawiwa‘ole's song, In this Life, I've Been Loved by You. The priest sometimes plays the 'ukulele.
The service this year in Nāʻālehu will be followed by taiko and dancing outside the temple, with some public participants in kimono, others in hapi coats, others in street clothes. While the music plays and a leader calls the dances, people from diverse communities move round and round the tower, like a May pole.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS THE MAIN TOPIC FOR MICHELLE GALIMBA, KAʻŪ'S COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER, in her latest newsletter. Several bills have passed and one comes before the council this coming week regarding cutting the real taxes to incentivize affordable housing. She writes:
Bon Dance and services are traditional and nowadays rare in Japan. They ring in the harvest and ceremonially share the abundance with ancestors. During last year's service in Pāhala the priest said, "Let us take a moment to think of our loved ones who have helped you become who you are, those who have cared about you, and those who have been loved by you." The service included Israel Kamakawiwa‘ole's song, In this Life, I've Been Loved by You. The priest sometimes plays the 'ukulele.
The service this year in Nāʻālehu will be followed by taiko and dancing outside the temple, with some public participants in kimono, others in hapi coats, others in street clothes. While the music plays and a leader calls the dances, people from diverse communities move round and round the tower, like a May pole.
Taiko Drumming performances by Puna Taiko and Pāhala Hongwanji Taiko will be at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bon dancing begins at 6 p.m. and goes until 10 p.m. Some enthusiasts travel around the island to every Bon Dance throughout the summer wrapping it up in Kaʻū.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS THE MAIN TOPIC FOR MICHELLE GALIMBA, KAʻŪ'S COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER, in her latest newsletter. Several bills have passed and one comes before the council this coming week regarding cutting the real taxes to incentivize affordable housing. She writes:
"Access to affordable housing continues to be a major issue for local people in Hawaiʻi. There is no single 'silver bullet' that can quickly change a situation that is largely driven by market forces. However, there are regulatory changes that can help and the Council is working on changes to our County Code to help address the lack of affordable housing in Hawaiʻi County.
"Real property taxes are the major source of revenue for the County. This revenue pays for the many County services that will all depend upon, most notably public safety services, such as police, fire, and paramedic services, as well as other basic services such as solid waste and waste-water systems and County road maintenance. Making adjustments to the real property tax regime is one of the most important responsibilities and powers of the County Council.
"Our office has teamed up with the office of Councilmember Jenn Kagiwada on a pair of bills that will encourage and support our citizens to offer long-term rentals (rentals of six months or more.) This will help to make more long-term rentals available to our local people. The Council recently passed Bill 174 that will allow home-owners who rent part of their home long-term to remain in the Home-owner tax class. The Home-owner tax class provides significant tax benefits, so this bill helps to encourage much needed long-term rentals.
"Coming before the Council this week, for its second and final reading, is Bill 104, which will create a Long-term Rental tax class. Currently market rate long-term rental units do not have a separate tax class, so there is no way for the Council to separate long-term rentals from short-term rentals to provide tax incentives. This will be a voluntary program that landlords can opt into by filling out a form and providing evidence of a long-term lease of six months or more."
THE EAST RIFT ZONE OF KILAUEA VOLCAN0 is the site of more than 188 small earthquakes from Thursday into Friday morning. USGS reports that “Additional pulses of unrest in the upper to middle East Rift Zone are possible and may evolve quickly.”
"Real property taxes are the major source of revenue for the County. This revenue pays for the many County services that will all depend upon, most notably public safety services, such as police, fire, and paramedic services, as well as other basic services such as solid waste and waste-water systems and County road maintenance. Making adjustments to the real property tax regime is one of the most important responsibilities and powers of the County Council.
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| Michelle Galimba |
"Coming before the Council this week, for its second and final reading, is Bill 104, which will create a Long-term Rental tax class. Currently market rate long-term rental units do not have a separate tax class, so there is no way for the Council to separate long-term rentals from short-term rentals to provide tax incentives. This will be a voluntary program that landlords can opt into by filling out a form and providing evidence of a long-term lease of six months or more."
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.
Summit Observations showed 89 earthquakes detected beneath Kīlauea’s broader summit region over 24 hours, most below magnitude-2 and at depths between 1 km – 3 km (0.6 mi – 1.9 mi) below the surface. Rates of deformation at the summit remained relatively low, with slightly fluctuating tilt at summit tiltmeters.
An overall inflationary trend has been measured by GPS instruments in recent months. The most recent measurement of SO2 emission rate was 75 tonnes per day on Aug. 20.
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| Above Top: Number of earthquakes per day during the past week (blue bars). The red line is the cumulative moment (energy) release. Bottom: Depth of earthquakes during the past week in the area shown on the map above. Depth is reported relative to sea level, which is equal to a depth of zero on the above plot. On both figures, circle-size represents magnitude, and color indicates depth. USGS graphs |
USGS Rift Zone Observations: Over 24 hours, there were 188 earthquakes recorded beneath ![]()
Kīlauea’s UERZ region and 34 earthquakes recorded within Kīlauea’s south flank. This is similar to earthquake counts from Wednesday and still below the levels of activity seen during episodes of unrest. Rates of deformation remained stable.
Activity in other parts of the East Rift Zone remained low. There were no significant changes at tiltmeter POC, located at Puʻuʻōʻō (the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity) during the past day. GPS instruments have recorded periods of inflation in portions of the the middle East Rift Zone (MERZ) uprift of Puʻuʻōʻō during the past month. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the MERZ remain below detection limits for SO2, indicating that SO2 emissions from this area are negligible.
Activity in other parts of the East Rift Zone remained low. There were no significant changes at tiltmeter POC, located at Puʻuʻōʻō (the site of 1983–2018 eruptive activity) during the past day. GPS instruments have recorded periods of inflation in portions of the the middle East Rift Zone (MERZ) uprift of Puʻuʻōʻō during the past month. Measurements from continuous gas monitoring stations downwind of Puʻuʻōʻō in the MERZ remain below detection limits for SO2, indicating that SO2 emissions from this area are negligible.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.
KAʻŪ HIGH TROJANS FOOTBALL TRAVELED TO KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOL on Friday. The Trojans brought home 3 points. Kamehameha kept 68 during the night game under the lights.
Kaʻū heads to Honoka'a at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Kaʻū travels to Pahoa on Thursday, Sept. 26. Kohala comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kaʻū goes to Hawai'i Preparatory Academy on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Kamehameha comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 19. Honoka'a travels to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 26, followed by BIIF Division Championships.![]()
Athletic Director is Jaime Guerpo. Head coach is Connor Norton. Assistant Coach is Mark Peters. Coaching staff includes Greg Rush, Ray Mayzack, Duane Pua, Time Drafaul, Ted Blanco and Walter Parada. Athletic Trainer is Moses Whitcomb.
KAʻŪ GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM traveled on Friday and gave up all sets in JV and Varsity play. Varsity scores were 11-25 and 4-25. Varsity scores were 18-25, 21-25, and 18-25.
Trojans go on the road to Kamehameha on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Hilo comes to Kaʻū on Thursday, Sept. 19. Kea'au comes to Kaʻū on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Kaʻū travels to Christian Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 28 and again to LCPCS/SIS on Monday, Sept. 30. Ka Umeke comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kaʻū travels to Hilo on Saturday, Oct. 12 and again to Pahoa on Monday, Oct. 13. Kamehameha comes to Kaʻū on Wednesday, Oct. 16, followed by Big Island Interscholastic Federation playoffs.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.
Trojans go on the road to Kamehameha on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Hilo comes to Kaʻū on Thursday, Sept. 19. Kea'au comes to Kaʻū on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Kaʻū travels to Christian Liberty on Saturday, Sept. 28 and again to LCPCS/SIS on Monday, Sept. 30. Ka Umeke comes to Kaʻū on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kaʻū travels to Hilo on Saturday, Oct. 12 and again to Pahoa on Monday, Oct. 13. Kamehameha comes to Kaʻū on Wednesday, Oct. 16, followed by Big Island Interscholastic Federation playoffs.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com. Support this news service with advertising at kaunews.com. 7,500 copies in the mail and on stands.
September 2024, 5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the streets.
