The Aloha Quilters present a custom crafted quilt to a family who has a home being built by Habitat for Humanity West Hawaii in Kawaihae.

MEDIA RELEASE

Joden Fernandez was smiling ear to ear when he was presented with a quilt with his favorite characters from the movie, Cars, at the Aloha Quilters meeting last month. He and his brother, Jax were the latest recipients of custom-designed quilts made by this group.

“The Aloha Quilters approached us about making quilts for our Habitat children and we thought that it was a wonderful gift,” stated Margo Takata, Community Relations Director. “They have completed beautifully, designed quilts for 3 of our families within the last 4 months. For most of children, it will be the first time that they get their own bedroom let alone bed to sleep on, and having a quilt of their own makes it special.”

Aloha Quilters is nearing its 25th year as a quilt group on the Big Island.  They have grown to about 50 members in recent years. The group works in traditional, contemporary, and Hawaiian styles, sharing ideas and techniques to promote quilting in Kona.

“Quilts have been an integral part of early American/pioneer life and have provided warmth and comfort down through the years,“ said Sara Alvstad, an Aloha Quilters member.  “The stories that travel with quilts of how they were made, who made them, why they were made, and where they have been are history – past and present. Donated quilts are made by members for Habitat for Humanity families and for Family Services throughout the year.  Giving quilts to others is our way to give back to the community.”  
 
You can enjoy a lot of Aloha Quilters work at the SKEA Quilt SHOW February 18-19 in Honaunau.

Kilauea Volcano aerial video

Halemaumau Overlook Vent time-lapse movie.

This photograph shows the east rim of Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater. A collapsed spatter cone revealed a swiftly flowing stream of lava heading northeast, into the tube system that supplies the active flow field. The active flows today were 6 km (3.7 miles) southeast of Pu‘u ‘O‘o. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

(Activity updates are written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

At the front of the active flow field, several narrow streams of lava were active, reflecting a relatively high level of activity Wednesday (Feb 8). Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

A lava lake present within the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent during the past week resulted in night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The lake, which is normally about 100–125 m (330–410 ft) below the floor of Halema`uma`u Crater and is visible by HVO’s Webcam, rose and fell slightly during the week in response to a series of large deflation-inflation cycles. On February 2 and 3, two large collapses of the vent crater wall triggered small explosions that threw spatter onto the rim of Halema`uma`u Crater.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows were active in the upper part of the flow field, about 4.5–6 km (3–4 miles) southeast of Pu`u `O`o, over the past week. On Wednesday, February 8, these flows were 300 m (330 yards) from the northern boundary of the Royal Gardens subdivision. There are no active flows on the coastal plain, and there is no active ocean entry.

One earthquake beneath Hawai`i Island was reported felt this past week. A magnitude-2.7 earthquake occurred at 11:07 p.m., HST, on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, and was located 9 km (6 mi) southeast of Mauna Kea’s summit at a depth of 19 km (12 mi).

Visit the HVO Web site (hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kilauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov

Map showing the extent of lava flows erupted during Kīlauea’s ongoing east rift zone eruption and labeled with the years in which they were active. Episodes 1–48b (1983–1986) are shown in dark gray; Episodes 48c–49 (1986–1992) are pale yellow; Episodes 50–53 and 55 (1992–2007) are tan; Episode 54 (1997) is yellow; Episode 58 (2007–2011) is pale orange; the episode 59 Kamoamoa eruption (March 2011) is at left in light reddish orange; and the episode 60 Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō overflows and flank breakout (Mar–August 2011) is orange. The currently active flow (episode 61) is shown as the two shades of red—pink is the extent of the flow from September 21, 2011, to January 26, 2012, and bright red marks flow expansion from January 26 to February 8. The active lava tube is delineated by the yellow line within the active flow field. The contour interval on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is 5 m. (Click on image above for larger view)

Hawai`i Island 4th grade student Jyron Young was awarded the Grand Prize in HVO’s centennial poster contest for his stunning artwork depicting 100 years of volcano watching (top center). USGS photo.

(Volcano Watch is a weekly article written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

The U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recently honored Hawai`i Island students who created winning posters celebrating the observatory’s 100th anniversary. The award ceremony was held during HVO’s centennial open house on January 21, 2012.

HVO, which has continuously monitored Hawaiian eruptions and earthquakes since the observatory was founded in 1912, hosted the poster contest to commemorate its centennial milestone. Because volcanic processes and scientific observation are included in Hawai`i’s 4th grade science curriculum, we targeted that grade level for the contest.

In an announcement last fall, Hawai`i Island 4th grade students were invited to create posters conveying a message about HVO’s work in monitoring Hawaiian volcanoes. Within some set guidelines, students were free to focus on the historical, scientific or cultural aspects of volcano watching—or all three—as they designed and created their posters.

We had no idea whether, or how many, students would participate in HVO’s contest, but the response far exceeded our expectations: 217 posters were submitted by students from 16 different schools around the Island.

A panel of five judges—a scientist, an educator, a retired art center director, a radio host, and a marketing manager—selected first, second, and third place winners from each of the three Hawai`i Department of Education (DOE) Complex Areas and one overall Grand Prize winner. Choosing the 10 best of 217 amazing posters was not an easy task, but through careful and thoughtful consideration of each poster, the judges eventually identified the winners.

Jyron Young, who was a student at Waiakeawaena Elementary School when he created his stunning poster, is the Grand Prize winner. While at Waiakeawaena, his teachers were Susan Lee and Ada Kubo.

The Ka`u–Kea`au–Pahoa DOE Complex Area honorees include two students from Malamalama Waldorf School: first place winner Elijah Lacks-Park and second place winner Yasmine Butterfield, both of whom are taught by Lynn Pena. Third place winner Caitlyn Long attends Na`alehu Elementary School, and her teacher is Hettie Rush.

In the Hilo–Laupahoehoe–Waiakea DOE Complex Area, the first place winner is Bryce Camacho, a Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School student in Kim Springer’s class. Second place winner Meghan Veincent attends Keaukaha Elementary School and created her poster under the guidance of Kumu Lurline Agbayani. The third place honoree is Julianne Lee, a Waiakeawaena Elementary School student taught by Susan Lee (no relation).

The Honoka`a–Kealakehe–Kohala–Konawaena DOE Complex Area first place winner is Ava Hunter, a Waikoloa Elementary School student in Jenna Nakao’s class. The other two honorees are Honoka`a Elementary School students: second place winner Kaddison Quiocho and third place winner Jannabel Bielza. Their teacher is Cindy Sharp.

Prizes awarded to these students were selected to reflect the work of HVO—observing and documenting volcanic and earthquake activity in Hawai`i. The awards included a digital camera (grand prize), binoculars (first place), a geologic hand lens (second place), and a mini-LED microscope (third place). Each winner also received a copy of “Volcano Watching,” written by a former HVO Scientist-in-Charge, the late Bob Decker, and his wife, Barbara. All awards were donated by current and former HVO staff.

Six posters also received honorable mentions based on their artistic or thematic merit. Ribbons will be awarded to students who created these posters: Giselle Valdovinos, Holualoa Elementary; Chloe Hughes, St. Joseph Elementary; Halia Buchal, Parker Elementary; Zoey Block, Malamalama Waldorf; Keala Pule, Ka `Umeke Ka`eo; and Lexus Balinbin, Pahoa Elementary.

In addition to the individual student awards, all teachers who took part in the contest will receive a set of USGS educational materials for the benefit of every student in their classrooms.

All posters were displayed at KTA Superstores in Hilo, Kamuela, and Kailua until February 10. The 10 winning and 6 honorable mention posters can still be viewed on HVO’s website hvo.wr.usgs.gov

HVO thanks the 217 students and their teachers for participating in the contest, the judges who selected the winners, and KTA Superstores for displaying the students’ work. We also thank the public libraries in Hilo, Honoka`a, North Kohala, Kailua-Kona, Kealakekua, Na`alehu, and Pahoa for serving as drop-off points for poster submissions.

Congratulations to HVO’s centennial poster contest winners! Job well done!

MEDIA RELEASE

The Friends of Hawai€˜i Volcanoes National Park hosts its next 'Sunday Walk in the Park'€ on Sunday (Feb 12) from noon to 2 p.m. This month's 3-mile round-trip walk explores the Mauna Ulu area, which is home to dramatic volcanic features such as this 1969 fissure. Photo by: NPS/Jay Robinson

The public is invited to join the Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes Park (FHVNP) for a “Sunday Walk in the Park” on February 12 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. This monthly program on second Sundays is aimed at bringing together the members of FHVNP to share in the park’s beautiful trails.

Led by Nick Shema, this this month’s 3-mile round-trip walk explores the Mauna Ulu area.

Starting and ending at the Mauna Ulu parking lot, the hike begins on the Napau Trail, then veers off to ascend Mauna Ulu (literally, growing mountain). A recently formed shield volcano, Mauna Ulu erupted from 1969 through 1974 leaving an altered landscape of incredibly fascinating geologic features.

“Along the way, we’ll see hardened lava rivers, forested kipuka, lava trees, cinder cones, lava shields, pioneer plants, and panoramic vistas. On a clear day, you can view Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, Pu‘u ‘O‘o, and the Pacific Ocean,” Shema said.

“Due to the cultural sensitivity of Mauna Ulu, group size is limited to 15 people,” he added.

This will be a moderate hike of about 3 miles roundtrip, mostly over uneven pahoehoe lava, with a 400’ foot elevation gain. Be prepared for the base 3,200’ elevation and for variable weather conditions, including sunny, windy, chilly, and/or rainy.

FHVNP’s “Sunday Walk in the Park” is free for Friends members, and non-members are welcome to join the non-profit organization in order to attend. Annual memberships are $30 for individuals and $45 for families, and come with a variety of benefits.

To register, contact walk sponsor Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes Park at 985-7373 or admin@fhvnp.org. For more information, visit www.fhvnp.org. Park entrance fees apply.

Photography by Matthew Lovein | Special to Hawaii 24/7

Mobile version of slideshow here
Photos submitted by our wonderful readers in the Kona.

By Hawaii 24/7 Staff

A brushfire near The Pines subdivision in Kailua-Kona Tuesday afternoon (Feb 7) could be seen for miles, as far South as Kealakekua from one report.

As of 3:15 p.m. officials had set-up roadblocks on Queen Kaahumanu Highway at Henry Street and Lako Street while Hualalai Road is roadblocked between Nani Kailua Drive and Queen Kaahumanu Highway as crews fight the blaze. The County fire helicopter is making water drops on the fire.

Residents of The Pines subdivision have been evacuated.

The Red Cross has opened a shelter as of 4 p.m. at Kekuaokalani Gym at Old Kona Airport (75-5500 Kuakini Hwy) for residents who had to evacuate their homes due to the fire.

UPDATED ( 5:45 p.m. 2/7/12)

Police report that Kuakini Highway is now open to traffic. Queen Kaahumanu extension, South of Palani Road to Lako Street is still closed.

Hawaii County Civl Defense Update
This is a brushfire update for Thursday February 7, 2012 at 5:55 p.ma. Firefighting operations are still underway in the Kona Area. Due to the brushfire, motorists are asked to avoid Kuakini Highway between Palani Road and Honalo. Southbound motorists on Mamalahoa Highway are requested to use Palani Road to Alii Drive. Northbound motorists on Kuakini Highway are requested to use Highway should use Highway 180 to Palani Junction. Also, Hokulia Bypass will remain open until 9 p.m.

UPDATED (11:55 p.m. 2/7/12)

Firefighers answered a 2:17 p.m. alarm Tuesday (Feb 7) for a brushfire on the South side of Hualalai Road fueled by thick brush made up of tall California grass and Kiawe trees.

Strong winds blowing from the South pushed the fire to jump Hualalai Road spreading Northward. After a wind shift the fire headed towards the Queen Kaahumanu highway and jumped over to the mauka side of Nani Kailua Drive.

Over a dozen firefighting vehicles, two helicopters and 39 personnel which included volunteer and military firefighters fought the blaze.

By 3:50 p.m. firefighters had the fire contained. According to a fire dispatch report no buildings were damaged in the blaze and there were no injuries reported. The fire burned 20 acres of land and closed down Hualalai Road and Queen Kaahumanu Highway during the fire.

Firefighters are staying on the scene overnight to watch for flare-ups and hotspots in the burn area. Although roads are open motorists are advise to use caution due to fire personnel still on the scene.

Residents were evacuated from The Pines subdivision, the Regency Hualalai Retirement home and the University of the Nations. The Red Cross turned Kekuaokalani Gym into a shelter for evacuees.

The cause of the fire is undertermined and under investigation.

Video above by Victoria Kaopua | Special to Hawaii 24/7

Video by Matt Fields | Special to Hawaii 24/7

In addition to taking photos, Brian Powers was called in to help a friend out. (Photo special to Hawaii 24/7 by Brian Powers)

Brian Powesr, of Hawaiian Images Photography & Video, shared the following blog post with Hawaii 24/7:

Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was just about nap-thirty so I headed out of my office onto the lanai and as always glanced out to see what the sea looked like only to find a dark brown-black cloud of smoke rising from somewhere down hill from my home. Instinct kicked in and so I grabbed my cell phone and my camera and headed down the hill.

As I was driving straight toward the sea I dailed 911 and told them of the fire. I arrived at the Pines in the subdivision below my neighborhood.

It was farther down hill than I thought but there was a major fire underway and no fire trucks to be seen or heard.

As I walked about looking for photos I heard my Hash name called out: “Flying Toe Jamb! Gimme a hand will ya?” It was one of my fellow Hashers trying to get a yard hose up and running in his neighbors yard. The fire was approaching rapidly and he started spraying it down.

Suddenly he turned to me and asked if I would go check on his dog next door, then more suddenly he stopped and said “No! Don’t do that, he doesn’t like strangers and would probably take your hand off!”

He then handed me the hose, patted my shoulder in his retreat and left me there with a camera in one hand, a hose in the other, a fire a couple yards in front of me and a man-eating dog coming up behind me!

Upon his return and still in possession of all my limbs I continued to wander about looking for interesting photos when I came across several homeowners wetting down their roofs in hopes of keeping the wind-blown embers from setting their homes alight.

I spotted another Hash brother who was is fireman in his mortal life and grabbed a few shots of him earning his pay.

‘Pole Slider’ is his Hash name. Get it? Fireman sliding down a pole? Funny, neither did he when he got named. Never been in a two story firehouse it would seem.

The fire jumped the road and was making its way up toward my house, so I called it a day and went home to tell the dogs all was well.

Needless to say my home was not destroyed and as far as I know no other homes were damaged either. It was an exciting way to spend an afternoon, but I can’t help but feel cheated out of my nap because of a stupid fire.

Aloha,
Brian

— Find more of Brian Power’s work at: hawaiianimages.blogspo…

(Photo special to Hawaii 24/7 by Brian Powers)

By Hawaii 24/7 Staff

Team 6000 n 60 in Kohala

During the White House Science Fair Tuesday (Feb 7) four Kohala Middle School students had the honor of presenting their exhibit ‘Improving the Environment One Community at a Time’ for President Obama and officials.

Isabel Steinhoff, Rico Bowman, Genevieve Boyle and Mina Apostadiro took first place in the grade 6-8 division of the 2010-2011 Siemens “We Can Change the World” Challenge, for their household battery recycling effort to collect 6,000 batteries in 60 days. The team’s mentor is Lani Bowman, a former part-time teacher at Kohala Middle School.

The team, named ’6000 n 60′, embarked on a campaign to improve their community’s use and disposal of batteries by giving people information on the environmental harm of batteries disposed improperly along with providing tips on how to better use battiers and provide opportunities for recycling.

The team distributed surveys to gauge community awareness on the issue before and after the collection. A logo and t-shirts were created along with promotional materials to raise awareness and increase participation in the recycling effort. The team also involved the school and community through school bulletins, assemblies, posters, PSAs, presentations to community organizations, had a community kickoff event, a Facebook page and guest speakers. Students set out bins to collect used batteries. 6000 n 60 met their goal of collecting 6,000 batteries and the team is using their data to lobby the country for better battery recycling opportunities.

For their Siemens prize team members each receive a $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond, a trip to Costa Rica this summer and a pocket video camera to document their adventure.

MEDIA RELEASE

Super-Earth Detected in Habitable Zone of Nearby Star

The newly discovered planet is depicted in this artist's conception, showing the host star as part of a triple-star system. The diagram below shows the orbits of the detected planets around the host star in relation to the habitable zone. Images courtesy of Guillem Anglada-Escudé, Carnegie Institution.

Santa Cruz, CA—An international team of scientists has discovered a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a nearby star. With an orbital period of about 28 days and a minimum mass 4.5 times that of the Earth, the planet orbits within the star’s “habitable zone,” where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist on the planet’s surface. The researchers found evidence of at least one and possibly two or three additional planets orbiting the star, which is about 22 light years from Earth.

The researchers used public data from the European Southern Observatory and analyzed it with a novel data-analysis method. They also incorporated new measurements from the W. M. Keck Observatory’s High Resolution Echelle Spectrograph (HiRES) and the new Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph at the Magellan II Telescope. Their planet-finding technique involved measuring the small wobbles in a star’s motion caused by the gravitational tug of a planet.

The GJ 667C triple system as seen from a telescope. Credit: Guillem Anglada-Escudé

The team includes UC Santa Cruz astronomers Steven Vogt and Eugenio Rivera and was led by Guillem Anglada-Escudé and Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution for Science. Their work will be published by Astrophysical Journal Letters, and the manuscript will be posted online at arxiv.org/archive/astr…

The host star is a member of a triple-star system and has a different makeup than our sun, with a much lower abundance of elements heavier than helium, such as iron, carbon, and silicon. This discovery indicates that potentially habitable planets can occur in a greater variety of environments than previously believed.

Sky location of the GJ 667 system in the constelation of Scorpius. The system is a bit too faint to be seen by eye. Credit: Guillem Anglada-Escudé

The host star, called GJ 667C, is an M-class dwarf star. The other two stars in the triple-star system (GJ 667AB) are a pair of orange K dwarfs, with a concentration of heavy elements only 25 percent that of our sun’s. Such elements are the building blocks of terrestrial planets, so it was thought to be less likely for metal-depleted star systems to have an abundance of low-mass planets.

“This was expected to be a rather unlikely star to host planets. Yet there they are, around a very nearby, metal-poor example of the most common type of star in our galaxy,” said Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. “The detection of this planet, this nearby and this soon, implies that our galaxy must be teeming with billions of potentially habitable rocky planets.”

This diagram shows the orbits of the detected planets around the host star in relation to the habitable zone (HZ). Credit: Guillem Anglada-Escudé

GJ 667C had previously been observed to have a super-Earth (GJ 667Cb) with a period of 7.2 days, although this finding was never published. This planet orbits so close to the star that it would be too hot for liquid water. The new study started with the aim of obtaining the orbital parameters of this super-Earth.

But in addition to this first candidate, the research team found the clear signal of a new planet (GJ 667Cc) with an orbital period of 28.15 days and a minimum mass of 4.5 times that of Earth. The new planet receives 90 percent of the light that Earth receives. However, because most of its incoming light is in the infrared, a higher percentage of this incoming energy should be absorbed by the planet. When both these effects are taken into account, the planet is expected to absorb about the same amount of energy from its star that the Earth absorbs from the sun.

“This planet is the new best candidate to support liquid water and, perhaps, life as we know it,” Anglada-Escudé said.

The team found that the system might also contain a gas-giant planet and an additional super-Earth with an orbital period of 75 days. However, further observations are needed to confirm these two possibilities.

Artistic conception of GJ667C. Even though it is an artistic conception, the size of the star and the binary are on the right scale, color and brightness. Credit: Guillem Anglada-Escudé

“With the advent of a new generation of instruments, researchers will be able to survey many M dwarf stars for similar planets and eventually look for spectroscopic signatures of life in one of these worlds,” said Anglada-Escudé, who was with Carnegie when he conducted the research, but has since moved on to the University of Gottingen.

In addition to Anglada-Escudé, Butler, Vogt, and Rivera, the coauthors include Jeffrey Crane, Stephen Shectman, and Ian Thompson at Carnegie; Pamela Arriagada and Dante Minniti of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; Nader Haghighipour of the University of Hawaii-Monoa; Brad Carter of University of Southern Queensland; C. G. Tinney, Robert Wittenmyer, and Jeremy Bailey of the University of New South Wales; Simon J. O’Toole of the Australian Astronomical Observatory; Hugh Jones of the University of Hertfordshire; and James Jenkins of the Universidad de Chile, Camino El Observatorio.

2012 First Hawaiian Bank Canoe Paddling Championships
Friday, February 3, 2012
At Hilo Bay

Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Boys Final

1. Punahou 03:34.825
2. Kamehameha Schools Kapalama 03:34.959
3. Kalaheo 03:39.047
4. Kailua 03:45.755
5. Roosevelt 03:46.564
6. Baldwin 03:48.844
7. Maui 03:50.290
8. Leilehua 03:54.498

Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Girls Final

1. Pac-Five 04:01.936
2. Kamehameha Schools Kapalama 04:02.413
3. Seabury Hall 04:06.572
4. Kamehameha Schools Maui 04:14.021
5. Kapaa 04:21.849
6. Kailua 04:26.352
7. Honokaa 04:27.929
8. Kealakehe 04:33.888

Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Mixed Final

1. Kamehameha Schools Kapalama 03:43.430
2. Punahou 03:43.620
3. Kalaheo 03:46.695
4. Seabury Hall 03:48.450
5. Baldwin 03:56.150
6. Parker 04:01.944
7. Kailua 04:03.504
8. Moanalua 04:07.180

— Find out more:
www.sportshigh.com

Kipukaakihi looking down in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Kahuku Unit. Photo courtesy of NPS

Hawai‘i National Park, HI – Two adventurous programs offered by Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will introduce a captivating landscape, biodiversity and history of the park’s southernmost section to intrepid hikers.

People and Land of Kahuku is a two-mile, three-hour expedition through pastures, a quarry, an airstrip and the 1868 lava fields of Kahuku. Rangers will explain how people lived on the vast Kahuku lands, from the earliest Hawaiians through today. Walk in emerging native forest, hear about Kahuku’s history of violent earthquakes and eruptions and the residents who survived them, and find out how Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park plans to restore the native ecosystem and protect Kahuku’s cultural sites.

The hike is offered Feb. 12, Feb. 18, Mar. 11, Mar. 25, Apr. 15 and Apr. 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meet near the Kahuku gate, which is located off Highway 11 between mile markers 70 and 71 on the mauka side of the highway. Park and meet inside the gate near the ranch buildings. Boots, raingear and long pants are recommended. No advance registration is required.

Kīpuka‘akihi is a challenging 1.5 mile, five-hour adventure to see some of the rare plants and wildlife that inhabit this treasured kīpuka. Participants must be prepared to scramble over fallen trees, lava rock, and slippery, wet terrain. Wear sturdy hiking shoes, long pants, sunscreen and a hat. Bring raingear, garden gloves, a day pack, insect repellent, lunch and water. This forest stewardship program provides opportunities to help protect this rainforest by pulling up invasive kāhili ginger and other invasive non-native plants throughout the kīpuka. Due to the fragile nature of the region, the program is limited to 15 people and pre-registration is required. To sign up, call (808) 985-6011.

This expedition into Kahuku’s isolated refuge of rare plants is offered Feb. 26, Mar. 18 and Apr. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Meet near the Kahuku gate, which is located off Highway 11 between mile markers 70 and 71 on the mauka side of the highway. Park and meet inside the gate near the ranch buildings.

Alexandra Allred - in her 'Jersey Couture' dress - signs books at the launch party in Texas. (Photo courtesy of Alexandra Allred)

Editor’s Note: Allred (and the dress) will be featured in the Season 2 premiere of ‘Jersey Couture’ on cable TV’s Oxygen – Channel 558. It debuts at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7 and repeats later in the evening.

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Editor

While Hawaii 24/7 dips occasionally into reviewing books about the Big Island or by local authors, the only real link here is that the author was a 7th-grade classmate of mine.

So I can only ask readers to indulge me as I shamelessly plug an old friend’s new book — ‘White Trash’ by Alexandra Allred — and her appearance on the season premiere of ‘Jersey Couture.’

After a couple years in pre-Glasnost Soviet era Moscow, our families moved on and we lost touch. It was three decades before we reconnected and discovered our lives had some parallels.

We’re both writers and enjoy telling stories, no matter the audience. We’re both still into sports and women’s issues. And we both love our animals.

While I am content with community journalism, random pet-sitting gigs and a couple faded ribbons from coaching youth soccer teams, Allred’s life trajectory bounced her from the U.S. women’s bobsled team to the Austin Rage – the women’s NFL team. She’s a horsewoman and a expert dog trainer on a Dog Whisperer level. Oh, and she’s authored nearly two dozen books.

The biggest difference between us is that she has three awesome children and I have three defective cats.

Anyway, when she sent out a mass invite late last year to her book launch party, I hopped on a plane and headed to Texas. Partly because she threatened to wear a dress – for the first time since her wedding day – and I kinda wanted to see that.

I had only read about 80 pages of “White Trash” and was just getting into the story. I planned to use the red-eye flight to finish the 470-page novel, but my seat mate on the LAX-DFW leg had other ideas.

So I didn’t exactly finish before I got to the party. Good thing my old skateboarding buddy was pleased to see me and my failure never came up.

They like to say you can’t go home, but …

However, hanging out in the Allred living room that week really was like a homecoming. And I found the small town setting, characters and story in ‘White Trash’ were not so very different from my Big Island hometown.

When Thia Franks returns to her hometown of Granby, she rediscovers all that it best and worst about small towns. Lots of things haven’t changed – Chester Kennedy’s goats are still running rampant, Officer Tina Wolfe’s mouthy attitude looks likely to land her in sensitivity classes, a gun-wielding neighbor wages war with a squirrel, and the local newspaper owner unilaterally decides what residents should know.

But when a popular, ambitious black man is murdered, things do change.

Everyone is being judged and the gossip ratchets up to ear-splitting levels. As the small police department works the biggest case in Granby history, the town’s dark secrets are revealed – domestic abuse, gunrunning, drugs, illicit sex and child molestation.

Allred has a super focus on small town people and the things that make those people chatter about themselves and their neighbors. She has an excellent ear for dialogue and gives her characters great wit.

She also treats her characters with dignity, creating the most ridiculous situations in such a matter-of-fact way that you’ll sympathize with them as you are laughing at them. Especially when the goats pop up.

While it seems every resident of Granby makes a cameo appearance in the book, the main characters are well defined and are the people you’d probably want to be friends with, if you lived in Granby.

Chances are you will recognize someone in these pages, as similar characters seem to walk the streets of all small towns, from the pages of ‘White Trash’ in rural Texas to the Big Island.

To quote Hawaii 24/7 student reporter and book reviewer Finn
Gallagher: ‘You need to get this book!’

— ‘White Trash,’ as well as its sequel ‘White Tree: The Girls Are
Back!’ and other titles by Alexandra Allred, can be found at:

www.amazon.com/White-T…

Time-lapse movie of Halemaumau Overlook Vent

(Activity updates are written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

A lava lake present within the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent during the past week resulted in night-time glow that was visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The lake, which is normally about 100–125 m (330–410 ft) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater and visible by HVO’s Webcam, rose and fell slightly during the week in response to a series of large deflation-inflation cycles. It reached a relatively high level this past week, due to summit inflation, but was still 70 m (230 ft) below the crater floor.

On Kilauea’s east rift zone, surface lava flows were active in the upper part of the flow field, about 3.5–5 km (2–3 miles) southeast of Pu‘u ‘O‘o, over the past week. The flow field on the coastal plain remains inactive after activity stalled there over a month ago, and there is no active ocean entry. Occasional short lava flows and a small lava pond have been observed over the past week within Pu‘u ‘O‘o’s crater.

One earthquake beneath Hawai‘i Island was reported felt this past week. A magnitude-2.4 earthquake occurred at 9:18 a.m., HST, on Thursday, January 26, 2012, and was located 4 km (3 mi) northwest of Volcano at a depth of 31 km (19 mi).

Visit the HVO Web site (hvo.wr.usgs.gov) for detailed Kilauea and Mauna Loa activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes, and more; call (808) 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov

Mobile version of slideshow here
Sequence of the rim collapse into Halemaumau’s vent.

Sharp-eyed Keck Observatory engineer Andrew Cooper noticed a bright glow towards Volcano from his vantage point on Mauna Kea, took a photo and surmised that part of Halemaumau’s vent has collapsed. Read his blog post here.

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(Volcano Watch is a weekly article written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

“Wow!” “I didn’t know that!” “Cool!”

These were just a few of the comments said in response to the information shared during the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s open house on January 21, 2012.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Tim Orr (in red shirt) shows open house visitors one of the volcanic rocks on display at HVO'€™s centennial open house on January 21, 2012. USGS photo by Ben Gaddis.

Held in celebration of HVO’s 100th anniversary, the open house featured more than 40 exhibits about Hawai‘i’s volcanoes and how they are monitored. HVO staff and volunteers also conducted more than a dozen hands-on activities and demonstrations continually throughout the day-long event.

HVO is not ordinarily open to the public, so more than 1,400 Hawai‘i Island residents and visitors took advantage of the opportunity to visit the observatory and interact with the scientists responsible for tracking Hawaiian eruptions and earthquakes. Based on their comments, a good time was had by all.

Inside the observatory, people learned how and why earthquakes occur in Hawai‘i, smelled the distinctive odors of volcanic gases, and looked through microscopes for enhanced views of Pele’s hair and volcanic ash. They discovered how thermal cameras, which can “see” heat, help document lava flows and lava lakes, and heard how volcano-monitoring data from more than 100 field stations are collected and analyzed. They also saw examples of the actual instruments that monitor volcanic and seismic activity.

Outdoors, HVO scientists showed ash layers from Kilauea’s explosive eruptions and demonstrated the power of gases trapped within magma (subsurface molten rock). Scientists inflated and deflated a model volcano to illustrate how and why changes in the shapes of Hawai‘i’s active volcanoes are measured. People of all ages were invited to become “junior geologists” by wielding a rock hammer and using a geologic hand lens to examine volcanic rocks.

Winners of HVO’s centennial poster contest for Hawai‘i Island 4th grade students were honored in an award ceremony during the open house. The 10 winning posters are now posted on HVO’s website (hvo.wr.usgs.gov).

During the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s centennial open house, HVO Scientist-in-Charge Jim Kauahikaua points to data displays as he explains how Hawaiian volcanoes and earthquakes are monitored to some of the more than 1,400 people who attended the January 21 event. USGS photo by Ben Gaddis.

Copies of “The Story of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory—A Remarkable First 100 Years of Tracking Eruptions and Earthquakes,” a new USGS general information booklet published to commemorate HVO’s centennial, were distributed to open-house attendees. Folks could also pick up two new USGS Fact Sheets about earthquakes in Hawai‘i and Kilauea Volcano’s explosive eruptions.

If you missed the open house, links to all three publications—as well as the newly revised “Eruptions of Hawaiian Volcanoes” booklet and two new DVDs featuring selected images from Hawai‘i’s 2006 Kiholo Bay-Mahukona earthquakes and time-lapse movies of Kilauea’s 2004–2008 eruption—are posted on the HVO website.

On the day of HVO’s open house, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Kilauea Military Camp, Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association, the USGS Ecosystems Kilauea Field Station, and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes joined in our centennial celebration by offering guided walks and other activities. Volcano-inspired exhibits at Volcano Art Center, Lyman Museum, and East Hawai‘i Cultural Center added another facet to the day’s events.

HVO’s centennial open house took place during Volcano Awareness Month, an event held on Hawai‘i Island every January since 2010. This year, current and former HVO scientists offered 11 presentations about Hawaiian volcanoes and earthquakes and the history of the observatory. Programs at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Lyman Museum in Hilo, and Kealakehe High School in Kona were well received, with 40 to nearly 300 people attending each talk.

Although January has come to an end, we hope Island residents and visitors will continue their quests to become more aware of Hawai‘i’s active volcanoes. To that end, HVO scientists will continue to offer informative talks throughout 2012.

On February 8, HVO geologist Frank Trusdell will present the eruptive history and current status of Mauna Loa at the Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park amphitheater at 6:00 p.m. On February 27, HVO geologist Don Swanson will speak about Kilauea’s history of explosive eruptions at Hilo’s Lyman Museum at 7:00 p.m.

Additional programs will be announced as they are scheduled. Suggested topics for future presentations can be sent to askHVO@usgs.gov.

We sincerely thank everyone who participated in the Volcano Awareness Month events and HVO’s centennial open house. Your enthusiasm for learning more about Hawai‘i’s dynamic environment fuels our efforts to keep you informed.

Video courtesy of the Office of the Mayor, County of Hawaii

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HawaiiCounty.gov and HawaiiCountyMayor.com have been updated with accessibility in mind, enabling those who use assistive technology to more easily browse the web to access information and news about County departments and programs. The under-the-hood streamlining of the websites allows off-the-shelf screen reader software, like JAWS for Windows and the VoiceOver software built into Mac OS, to read the websites aloud for people with sight impairments or difficulty reading. The upgrades were a collaborative project between the County’s Departments of Information Technology and Human Resources, the Office of Mayor Billy Kenoi, and the Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities.

“The purpose of the Committee is to advise the mayor on a variety of issues regarding the disability community,” said Pauline Aughe, a member of the Committee. “When we can identify the needs of a variety of people, we can be more equipped to create an inclusive society.”

Mayor Kenoi said that the website updates were in line with the values of the people of Hawai‘i Island, to ensure fairness and equality for all, especially the most vulnerable members of the community.

“We don’t define each other by our limitations. We encourage each other’s potential and possibilities,” said Mayor Billy Kenoi. “Everybody – every child, every person – should have a feeling that they can dream any dream and be anything they want to be. Our job in Hawai‘i is to make sure that dream can become a reality.”

“We’re fortunate to have a mayor that listened to his advisory committee. Not only did he listen, but he made it happen. He had a can-do attitude and made it a streamlined process,” said Paige De Lima, chairperson of the Committee. “I commend him for that.”

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Hawaiian Cultural & After Dark in the Park Programs

Hawai‘i National Park, HI – Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park continues its tradition of sharing Hawaiian culture and After Dark in the Park programs with the community and visitors throughout February. These programs are free, but park entrance fees apply. Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

Momi Subiono

Lā‘au Lapa‘au with Momi Subiono. Momi is a native Hawaiian practitioner of Hawaiian massage (lomilomi), kapa making (bark cloth), and lā‘au lapa‘au (Hawaiian medicinal plants and practices). She creates natural herbal products to help the Hawaiian community. Her goal is to create a renewed awareness, understanding and use of traditional Hawaiian plants for healing. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing ‘Ike Hana No‘eau “Experience the Skillful Work” workshops. Free.
When: Wed., Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon
Where: Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai

Capt. Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa

Nā Wa‘a: The Canoe. Nā Wa‘a is an epic, multi-generational presentation on Hawaiian canoes, their various methods of construction, and the formative influence of the wa‘a (canoe) on Hawai‘i’s past, present, and future. Join Capt. Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa as he takes us on a voyage of Hawaiian canoes, from the first arrivals, to working fishing vessels, giant war canoes and the sleek modern racing craft of today. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing After Dark in the Park series. Free.
When: Tues., Feb. 14, 7 p.m.
Where: Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium

Mark Yamanaka: Live in Concert. Join award-winning singer/songwriter Mark Yamanaka in concert. Mark will share songs from his critically acclaimed debut CD, Lei Pua Kenikeni, which earned him four Nā Hoku Hanohano awards in 2011: Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Most Promising Artist, and Song of the Year. Mark is one of three musicians to sweep all four categories with a debut CD. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing Nā Leo Manu “Heavenly Voices” presentations. Free.
When: Wed., Feb. 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium

Violet May Makuakāne

Feather Kāhili-Making. Mother/daughter team Violet May Makuakāne and Helene Hayselden will demonstrate the art of making a feather kāhili, a symbol of Hawaiian royalty. Simply watch and learn, or join in and make your own kāhili to take home. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing ‘Ike Hana No‘eau “Experience the Skillful Work” workshops. Free.
When: Wed., Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to noon
Where: Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai

Don’t Look Back. Hawaiian Myths Made New. The perpetuation of Hawaiian culture is alive and well in this beautiful new collection of 17 favorite mo‘olelo (tales), edited by Hawai‘i author Christine Thomas. The tales are retold with a modern twist by some of Hawai‘i’s most notable writers, including Ian MacMillan, Maxine Hong Kingston, Ku‘ualoha Ho‘omanawanui, W.S. Merwin, and others, including nationally best-selling novelist and Waimea resident Darien Gee – aka Mia King – who will join Thomas for this special reading and book signing. Part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ ongoing After Dark in the Park series. Free.
When: Tues., Feb. 28, 7 p.m.
Where: Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium

Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7

Pahoa defeats Hilo in BIIF Boys Basketball Tuesday (Jan 31) with a final score of 72-69.

(Photo courtesy of Bob Fewell)

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The 19th annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival has a full lineup of multi-cultural performing arts, hands-on demonstrations, more than 100 crafters, a new quilt show and food booths 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at various venues sprawling through town — look for pink banners identifying site locations.

Organized by members of the upcountry community and the county’s department of parks and recreation, the festival marks the blooming of the historic cherry trees at Church Row Park and celebrates the age-old Japanese tradition of hanami, which translates to “cherry blossom viewing party.” After a seasonal winter chill, the trees typically are blooming in February.

This year’s community festival is part of the nationwide 100-year anniversary that marks the 1912 planting of cherry trees along the Potomac River in Washington D.C. The Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Centennial celebration features the planting of cherry trees across the nation as a continued symbol of friendship between the two countries.

Using seeds presented from the Embassy of Japan that are especially suited to Hawaii’s climate, seedlings were cultivated last fall for planting at the festival.

One seedling, Cerasus jamasakura Cv. Sendaiya, will be ceremoniously planted 10:30 a.m. in Church Row Park by Mayor Billy Kenoi; Yoshihiko Kamo, Consul General of Japan in Honolulu; and Dr. Tetsuo Koyama, director of the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden,

This year’s festival also commemorates three paniolo: Charles T. Kimura, Charles T. Onaka and Jamie Dowsett. The Big Isle residents will be recognized by Kenoi during opening festivities on the entertainment stage behind Parker Ranch Center.

The official festival program will be included just prior to the event in the North Hawaii News and also distributed at festival venues. It includes a map with activity locations and details on the many presenting organizations.

Festival parking is available at Parker Ranch Center and the soccer field across Church Row Park. A free shuttle offers transportation among festival venues with stops at Parker Ranch Historic Homes on Hwy. 190, Parker Ranch Center’s back parking lot and Church Row Park. A quick rundown of festival activities at various locations follows (times are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. unless specified otherwise).

Church Row Park

* Historical Cherry Tree Display: Waimea Lions’ Club offers a pictorial history of the cherry trees and serves as the festival’s official Lost and Found station. The Lions will also collect used eyeglasses, offer vision screening and sell pancake breakfast tickets

* Bonsai: The Waimea Bonyu Kai Bonsai Club offers a display and sale of bonsai, ongoing demonstrations and a clinic to discuss and work on the art of bonsai

* Cooking Demos at Kamuela Hongwanji: Big Isle chefs offer cooking demonstrations with free samples

* Japanese Cultural Demos/Entertainment at Kamuela Hongwanji: Enjoy taiko drumming and learn the time-honored art of origami by Kikuko Kibe and furoshiki (gift wrapping cloth)

* Asian Collectibles/Food Sales at Kamuela Hongwanji: Church organizations sell Asian-themed collectibles, cherry blossom note cards, lanterns made from recycled beverage cans, cherry tree seedlings and cherry blossoms in mugs, temple cookbooks. Asian foods: Inari sushi, teriyaki chicken bowl, nishime, manju, andagi and prune mui

* Cherry Tree Planting: Seedling planted by dignitaries as part of the Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Centennial, 10:30 a.m., Hamakua end of park

* Martial Arts Demonstrations throughout the day

* Food Sales at Imiola Church: Saimin, cherry ice cream and local delicacies

Parker Ranch Center- Hwy. 19

* Festival Entertainment Stage: In the back parking lot. Opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. kick off continuous entertainment until 3 p.m.: Bon Odori Taiko, bon dance, Japanese Preschool presentation, Kumu Hula Michael Pang’s Hula Halau Ka Noeau, Lono Kanakaole Trio, Kenny Endo’s Taiko, Darlene Ahuna, Kuhao Case and Tai Shoji Taiko.

* Craft Fair: More than 100 crafters inside Center and in the back parking lot, cherry tree seedlings for sale in back parking lot

* Mochi Tsuki Pounding: Help pound mochi using 500 pounds of rice with the Kona Hongwanji Mission outside the Fireside Food Court starting 10 a.m.; free samples

* Mana Christian Ohana Church – (Formerly Kahilu Town Hall)

Behind Parker Ranch Center

* Ka Hui Kapa Apana O Waimea’s Festival of Quilts: Show by six clubs: Sew N Sews of Waikoloa, Anuenue Quilters of North Hawaii, Mauna Kea Quilters, Laulima O Hamakua, Sew Fun After School and the host Ka Hui Kapa Apana. Show honors the late Nancy Donigan and displays the commemorative Aloha Airlines Quilt and sells crafts. Open 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

* Car Show: Hamakua side of parking lot

Waimea Historic Corner-Hwys. 19/190 intersection

* Firehouse Gallery Art Demos/Exhibition: Waimea Arts Council (WAC) presents a members’ invitational show with a cherry blossom theme. WAC members demonstrate paper, painting and jewelry making, plus sidewalk chalk drawings for all ages, while Waimea Community Theatre presents scenes from the upcoming production, “The Hollow.” Kohala Taco & Burger will sell tacos as a fundraiser for the arts organization.

Parker School-Hwy. 19

* Waimea Town Market/Performing Arts: Farmers Market open 8 a.m.-1 p.m. with calligraphy instruction, on-site stone oven featured fresh-baked bread, artisan products sale and a performance by Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii-Kohala at 10 and 11 a.m., plus Okinawan dance.

Parker Ranch Historic Homes-Hwy. 190

* Cultural Demos/Performing Arts/Food: Enjoy ritual Japanese tea ceremony led by Emi Wakayama, the Sakura Ensemble on shakuhachi (bamboo flute) clarinet and piano; plus a display of oriental art and kimonos. Portuguese bean soup, smoked meat bowls and malasadas will be served.

Paniolo Heritage Center at Historic Pukalani Stables-End of Pukalani St. (turn south off Hwy. 19 at Ace Hardware)

* Paniolo Kepani-Hawaii’s Japanese Cowboys: Cowboy breakfast featuring smoked meat omelets and authentic paniolo pancakes 8-10 a.m. for $12 donation, lunch offerings later; talk story sessions by Paniolo Preservation Society featuring Japanese and Hawaiian cultural practices, Japanese cowboy exhibit including master saddlemaker Alvin Kawamoto, display of historic ranching artifacts and photos, and learn to play Japanese card game, Hanafuda, with Milton Yamasaki.

Topstitch-Holomua Center, Kamamalu St.

* Quilt Exhibit: by the Mauna Kea Quilters Guild and Topstich Fabric & Needlecraft. Make It and Take It free activity.

Kamuela Liquors-Hwy. 19

* Sake Tasting: Noon-3 p.m.

Kuhio Hale-Hwy. 19

* Farmer’s Market: More than 20 members of the Hawaiian Homestead Market offer a variety of products 7 a.m.-noon

Ginger Farm- (old Anderson Homestead) MM 55 across from Puu Nani St. on Hwy. 19

* Japanese Home Tour/Tea Tasting/Art Fun: Self-guided tour through traditional Japanese style home; Parker School students serve cherry tea and show keiki how to make a cherry blossom hanging scroll.

(Photo courtesy of Bob Fewell)

COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS & FOOD SAMPLINGS

“Church Row” is already blushing pink as Waimea gets ready for the Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival, from one end of town to the other. Not to be missed, some of the island’s most popular chefs prepare to wow tasters with cooking demonstrations and food samplings at Kamuela Hongwanji Mission, on Saturday, February 4 from 9:15 a.m.to 1:45 p.m.

“We’ve expanded our culinary demonstrations this year,” said chef organizer Margo Mau-Bunnell. “Everyone loves to watch the chefs at work and sample their cuisine. And for the 19th year of Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival, our participants asked the chefs to go ahead and prepare a variety of different dishes, not necessarily limited to Japanese or Asian cuisine. We’ll have delicious tastings that highlight their restaurants’ specialties.”

Featured chefs will represent the following exceptional restaurants:

* 9:15–9:45 a.m. Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Queens’ MarketPlace -Waikoloa Beach Resort. Award-winning cuisine from one of the Kohala Coast’s most popular restaurants, featuring Chef Shane Torres.

* 10–10:45 a.m. Waikoloa Grill ‘n Bar (Formerly known as Buzz’s Sandtrap), Waikoloa Beach Resort. You don’t have to be a golfer to enjoy delicious dining on the Beach Course, featuring Chef Helgi Olafson.

* 11–11:45 a.m. Boat Landing Cantina, Hilton Waikoloa Village,Waikoloa Beach Resort. Where “Hola Meets Aloha” in Mexico’s Pacific cuisine with a fresh island flair, featuring Executive Chef Charles Charbonneau.

* 12-12:45 p.m. Sansei Steak, Seafood & Sushi Bar, Queens’ MarketPlace, Waikoloa Beach Resort. Award-winning cuisine from one of the Kohala Coast’s most popular restaurants, featuring Chef Eric Rouelle.

* 1-1:45 p.m. Charley’s Thai Cuisine, Queens’MarketPlace, Waikoloa Beach Resort. Exotic tastes with just the right spice for a celebration, featuring Chef Mario Rillon.

The Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival is a full day of entertainment, food demonstrations, art and crafts, cultural and historic activities throughout the town.

The Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival is produced by the Hawaii County Parks and Recreation Department. Overseen by the park’s culture education administrator, Roxcie Waltjen, the festival is a community-wide effort by a dedicated team of volunteers, 961-8706.

For further information, contact WaimeaCherryBlossom@gm…

To find out more about the chef demonstrations and food tastings, call 345-9364.

Front row from left, University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood, UH Board of Regents Vice Chair James H.Q. Lee, Hawaii Community College Chancellor Noreen Yamane, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi, and Hunt Companies Hawaii Division President Steve Colon and UH Vice President of Student Affairs and University/Communiy Relations Rockne Freitas, back row, marked Palamanui LLC's presentation of $9.68 million to the University of Hawaii to begin construction of the Hawaii Community College Palamanui campus in West Hawaii at the Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona Tuesday (Jan 31) Photo By Michael Darden

Artist's rendering of Hawaii Community College facilities in West Hawaii

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Editor

Construction of Phase I is now fully funded and Hawaii Community College Palamanui is expected to open its doors to students in fall 2014.

The University of Hawaii accepted $9.68 million Tuesday, Jan. 31 from Palamanui LLC — a partnership between Hunt Companies and Charles R. Schwab — to begin construction of the university’s first permanent physical campus on the Big Island’s west side.

The initial contribution of more than $5.2 million was delivered to the university this week. An additional $4.4 million has been placed in escrow and will be released to the university upon completion of the mid-level road connecting Kona Palisades to the new campus, which the university is building and expects to complete in April.

Mayor Billy Kenoi thanked the developers for their “promises kept” as “the kids in West Hawaii deserve the opportunity for higher education.”

Kenoi noted he got his start at a community college.

Steve Colon, Hunt Companies Hawaii Division President, representing Palamanui LLC

“Education is the great equalizer,” he said. “It gives everybody a shot. The outlook for our children’s future just got brighter.”

Building the campus makes higher education possible for hundreds of local families, he said.

“Our children will be able to learn skills and new technologies so they can compete for higher paying jobs,” Kenoi said. “I commend Palamanui LLC and its partners and appreciate their honorable fulfillment of promises made.”

University of Hawaii President M.R.C. Greenwood acknowledged West Hawaii is one of the most underserved regions of the state.

She said she recognized very quickly upon arriving in Hawaii nearly three years ago that “this was going to transform lives.”

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi, left, chats with UH President M.R.C. Greenwood prior to presentation of $9.68 million to the UH for the West Hawaii campus at Palamanui. Photo by Michael Darden

“The recession has made it very difficult to get down projects that seemed easy,” she said. “This is the beginning of something you will treasure. The new Hawaii Community College Palamanui campus will provide educational pathways to a better future not just to Hawaii island residents, but to the residents of the entire state.”

Representing the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, Vice Chair James H. Q. Lee also spoke at the ceremonial check passing Tuesday at West Hawaii Civic Center.

“A college education creates opportunities for a better life,” he said. “Community colleges, with their low cost and open access, are the entry point for many who have traditionally been left out of higher education. We are gratified by and appreciative of the efforts of all who helped bring this promise to the residents of West Hawaii. Our West Hawaii Regent, Carl Carlson, Jr., is out of state today but he, Chair Eric Martinson and the entire Board send their thanks to the many who made today possible.”

Steve Colon, Hunt Companies Hawaii Division President representing Palamanui LLC said, “On behalf of Hunt Companies and Charles R. Schwab, I am thrilled to announce that Palamanui has honored its commitment to provide the financial catalyst to make the Hawaii Community College Palamanui campus a reality. This campus has been a dream for many in the West Hawaii community for a long time, and it is especially gratifying to know that our efforts will guarantee its fruition.”

Palamanui LLC will soon begin infrastructure improvements worth another $10 million for the university to connect to electricity and water lines. This necessary infrastructure will increase the Palamanui investment to nearly $20 million and will enable the completion of the planned first phase of the campus.

The Hawaii Community College Palamanui campus has been in the development stage for at least eight years and although it has suffered setback due to the challenging economic times, it it now on target to welcome students the second part of 2014.

Jim Lally, a community advocate for higher education and UH Foundation Board member, commented, “The Hawaii Community College Pālamanui campus is a shining example of a project that required the collaboration of state, federal, county and private entities, pooling their resources and expertise, to invest in West Hawaii’s future to serve our community. I couldn’t be more proud to have been a part of this collaborative effort to bring higher education opportunities to West Hawaii.”

Hawaii Community College Chancellor Noreen Yamane said, “Hawaii Community College Palamanui will build and expand upon providing access to higher education opportunities, train a skilled workforce and support economic development in this region. The vision, hopes and dreams for this campus are beginning to come true.”

Yamane said the current campus serves about 750 students, although that number will rise greatly when the Palamanui campus is built out.

Noreen Yamane

Comprehensive building plans are now being finalized and should be completed within one month.

The University of Hawaii expects apply for building permits and put the first phase of the project out to bid in the first quarter of 2012. A blessing, groundbreaking and the start of construction for the Palamanui campus is expected this summer.

The first phase of the Palamanui campus, upon completion in 2014, will become the 11th campus comprising the University of Hawaii System.

Greenwood said it is not unusual for a project as large as a college campus to take a long time to get kickstarted. She pointed to the West Oahu Community College, which was in the planning process for 18 years.

Lining up community and state support, public and private funding, land and permits, and earning the confidence of all the stakeholders takes time and tremendous effort, she said.

Greenwood and Yamane said Palamanui would start small and grow into a two-year branch campus of the Hilo community college, then possibly into a full blown two-year comprehensive community college.

Yamane said the possibilities are myriad, with the vast natural resources available, from marine and ocean sciences to vulcanology to agriculture.

“It begins with a vision,” she said.

Still, the funding is only in place for construction.

Jean Hull, long-time culinary instructor, is leading a team to raise $1 million to equip the kitchen for the culinary program, and the campus also will need to be furnished and fitted with telecommunications equipment.

Hull said donations are being accepted through the ACF-Kona Kohala Chapter. Donations may be sent to ACF, P.O. box 1268 Kailua-Kona, HI 96745.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SYSTEM

Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the University of Hawaii is the state’s sole public system of higher education. The UH System provides an array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community programs on 10 campuses and through educational, training, and research centers across the state. UH enrolls more than 55,000 students from Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, and around the world. For more information about the University of Hawaii System, visit www.hawaii.edu

ABOUT HAWAII COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The University of Hawaii currently serves the west side of Hawaii island through the University of Hawaii Center in West Hawaii, one of three University Centers established by the Board of Regents (BOR) in June 1996. The center provides access to multiple disciplines, and serves as a receive site for courses, course sequences and/or a limited number of complete BOR-authorized credential programs that originate from other campuses of the University of Hawaii System.

In addition to Hawaii Community College programs, the center facilitates the delivery of baccalaureate and master’s programs to West Hawaii. Students may apply/register for distance education courses found at other community colleges in the UH System. Hawaii Community College serves West Hawaii at the UH Center in Kealakekua with classrooms, a nursing learning center, a dining room/kitchen, computer lab, library, learning center and administrative offices. Distributed Learning HITS and video conferencing classrooms provide West Hawaii students the opportunity to attend live classes locally while pursuing a degree through the UH System.

For more information on how you can support the Hawaii Community College Palamanui campus in West Hawaii, please contact Cordy MacLaughlin at (808) 344-8782 or Cordy.MacLaughlin@uhfo….

To make a gift and support facilities, programs and students at Hawaii Community College Palamanui campus, visit www.uhfoundation.org/P…

The University of Hawaii Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaii System. Our mission is to unite our donors’ passions with the University of Hawaii’s aspirations to benefit the people of Hawaii and beyond. We do this by raising private philanthropic support, managing private investments and nurturing donor and alumni relationships. For more information about the UH Foundation, visit www.uhfoundation.org

ABOUT PALAMANUI LLC

Palamanui is an innovative mixed-use community located on 725 acres mauka and about a mile north of the Kona International Airport. The property is located adjacent to 500 acres of state land that has long been earmarked for higher education and intended to be the site of the Hawaii Community College Palamanui campus.

The name Palamanui, meaning an enclosure of abundant education, inspired the design philosophy behind this master-planned development. This mixed-use community, thoughtfully designed around a central town center and connected with an extensive network of walking and biking trails, will have 1,116 homes. It also features over 230 acres of open space, a 70-acre business park, a 20-acre regional park, and a 55-acre dry forest preserve.

Palamanui LLC is a partnership between Hunt Companies, Inc., Mr. Charles R. Schwab and local Kona contractor Guy Lam.

ABOUT HUNT

Founded in 1947, and operating in Hawaii since 1991, Hunt Companies, Inc. has become a leading national privately-owned real estate developer, investor and manager. Hunt’s focus and experience is in sectors such as public-private partnerships, military housing, mixed-use, multi-family housing, master-planned communities, government build-to-lease programs, retail, and office. The services Hunt provides to these sectors include Investment Management, Development, Construction Services, and Asset and Property Management Services.

Hunt and its affiliates have $10 billion in Assets Under Management. These assets include 114,000 multi-family housing units, 4.3 million square feet of commercial, 1.5 million square feet of industrial and 1.8 million square feet of retail. Hunt’s expertise is also comprised of over 89,000 housing units built, thousands of acres of land developed, and over 400 projects completed in 32 states. Development project costs have been in excess of $6.3 billion, with over $8.1 billion in construction costs.

Hunt’s 2010 gross revenue was more than $900 million. Hunt Companies, Inc. is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, with regional offices in Honolulu, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Memphis and London. For more information, visit www.huntcompanies.com

Acquired January 28, 2012 by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team.

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Kilauea has experienced a long-term eruption since 1983, though scientists have actually been keeping an eye on the volcano for much longer. January 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, which stands watch over one of our planet’s most active volcanoes. Situated on the rim of Kilauea Caldera, this observatory is the oldest volcano monitoring station in the United States.

The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite observed the volcano on January 28, 2012. Shown here are two natural-color views: a close-up of the Kilauea Caldera and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and a wide-area view showing Mauna Ulu and Pu’u ’O’o. Within the Kilauea Caldera lies Halema’uma’u Crater. A small plume of water vapor emerges from this crater and blows toward the southwest.

The founding of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is generally identified as January 17, 1912, when geologist Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr., took over the continuous observations of Kilauea. In the decade before Jaggar set up shop, nearly 200,000 people died from earthquakes and volcanoes. In the wake of a devastating eruption at Mount Pelée in 1902, the National Geographic Society sponsored a volcano-observing expedition, and Jaggar was one of the participants. He soon concluded that, rather than studying the damage caused by eruptions, scientists would do more good to identify the precursors. On a trip through Hawaii, he negotiated with local businessmen and secured financial support for an observatory. In 1911, he hired volcanologist Frank Perret to monitor the volcano, then took over observations in January 1912.

Jaggar immediately brought detailed documentation to the observatory, and soon expanded the activities beyond his own observations. The installation of seismometers provided evidence of the link between earthquakes and volcanism. In the 1950s, the observatory installed tiltmeters to help measure surface deformation caused by the movement of magma below the surface. Researchers at the observatory collected gas samples in 1912—some of the earliest high-temperature volcanic gas samples ever collected—and drilled into a lava lake in the 1980s to better understand how volcanic rocks crystallize.

In 2012, a century after its founding, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory hosts 25 scientists and support personnel, along with students and volunteers. It tracks the activity of Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and other volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands, as well as the associated earthquakes.

Reference: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Accessed January 30, 2012. Kauahikaua, J., Poland, M. (2012). One hundred years of volcano monitoring in Hawaii.

Agyai Marshall, an employee of Home Depot in Hilo, performs a song he wrote for the 2012 Home Depot Search for A Star Competition. The top four winners get an all expenses paid trip to perform at the annual managers meeting in Las Vegas.

MEDIA RELEASE

Sulfur dioxide gas emissions from the crater of Pu‘u ‘O‘o on Kīlauea’s east rift zone (above) and the vent within Halemaumau Crater at Kilauea’s summit create volcanic pollution that affects the air quality of downwind communities. Here, an HVO gas geochemist measures Pu‘u ‘O‘o gas emissions using an instrument that detects gas compositions on the basis of absorbed infrared light. Photo courtesy of USGS/HVO

Hawaii National Park, HI — The public is invited to learn about Kīlauea’s volcanic gases and vog (volcanic air pollution) in an “After Dark in the Park” program at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on Tues., Jan. 31, at 7 p.m.

U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists Jeff Sutton and Tamar Elias will update information on Kīlauea Volcano’s gas emissions and associated environmental impacts. Their presentation will be at the park’s Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Park entrance fees apply.

Sutton and Elias will discuss how vog forms from sulfur dioxide gas emitted from Kīlauea’s east rift and summit vents. They will also provide an overview of existing resources that residents can consult to better deal with this notable aspect of the volcano’s ongoing eruptions. After their talk, an optional “gas tasting” session will be offered, during which attendees can safely learn to recognize individual volcanic gases by smell.

Kīlauea has been releasing large amounts of potentially hazardous volcanic gases for nearly three decades—since the beginning of the volcano’s east rift zone eruption in 1983. In March 2008, Kīlauea gas emissions increased further when a new vent opened in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of the volcano.

Average sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas emissions from Kīlauea’s east rift zone vent declined significantly in 2010 but jumped briefly during the Kamoamoa eruption in March 2011. Kīlauea summit SO2 emissions, overall, have remained high since the opening of the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook Vent in 2008. At of the end of 2011, the combined emission rate for these two sources was about half of what it was during 2008-2009. This lower combined rate has been comparatively good news for downwind residents and visitors of Hawai‘i Island.

This presentation is one of many programs offered by HVO during Hawai‘i Island’s Volcano Awareness Month in January 2012. For details about this After Dark in the Park program, please call 808-985-6011. More information about Volcano Awareness Month is posted on the HVO website at hvo.wr.usgs.gov