Monday, September 9, 2019. A Change of Season, paha?

In conversation, friends and I have commented on the brisk chill in the air of late.  Last week, the seasons seem to have changed.  First, in early early morning, weʻve had to add an extra quilt to the bed, and then the weathers at Puʻuhuluhulu have been much more variable.  Some days on the mauna have been by turns scorching skin searing and then in a few hours invigorating chill downpours or windblown mists and fogs to cool off.

MAUNA MATTERS

While noting the change of season of weather, we wonder if there will be an accompanying change in thinking and action of government agencies and their staff.  I was especially appalled by the skillsawing of our beloved Hae Hawaiʻi, our Hawaiian flag, by a person identified as a "State Sheriffs Deputy".  Photo below, a screenshot from Hawaiʻi News Now on Friday, September 6, 2019.  The reason/excuse given for the desecration of Ka Hae Hawaiʻi, was that the flag was nailed or screwed to a piece of plywood that had been nailed over the doorway of the structure.  To gain access to said structure (a purported library and/or learning center for keiki) illegally built on Hawaiian Homes land adjacent to Puʻuhuluhulu, the boarded up doorway apparently needed to be sawn open.  And with it, our flag.

One has to wonder:  Why?  Why the desecration?  Why the desecration by uniformed law enforcement officers?  As far as I can tell, there was no emergency necessitating the sawing of our flag.  Their flag.  Officers were in charge of the situation, and the gathered crowd remained behind barriers.  As happens when Iʻm feeling overwhelmed, I woke Saturday morning at 315a with the above image spinning through my brain. So I got up and did some research:

As kuʻuhoa hk has often pointed out, if there are questions or differences of opinion, GoLook The Law.  Above is the applicable Statute.  Seems pretty clear:  One Year Imprisonment, a $10,000 Fine, or both.  The bolded lines are mine, for emphasis.  One wonders if there will be any consequences for the sawer and/or his supervisor(s)?

One also wonders if The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands will be inspecting all structures under their purview to ensure that they are permitted, healthful and safe, as is the criteria.  Gov Ige stated in a HHN TV interview about the pictured structure:

"There is a strict permitting process to ensure that it is safe and it meets all the building codes.  Obviously none of that occurred in this structure, so we felt it important that we remove it."

And in the Honolulu Star Advertiser, Attorney General Clare Connors said that the building is an illegal structure and that invasive species perhaps were brought into a fragile area.

Grasping at straws.  If invasive species are at top of mind, why not inspect all vehicles transiting or stopping anywhere on Saddle Road to look for coqui, little fire ants, albizia seeds, and what-la?

I wish that there were consistency, that there were smart decisions and parameters, and enforcement, and, and, and... not picking and choosing how when where to enforce law.

And too [a last little rantlet] thereʻs the matter of a $3.5 million or so [so far] enforcement cost incurred by County of Hawaiʻi police.  In the Hawaiʻi Tribune Herald on August 30, 2019:

"The second week of enhanced traffic enforcement on Daniel K. Inouye Highway near Maunakea Access Road has netted more citations, arrests and criminal charges than the first week, Hawaii Police Department said in a statement Thursday.

"Police say 630 citations were issued in the weeklong period starting Aug, 22, compared to 610 the week starting Aug. 15. In addition, nine individuals were arrested with 16 charges filed among them. That compares to seven individuals arrested for a total of 13 charges the previous week.  ...  The 630 citations were categorized as follows, police said: speeding, 289; excessive speeding (30 or more mph above the limit), five; seat belts, 51; child restraints, 10; use of cellular phone or electronic device, three; excessive window/windshield tint, 11; driving without a license, 17; driving without insurance, 25; unsafe vehicle, 13; other moving violations, 14; no license plate, 22; regulatory infractions, 169; parking violation, one.

"Charges against those arrested include: DUI, two; theft, two; contempt of court, nine; driving without a license, two; and driving without insurance, one.

"During the enforcement, a stolen vehicle was located and two suspects arrested for the offense."

So.  I donʻt know that many, if any, or even some, enforcement actions by HPD were directly related to the encampment at Puʻuhuluhulu.  What Iʻm guessing is that many of those citations are related to the decreased speed limit between Mauna Kea County Park and the entrance to Pōhakuloa Training Area.  Motorists who donʻt pay attention to posted speed limits are easy prey.  Especially since Saddle Road was designed in such a way to allow us to go FAST.  Itʻs so tempting...

and then at KĪLAUEA

The debacle of Highway 132 continues.  Our County awaits a waiver from Federal Highways to extend the deadline for completion of the "temporary" Hwy132.  Itʻs too hot to pave.  Again, if the area is hot (which it is), and it steams when it rains (which it does), that means that Pelehonuamea is still active.  But no matter.  Despite all the nodding to the works of Pele; her role in causing pele to flow... The County sold out for money.  Tens of millions of dollars?  Shoot!!!  Weʻll take it!  Build "temporary" roads to Federal standards?  No problem!  Rip through the still-active body of Pele?  Why not???

USGS HVO

So much for consistency.  But wait, Bob!  There IS consistency.  Misguided, uninformed, greedy consistency.  Cʻmon, get with the program!

The photo above, taken on 080719, shows a bit of Waiapele (aka Kapoho Crater) on the right.  

Below, is part of Registered Map 1777, showing Kapoho, Kumukahi and environs, drawn in 1895 by AB Loebenstein.

 And an aerial from our friends at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) shows a similarly scalloped shore.

USGS HVO

What I most appreciate are a couple handwritten comments on Loebensteinʻs map:

"Sunken Walls of Fish Ponds" and "Coast Line 1883 survey now covered by high tide".  At the risk of beating a dead horse [wasting time], I marvel at the apparent lack of foresight on the part of our County and State officials.  In many matters.  Here, highways are being rebuilt, folks want to move back to Kapoho Vacationland, build a new small boat harbor on the new pele by Pohoiki, etc.  Iʻve shared a bit of the eruptive history of Puna ma kai and the Lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea, and repeatedly asked "Why?"  Why rebuild?

Aside from recurring lava flows, thereʻs the inconveniences of Shoreline Subsidence.  See Loebensteinʻs notes.  And better yet, perhaps, these entries from the Hawaiian Dictionary by Pukui and Elbert:

Ka-poho

Land section and cone, Kala-pana and Makuʻu qds., Hawaiʻi; a village here was buried in the 1960 eruption of Ki-lau-ea. Ancient surfing area in Kala-pana, now called Kai-mū. Gulch, southeast Lā-naʻi. Point, Mō-kapu peninsula, Oʻahu, where salt was formerly obtained by evaporation of sea water. Lit., the depression.

Poho-iki

Coastal land section, possible future hotel development site, and surfing area, Kala-pana qd., Hawaiʻi. Lit., small depression (Pele is said to have dug a crater here).

poho

1. n. Hollow or palm of the hand, hollow of the foot, depression, hollow; 

Get it?  Poho...that sinking feeling (of land), rather than the mental depression caused by the sinking of land and loss of ones property.  Place names are informative.  We need to

be outside...pay attention!     noho i waho...a maliu!

At Halapē, just after the Thanksgiving Weekend ʻōlaʻi (earthquakes) on November 29, 1975.  Had two ʻōlaʻi that morning, a M5.7 at 335a, followed by the M7.7 at 448a.  I remember them both.  

USGS

The sinking has been repeated, and shall continue.  If we donʻt stop wishing it didnʻt, or stop the "Chance ʻum" attitude, or think that pele not going come again in our lifetime, then WE are the cause of our social and financial woes.  Nobody but us is to blame.

Stop It!  Otherwise, waste time.  Waste money...and not just lilla bit money, but tens of and multi-millions of dollars...all avoidable if Federal, State, County "officials" would just Tell People:  No.  No Can.  This is tough love.  We not going keep wasting our collective money.  There seems to be a sentiment:  Federal Dollars...FEMA money...Theyʻll pay.  Except that the "They" is us.  All of us...

Take a d-e-e-p breath...slowly exhale...

OK then.  Letʻs holo ma uka...

USGS HVO 082219

Lava, flows and tephra, layers and layers, baked for as much as 35 years at 2,000 degrees F = RedRock.  The lua of Puʻuʻōʻō is about 820 feet deep.  A wonder to behold.

USGS HVO 082919

At Kaluapele, a spectacular view of the pali on the floor, created during The Three Months of Summer 2018.  Pit at upper left is Kīlauea Iki, with its trail across the floor visible.  Dark patch upper right is the shadowed wall of Keanakākoʻi.  Small tannish horizontal patch upper right is the Puhimau hotspot, site of steaming ground that killed the shallow-rooted forest.  On the horizon, left to right:  Puʻuʻōʻō, Kānehuiohamo, Maunaulu.

And last, but certainly not least:

USGS HVO 082219

The location of the above photo is very similar to that on the title page of this blog, though this one was taken from a bit higher elevation.  Green Kapāpala Ranch on the slope of Maunaloa, former USGS HVO and Jaggar Museum buildings on the rim at right, and that pool of green water on the floor.  Said pool is slowly rising.  Turns out (if math is correct) the water table in Keller Well, just off the mid-left edge of the picture, is about 250 feet or so higher than the bottom of Halemaʻumaʻu.  If indeed the water pool is forming as water from the water table infiltrates the Lua through fractured rock, perhaps an equilibrium will be reached.  Perhaps.  

OK then.  Gotta run pick up clothes off the line as afternoon showers arrive...

As always, with aloha,

BobbyC

maniniowali@gmail.com