Hawaii

US Geological Survey To Get New Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Published

10 months ago

June 28, 2023

US Geological Survey To Get New Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

The grounds of a new Hilo facility to replace the severely damaged old Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory on the rim of the Kilauea Volcano caldera were blessed Wednesday in a ceremony attended by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

U.S. Geological Survey Director David Applegate said the new Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center on the same site will total 60,000 square feet of laboratory space, and have a staff of about 100 when completed.

The old volcano observatory at the caldera was irreparably damaged in 2018 during a series of earthquakes and explosions as Kilauea erupted. Applegate said the crater floor dropped more than 1,500 feet during that eruption in a series of collapses that violently shook the old facility.

Attending the blessing of the site of the new Hawaiian Volcano Observatory were, standing from left, U.S. Geological Survey Director David Applegate, University of Hawaii-Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and UH President David Lassner.

Since then the observatory staff has operated from makeshift facilities in East Hawaii island. Applegate said the ceremony was “to celebrate the bright future that has begun to take root” with the blessing.

“We’re here to celebrate building a lasting partnership with the people of Hawaii, and to build an interconnected and robust suite of capabilities that will help keep the people of these islands safe and prosperous for generations to come,” he told the audience at the University of Hawaii-Hilo Research Park.

Schatz reminded listeners that his office worked closely with the Department of the Interior and his fellow members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to fend off an attempt to move the observatory to Oahu, and to secure the money for a replacement facility. “It took almost a year, but we won,” he said.

Congress appropriated nearly $60 million in 2019 to replace the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Work on the new observatory and the Ecosystems Research Center is scheduled to be completed in late 2025.

The Pacific Islands Ecosystems Research Center conducts research to support management and conservation of biological resources in Hawaii and the Pacific.

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Hawaii

Pittsburgh Is Hawaii's Football Team

Published

6 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Press Room

No team loves Hawaii like the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though I’m sure there hasn’t been an actual effort to find players from the island of 1.44 million, they’ve collected the largest pool of them in the league.

On the team’s 90-man roster right now sits five Hawaii natives. There’s the Herbig brothers, Nate and Nick. There’s Isaac Seumalo, Breiden Fehoko, and the newest addition, wide receiver Roman Wilson from Kihei, who attended the same high school as the Herbig’s.

Of their current 87-man roster, that means nearly six percent of them are from the island.

How does that compare to the rest of the NFL? Pro Football Reference has a list of Hawaii-born players. They show 12 of them playing in games last season. Non-Steelers include former Steeler Tyson Alualu, QB Tua Tagovailoa, and DL DeForest Buckner. Adding in Fehoko – who technically didn’t appear in a game last year but spent time on the Steelers’ 53-man roster, that’s 13 of them on rosters last season.

How about the rookie class? I don’t have an exhaustive list, but using Dane Brugler’s draft guide that lists the hometowns of hundreds of players, there were five of them. Three of them were drafted: New York Giants LB Darius Muasau, Dallas Cowboys LB Marist Liufau, and the Steelers’ Roman Wilson. One other, Tua’s brother Taulia Tagovailoa, was invited to a rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, while another, LB Zion Tupuola-Fetui, appears unsigned and uninvited to the best of my knowledge despite initial reports he was going to Carolina.

So, let’s assume 15 Hawaii-born players appear in games next year. The current ones minus Alualu, again a free agent whose career may truly be done this time, and the three drafted rookies. That means one-third of them could come from Pittsburgh should Fehoko land on the 53-man roster in some capacity.

As is my usual question, what does this matter? I offer my usual answer. Not much. But it’s a fun factoid to examine post-draft. The Steelers love their Hawaiians. And I bet Hawaii loves Pittsburgh.

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Hawaii

Girl Scouts of Hawaii need your help to honor fallen veterans this Memorial Day

Published

13 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Press Room

Girl Scouts of Hawaii need your help to honor fallen veterans this Memorial Day

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Girl Scouts of Hawaii are asking for help preparing lei for veterans’ graves at the state cemetery in Kaneohe.

As they prepare for Memorial Day on May 27, the scouts will be accepting flower donations and help with sewing lei at Windward Mall on May 25th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Suggested donations include plumeria blossoms, bougainvillea, stephanotis, and crown flowers. Stalks of hardy tropical flowers, such as torch ginger and heliconia, will also be accepted (24 inches maximum).

The goal is to honor each of the 10,000 interred veterans.

For more information about Girl Scouts of Hawaii, visit www.gshawaii.org or call (808) 595-8400.

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