On May 3rd, 2025, the 'Awapuhi Labyrinth in HPP will host a special event to mark World Labyrinth Day, focusing on the theme of "Creating Peaceful Paths." 

The day begins at 11:30 AM with a circle share, where participants will discuss building resilience in their lives and communities.

At 1 PM, a global tradition takes place with a labyrinth walk, uniting participants around the world to walk "as one" for peace. The walk will be accompanied by live music led by Deborah Masterson of Rhythm Full Circle. 

This event offers an opportunity for community connection and personal reflection, while also introducing Christy Hart Smith, one of the new labyrinth caretakers. Whether new or experienced with labyrinths, this day of reflection, connection, and peace is a unique chance to be part of a global movement.

Learn more and RSVP here! https://www.enrichment-project.com/blog/...-for-peace

   

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/04/0...d-under-5/
"The inevitable has happened, with Hawaii’s first confirmed case of travel-related measles in the state this year as the number in the U.S. surges beyond 600.

The state Department of Health on Tuesday announced the measles case in an unvaccinated child on Oahu under the age of 5. It was confirmed Monday night, according to Gov. Josh Green, in a child who recently returned from international travel with family.

“There’s no need to panic — but there is a need to act,” said Green in a statement after a news conference Tuesday. “Measles isn’t just a rash and a fever — it’s one of the most contagious viruses known. We’ve already seen what happens when vaccination rates drop: more cases, more outbreaks, more lives at risk. The best thing you can do to protect your family, your community and our keiki is to get vaccinated. It’s simple, it’s safe and it saves lives.” (more at link, or the Tribune-Herald)

Puna has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state - many of the schools in the Kau-Keaau-Pahoa complex have vaccinations rates only in the 50-80% range which makes them likely areas for outbreaks of infectious diseases like measles.
2023-24 Immunization Reports by School
Stay safe!

From the BBC...
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250...-by-humans
"O'ahu's mountainous terrain – a filming location that has evoked heroic, untrammelled wildernesses in the Jurassic Park and King Kong films – is shaped "at every level" by human action, says Jef Vizentin-Bugoni, a Brazilian ecologist at Universidade Federal de Pelota who researched the island's birds with Tarwater. He recalls having his expectations upturned when he arrived on the island in 2017, eager to see Hawaii's famous honeycreepers, a set of brightly coloured native bird species that exist nowhere else in the world. Instead, he was first confronted with an unfamiliar flurry of red and white feathers, which turned out to be a red-whiskered bulbul, a bird whose native range spans from India to Southern China. "

Just a quick shout out to the thousands who showed up for the Hand's Off protests in Hilo, and elsewhere on-island and across the state! Nice to see the solidarity between Veterans against Trump, WOKE (Whatever Offends Klansmen Easily), Dogs against DOGE (Damaging Our Good Economy), and Penguins Against Tariffs. Going to be interesting to see where this momentum goes especially as the reality of the ongoing bad government choices crashes through the lies and empty promises.

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/202...ilo-rally/

https://bigislandnow.com/2025/04/06/abou...n-tactics/

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/04/06...rump-musk/

I noticed this had not been posted. 

https://www.hawaiipolice.gov/police-inve...led-woman/

Speaking of a worker shortage, I found this article interesting.   Apparently Puna's demographics are slightly better than the state overall, but not by much.  Google says median age for our district is 39.9 while it's 40.6 in the state as a whole. 1 in 4 residents statewide will be over 65 by 2035.      

Aging Into A Deficit 
"When someone consumes more than they produce, it’s called a lifecycle deficit.
The report’s findings, while perhaps unsurprising, are stark: By the time they reach 80, people consume $52,000 a year more than they bring in. That’s compared to people at 48, who the report said earn $35,000 more than they consume, which is a lifecycle surplus.
Consumption by the elderly means the use of things like health care and federal benefits such as Medicare and Social Security, as well as of private assets such as housing and pensions."

https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/03/super-...es-hawaii/

https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-...-in-hawaii

“ Right now there's a backlog and the people who are eligible for the program are not able to access these benefits. If we can hire one additional worker, that could bring in about $2 million in federal benefits to our families in need, that is an easy 10 to 1, 20 to 1 return on investment just for one worker,” said Nate Hix, director of policy and advocacy for the Hawaiʻi Pacific Health Institute.

The state Department of Human Services said it has a 25% vacancy for eligibility workers and 50% for clerical staff at SNAP processing centers.

“High vacancies and challenges to both recruitment and retention of the workforce can be attributed to retirements, a lack of interested applicants, and opportunities for higher-wage jobs, which, combined, make the vacancies very difficult to fill.”


Feels like an Arsenio Hall segment.       

You had to get up extra early, but Hamakua beach cow Mu’umu’u was out on the waves again at Honoli’i Beach Park this morning.  While not a regular, her skills were impressive according to one early riser who looked on while waxing his board.  “Brah, some those moves hard nuff wit two legs!”  
   

What is it with the lack of donut stores around here?  Who remembers Holy Donuts?  They had a store in Kona for a long time and they did a foray into Hilo for a bit but got tired of hauling dough over the mountain and shut down there several years ago, and then in Kona during the pandemic.  Since then, nothing.  THOSE were donuts.  Malasadas are not donuts.  I tried the malasadas behind KTA and went into a sugar coma.  And KTA, Safeway, etc. just donʻt cut it.  Iʻm talkinʻ apple fritters, bear claws and bavarian cream.  And my misguided spousal unit prefers cake donuts.  Does anyone have any secret sources?