City officials filed a lawsuit Tuesday to get a judge’s permission to enter a badly dilapidated and rodent-infested Kaimuki property for cleanup.
City Corporation Counsel Donna Leong filed the suit against the owner of the 2nd Avenue property, describing it as unsafe and unsanitary. Trash and debris spill out onto the sidewalk from the property, which is also known to be frequented by vagrants and hoarders, the lawsuit said.
Art Challacombe, the city’s deputy planning director, said that if a state Circuit Court judge declares it a "public nuisance" under Honolulu’s Housing Code, the city would then be able to enter the property "to remove and dispose of the trash outside of the house, to remove and dispose of the trash inside the house that blocks exits, to exterminate the rats, cockroaches and vermin on the property … and to secure the house so that it cannot be occupied by unauthorized persons."
Neighbors report that the property owner has not lived on the property for more than a year and cannot be easily located. The owner could not be reached for comment.
Scientists try to gauge next Kilauea flow by studying lava samples
HILO » Geologists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are studying lava samples that might help fine-tune projections if Kilauea sends another 2,000-degree river of molten rock toward homes in lower Puna.
The so-called June 27 lava flow had its anniversary Saturday but hasn’t threatened populated areas since March, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.
Geologist Frank Trusdell is nevertheless analyzing thousands of slides and counting crystals one by one.
"We got all the samples, sent them in for chemical analysis, and now we’re doing the nitty-gritty science," he said.
He wants to find out whether the lava flow changed in temperature or chemistry as it advanced down the slope. Certain changes could have increased the lava’s viscosity and made it more sluggish, which could explain why the flow has stopped about 14 miles from the vent, just before reaching the town.
"There’s not an invisible wall there that kept the flows from advancing downslope," said Steve Brantley, deputy scientist-in-charge at the volcano observatory.
The June 2014 eruption marked the first time lava from the volcano’s Puu Oo vent stretched more than a few miles without being stopped by the ocean.
Understanding changes in the flow as it advances could not only explain why the lava stopped short of Puna, but also help scientists predict the impact of future eruptions.
