SUNDAY, JULY 8, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM $1.50
Learning lava lore
AMID ERUPTION, HVNP RANGERS TEACHING GEOLOGY LESSONS
KAILUA-KONA — On April 20,
Taggart Nakamoto, a Konawaena High
School senior at the time, was writing an
essay in his advanced-placement English
class when he got the notification.
Meanwhile, Hope Kudo, a senior at
Kealakehe High School at the time, was
sitting by herself in Houston’s George
Bush Intercontinental Airport on her
way home from a college tour to a robotics
championship, waiting for her food,
when she got her email.
The email was an announcement the
two students, each the top of their class at
their respective schools, would be among
300 students to receive the prestigious
Gates Scholarship, a full scholarship that
recognizes “exceptional, Pell-eligible,
minority high school seniors,” according
to the scholarship website.
“I kind of just walked out of the room,”
Nakamoto said in an interview Friday,
“like ‘Wow. That’s very surprising.’ It was
awesome.”
“I was just really surprised,” said Kudo.
“I had no idea going into it that I would
get selected.”
A third Hawaii student, Charles Tran
from Kaiser High School on Oahu, is
also among the scholars.
Recipients of the Gates Scholarship,
now in its first year, are awarded the
full cost of attending school minus
any other financial aid and the expected
family contribution determined
by the student’s Free Application for
Federal Student Aid.
The Gates Scholarship also comes
with a full network of resources
aimed at helping scholars succeed as
they pursue their higher education.
The two students recently attended
the Gates Scholarship Summer
Institute in Dallas, which featured
various panels, guest speakers and
team-building exercises along with
the opportunity to meet their fellow
scholars.
HILO — A dozen or so people
gathered Friday morning at ‘Imiloa
Astronomy Center for a down-toearth
lesson about lava.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
staff visited ‘Imiloa to provide
updates on the current Kilauea volcano
eruption and discuss geology.
On a table set up in front of
three large screens were different
types of lava rocks, including the
stringy strands of Pele’s hair, which
are actually thin strands of volcanic
glass.
“I’m going to show you lava
SpongeBob,” a staffer told the
crowd, bringing out a piece of reticulite,
which from a distance almost
looks like a piece of steel wool.
As the discussion continued,
‘Imiloa and park staff zoomed in
and out quickly on satellite images
of the Big Island and other islands
in the Pacific.
At the table with eager ears was
Owen Williams, 9, of Kaimuki,
Oahu, who picked up the pieces of
lava and examined them. His sister,
Lucy, 5, stood next to him.
Alika Williams, Owen’s dad, said
his son loves science.
Williams said he spent part of his
childhood in Hilo and has family
ties to the town. They were visiting
for the Independence Day holiday.
Friday was a “museum day” for
the family, he said, with a stop at
INDEX Annie’s Mailbox . . . . . . 6B Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1D Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1C Nation & World . . . . . 3A-4A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B
&$5:$6+ *$6
*$6 :$6+&20%2
1VSDIBTFǯǯ(BMMPOTǯPSǯNPSFǯSFDFJWFǯ
2))ǯBOǯ6-5*."5&ǯ$"3ǯ8"4)
($51)5((
&$5:$6+(6
ǯ
4JHOVQǯBUǯUIBOYDPNMFYCSPEJFTǯ
)PVSTǯǯ.PO4BUǯ BNǯǯ QNǯǯǯǯǯǯ4VOEBZǯǯBNǯǯ QN
HI 87 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 6A
7
58551 00781 7
VOL. 50, NO. 189 28 PAGES
INSIDE
A ROOF OVER
THEIR HEADS
Volunteers build
more tiny houses
for lava evacuees
PAGE 8A
▼
NORTH
HAWAII
ADVANCES
Napoleon
Umeda leads
team to Little
League District
4 title game
SPORTS, 1B
▼
High achievers,
big dreamers
2 HAWAII ISLAND
STUDENTS, TAGGART
NAKAMOTO AND
HOPE KUDO, EARN
PRESTIGIOUS GATES
SCHOLARSHIP
BY CAMERON MICULKA
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE GATES PAGE 7A
BY STEPHANIE SALMONS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
KILAUEA ERUPTION
Lucy Williams, 5, and her brother, Owen Williams,
9, of Kaimuki, Oahu, learn about lava Friday at
Imiloa Astronomy Center. Staff from Hawaii
Volcanoes National Park paid a visit to the center
to offer updates on the current Kilauea volcano
eruption. STEPHANIE SALMONS / TRIBUNE-HERALD
Election 2018:
Challengers
seek incumbent
face-time
SOME BIG ISLAND
CANDIDATES FEEL LEFT OUT
OF POLITICAL FORUMS
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
HILO — Challengers in some Hawaii
Island political races say the public is
missing out on the back-and-forth of
debates and candidate forums because
the incumbents are no-shows.
The problem — in addition to reluctant
incumbents — appears to be a matter
of timing, as well as attention being
focused closer to the top of the ticket,
where two well-known Democrats are
vying for the governorship.
SEE DEBATES PAGE 10A
“I was just really surprised.
I had no idea going into it
that I would get selected.”
HOPE KUDO
GATES SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
Rolling under
the sea
HAWAII GRANT PROGRAM
BOLSTERS TECH COMPANY
INNOVATION IN KONA
BY WEST HAWAII TODAY STAFF
KAILUA-KONA — A new tech company
in Kona is working toward automating
the sea.
Tridentis Advanced Marine Vehicles
(AMV) took up residence at the Natural
Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority
last November, where it is developing
an autonomous, unmanned marine
vehicle for use by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
With Tridentis AMV’s tech, NOAA
will measure water quality and monitor
SEE AMV PAGE 9A
SEE LAVA PAGE 9A
link
link