PUNA, Hawaii – Pahoa and the region of lower Puna are feeling more optimistic these days, as the lava flow has hardly advanced in weeks and normalcy is slowly returning to the every day lives of the community.

The June 27th lava flow continues to smolder just a few hundred yards upslope of Highway 130, but most of the activity is miles away from the flow front. The slowdown has given the community a renewed confidence. Today the long awaited re-opening of Malama Market, the anchor of the formerly-doomed Pahoa Market Place, was announced for March 18th.

A rainbow captured by Mick Kalber on the morning of Friday the 13th reflects the sense of optimism in the air these days over Puna.