capitals in event type places query
The code searches for the nearest capital using feature code PPLA
:
https://github.com/usgs/hazdev-geoserve-ws/blob/a21cfc50a001d855e52da202a79de0db41cc2b07/src/lib/classes/PlacesFactory.class.php#L196
Geonames documentation describes PPLA
as "seat of a first-order administrative division", and PPLC
as "capital of a political entity":
http://www.geonames.org/export/codes.html
Changing this may or may not be desirable, since the nearest capital is not always in the same state/country as the queried location.