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Would it be too difficult and/or costly to divert lava away from the town? Like digging a trench toward a nearby valley? Or is the volcano so unpredictable that another flow might begin to threaten the town from a different direction at any time?

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There are various factors including the unpredictable nature of the flow as well as the cost and sheer effort involved. But, also very prominently is the cultural sensitivity to not disrupt the will of the volcano goddess Pele.

http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/local-news/county-diver...

KHON2 (the local Honolulu Fox Affilate) has a good 5 part series on the ongoing Kilauea eruption -- check part 3 for more discussion on your question.

http://khon2.com/kilauea-facing-the-fire/

There have definitely been operations to try and divert lava streams, for example on the Icelandic island of Heimaey in the 1970s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimaey

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