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The Hawaii County Council is urging the state to seek solutions for the mounting wastewater problems on Hawaii Island. A resolution discussed at Wednesday’s council meeting would urge the state legislature to set funding for wastewater management projects around the state as one of its legislative goals next year. Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball, who introduced…

A motion to recuse a judge in the trial for a 21-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting an elderly woman in 2019 at a Kawaihae campground will be heard early next month. Trial was set to begin Nov. 30 for Zeth Browder in Third Circuit Chief Judge Robert D.S Kim’s courtroom following four continuances, however,…

Police have identified a motorcyclist who was killed in a traffic collision in Hilo Monday evening. According the Hawaii Police Department, the man killed was William Townsend, a 39-year-old Hilo resident. Townsend was driving a motorcycle eastward on Kaumana Drive when he skidded on gravel and fell from the bike at the intersection of Kaumana…

Puna property owners participating in the county’s housing buyout program should be unaffected by an environmental assessment that will be conducted for the entire program.  The Voluntary Housing Buyout Program, a federally funded inactive wherein the county buys back properties that were destroyed or damaged during the 2018 Kilauea eruption, completed its first phase at…

By NANCY COOK LAUER West Hawaii Today Most — if not all — County Council members support tacking an extra 3% tax on hotel, timeshare and transient vacation rental charges, but a bill to do that was postponed two weeks by the Finance Committee on Tuesday to work out more of the details. The state…

A motorcyclist was killed Monday after being struck by another vehicle at the intersection of Saddle Road and Kaumana Drive in Hilo. According to a police report, a male motorcyclist — whose identity has not been disclosed, pending notification of next of kin — was traveling east on Kaumana at 6:30 p.m. when he skidded…

By MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY Hawaii Tribune-Herald Ghosts and ghouls can walk among the living on Halloween, as long as they avoid large groups and interpersonal contact, said state and county officials. Mayor Mitch Roth said Monday that he will not issue any county-specific rules for Halloween, instead encouraging families to simply “use common sense” to avoid…

There’s little detail, but County Council members will be asked Wednesday to approve a resolution asking the county to support changes to the Sunshine Law, the state law governing public meetings and public notice to the meetings. Resolution 238 simply states it supports “the addition of an item titled ‘amending the Sunshine Law, Part I…

Police are seeking public assistance in locating a runaway teen last seen in Hilo. Kealii Kaniho, 15 years old, was last seen in the 1700 block of Kinoole Street in Hilo on Aug. 23. He is 5 foot, 7 inches tall, 140 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair and a tanned complexion. At the time…

Preliminary designs for road restoration projects in Lower Puna have been submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for approval. Earlier this week, the county submitted to FEMA designs for the realignment of a lower section of Pohoiki Road and the restoration of Highway 137, which was inundated by lava during the 2018 Kilauea eruption.…

Enrollment at the University of Hawaii at Hilo is up this year compared to 2020, although it is still down from pre-pandemic numbers. According to the UH Institutional Research and Analysis Office, 3,243 students are enrolled at UH-Hilo this year, an increase of 2.5% from last year and the first increase in enrollment since 2012.…

Imagine someone reupholstering your chair — while you’re still sitting in it. A committee gets together and decides the shade, the fabric and how much cushioning it should have. If there’s a lot of fuss about it, the judicial system steps in to make the final decision. Redistricting is like that. Too often lost in…

Hilo Medical Center has treated dozens of people in its monoclonal antibody treatment clinic since it opened last month. HMC has given at least 48 doses of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ REGN-COV to COVID-19 positive patients, and one dose to someone who was only exposed to the virus. “As our numbers are optimistically decreasing, we’ve been able…

A midday Thursday fire gutted an unpermitted 500-square-foot one-story house near the 24-mile marker of Chain of Craters Road in Kaimu. According to a Fire Department statement, four units responded to the 11:50 a.m. alarm with the first unit arriving on scene 22 minutes later to find the structure fully involved in fire. The building…

State Department of Health Epidemiologist Sarah Kemble said COVID-19 has been far deadlier than the flu during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. “In Hawaii and around the world, COVID-19 was far deadlier than the flu during the 2020-2021 flu season,” Kemble said Tuesday in a statement. “There was one confirmed influenza death in Hawaii between…

During the week of Oct. 4-10, Hawaii Island police arrested 18 motorists for DUI. Seven of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Two were younger than 21. The numbers of arrests by district were: South Hilo, seven; Kona, six; South Kohala, three; and Puna, two. So far this year, there have been 826…

HONOLULU — Hawaii has not experienced a large spike in evictions despite the expiration of both state and federal moratoriums meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect renters during the coronavirus pandemic economic downturn. Tracey Wiltgen, executive director of the Mediation Center of the Pacific, said her organization has handled more cases but…

Gov. David Ige announced Thursday that the state has sold a record $1.88 billion in general obligation bonds. Money from the sale will be used to fund new and existing projects. “This bond sale will provide ongoing funding for critical state construction projects including schools, highways, airports and harbors,” Ige said in a statement. “These…

The East Hawaii Cultural Center invited keiki to the lanai for the first Youth Art Series project since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. EHCC will continue its Youth Art Series with a free project available for keiki every second Saturday of the month. Last Saturday, keiki painted old pieces of cardboard that will be…

Police are seeking the public’s assistance for information about an alleged agricultural theft Oct. 7 in Hilo. Officers responding to a 6:20 p.m. call found two men in a vehicle with more than 600 pounds of bananas at a facility off Highway 19 in the Wainaku area. The bananas were recently picked, and the men…

“So far, we’re going ahead.” That was the word Thursday from Merrie Monarch Festival President Luana Kawelu concerning the festival’s hula competition, Hilo’s signature event, returning to its usual schedule next year. That week in 2022 will be April 17-23. The prestigious hula competition would start April 21 with Miss Aloha Hula. Group hula kahiko…

The Department of Public Safety has implemented a vaccine incentive program for inmates. Inmates in the department’s custody during the period of March 3, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2024, who become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are eligible to receive a one-time incentive award of $50. The payment will be deposited into the inmate’s spendable trust…