East Hawaii News

Updates on the status of the Big Island geothermal energy facility are planned, as well as a representative from Hawaiʻi County expected to participate and take questions.

The festival at the Big Island astronomy center featured special planetarium shows, Japanese crafts and traditional games, bon dance lessons, taiko performances, entertainment, ʻono food and more.

Big Island police report that 64-year-old Georgette Olinger-Sakai was located in Hilo in good health.

Bill 56 establishes standards for how the County awards what’s left of $20 million in flexible funding it received in 2019 from the Hawai‘i Legislature to assist with recovery efforts, as well as any future relief funds.

Luis Villalobos of Hilo was positively identified as a suspect in an incident that happened the evening of April 22 at a high school party in Hilo.

The new 1-meter springboard and stand were installed in the northwest corner of the Olympic-sized swimming pool at Charles “Sparky” Kawamoto Swim Stadium in Hilo on the Big Island.

The Hana No‘eau Hawaiian Arts Festival will be held Aug. 18-19 at the Edith Kanakaʻole Tennis Stadium in Hilo, showcasing Hawaiʻi-based artists and their creations in visual, literary, and performing arts.

13-year-old Kailea Kekipi was last seen at 10:30 p.m. Aug. 11 on Awela Street in Hilo.

The missing man, identified as Kenneth Schwalbe of California, is described as 5-foot-5, 140 pounds with brown hair. He was last seen at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10.

16-year-old Kaila Harris, who was reported as a runaway, was last seen at about 11 p.m. Aug. 8 in Hawaiian Paradise Park area in Puna.

Hawaiian geese are returning to the Keaukaha coastline on the Big Island, but now they have to deal with traffic, including speeding vehicles, which has had some deadly consequences for the endangered birds.

The state has contracted Andrew’s Fencing of Hilo on the Big Island for the project. The company will start work this month, which will take about a month to complete.

The Hawaiʻi County Department of Public Works will host a community meeting to discuss the Paʻauʻau Drainage Project on August 9.

32 year-old Logan Arruda-Lorenzo faces first-degree and second-degree theft charges relating to two separate incidents on the Big Island earlier this year.

The incident happened Tuesday morning in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates on the Big Island and is being investigated by the Hawai‘i Police Department as a negligent failure to control a dangerous dog case.

Demolition of the former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel is just one step to transforming the “Hilo Walk of Fame.” What did Big Island Now readers think should be done to revitalize Banyan Drive?

Because of recent actions by the Hawai’i County Council and Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green, there is a mandate to fast track demolition of the abandoned 148-bedroom structure that formerly was Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel along Banyan Drive.

Omar Kesment New, 46 of Puna, pleaded no contest in 2022 to ownership or possession prohibited of a firearm and third-degree promoting a dangerous drug — and was sentenced this week in Hilo Circuit Court.

King Kehoe, who was reported as a runaway, was last seen at about 2 p.m. July 26 in the area of Kalapana Gardens in Puna on the Big Island.

The free Big Island event offered crafts, games, food, informational fun booths, entertainment, prize giveaways, including backpacks with school supplies and starter emergency kits, and more.