Big Island Polls

With the pros and cons that come with Ironman, we wanted to know what your favorite part of this year’s championship was.

After a week of events leading up to race day, a champion has been crowned for the first ever VinFast Ironman World Championship triathlon completely dedicated to some of the best women athletes from around the world. What was your favorite part of this year’s festivities?

Over the past several years, privately owned parking lots that used to be free so people could patronize restaurants, shops, bars and other businesses now are charging rates ranging from $9 to $15 per hour.

As the free parking has dwindled, it makes it difficult to eat, shop or cruise Ali‘i Drive without it impacting the wallet.

The poll showed a small sampling of people who voted they’d never actually been to a Coffee with a Cop event.

The popular event provides the opportunity for community members and police to have candid conversations and ask questions over a simple cup of joe about topics ranging from sharing personal stories to discussing neighborhood issues.

In looking at how emergency access can improve in communities, voters in the latest Big Island Now poll had one clear answer: build more roads.

Concerns over emergency access out of Big Island communities, particularly Waikōloa, increased after the 2021 Mana Road fire scorched 40,000 acres in South Kohala and forced the evacuation of 6,500 Waikōloa Village residents.

The eruption at Kīlauea’s caldera that started on Sept. 10 stopped Saturday.

Of the 900 total votes in our most recent poll, which asked people to weigh in on the best way to extend the life of the Big Island’s only remaining landfill, all of the above was the most popular answer, garnering 274 votes, or 30%.

The West Hawai‘i Sanitary Landfill, the only working landfill on the island since the Hilo Landfill on the east side closed permanently 3 years ago, has about 20 to 25 years before it reaches capacity.

There was a tie for the top two, with your aunty’s potato-mac salad and other each getting 21 votes, or 20% of the total vote.

Today marks Labor Day — the official end of summer, the end of wearing white and the start of the new school year.

One person indicated in the comments that fishing was their favorite activity. They wrote: “I have been fishing most of my life. But always in fresh water. A(n) all new experience here, there is much to learn. I’m enjoying it.”

With the release of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s draft assessment report of the lava-impacted areas, work to restore roads, waterlines and park facilities will begin mostly likely 2024.

Big Island Now voters weighed in that reducing/controlling invasive species was the No. 2 best thing to do to prevent wildfires on the island. What came in No. 1?

While officials and organizations are taking steps to help prevent wildfires, what do you think is the best way to stop them on the Big Island?

Despite a new 4-year contract that raises the average annual pay for teachers by 3.4%, how much teachers in Hawai‘i make remains a concern of Big Island Now readers.

Public schools in Hawaiʻi face many challenges. What do you think is the biggest need this upcoming school year? Take Big Island Now’s poll.

The observatory, which would feature one of the world’s largest land-based telescopes, has languished for years, facing not only legal challenges but also opponents who maintain it will desecrate Maunakea, which many Native Hawaiians consider sacred.