East Hawaii News

77-year-old Lowell Pofahl made his initial court appearance Nov. 29, a week after he called police and told them he tried to kill his 77-year old wife, who was later discovered with life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull, brain bleed and partially amputateed thumb, lying in a pool of blood in the couple’s Nānāwale Estates home.

Hawaiʻi County Department of Parks and Recreation suspends plans to charge admission at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens in Hilo. Proposed changes to Pana‘ewa Equestrian Center also being put on hold for further review.

Dredging of the shallow Wailoa harbor became a critical concern for Hawai‘i Island boaters after the Pohoiki boat ramp in Puna was surrounded and cut off by lava during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano.

Law enforcement at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park are investigating after the 70-year-old Volcano man was struck while riding Tuesday morning by a gold sedan.

Hawaiʻi Island police detectives are again asking if anyone has any information about the December 2023 murder of 68-year-old Albert Harry Pacheco Sr.

Orchid Isle Ford and Steve Marshall Group Fill the Ford Food Drive collects more than half-ton of food, $10,000 donated to The Food Basket, Hawai’i Island’s food bank, to help end hunger, increase food security around the island.

Staff members and partners of the Hilo zoo went to great lengths to ensure the 8-year-old female Bengal tiger’s health, administering anesthetics, taking samples while she was under, hand-feeding her while she recovered and more.

Mayor-elect Kimo Alameda, Prosecuting Attorney-elect Kelden Waltjen and members of the Hawaiʻi County Council will be sworn in. If you can’t make it in person, the ceremony is also being livestreamed. Alameda, Waltjen and incoming Council Chairman Holeka Inaba will give remarks.

The Big Island, as always, has plenty to do now that we all might have a little more free time after the Thanskgiving holiday weekend.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is thankful this Thanksgiving holiday weekend for staff, volunteers and all of its partners who work behind the scenes — and even on holidays — to protect it from invasive, non-native introduced pests. You can get involved, too.

Mark Singletary and Cassie Hitsman leased the site of a former restaurant, but found out the hard way it had been zoned agricultural and they need to obtain a special use permit to operate as a restaurant.

The holiday extravaganza that baths downtown Hilo in the familiar hues of Christmas lights starts at 6 p.m. and officially kicks off the Christmas parade season on the Big Island.

The earthquake happened at 8:40 a.m. Saturday morning 11 miles west-northwest of Volcano at a depth of 13 miles below sea level. It was felt around the island and as far away as Honolulu.

Hilo, Pāhoa, Waimea, Pahala, Kailua-Kona and Keaʻau will host their annual Christmas parades for Hawaiʻi Island communities throughout the next three weeks.

37-year-old Christin Eve Ho‘omaikainani Ho of Hilo is charged with two counts of third-degree theft and 39-year-old Chase K. Leopoldino of Hilo is charged with one count of third-degree theft. Both are employees of the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works.

32-year-old Sonny E. Puerto was found guilty by a jury in July of first-degree electronic enticement of a child as part of Operation Keiki Shield in May 2021, when he was texting an undercover police officer he thought was a 13-year-old girl, asking her for sex and other sex acts.

Department of Environmental Management wishes Big Island a happy Turkey Day and asks for the public’s kōkua by not littering or illegallly dumping any materials at closed facilities during the annual holiday closure.

32-year-old Dylan Jessen Gapp of Kea‘au was arrested Saturday in Hawaiian Paradise Park after leading police on a short foot chase and stumbling into a small ditch day after he was seen driving reportedly stolen truck. He is charged with second-degree burglary, first-degree theft and several other offenses.

77-year-old Lowell Thomas Pofahl of Nānāwale Estates faces several charges including second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault following a domestic incident the night of Nov. 22, after which he called Hawai‘i Police Department dispatch and told authorities he tried to kill his wife.

Restaurants and resorts across the Big Island are offering to-go and dine-in Thanksgiving meals perfect for visitors and the last-minute planners.