News
Update: High bacteria count notification canceled for Onekahakaha Beach swimming area in Hilo
Water sample retesting results show that enterococci levels no longer exceed the threshold level.
Hawai‘i Island police investigate death of Ocean View woman
First responders found the woman in her yard not breathing. She had recently stopped her pet dog from attacking her pet goat.
Schatz introduces bill to raise federal employee pay across the nation
Workers did receive a 4.6% pay raise in 2023 and a 5.2% raise in 2024. Nonetheless, federal employee pay increases have failed to keep pace with rising labor and living costs.
Hawai‘i Island police seek public help finding 67-year-old man
The man was last seen in the Volcano area.
Hawai‘i Police Department hosts second annual HI-PAL T-ball tournament
A total of 19 teams participated in the two-day tournament Jan. 27-28 at Kawananakoa Gym in the Keaukaha community of Hilo, with the Lincoln Wreckers Gold clinching first place and the West Side Hammers scoring second.
Alert level increases at Kīlauea with movement of magma in the subsurface
According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, it is not possible to say with certainty if this activity will lead to an eruption.
House Majority introduces bill package for 2024 Hawaiʻi Legislative Session
The nine-bill package is aimed at addressing several critical issues throughout the state, including affordable housing, homelessness, mental health licensure, electric vehicles and more.
Monthly outdoor siren test scheduled for Thursday
The all-hazard Outdoor Siren Warning System for Public Safety is one part of the Hawai‘i Statewide Alert and Warning System used to notify the public during emergencies.
Update: Wind advisory canceled for Big Island summits
Winds atop Maunakea and Mauna Loa have fallen below advisory criteria.
Update: Nāʻālehu man wanted for questioning in 2 criminal investigations arrested
20-year old Matthew Koi turned himself in Jan. 28 at the Nā‘ālehu Police Station.
Hawai‘i AG prevails in class-action lawsuit involving state retiree health benefits
The lawsuit was brought by retired government employees who sought to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in claims relating to retiree health benefits provided by the Hawai‘i Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund.
Update: 39-year-old woman previously reported missing found in good health
Big Island police report Shannon Smith was located Tuesday in Honoka’a.
Working Families Legislative Caucus sponsors several bills aimed at boosting economic justice
The Working Families Legislative Caucus, chaired by Big Island state Rep. Jeanné Kapela, is championing a bill package that includes measures to establish paid sick and family leave programs, strengthen access to the supplemental nutritional assistance program, tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income and create a state child tax credit.
Update 4: Hawaiian Electric lifts request to conserve electricity following rolling outages
The utility’s combustion turbine units Kanoelehua CT-1 and Puna CT-3, which normally supply about 32 megawatts of power, tripped offline this morning, resulting in the need to load shed and force the rolling outages around the island.
State says ‘awa, also known as kava, is ‘generally recognized as safe’
Based on numerous scientific journals and publications provided to the Health Department and College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the state concluded that the use of the noble variety of ‘awa root, mixed with water or coconut water, is safe and consistent with the substance and intent of federal regulations.
Hawai‘i Fire Department responds to fire at Hawaiian Electric substation in Kea‘au
Firefighters arrived at the scene in Kea‘au just before 7 p.m. Jan. 29 and discovered the fire in a 40-foot container that housed an electric generator and power transformers.
Kona legislators introduce stricter coffee labeling laws
This move comes in response to deceptive labeling concerns and a recent report from the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, which offered clear economic justification for the Legislature to increase the minimum content required for a product to bear the Kona name on its packaging.
Public help sought in cleaning up shopping carts littering Kona streets
The Kailua Village Business Improvement District has been returning abandoned shopping carts to merchants for the past few years. Now, the district hopes to involve the public in their efforts.
Update: High surf advisory canceled early Thursday morning
Surf heights have fallen below advisory thresholds.
Police renew request for public’s assistance locating runaway missing since July 2023
King Kehoe is known to use the Hele-On bus for transportation and frequents “the Lawn” in Kalapana, Kahena Beach, Pāhoa town, Hilo town, including the mall and Kailua-Kona.
