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“It’s an incredibly rare sighting,” Kona boat captain Andrew Aggergaard said of seeing a humpback whale in Hawaiian waters in July. “It’s really hard to say why this whale is here over the summer.”

“We hope non-profit organizations will tune into our live streaming event on July 31 to hear how our new program may help them,” said Olani Lilly, executive director of Changemakers Hawaiʻi.

Led by fifth-season head coach Chris Leonard, the Hawai’i Hilo Women’s Volleyball team is set to compete in a 28-match slate.

Accomplished songwriter Jason Blume has won an Emmy, but he said none of his achievements compares to his latest: the publication of “Happy Tails,” a book inspired by his time as a Kaua‘i Humane Society volunteer.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library has successfully digitized the 鯨魚鑬笑録 (Geigyo ranshōroku) scrolls, rare hand-painted Japanese scrolls depicting the process of whale hunting during Japan’s Edo period.

Hawai’i County’s first hybrid hydrogen-electric bus was unveiled Tuesday in West Hawai’i.

The Hawai‘i Police Department says 16-year-old Mary Costner was last seen at about 2 p.m. July 6 on Pohakea Road in Pa‘auilo, wearing a dark-colored long-sleeve shirt and dark colored pants.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Hawai‘i County and Island of Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau announced Tuesday two new community-based destination management initiatives — the Keaukaha Steward Pilot Program and Community Cultural-Based Education Program.

Kimo Alameda, who has been lead of the Hawai‘i Island Fentanyl Task Force and vice president of business development for Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center since 2022, will share his thoughts about stepping away from those roles and his mayoral run during a press conference July 12.

While the search continues for a woman from Pāhoa who went missing on July 9 while picking ʻopihi, fire department officials say there is no confirmation that she actually went into the water.

A brush fire that ignited on Monday afternoon in the Kaʻū District of the Big Island scorched 42 acres, damaging a garage and possibly some vehicles. Fire crews are now doing mop up work to prevent flareups.

A coalition of native Hawaiian and marine wildlife advocates submitted complaints on Tuesday to two state agencies that urge the further investigation of “apparent violations of law” at the Kanaloa Octopus Farm in Kailua-Kona and the ending of its lease at a state-owned facility.

Requested items include backpacks, colored markers, colored pencils, composition notebooks, crayons and more.

Update: Kamaoa Road is now open. Hawaiʻi Fire Department remains at the scene to mop up a brush fire.

The weather got chilly during the 90-mile, 10-hour sail to Hydaburg, that included traveling alongside a pod of humpback whales.

Shanice Ogata-Staudinger was picking ʻopihi with a relative in the area of Kahakai Boulevard and Papio Street in Pāhoa, at a spot commonly known as “Hau Bush.”

We want to hear from our readers about what you think the State Department of Land and Natural Resources should do to handle commercial manta ray tours in the future.

The Alumni Makers’ Market is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 9 at The Royal Hawaiian Resort in Waikīkī on Oʻahu, with with nearly twice the number of alumni-owned small businesses planning to participate compared to last year’s inaugural event.

Update: Sisters Raisha and Rashanti Mcnamara were found Monday in Keaʻau in good health, according to the Hawaiʻi Island police.

The Department of Health recently released an update of comprehensive K-12 school guidelines regarding COVID-19 protocols.