West Hawaii News

Mayor Kimo Alameda signed contracts with Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association and Hawaiʻi Fire Fighters Association this week to provide their members 2 years of hazard pay. Tentative agreements are being finalized with State of Hawaiʻi Organization of Police Officers and United Public Workers.

Hawai‘i Police Department officers have made a total of 171 arrests of motorists driving under the influence of an intoxicant during the first two full months of the year. While it’s just 3 more than during the same time period in 2024, it represents a 1.8% hike in DUI citations.

Started by the nonprofit Ke Kai Ala Foundation, the festival has given $1.8 million to community groups over the 30 years the event has been hosted.

Many of the events and activities around the Big Island during the next week will focus on tradition, talent and taddies. Check out this week’s top 10 things to do now!

Communities can address vulnerabilities and prepare for emergencies through the expanding Vibrant Hawaiʻi Resilience Hub network.

Spectrum will be performing scheduled maintenance beginning at 12 a.m. tonight until 12 p.m. Thursday, causing a potential temporary outage of 911 services.

National Weather Service forecasters in Honolulu expect east winds to continue at 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, for north, south, southeastern and interior portions of the island, including North and South Kohala as well as parts of Kaʻū and Puna.

A live adult invasive scarab was found March 3 at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport and another disovered March 4 at Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority, both of which are situated along the West Hawai‘i coastline. Brings the total number of adult coconut rhinoceros beetles found on the island to 7 since October 2023.

Hawai‘i Fire Department fire crews responded to reports of brush fires at 1:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, with three smaller fires already extinguished before they arrived to the scene of the earlier report, for a total of 4 blazes in the general area between Lūʻau Drive and Coral Parkway along King Kamehameha Boulevard.

The program currently operates 92 classrooms on 74 Hawai‘i Department of Education campuses statewide.

The survey, conducted by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, will collect critical information about the understanding of bird flu as well as practices and needs of those who keep poultry or care for rescued birds.

All statewide outdoor warning sirens sounded a 1-minute steady tone at 11:45 a.m. The public should contact Hawai‘i County Civil Defense at 808-935-0031 to report any siren operation issues.

The Firewise program empowers communities by giving homesteaders and its leaders, the support they need to mitigate wildfire risks in their own backyard.

Some graduate students at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo lost their research funding and educational stipends as a result of stop work orders and freezes on federal grant funds.

Discussions covered key issues such as adopting new technology, staff development, transparency, student fees and expanding collaborative efforts.

People are urged to be aware of the conditions around them and how they could react to vog. They are also encouraged to access air quality data on the the state Health Department Clean Air Branch website and Hawai‘i Interagency Vog Information Dashboard for the most up-to-date information about vog.

Surf of 7 to 10 feet is forecast by the National Weather Service in Honolulu to start the day for shores from North Kohala through South Kona, lowering to 6 to 8 feet this afternoon. The swell is expected to gradually decline through the weekend.

72-year-old passenger of Koningsdam had multiple strokes. He was transported by helicopter Thursday morning to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.

Another large northwest swell is rapidly building from northwest to southeast down the island chain this morning and will peak late this morning through the afternoon. Advisory level surf of 7 to 10 feet is expected along west shores of the island, from North Kohala through South Kona.

Even the most stalwart non-artsy type will have their interest piqued by the events on this week’s top 10 things to do around the island. Check them out right now!