West Hawai‘i News

The Zonta Club of Hilo wants to support women in their career endeavors and is offering assistance through several different awards and scholarships.

The Hawai‘i County Council on Wednesday approved the second and final reading of Bill 105, which temporarily suspends fares for all fixed bus routes and paratransit services offered by Hele-On until Dec. 31, 2023.

Hawai’i’s oldest food festival is seeking signature art entries for its official 2022 image.

UPDATE: The Hawai’i Police Department reported in another advisory message at 9:43 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, that Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway at the 81-mile marker in Kīholo is again open to traffic. Police urged motorists to drive safely.

West Hawai‘i residents will have three opportunities to talk story with members of the Hawai‘i Police Department this month during Coffee With a Cop events.

As the reliability of Hawai’i County’s bus system improves, changes to other Hele-On programs are in the works, including plans to restructure the shared-ride taxi program.

Hawaiʻi County is now offering a new COVID testing program for businesses to help prevent workplace spread of the illness.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is beefing up its emergency assistance program for Native Hawaiians.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Hawaiʻi Island trustee Keola Lindsey is stepping down from his position.

The Marine Mammal Center, the world’s largest marine mammal hospital, admitted an endangered Hawaiian monk seal suffering from fishing gear ingestion and moderate malnutrition at its hospital in Kailua-Kona.

Astronomy in Hawaiʻi supports employment of 1,313 residents and had a total economic impact of $221 million on the state in 2019, according to a University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization update released Sunday, Jan. 30.

Eighty-seven trained site leaders gathered data from the shores of the Big Island, Kaua‘i and O‘ahu during the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count and from Maui during the Great Whale Count by Pacific Whale Foundation, the first of three coordinated whale counts between the two organizations in 2022.

Sustainable Energy Hawai‘i, formerly Big Island Community Coalition, is offering a free webinar about geothermal power options in Hawai’i.

The state Department of Health reported 2,741 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 217,775. Seven new fatalities were reported.

The Hawai‘i Police Department encourages motorists to drive safely.

Hawai’i County Civil Defense reports that Big Island police have closed Highway 11 in both directions in the vicinity of mile marker 92 in South Kona because of a traffic accident.

Hawai’i County Civil Defense said Thursday afternoon that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources reports box jellyfish at Spencer Beach Park in South Kohala and at other West Hawai’i beaches.

On Wednesday, Jan. 26, a yearling humpback whale entangled in at least 140 feet of line, with a buoy trailing about 60 feet behind, was freed in waters off Ukumehame, Maui, by a team led by responders trained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Gov. David Ige on Wednesday signed the latest COVID-19 emergency proclamation, keeping in place current restrictions and officially adding cruise ship passengers to the list of travelers who must abide by Safe Travels Hawaiʻi requirements.

Big Island police are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a person responsible for using a counterfeit bill to complete a transaction Tuesday, Jan. 25, at a store in Kea‘au.