#Ashley Kierkiewicz

The state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation awarded a $9.2 million contract to dredge Pohoiki Bay to Goodfellows Bros., the lowest bidder on the project.

With about 131,358 registered voters in Hawai‘i County, less than half, 44,382, cast ballots.

On Wednesday, community leaders, students elected officials and local residents held a blessing for Waiakahi‘ula Beach Park, formerly known as Kahakai Park.

The initiative drew more than 250 Big Island youths between 11 and 24 years old and participation from 24 schools.

The Hawai‘i County Council on Wednesday adopted Resolution 487, which grants $65,000 to the Pāhoa Lava Zone Museum for the purchase, installation and maintenance of 25 new surveillance systems, each consisting of 8 cameras, meant to enhance public safety in the Big Island community.

The quarterly meeting will also feature information about the latest developments at the plant, which has been producing electricity from geothermal resources since 1993 on the Big Island.

The measure, introduced by Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, would establish apiary management practices for sound and sustainable beekeeping and add apiaries to the list of allowable uses in all zoning districts on the Big Island.

Revitalize Puna activations, a joint effort between Hawai‘i County’s Disaster Recovery Division and Council District 4, have become a space for showcasing and nurturing Puna’s resilience, spirit of collaboration and deep sense of aloha.

The goal of the study is to determine where other routes could be placed to help alleviate the district’s longstanding issues of traffic congestion and need for another evacuation route when natural disasters strike, such as eruptions and lava flows, and better access for emergency response.

The initiative is aimed at amplifying the voices and perspectives of Hawai‘i Island youth, offering a platform to showcase their creativity and contribute to community dialogues.

The goal of the study and any future infrastructure, which is not a part of the proposed funding measure, is to find where other roadways could be placed in the district to help alleviate the longstanding issue of traffic congestion and increase capacity for evacuation in the event of a natural disaster and emergency response.

During Tuesday’s Government Operations and External Affairs Committee meeting, the family of Bob Northrop, an Ocean View man who died after being mauled by a pack of dogs in August, testified in favor of Resolution 430-24.

Hawai‘i County officially announced the recipients of the second round of grants awarded for the Kīlauea Recovery Grant Program totaling $3.3 million.

The bill would have accepted and added into the County’s budget $1 million from the state, which Puna state Rep. Greggor Ilagan was able to get allocated as a line item in the state budget in 2021, and another $500,000 from County coffers for the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works to do the study.

The three-bill package is aimed at making sure all transient accommodation rentals in Hawai’i County are registered, operating safely and following the same standards.

There is no infrastructure work planned at this time. Bill 107 only would put funds into the County budget for the study, which would be conducted to find an alternate route in and out of Puna to Hilo below Highway 130.

From the planned demolition of Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel to the scheduled road projects for the Kīlauea eruption recovery to dog attacks and fires, the year has seen progress and devastation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency granted Hawai‘i County a Notice to Proceed on repairs for Pohoiki Road, Highway 137 and a water line project.

Despite its sacredness, the area has been desecrated.

Revitalize Puna activations, a joint effort between Hawai‘i County and Hawai‘i County Council District 4, have become a space for showcasing and nurturing Puna’s remarkable resilience, spirit of collaboration and deep sense of aloha.