#safety concerns
UPDATE: Banyan Drive in area of Banyan Way, Reed’s Bay parking lot open again
Police previously advised the public late Thursday night (Feb. 5) to stay out of that area in Hilo because of what they called a “structurally compromised” banyan tree; social media posts showed the tree to be on fire.
Update: Missing 67-year-old man in South Kohala has been found in good health
Jiro Ohnishi, 67, who was reported as missing on Tuesday afternoon in South Kohala has been found on Thursday safe and in good health.
Police ask for tips in disappearance 2 years ago of Pāhoa man
Kelly Gravitt, a 37-year-old Pāhoa resident and veteran with a Purple Heart, has been missing since since May 2023.
UPDATE: Water main break repairs completed in Āhualoa-Paʻauilo Mauka area
Hawaiʻi County Department of Water Supply also reports that water service has been restored to all affected customers.
‘Vital step’: Central Fire Station to begin operating from interim location in early May
Personnel and equipment from Hawaiʻi Fire Department’s oldest fire station in downtown Hilo are relocating while their permanent facility receives repairs and upgrades during the next year.
Māhukona Beach Park reopens
North Hawai‘i park was closed Jan. 6 so work could proceed for the demolition of the old pavilion, which had not been used for several years, because of safety concerns. Regular hours resume Jan. 25 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Hawaiʻi County councilwoman calls for ‘drastic’ action at abandoned Uncle Billy’s hotel in Hilo
The former nearly 150-room Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel on the Big Island’s Waiakea Peninsula is now nothing more than a nuisance — for the Banyan Drive area and Hawai‘i County. It has long been condemned and is dilapidated to the point where most of the rooms are exposed to the elements and debris is strewn throughout the structure.
