(Honolulu Advertiser). Lava from Kilauea volcano once again has oozed through the mostly abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision, covering portions of the small open areas untouched by previous flows. The volcano has been erupting since 1983 and over the years has destroyed an estimated 66 homes and other stuctures in Royal Gardens. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory reported that lava from the 2007 “Thanksgiving Eve Breakout” vent was flowing through the upper 2 miles of the lava-tube system above the subdivision and feedin gsurface flows that were advancing slowly down the pali and across the coastal plain.
(Big Island Weekly). While the Big Island has been left out of the blockbuster productions about to be filmed on the other islands, Hawaii Island is still the main target for mainstream travel programs. Ty Sawyer, managing editor in chief for “Islands and Sport Diver” magazines, will be on island through February 12th to film scenes for the Travel Channel.
The County of Hawaii Planning Department is now accepting applications for the South Kohala Community Development Plan Action Committee. Closing date to submit an application is Wednesday, March 24th. All applications must be received in the Hilo or Kona Planning office by 4:30 p.m. or be postmarked by March 24th.
The Hawaii Police Department will hold a community meeting on Thursday, February 18th, from noon to 2 p.m., at the North Hawaii Educational Resource Center in Honokaa. The purpose of the meeting is to allow the public to meet the Police Department’s command staff and to discuss police-related concerns with the polcie chief and commanders who oversee operations in the Hamakua District. For details, call Captain Randy Apele at 775-7533.
(AP). Though much maligned, Hawaii’s system for conducting state elections survived a vote Tuesday when legislators killed two bills that would have asked voters to create a nonpartisan elections chief.
Closing arguments in the murder trial of Kevin Metcalfe were submitted Tuesday in Hilo Circuit Court. Metcalfe is facing charges of murder and felony firearms charges for the May 6th slaying of Larry Kuahuia with a fatal shotgun blast. Prosecutors told the “Hawaii Tribune-Herald” that Metcalfe gunned down Kuahuia to keep him from stealing the medical marijuana in his greenhouse.
Ken Van Bergen, the county’s property manager, tells the “Hawaii Tribune-Herald” that Hawaii County will try to sell the first of its Paauilo mauka parcels on March 31st. Van Bergen says it will be nice to get these lands in private ownership after 15 years of sitting idle. The county acquired the property in 1994 as a tax settlement with the bankrupt Hamakua Sugar Company.
Hawaii County’s e-waste recycling centers are filling with discarded microwave ovens, televisions, computers, and printers. Department of Environmental Magagement representative Linda Peters tells the “Hawaii Tribune-Herald” that the pile-up comes at a time when the financially strapped county government can’t count on state funds to ship the material to mainland recycling centers. Peters says the county is in the process of extending the e-waste contract and of expediting ways of getting warehouses emptied of unwanted electronic cast-offs.. Meanwhile Peters is asking residents to be patient and hold onto that piece of electronics a little while longer.
(KITV-4). In a copyrighted story, KITV-4 says marijuana could be sold legally and have its own tax under a proposal approved by a state senate committee. The state senate Public Safety committee voted to let counties allow dispensaries called “compassion center” to distribute medical cannabis. The dispensaries would grow the marijuana for their customers and only people with medical marijuana permits would be allowed to buy it.
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