The opinions and views expressed in this Hawaii news summary are mine unless otherwise stated.
Big Island of Hawaii News is following these Hawaii stories through Sunday, 16 June 2013:
HEADLINES:
Residents losing faith in police.
Cat standoff at the Keaau Recycling and Transfer Station.
Unexploded ordnance found at Hapuna Beach.
Army will search for explosives beneath Waimea subdivision homes.
DETAILS (with sources cited):
(Stephens Media). According to survey results released this past Thursday by the Hawaii Police Department, residents are more reluctant to call police to report a crime than four years ago. Some residents are even “ambivalent about the Hawaii County Police Departtment’s ability to serve community needs.”
Citing figures from the report, reporter Nancy Cook Lauer says “just under 64 percent of the 370 people who responded either agreed or strongly agreed they felt uncomfortable reporting a crime to police…that’s down from 71 percent of 340 people who felt the same way in 2009.”
Questions on the survey ranged from the general feeling of safety and confidence in the department’s ability to respond to local concerns to personal experiences with police officers and civilian employees.
According to reporter Lauer, data from the survey “will assist police in determining the department’s strengths and weaknesses…it also helps police identify problem areas; determine whether those issues can be rectified; make changes to policies and procedures if necessary…”
There were a few bright spots in the survey. Survey participants agreed ” that both officers and civilian employees showed professionalism, integrity, and compassion…civilian employees did an excellent job.” If you want to see the survey results, visit hawaiipolice.com.
(Hawaii Tribune-Herald). A cat fight is brewing at the Keaau Recycling and Transfer Station. According to reporter John Burnett, the nonprofit animal sanctuary that has been feeding feral cats at the transfer station has been told by county officials that it stop the practice.
An email sent by Greg Goodale, the head of the county’s Solid Waste Division, to Frannie Pueo, the president of the Hui Pono Holoholona said that the county’s lease at the transfer site expires on 30 June 2013 and that a condition of the lease is “no feeding of feral animals on the Shipman lease parcel.” With the new lease arrangement effective 01 July 2013, the Hui Pono Holoholona has about two-weeks to remove the feeding stations from the area.
Pueo told reporter Burnett that she is “shocked by the lease provision”, which she calls “inhumane.” Pueo says her group has been feeding feral animals, “including cats and chickens at the transfer station since 2007.” Pueo also notes that Hui Pono Holoholona supports trapping, neutering, and managing feral cat colonies instead of “rounding them up to kill, which has been the awful, inhumane solution that this county has been doing prior to accepting what we’ve done.”
Apparently, the appeal has not swayed Kimo Lee, Shipman’s director of development, who said the clause prohibiting the feeding of feral animals is a “standard” lease provision.” Lee adds that “we’ve got a nene population out here and other things to be considered…we don’t want our feral animals on our property, period.”
(Hawaii Tribune-Herald). Hapuna Beach state park was closed briefly on Friday after a diver discovered unexploded ordnance off the shore of the park and brought it land. Explosives experts from Schofield Barracks on Oahu were brought in to dispose of the device, which was “possibly an illumination flare.”
Dean Takebayshi, the DLNR district park superintendent, told reporter Tom Callis on Friday that he remained hopeful that the popular beach park could be reopened soon. Hapuna was used as an Army training area between 1943 and 1945. The beach area was first swept for unexploded ordnance in 1946, then reswept in 1954, and finally searched again in 2011.
(Stephens Media). According to Stephens Media, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District, will investigate and dispose of military ordnance and explosives beginning Monday in the Sandalwood subdivision of Waimea. The Corps of Engineers is coordinating the removal project with the state Department of Health and other Hawaii County law enforcement and safety agencies.
According to Stephens Media, the Sandalwood housing area is within the bondaries of the Formerly Used Defense Sites property known as the “Waikoloa Maneuver Area.” The Corps of Engineers has been removing unexploded munitions and ordnance at the former Waikoloa Maneuver Area for many years. Corps of Engineers officials say the purpose of the ongoing disposal project is to protect public health and safety by minimizing potential explosive hazards.
HAWAII ISLAND WEATHER THROUGH SUNDAY, 16 June 2013:
Hilo and vicinity–Partly cloudy with a few windward showers.
Kailua-Kona and vicinity–Partly sunny with a few showers south of Captain Cook.
Highs near 81. Lows near 68. Winds shifting to the east, 8 to 16 mph, by Sunday.
Sunrise Sunday–5:42 a.m. Sunset Sunday–7:01 p.m. Total hours of daylight Sunday–13 hours, 19 minutes, and 17 seconds.
HAWAII ISLAND TIDES FOR SUNDAY, 16 June 2013:
Hilo High Tide–9:45 a.m./8:43 p.m. Hilo Low Tide–3:10 a.m./2:38 p.m.
Kailua-Kona High Tide–10:23 a.m./9:21 p.m. Kailua-Kona Low Tide–3:47 a.m./3:15 p.m.
HAWAII ISLAND SURF FORECAST THROUGH SUNDAY, 16 June 2013:
Hapuna Beach breaks–flat. Kona and Banyans–2 to 4 feet. Ka’u and Pohoiki–2 to 4 feet. Hamakua, including Kolekole Beach Park–3 to 4 feet. Hilo and Honolii–2 to 4 feet.
OTHER:
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Aloha,
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PRG HAWAII NEWS WITH RUSS ROBERTS