Water Board hit by delays

First the pandemic lockdown orders and then delays getting permits from a backlogged Department of Public Works have led to a 382-day delay in the county Department of Water Supply being able to transition some of its electrical use to solar power.

A 28-year old Kailua-Kona man will stand trial on a manslaughter charge stemming from an assault Dec. 3 that left a 64-year-old Holualoa man dead.

A 60-year-old Mountain View man has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder for the December 2020 shooting death of a neighbor.

By CALEB JONES

Mayor Mitch Roth’s administration was so eager to put a $500,000 American Rescue Plan Act Build Back Better Regional Challenge to good use, it fast-tracked a resolution accepting the money to the County Council before the grant was officially approved by the federal government.

Gov. David Ige unveiled Monday his Executive Supplemental Budget for the next two fiscal years, which restores funding to agencies that previously had their budgets cut because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new NASA telescope is scheduled to launch Christmas Eve with sensors designed by University of Hawaii astronomers.

A 27-year-old Honokaa man was sentenced to 10 years behind bars Friday for a series of domestic abuse incidents that took place between February and April.

Residents attending public hearings in Kona and Hilo this past week were pretty clear: They didn’t want the Kailua Village business district to be split between County Council districts, nor Waimea, nor Hawaiian Paradise Park, nor the Keaukaha and Panaewa Hawaiian Home Lands property.

The Hawaii Police Department’s mission statement mentions “preserving the spirit of aloha” and “working cooperatively with the community to … provide a safe environment.”