The county operates a Hele-On Doubledecker bus and has raised the bus fair to $1 per ride with exemptions for students, seniors and the handicapped. |
The Reapportionment Commission plans to take comments and suggested maps until Sept. 15 and take chosen ones for consideration to public hearings in October. The approximate population to be represented by each council member is 20,564. County law requires the commission to attempt to avoid cutting communities in two - with part served by one council member and the rest of the residents by another. It also requires, however, that each councilperson represent about the same number of people.
Michael Kaleikini |
Speakers include manager of Puna Geothermal Venture Michael Kaleikini; co-chairs of the County’s Geothermal Working Group, Richard Ha of Hamakua Springs Country Farms and Wally Ishibashi of ILWU Local 142; Director of the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes at UH in Hilo Don Thomas, HELCO president Jay Ignacio and others. The event is open and free to the public.
A friendly Hele-On bus driver, photo by Julia Neal |
CONSTRUCTION SLUMP harms economic recovery in the Big Island, says economist Leroy Laney. In a Pacific Business News article, Laney cites increase in foreclosures as one of the reasons why fewer homes are being constructed. “The prices of existing homes,” he says, “have fallen so far that one can get a better deal on a resale than a new home, so developers just aren’t building new product. Foreclosures and short sales are an overhang on the market that will continue to put downward pressure on prices.”
The Big Island saw a 19 percent rise in foreclosures between April 1 and June 30 this year as compared to last year, and foreclosures accounted for 27 percent of county home sales. This was higher than the state average rise in foreclosed homes – 4 percent – and the percent of sales that are foreclosed homes – 21 percent, according to Pacific Business News.
Senator Gil Kahele, photo by Julia Neal |
THE OCEAN VIEW FOOD BASKET is this Tuesday, Aug. 30, from noon to 2:30pm at the Ocean View Community Center. Call 939-7000 for more information.
ELENA WELCH PRESENTS an evening of Chicago Jazz on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Tickets are $15 in advance.