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| Police Chief Paul Ferreira, who retires Sept. 1 after 40 years of Hawaiʻi Police Department service, swore in new officers during his almost six years as Chief. See more below. Photo from Big Island Video News |
HELE-ON HOLA HOA VANPOOL LAUNCHES TO CARRY PEOPLE TO AND FROM WORK. County of Hawaiʻi announced its new Vanpool program on Tuesday, to subsidize 30 vans at $500 a month. The service is provided by Commute with Enterprise and Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood network. Four to 15 commuters who live near one another team up to vanpool. In some cases the employer with enough workers in an area will organize and pay for the costs or share the costs with workers.
"The average driver spends about $600 a month on fuel and vehicle expenses, whereas the average vanpool rider spends about $80 to $150 a month, based on seven passengers contributing to the cost," said John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator & General Manager of Hele-On. "By joining a vanpool, you can avoid commuting's wear and tear on your vehicle and save money on transportation by splitting the cost with fellow riders."
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| John Andoh, manager of Hele-on, and Mass Transit Administrator for Hawai'i County. |
The statement from the county says, "The Enterprise team works with organizational leaders to create commuting solutions that improve recruiting, retention, and employee engagement, while driving productivity, lowering infrastructure costs, and reducing environmental impact. Furthermore, vanpooling further reduces annual transportation expenses through the use of volunteer drivers – which is much more cost-efficient than hiring paid drivers."
The vanpool pricing does not include gasoline (pre-loaded fuel cards are provided for each vanpool), van washing, or taxes. Those prices vary, and the costs are shared between vanpool riders or the company sponsoring the vanpool. Companies and employees can also pursue pre-tax benefits through the IRS to subsidize a portion of the costs.
According to Hele-On, Vanpool is meant to be a service that will help determine the implementation of future bus routes if demand is present.
Mayor Mitch Roth said, "Our administration is focused on creating a sustainable island community, where our keiki can thrive and succeed for generations to come. Reducing our carbon footprint, alleviating traffic congestion, and improving the commute for our working class is all part of that vision, and we applaud the work of our Mass Transit Agency for providing yet another tool for our residents to get to and fro." Participants can choose a qualifying vanpool vehicle from a selection of makes and models, including crossovers, SUVs, minivans, and large passenger vans. In addition, vanpools have access to Enterprise's Guaranteed Ride Home program, ensuring they can leave work at unscheduled times worry-free. The service also provides 24-hour roadside assistance, liability insurance, and scheduled maintenance within the vanpool pricing. 
Vanpoolers may also choose to upgrade their vehicles with such optional high-end features as wheelchair lifts, bicycle racks, satellite radio, in-vehicle Wi-Fi service, and power ports for individual seats. Commute with Enterprise's Jason Oka said, "Enterprise is supporting Hele-On as it brings positive change to the island. Our mission is to provide commuters with a more convenient way to get to and from work, ensuring that everyone has access to transportation choices that can take them where they need to go safely and efficiently."
For additional Hele-On information, call (808) 961-8744 or visit www.heleonbus.org. Hele-On is a service of the County of Hawaiʻi Mass Transit Agency and provides countywide public transit services on 25 fixed and flex routes countywide Hele-On Kakoʻo for ADA complementary paratransit service in Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Puna, a shared ride taxi program with three taxi companies in Hilo, countywide seniors and persons with disabilities transportation service in partnership with Hawaiʻi County Economic Opportunities Council and Brantley Center, the vanpool program in partnership with Commute with Enterprise and 10 HIBike bike-share stations in Hilo and Kailua-Kona in partnership with PATH.
Hele-On transports approximately 400,000 passenger trips annually on a fleet of more than 30 buses, vans, and a trolley. Transit services are contracted with Roberts Hawaiʻi, taxicab companies, Transdev, HCEOC, Brantley Center, Enterprise Holdings, and PATH. For additional Hele-On information,call (808) 961-8744, TDD/TTY: 711 through the relay service, email: heleonbus@hawaiicounty.gov, or visit www.heleonbus.org. 
Commute with Enterprise, a service of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, is an alternative commuting solution founded in 1994 that has become one of the largest and most cost-effective vanpool operations in the nation. Commute with Enterprise's vanpooling services, include vRide, which was acquired in 2016. Commute with Enterprise takes several thousand cars off the road every business day, nationwide, eliminating 843 million commuter miles driven each year and eradicating the need for 35,000 parking spaces.
According to the Hawaiʻi County statement, 655 million pounds of carbon emissions are reduced by Commute with Enterprise customers annually nationwide. Commute with Enterprise is supported by the Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood network, "which delivers a level of fleet flexibility and local service unmatched in the vanpool industry." Commute with Enterprise manages vanpool programs that address both local and national needs by reducing carbon emissions, parking real estate and traffic congestion – including major bottlenecks and "hotspots" in metropolitan areas. "Businesses that offer Commute with Enterprise's vanpool programs as an added employee benefit not only gain a competitive differentiator for recruiting and retention, but also a way to improve their corporate sustainability profile. To start a new vanpool or register for an existing vanpool, call 1-800-VAN-4-WORK or visit www.commutewithenterprise.com.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar . See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.
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| Police Chief Paul Ferreira retires Sept. 1 and the county Police Commission will conduct the selection process for the new Chief. Photo from HPD |
The Chief joined the department in July 1982 starting his career as a patrol officer. He became a detective. Ferreira held several positions in the Administrative Bureau, including Assistant Chief, and was named Deputy Chief by Chief Harry Kubojiri in December 2008. Ferreira served as Deputy Chief until December 2016, when he was selected by the Police Commission to serve as Police Chief.
Ferreira explained that HPD is not involved in the process of selecting the next Chief. All questions regarding the selection process for Police Chief should be directed to the Hawaiʻi County Police Commission. Call 808-932-2950.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar . See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.
FOURTEEN MOTORISTS WERE ARRESTED FOR DUI on this island during the week of June 13, through June 19. Hawai‘i Island police arrested them for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Six were involved in a traffic accident. None w under the age of 21.
So far this year, there have been 493 DUI arrests compared with 556 during the same period last year, a decrease of 11.3 percent. There have been 357 major accidents so far this year compared with 370
during the same period last year, a decrease of 3.5 percent.
To date, there were 18 fatal crashes (one fatal crash reclassified on 5/30/22 due to a medical condition) resulting in 20 fatalities (one of which had multiple deaths, and one of which was reclassified due to a medical condition), compared with 12 fatal crashes, resulting in 12 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents is an increase of 50 percent for fatal crashes, and 66.7 percent for fatalities.To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.
VOLCANO VILLAGE FOURTH OF JULY PARADE welcomes walking and riding groups and individuals. It is sponsored by Volcano Community Association in Volcano Village from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Monday, July 4 parade starts at the Post Office at 9 a.m. and ends at Cooper Center on Wright Rd., followed by Cooper Center’s Independence Day celebration packed with live entertainment, craft and food vendors, keiki games and a large silent auction from 9 a.m.to 11:30 a.m. Parking maps can be found at www.thecoopercenter.org. (No parking at Cooper Center except handicap permitted vehicles with prior reservation.)
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BECOME A SPONSOR AT THE 3RD ANNUAL EXPERIENCE VOLCANO FESTIVAL on Saturday, July 30th and Sunday, July 31st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Last year, over 2,500 visitors attended and over 40 events were featured during the EVH festival. Sign up as a sponsor at experiencevolcano.com. If you have questions, contact experiencevolcano@gmail.com. All vendor locations are taken.
SIGN UP FOR KAʻŪ COFFEE TRAIL RUNS with a change of date from July 3 to Sept. 17. Registration deadline for the annual event is Sept. 14. Organized by Hawaiʻi Island Racers, the 50K begins at 6 a.m., Half Marathon at 7 a.m., and 5K at 7:15 a.m., all starting from Kaʻū Coffee Mill at 96-2696 Wood Valley Road in Pāhala. Proceeds go to support ʻO Kaʻū Kakou. For more details on the event and registration fees, visit https://www.kaucoffeetrailruns.com/.
USGS RELEASED ITS ANALYSIS OF TWO EARTHQUAKES SUNDAY NEAR PĀHALA. The 3.9 quake registered at 11:15 a.m. The 3.8 registered at 11:17 a.m. and USGS attributed them to the Deep Pahala Swarm, an ongoing series of frequent quakes in the area.
USGS came up with this explanation in a Volcano Watch column: "Previous geophysical studies have theorized that deep earthquake activity beneath the Pāhala region may be related to hot spot magma transport and/or faulting in the brittle upper mantle beneath the island. Interestingly, the area of 
elevated seismicity is almost equidistant from the summits of the three most active volcanoes in Hawaiʻi: Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, and Kamaʻehuakanaloa (Lō‘ihi Seamount).
"Whether this region has a possible connection to the shallower magma storage and transport systems of Kīlauea or Mauna Loa is unclear, but there are no obvious indicators of magma transport from this region to the surface. Previous studies relied on data collected from HVO’s widely-spaced permanent seismometers in the region, which were not configured to study this area in detail."
"Whether this region has a possible connection to the shallower magma storage and transport systems of Kīlauea or Mauna Loa is unclear, but there are no obvious indicators of magma transport from this region to the surface. Previous studies relied on data collected from HVO’s widely-spaced permanent seismometers in the region, which were not configured to study this area in detail."
During the last month, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has been setting up seismic nodes in the the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano in Pāhala.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar . See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.
VOLCANO VILLAGE FOURTH OF JULY PARADE welcomes walking and riding groups and individuals. It is sponsored by Volcano Community Association in Volcano Village from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Monday, July 4 parade starts at the Post Office at 9 a.m. and ends at Cooper Center on Wright Rd., followed by Cooper Center’s Independence Day celebration packed with live entertainment, craft and food vendors, keiki games and a large silent auction from 9 a.m.to 11:30 a.m. Parking maps can be found at www.thecoopercenter.org. (No parking at Cooper Center except handicap permitted vehicles with prior reservation.)
SPONSOR A BUCKLE, VOTE FOR RODEO QUEEN ahead of the Saturday, July 9 Rodeo organized by Kaʻū Roping & Riding Association and ʻO Kaʻū Kākou. Event to be held on the rodeo grounds behind Nāʻālehu Park. Call 808-854-7917.
BECOME A SPONSOR AT THE 3RD ANNUAL EXPERIENCE VOLCANO FESTIVAL on Saturday, July 30th and Sunday, July 31st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Last year, over 2,500 visitors attended and over 40 events were featured during the EVH festival. Sign up as a sponsor at experiencevolcano.com. If you have questions, contact experiencevolcano@gmail.com. All vendor locations are taken.
SIGN UP FOR KAʻŪ COFFEE TRAIL RUNS with a change of date from July 3 to Sept. 17. Registration deadline for the annual event is Sept. 14. Organized by Hawaiʻi Island Racers, the 50K begins at 6 a.m., Half Marathon at 7 a.m., and 5K at 7:15 a.m., all starting from Kaʻū Coffee Mill at 96-2696 Wood Valley Road in Pāhala. Proceeds go to support ʻO Kaʻū Kakou. For more details on the event and registration fees, visit https://www.kaucoffeetrailruns.com/.
See The Kaʻū Calendar June edition at www.kaucalendar.com,
on newsstands and in the mail.
SEE UPCOMING EVENTS IN KAʻŪ & VOLCANO
LEARN MORE ABOUT SPONSORS OF THE KAʻŪ CALENDAR