Hawaii County News

The National Weather Service in Hono lulu said the wet season this year was anything but wet.

Hikes in property taxes, park fees, bus fares and vehicle registration and weight taxes will balance Mayor Billy Kenoi's proposed $394.3 million 2013-14 budget, a 7.9 percent increase over this year.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Monday signed the two measures into law. One establishes a statewide ban on the use of cellular phones and other mobile devices while driving, and another requires that the driver and all passengers in a vehicle be restrained by a seat belt assembly or child passenger restraint while on public roads.

Hawaii County police Tuesday identified the man who was fatally shot at a home in Nanawale Estates subdivision in Puna as Mateo D. Balinbin Jr., 40, of Nanawale Estates.

Looking to get into the bed and breakfast industry on Hawaii Island? If so, you're going to need a permit and agree to some rules.

The man's wife told firefighters he tried to get out of the ocean along the rocky coast, but was pushed back in the water by waves and ended up in a cave pocket at the bottom of a cliff.

Gilbert "Mr. B" P. Benevides Sr., 83, of Hilo died May 7, 2013, at Hilo Medical Center.

The Hawaii Fire Department plans to continue its search Thursday morning for a 62-year-old man last seen Monday evening in Waipio Valley, where he reportedly was going for a swim.

Connielen Bernisto Ballocanag April 29, 2013 Connielen Bernisto Ballocanag, 46, of Honolulu and the Philippines, a housekeeper, died in the Philippines.

A traffic signal will be installed next week to replace the current four-way stop at the Ane Keohokalole Highway and Kealakehe Parkway intersection in North Kona.

Despite a tight economic year that could require tax hikes to pay for basic services, the Hawaii County Council's budget includes an extra $900,000 so each council member can have $100,000 to spread around his or her district.

Four Hawaii Island officers killed in the line of duty, as well as two officers injured in a Hilo shooting earlier this year, will be honored by fellow Hawaii Police Department officers and the community during public events this week.

Hawaii County officials will conduct an autopsy this week to determine how a 45-year-old Mountain View was killed Friday while walking on Highway 11 near Glenwood.

Maile Wedemeyer, guides visitors through the Hula Daddy Coffee farm. The Leeward Planning Commission is considering a bill Thursday which would amend the county's agricultural tourism rules.

Parks and Recreation spokesman Jason Armstrong poses with sand and rocks that have been mailed back to the Big Island from places as far away as Canada at the Parks and Recreation office Wednesday afternoon.

Hawaii County police have identified a Canadian visitor who died Tuesday afternoon while hiking across a lava field as Riccardo Scagliati, 57, of Victoria, B.C. Scagliati and a companion set out from the Kalapana viewing area Tuesday morning.

The woman who died Tuesday in a one-vehicle crash at the entrance to the Fairmont Orchid Hotel has been identified as Pamela Sue Gorman, 25, of Hawi, Hawaii County police said today.

Hawaii County police are investigating the cause of a traffic accident where a woman was killed when her car ran off the road at the Fairmont Orchid Plantation Estates in Kohala Tuesday night and crashed into a storage facility.

A Hawaii County Fire Department helicopter crew this afternoon found a 56-year-old visitor who died while hiking on the lava field near Kalapana Gardens subdivision.

Hawaii County police made a routine traffic stop Saturday that eventually led to the arrest of three suspects in two separate cases.