Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Final GET vote set today
Equal number of supporters, opponents turn out for hearing for proposed tax increase
Signs of renewed activity?
Geologists monitoring ssures 6, 16 and 17
as lava ow from ssure 8 continues trek to ocean
By MICHAEL
BRESTOVANSKY
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
While fissure 8 continues
to steadily produce
lava from Kilauea
volcano, three other
fissures are displaying
weak signs of activity.
Fissures 16 and 17, two
of the northeastern-most
vents in the chain of 24
fissures that opened in
lower Puna since May
3, have been oozing lava
for the past several days,
producing lava flows that
so far have not left the
boundaries of the existing
lava field, which currently
covers 9.4 square miles.
Geologists also continue
monitoring fissure 6, located
near the intersection of
Pohoiki Road and Leilani
Avenue, which was incandescent
Sunday night, said
U.S. Geological Survey
geologist Liz Westby. The
fissure displayed mild
lava spattering Monday
morning, she said.
Regardless, fissure 8
remains the most active
fissure by far, producing
lava fountains up
to 180 feet high.
Westby said the majority
of the lava flow from
See stores or hpmhawaii.com/atv for details.
fissure 8 to the ocean entry
at Kapoho is incandescent
at night, indicating that the
lava channel has become
quite efficient at transporting
lava from the fissure to
the ocean before it cools.
Meanwhile, change continues
at Kilauea summit in
Hawaii Volcanoes National
Park, with slumping of terrain
around Halema‘uma‘u
crater occurring after
earthquakes caused by
pressure explosions at the
crater. These temblors had
magnitudes of approximately
5.3, but because
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
Eighteen people came out
to a public hearing Monday
evening on a proposed quarter
percent increase in the
general excise tax, evenly
split between those in support
and those in opposition.
The county administration
attributes a $5 million hole in
its budget to the loss of property
tax revenues from property
destroyed, isolated or otherwise
devalued because of the
lava flow through lower Puna.
If Bill 159 passes, the tax
goes into effect Jan. 1, raising
about $10 million for the
2018-19 budget year, and $20
million the year after that.
The money
can be
used only for
transportation
improvements,
mass transit,
sidewalks and
trails under the
state law that allowed the
optional tax. But because the
county currently uses almost
$5 million from
its general fund
to finance mass
transit, the tax
revenues could
free up that
amount in the
general fund.
Because the tax is itself
taxed, the tax on a $100 purchase
would increase by 26
cents, raising the purchase
from $104.17 to $104.43,
once the 4 percent state GET
also is taken into account.
The County Council is set
to take its final vote on the
proposed tax increase today.
The council is almost as evenly
split as the testifiers, with
Index
Big Isle history B4
Classified B6
Comics B5
Commentary A4
VACATION RENTALS
‘We really
don’t need
another
obstacle’
Council panel postpones
action on bill following
passionate testimony
Issue No. 170
18 Pages in
2 Sections
Today’s
weather
Page A2
Community A6
Crossword B4
Cryptoquote B4
Dear Abby B4
Grinds A9
Horoscope B4
Letters A4
Nation A5
Sports B1
State A3
Surf Report A2
World A3
Internet
June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month. We need help to dispel the
destructive myth that persists, that “Nothing can prevent or slow Alzheimer’s.”
We have simple ways to dramatically reduce anyone’s risk for Alzheimer’s now!
See GET Page A7
Call today for a consultation.
Family Hearing Aid Center
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U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY photo
Fissure 8 lava flows Monday in an open channel all the way to the ocean. Kapoho Crater is the vegetated hill on the
right side of the photograph. The ocean entry plume can be seen in the distance.
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
After hearing pleas from shortterm
vacation rental operators in
Puna and elsewhere asking the county
to put a vacation rental bill aside
until Puna and the county recover
from its ongoing lava emergency, the
County Council Planning Committee
postponed action until July 10.
Puna Councilwoman Eileen O’Hara
tried to sweeten the deal by adding
language that would allow
the planning director to
accept applications for
new short-term vacation
rentals to replace those
lost during an emergency.
She estimated as
many as 400 vacation rentals,
almost half of the inventory in her
district, were destroyed by lava flows.
“Visitors are going to want to come
to my district,” O’Hara said. “They’d
like to view the volcano; they’d like
to see the results of the volcano.”
O’Hara’s extensive amendments
were postponed along with the bill.
Other officials were unsure about
allowing vacation rentals to be rebuilt
when the point of the bill is to move
them out of inappropriate zones.
Deputy Planning Director Daryn Arai
agreed. He said county agencies do have
See POSTPONES Page A8
KILAUEA ERUPTION
See ACTIVITY Page A7
Inside
>>> Mayor Harry Kim recovering
in the hospital after suffering
another heart attack. A7
FORD WILLE
Fruit, wine and bubbly water.
How do you go wrong with that combination?
GRINDS, A9
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