BEING
THERE
The community
in photos • A7
Program gives students hands-on experience in STEM fields
Intern Makena Wagner smiles Thursday during the Akamai Workforce
Initiative Hilo Symposium.
Hilo native Brian Hughes died
while battling California blaze
Index
Being There A7
Big Isle History B5
Classified B6
Comics A6
Issue No. 225
16 Pages in
2 Sections
Today’s
weather
Page A2
Commentary A4
Crossword B5
Cruise listings A3
Cryptoquote B5
Dear Abby B5
Horoscope B5
Nation A2
Scoreboard B4
Sports B1
Stocks A2
Surf Report A2
World A2
Monday, August 13, 2018
Internet
Visit us on the Web at:
www.hawaiitribune-herald.com
Bad
blood
in Puna
Ousted councilwoman cries foul
When the dust settled on the Hawaii County
Council District 4 primary election race, the final
returns showed a political newcomer
winning a 20-point landslide
as a result of what she called an
“aloha-driven, clean, positive campaign”
and the ousted incumbent
saying it “was anything but that.”
In a non-partisan tilt, Ashley
Kierkiewicz, a 32-year-old Hawaiian
Paradise Park resident won the
seat representing a portion of Puna
over one-term Councilwoman
Eileen O’Hara. The margin of
victory was 2,545 votes to 1,674
votes, or 60.3 percent to 39.7 percent
of the valid ballots cast.
“Right now, I’m a little
exhausted, but I feel incredible,
O’HARA
I mean, I’m still kind of pinching myself
that this is real,” Kierkiewicz said Sunday.
Photos: HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald
From left, mentor Heather Kaluna of the University of Hawaii at Hilo smiles at her intern, Maria Daniella
Douglas, Thursday during the Akamai Workforce Initiative Hilo Symposium at the Grand Naniloa Hotel.
Reaching new heights
It was almost like
show-and-tell Thursday
at Grand Naniloa Hotel.
There, 16 of the
Akamai Workforce
Initiative’s 38 summer
interns made presentations
about their summer
work during one of
four symposiums that
conclude the program.
Projects varied across
multiple disciplines,
but the passion and
knowledge was evident
with each speaker.
The Akamai
Workforce Initiative is
a program that aims to
advance Hawaii college
students into science
and technology careers.
See PUNA Page A3
Procession honors fallen firefighter
Dozens of local
and federal firefighters
and other emergency
responders gathered
Sunday on the Hilo
Bayfront to pay respect
to a fallen brother —
Brian Hughes, a Hilo
native and captain of the
Arrowhead Interagency
Hotshots based in
Sequoia and Kings
Canyon national parks.
Hughes died on the fire
line July 29, two days
shy of his 34th birthday.
A procession of mostly
fire-related vehicles
traveled with a police
escort from the King
Kamehameha statue to
the Hilo Yacht Club,
where a private memorial
service was held.
“We’re incredibly
honored to see the turnout.
Emergency responders
are a very tight-knit
community, and I think
this is a testament
to that,” said Cindy
Orlando, superintendent
of Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park. “Brian
certainly was a colleague
in the National
Park Service (and)
worked in one of our
sister parks in California
in Sequoia. So it’s our
honor to be here on his
behalf and his family’s.”
Federal firefighters
from Northern
California brought in to
fight the Keauhou Ranch
Fire, which as of Sunday
had taken almost 3,739
acres, lined a portion of
the procession route on
Kamehameha Avenue
between Bishop Street
and Hilo Iron Works.
“We got the containment
lines in, and the
rain helped out with it,
and that allowed the
firefighters to come
down off the hill and
take part in Brian’s
procession,” said Jason
Schroeder, supervisor
CAPT. BRIAN HUGHES
By JOHN BURNETT
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
KIERKIEWICZ
District 7 council race to
be decided in November
KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii’s primary elections
were over as of today, but the
race for Hawaii County Council
District 7 is far from the finish line.
Rebecca Villegas won the
night Saturday in a four-person,
non-partisan race for the
council position vacated by Dru
Kanuha, now the Democratic
nominee and substantial favorite
to assume West Hawaii’s 3rd
District seat in the state Senate.
Villegas edged out her nearest
competitor, Kelly Drysdale, by
a tally of 1,238 votes to 1,031
votes. However, Villegas fell far
short of claiming a 50 percent
By JOHN BURNETT
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
See HUGHES Page A6
BY STEPHANIE
SALMONS
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
See PROGRAM Page A6
By MAX DIBLE
West Hawaii Today
VILLEGAS
DRYSDALE
See RACE Page A3
/www.hawaiitribune-herald.com