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Van catches fire, no injuries
MOTHER, CHILDREN IN VAN AT TIME
BY WEST HAWAII TODAY STAFF
KAILUA-KONA — No injuries were reported
following a vehicle fire Wednesday afternoon on
Mamalahoa Highway in South Kona.
Police and fire rescue personnel responded
about 1:40 p.m. to find a van with its engine
engulfed in flames north of Konawaena School
Road in Kealakekua.
Captain Cook Fire Station Capt. Randy
Masutomi said a mother and her two children
were in the van driving in the northbound lane
when the mother smelled smoke. He said she
immediately pulled over and then noticed fire.
A Hawaii Police Department officer who happened
to be in the area helped extricate the children,
Masutomi said.
“He helped get them out quickly and safely,” he
said.
None of vehicle’s three occupants required
hospitalization and the fire was subsequently
extinguished.
A female tiger shark approaches an underwater photographer at Honokohau Harbor. BO PARDAU/
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTOR
KAILUA-KONA — A bill that
would protect sharks and expand
protections to all rays within state
waters is cruising through the state
Legislature.
Senate Bill 2079, co-introduced
by Sens. Mike Gabbard, D-Oahu,
and Russell Ruderman, D-Puna,
and four co-sponsors, seeks to protect
all sharks and rays for ecological
purposes and their value to
Native Hawaiian cultural practices
and the ocean recreation industry.
“I’m all for it,” said Capt.
Shawn Rotella of Nightrunner
Sportfishing in Kailua-Kona.
“You need sharks — they are the
white blood cells of the ocean, they
clean out all the diseased, sick and
wounded (fish). They are one of
the most important parts of the
ocean ecosystem.”
The measure passed its third
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
reading in the state Senate and
was sent to the House for further
consideration. The House had yet
to hear the bill’s first reading as of
Wednesday. If passed after reading,
SB 2079 will be referred to
committees as it makes its way
through legislative process.
The bill says protection is needed
for sharks because as ocean
predators near the top of the food
chain, the cartilaginous fish keep
the ecosystem balanced, regulate
populations of other marine life,
and ensure healthy fish stock and
reefs.
“In 2010, the state banned the
taking of shark fins. However,
we didn’t actually ban the capture
or killing of whole sharks.
This bill is needed because sharks
are the top predator in the ocean
food chain and their numbers are
declining. We’ve heard about cases
of cruelty involving sharks in our
islands, which DLNR says have
been difficult to prosecute with
our existing law,” said Gabbard.
“It makes sense for Hawaii to be a
leader in marine species protection
and this is another way we can do
that.”
It notes safeguards are necessary
for rays and sharks as they
are “more vulnerable than most
other fish species” because they
are long-living, slow-growing and
begin reproducing at an advanced
age and produce relatively few offspring
annually.
“Sharks and rays on the reefs
not only play important ecological
roles, but are also valued figures in
Hawaiian culture and are important
economically to ocean recreation
industries and to tourism
in Hawaii. The benefits of maintaining
a viable population greatly
outweigh any value that would be
gained by killing these species,” the
measure reads.
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A van is in flames after catching fire
Wednesday afternoon off Mamalahoa
Highway in South Kona. ROBIN AKAU/SPECIAL
TO WEST HAWAII TODAY
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HI 81 LO 66 WEATHER, PAGE 5A
VOL. 50, NO. 67 22 PAGES
Protection for ocean’s apex predator
BILL WOULD MAKE WATERS AROUND HAWAII A SHARK HAVEN
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
PHOTOS BY LAURA RUMINSKI/
WEST HAWAII TODAY
DRUGS
IN
PARKS
SPATE OF NEEDLE
DISCOVERIES AT
PARKS NETTLES
OFFICIALS
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
HILO — Alarmed by
photos on social media
showing needles and other
drug paraphernalia at a
county soccer field, Mayor
Harry Kim called emergency
meetings of state
and county officials, creating
a task force to tackle
the problem head-on.
The group, including
island police, county parks
personnel, county attorneys,
homeless coordinators
and state Division
of Conservation and
Resources Enforcement
personnel, met Tuesday
and again Wednesday to
put the finishing touches
on a plan of action.
One photo, posted by
state Sen. Kai Kahele,
D-Hilo, showed needles
in the grass near what
he described as the Hilo
Bayfront soccer fields
restroom. The photo was
taken Monday and sent to
him by a friend, he said.
The area is a known
gathering and camping
area for homeless
individuals.
SEE SHARKS PAGE 4A SEE DRUGS PAGE 5A
Police and fire rescue personnel line up at the scene of a
vehicle fire. DANCE AOKI/SPECIAL TO WEST HAWAII TODAY
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