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Harbor boat storage changing
HONOKOHAU MARINE STORAGE ASSUMES OPERATIONS ON NOV. 1
A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS
HALE IKI VILLAGE TO BE COMPLETED THIS MONTH
HILO — Kilauea might
have quieted during the past
month, but work continues
on transitional housing units
for those who were displaced
because of the eruption activity
in lower Puna.
Hale Iki Village, a development
of 11 micro-units built
on property owned by Connect
Point Church in Hawaiian
Paradise Park, is slated to be
finished this month.
On Thursday, work continued
on the grounds, although
it seemed as if the simply furnished
small houses themselves
were almost ready to be
occupied.
Connect Point Pastor Dion
Maeda, who is helping lead
the response efforts of the faith
community, said 10 families
have been identified for Hale
Iki, and a tentative move-in
date of Sept. 18 is set. A grand
opening is planned for Sept.
29.
SEE BOATS PAGE 5A DLNR/SPECIAL TO WEST HAWAII TODAY
Waipio horse deaths go undiagnosed
INVESTIGATION INTO CAUSE OF MYSTERIOUS DEATHS COMES UP EMPTY
BY MAX DIBLE
WEST HAWAII TODAY
mdible@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA — A battery of
tests now done, several veterinarians
from across Hawaii and the country
are still unable to pinpoint the deadly
malady that claimed the lives of 13
wild horses in Waipio Valley between
June and July.
In a Friday release from the Hawaii
Department of Agriculture, veterinarians
were able to determine that no
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Gentry’s Kona Marina posted “notice-to-vacate” signs on
the fence and gate leading to the boat storage facility.
infectious disease of any sort was the
perpetrator and “…that the incident
may be attributed to possible exposure
to a toxicological event.”
Kelleyerin Clabaugh, who was initially
contacted by horseback tour
operators in Waipio Valley concerned
about contagion and was the first veterinarian
to begin investigation of the
mysterious deaths, told West Hawaii
Today in July she was suspicious of
a toxic culprit even before extensive
testing had been completed.
Veterinarians from the HDOA,
the University of Hawaii at Manoa
College of Tropical Agriculture and
Human Resources, and local vets like
Clabaugh and Tim Richards, also a
county councilman, took part in the
investigations that followed.
Richards, who is also a rancher
and has worked with large animals
for years, examined a wild horse the
HDOA euthanized before sending off
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
KAILUA-KONA — More
than 300 boat owners at
Honokohau Small Boat Harbor
are being advised by the state
to make arrangements with the
new operator of the harbor’s dry
marine storage facility.
Pacific Marine Partners LLC,
doing business as Honokohau
Marine Storage, assumes operations
of the 9-acre boat storage
lot on Nov. 1 after the state
Board of Land and Natural
Resources terminated a revocable
month-to-month permit
held by Gentry’s Kona Marina
during its Aug. 10 meeting in
Honolulu.
The company was the winner
of a public auction of the 10-year
lease held in July, according to
BLNR minutes and submittals.
Jason Hoopai, one of the
members of Pacific Marine
Partners, won with a bid to pay
50 percent of gross receipts to
the state, according to submittals
to the Board of Land and
Natural Resources.
An appraisal in December
determined the annual minimum
ground rent was
$423,000.
Under Gentry’s Kona Marina’s
most recent permit, the company
paid the state $7,311.45 per
month, or 5 percent of gross
receipts, whichever is greater,
according to submittals. Over a
12-month period, that equated
to just under $88,000.
Gentry’s Kona Marina has
operated the facility since 2003
when it took over a revocable
permit that Gentry Properties
had held from 1999 to 2003.
From 1994 to 1999, Gentry
Properties held a five-year lease
that was not renewed; only
A group of veterinarians runs tests on an ailing
member of Waipio Valley’s wild horse population.
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SEE HORSES PAGE 4A
BY STEPHANIE SALMONS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
Kimo Kahele of Kimo Kahele Construction builds stairs Thursday at Hale Iki Village in
SEE HOUSING PAGE 4A Hawaiian Paradise Park. HOLLYN JOHNSON/TRIBUNE-HERALD
Jury begins
deliberations
in murder trial
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
KEALAKEKUA — The murder trial
for two brothers has concluded its
court proceedings and the jury has
begun deliberations.
For the past several weeks, testimony
has been given and evidence submitted
to the 3rd Circuit Court in the
case against Eber Miranda-Garcia and
his brother Marlon, both of whom are
charged with second-degree murder.
The brothers are accused of killing
their landlord, Dolores “Lolo” Borja-
Valle, whose body was found in a
Captain Cook coffee field off Keopuka
Mauka Road on Aug. 9, 2015.
On Friday, the prosecution and
defense counsel delivered their closing
arguments to the jury. Since the
burden of proof lies with the state to
prove the brothers are responsible for
this crime, Deputy Prosecutor Sheri
Lawson addressed the court first.
Lawson said the case boils down
to the physical evidence, cooperation,
SEE TRIAL PAGE 5A
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