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Assault at Kona hotel leaves 1 in critical condition
4 ARRESTS, NO CHARGES AS OF MONDAY EVENING
Still
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SALARY COMMISSION
SAYS IT WORRIES
ABOUT THE COST OF
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
ON RAISES
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
A final farewell
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HI 87 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 5A
VOL. 50, NO. 261 16 PAGES
INSIDE
HEARING SET UP
BETWEEN
KAVANAUGH
AND HIS ACCUSER
Public showdown set ‘to
provide ample transparency’
PAGE 3A
▼
LAVA-TORN
ROAD
LOOKING TO
REOPEN
County expects
bids on Highway
137 by week’s end
PAGE 5A
▼
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
KAILUA-KONA — Big
Island police have arrested four
suspects in connection with an
early morning assault in Kona
that has left a 63-year-old victim
in critical condition.
Officers responded a little
after 12:30 a.m. Monday to a
report of an assault at a hotel
on Palani Road in Kailua-Kona,
according to a
press release
from the
Hawaii Police
Department. It
was subsequently
confirmed
that the scene of
the crime was the Kona Seaside
Hotel.
Upon arrival, officers saw a
63-year-old man lying on the
ground in the parking lot.
Through their
preliminary
investigation,
police discerned
the incident
occurred after
the victim confronted
the suspects
about the
loud music they were playing.
The suspects were reportedly
sitting in a sports utility vehicle
in the hotel parking lot at the
onset of the confrontation.
Officers determined a physical
altercation subsequently
transpired between three of
the suspects and the victim.
Emergency services transported
the victim to Kona Community
Hospital, where he remained in
critical condition as of Monday
afternoon, according to the
release.
A staff member at the Kona
Seaside Hotel said she was not
allowed to provide information
as to whether the victim was a
guest staying at the hotel.
Police arrested all four occupants
of the vehicle and took
them to the Kona Police cellblock
while detectives from the
Area II Criminal Investigations
Section continued to investigate.
HPD has identified the suspects
arrested for assault as
30-year-old Wesley Samoa
of Kona, 30-year-old Lama
Lauvao of Honolulu and
41-year-old Natisha Tautalatasi,
also of Honolulu. Police arrested
33-year-old Mahealani
BY MAX DIBLE
WEST HAWAII TODAY
mdible@westhawaiitoday.com
Samoa Lauvao
SEE ASSAULT PAGE 7A
HILO — How involved
should the public be in determining
government salaries?
Some taxpayers argue
they’re the ones paying the
salaries and should have an
opportunity to weigh in. But
a majority of voters previously
have approved charter
amendments attempting to
take the politics out of setting
top county officials’ salaries
by leaving it to an appointed
board known as the Salary
Commission.
Amendment 1 on the Nov.
6 ballot was top of mind for
most members of the Salary
Commission on Monday, as it
mulled a request for recommendations
from the Charter
Commission.
The Charter Commission
is tasked with looking at ways
to improve the county charter,
the fundamental document
governing the county,
in the same way a constitution
forms the basis for
government of the state and
nation. That commission’s
recommendations will be put
on the 2020 ballot for the
voters to decide.
In the meantime, however,
Amendment 1 will set
new requirements for public
notice of raises the Salary
Commission proposes. If
approved by voters, it takes
effect Nov. 7.
Amendment 1 requires
the Salary Commission to
SEE SALARY PAGE 7A
HILO — For the first time in months, the
Pahoa Community Center gym was nearly
empty.
The county operated an emergency
shelter at the community center, in
conjunction with other organizations
such as the American Red Cross and
Salvation Army, since eruption activity
from Kilauea volcano began May 3 in
Leilani Estates.
But by Monday, cots and tents that
were a familiar sight were cleared, and
the last few shelter residents made their
way out.
A handful of Red Cross volunteers and
county staff continued to tidy up, and a
man pushing a wheelchair smiled and
waved as he bid farewell.
At 10:25 a.m. Monday, the emergency
shelter was officially closed.
Red Cross sheltering lead Paul Klink
said when he first arrived, the shelter was
packed. Peak shelter populations in both
Keaau and Pahoa totaled more than 500
people in May, the Red Cross previously
said.
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve seen three
births, two deaths, people doing drugs and
people completely getting off drugs,” he
said. “We’ve seen houseless people become
housed, we’ve seen housed people become
homeless. We’ve seen it all.”
The shelter was a partnership between
the county Department of Parks and
Recreation, which provided the facility, the
Red Cross, which handled shelter management,
and the Salvation Army, which
provided meals. Other community organizations
also assisted.
“It’s been amazing,” Klink said. “And now
it’s a recreation center again.”
According to Klink, 17 shelter residents
remained Monday morning, with at least
one securing a place to stay that day. Those
outside left Sunday.
They were “pre-event houseless,” he said,
or “people who were living on properties,
with or without permission, in Leilani
Estates that were taken out with the mandatory
evacuation, and they’re houseless.
So they (were) going to stay here until we
close. So they did, and now a lot of them
BY STEPHANIE SALMONS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
PAHOA LAVA SHELTER OFFICIALLY CLOSES
Volunteers Pamela Bruce and Ron Emery help sign in evacuees May 15 at the Recovery Information and
Assistance Center at the Pahoa Community Center, also pictured top left. HOLLYN JOHNSON/TRIBUNE-HERALD FILE PHOTOS
SEE SHELTER PAGE 5A
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve
seen three births, two deaths,
people doing drugs and
people completely getting off
drugs. We’ve seen houseless
people become housed, we’ve
seen housed people become
homeless. We’ve seen it all.”
PAUL KLINK
RED CROSS SHELTERING LEAD
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