INSIDE
CLASH OF CONTENDERS
Kamehameha vs. Konawaena
highlights BIIF football weekend
SPORTS, 1B
▼ HI 86 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 5A
Mass Transit head stepping down
ADMINISTRATOR LEAVING AFTER ONLY 8 MONTHS ON THE JOB
INSIDE
Hawaii hand-me-downs Page 9A
Hookena third-grade teacher Leimamo Lind-Strauss engages students in a math lesson. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII
TODAY
HILO — After sustaining considerable damage
from thousands of earthquakes, Highway
11 near Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will
undergo repairs throughout the weekend and
next week.
Starting Saturday, drivers in Volcano should
be aware of alternating lane closures near mile
marker 30 on Highway 11, where the damage
caused by Kilauea’s seismic activity earlier this
year is greatest.
Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said
the surface of Highway 11 is riddled with cracks
and potholes, even months after the seismic
activity ended.
While alternating lanes at mile marker 30
will be closed 24 hours a day through the
weekend into next week, additional repairs
HOOKENA — Hookena
Elementary School thirdgrade
teacher Leimamo Lind-
Strauss wants her students to
know science is all around
— from the stars above to the
ocean surrounding them.
“When they’re outside on
the ocean and they’re sitting
on a boat, then they’re like,
‘Oh, the ocean is malie, it’s
calm; there’s no wind. How
does that affect me? What
is going on in nature?’ and
observing,” she said. “That’s
important, so that our kids
can envision themselves in
whatever practice they do —
whatever they’re going to go
move on to the future as —
being scientists.”
Lind-Strauss’ vision for
the South Kona school has
landed her among 15 finalists
DOWNSIZING OR MOVING UP?
Real Property Solutions for Kona Buyers and SellersSM
across the country — three of
them from Hawaii — vying
for the Thank America’s
Teachers “Dream Big”
Teacher Challenge sponsored
by Farmers Insurance.
The 15 finalists were
HILO — The disarray at the county
Mass Transit Agency continues with
the resignation of Administrator Maria
“Sole” Aranguiz.
Aranguiz is leaving Mass Transit
on Oct. 26 after only eight months on
the job. The civil service position pays
$70,644 to $130,152 annually.
One of five finalists in a competitive
process that began shortly after
Mayor Harry Kim took office in late
2016, Aranguiz was formerly chief of
systems planning and forecasting for the
California Department of Transportation
before taking the Hawaii County job.
She said she’s going back to California to
return to her old position.
Kim on Thursday praised Aranguiz’s
can-do attitude in the face of resistance
from some workers and county officials.
“She did different things to make do
with what she had,” Kim said. “We lost
a winner.”
A no-nonsense administrator,
Aranguiz took over a department plagued
with broken-down buses, inconsistent
bus arrivals and a critical audit that
found mismanaged cash. Those problems
already existed when she took over.
Cash-handling was so lax, the legislative
auditor couldn’t tell if any money
was missing, much less how much. The
theft of a bus not once, but twice by the
same suspect, didn’t help raise the agency’s
reputation.
Kim said Aranguiz is leaving the
department in a better place, even from
her short tenure. He said he’s asked the
Human Resources Department to take
another look at the other finalists. If
CALL McCOURT!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
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VOL. 50, NO. 278 18 PAGES
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
Transit Administrator Maria “Sole”
Aranguiz at her office in the Hilo
baseyard in March. NANCY COOK LAUER/
SEE TRANSIT PAGE 8A WEST HAWAII TODAY
REACHING FOR THE STARS
HOOKENA TEACHER AMONG 15 FINALISTS FOR $100K GRANT
BY CAMERON MICULKA
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com
Aid request
turned down
STATE WILL APPEAL DENIAL
OF ‘INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE’
FOR LANE VICTIMS,
ACCORDING TO COUNTY
BY TOM CALLIS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — The federal government has
denied the state’s request for “individual
assistance” for Hurricane Lane, Hawaii
County officials said Thursday.
That means residents whose
homes were flooded won’t qualify for
grants from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, though officials
noted the state will appeal.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed
because those families who were
impacted were in some cases significantly
impacted,” said Diane Ley, county
Research and Development director,
in a voicemail.
The county has updated its damage
assessment to help with an appeal.
Talmadge Magno, county Civil
Defense administrator, said 266 residential
structures were damaged or
affected, with 40 suffering major damage.
Homes are considered “affected” if
they were inaccessible because of the
heavy rainfall, which dumped as much
as 50 inches of rain over four days in
some parts of East Hawaii.
SEE DREAM PAGE 8A SEE DENIED PAGE 8A
Steel plates remain over hot ground cracks Thursday on Highway
130 near the 14 mile marker in Pahoa. HOLLYN JOHNSON/TRIBUNE-HERALD
Rumble repair on Highway 11
CREWS WILL REPAIR DAMAGE CAUSED BY KILAUEA TEMBLORS
BY MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
SEE ROAD WORK PAGE 9A
GOOD NEWS FOR YOUR TEETH
Hawaii insurers to offer dental
for Medicaid recipients PAGE 8A
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