Waikoloa
Highlands
development
to face
Land Use
Commission
DEVELOPERS BLAME
FRAUD ON
DECADE-LONG DELAY
BY NANCY COOK LAUER
WEST HAWAII TODAY
ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com
Cyclists ride south on Queen Kaahumanu Highway Friday afternoon. PHOTOS BY LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
Stayin’ alive
SURVIVING IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK ON THE ROADS
Alii Drive closure planned today
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HI 86 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 7A
VOL. 50, NO. 282 16 PAGES
INSIDE
FINDING REFUGE
FOR HORSES
UH-Hilo equine class
pairs students with
lava-displaced animals
PAGE 6A
▼
THE NEW
PASSING
KING
Brees becomes
all-time passing
yards leader
SPORTS, 1B
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
HILO — A 731-acre project
that’s languished for a
decade is at risk of being
reverted to an agricultural
land reclassification.
Developers of what’s
planned to be a 398-lot residential
subdivision are
promising to get moving
on the project under new
management.
They tell a sordid tale of
a former director funneling
tens of millions in investors’
money into movies and casinos
and ultimately to a bank
in the Republic of Armenia.
Investors are awaiting extradition
of the alleged embezzler
from Russia to face civil
and criminal complaints, they
say.
The state Land Use
Commission has scheduled an
Oct. 24 hearing for Waikoloa
Highlands Inc. to show cause
why it should be able to keep
the rural district classification
granted to it in 2008 or lose
that classification. The hearing
is scheduled to begin at
10 a.m. at the Courtyard King
Kamehameha Kona Beach
Hotel, according to an LUC
notice.
Waikoloa Highlands
took over the property from
Waikoloa Mauka LLC in
2014. Build-out of the project
was supposed to be completed
by June 10 of this year.
“We’re just asking for
the chance to proceed with
the development,” Steven
Lim, attorney for Waikoloa
Highlands, said Monday.
Lim said his client is asking
that the project, which
was zoned by the county into
one-acre lots in 1990, get all
its required county permits
before going back to the LUC
“to tie up loose ends.” He said
developers have secured $45
million in funding and the
project has taken care of the
required county affordable
housing contribution of land.
“For years, (Waikoloa
Mauka’s) and later (Waikoloa
Highlands’) efforts to advance
the development of the
project were significantly
hindered — if not entirely
undermined — by the
SEE HIGHLANDS PAGE 6A
KAILUA-KONA — Ironman week is
upon us.
Approximately 2,500 athletes
ready to take on the Ironman World
Championship joined by their family,
friends and crew are piling into Kailua-
Kona for the event’s 40th installment that
gets underway Saturday morning.
It’s a one one-day endurance event that
brings thousands of people to the area and
is a boon to the local economy in the couple
weeks leading up to the event. But, it also
adds thousands to the roads, whether they
are behind the wheel, on a bicycle or on foot.
“Just be a little more vigilant” than
usual, Hawaii Police Maj. Robert Wagner
advised all road users this week.
The Hawaii Police Department has
increased patrols in the Kailua-Kona area,
said Wagner. In addition to officers behind
the wheel, officers are on foot cruising
among the crowd.
“We have an extra presence in the Kailua
area,” Wagner said. “They are there every
day, just watching everybody and making
sure everybody is abiding by the law.”
In addition, officers are also working
to ensure athletes training for the big
race are following traffic rules to keep
everyone safe on West Hawaii roads. The
department, he said, has received public
complaints about cyclists not following
the rules of the roads, among other gripes.
“There’s been a couple of things here and
there that’s occurring, but there’s 2,500
athletes,” said Wagner. “Considering that
we have 2,500 athletes, that’s not too bad.”
Cyclists who break the law are being
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
“We have an extra presence in the Kailua area. They are there every day,
just watching everybody and making sure everybody is abiding by the law.”
HAWAII POLICE MAJ. ROBERT WAGNER
A sign along Queen Kaahumanu
Highway reminds motorists that
athletes are training for Ironman.
Alii Drive will be closed from 3:30
to 7 p.m. today for the annual Ironkids
Keiki Dip ‘n Dash and Ironman Parade of
Nations.
The road closure will be in effect in the
Kailua Village area, from Palani Road to
St. Michael the Archangel Church.
KAILUA-KONA — The
Ironman World Championship
is a spectacle to behold, but,
at times leading up to the big
event, even the chillest of folks
might find themselves getting
hot-headed.
“Ironman, once a year, is
something that definitely piques
everybody’s anger and temperament,”
said Johnny Fox, a psychotherapist
in the Kona area.
“We’re so used to everyone
having that aloha spirit and
respect in our, sort of, continuous
circle here on the island,
that all the sudden, when people
come from other places and
don’t have that (spirit), then
we’re kind of like, ‘grrehh,’” he
added.
But, whether you’re behind
the wheel or on the job, keeping
your cool is a must this
week. Here’s a few tips from
Fox to help get through the
coming days:
- Anticipate you’re going
to need more time
With more cars, cyclists and
pedestrians in town, Fox suggests
giving yourself an extra
10 minutes when headed somewhere.
Don’t allow yourself to
get into a time crunch — like
leaving at 8:55 a.m. when you
have to be to work by 9, he said.
Plan ahead for road closures.
“We got to take responsibility,
it’s not like we didn’t know
Ironman was coming,” said Fox.
“We got to anticipate that and
work through it so we don’t set
ourselves up for failure.”
- Take it easy on
the sugar, caffeine
Switching to tea or decaf coffee
this week to reduce your
consumption of caffeine, which
TIPS TO HELP YOU STAY CALM DURING IRONMAN WEEK
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE IRONMAN PAGE 7A
SEE TIPS PAGE 7A
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