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Tuesday, October 2, 2018
GRINDS ● A9
Council chairwoman
asks for more options
for discipline in cases
like that of Ruggles
POINDEXTER
RUGGLES
Power restored to all but ‘a handful’ of Leilani customers
By MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY
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Index
Big Isle history B4
Classified B6
Comics B5
Commentary A8
Issue No. 275
18 Pages in
2 Sections
Today’s
weather
Page A2
Community A6
Crossword B4
Cryptoquote B4
Dear Abby B4
Grinds A9
Horoscope B4
Letters A8
Nation A7
Obituaries A2
Sports B1
State A3
Surf Report A2
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Nearly a month after
the mandatory evacuation
zone in Leilani Estates
was lifted, Hawaii Electric
Light Co. has restored
Internet
Visit us on the Web at:
www.hawaiitribune-herald.com
power to nearly all active
Leilani Estates customers.
HELCO spokeswoman
Rhea Lee-Moku said Monday
that as of last week, all customers
who requested power
be restored to their homes
were successfully reconnected
to HELCO’s service, save
for some exceptions where
damaged equipment still
needs to be replaced.
“I think we’ve made
very good progress,”
Lee-Moku said.
Although the mandatory
evacuation zone was only
lifted in early September,
Lee-Moku said HELCO was
able to conduct assessments
before then with county
approval. Because of that,
HELCO was able to quickly
remove damaged equipment
and repair the subdivision’s
distribution system, installing
See POWER Page A5
JOHN BURNETT/Tribune-Herald
Keiki cool off in the water Monday afternoon at Moku Ola (Coconut Island) in Hilo. HOT! HOT! HOT!
By JOHN BURNETT
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
If you’re of a certain age,
perhaps the 1963 hit “Heat
Wave” by Martha and the
Vandellas has been going
through your head recently
— and with good reason.
Record-high temperatures
in Hilo were recorded
on three days during the
past week, and hot, muggy
conditions prevailed
regardless of records.
Unfortunately, there
appears to be little, if any,
relief in the near future.
On Sunday, the temperature
reached 88 degrees
at the airport, tying the
record set in 1976.
As about 60 shade-seekers
hunkered down beneath
a tarp tent Sunday afternoon
to bless the site of
the future Hawaii Island
Portuguese Chamber of
Commerce Cultural and
Education Center in Hilo,
state Rep. Chris Todd told
a visiting dignitary from
Portugal, “You mentioned
this was your first time
in Hawaii — and I promise
you that this is the
hottest and most humid
week of my entire life.”
In addition, Friday’s
88 degrees also tied the
record high for Sept. 28 set
in 1993, and on Thursday,
the mercury rose to 90
degrees, eclipsing the previous
record of 89 degrees
for Sept. 27 set in 1974.
And those days weren’t
even the hottest of the
past week in Hilo.
That dubious honor
would go to Wednesday,
with a scorching high of
91 degrees. Surprisingly,
it fell two degrees short of
‘It will
help
in the
future’
September comes to a close with record-high temps
See HOT Page A4
Blazing into October
• According to the National
Weather Service website, the heat
looks to continue through the first
week of October. Monday’s high
temperature hit 87 degrees in Hilo,
three degrees shy of the record for
Oct. 1, with the heat index reaching
92. Today’s forecast high is 87
degrees, with highs expected in
the upper 80s through Saturday.
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
Faced with the curious case
of a County Council member
who refuses to vote or sponsor
bills, county legislative leaders
want more teeth added to local
laws to require elected officials
perform to stricter standards.
At issue
is Puna
Councilwoman
Jen Ruggles,
who abruptly
announced
during an Aug.
21 council meeting
she wouldn’t
be participating
in legislation
until county
lawyers assure
her she won’t be
committing war
crimes against
the Hawaiian Kingdom by
doing so. She was instructed
she can’t sit at the dais
if she’s not going to vote.
Ruggles hasn’t attended
council meetings since.
And she has no plans to
come back, submitting to
Council Chairwoman Valerie
Poindexter a letter saying
she will miss “all future
2018 council meetings,”
Poindexter said Monday.
Poindexter doesn’t think
the county charter gives her
See DISCIPLINE Page A4