Friday, October 5, 2018
Feds nix aid request
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.
The County Council
doesn’t want the Big
Island to be known
as the hand-me-down
island and is asking
the Mass Transit
Administration to quit
accepting used buses
from other counties.
The council voted 6-2
Wednesday to accept the
most recent donation of
two buses from Maui,
with Hilo Councilman
Aaron Chung and
Kohala Councilman
Tim Richards voting no.
The council members
said they didn’t want to
seem unappreciative, but
they also had concerns
about maintenance and
disposal of used buses.
The county last
month took possession
of a donated
double-decker bus and
a 25-passenger 2014
Chevrolet bus from
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Issue No. 278
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The federal government
has denied the state’s
request for “individual
assistance” for Hurricane
Lane, Hawaii County officials
said Thursday.
Crews will repair
damage caused by
Kilauea temblors
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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.
That made it one of
the wettest storms ever to
hit the United States.
President Donald Trump
approved the state’s request
for a major disaster declaration
last month, allowing the
state and counties to be reimbursed
75 percent for damage
to public infrastructure.
County: State will appeal denial of
‘individual assistance’ for Lane victims
MAGNO OKABE
HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald
Traffic is diverted around Highway 11 roadwork on July 25 near Piimauna Drive in Volcano.
Highway 11 roadwork
set to commence
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
necessitating alternate lane closures
near mile markers 29 and
31 will also begin next week.
The closures at mile markers 29
and 31 will only take place from
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day.
The Highway 11 repairs are
only some of a series of road
closures that will take place
next week. Also starting this
weekend are alternating road
closures on Highway 19 at mile
marker 7.1 in Papaikou and at
mile marker 11 in Pepeekeo,
both of which will be active
between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
While the Papaikou and
Pepeekeo repairs will continue
through next week, additional
alternate lane closures also
will be implemented all the
way from Wailuku Bridge to
the Waiaama Stream Bridge in
Pepeekeo from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Kohala Mountain Road
also will have alternating lanes
closed through next week
as crews repair guardrails
between mile markers 7 and
9. That closure will be active
between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Email Michael Brestovansky
at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune
herald.com.
Mass Transit
head leaving
Aranguiz stepping down
after 8 months on the job
Council votes to stop accepting
used buses from other counties
By TOM CALLIS
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
See AID Page A9
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
See BUSES Page A7
By MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
ARANGUIZ
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
See MASS TRANSIT Page A7
CHUNG RICHARDS
Warriors-Wildcats,
Part 1
SPORTS, B1
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