M4.0 Quake in East Hawaii unrelated to Mauna Loa eruption

A Hawaiian monk seal died at Ke Kai Ola, the Marine Mammal Center’s hospital in Kailua-Kona after suffering a severe shark bite. The seal, identified as RM28, was rescued in a shallow cove off the Kauaʻi coast on Jan. 11 after displaying lethargic behavior. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received reports of the 3-year-old seal appearing to be in poor condition the previous day. NOAA, with the assistance from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources, brought the animal to the DLNR facility on Kauaʻi for initial assessment and triage care.

A female nēnē, the Hawaiʻi State bird, was struck and killed by a passenger truck last week on Haleakalā Highway on Maui. These type of deaths have become too familiar in recent years, prompting the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife to remind residents and bring awareness to visitors that these geese are federally protected and listed as an endangered species in Hawaiʻi.

This story was updated at 6:59 p.m. Jan. 25. The Hawai‘i Department of Health has canceled a high bacteria notification for Keaukaha Beach, also known as 4 Miles, in Hilo. The Health Department reports that water sample retesting results showed enterococci levels no longer exceed the threshold level. High...

Twenty-three motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of an intoxicant during the week of Jan. 16-22, according to Hawai‘i Police Department. Most of the arrests occurred in the Kona District, with 13 arrests made. Six of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident. Two of the...

Big Island residents are urged to participate in a telephone and email survey conducted by SMS Research as part of the 2023 Hawai‘i Housing Planning Study. Surveying is underway and expected to continue through May. It is necessary to gather data on housing supply and demand. Tim Carson, President...

Albert “Ian” Schweitzer from the Big Island has spent more than two decades imprisoned nearly 3,000 miles from Hawai‘i for a horrific crime he did not commit. Hilo-based Judge Peter Kubota ruled Schweitzer should be freed immediately on Tuesday, following new DNA evidence that excludes Schweitzer from the scene of a rape and murder committed on Christmas Eve 1991, according to the Associated Press.

Two days after a Big Island man was exonerated in the decades-long Dana Ireland murder case thanks in part to new DNA evidence, the island’s top cop and lead prosecutor are reaffirming their commitment to bringing those responsible for the December 1991 rape and murder of the 23-year-old Virginia resident in a remote section of Puna.