Warriors repeat: Honma’s legacy-building performance leads Kamehameha to BIIF D-I girls volleyball crown
KEAAU — Maela Honma picked up her first gold medal after Kamehameha swept Hilo in the BIIF Division I volleyball championship on Wednesday night at Koia’a Gym, where the legacy chasing has started for the sophomore outside hitter.
First US case of omicron variant confirmed in California
WASHINGTON — A person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new virus strain.
State briefs: Honolulu’s only woman mayor dies at 93
HONOLULU — The first and only woman to serve as mayor of Honolulu died earlier this month at age 93.
Fuel odor in Navy water on Oahu prompts more than 100 complaints
HONOLULU — The state Department of Health said Tuesday tests of water samples from the Navy’s water system at Pearl Harbor have so far been inconclusive after it received more than 100 complaints about fuel-like odor coming from tap water in the area.
US panel backs first-of-a-kind COVID-19 pill from Merck
WASHINGTON — A panel of U.S. health advisers on Tuesday narrowly backed a closely watched COVID-19 pill from Merck, setting the stage for a likely authorization of the first drug that Americans could take at home to treat the coronavirus.
Brazil, Japan report 1st cases of omicron variant
Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm.
US moves to toughen testing requirement for travelers
Washington — The Biden administration is moving to toughen testing requirements for international travelers to the U.S., including both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, amid the spread of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Georgia jury hit gun issue on the mark
The multiple guilty verdicts last Wednesday against three white Georgia men who cornered and murdered a Black jogger marked a refreshing turn of justice. A jury drew a much-needed line between stand-your-ground laws and gun-carrying vigilantes who have been emboldened to go on human hunting sprees. The nearly all-white jury decided that spurious assertions of self-defense and false allegations of hostile intent by the victim, Ahmaud Arbery, were no excuse for the reckless actions of defendants Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William Bryan.
Your Views for December 1
Service with aloha
Hilo earns spot opposite Kamehameha in BIIF D-I volleyball championship
KAILUA-KONA – From the very beginning, the Vikings were in total control.
Kahiau Together distributes hundreds of Thanksgiving meals
Hundreds of West Hawaii families sat down to a nice Thanksgiving meal last week thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Kahiau Together food distribution program.
Obituaries for December 1
Lance Kiyoshi Abe, 67, of Hilo died Nov. 9 at Hilo Medical Center. Born in Laupahoehoe, he was retired from the state Department of Human Services, a farmer, worked at Laupahoehoe School, where he coached girls’ basketball, and was a member and elder at Zion’s House of Praise Holiness Church in Hilo. Public visitation 9:30-10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 13, at Dodo Mortuary Chapel. Face masks and social distancing required. Casual attire; no flowers or koden (monetary gifts). Survived by wife, Amy Abe of Hilo; brothers, Randall (Linda) Abe of Kaneohe, Oahu, and Mervyn Abe of Oregon; sister, Joyce Yamamoto of Hilo; mother-in-law, Sueno Saruwatari of Pepeekeo; brother-in-law, Bert Saruwatari of Honolulu; sisters-in-law, Lynn (Glenn) Abe of Honolulu, Faye Saruwatari of Hilo, Gail Saruwatari and Eva Saruwatari of Pepeekeo; nephews, nieces, cousins, grandnephews and grandnieces. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.
Funding eyed to improve old Hilo bridge
There could be relief in the works for motorists who use a well-traveled one-lane bridge in Hilo to access Highway 11.
HMC bids aloha to vaccine clinic
After nearly a year of vaccinating the community, Hilo Medical Center’s COVID-19 clinic at The Arc of Hilo has closed.
Whew! A mild year for hurricanes in the Central Pacific
For the second consecutive year, Hawaii experienced a milder-than-average hurricane season.
Roth increases gathering sizes for indoor, outdoor events
Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth on Tuesday eased some of the COVID restrictions in place on the Big Island.
