The sale of Pahala’s KAHU-FM to Hawaii Public Radio is now complete, according to Christine Kaehuaea, president and director of Ka’u Community Radio Inc.
The sale of Pahala’s KAHU-FM to Hawaii Public Radio is now complete, according to Christine Kaehuaea, president and director of Ka‘u Community Radio Inc.
Kaehuaea said in a written release on Tuesday that the Federal Communication Commission approved the sale of the community radio station to HPR for $20,000 on Aug. 6.
“This consummates a bittersweet ending to what was an unprecedented beginning for the District of Ka‘u to have its own radio station,” Kaehuaea said. “Unfortunately, the community radio station format met with too many regulations and restrictions in an economically challenged area thus preventing the venture from being financially self-sustaining.”
The sale will allow the station to go back on the air, probably within a month. It had been silent since April 17, when its electricity was cut off. Kaehuaea told Stephens Media last month that the station was $68,000 in debt and was selling off its equipment in an attempt to recover some of its losses.
The station, which broadcast at 91.7 on the FM dial and went on the air on June 28, 2010, was the only broadcast station that could be picked up by the 11,000-some residents between Volcano and Naalehu, Kaehuaea said.