Forest Service maxed out as wildfires break across US West
WESTWOOD, Calif. — The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system as wildfires continue to break out across the U.S. West, threatening thousands of homes and entire towns.
Multiracial boom reflects US racial, ethnic complexity
For the 2010 Census, René D. Flores, a Mexican American college professor, marked his race as “white.”
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
Tropical Gardening: If no room to plant trees then plant on trees
As the days get shorter, mainland folks like to brighten up their home with bouquets of colorful cut flowers, but for most kamaaina, flowering plants are another option. Instead of lasting a few days, many flowering plants can last for years. If you like interior or exterior gardening the easy way, then you might consider a group of easy care plants referred to as air plants. If you are like me and have no more room in the garden to plant trees you may consider using the trees to expand your gardening talents by creating air gardens.
HHSAA preserves three-season calendar, pushes state football into new year
Happy New Year, Honolulu?
Brush fire closes western end of Daniel K. Inouye Highway
Hawaii County Civil Defense said a brush fire at the 48.5-mile marker of Daniel K. Inouye Highway has caused police to close DKI between the Old Saddle Road junction near the 42-mile marker to the junction of Highway 190.
Char, Ige issue stern warning about COVID crisis: ‘We are on fire’
“We are on fire.”
DOH reports 1,167 new COVID-19 cases
The state Department of Health today reported 1,167 new COVID-19 cases statewide, the first time counts have topped 1,000.
Police seek woman missing 4-plus years
Police are still seeking leads on a 73-year-old Hilo woman who’s been missing more than four years.
Back-to-back price hikes, wholesale costs up 1% in July
WASHINGTON — Inflation at the wholesale level jumped a higher-than-expected 1% in July, matching the rise from the previous month, and dimming hopes that the upward trajectory of prices would begin to slow.
Comet discovered by Haleakala telescope could be visible on BI next year
A newly discovered comet may be visible to the naked eye next year.
Captain Cook man indicted for hit-and-run crash
A 32-year-old Captain Cook man was indicted by a Kona Grand Jury Monday on 10 counts in connection to a hit-and-run crash last month in Kailua-Kona.
Census shows US is diversifying, white population shrinking
The U.S. became more diverse and more urban over the past decade, and the non-Hispanic white population dropped for the first time on record, the Census Bureau reported Thursday as it released a trove of demographic data that will be used to redraw the nation’s political maps.
Big Island tops 200,000 residents in latest count
Hawaii Island topped the 200,000 population mark and Oahu passed one million people in data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
States that had a grip on COVID now seeing a crush of cases
The COVID-19 surge that is sending hospitalizations to all-time highs in parts of the South is also clobbering states like Hawaii and Oregon that were once seen as pandemic success stories.
Northwest heat wave: Volunteers get water to the vulnerable
PORTLAND, Ore. — Volunteers scrambled to hand out water, portable fans, popsicles and information about cooling shelters Thursday to homeless people living in isolated encampments on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, as the Pacific Northwest sweated through a heat wave gripping the normally temperate region.
Extra COVID vaccine OK’d for those with weak immune systems
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Thursday said transplant recipients and others with severely weakened immune systems can get an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to better protect them as the delta variant continues to surge.
Fires charring range set up ranchers for hardship in US West
LAME DEER, Mont. — Wildfires tearing through Montana and elsewhere in the U.S. West are devouring vast rangeland areas that cattle ranchers depend upon, setting the stage for a potential shortage of pasture as the hot, dry summer grinds on.
Obituaries for August 13
John Raymond Carlstrom, 73, of Kailua-Kona died July 25 at home. Born in Atlantic City, N.J., he was a self-employed builder, furniture maker, beekeeper and songwriter. Private services. No flowers; memorial donations to: ALS Ohana of Hawaii, http://www.alsohana.org. Survived by life partner, Judie Fekete of Kailua-Kona; former wife, Jennifer Graydon Carlstrom of Kailua-Kona; mother, Mildred Miller Carlstrom of Honolulu; daughter, Sarah (Cary) Knowlton of Kailua-Kona; a granddaughter; nieces and nephews. Arrangements by Cremation Services of West Hawaii.
US sending 3K troops for partial Afghan embassy evacuation
WASHINGTON — Just weeks before the U.S. is scheduled to end its war in Afghanistan, the Biden administration is rushing 3,000 fresh troops to the Kabul airport to help with a partial evacuation of the U.S. Embassy. The move highlights the stunning speed of a Taliban takeover of much of the country, including their capture on Thursday of Kandahar, the second-largest city and the birthplace of the Taliban movement.
Some praise, some doubts as Facebook rolls out a prayer tool
Facebook already asks for your thoughts. Now it wants your prayers.
DeSantis and other GOP governors like him are endangering their own people
The first duty of any state governor is to protect the health and safety of the citizenry. In that sense, the incredibly cynical and dangerous performative politics against pandemic safety being undertaken by some (though not all) Republican governors around America is nothing less than the abdication of their duty.
Cuomo’s quitting was his only option — and a profoundly sad moment for New York
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had no choice. If he didn’t resign, he would have been removed through impeachment and conviction. So instead of being dragged out, he walks away on Aug. 24, handing over the reins to Kathy Hochul. It was the right thing to do, even as he denied the sexual harassment he has been accused of by women who bravely risked everything to come forward.
DOH: 549 COVID-19 cases statewide, 122 on Big Island
The state Department of Health today reported 549 new cases of COVID-19 statewide, including 122 on the Big Island.
Historically snubbed, Black colleges deserve government’s help
Quick: Name a historically Black college or university. Most people would list Howard, Morehouse, Spelman or Hampton. They’re not wrong — but they are part of the problem faced by the other 103 HBCUs.
