Wailea New Year’s mochi pounding canceled

Wailea New Year’s mochi pounding canceled

The Friends of Wailea Village 23rd Annual Mochi Pounding for New Year’s has been canceled for this year due to an illness to the event’s founder and organizer, Akiko Masuda.

The popular community event — in which sticky rice is pounded into cakes for good luck in the upcoming year — started in 1998 with just a few people. The Mochitsuki event drew 1,000 visitors to the wee hamlet north of Hilo in 2019, before a two-year hiatus during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Masuda, owner of Akiko’s Buddhist Bed &Breakfast, where the event takes place, said she expects the 23rd Annual Mochi Pounding for New Year to resume in December 2024.

Police locate assault suspect

Police say David Manuel Clark, of Waimea, a suspect in an assault investigation, was located in Waimea on Tuesday.

Police arrest 33 for DUI

During the week of Dec. 11-17, Hawaii Island police arrested 29 motorists for DUI. Seven of the drivers were involved in a traffic collision. One was younger than 21.

The numbers of arrests by district were: Puna, 10; Kona, eight; Hilo and South Kohala, five each; and North Kohala, one.

So far this year, there have been 917 DUI arrests compared to 940 during the same period last year, a decrease of 2.5%.

There have been 817 major collisions so far this year compared with 809 during the same period last year, an increase of 1%.

To date, there have been 16 official fatalities compared to 33 fatalities for the same time last year, a decrease of 51.5%

There has also been one vehicular death this year that isn’t listed as an official traffic fatality because it didn’t occur on a public roadway.

DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide, police said.