Man hospitalized after distress call from dive boat
KAILUA-KONA — A man was hospitalized Wednesday after Hawaii Fire Department personnel responded to a distress call involving a dive boat in waters off North Kona.
Just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Hawaii Fire Department personnel were summoned to a distress call involving a dive boat located in waters north of Kohanaiki Beach Park, also known as Pine Trees.
HFD Acting Battalion Chief Michael Grace said a rescue company met the boat at Honokohau Harbor and medics performed resuscitation efforts on an unidentified man in his 60s.
Grace said he believed the victim was part of the dive operation.
Medics subsequently transported the man to Kona Community Hospital. No additional details were available on his condition as of press time.
New county HR director appointed
KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii County Merit Appeals Board on Wednesday appointed William V. Brilhante Jr. as the county’s new director of Human Resources.
The appointment made after the board’s meeting in Hilo is effective March 1.
Brilhante has served as the acting director of Human Resources since Oct. 1 following the resignation of former HR Director Sharon Toriano in the wake of a critical audit. He served as the department’s deputy director from Nov. 16 until he was named acting director.
Prior to joining Human Resources, he was a deputy corporation counsel with the county.
West Hawaii a hotspot for DUI arrests, numbers show
KAILUA-KONA — More than half of the island’s 142 suspected drunken driving arrests this year have occurred in West Hawaii.
Through Sunday, officers in the North Kohala, South Kohala, Ka’u and Kona districts have nabbed 78 motorists for suspected driving under the influence. All but 13 of those arrests were made in the Hawaii Police Department’s Kona district, which includes both North and South Kona.
The remaining 64 arrests have occurred in the department’s Hamakua, North Hilo, South Hilo and Puna districts.
The number is down, however, from 177 arrests at this point last year, a decrease of 17 percent.
Between Feb. 12 and Sunday, nine arrests were made in Kona, and one arrest each in South Kohala and North Kohala. No arrests were made in Ka’u during that time period. In East Hawaii, officers arrested four motorists in Puna, three in South Hilo and one in North Hilo. No arrests occurred in Hamakua.
There have been 149 major accidents so far this year compared with 186 during the same period last year, a decrease of 19.9 percent.
There have been four fatalities this year on Big Island public roads compared with four at this time last year. That figure includes a woman killed Tuesday night in Pahoa.