Eight more old buses will soon be on their way to the Big Island, with the County Council set to accept the donation of used buses from the City and County of Honolulu.

A bill is in the works to strengthen and align local emergency powers more closely to those of the state during declared emergencies.

Hawaii County has hired a consultant to troubleshoot its building permit process in hopes of streamlining a critical government function analysts have called the most cumbersome in the nation.

With about a week left to vote on national, state and local races, a little more than 11% of the 112,630 Hawaii Island ballots mailed out have already been returned, and 19% of the 739,000 mailed ballots statewide, according to election officials.

With Chairwoman Maile David term-limited, the nonpartisan County Council District 6 seat is up for grabs, and four candidates have set their sights on filling it.

After being provided the data they requested, County Council members Wednesday were feeling a little more friendly toward the Friendly Place homeless shelter and approved extending its $10-a-year no-bid lease for up to four more years.

County Council District 9 became an open seat this year when Kohala Councilman Tim Richards vacated after his third term in order to run for an empty Senate seat, and three candidates are vying for the position.

The County Council agrees the county needs to take a closer look at how it dispenses credits for building affordable housing, but members of the Finance Committee who were present Tuesday were unsure the timing was right to undertake a wide-ranging audit.

There are two candidates on the ballot for the vacant District 4 state Senate seat, but they’re not running against each other. At least, not yet.

There’s a new House district in town, and four candidates have lined up to compete for it.

Hawaii County taxpayers are expected to save tens of millions of dollars on downsized plans for sewer treatment systems in Naalehu and Pahala.

Amid a growing corruption scandal, North Kona Councilman Holeka Inaba believes the county’s use of affordable housing credits deserves a deeper look, and he’s sponsored a resolution asking the county auditor to do just that.

Coronavirus pandemic protocols, a bribery scandal and debate over a bill to make fundraisers illegal during the legislative session all combined this year to keep Big Island lawmakers from holding the Honolulu fundraisers that historically added big boosts to their reelection campaigns.

A group of owners of homes surrounding a North Kona rock-crushing operation now have standing in a future contested case hearing over whether the work being done there exceeds what was allowed by a permit application that was subsequently withdrawn by the applicant.

A new contraceptive to control feral pig populations is raising the hackles of hunters and cultural practitioners, who’re demanding the product HogStop be banned in the islands until more is known about it.

A skeptical council Finance Committee on Tuesday advanced a no-bid $10 a year lease for a homeless shelter in Kona’s Old Industrial Area after officials with the county Housing Office and the nonprofit holding the contract assured council members they would provide more details about the program at the final reading of the measure Aug. 3.

The county Housing Office and representatives of an island nonprofit are being asked to justify programs at a Kailua-Kona homeless shelter after several West Hawaii council members balked at extending a lease arrangement for up to five more years.

A former employee of the county Office of Housing and Community Development is set to enter a plea Monday in federal court on charges he took almost $2 million in bribes and kickbacks to influence affordable housing projects in West Hawaii.