Kona KTSC Weblog

North and South Kona Traffic Safety Issues

Archive for July 2008

COH Highway Safety Council Meeting

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The Hawaii County Highway Safety Coucil Meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at the Mayor’s Conference Room in Kona via Video Conference.

Co-Chair Jim Cohn represents KTSC at the County Highway Safety Council Meetings, which meets with other district traffic safety council representatives to submit recommendations to the Mayor regarding County highway safety issues.

Written by Barbara Scott, KTSC Co-Chair

July 16, 2008 at 11:29 pm

Posted in County Meetings

Hawai’i County Mayor – History

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In the County of Hawai’i, the Mayor is the Chief Executive Officer with municipal jurisdiction over the Big Island.  Mayoral elections began in 1968, when the present form of charter government was instituted.  Prior to charter government, an elected Board of Supervisors selected a Chairman who was basically the chief operating officer of the County.  Act 73 of the 1963 Legislature enabled counties to draft their own charters. 

Former Honolulu Deputy Corporate Counsel Shunichi Kimura was selected in 1964 as the last County of Hawai’i Chairman and elected in 1968 as the first County of Hawai’i Mayor. 

West Hawai’i road development history can be compared to the chart below, establishing which Administration initiated specific projects and plans. 

Term in Office Name Party Other notes
19681974 Shunichi Kimura Democrat Resigned to become a 3rd Circuit Court judge.[2]
1974 Bruce McCall Democrat Kimura’s managing director; became mayor after his resignation.[3]
19741984 Herbert Matayoshi Democrat Resigned to run for Hawaii State Senate.[4]
1984 Megumi Kon Democrat Matayoshi’s managing director; became mayor after his resignation.[5]
19841988 Dante Keala Carpenter Democrat Lost reelection.[6]
1988 – 1990 Bernard Akana Republican Died of cancer while in office.[7]
1990 Larry Tanimoto Republican Bernard Akana’s managing director after Susan Labrenz left the post earlier; became mayor after Akana’s death.[8]
1990 – 1992 Lorraine Rodero Inouye Democrat Won special election held eight months after Akana’s death.[9]
1992 – 2000 Stephen Kei Yamashiro Democrat  
2000 – 2008 Harry Kim Republican and unaffiliated In the 2004 elections, local laws were changed so mayoral candidates were without party affiliations.

References

Information, Chart and Links From: Wikipedia contributors, “Mayor of Hawaii,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mayor_of_Hawaii&oldid=224560412 (accessed July 17, 2008).

Written by Barbara Scott, KTSC Co-Chair

July 16, 2008 at 8:43 pm

July 15, 2008 – Volcanoes National Park Traffic Fatality

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Puna Resident Dies after Auto Accident

On Saturday, June 15, at about 11:45 p.m., a single-car accident occurred at the 29-mile marker on H-11, near the park’s Hilo entrance. One of the passengers, a 17-year old female, died yesterday at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu from internal injuries.

The passenger van, with a driver and two occupants, was traveling in a Hilo direction when, according to the driver, it hydroplaned, hit an embankment, and overturned. The 17-year old woman was thrown from the van.

National Park Service rangers, Kilauea military Camp federal firefighters, and Hawaii County Fire and Police personnel responded.

The 18-year old female driver was released at the scene and went home with her parents. The two passengers, both miinor females, were taken by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center. The 16-year old was treated and released. The 17-year old was airlifted to Honolulu.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. It is believed that the woman who died was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. The weather that night was rainy.

This is the park’s first traffic fatality of the year.

http://www.massachusettsaccidents.com/Accident-news.cfm/Article/6796/Puna-Resident-Dies-after-Auto-Accident.html

[Awaiting verification from HCPD sources]

Written by Barbara Scott, KTSC Co-Chair

July 15, 2008 at 11:11 am

Kona Community Development Plan

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Over the past few weeks, our KTSC emails included a discussion on the KCDP. Editorial comments were presented and pros and cons of the KCDP were considered, along with other very pertinent KTSC issues.

The KTSC Blog site was set up originally as a site where discussions are available, easily accessed, and organized for future reference.

Not much interest had been expressed in the Blog since the site was started, and my contributions are few and far between due to scheduling conflicts; however, the site is intended as a place for KTSC participants to hold discussions outside of their personal emails and without overloading inboxes.

This an invitation to each person on the KTSC email list to access the Blog – as you are all welcome to post on the site and add comments to postings. All suggestions for the Blog format are also welcome. KTSC is a volunteer organization – our success in improving traffic safety in the North and South Kona Districts depends on commications. Further discussion will certainly benefit the organization.

Available options include privacy, which can prevent the Blog from being viewed by anyone except KTSC participants. At this time, the Kona KTSC Weblog is public.

The original blog was set with Google, but I did have some problems with the site format – although there is plenty of room for improvement on the current WordPress site (I’m open to suggestions).

Anyone who is interested in using the Blog is welcome. If there are any qustions about access, please let me know.

Written by Barbara Scott, KTSC Co-Chair

July 15, 2008 at 6:17 am

Posted in KTSC Blog, Kona CDP

HCPD Stats – 7/8/08 to 7/14/0

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DUI arrests included seven drivers involved in traffic crashes and included two drivers under 21 years old.  DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide.

DUI ARRESTS BY DISTRICT – 7/8/08 to 7/14/08

District

Weekly Total

Monthly Total

2008  to 7/14

 2007 to 7/16

YR % Change

Hamakua

0

0

10

6

+66%

North Hilo

1

1

3

0

+300%

South Hilo

13

21

247

224

+10%

Puna

4

6

67

78

-14%

Ka’u

1

2

16

17

-5.9%

Kona

3

15

320

335

-4.5%

South Kohala

2

2

61

38

+60.5%

North Kohala

0

1

14

16

-12.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Island Total

24

48

738

714

+3%

 

MAJOR ACCIDENTS

Island Total

 

 

963

1,132

-14.9%

 

TRAFFIC FATALITIES

Island Total

 

 

14

18

-22%

From HCPD DUI Stats http://www.hawaiipolice.com/releases/dui_stats_07-14-08.html

Written by Barbara Scott, KTSC Co-Chair

July 14, 2008 at 4:32 am

Posted in Enforcement, HCPD Stats