HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The two candidates for Hawaii Island mayor sparred for a half hour debate Thursday night at the Hilton Waikoloa.

Mayor Mitch Roth touted the county’s progress but challenger Kimo Alameda said new leadership is needed.

They answered questions about balancing west and east Hawaii, crime, homelessness, and affordable housing.

“We came in and our department is working with 1243 units to date 8100 units in that pipeline we’ve been making a great impact,” said Roth.

“We went from the worse in the country to the fourth worst in the country and that’s not something to brag about. We still have a permitting issue,” said Alameda.

The candidates also talked about over-tourism.

Roth said it’s about “destination management” whereas Alameda said the county needs to attract different types of tourists and should look into sports tourism.

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Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, the next entry in the series by SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has been announced today for an early 2025 release.

The new entry in the series will star fan-favorite Goro Majima as he hunts down treasure and gets involved in some naval battles in Hawaii. The game will also be a direct sequel to Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, as Majima will have to deal with some of the consequences caused by Ichiban Kasuga’s actions in the previous entries in the series. The reveal trailer also confirms that fans of the series won’t have to wait much longer to experience Majima’s treasure-hunting adventure, as the game will launch on February 28th on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One.

The latest entry in the series is the aforementioned Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. You can learn more about it by checking out our review.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth serves as the real bridge between the Yakuza and Like a Dragon series into one cohesive experience. It’s the perfect sendoff for Kiryu and a passing of the torch to the plucky Ichiban Kasuga. In a lot of ways, Infinite Wealth builds upon the past with callbacks that series fans could appreciate. It’s a Japanese RPG experience that could only best be described as Ryu ga Gotoku Studio’s Metal Gear Solid 4 moment.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A special deal will run through the end of September to help pets in need find their forever home.

Hawaiian Humane Society is waiving adoption fees for all dogs and cats from September 20-30 at both their Moiliili and Hoopili campuses.

The shelters say they need to clear their kennels as they are critically overcapacity.

According to Hawaiian Humane’s spokesperson, the shelters only have capacity for up to about 850 animals. At last check, there were nearly 1,200 at both locations and in foster care.

If you’d like to adopt or foster click here.

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