HENDERSON. Nev. – A fundraiser was held at Liberty High School on Saturday to support victims in Hawaii still struggling to get back on their feet after Kona Low storms in March battered parts of O’ahu.

Shai Walter, owner of 2 Scoops of Aloha and one of the fundraiser’s organizers, said several businesses across the valley donated food, drinks, plates, and more for the fundraiser.

“We know the situation that they’re in. We’re far away, but we want to make sure we help from the Ninth Island,” Walter said. “All these businesses came together to actually do a fundraiser for our people.”

2 Scoops of Aloha, Grindz 2 Da Max, Shaka on Point, Al Pono Café, Ono Manju, Fresh Off the Boat, Mongos Hood, Leilani’s Attic, Ninth Island, Le Umu, Da Hawaiian Snack Man, Hapahoales, Noms, Maui Goddess, Sweet Kings, and Str8 Twisted are some of the businesses, organizations, and friends of the fundraiser’s organizers that made some form of donation to the fundraiser.

Cathi Minami, founder of Ninth Island Aunties, helped organize Saturday’s fundraiser. She said she moved to Las Vegas in 2001, but like many Hawaiians, never lost touch with the community on the Islands.

“We’re just trying to show that you know they’re thought of. They’re not forgotten. Our hearts are still with them, and Hawaii will always be our home,” Minami said. “So we wanted to see what we can do.”

Minami said that although her family was not severely impacted by the March storms and flooding, the tight-knit inner circles she is a part of tie her to a lot of families who are struggling to get back on their feet from the storms.

“Over 70 families, two of which have lost their homes. So we’re just trying to show that they’re thought of. They’re not forgotten. Our hearts are still with them and Hawaii will always be our home,” Minami said.

Minami said funds raised from Saturday’s event will go towards Vibrant Hawaii, a non-profit that is currently working to help impacted families directly in Hawaii.

The 9th Island Cultural Club of Las Vegas is hosting a breakfast fundraiser for the victims on Sunday, April 26, at the North Rainbow Boulevard Applebee’s Location between 8 am and 10 am.

Another breakfast fundraiser is planned on May 2.

Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast

Forecast for Big Island Leeward

Surf along north facing shores will begin to gradually ease tonight into the first half of the week. An upward trend is expected during the second half of the week as a new northwest swell arrives. This may be followed by a larger northwest swell Friday/Saturday, with surf heights nearing the advisory levels for exposed north and west facing shores.

Surf along south facing shores will remain somewhat inconsistent as a southwest swell peaks this evening/tonight. This will be followed by a gradual downward trend by Monday. Another small south-southwest pulse may arrive next weekend from activity within our swell window east of New Zealand.

Surf along east facing shores will remain relatively small and choppy, though a brief strengthening of the trade winds tomorrow could lead to a small bump in surf.

NORTH EAST

am        pm  

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.

NORTH WEST

am        pm  

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Conditions: Clean in the morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.

WEST

am        pm  

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NNW winds 5-10mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting to the WNW.

SOUTH EAST

am        pm  

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Conditions: Sideshore texture/chop with NE winds 10-15mph.

Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com

Residents interested in learning more about coastal zoning on Hawaii Island have a new tool at their fingertips.

The Hawaii County Planning Department recently launched an interactive Coastal Zone Management Atlas website.

In addition to providing an overview of different coastal ecosystems in the county, the site allows users to search an address and select various filters to view potential coastal hazards and regulations specific to that site, among other features.

“It really allows people to zoom in on their community or property, if they’re a property owner, and understand all of the very technical pieces that there are to consider about our coastal zone,” said Bethany Morrison, the planning program manager for the Long-Range Panning Division at the county.

She said her office often gets questions from residents about Hawaii’s Special Management Area, which covers the land along the coast of the island and has specific regulations and requirements for development permits.

“So, this will give them a much deeper dive into what is the Special Management Area? What are those permit requirements? Is my property even in the Special Management Area?” She said. “All of those questions that we get, we’re trying to provide some resources for them.”

The tool was developed with the assistance of Tetra Tech and funded with an award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and used data provided by the University of Hawaii at Hilo to create the mapping component. It took about six months and $26,267 to create. Morrison said it is part of a larger, ongoing project to re-evaluate the county’s shoreline setback policies.

“We are the only county that doesn’t have any type of erosion rate-based setbacks,” she said. “Our current shoreline setback is 40 feet, kind of regardless of what type of shoreline you’re on, what type of hazards there are – it’s just a standard sort of distance.”

Which she said does not account for other factors that could be important.

“In some cases, 40 feet is plenty, and in some cases, it’s not, depending on where you are and what’s happening, so we initiated this project to really understand what changes are happening along our shoreline, and if there’s a way to include those changes in the calculation of our setbacks,” she said.

She said she views the atlas as a valuable precursor to any changes to the setback requirements that might be introduced.

“Before we get to that, we want people to have a really good understanding of what’s happening along our coastline and be able to explore things for themselves before we try and introduce any type of changes to our regulations,” she said. “So, that’s a big purpose, is to just get this out there, being used, having people understand what those pieces are — hazards, ecosystems that we want to protect — all those kinds of details.”

She said the site will be updated as new data becomes available.

The county hosted a webinar earlier this month to introduce the new tool and answer questions.

Another one is scheduled for May 7 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Anyone interested can register at: tinyurl.com/2pxat5n8.

The Coastal Zone Management Atlas can be viewed at: tinyurl.com/mstvyjyp.

Email Grace Inez Adams at grace.adams@hawaiitribune-herald.com.