Hawaii
Unidentified woman found floating face down in waters of a Hawaii Island bay
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Police on Hawaii island are investigating a possible drowning in Kealakekua Bay.
Authorities said in the morning of Sunday Nov. 10, a 29-year-old woman was found floating face down in the bay. Police said she was wearing a mask, snorkel, fins, and a wetsuit.
Bystanders were able to pull her from the water, place her on a paddle board, and immediately began CPR. A nearby boat soon picked up the woman and brought her to land.
CPR was continued until medics arrived.
Fire personnel arrived on scene and took her to the Kona Community Hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
At last check, the woman has not yet been identified. An autopsy has been scheduled.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Feedback sought for HPP park
Hawaii
Broadband Coming To More Hawaiian Homes Via Surge In Federal Funding
The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has received a $72 million federal “Internet for All” grant to deliver broadband access to thousands of homesteaders with slow or no internet service and provide job training to DHHL lessees.
The new grant brings the total Hawaiian Homes broadband funding via the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to $89 million.
“This new federal funding will mean communities on Hawaiian homelands will have better, more reliable high-speed internet at home, helping more people access education, health care, and employment resources online,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in a written statement. The Hawaii Democrat is chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
At a press conference Tuesday, DHHL Broadband Coordinator Jaren Tengan said the money will be used to deliver faster internet connections to DHHL lands on Molokai, Maui, Big Island, Kauai and Oahu.
It will upgrade service to existing lots with substandard, and also finance broadband connections to new housing developments. Grant funds will be distributed over a four-year period.
The grants will help rural homesteads that lost service in June when telecommunications provider Sandwich Isles Communications abruptly laid off its employees and terminated service on Hawaiian Home lands.
That left at least 100 homesteads and businesses across the state on the wrong side of the digital divide, particularly on Molokai. Tengan said the federal grant “helps us increase competition, so we are able to avoid a situation like Sandwich Isles again.”
Sandwich Isles had an agreement with DHHL to provide service to homesteaders, including those who were unable to hook up to any other telecommunications companies because their lots are in isolated areas.
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who is leading the Green administration’s high-speed internet initiative known as Connect Kākou, said “connectivity and reliable internet is not just something that is nice to have, but it’s a necessity.”
Connectivity is needed to work from home and for online learning, and “in rural communities even health care access depends on reliable internet,” she said.
The latest NTIA funding is part of a surge in federal broadband funding already committed to Hawaii for a variety of projects. The money is being provided under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which included $65 billion for broadband initiatives across the country.
The other funding earmarked for Hawaii include $115 million in U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Funding, some of which is being used to partially fund installation of new fiber lines between the islands.
The state picked Georgia-based Ocean Networks Inc. to develop that project, which is also a public-private partnership that seeks to create a new player in the Hawaii telecom market. The state plans to retain partial ownership of the new Ocean Networks system.
That system is supposed to be completed by 2026, and will be called the Hawaiian Islands Fiber Link. The undersea segment of the project is expected to total more than 408 miles.
Another $149 million is also in the works in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funding from NTIA to upgrade service across the state. The first priority for that money is to deliver service to an estimated 12,700 homes that lack adequate broadband service today.
The state is expected to distribute much of that BEAD funding to existing internet providers such as Charter Communications or Hawaiian Telcom, which will then install fiber optic cabling to properties that now have substandard service.
Hawaiian Telcom was also awarded a separate, competitive $37 million federal broadband grant from NTIA last year. The utility plans to use that money and another $50 million in private funding and in-kind contributions to lay both undersea and land-based fiber.
Those new fiber lines will provide redundancy to make the islands’ networks more reliable, and will also reach into areas currently without service.
Civil Beat’s coverage of Native Hawaiian issues and initiatives is supported by a grant from the Abigail Kawananakoa Foundation.
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Hawaii
Southwest Hawaii fare sale today: How to save 40% from Phoenix
Southwest to launch overnight flights
Southwest Airlines overnight flights are coming soon.
Fox – LA
Travelers thinking about visiting Hawaii can get good deals right now if they can travel in the first half of 2025.
Southwest Airlines is running a 40% off fare sale for select flights to Hawaii from Dec. 3 to May 22, 2025.
The sale prices are available on nonstop itineraries and flights with layovers, and include flights to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (Southwest will soon add red-eye flights from Phoenix to Hawaii.)
But you’ll have to act fast to get the best deals. The offer expires at 10:59 p.m. Arizona time on Thursday, Nov. 14.
Here’s how to shop Southwest Airlines’ 40% off Hawaii sale.
Does Southwest fly to the island of Hawaii?
Yes. Southwest offers flights to Hawaii via five airports:
- Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Oahu.
- Kahului Airport in Maui.
- Lihue Airport in Kauai.
- Hilo International Airport on the island of Hawaii.
- Kona International Airport on the island of Hawaii.
Southwest offers nonstop service to Honolulu and Maui from Phoenix.
How much can you save on flights to Hawaii?
Southwest is advertising up to 40% off base fares. Sale fares aren’t available for all flights and availability is limited; travelers can save the most if they’re flexible with their travel dates.
The Arizona Republic found a Dec. 8 nonstop flight from Phoenix to Honolulu for $204 one way, a $117 discount from the original fare of $321.
We also found a Dec. 11 nonstop from Phoenix to Maui for $198, a $113 discount from the original fare of $311.
What is the Southwest promo code for 40% off?
To get up to 40% off fares to Hawaii, enter the code “HAWAII40” when booking at southwest.com.
What are the blackout dates for Southwest Airlines’ Hawaii sale?
Blackout dates for flights from the continental U.S. to Hawaii are Dec. 18-28, 2024, Feb. 13-16, and March 17-April 19, 2025.
Blackout dates from Hawaii to the continental U.S. are Dec. 28, 2024-Jan. 6, 2025, Feb. 21-23 and March 14-April 27, 2025.
Details: southwest.com.
Michael Salerno is an award-winning journalist who’s covered travel and tourism since 2014. His work as The Arizona Republic’s consumer travel reporter aims to help readers navigate the stresses of traveling and get the best value for their money on their vacations. He can be reached at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @salerno_phx.
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