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Check it out! INAGURAL ISSUE d Big Islan WHEN YOU’RE READY TO MOVE, CALL McCOURT! Big Island Real Property Solutions for Kona Buyers and SellersSM PAGE 1D APRIL 3, 2015 FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢ New principal for Waimea Middle School The roof of the former Keauhou Beach Hotel, where an old cell phone tower was located, is seen on Tuesday. PHOTOS BY LAURA SHIMABUKU/WEST HAWAII TODAY A temporary cell tower is erected directly across the street from the former Keauhou Beach Hotel. Country Club Villas and nearby developments, Collins has a one-bar signal when he’s lucky, can’t make calls indoors, misses and drops calls. Before the loss of the tower, it was common to have three or four bars. “Cell service is so taken for granted, a lot of people have gotten rid of their landlines,” Collins said. “It’s an annoyance to me, but it could be life-threatening to others. The thing of it is, you have older people here and it’s a lifeline for them.” By contrast, AT&T seems to function adequately in the area, several residents said. “Major change in service the last few weeks,” said Country Club Villas resident Cliff Ahrens. “You can even be in BY BRET YAGER [email protected] When Steve Collins was on his cell phone Tuesday talking to a reporter about cell coverage in Keauhou, the call was dropped twice. That’s just how it’s been for Verizon customers in makai areas of Keauhou over the past few weeks, following the decommissioning of a tower on the Keauhou Beach Hotel. Kamehameha Schools officials are planning on demolishing the building, and Verizon has placed a mobile tower across the street. But that weaker, temporary signal has only left surrounding residents frustrated. Like other residents of the the parking lot and miss calls.” Ahrens suggested the placement of the temporary tower-on-wheels may be wrong, that it should be higher mauka. The former tower was on the roof of the hotel, but Kamehameha Schools officials plan a $11.5 million demolition from the top down to make way for a visitor center and education facility on the property, which contains significant cultural and historical sites and artifacts. At Keauhou Punahele, resident Steve Zulawinski recently noticed he couldn’t get data inside his condo. Poolside, his voicemail notification will kick in but the phone doesn’t ring. “I’ve been tempted to call Verizon and see what’s going on,” he said. highest in Hawaii County at 29 percent, followed by Maui with 25 percent and Kauai with 19 percent. Growth will be lowest in Honolulu County, which has a projected growth rate of 8 percent by 2025. The study found SEE HOUSING PAGE 4A SEE PRINCIPAL PAGE 4A Collins said the cellular giant has known for years that the hotel site would become unavailable and should have planned better. But Heidi Flato, a Verizon spokeswoman, said the company has been working to relocate the cell site for some time. “Unfortunately, network coverage and capacity enabled by our cell on wheels are limited due to the location and antenna height,” said Flato from California in an email. “We apologize for the inconvenience our customers may experience. We continue to monitor the performance of our COW and are working to improve service until we secure a location for the new cell site.” TMT protesters More housing needed as growth accelerates arrested BY TOM CALLIS HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD Shouts of “ku kiai mauna” — the guardians of the mountain — reverberated off ancient cinder cones and dome-shaped telescopes Thursday at Mauna Kea’s summit as police led 12 arrested protesters away from the Thirty Meter Telescope construction site. They were among about 30 arrested on the mountain by Hawaii County Police and state Department of Land and Natural Resources officers as opponents of the $1.4 billion project staged another dramatic protest on a mountain they say is sacred ground. Between 75 and 100 protesters, who referred to INDEX themselves as protectors, participated in the second roadblock this week on the Mauna Kea Access Road. The roadblock was intended to prevent construction workers from reaching the site at 13,150 feet above sea level. The TMT opponents, who arrived outside the Mauna Kea visitor center at the 9,000-foot level before sunrise, held the workers back for the first few hours as they staged multiple roadblocks up the steep, winding summit road. The crews eventually reached the construction area and began their work at about noon, but not before the protesters held another stand at the site, WEST HAWAII TODAY [email protected] SEE PROTEST PAGE 5A Annie’s Mailbox . . . . . . .5B HI BY NANCY COOK LAUER Hawaii County will need 19,610 new housing units over the next 10 years, as it leads the state in the rate of household growth over the decade. That’s according to a study released Thursday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The study predicted a demand on Oahu of 25,847 units, for Maui of 13,949 units and for Kauai of 5,287 units between now and 2025. Housing demand is calculated based on the number of new 86 LO 73 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1D A new home is under construction in Kona on Thursday. LAURA SHIMABUKU/WEST HAWAII TODAY households formed as families get older, coupled with the number of vacant housing units in the state and the rate of change – how many additional housing units will be needed to support a healthy market turnover. Household growth is forecast to be the Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6B [email protected] A vice principal with a penchant for outrigger canoe paddling has taken the steersman position at Waimea Middle School. Amy Kendziorski spent two years as vice principal at Waimea, and before that was a teacher at Waianae High School, where her love of paddling began. Now a regular at the Kawaihae Canoe Club, the 25-year veteran of the public school system took over the top post at the public conversion charter school during spring break. She plans to bring the paddler’s ethic of teamwork to the job of overseeing 300 students. Kendziorski said on Thursday she will work to keep Waimea on course with the accreditation the school last Kendziorski received year, boost student achievement, build the school’s financial resources and further parent and community relationships during her appointment as interim principal to last through the next school year. Former Principal Matt Horne left the helm with plans to move with his family off island. He had been at the post for three years. Kendziorski has a master’s degree in educational leadership from San Diego State University. During 13 years in Colorado’s Durango School District, she was in charge of special and alternative education, health, safety and discipline for a 4,500-student district with 11 schools and a juvenile detention school. The interim principal said she is committed to bringing all students equal opportunity to achieve instead of segregating them into different environments based on language or ability. She spent five years as principal at Durango’s Escalante Middle School, where she spearheaded federally mandated “inclusion” practices designed to ensure that all students were learning in equal, integrated environments. “All children deserve high quality education,” she said. “We Can you hear me now? Not really WEST HAWAII TODAY BY BRET YAGER WEST HAWAII TODAY Nation & World . . . . . . . . .3A Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B VOL. 47, NO. 93 42 PAGES WEATHER, PAGE 11A INTRODUCING the KONA PRO PACK CRUISE KONA IN A BRAND NEW ALL FOR AS LOW AS $279/month WITH NO MONEY DOWN* • • • • ALL WEATHER FLOOR MATS FRONT & REAR MUD GUARDS RAIN GUARDS • SPARE TIRE KIT TINTED WINDOWS AlohaKIAKONA.com STOP IN TO SAY HELLO TO SIR COOPER, OFFICIAL DOOR GREETER 808-217-8574 75-5645 Kuakini Hwy. | Corner of Palani & Kuakini across from Kona Seaside Hotel *PAYMENTS ARE BASED ON A SELLING PRICE OF $16,999.00 PLUS A $1,495 PRO PACK ADDED TO EVERY NEW SOUL. 72 MONTHS NO MONEY DOWN BASED ON 1.99% OAC. EXCLUSIVE TO STOCK NUMBER 753025 PICTURES ARE EXAMPLES ONLY
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