When she arrived in Hilo, Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd was front-page news as Hilo’s first adoptee from Japan.

Kaycee Nathaniel’s family is the second family to run the famed Kawamoto Store in Hilo.

After he grew up in foster care, Joe O’Connell felt compelled to become a foster parent himself.

Her parents, activists, the public and the media kept the pressure on authorities to solve the Big Island’s high-profile murder case.

UPDATED: Most Hawaii County Council races are being decided in the primary, with incumbents leading the way.

Hilo Judge Peter Kubota questioned why police need to protect records pertaining to a suspect who is now dead.

Attorneys for two brothers wrongly convicted in the case say Big Island police mishandled the recent investigation into the new suspect.

Dropping out of the federal program has not hampered efforts to protect the islands’ marine species, including monk seals, state and federal agents say.

A draft environmental impact statement remains open for public comment through Aug. 7.

Mayor Mitch Roth lost the endorsements of the state’s biggest public worker union but has maintained support from several others.