From KPUA and the AP:

PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) — A Pahoa man convicted of killing another man in a dispute over cheap beer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

A jury convicted Robert Grant of manslaughter in December in the death of 47-year-old Daniel Martina.

Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara sentenced Grant on Monday, citing the 37-year-old’s lengthy history of intoxication and violence.

Grant has said Martina tried to punch him after Grant gave several others a Natural Ice beer, but didn’t make the same offer to Martina in a parking lot in November 2008. Grant testified that he kicked Martina in an attempt to get away from him.

A witness said the impact of Martina’s head striking the asphalt sounded like a coconut hitting a rock.

Martina died six days later of a brain injury caused by a fractured skull.

Which parking lot did this happen in? Cash and Carry?

Douglas is a member of the THC Ministry in Hilo, and is using his religion as a defense against the charges.

He is representing himself at his hearing today.

Source: Boston Herald

Results of studies in Ten Eyck’s laboratories have made a connection between the noises coquis make at night to territorial, or aggressive behavior. By using a drug called an agonist, scientists were able to cease calling and aggressive behavior altogether in coqui males.

“We have also found that a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, such as Prozac, has profound effects on the development of male social and aggressive behavior,” said Ten Eyck. “Frogs that are given this drug in our laboratory study typically do not develop calling or aggressive behaviors.”

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Photo: SCOTT GROSSKREUTZ. Hilo radiologist Scott Grosskreutz holds a 7-pound mango from one of his trees. He is standing next to the Keitt mango tree in his back yard.

Hilo Radiologist, Scott Grosskreutz, grew a 7 pound mango in his backyard, just shy of the record.

Grosskreutz said if he had harvested the fruit two months ago, it would have been a world record. But a 7-pound, 7-ounce mango was reported Aug. 27 on Mindanao island in the Philippines.

Grosskreutz said he has two trees side by side in his back yard at the 250-foot elevation in Honomu. One has Keitt fruit, a Florida variety described on the Internet as “one of the world’s most outstanding mangoes.”

The backyard farmer, a radiologist, said his Keitt tree has been very productive for many years, “but this time around, a storm kind of blew off some blossoms so only one side produced heavy this year.”

He took 250 pounds off the tree Thursday, he said. Most range from 1 to 4 pounds, with a few from 5 to 7 pounds, he said.

He said he weighed his prize mango — “bigger than your head” — at Hill’s home and garden center in Hilo.

He also weighed the mango Wednesday on the calibrated scale at the U.S. post office and confirmed it was 7 pounds.

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Who can name the band?

A Kailua neighborhood board meeting with the issue on the agenda will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Kalama Park.

A Target spokesman said a final site has not yet been decided, but the store plans to choose a site within the next two years.

There are currently three Target stores statewide with one under construction in Hilo.

Source: KITV

Photo by Debbie Weisgerber

The Saddle Road improvements between 34 and 42 mile markers is now open for traffic. Hopefully keeping traffic moving faster and safer. Saddle Road was named one of the scariest drives in America.

Deputy State Transportation Director Jiro Sumada said what makes the road important is the people who use it.

“The main this is the people who use our roadways. “Keeping that link so that instead of spending two and a half hours driving from Hilo to Kona, they can spend time with their families or getting work done,” Sumada said. “That’s the important part.”

To date, 23 miles or about half of Route 200 have been graded, widened and straightened. Work on the next segment between the 11 and 19 mile markers is expected to begin shortly and be completed in the fall of 2011.

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The NYTimes has an article in the Dining & Wine section about the rise in commercial teas in Kona and on the Big Island – boosted in part with the help of the Department of Agriculture.

Hawaii is known for its Kona coffee. Now there is also tea. It’s not so new, having been introduced on the Big Island in 1887, but only in the last 10 years or so, with encouragement from the federal Department of Agriculture, have serious commercial growers cultivated high-quality teas.

SAY ALOHA Eva Lee and her husband, Chiu Leong, are now sending two teas from their company, Tea Hawaii, to Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, where the teas are sold and will be added to its Web site on Aug. 7. The black tea has a winy richness, and the oolong is layered with subtle earthiness. Neither is bitter. Another company, Mauna Kea Tea, offers oolong and green teas shipped directly from Hawaii, as does Hilo Coffee Mill, which also has an oolong.

Its nice to see other agricultural products from the Big Island get some recognition!

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Bizjournals has an article posted about Young Brothers, the largest inter-island barge company, increasing their rates for shipping.   Obviously, the costs will be passed onto the consumer, leading to more expensive goods and services that rely on materials transported by barge.

Young Brothers, Hawaii’s largest barge company, will increase its rates for interisland cargo services starting Aug. 1.

The overall increase amounts to an average 13.46 percent hike for its different service rates.

It breaks down to a 9.66 percent increase for container cargo, a 9.22 percent increase for automobiles, and a 21.26 percent increase for what the company refers to as less-than-container-load cargo.

The increase was approved Tuesday by the state Public Utilities Commission, which reduced Young Brothers’ original request in December for an average rate increase of 17.9 percent.

The company said the higher rates will be used to cover the costs of maintaining its vessels, buying cargo equipment, and keeping a regular sailing schedule despite lower volumes.

Young Brothers said it saw a 9.6 percent decrease in interisland cargo volumes in 2008 and projects an additional 11 percent decline this year.

The company, which has 12 weekly sailings, provides cargo service throughout the state with ports in Honolulu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Hilo and Kawaihae on the Big Island, and Nawiliwili on Kauai.

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