The Hawaiʻi Ledger Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026

Hawaiʻi Island · district

Puna

What this area is
One of Hawaiʻi Island's districts, as the state's development plan area layer draws it (labeled “PUNA”). The layer was digitized from paper maps, so its lines are approximate.
Council districts
District 3 (Dennis Onishi); District 4 (Ashley Lehualani Kierkiewicz); District 5 (Matt Kanealii-Kleinfelder); District 6 (Michelle Galimba). Districts covering at least 3% of this area's land in the state's council district layer; members as the Office of Elections lists them.
Planning commission
The Windward Planning Commission. Source: the county's Planning Commissions page. Its agendas are read from the county's legal notices.
The council
The state's GIS layer draws nine Hawaiʻi County Council districts.
On the ballot
Councilmember, 9 seats, Tuesday, November 3, 2026. What the ballot decides.
ZIP codes it overlaps
96749, 96760, 96771, 96778, 96785

What's happening here

Three bed-and-breakfast permits in Puna are on the Windward Planning Commission's Oct. 1 agenda, and more applications are in line on the Planning Department's lists. [source]

Hilo Benioff Medical Center has applied for a use permit to build a medical clinic of about 40,000 square feet on W.H. Shipman land, with a separate permit for its access driveway; the Windward Planning Commission took both up on Sept. 3. [source]

The Ledger's brief, written Sept. 19, 2026 from the records linked. Briefs are written by the Ledger in a session from the records linked in each sentence, and dated. They say what is on the record, in plain words; they do not predict outcomes or take sides. The full list for each area follows below the brief.

Coming up: 3 items on agendas and notices ahead.

Windward Planning Commission
Windward Planning Commission
Windward Planning Commission
County of Hawaiʻi Planning Department, applications accepted
County of Hawaiʻi Planning Department, applications accepted
County of Hawaiʻi Planning Department, applications accepted
Windward Planning Commission
Windward Planning Commission
Windward Planning Commission
County of Hawaiʻi Planning Department, applications accepted

Followed here: Vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts

See what is on the record near a particular address · New on the record across Hawaiʻi

Every record the Ledger reads that places an item in this district by its tax map key or map point, newest and upcoming first, from all sources at once: county agendas and notices, state boards and the Environmental Notice. The sections below break it down by source.

Hawai`i Academy of Arts and Science PCS Elementary-Middle-High · charter · grades K-12
15-1397 Homestead Road, Pahoa · 808.965.3730 · school website · Pahoa complex

Ke Kula 'o Nawahiokalani'opu'u Iki Laboratory PCS Elementary-Middle · charter · grades PreK-8
16-120 Opukahaia Street Suite 2, Keaau · 808.982.4260 · school website · Keaau complex

Keaau Elementary Elementary · grades K-5
16-680 Keaau-Pahoa Road, Keaau · 808.982.4210 · school website · Keaau complex

Keaau High High · grades 9-12
16-725 Keaau-Pahoa Road, Keaau · 808.313.3300 · school website · Keaau complex

Keaau Middle Middle · grades 6-8
16-565 Keaau-Pahoa Road, Keaau · 808.982.4200 · school website · Keaau complex

Keonepoko Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
15-890 Kahakai Boulevard, Pahoa · 808.965.2131 · school website · Pahoa complex

Kua O Ka La NCPCS Elementary-Middle-High · charter · grades K-12
14-5322 Kaimu/Kapoho Road - Hwy. 137 Mile Marker 10, Pahoa · 808.965.5098 · school website · Pahoa complex

Mountain View Elementary Elementary · grades K-5
18-1235 Volcano Highway, Mountain View · 808.313.3200 · school website · Keaau complex

Na Wai Ola PCS Elementary · charter · grades PreK-6
18-1355 Volcano Highway P.O. Box 711539, Mountain View · 808.968.2318 · school website · Keaau complex

Pahoa Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
15-3030 Pahoa Village Road, Pahoa · 808.965.2141 · school website · Pahoa complex

Pahoa High and Intermediate Intermediate-High · grades 7-12
15-3038 Puna Road, Pahoa · 808.965.2150 · school website · Pahoa complex

Public schools whose grounds fall in this district, from the State of Hawaiʻi GIS public schools layer, read Sept. 20, 2026: the department's own names, grades, complexes and contact details. Charter schools are marked. Private schools are not listed. Which school serves a particular address is a separate question, answered by the department's attendance areas: look up an address.

Weather and ocean alerts

NWS Honolulu

Checking the National Weather Service for alerts in effect…

Ocean water advisories on Hawaiʻi Island

Checking the Department of Health…

Read live when this page opens: the National Weather Service's alerts for the forecast zones covering Puna (HIZ052, HIZ053), and the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch's open advisories (brown water, sewage spills, high bacteria) for the island, which the department names by beach or coastline rather than by area. Nothing here is stored or rewritten; each agency's own wording and dates are shown.

State highway lane closures

HDOT roadwork

Checking the Department of Transportation's closure schedule…

Read live from the state Department of Transportation's lane closure map layer when this page opens: approved closures on state highways in and near Puna (within the area's bounding box, so a closure just outside may appear), from now through the next seven days, in the department's words. County streets are not included. Schedules can change without notice and all work is weather permitting, the department says.

In the Environmental Notice

Every item

From the State of Hawaiʻi's Environmental Notice (7 issues read), in its words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this district.

Before state boards

All state boards

No state board item read so far prints a tax map key in this district.

From state board agendas the Ledger has read (4 so far), in the agencies' words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this district.

Before the planning commissions and the Planning Department

All of Hawaiʻi Island

From the county's legal notices as published in the local paper, in its words. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this district.

On county agendas

Hawaiʻi Island

No county agenda item read so far prints a tax map key in this district.

From the County of Hawaiʻi's agendas the Ledger has read (2 so far), in the county's words; the full list of meetings is on the Hawaiʻi Island page. An item appears here only when it prints a tax map key that falls in this district.

Who lives here, by ZIP code

ZIP codePeopleHouseholdsMedian household incomeOwner-occupied homesMedian age
967604,261 ±1,1821,383 ±256$103,286 ±$18,2451,137 of 1,38337.6
967717,793 ±1,2192,917 ±361$62,426 ±$10,0432,394 of 2,91739.4
9677815,262 ±1,4116,303 ±456$39,750 ±$9,6715,031 of 6,30347.5
9674919,132 ±1,7786,992 ±570$85,399 ±$16,7855,279 of 6,99244.9
967854,433 ±6172,105 ±251$68,463 ±$7,7171,757 of 2,10556.4
All of Hawaii County, HI205,76974,072$78,63954,795 of 74,07244.3

U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, read through the Census Reporter API. Survey estimates; ± is the 90% margin of error. ZIP code areas do not follow these boundaries, so each row describes the ZIP, not this area.

Puna, once a week

A free weekly digest for this area: agendas that touch it and what the County Council takes up.

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