The Hawaiʻi Ledger Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026

Hawaiʻi Island · district

South Hilo

What this area is
One of Hawaiʻi Island's districts, as the state's development plan area layer draws it (labeled “SOUTH HILO”). The layer was digitized from paper maps, so its lines are approximate.
Council districts
District 1 (Heather L. Kimball); District 2 (Jennifer Kagiwada); District 3 (Dennis Onishi). 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
96710, 96720, 96728, 96781, 96783

What's happening here

The Windward Planning Commission meets Oct. 1 on a permit for a new two-story, 30-room hotel on Puʻueo Street and on changes to the zoning conditions for KBXtreme Hilo. [source]

The County Council has before it a change of zone at 283 West Puainako Street in Waiākea that would let the owner split one lot into two; the commission recommended it. [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

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.

Connections PCS Elementary-Middle-High · charter · grades K-12
174 Kamehameha Avenue, Hilo · 808.961.3664 · school website · Hilo complex

DeSilva Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
278 Ainako Avenue, Hilo · 808.974.4855 · school website · Hilo complex

Haaheo Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
121 Haaheo Road, Hilo · 808.974.4111 · school website · Hilo complex

Hilo High High · grades 9-12
556 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo · 808.313-5500 · school website · Hilo complex

Hilo Intermediate Middle · grades 7-8
587 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo · 808.974.4955 · school website · Hilo complex

Hilo Union Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
506 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo · 808.933.0900 · school website · Hilo complex

Ka Umeke Kaeo PCS Elementary-Middle · charter · grades PreK-8
222 Desha Avenue, Hilo · 808.933.3482 · school website · Waiakea complex

Kalanianaole Elementary and Intermediate Elementary-Middle · grades K-8
27-330 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Papaikou · 808.964.9700 · school website · Hilo complex

Kapiolani Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
966 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo · 808.974.4160 · school website · Hilo complex

Kaumana Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
1710 Kaumana Drive, Hilo · 808.974.4190 · school website · Hilo complex

Ke Ana Laahana PCS Intermediate · charter · grades 7-12
162 Baker Avenue, Hilo · 808.961.6228 · school website · Waiakea complex

Keaukaha Elementary Elementary · grades K-6
240 Desha Avenue, Hilo · 808.974.4181 · school website · Hilo complex

Waiakea Elementary Elementary · grades K-5
180 West Puainako Street, Hilo · 808.981.7215 · school website · Waiakea complex

Waiakea High High · grades 9-12
155 W. Kawili Street, Hilo · 808.974.4888 · school website · Waiakea complex

Waiakea Intermediate Middle · grades 6-8
200 West Puainako Street, Hilo · 808.981.7231 · school website · Waiakea complex

Waiakeawaena Elementary Elementary · grades K-5
2420 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo · 808.981.7200 · school website · Waiakea 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 South Hilo (HIZ027, 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 South Hilo (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
Federal consistency review
Shoreline certification: proposed or rejected · HA-653

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

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
96728376 ±100166 ±40$67,500 ±$28,572129 of 16651.3
967812,073 ±343734 ±124$96,400 ±$45,687603 of 73448.8
9672052,979 ±2,23618,520 ±671$80,938 ±$6,64612,320 of 18,52042.8
967832,251 ±526600 ±122$77,391 ±$29,005379 of 60033.8
96710162 ±12880 ±56n/a75 of 8054.3
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.

South Hilo, once a week

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