After hearing public concerns over slow emergency response times, the county Fire Commission on Tuesday launched a discussion on public versus private medical response services.
The seven-member appointed body also considered the potential advantage of the county’s having its own helicopter for emergencies rather than contracting mostly with island tour companies.
The Kaua‘i Fire Department provides first-responder [...]

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An NTSB report singles out a tight connecting piece that led to the 2007 death on Kauai
A mechanical defect caused the fatal March 11, 2007, Inter-Island Helicopters crash near Tunnels Beach on the north shore, a National Transportation Safety Board report concluded.
The report, released Wednesday on the NTSB Web site, said the failure of a [...]

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Air tourism industry newbies blamed for problems
A group of residents recently banded together to call for a boycott of the air tourism industry until the companies respect “fly neighborly agreements.”
Multi-party talks this spring failed to resolve the decades-old issue, forcing the need to take stronger action, coalition members said.
“There is no reason why air tourism [...]

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A hunter who was reported missing on July 19, has been found alive Monday morning.
Rescue crews found 21-year-old Cody Kimura, after he apparently fired two shots in the air.
Search and rescue had flown over him several times over the weekend but did not spot him.  Conditions in the area were overcast which hampered efforts.
Kimura says he fired his gun but the [...]

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A search for a 21-year-old hunter in Koke‘e began at first light yesterday morning and was expected to continue until dusk or as long as safe weather conditions permitted, a county news release states.
Cody Kimura of Lihu‘e was reported missing at around 11:20 p.m., Saturday, after efforts to find him by his hunting party were [...]

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Multiple helicopter sightings around Kaua‘i on Thursday were described by Kaua‘i Police Department and Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources officials as part of a green harvest operation designed to eradicate marijuana plants.
DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward said yesterday that the operation, which was undertaken earlier in the week, was not continued yesterday and therefore [...]

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