The Hawaii Police Department confirmed that two dead bodies were found deep within a large banyan tree that toppled over in Hilo. Officers discovered the remains belonged to two women. Hawaii Fire Department personnel faced dangerous debris that prevented the removal of the bodies. An investigation revealed no suspicion of foul play, with the identities of the women still pending and autopsies being conducted to determine the cause of death.
William Aila, the former chair of Hawaii's land and natural resources department who now runs the island state's housing department, told The Guardian that in Native Hawaiian spirituality, Mokumanamana sits at the boundary between 'pō,' the darkness, and 'au,' the light. When a Native Hawaiian dies, their soul travels up near Mokumanamana, and after meeting their ancestors there, they potentially get to advance into the great beyond with them in the dark waters west of the island.
"Hawaii Island is really the epicenter of the disease for the entire country," Kay Howe told SFGATE. In late 2008, her son contracted the disease while living in the Puna District of Hawaii Island at the age of 23. He went into a coma and was in the hospital for months; it changed his life forever.
The location plays a starring role in the couple's everlasting connection. They met serendipitously in Honolulu in 1986, at Halekulani Hotel, and have been together ever since. Hawaii was a continuous thread from both their sets of parents that braided into their own family's traditions.
The residence, nestled in Haiku, sits quietly among the greenery, its minimalist lines and sculptural roof taking cues from the landscape rather than imposing upon it.
HACA's Cottage Industry to Commercial Enterprise Scholarship and the Ê»Äina to MÄkeke program was the giant kickstart I needed to make my dreams a reality.