KAILUA-KONA — Opening a business anywhere can be a struggle, but opening one in Hawaii — regularly ranked among the worst states in the U.S. in which to start a business — comes with its own set of challenges.

KAILUA-KONA — Construction of the first phase of the Kukuiola emergency shelter project could start as early as this fall, according to a draft environmental assessment released Thursday.

KAILUA-KONA — To those who knew her as a colleague or as a friend, Joy Mills-Ferren — “Aunty Joy” to many — was a woman whose talents, especially as a lifeguard, were “unsurpassed.”

KAILUA-KONA — The Office of Environmental Quality Control has received a draft analysis for the county’s planned emergency shelter and an affordable rental project in Kailua-Kona.

KAILUA-KONA — A larger Safeway being built as part of the Niumalu Marketplace is on track to open up in summer 2020, the project’s developers said Wednesday.

WAIKOLOA VILLAGE — With vertical construction at Waikoloa Plaza planned to get underway soon, developers anticipate the new shopping center will be able to offer the community shopping and dining by fall of next year.

KAILUA-KONA — More visitors came to Hawaii Island last month than in June 2018, although the island’s year-to-date numbers have yet to catch up.

KAILUA-KONA — The Leeward Planning Commission next month will consider two applications related to a proposed 50-unit residential community across from Pahoehoe Beach Park in Kailua-Kona with 26 of its units intended to be affordable housing.

KAILUA-KONA — Six weeks after Kaiser Permanente filed suit against The Queen’s Health Systems after the latter informed the former it would begin billing Kaiser members for the balance of emergency services it provides, Queen’s has yet to file a response in court.

KAILUA-KONA — With the closures of three West Hawaii transfer stations Tuesday that sent residents to Waimea and Kailua-Kona to dispose of their rubbish because of staff shortages, local officials say they’d like to see some solutions.

MAUNAKEA — Before dawn on Monday, two lines stood on either side of Daniel K. Inouye Highway near the bottom of the Maunakea Access Road.

KAILUA-KONA — The Department of Land and Natural Resources said Thursday that the State Historic Preservation Division has yet to receive word from the federal government that would allow it to move forward with its review for the proposed Saddle Road extension project.

KAILUA-KONA — The developer behind a proposal for a five-story condominium near the Banyans surf spot has agreed to take that plan off the table.

KAILUA-KONA — The MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program announced Tuesday that it is now accepting applications from those interested in joining the 2020 entering cohort at its new Hawaii campus in West Hawaii.

KAILUA-KONA — The county is moving forward with plans for a popular Kona beach park, but there’s still a long road ahead.