Inquest ordered after body found in Hilo

Police have opened a coroner’s inquest in the death of a woman whose body was found in Hilo on Saturday.

Hilo patrol officers responded to an 11:42 p.m. call Saturday and learned a fisherman had found the body along the shoreline in Wai­naku off Hawaii Belt Road, police said.

The body is that of a female Caucasian.

Detectives have not ruled out foul play.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday will try to help identify the victim.

Kauai welcomes passage of lifeguard bill

LIHUE » Kauai officials are celebrating the passage of a state measure that pushes back the sunset clause on a law allowing county lifeguards to operate on state beaches.

The Garden Island newspaper reports the state House last week passed a measure extending by three years the legal immunity given to county lifeguards working on state beaches.

The bill has been sent to the governor.

Eight people drowned at Kee Beach, a state park on Kauai’s North Shore, between 1970 and 2008.

But no one has drowned there since lifeguards began looking out for people at the beach in 2008.

Kauai Fire Chief Robert Westerman said the county and Kauai’s ocean safety bureau are pleased with the outcome.

He said the measure helps lifeguards keep residents and visitors safe.