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A 29-year-old Pahoa man was arrested Wednesday after a homeowner allegedly caught him as he emerged from a Leilani Estates home that had been evacuated because of the eruption.
Police said the 66-year-old homeowner returned to his Moku Street home Wednesday with an acquaintance to retrieve some belongings, and encountered a man leaving with some keys that had been taken from the property.
The homeowner and his acquaintance took the intruder to a police checkpoint at the Highway 130 intersection with Leilani Street, where the 29-year-old was arrested without incident.
The man is being held in the police cellblock in Hilo pending further investigation, and police said they have also linked the 29-year-old to another burglary in the same subdivision.
The case has been classified as a burglary of a dwelling during an emergency, which is a class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Agency starts vog website
State health officials have created a vog information website to keep residents informed on the toxic sulfur dioxide levels from the volcanic eruption on Hawaii island.
The state Department of Health said in a news release Wednesday that vog and sulfur dioxide were not threatening public health beyond the evacuation zone. But it encouraged people to remain vigilant and monitor the Hawaii Interagency Vog Information Dashboard at ivhhn.org/vog for up-to-date information online.
The Vog Information Dashboard gives information on the health effects of vog, how to protect yourself, vog and wind forecasts as well as air quality.
A community forum for questions and discussion, called Vog Talk, is also available on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/VogTalk/about.
Comedian asks fans to help
Stand-up comedian Jo Koy posted a pitch for fans to make donations to help island residents suffering from both last month’s damaging floods on Kauai and the current Kilauea volcano eruption on the Hawaii island via his Instagram account on Tuesday.
Koy, who sold out 11 shows at the Blaisdell Concert Hall last year, said he was sad about what’s happening in the state.
“The beautiful people of Hawaii — they need our help right now,” Koy said in his post. “The families have been evacuated from their homes because of the lava, the flooding. Please, you guys, donate whatever you can. It doesn’t matter, as long as you just help these people, you’re doing good.”
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