Stories by Bill Buley

Mayoral debate tonight

A debate between Kauai mayor candidates Mel Rapozo and Derek Kawakami is scheduled at 6 tonight at Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.

Trail of most resistance

Sally Rizzo will be going for her third straight win in the women’s division of the Ultimate Hawaiian Trail Run on Saturday.

‘We need to be a voice’

Trachelle Iwamoto did not walk alone in Saturday’s third annual Working Together to Prevent Suicide Prevention and awareness walk. She carried a picture of her good friend Dylan, who took his own life in June. He was 13 years old.

Trump urges Justice Department probe of ‘resistance’ writer

President Donald Trump declared Friday the U.S. Justice Department should work to identify the writer of a bitingly critical New York Times opinion piece, purportedly submitted by a member of an administration “resistance” movement straining to thwart his most dangerous impulses.

In search of a rebirth

Four months after the April flood that put the North Shore off-limits to visitors and most others, there was talk of a rejuvenation of marine life. More coral and more fish, thanks to there being almost no people in the water.

Suicide prevention and awareness walk is Saturday

Last year on Kauai, 24 people took their life. On the average, there are an estimated 25 attempts for every person who died by suicide according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. That equates to 600 attempts lastyear on Kauai.

Strong start and finish, too

For Will Stedman, Sunday’s Kauai Marathon “was perfect.” The Kilauea man ran his second-fastest marathon in four hours, three minutes and one second. He was never passed after the eight-mile mark, clocked his fastest miles late in the race and, coming down the stretch, was joined by his 10-year-old daughter for a strong finish.

A ‘crazy’ good life

JT Service shouted this question over and over to nearly 200 keiki on Saturday: “I need to know one thing. Are you ready to run?” And the answer, each time, was the same. “Yeahhhhh!”

On the road to recovery

Brandon Wong is a fighter. Always has been. A fighter in life and in the cage. It was that fighting spirit that brought him back from injuries suffered in a serious car accident earlier this year to be ready for today’s Kauai Marathon and Half Marathon.

Joel Punzal runs and pays for his entire staff to participate in the Kauai half marathon

The question was: “Half or full?” When Dr. Joel Punzal asked this of his staff, the usual answer was “full” — until they learned the query was in reference to the Kauai Marathon and Half Marathon. Which distance did they want to be signed up for, 26.2 miles or 13.1? “Everyone changed their answer to the half,” said the owner of Punzal Vision in Lihue and an avid runner, who smiled as he recounted how he recruited and paid the entry fees for everyone in the office to run in this 10th annual event on Sunday.

Congratulations to Jeff Sacchini and his dedicated crew

Go with us on a little trip back in time. A man named Jeff Sacchini was out running from his home toward Mahaulepu. It was then, in 2007, as he admired the view on a glorious, sunrise morning, one he would never forget, he had a thought. We’ll let him tell it:

Rare is found ‘A Perfect Love and A Blessed Life’

When I moved to Kauai five and a half years ago, one of the first people to reach out, say hello and welcome me, was Joe Frisinger. He and his wife, Jane, invited me and my wife Marianne out to their home for lunch and to meet their neighbors. We were fortunate enough to spend more time with Joe and Jane at their beautiful Princeville home.