From The Garden Island:

A mostly residential North Shore town is at a loss on how to handle a lack of public restrooms, and the problem is escalating as more visitors are attracted to a growing commerce in the area.

Some Kilauea businesses are saying customers don’t want to walk or drive to Kilauea Park to use the town’s only public restrooms, and with hundreds of daily customers, a few have become upset over the lack of a neat and near place to relieve themselves.

“It has gotten to be definitely unpleasant,” said Patricia Ewing, owner of Kong Lung Historic Market Center and Kong Lung Trading store.

The historic market center offered public restrooms until March, but a growing use and abuse led to constant pumping of their septic system, and Ewing ultimately had the restroom shut down. …

Businesses were sending their customers to the public restrooms at the nearby Kilauea Park, which is a two-minute walk from the market center. But some insisted in using the restrooms at the Lighthouse Bistro, where they would get in the way of service and cause problems — until the restaurant’s owner decided to charge a fee for non-customers. Read the full story.

And here’s the latest in other neighbor isle gov’t and politics:

Bus service cut for Pahoa charter school

Police confirm 14th Kauai drowning

Ocean View swap meet concerns residents

Phone scam targets MECO customers

Final Lahaina Groundwater injection well study released

Kona retailers give back-to-school sales mixed grades

Kauai beach vehicle access laws questioned

Mahelona residents have bus, will travel

Bill would ease rules for smaller farmers markets

Geothermal protest march planned

‘Big changes’ in store for measuring growth, say DOE officials

Photo: Kilauea coastline. (fadedpictures).

—Chad Blair