Highway 130 is the only route out of the fast-growing community, and is jammed with traffic each day. One critic called the council vote 'a slap in the face' for Puna residents.
Prospective homeowners are scrambling to scoop up property in the Big Island district of Puna, where a volcanic eruption wiped out hundreds of homes in 2018.
I grew up in Lower Puna on Hawaii island. I experienced the 1991 Puna Geothermal Venture well blowout. After that experience, I learned that better geothermal exists.