Town file
Hilo, Hawaii
Hilo, Hawaii (Hawaii County, Hawaii) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 419, "A Major Lack Of Aloha" (31 August 2023). Dana Marie Ireland was born on December 12th, 1968, in Virginia, the younger daughter of John and Louise Ireland.
- Town
- Hilo
- County
- Hawaii County
- State
- Hawaii
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 419
- Approximate location
- 19.689, -155.083
Episode 419 / 31 August 2023 / 173 min / full
A Major Lack Of Aloha
"It's Hilo Hawaii, on the island of Hawaii, the big island, in Hawaii County." about 0:05:36
The case: Murder of Dana Ireland (December 24th, 1991); Murder of Frank Pauline Jr. in prison (April 27th, 2015). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Median age
- about 40
- Median household income
- $70,356
- Median home value
- $463,400
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,970 a month
- Cost of living
- 126
- Religious
- 50%
- Property crime
- ▲ about 75% over
- Violent crime
- ▼ less than half
- Reward fund for information
- $25,000
- County settlement of the Ireland family lawsuit
- $452,000
- Sworn police for the whole Big Island
- about 350
- Size of the Puna district
- 499 square miles
History, in brief
- Sugar plantations expanded in the late 1800s and workers, many from Asia, moved to Hawaii for the jobs. about 0:05:56
- In 1887, 26,000 Chinese workers worked on Hawaii's sugar cane plantations. about 0:06:34
- The Hilo Sugar Mill produced 3,500 tons of sugar a year. about 0:06:47
- A breakwater across Hilo Bay was begun around 1910 and completed in 1929. about 0:07:02
- On April 1st, 1946, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands sent a 46-foot tsunami into Hilo. about 0:07:11
- The 1946 tsunami killed 159 people in the islands, 96 of them in Hilo. about 0:07:30
- The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was established in 1949. about 0:07:45
- The 1946 tsunami ended the Hawaii Consolidated Railway. about 0:07:54
- On May 22nd, 1960, a tsunami caused by a 9.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile killed 61 people. about 0:08:08
- Hilo expanded inland from the 1960s and its downtown was remade with art galleries. about 0:08:57
- The sugar plantations closed in the 1990s, hurting the local economy and jobs. about 0:09:11
The reviews read out
5 stars
"An amazing experience, everyone full of aloha, respect and happiness, perfect weather and beaches, authentic food, paradise."about 0:09:45
4 stars
"It rains every day, mostly at night, on the edge of the rain forest, so nobody needs sprinklers; there are feral chickens and pigs, mongoose instead of squirrels or snakes, and many geckos."about 0:10:43
3 stars
"Full of homeless people and drug addicts on the streets, can be very dangerous and expensive, though walkable."about 0:11:38
3 stars
"A small town with drawbacks and advantages: few events, plenty of nature, high cost of living because everything is shipped in, friendly people full of aloha."about 0:11:57
2 stars
"We have a lot of rain here, and that's self-explanatory."about 0:12:41
1 star
"Rain and mould for days, the toilet bowl of Hawaii, Hilo is a dump, the public schools were the last to reopen and children are behind, and some landlords and rental firms are corrupt."about 0:13:06
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Kawaihae, Hawaii54 miles
- Hana, Hawaii96 miles
- Kihei, Hawaii115 miles
- Haiku, Hawaii117 miles
- Burlingame, California2320 miles
- Terra Linda, California2322 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.