North Shore NewsOn Saturday March 30, the com- munity held a “Rally at Rock Piles” event along the Ke Ala Pūpūkea Bike Path in support of the proposed North Shore First Responder Center at Sharks Cove/Pūpūkea. The Center would include a new City and County of Honolulu District Station for Ocean Safety (lifeguards base) and an EMS station (ambulance) among other public emergency response services.
The Save Sharks Cove Alliance rally organizers provided information to residents and visitors encouraging them to sign the petition urging the Mayor and City Council to acquire the land for the Center across from Sharks Cove. The City first ap-
proached the Sunset Beach Com- munity Association in March 2023 about creating a co-located EMS and Lifeguard District Station in the area, which sparked a groundswell of support in the past year with a focus on the Sharks Cove site as the ideal location. A community petition launched in November already has 7,000 responses in support of the pro- posed North Shore First Responder Center at Sharks Cove/Pūpūkea.
An estimated 5,000 shakas and honks from drivers on Kamehameha Highway livened up the energetic mood of the hundreds of walkers, runners, bikers, families, and beach- goers who stopped by on the beauti-
ful North Shore day. Rally organizer Rex Dubiel Shanahan commented: “The Rally was a spectacular suc- cess with a great cross-section of our community coming by to voice strong support for the First Responder Center at Sharks Cove. We heard uplifting stories about the bravery of our Lifeguards. We also heard tragic stories about the critical need for an ambulance in our area. We had 100% support for better facilities for our amazing Lifeguards and a new EMS station!”
To sign the petition or for more information go to: savesharkscovealliance.org