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Terrific responses to the Important Puna People question. And no, it's not a trick, as someone suggested. I purposely left the definition -- important/influential/powerful -- open to interpretation just to get the wide range of people that are being suggested. I might also add Stan Fortuna, headmaster of Kamehameha Schools Keaau campus, to the list I made earlier. Fortuna's the kind of low-key, high-impact player, like Shipman President Bill Walter, who represents the kind of local leader I'm talking about. I shouldn't have forgotten him. And Billy Kenoi, though officially not a politician yet, is a Puna resident. He might go on the list. HPP's Frank Anin is a good one; Ethics Board chairman Wayne Joseph is another.

None of this is put forth just  to make snappy summertime pool side chat, although feel free to use it for that. I think, however, we can learn a little more about where we live when we look at these things which can help us grow better and faster as a community. There is certainly no hard and fast answer to a question like this, but it pays to think about it. So keep the nominations and comments coming. I'll compile it all somehow in the near future to see what we've got.

By the way, contrary to the suggestion of one contributor,  Volcano is in Puna, -- at least the residents are. The park visitor's center and Crater Rim Drive are not in the Puna District, but Volcano Village is in Puna. Happy Parading up there tomorrow on the 4th of July.