Star Bulletin:

The Big Island weathers a down economy

Recovery of the Big Island’s economy is dependent on “the return of healthy tourism,” but Hilo can do a better job of marketing tourism at Kilauea volcano and stands to gain from construction jobs at the Thirty Meter Telescope, a noted isle economist said yesterday.

Advertiser:

Big Isle economy looks ‘pretty bleak’

The Big Island has taken one of the biggest hits among Hawai’i counties in terms of the economic recession, according to an analysis by local economist Leroy Laney.

I suspect both stories were based on written copies made available to media in Honolulu rather than reporting in person on the Big Island presentation, but it’s a little difficult to tell. The Advertiser story drops this clue:

“At this stage of the cycle, things may look pretty bleak,” he said in remarks prepared for delivery during two presentations at the Naniloa Hotel and Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. “But better times will return — they always do.”