President's Message

Aloha,

It has been my privilege to join the board for 2021 after a decade of living in the neighborhood. This small, but tireless group of residents work together to help keep life in Blacks Sands community safe, clean, and peaceful. While we are grateful to live in this uncrowded, tropical forest environment, and to breathe the breezy, moist air of lower Puna, 2021 has been another challenging year for all of us. While, as of this writing, the pandemic has not yet devastated our local population, we all have faced fallout from the interruption of schools and jobs, to rising prices for basic goods, and the short staff Hawaii County police force, as well as some disruptions in County Services like animal control and abandoned vehicle removal, which we depend on to keep the streets of Black Sands safe and clear.

Our small, tight-knit subdivision has weathered many crises in the years I have been here, and I have always been impressed with our ability to come together to help each other out as neighbors. We also continue to welcome any new neighbors as time goes on, and our sleepy subdivision slowly gets busier. Whether you are an old-time resident, a new transplant, or somewhere far away and still dreaming of your tropical retirement: Stay in touch, take pride in your precious Hawaiian property, know your neighbors, come out to the monthly board meeting, and of course, please remember to pay your annual road maintenance fee- which just barely keeps our roads from washing away and from becoming overgrown by the jungle!

Looking forward to surviving and thriving with you all in 2022.

Greg DiBenedetto