State beach parks are without lifeguards following severe budget cuts triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. That's what the state confirmed Thursday, after questions were raised following the death of a Waianae teenager.
Would 15-year-old No'eau Lima be alive today if there were lifeguards patrolling Yokohama Bay? That's what some are wondering."
These are the flower and lei memorials at Yokohama Bay for Lima, the diver whose body was found Wednesday at 7:20 a.m. Turns out that beach and all other state beach parks have no lifeguards.
Some locals say that's dangerous. Eddie Maldonado is a Makaha resident who regularly goes to Yokohama. "I know the water, but if other people like tourists - over here is like Sandy Beach; the shore break is double," Maldonado opines, referring to the infamous South Shore beach with a notoriously powerful shore break that has been known to break necks.