Furlough fighting, coffee picking, sugar era ends, floods threatening and other Hawaii news

State senators on a special legislative committee examining public teacher furloughs yesterday said they want to urge Gov. Linda Lingle to make use of $35 million in federal stimulus money that is entirely under her control.

Parents who want their children back in school on Furlough Fridays lost a round in federal court yesterday, but one attorney plans to appeal the ruling, and the judge urged both sides to settle the issue before it goes to trial.

State tax collection have dropped again.

The impending auction of a partial silver-plated serving set salvaged from the USS Arizona just months after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor is being condemned by at least one former sailor who witnessed the sinking of the battleship.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued a flash flood watch for all of the Hawaiian Islands to start on Tuesday night and last through Thursday.

Renee Mokihana Nobriga, 25, was crowned the 2010 Miss Hawaii USA on November 9, 2009 at LEVEL4 in the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki.

Parker Ranch is selling its realty arm as the 152-year-old operation continues to liquidate assets and trim operating costs following a year of multimillion-dollar losses.

Kona resident Anthony Caravalho Jr.'s fingers flew Sunday morning, searching for and picking sun-kissed, ruby coffee cherries from trees at the Ueshima Coffee Co. estate in Holualoa.

Fifty-seven divers from Maui, Lanai and Oahu came out to the third and last Roi Roundup of the year.

The official end of Kaua‘i processed sugar officially came around 4 p.m. Monday, when the transport ship Moku Pahu left Nawiliwili Harbor with the last Gay & Robinson sugar from the final harvest.

The 'Earmark Guy,' searching for pineapples, blending Kona coffee and grappling with the budget

Inouye's earmarks go to his donors

Hawaii companies that would benefit from earmarks sponsored by U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye that are in the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 defense appropriations measure. The firms' workers have contributed to Inouye's campaign committees since 1997.

A $76 million budget deficit, a standoff between the University of Hawaii's administration and its faculty union, and fears of massive cuts to programs, departments and schools have longtime professors calling the situation at UH the worst money and morale crisis they have known.

Planned increases in park and boating fees are being opposed by many Hawaii residents who have spoken at public hearings held across the state.

A Hilo contractor is alleging that the state's biggest Burger King franchisee is delinquent in payment of construction costs for the new Hilo restaurant -- and the remainder owed is a whopper.

Hawaii County's 2 percent land fund would be downsized to 0.5 percent as part of a county Charter Commission proposal, but it could become part of the county's charter, protecting it from raids by the administration.

Maui County finance officials are stepping up efforts to collect delinquent taxes, reclassifying some nonfarmers who claim agricultural tax assessments, and taking other steps that could add to the county’s revenues ahead of what’s expected to be a tight year in 2010.

Mr. Pineapple - aka Jimmy Hutaff - needs 350 delicious Maui pineapples a day, and when Maui Pine closes down later this year, he doesn't know where he will get them.

Expanding the county Black Pot Park in Hanalei remains the primary objective for the Kaua‘i Public Land Trust, said Jennifer Luck, KPLT executive director.

As the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival celebrates its 39th year this week, a controversy that started two decades ago about what defines Kona coffee is brewing anew.

Kilauea on the move, garbage shipments delayed, special session averted, more Hawaii news

The U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says that dozens of small lava flows have moved down the pali and across the coastal plain of Kilauea's south flank in the past several weeks.

Everyone who testified Wednesday about the state Department of Land and Natural Resource's proposed rule changes that will allow the department to go forward with its Recreational Renaissance plan did so with reservations or opposition to the plan.

The state Board of Education last night approved 95 schools' requests to convert teacher training days into instructional days, an action that restores as many as six classroom days that would have been lost because of staff furloughs.

Hawaii State Representatives have caucused, and say there will be no special session over furlough days at schools.

About 75,000 children and at least 10,000 staff and faculty members have been vaccinated in this year's seasonal flu school clinics, and state health officials hope to see the turnout repeated in H1N1 school clinics starting next Friday.

A faith-based community group marched on Honolulu Hale yesterday, calling for the mayor to create a policy and a department to deal with a widespread housing crisis on Oahu.

The first shipment of garbage will be sent from Oahu to the mainland about two weeks later than originally planned because the trash facility ran into some startup problems and had to shut down for nearly half its first month of operations.

Furloughs and other economic concerns dominated an informal public meeting Wednesday night with state lawmakers.

A potentially deadlocked Hawaii County Council unanimously agreed Wednesday to let absent Council Vice Chairwoman Emily Naeole be the tiebreaker on two hotly contested measures relating to land sales.

Planning consultant Chris Hart has announced he will run for mayor of Maui County in 2010.

A request from the county Office of Boards and Commissions to destroy audio recordings of meetings after they are transcribed into minutes and approved was withdrawn Wednesday, but could return to the Kaua‘i County Council’s agenda.

Obama coming home for Christmas, Hawaiians win homelands lawsuit, first female U.S. attorney, more

After a 10-year court battle and decades of waiting in vain for homesteads, plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit won a judgment against the state for failing to promptly award home lots to native Hawaiians under the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust.

More than 2,700 Native Hawaiians have won a class-action lawsuit that accused the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands of failing to meet its trust obligations.

Hawaii News Now has learned that President Barack Obama is planning to spend the Christmas holidays in Hawaii.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is seeking double-digit rate hikes for most of its members under proposed increases pending before the state Insurance Division.

The state Department of Health is advising the public to be patient while waiting for wider availability of the H1N1 influenza vaccine — and, meanwhile, to keep washing your hands and covering your coughs and sneezes.

The District of Hawaii's very first female U.S. Attorney is now officially appointed.

Friends, family, colleagues and leaders of Hawaii law enforcement filled a federal court yesterday afternoon as Florence Nakakuni was sworn in as the first female U.S. attorney in the history of the state.

Proposals floating in the Senate would restore public school days lost to teacher furloughs by raiding the $180 million Hurricane Relief Fund or a combination of the disaster fund and federal stimulus dollars.

Just a day after five city sweepers were indicted on a charge of theft in an overtime scam, KITV has learned that two of the indicted men were city supervisors, who nearly doubled their income with overtime, making almost $100,000 a year.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources came under fire Tuesday night for a proposal to begin charging entrance fees at Akaka Falls and Hapuna Beach state parks, among numerous other proposals.

The Kaua‘i County Council on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that gives the Planning Department greater flexibility in deciding when to require a costly shoreline certification.

It turns out there is a free ride after all. Just ask the thousands of people who use Hawaii County's Hele-On bus service.

More than 400 streetlights will soon be sporting a new glow, thanks to a $737,800 grant Hawaii County has received from the federal government.

When Billy Kenoi recently vetoed a trial program to allow Puna residents to live in tents on their property while they built homes, he said the bill singled out one district for unequal treatment.

Agriculture takes another big hit, Oahu home sales up, health insurance worries employers

Hawaii will be left with just one big grower of pineapple, Dole Food Co., and a handful of small farms next month when Maui Land & Pineapple ends production of what was once the state's single biggest cash crop.

Hawaii's once-rich agricultural industry, renowned throughout the 1900s for its pineapple and sugar crops, has suffered another devastating blow.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. announced today that it will cease pineapple operations by the end of the year and restructure its resort and land development division.

Department of Land and Natural Resources officials are continuing their public pitch to garner support for their Recreational Renaissance plan.

Sales of Oahu homes rose to their highest level in more than a year and a half in October, although still below the peak of recent years.

Hawaii's congressional delegation said bills in both the U.S. House and the Senate will protect Hawaii's system of employer-paid health insurance, but that worries many local employers who said health insurance costs soaring higher each year are a huge burden.

Balancing Hawaii County's budget could require selling more property than the 737 acres of vacant Paauilo lands up for County Council liquidation approval Wednesday.

More than 50 people spoke up about a land transparency bill during a public hearing Monday night, and this time, most were against it.

Kona Coffee Festival perking, symphony struggles, dining inspections down, furlough fights continue

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival has been celebrating and promoting Kona coffee for 39 years. The theme of this year's festival, which runs Friday through Nov. 15, is "Kona Coffee: Aroma of Aloha."

Ninety-five public schools have applied to turn teacher training days into instructional days and restore some of the class time students are losing to furloughs.

A group of state Senate and House members plans to meet with staff members of the Lingle administration to discuss reducing the number of days public schools are closed due to budget cuts.

The House and Senate Republican Caucus is urging the Hawaii State Teachers Association to rework its (relatively new) contract with the Department of Education. GOP lawmakers want the HSTA and DOE to scrap the teachers' existing contract and negotiate a new deal that will end furlough Fridays.

Perennial guests at a 54-year-old Waikiki hotel say they are saddened that they might not be able to return to their favorite winter retreat, fearing it could close.

Just three years ago, inspectors used to make unannounced inspections on restaurants about once a year. However, that situation has worsened.

People in Hawaii love to dine out at all kinds of eateries. There are about 5,800 restaurants on Oahu, and the results of some inspections might make you think twice about dining out.

The Honolulu Symphony may file for bankruptcy protection as early as tomorrow, according to people familiar with the situation.

Jenna Roussy, an employee at Hilo Shark's Coffee, holds a 7-pound Keitt mango on Friday at the shop. The fruit is possibly the largest mango ever grown in the U.S., and surpassed only by the current world record holder, a 7-pound, 7-ounce Keitt cultivated in the Philippines.

Push to count Native Hawaiians, furloughs could spell OT, ICA agrees substitute teachers underpaid

Group pushing Hawaiians for census: In the 16th century, Big Island ruler Umi a Liloa made sure all native Hawaiians on the island were counted.

The decision to furlough Hawaii government workers could result in an increase in overtime costs at facilities operated 24 hours a day.

The Intermediate Court of Appeals has upheld a 2005 Circuit Court ruling that found the Department of Education underpaid Hawaii substitute teachers millions of dollars

Gov. Linda Lingle is promoting Hawaii as a tourism destination during her two-week trip to China, but a Democratic leader said she should have stayed home.

The Navy said it has relieved a Pearl Harbor-based submarine commander of his command.

Lifeguards conducted over 600 preventative actions Sunday after high surf rolled in on north shores, essentially keeping the inexperienced out of the water.

Though rape reports on the Big Island rose more than 73 percent during the past decade, police say the increase is in reporting, not attacks.

"Huge cuts" will be required to balance a police budget shortfall expected in fiscal 2010-11, however, police and county officials refused to divulge details

A survey distributed by the Maui County Farm Bureau at the recent Maui County Fair reveals that almost all Mauians think farming is important. And half believe it will expand, although the recent trend goes the other way.

Proponents of small wind systems got a lift this week when the county attorney said a proposed bill designed to streamline the permitting process would not open the county to legal or financial liability should an applicant’s windmill kill an endangered seabird.