Union sues to block privatization of Maui hospitals, Kohala group fights marijuana farms, DLNR chair defends wildlife fences, Laniakea beach barriers staying up, no more open space for Kauai, UH tries to fix cancer center budget, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Feral sheep and goats on Mauna Loa © 2015 All Hawaii News

Department of Land and Natural Resources chair Suzanne Case affirmed the state’s philosophy on fencing and ungulate removal during her keynote address at the 23rd Annual Hawaii Conservation Conference in Hilo, but she also left the door open for hunters to participate in adaptive management of resources. Big Island Video News.

About three dozen people congregated in the courtyard of the state Capitol on Thursday evening to mark the 50th anniversary of the federal Voting Rights Act, legislation passed at the apex of the civil rights movement that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. Star-Advertiser.

More than $40 million was released by the state to renovate and improve public facilities, buildings, and educational institutions across the state, Gov. David Ige announced Thursday. Pacific Business News.

Oahu

The barriers that have blocked vehicles from parking at Laniakea for the past year and a half won’t be coming down Friday, the deadline originally slated under a state court order. Star-Advertiser.

State officials won’t be removing the barriers along Kamehameha Highway on Friday as courts originally ordered. Judge Karen Nakasone granted an extension Thursday for the Hawaii Department of Transportation so it can continue studying alternatives that are safe and feasible. Civil Beat.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa will pay a San Francisco-based consultant up to $250,800 to develop a business plan for the financially struggling UH Cancer Center. Star-Advertiser.

Government lawyers will be asking a federal judge Monday to approve a $9 million settlement over an alleged botched childbirth at Tripler Army Medical Center. Star-Advertiser.

Less than a week before construction on Radford High School's track came to a halt last year, workers made some unusual finds: a six-inch wide mortar fuse and an 18-inch copper sphere that one Department of Education contractor suspected was a naval mine. Hawaii News Now.

The City of Honolulu hosted a Veterans Stand Down today as part of a goal to end veteran homelessness by the end of this year. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaii
A group of property owners who want Kohala to be the island’s bread basket, not its medicine cabinet, have started a petition drive to keep medical marijuana farms out of their neighborhood. West Hawaii Today.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has ordered a recall for Big Island-grown macadamia nuts that tested positive for salmonella. All mac nuts and mac nut products from Mahina Mele Farm labeled with Lot No. 016 are included in the recall, which was announced by the FDA on Wednesday. Tribune-Herald.

A year after Iselle slammed into lower Puna on Hawai'i Island, signs of the storm's impact are still prevalent in communities across the district. Hawaii News Now.

Maui
One of Hawaii’s largest labor unions has gone to court in an effort to prevent the state from privatizing its public hospitals. United Public Workers, which represents state employees working for health facilities among others, filed a complaint in federal court seeking an injunction to stop the state from implementing House Bill 1075, the union announced Thursday. Civil Beat.

Hawaii’s United Public Workers union filed an injunction on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu in attempt to stop the privatization of the Maui state hospitals. Pacific Business News.

The United Public Workers union representing Hawaii health care workers is suing to block the privatization of the state’s hospitals. West Hawaii Today.

The group Stop Cane Burning has asked a Maui environmental court to order an injunction to halt sugar cane burning, pending the outcome of its lawsuit - which, if granted, would shut down Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., the state's last surviving sugar plantation, the company said. Maui News.

Overcrowded conditions at Maui Community Correctional Center have escalated to the point where four inmates live in a cell designed for two, with one inmate sleeping inches away from a toilet. Maui News.

In a multi-year effort that began in 2006, a community project created through a partnership between Maui county officials and residents will soon come to fruition. Maui Now.

Kauai

Councilman Gary Hooser came up empty Wednesday in his attempt to increase the amount of money that is set aside for the Open Space fund. Garden Island.

For more than 30 years, plans to create a community agriculture park on 75 acres of undeveloped land bordering Kahili Quarry Road have stalled. Garden Island.

$40M slated for capital projects. Kilauea school, Mailihuna Road and Kapaa Stream Bridge among improvements for Kauai’s roughly $1.4M share. Garden Island.