Petroleum in drinking water at Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu council passes visitor tax, sperm whale carcass washes up on Kauai, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

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Petroleum detected in water from Navy water system. The state Department of Health on Wednesday detected petroleum product in water samples taken at Red Hill Elementary School, augmenting fears about widespread fuel contamination within the Navy’s water supply system that serves an estimated 93,000 people. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. Hawaii Public Radio. Maui Now. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

Oahu military water contamination is a crisis of health, environment and trust. As water contamination continues for thousands of military residents on Oahu, throngs of families, agencies and advocates are outraged with the response from the U.S. Navy. KHON2.

Navy Exchange Mall eateries shut down temporarily as precaution over water concerns. The Navy continues to distribute water at multiple sites to affected residents on Wednesday, after a fuel-like odor was detected in tap water on the Navy water system. KITV4.

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 Is A Green Jobs Youth Corps The Key To Sustainability In Hawaii? The state Legislature approved $5 million in federal Covid-19 relief funding to support a new Green Job Youth Corps that will roll out next year. Civil Beat.

Here are the COVID-19 rules for social gatherings and events on every island. Effective Wednesday, under Gov. David Ige's latest emergency proclamation, restaurants, bars and gyms will be allowed to operate at full capacity statewide. However, there are still varying rules among the counties. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaii records 8 new coronavirus-related deaths, 108 additional infections. The new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 51 new cases on Oahu, three on Hawaii Island, 25 on Maui, nine on Kauai and 20 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu

City Council passes new Oahu visitor tax that could generate $86 million a year. A bill to levy a new 3% transient accommodations tax on Honolulu hotel rooms and other visitor rentals won easy approval from the Honolulu City Council Wednesday despite objections from critics of the city’s rail project, which will receive much of the money from the new tax. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.

Honolulu Police Commission to be subject of city audit. The Honolulu Police Commission’s policies and procedures will be the subject of a city audit, which the panel’s chairwoman welcomes as the next step in a series of reviews that have so far evaluated conduct of police officers and prosecuting attorneys. Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu Housing Chief Gets Second Role As Head Of Community Services. The City Council approved Antony Krucky’s appointment as director of the Department of Community Services on Wednesday. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Island

County Democrats seek clarity on reapportionment. The Hawaii County Democratic Party is asking the state Reapportionment Commission to take another look at how nonresident military and students were extracted from population data in light of new figures showing there were almost twice as many military personnel as previously thought. West Hawaii Today.

Feds fund Waianuenue bridge repairs. A small but significant bridge in Hilo will receive $1.5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to kick-start a modernization and disaster mitigation project. Tribune-Herald.

State Seeks Big Island Nominations for BLNR. The Hawaiʻi County seat, currently occupied by Chris Yuen, will be vacant July 1, 2022. Applicants and nominees must be residents of Hawaiʻi County. Big Island Now.

Maui

Room rates up but visitor industry is still lagging. Maui County hotels led all counties in the state in average daily room rates in October at $480, up 42.1 percent versus 2019. It also led in revenue per available room at $289 in October, up 12.2 percent for the same time in 2019, according to data released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority last week. Maui News.

Health Department Issues Red Placard to Lahaina Eatery on Maui. The Hawai‘i Department of Health’s Food Safety Branch issued a red “closed” placard to 808 Grindz Café, located at 843 Waine‘e St. in Lahaina, Maui, saying violations were found during a routine inspection yesterday. Both adult and juvenile cockroach activity was observed, according to DOH reports. Maui Now. Hawaii News Now.

Kauai

In effort to reduce crime, police clear out homeless encampment on Kauai. Officials said local and state entities worked to clear the Kaiakea encampment across from the Kealia Kai lookout. Hawaii News Now.

Tour operators benefit from tourism uptick, still face challenges. Passenger air arrivals are up almost 14% from November 2019, but many tour operators have still not been able to return to full capacity after over a year of tight tourism restrictions that shuttered or downsized businesses island-wide. Garden Island.

‘Citizen Science’ can save monk seals, unravel marine debris mystery. Kaua‘i beachgoers are still needed in an international study of mysterious marine debris, three months after the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation announced its North Pacific Hagfish Trap Project. Garden Island.

Officials urge caution after adult sperm whale carcass washes up on Kauai. State and federal agencies are urging caution after an adult sperm whale carcass washed up on an outer reef of Kauai’s North Shore. Officials said the whale carcass is near Pilaa Beach. Hawaii News Now. KITV4.

Spinner dolphins to get federal protection, international tourism slow to recover, COVID-19 clusters pop up on Kauai, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Spinner dolphins under pressure of humans PC:NOAA

Will Hawaii’s Spinner Dolphins Finally Get A Rest From The Crowds? NOAA officials said they hope to finally issue a new rule this summer that bars anyone from approaching within 50 yards of the dolphins. Civil Beat.

Here’s Why It’s So Hard To Reshape Hawaii’s Tourism Industry. Policymakers fear jeopardizing the industry’s recovery from the pandemic because Hawaii needs the jobs back. Civil Beat.

International visitor market isn’t expected to fully recover until 2024. Hawaii’s visitor industry has been slowly coming back from pandemic lows. But while domestic visitors to Hawaii rose 32% in March, international visitors to Hawaii fell more than 98%. Star-Advertiser.

Demand for car rentals, services still high. A rental car shortage that drove up prices during spring break has persisted into May and is likely to keep prices high for several more months. Star-Advertiser.

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A Cautious Legislature, Locked In The Capitol, Played It Safe. Critics hoped the pandemic would be the catalyst for significant changes to address long-term problems facing Hawaii. But the budget shortfall dominated the 2021 session. Civil Beat.

Governor considers creating Green Jobs Corps to train conservation army. To curb the exodus and "brain drain" across Hawaii, state Rep. Sean Quinlan backed a bill requiring the state to create jobs that are sustainable and pandemic-proof. KITV4.

Under a new plan, landlords could remove tenants if alternative actions do not work out. State lawmakers gave final approval last week to a bill that would allow landlords to gradually pursue evictions against tenants for unpaid rent, but only after Gov. David Ige’s existing eviction moratorium expires and after tenants get an opportunity to have a trained neutral mediator explore possible better alternatives to eviction for landlords and tenants. Star-Advertiser.

Broadband measure awaits Ige’s signature. House Bill 1191, which establishes Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program to incentivize the expansion of high-speed internet into rural areas, successfully passed through the Legislature last week. Tribune-Herald.

Measure Criminalizing ‘Coercive Control’ Faces Opposition From Law Enforcement. Hawaii advocates for victims of domestic abuse say the change is important to address the often unseen versions of domestic violence — psychological control that may not leave bruises but still effectively traps people within abusive relationships. Civil Beat.

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Hundreds of UH graduate assistants sue Board of Regents, state over the right to unionize. The movement stems from a Hawai'i Labor Relations Board ruling in 1972, deeming graduate assistants private secretaries, not public employees entitled to a union. KITV4.

Fraud at Olelo is a hard lesson for nonprofits. Former Olelo human resources director Hanalei Aipoalani, 42, pleaded guilty to embezzlement in March and will be sentenced in June by a federal court judge. Stacy Higa, CEO of Olelo’s Hawaii island counterpart, Na Leo TV, a former Hawaii County councilman and 2020 mayoral candidate, has been on leave from Na Leo since April 1 to deal with allegations related to his role in the case. Star-Advertiser.

Kamehameha Schools Is Struggling To Replace An Outgoing Trustee. The process for selecting a replacement for Micah Kane, who serves on the board of one of the wealthiest and most powerful organizations in Hawaii, is raising questions. Civil Beat.

Hawaii lawmakers pass bill for schools to disclose COVID-19 cases. One of the bills that passed final reading was SB811, which would require the Hawaii State Department of Education to report COVID-19 cases by school. KHON2.

Special Agents Conduct Quarantine Compliance Checks at 3,200 Hotel Rooms. Since August 2020, Special Agents of the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General’s Investigation Division have conducted quarantine compliance checks to ensure traveler compliance with COVID-19 emergency rules. Maui Now. Hawaii News Now. KHON2. KITV4.

Getting the second half of the state’s population to take the vaccine for COVID-19 is the challenge. While Hawaii residents once clamored over who got first dibs for the COVID-19 vaccine, the lines these days are not necessarily as long, and appointments are wide open. Star-Advertiser.

Thirteen people who have returned from a recent youth football tournament on the mainland have tested positive for COVID-19, the state Health Department said. Health Department are urging anyone who played in or attended the Pylon Mecca “7-on-7″ tournament to get tested. Hawaii News Now.

May 2, 2021 COVID-19 Update: The state Department of Health reports that there were 113 additional COVID-19 cases reported in Hawai‘i on Sunday, including 80 on O‘ahu, 16 on Maui, three on Hawai‘i Island, nine on Kaua‘i, and five in Hawai‘i residents diagnosed while out of state. Maui Now.

Oahu

Aloha Stadium Could Be Demolished In 2022. The Stadium Authority plans to meet May 6 to discuss the financing and siting of the new stadium. Civil Beat.

HPD releases audio of 911 call that led to fatal police shooting of 29-year-old man in Nuuanu. HPD has released the 911 call that prompted officers to respond to a Nuuanu home earlier this month, where they encountered a man they fatally shot. Hawaii News Now.

Facing mounting financial woes, Biki bikeshare program to decommission dozens of stations. Biki is reducing operations as the pandemic has taken a significant financial toll on the bikeshare program — and its future is now in doubt. Bikeshare Hawaii Executive Director Todd Boulanger said that of the roughly 130 stations in service currently, 40 to 50 stations could be decommissioned soon. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

West Hawaii continues to shoulder highest tax burden: Council to consider county budget, tax rates, in coming weeks. Taxpayers in North Kona’s District 8 shoulder more of the property tax burden than County Council Districts 1-6 combined, as West Hawaii’s property values and concomitant taxes continue to grow with the area’s popularity. West Hawaii Today.

Dozens of applications submitted for Maunakea working group. More than 50 candidates have been nominated to fill seven positions on a working group to discuss new management structures for Maunakea. Tribune-Herald.

An $83.8 million program could help Hawaii residents who lost homes in 2018 Kilauea eruption. Three years after magma from Kilauea Volcano burst through the ground in Leilani Estates, signaling the start of the historic 2018 eruption, the sights, smells and sounds of the disaster are still vivid to those most impacted by it. Star-Advertiser.

Lower Puna residents are frustrated by the wait for road repairs and boat ramp access. The Pohoiki Boat Ramp is not the only major infrastructure project yet to have materialized as the community tries to dig itself out from the aftermath of an eruption that pushed roughly 1 billion cubic yards of molten rock across the Lower Puna landscape, destroying 716 structures and forcing the evacuation of 3,000 residents. Star-Advertiser.

Van Pernis back before Planning Committee: Committee to revisit Mayor Roth’s ouster request. A kinder, gentler Mark Van Pernis made his appearance at April’s meeting of the Leeward Planning Commission, but he still had plenty of questions for applicants seeking to create or modify their developments. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu gets emotional during final day. After 35 years in the Maui Police Department and six years leading it, Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu got emotional on his last day. Hawaii News Now.

Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia Sail to Honolua Bay, Maui for 45th Anniversary Event. The Polynesian sailing canoes, Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia sailed to Honolua Bay on Maui yesterday, marking the 45th anniversary of Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage to Tahiti. Saturday’s event honored Mau Piailug, the 1976 Crew and Pwo Navigator Kālepa Baybayan. Maui Now.

Kauai

10 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday. All 10 cases are Kaua‘i residents. Six are children and four are adults, and are considered community-acquired. Garden Island.

Kauai health officials identify 2 restaurants and 2 events as sources of COVID-19 clusters. The Health Department said persons infected with COVID-19 attended on April 24 the Ekolu Mea Nui drive-in concert at Vidinha Stadium in Lihue and the Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort Brunch Babes show in Kapaa April 17 and 18. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.

Over 30 evicted from Lucy Wright Park. In March 2020, the county designated five beach parks as Shelter in Place zones for the houseless community. In February of this year, the county announced the disassembly of this program, used by over 200 individuals across the island. Garden Island.

North Shore students have unique commute. A week after the Hanalei landslide occurred, one parent got his boat and transported his son and classmates from Black Pot Beach to the former Princeville Hotel’s beach access, a 10-minute Zodiac boat ride, followed by a van ride courtesy of the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, to get to school in Kilauea. And he is still doing it. Garden Island.