Showing posts with label Leeward Coast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leeward Coast. Show all posts

Monday, February 14, 2011

Hawaii volcano active, leaked speech shows Abercrombie uncertainty, Maui seeks to harness landfill gas, cheap inmate labor keeps unemployment high, Molokai flood zones revealed, more news from the Hawaiian Islands

Kilauea volcano
Scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii are looking at a swarm of small earthquakes that shook Kilauea Volcano last week. Hawaii News Now.

The lava lake at the summit of Halema'uma'u crater has been rising gradually in the last few months. Tribune-Herald.

The haze and vog that have been clogging the air over Oahu will spread and persist throughout the islands for the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service. Star-Advertiser.

Bills to require genetically modified food to be labeled as such have been taken off the table this legislative session. Star-Advertiser.

Vacationers flock to Hawaii for the sun, sand and sea, but what about the stars. Hawaii lawmakers are hoping visitors can soon boldly go where only few have gone before - outer space. KHON2.

If you want to know what a veteran union lobbyist and ally of Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie really thinks of the state of things in Hawaii, read on. Civil Beat.

The demand for prison work crews as cheap labor for nonprofit groups, schools, churches and state and city agencies has skyrocketed over the past two years in an economy that forced deep cuts, layoffs and a mounting backlog of repair and maintenance projects. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie is making his case before lawmakers and an upset crowd of retirees that the state should end Medicare Part B reimbursements for public workers. Associated Press.

Taxpayers shouldn’t be surprised that both the administration and lawmakers are coming up with all sorts of platitudes about how we should lead healthier lives and contribute back to the community that are smoke screens for raising taxes. Garden Island.

If Hawaii lawmakers get their way this session, they will protect aquarium fish from harvest, ban feral cat trapping, import nonvenomous snakes for study, order the castration of wild donkeys, designate the Hawaiian Hoary Bat as the official state land mammal, keep dogs out of puppy mills, put Zoo elephants in a space to roam, ban shark tours and give tax credits for, well, worms. Hawaii Reporter.

Trash at the Central Maui Landfill creates gas, which Maui officials want to convert into energy. KITV4.

Converting those stinky gases from the Central Maui Landfill into electricity could create enough energy to power the equivalent of up to 3,000 Maui homes per year, according to a county-commissioned study. Maui News.

In rainy weather and through ankle-deep mud, county officials and Kapa‘a Solar LLC project members gathered under a tent Friday for a blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the state’s largest and Kaua‘i’s first solar farm. Garden Island.

Twenty years after Molokai’s first flood maps were released, Maui County and federal agencies have presented a major overhaul of flood zones on Molokai. Molokai Dispatch.

Hawaiian Airlines, ramping up service to the state's largest international tourism market, will inaugurate its second Honolulu-Japan flight when it begins daily nonstop service to Osaka in July. Star-Advertiser.

Volunteers using heavy equipment are working to replenish sand at Oahu's famed Makaha Surfing Beach. Associated Press.

Kamehameha Schools plans to renovate 46 rental units in three Moiliili apartment buildings owned by the Schools starting in April. KITV4.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands held lot selection for 20 homes on Saturday. KITV4.

Big Islanders showed Saturday that they love Roseanne Barr just as much as the controversial actress-comedian loves her new Big Island home. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaii Island's national parks offer residents and visitors alike a means for escaping the hustle and bustle of daily life to get back to the simplicity of old Hawaii. West Hawaii Today.

Hawaii residents had the second-highest average credit card debt in the nation in January, according to consumer credit advocate CreditKarma.com. Pacific Business News

Spacenet recently received stimulus grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development to provide StarBand: Open Skies Alaska and Hawaii, a broadband service made available in rural areas. Molokai Dispatch.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

UH spring enrollment highest ever, lawmakers eyeing Hurricane Relief Fund for schools, political season kicks off and other top Hawaii news

The recession and a lousy job market continue to fuel enrollment at the University of Hawai'i, which yesterday reported its highest-ever student count for a spring semester.

The University of Hawaii reports opening enrollment for the 10-campus system for the spring 2010 semester was 55,761 students.

A Board of Regents subcommittee is recommending that the University of Hawaii take in more out-of-state students as a way to increase revenue and enhance UH's reputation.

In a first pass at resolving teacher furloughs, the Legislature yesterday moved ahead on bills that would divert money from the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund but delayed action on a proposal to increase taxes or take money from the rainy day fund.

A state Senate committee on Monday approved taking millions of dollars from the state's hurricane relief fund to reduce the number of public school furlough days.

Three state Senate committees passed two bills to end budget-cutting closures at public schools and restore instructional days by taking money from the Hurricane Relief Fund.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has declined to formally announce whether he is running for governor, but his exploratory committee has raised $2.3 million and already spent $300,000.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann is still not an official candidate for governor, but his unofficial campaign treasury is the richest of the potential candidates.

Election officials report brisk business across the state with potential candidates taking out nomination papers to run in the 2010 election.

The 2010 election season is officially underway as Monday marked the first day candidates can start filing for office.

The last time Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann introduced a measure limiting plastic bags, the administration vetoed it as being too broad.

A mobile medical van could be serving South Kona and Ka'u residents within months, following 10 years of effort by state Rep. Bob Herkes.


Organizers are calling it Waikapu's "Field of Dreams."

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Gimme Shelter


Gov. Linda Lingle, along with State Comptroller Russ Saito, who also serves as the state’s homeless solutions team leader, beginning at noon today will dedicate two new homeless transitional shelters on Oahu’s Leeward Coast.

The two facilities -- Kumuhonua (formerly Building 36), a former military building at Kalaeloa, and Ulu Ke Kukui (formerly Villages of Ma‘ili) in Ma‘ili -- are the final shelters to be developed under an emergency proclamation Lingle declared to address health and safety issues due to so many people living in parks and beaches along Oahu’s Leeward Coast.

The two shelters to be dedicated have the capacity for about 450 people, in addition to the more than 1,500 people Lingle says have been served in other transitional shelters since 2006.

The University of Hawaii last month released its “Homeless Service Utilization Report,” a study that attempts to get a handle on the breadth of the homelessness problem on the islands and how best to address it.