Puna Lava flow burns first home, Abercrombie starts new business, Honolulu named best place to retire, state sues Hawaii County over hunting, raises for Kauai officials, Patsy Mink awarded posthumous Medal of Freedom, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

First house torched by lava courtesy Ena Media Hawaii and Blue Hawaiian Helicopters

The destruction of her grandparents’ house Monday brought the reality of the June 27 lava flow home for Kanoe Pelfrey. Tribune-Herald.

First video of the house fire ignited by lava in Pahoa, filmed by Mick Kalber of Tropical Visions Video aboard Paradise Helicopters. Big Island Video News.

 

 Lava from Kilauea Volcano's so-called June 27 flow ignited its first house in Pahoa on Monday and threatened more destruction in the days ahead. Star-Advertiser.

The slow moving lava flow on Hawaii Island has set fire to its first home, making contact with the residence just before noon.  The home’s renters had already left the residence. Hawaii Public Radio.

The first home has been claimed by the Puna lava flow, just across the street from the Pahoa Transfer Station along Cemetery Road/Apaa Street. Hawaii News Now.

A home is burning after coming into contact with the June 27 lava flow. Darryl Oliveira, Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator, said he received confirmation at about 11:55 a.m. that the home off Cemetery Road had ignited after lava reached the vacant 1,152-square-foot residence. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaii County Civil Defense says that an upslope lava breakout on Cemetery Road destroyed a home and shed at around noon Monday.  This is the first residence claimed by the June 27th lava flow. KITV4.

With just weeks left in his 44-year career of public service, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie is listed as the sole officer of a new company called Pacific Strategies LLC. The business was registered with the state Oct. 3, about two months after Abercrombie’s re-election effort was derailed by state Sen. David Ige in the Democratic primary. Civil Beat.

Some 1,853 of Hawaii’s 13,505 marriages held since Dec. 2, 2013, were between same sex couples. But Hawaii’s same sex marriage law, passed by the Hawaii Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Neil Abercrombie in Nov. 2013, could come to an end if the Hawaii Supreme Court rules the law invalid. On Dec. 18, the state’s high court will hear oral arguments in the challenge brought by Rep. Bob McDermott, a Republican in the Hawaii Legislature. Hawaii Reporter.

The U.S.-China agreement to extend short-term visas for tourists and business travelers from one to 10 years drew applause from Hawaii business leaders and politicians, including Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley, who called it a "significant step in the right direction." Pacific Business News.

Starting today, a reciprocity agreement will extend short-term business and tourist visas to-and-from China to 10 years, and student and exchange visas to five years. The move is aimed at providing economic benefits in tourism, trade and investment. Garden Island.

President Barack Obama on Monday named Patsy Mink one of 19 people to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Star-Advertiser.

Health insurance rates for nearly 13,000 individuals will rise Jan. 1, while close to 33,000 people may be pleasantly surprised to see premium decreases. The state Insurance Division has approved an average 9.2 percent rate hike for 9,600 individuals covered by Kaiser Permanente Hawaii and 3.8 percent increase for 3,141 members with the Hawaii Medical Service Association. Star-Advertiser.

The state Health Department says a restaurant can have roaches and rodents and still pass inspection. Hawaii News Now.

Switching from diesel oil to liquefied natural gas for electric power generation could drop Hawaii's highest-in-the-nation electric rates from 6 to 25 percent by the year 2040, according to a working paper posted online last month by the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii. Maui News.

The longtime head of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly says he’ll leave the organization next August. The search is underway for a replacement for J.N. Musto, who has been with the union for more than 35 years. Civil Beat.

The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools Board of Directors has named Robert Landau the organization’s new executive director, replacing longtime Executive Director Robert Witt, who is retiring. West Hawaii Today.

Oahu

Livability.com has named Honolulu a Best Place to Retire, 2014. Honolulu, the website says, “offers access to affordable and quality health care, practical cost of living, retiree-friendly businesses and services, as well as several amenities to help keep residents active.” Star-Advertiser.

Luxury high-rise condominiums planned in Kakaako have been big sellers this year. Really big. So big that a single developer has sold $783 million worth of residences slated for completion in 2016 and 2017. Star-Advertiser.

Cash, cars, jewelry. All kinds of property are taken by law enforcement every year and sometimes, there are no arrest or criminal charges. But authorities get to keep the goods, and it’s legal. KHON2.

Former state prison guard Mark Damas was sentenced Monday to just shy of five years behind bars for accepting bribe money to smuggle meth­am­pheta­mine, cigarettes and other contraband into Halawa Correctional Facility and for scheming with inmates to do so. Star-Advertiser.

An additional 6,000 hatchery-raised sea urchins were recently placed in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu by Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources Aquatic Invasive Species team divers in the battle against invasive seaweeds that threaten to smother coral patch reefs. West Hawaii Today.

Unanticipated costs and delays might doom Mayor Kirk Caldwell's controversial plan for a temporary transition center for up to 115 homeless people at Sand Island. Star-Advertiser.

Starting Wednesday night, state transportation officials plan to make full and partial lane closures in both directions of the H-1 freeway in Kalihi from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

The state is suing the county over its aerial hunting ban. The suit, filed Thursday in Hilo Circuit Court by the Office of Attorney General David Louie, seeks to exempt state employees and private contractors hired by the state to eradicate feral sheep, goats, swine, cattle and axis deer from the 2012 county ordinance prohibiting aerial hunting. Tribune-Herald.

Kawaihae South Small Boat Harbor, the first new harbor opened in the state in 34 years, was dedicated Monday. West Hawaii Today.

New court program gives veterans a second chance. West Hawaii Today.

Maui
A standing room only crowd showed up to testify at an informational briefing and hearing on Maui focused on the state health system and district plans to address anticipated budget shortfalls. Maui Now.

It's been a week since the controversial initiative calling for a moratorium on the cultivation of all genetically engineered crops in Maui County managed to squeak by in one of the closest races of this election. Now that the campaigning is over, its passage has left residents wondering, “What now?” Hawaii Public Radio.

Kauai

Raises may be on the horizon for some top county officials whose salaries have been frozen for nearly five years. The county Salary Commission, by a 6-0 vote, approved a measure that would raise the maximum salary limit for 22 department heads by a total of $150,265. Garden Island.

The Missile Defense Agency released video of the Hawaii-based destroyer USS John Paul Jones shooting down a simulated ballistic missile and a "raid" of cruise missile targets Thursday off the coast of Kauai. Star-Advertiser.

Inouye honored with Medal of Freedom, Hawaii County Council raises tobacco sale age to 21, state art foundation director resigns after photo brouhaha, Maui mayor, Monsanto, sign pesticide agreement, luxury Honolulu homes spared proposed tax burden, Senate to probe State Hospital, sexual harrassment lawsuit against DLNR, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Obama honors Inouye, others with Medal of Freedom

The late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye was among 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented Wednesday, 50 years after the death of the award’s founder, President John F. Kennedy. President Barack Obama awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to Inouye and 15 others, including former President Bill Clinton and iconic talk show host Oprah Winfrey, in a star-studded and often poignant celebration at the White House. Star-Advertiser.

Senator Daniel Inouye becomes only second recipient of both Medal of Freedom, Medal of Honor. Hawaii Reporter.

Irene Inouye reacts to Presidential Medal of Freedom for Sen. Inouye. Hawaii News Now.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie will likely face increased pressure for the state to intervene in the debate over genetically modified organisms now that two counties are moving to restrict GMO crops. Star-Advertiser.

The executive director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts has opted to resign after the group’s recent, admitted misuse of a photo of a Hawaiian icon, according to the foundation chairwoman. Star-Advertiser.

Local artists and supporters of the arts, including several Native Hawaiians, are outraged over what is described as the "desecration" of a photograph in the collection of the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Civil Beat.

State Hospital employees talked Wednesday about serious injuries from assaults at the mental health hospital in Kaneohe due to lack of staff, support and training. The comments came during a news briefing by state Sens. Clayton Hee and Josh Green announcing hearings to investigate the matter sometime after Thanksgiving. Star-Advertiser.

Assaults on Mental Health Workers Spur Hawaii Senate Investigation. Civil Beat.

Oahu

Honolulu City Councilman Joey Manahan's attempt to raise the minimum value to $1.5 million for residential properties to be appears to be failing. The Council Budget Committee on Wednesday voted 4-1 to strip out Manahan's proposal to increase the threshold for the new Residential A tax class to $1.5 million, leaving the original limit of $1 million in place. Star-Advertiser.

With Rep. Tom Brower agreeing to put down his sledge hammer and hang up his cape, we decided to take a look at his 2013 voting record on bills relating to housing and the houseless. Hawaii Independent.

OliverMcMillan Pacific Rim LLC began construction Wednesday on its 388-unit, 45-story Symphony Honolulu mixed-use condominium tower at the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and Ward Avenue, across from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu’s Kakaako neighborhood. Pacific Business News.
There have been several different high-rise building ideas for the mauka-Ewa corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and Ward Avenue, but none progressed to construction — until now. A San Diego-based developer held a groundbreaking ceremony and blessing Wednesday at the site of its planned 45-story condominium tower named Symphony Honolulu. Star-Advertiser.

A Hawaii public company with major financial power and development experience is going to be the new dominant owner of commercial property in Kailua, though the firm said it won't be moving fast to redevelop what is still largely a bedroom community. Alexander  &  Baldwin Inc. is buying nearly all the Oahu real estate owned by Kaneohe Ranch Co. and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation -- roughly 650 acres -- in a $373 million deal announced Wednesday. Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu has a chief medical examiner on the job for the first time since October 2009. Dr. Christopher B. Happy took over as the head of the city Department of Medical Examiner this week, city officials said. Star-Advertiser.

KHON2 News has learned that HECO and solar power companies have come up with a solution to a slowdown in residential solar installations.

As wood beams and logs wash up onto Hawaii's shores, most recently on Sunday on Kauai and another last week on Kailua Beach Park, the debris is usually recycled or just left on shore, but one man is turning them into tikis. At 87, he's been carving out works of art for decades, but this one's different. KITV.

Hawaii

Hawaii County will join a small handful of local governments nationwide — and become the only county in the state — raising the tobacco sale age to 21, under a measure unanimously passed by the Hawaii County Council on Wednesday. West Hawaii Today.

A former state parks employee on the Big Island has filed a sexual harassment and sex discrimination lawsuit against the Department of Land and Natural Resources and her former supervisor. Tribune-Herald.

Mayor Billy Kenoi said he expects to make a decision on Bill 113 next week. The Hawaii County Council passed the bill, which restricts genetically modified crops, Tuesday. Tribune-Herald.

The International Lunar Observatory Association is planning to build a global headquarters and research center in Waimea. The project, estimated to cost between $2 million and $3 million, will provide a central location for ILOA to manage and operate its four lunar missions, now in development. West Hawaii Today.

In the holistic learning model — a blend of STEM and Hawaiian spirituality that is being piloted at Ka Umeke Kaeo public charter school with the hope that it will later expand to other Hawaiian immersion and charter schools — students adapt an indigenous worldview to understand scientific processes. Civil Beat.

Officials, coaches and parents of Big Island Pop Warner football and the Panaewa Alii team are in what one parent called “crazy fundraising mode” to try to get their midget team to the Pop Warner Super Bowl — the league’s national championship — in the wake of disclosure of embezzlement of $100,000 or more in league travel funds.Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa has signed a pesticide disclosure agreement with agricultural giant Monsanto. The county said Wednesday the deal requires Monsanto to disclose what types of restricted-use pesticides it's using and how much. Hawaii News Now.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa has signed a pesticide disclosure agreement with agricultural giant Monsanto. The county said Wednesday the deal requires Monsanto to disclose what types of restricted-use pesticides it's using and how much. Star-Advertiser.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa announced that he has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Monsanto, “obtaining assurances from the company that they will engage in safe practices involving restricted-use pesticides.” Maui Now.

Mayor Alan Arakawa has signed a memorandum of understanding with Monsanto, obtaining assurances from the bioengineering company that it will engage in safe practices involving restricted-use pesticides, according to a Maui County announcement. Maui News.

Maui's three homeless shelters served 1,557 people last fiscal year, but experts estimate there are likely twice that number still staying in cars, parks and beaches across the county. Maui News.

Kauai
The fight against drunken driving is one that Kekaha resident Kira Seabury and at least three generations of her family has been engaged in for the last decade. Garden Island.