Hawaii's Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander population edges up, Biden panel coming to Honolulu to seek input, Green signs health care bills, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii’s Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders up 1.8% in 2022. The Native Hawaiian and “other Pacific Islander” population in the U.S. rose to nearly 1.76 million in 2022, an increase of 1.8%, or almost 32,000 people, over the previous year, according to population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Star-Advertiser.

Biden Panel On AAPI And Native Hawaiians Seeks Local Input. President Biden’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders will meet in person in Honolulu July 7, the first time the commission has met outside the U.S. mainland, the administration said. Civil Beat.

Gov. Green returns to Hawai‘i Island where he practiced medicine to sign health care bills.  Gov. Josh Green used West Hawaii as a pulpit on Thursday to address Hawaii’s problems and sign several bills into law.  Green traveled to the Hawaii Island Community Health Center in Kealakehe for a signing ceremony for three bills related to health care and one for consumer telecommunications. West Hawaii Today. Big Island Video News.  Big Island Now.  KHON2.

Oahu

Hawaii report details health effects of Red Hill leak.  A new report released by the state Department of Health provides an assessment of the health effects people may have faced after being exposed to jet fuel, the cleaning product Simple Green, high levels of chlorine and an anti-icing agent in their drinking water after a pipeline burst at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility on Nov. 20 2021. Star-Advertiser.

HPD officer justified in shooting, prosecutor says.  Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm announced Thursday that a plainclothes acting police sergeant was justified in the Dec. 28, 2020, fatal shooting of a 45-year-old man in the parking lot of a public-housing apartment complex in Ahuimanu. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. Hawaii News Now.  KHON2.  KITV4.

‘Safe and Sound’ sees lower crime stats in Waikīkī.  The Honolulu Police Department is providing an update on the “Safe and sound” program that they instigated in Waikīkī.  According to HPD, crime is going down. KHON2.

Businesses hoping for boom in customers ahead of the June 30 opening of Oahu's new rail system. Like many businesses along the rail line, Ichiriki in Aiea endured months of construction that affected the number of customers coming into the restaurant. KITV4.

Honolulu rail’s launch means big changes ahead for bus riders, too.  The city’s long-awaited rail line opens on June 30, but regular bus riders may not yet be aware that it could affect their usual routes, especially west of Aiea. Hawaii News Now.

Thousands of endangered Hawaiian snails in captivity relocated to new home on Oahu. Some 8,000 snails were moved from Kailua to their new home in the Pearl City area Thursday morning. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Councilmember Seeks Emergency Declaration For Abandoned Hilo Hotel.  Hawaiʻi County Councilmember Sue Lee Loy has introduced a resolution urging Governor Josh Green to declare a state of emergency for the condemned and dilapidated former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel on Banyan Drive. Big Island Video News.

Charges brought in Merrie Monarch Festival burglary.  Hawaii island police have brought an array of charges against two men arrested for the recent Merrie Monarch Festival office burglary and trespassing at a closed business in Hilo. Star-Advertiser. Big Island Now.

Maui

Bill to regulate air and replica guns advances. A bill that would limit air and replica guns in certain public spaces to improve safety for the community and police officers was unanimously recommended by a Maui County Council committee on Wednesday afternoon.  Maui News.

County of Maui seeking public input for future Kehalani Mauka Park improvements.  The County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation will hold a pop-up open house to share information and seek input from the public on future improvements for Kehalani Mauka Park in Wailuku. Maui Now.

Kauai

Garden sprouts on Rice Street in downtown Lihu‘e.  The garden is part of the Downtown Lihu‘e’s Lihu‘e Placemaking, Forestry and Gardens Initiative, a two-year effort to build valued community green spaces in Lihu‘e and a shared vision for future green infrastructure along Rice Street. Garden Island.

Outrigger Resorts & Hotels to acquire Kauaʻi Beach Resort & Spa.  The transaction to purchase the 25-acre beachfront property with 350 guest rooms is expected to close on Aug. 22, 2023. Kauai Now.

Business groups push Ige to enforce law on Mauna Kea for Thirty Meter Telescope, big Obamacare rate hikes coming, Environmental Council seeks board members, floating windfarm coming to Oahu south shore, new rules for Big Island public land management, Maui deputy prosecutor seeks top job, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Mauna Kea TMT blockade, courtesy Big Island Video News

Nearly a year since a ceremonial groundbreaking took place atop Mauna Kea for construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, progress remains stalled. On Sunday, fourteen pro-business groups expressed their displeasure over the lack of any headway and demanded Gov. David Ige provide “safe passage” so the $1.4 billion telescope can be built. The groups include various chambers of commerce as well as pro-union trade groups. KITV4.

Gov. David Ige has neglected to fill a number of vacancies on the state’s Environmental Council and members say that is crippling the agency. Civil Beat.

Obamacare is getting pricier for Hawaii residents. The state approved a 27.3 percent rate hike for Hawaii Medical Service Association’s individual members and a 34.4 percent increase for Kaiser Permanente members in Affordable Care Act plans for 2016. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii has the highest average mortgage closing costs in the nation, driven, in part, by high third-party fees, according to a ranking by Bankrate.com. Pacific Business News.

Life of the Land, one of 28 intervenors taking part in the regulatory review of the sale of Hawaiian Electric Co. to NextEra Energy Inc., asked the two companies to provide a document log regarding discussions they have had to end the proposed acquisition. In their response, Hawaiian Electric and NextEra Energy said that “no such document has been created.” Pacific Business News.

With the vote to elect delegates for a Hawaiian constitutional convention just weeks away, critics say the way the election is being handled is flawed. Hawaii News Now.

Oct. 15 is the deadline for all Native Hawaiians to register to vote in the election of delegates to a constitutional convention, or aha. Civil Beat.

A year ago, the federal Department of the Interior, DOI, travelled throughout Hawai‘i soliciting comments on a path to Hawaiian nationhood.  Last week the DOI proposed a rule to facilitate governmental relations if Hawaiians form a unified government on their own. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

Former state Energy Administrator Ted Peck has teamed up with a year-old, Oregon-based renewable energy developer on a plan to bring a 400-megawatt floating wind farm to a site 15 miles off Oahu’s South Shore. Star-Advertiser.

State regulators are demanding answers from Hawaiian Telcom about why repairs to rain-soaked telephone lines took weeks and even up to one month in some cases. Hawaii News Now.

Some people living in tents and tarps around the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center said Monday they have no idea where they’ll go when city crews move in this week to clean out the last and densest portion of the Kakaako homeless encampment. Star-Advertiser.

When it comes to overall driver satisfaction, Honolulu finishes dead last in a rating of U.S. metropolitan areas, according to data from the navigation app Waze. Civil Beat.

The city would be required to maintain vegetation along roads whose ownership is in dispute under a bill before the Honolulu City Council. Star-Advertiser.

The senior enlisted sailor on the Pearl Harbor destroyer USS Michael Murphy was relieved of his duties in the wake of ship-based equal opportunity complaints, the Navy said today. Star-Advertiser.

It's no longer used for launching vessels. Instead, beachgoers use the boat ramp at Pokai Bay for parking, despite No Parking signs and police issuing parking tickets. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii

A land management fund that voters approved in 2012 will finally get rules to ensure proper disbursement and monitoring, thanks to a bill the County Council will consider Wednesday. West Hawaii Today.

Creating town or neighborhood centers, adding recreation facilities and paving roads are among the goals listed in a new Hawaiian Paradise Park Community Master Plan. Developed by a committee of HPP residents, the planning document is intended to improve services in the massive Puna subdivision and address issues that long have plagued its residents, including substandard roads. Tribune-Herald.

Work began Monday on chipping through the roughly 10-foot-thick layer of lava 500 feet long that overran Cemetery Road last October in Pahoa, Hawaii Island. Star-Advertiser.

What began in 1941 as a small vocational school serving 183 students has ballooned into Hawaii Community College, with more than 3,000 students enrolled in 26 different programs. Tribune-Herald.

Romeo, a 4-year-old Labrador retriever, is safe and sound after falling 20 feet into a ground crack Saturday evening in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

More than two dozen people gathered at Kahekili Beach Park on Maui over the weekend for the statewide “Bleachapalooza” event, organized to bring attention to the damaging effects of coral bleaching in the islands. Maui Now.

There’s now an easier way to volunteer your time, energy, expertise and resources to Maui nonprofits: Handsonmaui.com, a website built by the Maui County Department of Housing & Human Concerns’ Volunteer Center as part of its Get Connected program. MauiTime.

A free, interactive map displaying car break-ins, assaults and other crimes is available online, allowing Maui County residents to check the safety of their neighborhoods and to identify areas where they might want to exercise caution. Maui News.

Coqui frogs are small in size - but the impact of their presence is huge. That's been understood for quite some time on the Big Island of Hawai'i…but it's a growing and unpleasant discovery for some residents in upcountry Maui. Hawaii Public Radio.

Kauai

Former deputy prosecutor Lisa Arin will officially declare herself a candidate for the office of Kauai’s Prosecuting Attorney on the steps of the 5th Circuit Courthouse at 12:30 p.m. today. Garden Island.

Native Hawaiian elections ongoing despite lawsuits, internal strife; tile workers set to strike; no solar for Molokai; Honolulu audit slams no-bid taxi contract; Hawaiian 'king' threatens force on Mauna Kea; Maui council defers decision on NextEra opposition; more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian protest © 2015 All Hawaii News

The deadline for Native Hawaiians to sign up for a chance to run as a delegate to next year’s Na‘i Aupuni nation-building convention has passed, but officials handling the election aren’t saying who or how many people put their hat in the ring. Star-Advertiser.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, at a crossroads, is caught in a power struggle. Mauna Kea, ceded lands and internal battles occupy the quasi-state agency as Native Hawaiian nation-building looms. Civil Beat.

An election for delegates to a Native Hawaiian constitutional convention will proceed as planned, despite a challenge in federal court. West Hawaii Today.

The accounting and consulting firm KPMG LLP has landed a $26 million nonbid contract to add new functions to the state Department of Human Services’ KOLEA computer system to meet federal demands that the state quickly comply with the national Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Star-Advertiser.

Members of the Hawaii Masons Union, specifically ceramic tile and marble setters are planning a statewide strike Monday. KHON2.

The renewable energy technology that presents Hawaii the greatest potential for environmental impacts is utility-scale renewable energy, including wind and solar, according to the Hawaii Clean Energy final programmatic environmental impact statement by the U.S. Department of Energy, released on Friday. Pacific Business News.

The state Public Utilities Commission issued an order Thursday that gives the media access to cover the upcoming evidentiary hearing of the proposed NextEra Energy-Hawaiian Electric Industries merger. Civil Beat.


NextEra Energy and Hawaiian Electric Industries have clarified who they are paying as consultants in their proposed $4.3 billion merger deal. Civil Beat.

For decades, a recurring criticism of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has been how long it takes the three appointed members to make decisions on energy, transportation and telecommunications issues. Civil Beat.

Oahu

The Ewa Beach developer hit with about $27 million in damages over the decision to build a recreational lagoon rather than a marina says it will continue to pursue its city application to complete the last undeveloped phase of the Ocean Pointe and Hoakalei project. Star-Advertiser.

The same company has run the taxi concession at Honolulu Airport for more than a decade without going through a competitive bidding process, eliminating competition and possibly cutting into state revenue, according to the state auditor and others. Star-Advertiser.

A growing pool of local car owners have embraced ride-hailing since Uber and Lyft raced into the state’s ground transportation market. While neither private company will provide driver counts, both are ramping up at a steady clip. Without a government regulatory structure in place in Hawaii, ride-hailing companies have fewer barriers to entry than traditional taxi jobs and provide easier opportunities for drivers to earn money. Star-Advertiser.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc.’s subsidiary is demolishing the existing home on an oceanfront parcel on Kahala Avenue that the company purchased in 2013 from Japanese businessman Genshiro Kawamoto, a company spokeswoman confirmed to Pacific Business News.

City crews are planning to clear more sections of the large homeless encampment in Kakaako. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced the plan Friday. KITV4.

Metered parking spaces in Kaka‘ako and downtown Honolulu were temporarily transformed on Friday into public spaces. It’s part of a national initiative called Park(ing) Day, meant to promote awareness of the importance of parks and green space in urban areas. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaii

The TMT International Observatory is sticking with the same timeline for completing its giant telescope on Mauna Kea despite protests that have halted land clearing at its construction site for nearly six months and a legal challenge before the state Supreme Court, according to one of its board members. Tribune-Herald.

A man calling himself the king of Hawaii didn’t have the support of Thirty Meter Telescope opponents when he threatened to send armed “royal marshals” to defend them, according to a protester. Tribune-Herald.

A third law enforcement move was made overnight related to recent protests of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea, according to an announcement made early Monday by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Although no arrests were made because campers vacated the area last week, DLNR and Hawaii Police Departments officers disassembled and removed the large tent that protesters had erected near the Mauna Kea Visitors Center. Hawaii News Now.

An engineer with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources hopes that a remake of regulatory processes at the federal and state level will allow improvements to move more quickly at Kawaihae Harbor. West Hawaii Today.

Plumeria Road residents whose homes were damaged by flash flooding are in a state of limbo, waiting for answers. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

The Maui County Council deferred action Friday on a resolution opposing NextEra's purchase of Hawaiian Electric Cos. Maui News.

University of Hawaii President David Lassner told a group of scientists, academics, defense officials and contractors Friday that the university's foray into astronomy and space surveillance began at the summit of Haleakala, before Science City was established and before telescopes atop Mauna Kea. Maui News.

Construction design flaws and repeated brown-water incidents prompted Maui County to issue one of its longest stop-work orders for a construction project earlier this year for a development in Kapalua. Maui News.

Proposed Launiupoko residential project looks to mix it up. Most of the 200-unit subdivision would be larger rural lots but 50 to 75 parcels would be for workforce families. Maui News.

It's been a rainy summer for Maui.  Nine tropical storm systems have approached the islands so far this season, often bringing heavy downpours.  The rain has helped ease some of the drought conditions in southeast Maui, but for ranchers, it also brings a new set of problems. Hawaii Public Radio.

Kauai

More than 100 endangered seabirds recently required care after falling from the sky due to lighting issues at Kokee State Park. Associated Press.

The world of farming and farming as a career is highlighted during the GoFarm Hawaii classes at Kauai Community College. Garden Island.

After a month as president of the Kauai Chamber of Commerce, Mark Perriello has been asked one question more than any other: “What is your vision for the chamber?” Garden Island

Molokai

The Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans has been looking into installing solar panels on the roof of the new Veterans Center. But vice commander Longie Dudoit who was trying to get quotes on the project has hit a road block and he has been told by Sun Electric that solar panels cannot be installed on Molokai at this time. Molokai Dispatch.

U.S. Supreme Court rules against OHA

News Flash!

Tip of the hat to Robert H. Thomas for getting us the opinion fast:

http://www.inversecondemnation.com/files/07-1372-1.pdf

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka issued the following statement today in response to a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court on Hawaii v. Office of Hawaii Affairs:

“I will continue to monitor the case as it is taken back up by the state courts. I still believe the best way forward is through direct negotiations between the state and federal governments and a federally recognized Native Hawaiian government. For these issues to be resolved, Native Hawaiians need a seat at the table. Mainland indigenous people have this opportunity and Native Hawaiians deserve the same chance.”