Coqui control victim of budget cuts, Fasi laid to rest, Pflueger trial delayed, Superferry still costing taxpayers, more Hawaii news

As it dismantles the last vestiges of its coqui control program, Hawaii County plans to sell off the equipment some community groups say is essential to their voluntary eradication efforts.

Councilwoman Brenda Ford wants to get the ball rolling on approving baking soda as a pesticide for use against coqui frogs.

Long after the dignitaries had left the Honolulu Hale courtyard, the "little guys" that Frank Fasi often spoke so fondly of were still streaming in to see the man they called Mister Mayor.

Frank F. Fasi's life and love affair with Honolulu were celebrated yesterday as friends paid final respects to the late mayor.

A six-man U.S. Marine Corps honor guard carried Frank Fasi's flag-draped casket into City Hall, the building where he worked as Honolulu's longest-serving mayor.

A hurried legislative effort to reduce an almost 12-fold increase in unemployment taxes concluded yesterday with a measure passing the state Senate and being sent to Gov. Linda Lingle for consideration.

The filing deadline for anyone who wants to run in the special election to fill former Congressman Neil Abercrombie's seat is two weeks from Wednesday.

In its second decision in five months questioning police and prosecution methods in speeding cases, the Hawai'i Supreme Court has dismissed the "excessive speeding" conviction of a motorcyclist clocked at 70 mph in a 35 mph zone.

Hawai'i taxpayers aren't done yet paying for the failed Superferry project.

Students give generally low marks to the campus and academic environment at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, according to the National Survey of Student Engagement.

A Puna resident is suing Malama O Puna and several government agencies, accusing them of illegally poisoning red mangroves on the Big Island coastline.

Councilman Kelly Greenwell's novel proposal to have the ultra-rich donate money to the island's hospitals failed to get off the ground.

State senators Tuesday sent to the House of Representatives a bill that would take about $86 million from the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund to pay for the end of school furloughs.

A Maui jury awarded 3,800 Tennessee real estate buyers $54 million Wednesday against Chicago banker and part-time Maui resident Clyde Engle. Engle's wife, Siobhan, had earlier had a default judgment entered against her in the same case.

The manslaughter trail for retired Honolulu auto dealer James Pflueger won’t begin next month as previously scheduled.

Maui County hopes to cover an immediate $13.9 million budget deficit by postponing a bond sale, reducing self-insurance coverage and taking other steps that wouldn't impact public services, the finance director said Tuesday.

In an attempt to help rare native seabird populations recover on Kaua‘i, the same conservationist and cultural practitioners who threatened legal action against Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative in January are now targeting the St. Regis Princeville Resort for their alleged “failure to prevent ... ongoing deaths,”