Hawaii recovery slow, drastic changes in Honolulu redistricting, lava buyout program expands, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

 

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Despite Momentum, Hawaiian Airlines Forecast Signals Slow Recovery. In a sign of the challenge Hawaii tourism companies face recovering from the Covid-19 travel drought, Hawaiian Airlines said Tuesday it expects revenue to be down 32% to 37% during the last three months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019. Civil Beat. Maui Now.

Nominations of female judges to Hawaii Circuit Court applauded. Leaders of the state Senate’s Women’s Caucus today applauded Gov. David Ige’s nominations of four women to Hawaii’s Circuit Courts. A fifth woman also has been nominated by Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald. Star-Advertiser.

Thirty Meter Telescope protesters oppose Biden’s U.S. attorney pick for Hawaii. Some Native Hawaiians are objecting to President Joe Biden’s choice for U.S. attorney for Hawaii, saying Clare Connors treated dozens of elders like criminals when her office prosecuted them for blocking a road while protesting the construction of a telescope in Hawaii. Associated Press.

Chemical Shortages Are Hitting Hawaii From Pools To Breweries. Supply chain snafus caused by the pandemic have pinched chemical supplies, leaving the city and businesses scrambling for alternatives or ways to get by with less. Civil Beat.

Central Pacific Bank triples earnings. Central Pacific Bank more than tripled its net income in the third quarter, increased its dividend and repurchased more of its shares as it continued to distance itself from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii sees 74 new coronavirus cases, bringing statewide total to 83,522. The new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 36 new cases on Oahu, 19 on Hawaii Island, two on Maui, 12 on Kauai and five Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu

New City Council district map drastically moves neighborhoods. The Honolulu Reapportionment Committee on Tuesday night selected a map that would would drastically change the voter makeup of Council districts beginning in 2022. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat.

Human error, not aging Red Hill tanks, caused May fuel spill, Navy says. The U.S. Navy has concluded that a May 6 spill at its Red Hill underground fuel farm was due to a control room operator’s failure to follow correct procedures. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat.

The Sierra Club wants transparency, emails, answers about recent Navy fuel leaks and Red Hill. The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi has filed a public records complaint with the state Department of Health after learning of an email trail it believes could change the outcome of a contested case hearing for the U.S. Navy’s permit to operate the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility. Hawaii Public Radio.

City Council wants to hike traffic fines to raise money for Honolulu Police Department. Currently, money collected from the fines goes to the state, all of it. Council members are looking to raise the fines in order for the city to get some of that. KHON2.
 
Initial phase of a three-tower senior housing project in Liliha-Palama will break ground in 2022. A state agency has committed to finance the first of three affordable senior housing towers planned on the Hawaii Public Housing Authority’s outdated Liliha­-Palama administrative campus. Star-Advertiser.

5 Honolulu Police Department officers unjustly shot and killed car theft suspect, complaint alleges. The family of a 30-year-old man who was shot and killed by plainclothes police officers at a gas station in Kapolei in 2019 is suing the Honolulu Police Department for negligence and wrongful death. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Water power charges to increase. An increase in electric rates is leading to the highest power cost surcharge on county water bills in at least two years, with the Water Board on Tuesday approving a 16% hike in the power cost charge. West Hawaii Today.

Phase 2 of lava buyout program set to begin. Owners of secondary residences that were isolated, damaged or destroyed during the 2018 Kilauea eruption will be able to apply next week for the county to buy their properties. Tribune-Herald. KITV4.

Maui

Marine Institute has Documented 201 Sick, Injured or Dead Sea Turtles So Far This Year. The Maui Ocean Center’s Marine Institute has documented 201 sick, injured or dead sea turtles on Maui so far this year. According to the organization, 89% of the incidents involved turtles with injuries from fishing gear interactions. Maui Now.

Upcountry water shortage ends, but drought remains. A nearly four-month-long water shortage declaration for Upcountry came to an end due to recent rainfall, though many areas across Maui County are still experiencing severe drought and concerns over enforcement of water restrictions remain. Maui Now.

GoFundMe Account Set Up for Repairs of StoneWave Skate Park in Pā‘ia. A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise about $8,000 for fence restoration and repairs of the StoneWave Skate Park, a part of the Pāʻia Youth & Cultural Center. Maui Now.

Kauai

Controversial Seacliff development deferred again. A wave of resident testimony on the potential cultural and ecological impacts of a development within the gated Seacliff Plantation subdivision has caused the Planning Commission to defer any decision on the application until December. Garden Island.

Temporary Waimea skatepark expected to be up by next summer. The Kaua‘i Planning Department is planning to set up a temporary ramp and halfpipe at the Waimea Athletic Field. Garden Island.