Concrete price hike to impact development, firearms registration up, Maui bans disposable bodyboards, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Rising concrete prices to impact Hawaii construction and development. Industry experts predict a 30 to 60 percent increase in concrete prices by the end of this year and into 2023. Construction experts say the dramatic increase in concrete prices could be $200 per cubic yard or more in Hawaii. KITV4.

Report Raises Questions About The Effects Of Sunscreen On Marine Life. The National Academy of Sciences says more research is needed — even as Hawaii moves to tighten its sunscreen laws. A report released Tuesday said there’s a lack of conclusive data about whether the chemicals in sunscreen are harming marine life. It also cautioned that the environmental concerns as well as the cost and lack of cosmetic appeal of mineral-based sunscreens may have a negative impact on public health by discouraging their use. Civil Beat.

Firearm registrations in Hawaii were up again in 2021. Firearm registrations in Hawaii were up nearly 7% in 2021, continuing a trend of increasing gun ownership that has stretched over two decades, the state Attorney General’s Office reported Tuesday. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. KHON2.

State, counties to share Hawaii’s $78 million opioid settlement. Hawaii’s share of a $26 billion national opioid litigation settlement has gone up a little, and a special committee is to influence how most of the money gets spent combating harmful use of drugs. Star-Advertiser. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Now. Maui Now. Garden Island. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

Pacific Islanders Have a Harder Time Getting Kidney Transplants Than Other Patients. Kidney failure afflicts Pacific Islanders at much higher rates, but for reasons that some say amount to discrimination, they don’t get transplants as often. Civil Beat.

4 Days Before The Primary, More Than 186,000 Hawaii Voters Have Already Turned In Their Ballots. With less than a week to go before the primary, Hawaii voters had returned about 186,000 ballots out of more than 730,000 that were sent out statewide. This translates to an overall rate of about 25.5% returned, with Oahu and the Big Island so far leading the turnout at a little over 26% of ballots having been returned by Tuesday, four days before the primary. Civil Beat.

Kahele accuses Green of ‘blatant lie’ after Hawaiian Home Lands claim. Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Josh Green accused Kahele of ‘misleading attacks.’ Mud-slinging in the Democratic race for governor continues with a new accusation from U.S. Rep. Kahele. Hawaii News Now.

Oahu

City council eyes outlawing gifts over $25. No more gifts. That’s the goal of the Honolulu Ethics Commission, which is pushing for a bill in the Honolulu City Council outlawing gifts to the mayor, prosecutor, city council or any city employee. KHON2.

Keith Kaneshiro trial is pushed back to March. The federal trial of former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro and politically prominent architecture and engineering executive Dennis Mitsunaga was pushed back to March, a U.S. Magistrate Judge ruled Tuesday. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat.

Redacted Navy Red Hill log shows ‘critical’ system warnings began hours before May 6, 2021 fuel spill. A Navy document provided to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser shows that on the morning of May 6, hours before the spill, a constant barrage of alarms began going off within Red Hill’s Automated Fuel Handling Equipment program, an inventory control system used by the Navy to track fuel in real time and detect leaks. Star-Advertiser.

In wake of Uvalde, Hawaii law enforcement agencies coordinate on unified active shooter plan. Law enforcement from state and county agencies are working together to coordinate how they’d respond in the event of an active shooter or similar mass attack in Honolulu. Hawaii News Now.

'We felt relief': Hilton housekeepers return to work with new contract. Many hotel workers struggled to make ends meet the last two years — even when properties were fully occupied. Now, Hilton housekeepers are returning to full-time work thanks to a new contract. Hawaii Public Radio.

Photographer, naturalist Nate Yuen found dead at cliff bottom. Members of Hawaii’s conservation, hiking and Native Hawaiian communities and others are mourning the death of photographer and naturalist Nate Yuen, whose body was found Tuesday morning roughly 100 feet below a cliff off the Waimano Ridge Trail in Pearl City. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

Hawaii Island

New emergency management law in the works: Bill raises eyebrows over power to suspend media coverage. A bill is in the works to strengthen and align local emergency powers more closely to those of the state during declared emergencies. West Hawaii Today.

Officials Working To Address Mountain View Traffic Concerns. The County and State of Hawaiʻi are working to resolve traffic issues on Highway 11 as the new school year gets underway. Big Island Video News.

Wendy’s decision delayed: Kailua Village Design Commission canceled due to lack of quorum. It’ll be another couple of weeks before the Kailua Village Design Commission takes up a design review application for a new Wendy’s in Kailua-Kona. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Can capping Maui visitor rooms help curb over-tourism? Groups continue to spar over proposal. Nearly 30 testifiers sounded off Tuesday at Maui Planning Commission, which is considering whether to recommend a measure that would make the two-year hotel construction moratorium more permanent. Maui Now.

Ban on disposable bodyboards goes into effect on Maui. A ban on disposable bodyboards is now effect in Maui County. Boards made of polystyrene cannot be sold or rented. Hawaii News Now.

Blessing held for 324 unit Kaulana Mahina workforce apartments in Wailuku, Maui. An official blessing was held on Monday for the new Kaulana Mahina development in Central Maui. Kaulana Mahina features long-term workforce rentals and a community/recreation center, on 14.4 acres in Wailuku. Maui Now. KHON2.

Balinbin, Cochran face off again, this time for the House. District 14 candidates are competing for Democratic nomination. A grassroots Kahana resident goes head-to-head with a longtime West Maui council member in the Democratic primary for the House District 14 seat, a new district created from the state’s reapportionment process that encompasses nearly all of West Maui. Maui News.

Kauai

Forum Wednesday is on coastal response to sea-level rise. Many people are seeing the erosion of Kaua‘i’s shorelines and sea-level rise during storms and wonder if anything can be done to preserve beaches. Garden Island.