Mauna Loa begins to erupt: Ashfall advisory posted, shelters open in Ka‘u, Kona; no immediate threat to nearby communities. Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island is erupting with lava flows at the summit region visible from Kona, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Sunday night.
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Mauna Loa Eruption Webpage.
USGS.Hawaiian Independence Day celebrated Monday. Lā Kūʻokoʻa is observed annually on Nov. 28. It was on that day in 1843 that Hawaiʻi was formally recognized as an independent nation by other world powers, including England, France and the United States of America.
Hawaii Public Radio. Garden Island. ‘I Worked Very Hard’:
Hawaii Gov. David Ige Looks Back At 8 Years Leading The State. The Hawaii governor gets mixed reviews from other top state officials on how well he governed. Ige thinks he did just fine.
Civil Beat.First lady Dawn Amano-Ige’s work is not done. Even though Dawn Amano-Ige, the first lady to Hawaii’s outgoing governor, insists that she doesn’t know yet whether she really will seek an elected office herself someday, she already possesses that statesman’s ability to delicately deflect a news reporter’s questions with aplomb.
Star-Advertiser.Hawaii Rep. Ed Case Looks Ahead To A Divided Congress In 2023. Case says he’s hopeful he’ll be able to navigate the political split even in the minority, but he’s concerned about the anti-democratic leanings of some of his GOP colleagues.
Civil Beat. Maui News. Gov.-elect Josh Green’s staff has diverse skill sets. Gov.-elect Josh Green has staffed his office with a diverse group of women with backgrounds in government and the private sector, including a new Cabinet-level position focused on workforce and affordable housing, homelessness and social service policies.
Star-Advertiser.Optimism high for progress with Hawaii affordable housing. The political will and millions of dollars of funding are in place, leading to high hopes for the upcoming legislative session that Hawaii will see real progress in developing badly needed affordable housing for kupuna, working families, Native Hawaiians and young people — all who could use encouragement to stay home.
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GET Petition effort finds support. A petition urging the state Legislature to exempt medical services from the state’s general excise tax, or GET, has collected more than 1,100 signatures, according to Joe Kent, vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.
Tribune-Herald.Hawaii Farmers Struggle As Worldwide Macadamia Market Goes Nuts. Ad campaigns and DNA testing seek to drive buyers toward real Hawaiian macadamias. Hawaii’s most iconic macadamia nut brands are significantly scaling back their purchases of Hawaii-grown nuts. Instead, shipping records indicate, South Africa and Kenya have become big suppliers.
Civil Beat.South Korean navy training group arrives in Hawaii. The Republic of Korea navy’s cruise training task group arrived Friday at Pearl Harbor for five days of classes and cultural events for sailors and the South Korean navy’s future leaders.
Star-Advertiser.OahuBWS chief blocks mayor’s landfill request over aquifer concerns. Honolulu Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer Ernie Lau has rejected Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s request to locate the city’s next solid-waste landfill in an area where a chemical leak might foul the island’s water resources.
Star-Advertiser.Hawaii gun permit ruling sides with ‘homesick’ Navy officer. A U.S. Navy officer stationed in Hawaii cannot be denied a firearms permit solely because he sought counseling for feeling depressed and homesick, a federal judge ruled.
Associated Press.Mayor Blangiardi to move forward with historic preservation panel. Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced his intent to staff the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission on Wednesday, three decades after the City Council created it without filling its ranks.
Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. Hawaii Public Radio.Hitachi: Two Trains Hit Each Other At Low Speed During Rail Yard Exercise. Two of Honolulu’s driverless trains knocked together in what’s known as a “hard coupling” during what rail officials said was a routine maintenance exercise Monday at the Pearl City rail yard.
Civil Beat.Oneula irrigation project prompts criticism. The city plans to reconstruct the irrigation system at Oneula Beach Park in Ewa Beach, but community members say funds should instead go toward a new comfort station.
Star-Advertiser.Prosecutors Roll The Dice On New Enforcement Measures Targeting Illegal Gambling Rooms. Increased criminal penalties are intended to give investigators an ace up their sleeve in their efforts to stifle the operations and the anti-social activity that can accompany them.
Civil Beat.
2 Oahu schools fight for survival as enrollment shrinks. Waiahole and Ka‘a‘awa each are just over one-fifth the size of the average Hawaii elementary school of about 485 students, according the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education.
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Homeward Bound: Hawaii Program Flies Homeless People To The Mainland. The Institute for Human Services’ relocation program has served nearly 600 people experiencing homelessness on Oahu since 2015.
Civil Beat.Hawaii IslandRental regulations: New rules — and fees — proposed for hosted and non-hosted transient rentals. A proposed revamp of the county’s vacation rental law includes registration — for the first time — of hosted accommodations and new regulations and fees for both hosted and non-hosted rentals. It also paves the way for the creation of vacation nodes, where new short-term rentals could crop up in areas they’re currently banned.
West Hawaii Today.Hilo Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Defrauding Covid-19 Relief Programs. Carey Mills is the first person sentenced for Covid-19 fraud in Hawaii and must pay $957,575 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.
Civil Beat.
Waipiʻo Valley Road Closure Advisory Committee Being Formed. Mayor Mitch Roth has announced that he will stand up a Mayor's Advisory Committee for Waipiʻo Valley's Emergency Road Closure, with diverse public representation.
Big Island Video News.
Native Hawaiians are still waiting for the military to remove unexploded bombs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the remediation effort, has been plagued by shoddy work and multiple regulatory disputes.
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$14.4M bond funding approved for Kaloko Heights affordable housing. The county could be posting the paperwork as early as this week to sell $14.4 million in bonds to provide sewer service to a 100-unit affordable housing project at Kaloko Heights.
West Hawaii Today.No easy fix for complaints about homeless. Hawaii County agencies, the police department and business associations all seem to be waiting for one another to propose solutions to alleviate complaints about the homeless on Hawaii Island.
Tribune-Herald.From homeless to a Big Island police officer; Hope Services provided ‘break’ his family needed. In 2016, Damien Grace was working two jobs, at Safelite Auto Glass and at Foodland in Hilo doing security, desperately trying to support his wife and five young children, including an 8-month-old.
Big Island Now.MauiMaui Lawsuit Seeks New County Council Election For Wailuku. The lawsuit alleges that hundreds of uncounted ballots could have swayed the outcome of a race decided by 513 votes. A lawsuit filed Friday with the Hawaii Supreme Court by more than 30 Maui County voters, including a candidate for office, is asking for a new election for the Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu seat on the County Council, alleging that “irregularities and mistakes” meant that more than 800 voters weren’t given proper notice that their ballots weren’t being counted.
Civil Beat. Maui Now.
Maui has the largest vacation rental supply in Hawaiʻi with 211,900 available unit nights. Vacation rentals across Hawaiʻi reported increases in supply, demand, and average daily rate, with lower occupancy in October 2022 compared to October 2021.
Maui Now. Maui News. KauaiKaua‘i county council votes in new leadership. In a Wednesday meeting, the new Kaua‘i County Council tapped member-elect Mel Rapozo to serve as chair for the next two years.
Garden Island.Public invited to attend inauguration of Kaua’i Mayor and County Council on Dec. 1. The public is invited to attend the inauguration of Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami and the Kaua‘i County Council at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall at 1 p.m. on Dec. 1.
Kauai Now.October: Strong hotel revenue, occupancy. A banner month for passenger counts at Lihu‘e Airport proved fruitful for the local hotel industry, which put up strong revenue and occupancy numbers in October.
Garden Island.