Green and HSTA plan big teacher raises, Hawaii Island seeks to double shoreline setback, Kauai prosecutes illegal vacation rentals, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii teachers union, Gov. Green tout ‘strongest’ contract ever. The $577 million deal includes annual pay increases between 3% and 5% for a total of 14.5% over four years, but some extraordinary terms are also part of the contract agreement, including at least a 32% increase for new entry-level hires, higher pay for nontraditional teachers and a new top pay class for veteran educators. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. Tribune-Herald.  Big Island Video News. Kauai Now. KHON2.  KITV4.  Hawaii News Now.

State Legislature begins conference committee process to address differing viewpoints. Lawmakers will take up measures on gun laws, tourism management and government transparency in conference committees this week and next. Hawaii Public Radio.

49 endangered Hawaiian species to gain habitat protections. The US Fish and Wildlife Service agreed today to designate protected critical habitat for 39 endangered plants and 10 endangered animals. The determination comes amid a legal victory stemming from a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. Maui Now.

Oahu

Council member hopes to cut Sand Island Treatment Center’s costs. Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam did not know that the city had forced the Sand Island Treatment Center into his district in Iwilei, but toured it on Monday to try to figure out how to ease its $36,000 in new monthly costs. Star-Advertiser.

After sitting empty over a year, portion of city’s Homeless Resource Center set to open. Major developments are underway in regards to the future of a mismanaged homeless housing project that’s been sitting empty in Iwilei more than a year. Hawaii News Now.

River of Life helps homeless with 40 sites across Oahu. River of Life Mission, once the center of blame for homelessness in Chinatown, has reinvented its model to aid the needy by shutting down its Chinatown feeding program and instead helping the homeless at 40 different sites across Oahu, with plans to expand to the neighbor islands and even to foreign countries. Star-Advertiser.

Construction begins on $4.4M project to upgrade busy part of Chinatown. Construction began Monday at Kekaulike Mall where a $4.4 million project will upgrade the busy market space between King Street and Hotel Street. Hawaii News Now.

Why Some Stores In Chinatown Keep Doors Locked During Business Hours. Boutiques and other stores installed buzz-in systems with the onset of the pandemic and decided to keep them as traffic returned to the area. Civil Beat.

Rail will open in July, HART CEO confirms. Lori Kahikina, executive director and CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, confirmed that the city’s nearly $10 billion rail line will open for public ridership in July. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat.

HPD vows to step up gambling enforcement in wake of shooting. The search for an armed man responsible for a mass shooting at a Maili cockfight around midnight Friday that killed two people continued Monday as police promised to step up gambling enforcement in the area. Star-Advertiser. KHON2. KITV4.

Hawaii Island

Proposed rules would double shoreline setback.  Pending revisions to the Hawaii County planning rules could result in developments being pushed farther away from the coast in an effort to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Tribune-Herald.

Document details plan for bottling plant in Hilo. One less hurdle stands in the way of a new proposal to build a water-bottling plant next to the Wailoa River State Recreation Area. Tribune-Herald.

Another chemical leak found at a Maunakea telescope. The University of Hawaii’s 88-inch telescope, also called UH88, was discovered in January to have sprung a leak in its coolant system some time between mid-December and Jan. 10, spilling an unknown amount of anti-freezing agent ethylene glycol. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Traci Fujita named the Council’s representative on MEO Board. Traci Fujita, who currently serves as the director of the Office of Council Services, has joined the Maui Economic Opportunity Board of Directors, filling the Council representative spot. Maui Now.

Surfrider’s water quality monitoring expands; reports ongoing pollution in Wailuku River. Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force program released its annual Maui water quality report for 2022.  Maui Now.

Molokai mobile clinic expands services. The Molokai Community Health Center’s Mana Mobile Medical Clinic is expanding its services to better serve residents on the island’s East Side. Maui News.

Kauai

‘Undercover sting operations’ mop up illegal vacation rentals on Kaua‘i. Data-sharing agreements with tech companies and undercover “sting operations” have cut the number of illegal vacation rentals operating on Kaua‘i to the lowest rate in a decade, officials report. Garden Island.

Coco Palms Resort to be demolished for a new 350-room hotel. Demolition will soon begin on a Kauaʻi resort once favored by Elvis Presley and other Hollywood royalty before it was heavily damaged by a hurricane three decades ago. Associated Press.

DLNR proposes to drain Wailua Reservoir. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is proposing to drain the Wailua Reservoir and breach the dam after finding that neglected maintenance could threaten the lives of nearby residents if no action is taken. Garden Island.

An Innovative Kauai Farm Project May Depend On Saving A 100-Year-Old Reservoir. Plans to create a community agriculture park in the heart of Kauai’s north shore town of Kilauea stalled for decades until the ratty mattresses, washing machines and wrecked cars were finally hauled off a 75-acre county plot in 2015, transforming an illegal dumping ground into an organic meat and vegetable farm.  Civil Beat.