Senate passes same-sex marriage protections, Green seeks $362M emergency Maui funding, bills advance loosening building codes to spur development, federal judge to decide venue for Maui fire lawsuits, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Repeal of Legislature’s authority over same-sex marriages considered. The state Senate will now consider a House bill calling for a constitutional amendment to repeal the Legislature’s authority to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. Star-Advertiser. Big Island Now.

Legalized gambling likely dead, recreational marijuana still alive. State House and Senate bills to allow a lottery, casino, online gambling and bets on fantasy sports never gained traction to make it to this week’s midpoint of the legislative session, while the effort to legalize adult recreational marijuana use survived in the Senate but, once again, faces an uncertain fate in the House. Star-Advertiser.

Key deadline at the state Legislature determines which measures move forward. Thursday is a major crossover deadline at the state Legislature to clarify which measures are moving ahead with a chance at becoming law. Hawaii Public Radio.

Green quantifies emergency funding request related to Maui fire disaster. Gov. Josh Green has told the Legislature he needs a $362 million emergency funding appropriation he believes is needed to pay Maui wildfire recovery costs through June 30. Star-Advertiser.

Building Code Groups Caution Hawaii Lawmakers Against ‘Deeply Abnormal Response To A Disaster’.  Developers are urging the Legislature to pass a bill this session that would slow down the pace of updating building codes in Hawaii to reduce costs and increase the number of homes that can be built. Civil Beat.

State Senate passes bill to decriminalize jaywalking. SB2630 allows pedestrians to cross streets if there’s no immediate danger of causing a crash.The bill also mandates fines of at least $100 for any driver caught speeding. Hawaii News Now.

Joe Biden easily wins Hawaii Democratic presidential caucuses. President Joe Biden handily won the Demo cratic Party of Hawaii’s caucus Wednesday night, but “uncommitted” equaled nearly 30% of the votes tallied. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.

Tourism holding back state’s growth. Visitor arrivals to Hawaii are not expected to fully recover until 2027, according to the latest economic forecast from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Star-Advertiser.

Ex-Public Safety training officer J. Marte Martinez gets probation for false transcripts. A Circuit Court judge Wednesday sentenced the former Department of Public Safety’s once top-ranking training officer to a year of probation and a suspended 30-day jail sentence to run concurrently for falsifying her academic transcripts. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.  KHON2. KITV4.

Oahu

Red Hill task force removes last ‘residual fuel’.  After months of work, on Wednesday the military task force charged with removing the fuel from the Navy’s underground Red Hill storage facility announced it had extracted the last of the “accessible residual fuel” from the facility. Star-Advertiser.

‘Forever Chemicals’ In Red Hill Groundwater Warrant More Investigation, Regulators Say. The problem goes beyond a high-profile spill of firefighting chemicals in 2022, officials said. Civil Beat.

City Council agrees to settlement for family of man fatally shot by police. The city council has approved a $525,000 settlement for the family of a 26-year-old man shot to death by police in Mililani in 2019. Hawaii News Now.

5 men sentenced for illegal fishing in protected area off Oahu's North Shore. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced five of nine men cited for illegal fishing in the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District last November. The DLNR says DJ Derno, Jason Sewell, Kerman Kaman, Anson Giden, and Jackson Nithan must complete 50 hours of community service and pay fines of up to $1,000 each. Hawaii News Now.

All Staff Attorneys At One Of Hawaii’s Largest Domestic Violence Organizations Have Quit. With no attorneys on staff, former employees say millions of dollars in grant funding awarded to the Domestic Violence Action Center for legal services could be at risk. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Island

‘It’s been like a shell game’: Ka‘u residents offer strong opposition to Punalu‘u Village project. The Windward Planning Commission today will discuss an application by developer Black Sand Beach LLC for a special management area permit that would allow it to build a roughly 225-unit “residential and commercial community” on a 147-acre parcel in Punalu‘u. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Video News.

Hawai‘i County Council adopts funding measure for Puna Alternate Routes Study. The Hawai‘i County Council on Wednesday voted 8-0, with Kaʻū Councilwoman Michelle Galimba absent, to adopt Bill 131 by approving its second and final reading. The measure provides $2 million for the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works to complete a Puna Alternate Routes Study. Big Island Now.

Changes In Store For Hawaiian Beaches Park. The Hawaiʻi County Council advanced a measure on Wednesday that will change the name of Kahakai Park in the Hawaiian Beaches subdivision to Waiakahiʻula, and some archaeological features found in the park will be preserved. Big Island Video News.

Maui

Federal Judge Hears Arguments Over Whether Lahaina Fire Cases Should Stay With Maui Courts. An army of lawyers converged on Honolulu’s federal court Wednesday to argue over a question that will have a major impact on lawsuits related to the Maui wildfires that destroyed much of Lahaina in August. Civil Beat. KHON2.  KITV4.

Maui County seeks to expedite permits for private developers. Maui County’s interim housing plan, which includes developments funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state and the county, was announced Wednesday evening at the county’s weekly disaster recovery community update meeting at the Lahaina Civic Center. Star-Advertiser.

2 Temporary Group Housing Sites To Be Built In Lahaina For Maui Fire Survivors. The separate FEMA and state projects will be built on one undeveloped property that had been slated for decades as a residential development. Civil Beat.

Maui TANF fire relief expanded to individuals, households without children. Individuals and households impacted by the Maui wildfires—including those without dependent children—may be eligible for Maui Relief TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Program assistance with housing, car, utility, clothing and school supply payments in a major expansion of the program. Maui Now.

Kauai

Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative to receive federal funding to expand solar energy production. Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative is among the first five cooperative utilities in the nation selected to move forward in the U.S. Department of Agriculture awards process for the Powering Affordable Clean Energy program. Kauai Now.

Kaua‘i to get millions in federal funding. Sen. Brian Schatz announced on Tuesday that he secured $394 million in new congressional directed spending, known commonly as earmarks, in the first half of this year’s government funding bill. Garden Island.