Senate panel tackles wildfire mitigation, state Supreme Court penalizes attorney general for Maui stream diversion accusations, Skyline ridership drops, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii utilities focus on reducing wildfire risks. Hawaii’s two regulated electrical utilities told a pair of state Senate committees Thursday that they are trying to do as much as possible as fast as possible with wildfire risk mitigation. For Hawaiian Electric, this includes spending $117 million this year on such work and seeking $450 million in federal matching grants to help fund $900 million in system improvement projects. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Supreme Court Rebukes State Agencies In East Maui Water Case. The justices found the state's factual arguments flimsy regarding water diversions affecting the ability to fight the August wildfires. Civil Beat. Hawaii News Now.  KITV4.

7 measures become law, 25 pending governor’s action. As of Thursday the governor had signed into law six House bills — relating to elections, legislative agencies, suicide awareness and the designation of state snails and “kimchi day.” A seventh Senate bill relating to landownership had also been signed. Star-Advertiser.

Officials Mistakenly Locked This Man In A Psych Ward, Then Argued He Was Not Sane Enough To Sue. Joshua Spriestersbach sued the state after he was held in the Hawaii State Hospital for more than two years under the wrong name, only to face new questions about his sanity. Civil Beat.

Oahu

Honolulu City Council considers salary charter amendments. Seven resolutions that urge voter-approved charter amendments to overhaul how Honolulu pays its employees were under City Council review this week. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu’s 911 system goes down briefly. The Honolulu Police Department said they are working off a backup system and do not yet know whether the interruption is related to the multi-state outage that occurred Wednesday night. Star-Advertiser.

Skyline average daily ridership even lower than last year. The Director of Transportation Services said things will turn around once the second segment opens but that isn’t until Spring 2025. KHON2.

‘Bleeding out’: HART board members express concern after key project leader quits. Some HART board members are expressing concern that the nearly $10 billion rail project is “bleeding out” after a key project leader suddenly quit. Hawaii News Now.

Dillingham Airfield And Nearby North Shore Residents Brace For Looming Water Shutdown. The airfield is poised to get the reprieve it needs to stay open, but it still doesn't have a new group ready to step up and manage the water system. Civil Beat.

Discovery of WWII-era bomb at Bellows highlights ongoing risk of unexploded ordnance. For almost two months, the base has been mostly off-limits to visitors as part of a massive effort to scour the 24-acre site in search of more hidden hazards.  Hawaii News Now.

In tearful testimony, woman describes day she believed alleged crime boss killed her boyfriend. It was the most dramatic day so far of the federal Mike Miske organized crime trial. On Thursday, in tearful testimony, 29-year-old Ashley Wong described the day in 2016 she believed Miske had kidnapped and killed her boyfriend — Johnathan Fraser. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Water Commission seeks input on potential restoration of stream flow in Waikoloa. For more than 75 years, Hawaiʻi County and Parker Ranch have been diverting water from streams in the area to support surrounding communities with water for drinking and agriculture. Hawaii Public Radio.

Help likely on the way in battle against spittlebugs. The two-lined spittlebug is an insect whose voracious appetite for key livestock grazing grasses has made the species a menace for ranchers on the Big Island since it was first discovered here in 2016. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Deadly Lahaina fire spread ‘incredibly fast,’ racing mauka to makai within 90 minutes. Investigators will focus on fire’s early stages as they shift gears from fact-finding to determining the cause of one of the deadliest fires in US history. Maui Now.

‘Wow ... LOL’: Text messages from ex-MEMA head point to lack of urgency during Lahaina firefight. A closer look at the Attorney General's Office report reveals a concerning lack of urgency from the Maui County’s Emergency Management Agency at the height of the crisis.  Hawaii News Now.

Wailuku man dies after being Tased by Maui police. An incident involving a Maui Police Department officer resulted in the use of a Taser and the subsequent death of Televise Sau, 53, of Wailuku, according to department reports. Maui Now. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.  KITV4.

Maui Strong Fund tops $190 million. The Hawaii Community Foundation on Thursday said its Maui Strong Fund has raised over $190 million from 250,000 donors across 76 countries — distributing almost $90 million to provide immediate and long-term support to Maui wildfire recovery efforts. Star-Advertiser.

MEO disburses Maui Relief TANF/HCF funds that would help 4,000 people in five months. More than 1,000 households and 4,000 individuals who were directly impacted by the wildfires have received housing, vehicle, utility, clothing and school supply assistance in the five months since the inception of the Maui fires relief program, according to Maui Economic Opportunity. Maui News.

Kauai

Storm cleanup and repairs continue on Kaua‘i. Officials from the Kaua‘i Emergency Operations Center have announced that operations remain partially active following last week’s flooding event on the Garden Island. Garden Island.

Public invited to complete Kaua‘i Community Survey on Homelessness. The County of Kauaʻi Housing Agency is encouraging the public to complete the Kaua‘i Community Survey on Homelessness, as the agency begins the process to develop a Kaua‘i County Five Year Homelessness Strategic Plan. Kauai Now.