Honolulu homeless increase almost 12%, pay to play regulation a tough sell, Zuckerberg settles wrongful death lawsuit, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

The Number Of People Living On The Streets Of Oahu Has Nearly Doubled In The Last Decade. The Point in Time count — a federally mandated effort to identify the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January — located 4,494 homeless people on Oahu this year, a roughly 12% increase from 2023. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser. KHON2.  KITV4.

Hawaii Ethics Commission Grapples With Pay-To-Play Issues. The Hawaii State Ethics Commission is trying to figure out how to wrangle two groups of people who are proving particularly challenging: high-level state employees who are politically active and legislators who have outside jobs with companies that have government business.  The commission acknowledged that it's tough to oversee lawmakers who resist most accountability measures. Civil Beat.

2 bills aimed at preventing drownings in Hawaii become law. Gov. Josh Green signed Senate Bill 2841 to make every May 15 Water Safety Day for the state, and in tandem Wednesday signed a separate bill to raise money for water safety programs and efforts by authorizing the sale of special Hawaii license plates honoring legendary Hawaiian waterman Duke Kaha­na­moku. Star-Advertiser. KITV4.

Hawaii Wants Home Cooks To Play A Bigger Role In Growing The State’s Food System. New legislation awaiting the governor's signature would help businesses operate out of home kitchens. Civil Beat.
 
“Sentinel Landscape” Designation Around Hawaiʻi Military Installations Announced. U.S. Representative Ed Case (D, Hawaiʻi) announced a new partnership on Wednesday in support of a “Sentinel Landscape” designation for two million acres of land near military installations in Hawaiʻi.  Big Island Video News.

Green signs emergency proclamation, pledges National Guard support as kona low nears. The governor has signed an emergency proclamation and pledged an all-of-government response to a kona low system nearing the islands that forecasters warn could bring record rains, flash flooding and thunderstorms. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.  KITV4.

Oahu

Honolulu planning panel considers next step on landfill alternative. The Honolulu Planning Commission continues to wrestle with the city’s request for an extension to find an alternate site for the 34-year-old Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei which is scheduled to close in 2028. Star-Advertiser.

Families on the Navy water system say there is new contamination in their tap water. They say samples they sent to labs have come back with traces of forever chemicals known as PFAS. Hawaii Public Radio.

Elevated bacterial detected from sample taken at Kailua wastewater treatment plant. The city says this week’s downpours likely caused elevated bacteria in treated wastewater discharged about 5,000 feet from shore. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Council bill authorizes County to limit bike tours from select public roads. What began as an effort to reduce bike traffic on specific West Hawaii roads has become a proposed series of regulations upon bike tour operators throughout the Big Island. Tribune-Herald.

County grants lease extension of Kanoelehua Industrial Area property. After years of bureaucratic wrangling, a Hilo lessee of state land has finally secured a 30-year lease extension for property in the Kanoelehua Industrial Area. Tribune-Herald.

County puts up $200K to mitigate invasive insect. Hawaii County will invest in additional biosecurity measures at a West Hawaii waste facility to prevent the spread of a devastating invasive beetle. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Maui Police Chief Gets Glowing Job Review From Commission. Chief John Pelletier is credited with implementing a five-year strategic plan, something the department lacked when he joined the force in 2021. Civil Beat.

Maui Planning Commission weighs in on Ledcor South Maui’s draft EIS. Maui Planning Commission members finished hearing public comments and then added their own Tuesday to a draft environmental impact statement for Ledcor South Maui’s plans to build as many as 975 homes. Maui Now.

Health declines seen in survivors of Maui wildfires, UH study finds. Nearly half of those affected by the Maui wildfires in August suffered a decline in health, according to a study that aims to track the well-being and social conditions of those exposed to the disaster. Star-Advertiser.

Construction to begin at Lahaina housing site. Heavy construction is set to begin at the Kilohana temporary housing site in Lahaina later this week and will last approximately six months, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday. Star-Advertiser.

Project aims to restore landscape, mitigate deer damage and reduce erosion above Kihei. A collaboration aiming to protect against erosion, reduce flood risk, mitigate axis deer damage, and improve water quality is being implemented in an 11-acre area mauka of Kihei as part of The Hapapa Watershed Axis Deer Damage Mitigation Project, according to the Maui Soil & Water Conservation District. Maui News.

Kauai

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg settles wrongful death case in Hawaii. In the wrongful death lawsuit in Hawaii involving Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the attorneys for both Zuckerberg and the plaintiff, the family of Rodney Medeiros, who worked part-time as a security guard at Zuckerberg’s ranch on Kauai’s North Shore, agreed to dismiss the case. KITV4.

UH farmer training program holding open house on Kauaʻi. A University of Hawai’i beginner farmer training program is hosting an open house at its Kauaʻi site on June 1 and is encouraging interested participants to register. Kauai Now.