Green set to pick 3rd justice for 5-member Supreme Court, Kauai police chief suspended for 3 days, Mayor-Elect Alameda builds his cabinet, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii Is Looking For Its Next Supreme Court Justice. The Judicial Selection Commission is seeking applicants to succeed Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, who must retire next year. Gov. Josh Green is likely to appoint a new Hawaii Supreme Court chief justice next year, his third pick for the five-member court. Civil Beat.

Peaks and valleys will mark Hawaii holiday travel. Honolulu is among the top domestic leisure destinations for Thanksgiving, which travel membership organization AAA expects will set travel records this year. Star-Advertiser. Kauai Now.

Oahu

Kakaako pedestrian bridge nears completion after much delay. If no further setbacks occur, the elevated walkway across six-lane Ala Moana Boulevard midblock between Ward Avenue and Kamakee Street will have taken a little over 2-1/2 years to build, or 31 months instead of an originally anticipated 17 months. Star-Advertiser.

Uncertainty over demand lingers for rental tower for Native Hawaiians. Stanford Carr Development, a local firm developing the 23-story Hale Moiliili project with 278 units in Oahu’s urban core, is highly confident that more than enough demand will exist for the project featuring studios to three-bedroom units where monthly rent is estimated to range from $675 to $3,461 and will be reserved for households with very low to moderate incomes. Star-Advertiser.

Department of Planning and Permitting has decrease in permitting backlog. The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting’s new technology has allowed the code review process to decrease to just nine days for residential permits. Six months ago, the code review process for a residential permit took half a year. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu home prices remained stable in October. Only resales of single-family homes increased, with a 22.5% gain as 261 exchanged hands compared with 213 a year earlier. Single- family homes remained unchanged at $1.1 million from a year earlier, condominium prices inched up 1.9% to $525,000 from $515,000 and condo sales edged up 1.5% to 405 from 399. Star-Advertiser.

Merging of Honolulu ambulance services with fire department under consideration. The Honolulu City Council is considering a task force that would look into merging the Honolulu Emergency Services Department with the Honolulu Fire Department. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaii Island

Mayor-Elect Alameda Names More Department Heads.  Names familiar to County government have been chosen to lead the departments of Planning, Finance, and Parks and Recreation. Big Island Video News. KITV4.

General Plan process continues: Climate change garners attention at recent meetings. Proposed updates to the Hawaii County General Plan promise many months of public debate as a series of public meetings roll out into next year. Tribune-Herald.

Potential threats to Big Island ranked during meeting. Invasive species and earthquakes topped Big Island residents’ concerns during a community discussion last Monday about a planned update to Hawaii County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. Tribune-Herald.

DHHL makes largest agricultural lot offering since the late 1980s. Hawaiian beneficiaries of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands have been awarded 68 agricultural lots on Hawaii island — the department’s largest agricultural lot offering since the late 1980s. Star-Advertiser. Big Island Video News. Big Island Now.  KHON2.

Beware Wailuku River: Effort underway to post more ominous warning signs. Councilwoman Jenn Kagiwada is hosting a town hall meeting on Zoom to discuss enhanced signage intended to keep would-be swimmers out of the waters of the state parks along the Wailuku River in Hilo. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Video News.

Maui

Below-market rentals, awards program support Lahaina educators. Gov. Josh Green and DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi on Friday announced two new teacher resiliency programs, including a $20 million workforce housing program and an initiative that rewards DOE employees in West Maui who played a critical role in keeping Lahaina schools open following the deadly disaster. Star-Advertiser. Maui News.

First Families Move Into Temporary FEMA Housing For Maui Fire Survivors. The rent will be covered for the first few months by continued emergency assistance, but tenants must begin paying in February. Civil Beat. Hawaii News Now.

Bridging Maui’s housing gap: Mass timber is fast, durable and fire-resistant option. A pre-fabricated, fire-resistant building material known as mass timber can be shipped to Maui from the Pacific Northwest and reduce on-site construction by at least half, compared with traditional stick-built homes, according to Haʻikū architect David Sellers. Maui Now.

Kula residents plant native species where invasives fueled last year's Maui wildfire.  Now, the area that was covered in ash just over a year ago, is blanketed with wood chips to prevent erosion.  It’s also home to native seedlings, thriving in the burn scar. Hawaii Public Radio.

Maui Health names new administrator for critical access hospitals. Penny Koval has been selected to be the Maui Health system’s new administrator of Critical Access Hospitals, effective Nov. 1. Maui News.

Kauai

Retiring Kauai police chief suspended for 3 days. The Kauai Police Commission on Friday suspended Kauai Police Chief Todd Raybuck for three days for leaving his department-issued Glock handgun in an employee restroom in March, but declined to pursue further action on two related complaints accusing the chief of retaliating against the officers who found the weapon. Star-Advertiser. Garden Island.  Hawaii News Now.

Surfrider raises concerns about issuing new pollutant discharge permit to Kauaʻi Shrimp. Environmental activists testified during a public meeting last week in Kekaha that Kauaʻi Shrimp, the island’s only shrimp farm, should not be issued a new pollutant discharge permit due to concerns about its effluent polluting waters and killing fish. Kauai Now.

Kūhiō Highway near Waikoko hairpin reopens after emergency slope stabilization work. The makai (oceanside) lane of Kūhiō Highway near the Waikoko hairpin turn has reopened after it was closed for a month for emergency slope stabilization. Kauai Now.

State OKs Spectrum’s Kauai application. The state’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs on Monday approved the Spectrum Oceanic LLC Application for Renewal of Cable Franchise for the County of Kauai. Garden Island.