Thursday, June 26, 2025

Youth emissions lawsuit settlement to be costly, new report shows Hawaii County income from vacation rentals, taxpayer-funded legal bills for Leong, Sword top $200k, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Lawmakers Worry Hawaiʻi’s Emissions Goals Could Leave Some In The Dust. State officials have a new roadmap to decarbonize the cars, planes and ships that form Hawaiʻi’s transportation sector, they told legislators on Wednesday – almost exactly one year after they signed a landmark legal settlement with youth climate activists to ramp up those efforts. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser.

Filipinos caught in power contest between U.S. and China. Amid increasing hostilities in the South China Sea — a busy waterway through which more than a third of all trade travels — disputed waters around the Philippines are emerging into a potential flashpoint that holds repercussions both there and in Hawaii. Since April, soldiers and Marines from Hawaii-based units have been on the ground in the Philippines for a series of exercises. Star-Advertiser.

Ex-Corrections Official Sues Alleging Discrimination, Wrongful Termination. Pamela Sturz claims workplace harassment after her boss learned she was married to a woman. Civil Beat.

Micronesians Are Suffering From Advanced Breast Cancer. Mammograms Could Help. Micronesians are less likely to get mammograms than women overall in Hawaiʻi. Community advocates say public health officials need to break down barriers to early screening.  Civil Beat.

Oahu

The taxpayer-funded legal bills for the former Honolulu city officials who faced federal charges are in, with fees in the six figures.
A Honolulu City Council committee advanced two resolutions following their executive session, adding funds to contracts started two years ago to defend Max Sword and Donna Leong. Leong’s legal bill totaled $102,000 with Sword’s bill totaling almost $106,000. KHON2.

City of Honolulu hit with negligence lawsuit over crash at erased crosswalk.
A year after a missionary was nearly killed in a McCully crosswalk that had been stripped of its white lines the city is being sued for negligence. Over the past decade, markings at dozens of Oahu crosswalks have vanished. Hawaii News Now.

HPD: Man shot by police in Makaha was wanted on 3 felony warrants. Honolulu police released the latest details into an officer-involved shooting in Makaha Tuesday that left a 38-year-old man critically injured. For the second time since Sunday Opens in a new tab, Honolulu police had to shoot a suspect who refused to surrender Opens in a new tab after ramming an unmarked police car in Makaha until it burst into flames. Hawaii News Now. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser.

Ala Wai Harbor Is A Major Tow-Away Zone. Will Better Warning Signs Help? Repaving is also coming for most of the 900 parking spaces at Hawaiʻi’s largest small boat harbor. Civil Beat.

DPP sorts through thousands of illegal rental notices, more than $90M in fines. Since the passage of Bill 41 in 2022, which limits most short-term rentals to a minimum 30-day stay, the Department of Planning and Permitting has issued more than $90 million in fines. KITV4.

Hahaione Valley residents raise concerns about possible development. Until July of last year, the Japan-America Institute of Management Science occupied a six-acre site at the top of Hawaii Kai Drive between Pepeekeo and Hahaione Streets. Now, residents in Hahaione Valley are wondering exactly what will happen with the parcel. Hawaii News Now.  Star-Advertiser.

Disbarred lawyer indicted in estate theft scheme. A 75-year-old ex-lawyer, who was disbarred in January 2023 for wrongfully laying claim to over $2 million in abandoned property, was charged Friday in a 22-count felony indictment in a similar case, including theft of roughly $750,000 from a dead man’s estate. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Island

How do short-term vacation rentals affect Hawaiʻi Island's economy?  There’s a new report out that looks at the economic impact of vacation rentals to the county's tax coffers. Hawaii Public Radio.

Full vacation rental report
here.

2 dozen coconut rhinoceros beetles detected in Kona since March. Crews are searching for coconut rhinoceros beetle breeding sites in the Kona area, where about two dozen of the invasive beetles have been found since first being discovered there in March. Hawaii Public Radio.

Penn asks judge for ‘identity verification’ of his mother.
UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn has said on social media he believes an identical imposter has taken the place of his mother, Lorraine Shin, his brothers and others around him. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Maui Council to take up contentious Honuaʻula project for first reading this Friday. The long-debated Honuaʻula master-planned community project is returning to the Maui County Council’s agenda for its regular meeting on Friday. The “hot button” issue has been whether to approve the developer’s request to remove a requirement to build 450 affordable units in the South Maui project district development. Maui Now.

Volunteers sought for Marine Institute to help rescue sea turtles, care for corals. The Marine Institute at Maui Ocean Center is seeking Maui-based volunteers who are passionate about ocean conservation and willing to dedicate at least three hours a week assisting with coral restoration and endangered Hawaiian sea turtle conservation. Maui Now.

Kauai

Sewer rate increase goes into effect July 1. “Increasing 11% per year over a 5-year period, funds from this increase will go into much-needed repairs of facilities that are over 4 decades old,” said Kaua‘i County Engineer Troy Tanigawa in the county’s reminder. Kauai Now.

New mobile pantry fills gaps in access to kupuna and families
. Reminiscent of the “yasai trucks” of the rural plantation camps and towns, the Hawaii Foodbank Kauai held a Mobile Food Pantry blessing by Kahu Jade Waialeale Battad on Tuesday, under weather conditions that started out threatening before ending in a downpour at the Kauai Philippine Cultural Center. Garden Island. Kauai Now.


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