Hawaii Tourism Authority sued over snorkeling dangers after long flights, temporary restraining order halts destruction of Haiku stairs, contested case hearing slows Punaluu black sand beach development, Civil Beat a Pulitzer finalist for Maui fire coverage, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Michigan family files lawsuit against Hawaii tourism authority over snorkeling dangers after long flights. A Michigan family filed a lawsuit against the Hawaii's Tourism Authority, and other visitor groups, because they don't warn tourists about potential dangers of snorkeling soon after flying. KITV4.

Hawaii Pushes To Ensure High Schoolers Learn About Money Management. The Department of Education wants to include financial literacy in students' individual transition plans for career planning. Civil Beat.

Hawaii county mayors crack down on short-term rentals, pledging neighborhood restoration. Now with the power to revoke permits, county mayors are moving aggressively to shut many of them down. KITV4.

Woman charged for alleged theft of more than $44,000 in IBEW union members’ dues. Attorney General Anne Lopez announced criminal charges against a woman for the alleged embezzlement of approximately $44,367 in union dues from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 1186. Maui Now. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu

Corruption Defendant Dennis Mitsunaga Injured In Jailhouse Fall, Delaying Trial. A high-profile bribery trial involving businessman Dennis Mitsunaga and former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro was delayed on Monday after Mitsunaga sustained an injury in custody, his attorney said.  Civil Beat. Hawaii News Now.

Settlement over Liquor Commission lawsuit is rejected. An offer by the city to settle a 2021 federal lawsuit alleging anti-gay discrimination by investigators working for the Honolulu Liquor Commission has been rejected. Star-Advertiser.

Friends of Haiku Stairs halt removal of popular, but prohibited, hiking trail. A temporary restraining order has been filed by the Friends of Haiku Stairs in an attempt to keep the city from their removal. KHON2.

Oahu housing market improves with year-over-year gains. The single-family home market had bigger gains, with a 26% jump in sales to 262 in April from 208 a year earlier, and a 10% rise in the median sale price to $1,100,000 from $999,995. Star-Advertiser.

Man who received $12.5M settlement from HPD arrested for gun crimes. Officers booked Jonaven Perkins-Sinapati Saturday afternoon for allegedly firing a gun out of a moving vehicle in Kaneohe. Hawaii News Now.

Biki’s Balancing Act: The Bike Share Company Is Raising Rates While Trying To Attract More Riders. Biki's Honolulu ridership has been steadily declining over the past few years, and its leadership wants to reinvest in the system to draw in more riders and start adding e-bikes. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Island

Punalu‘u project stalled: Proposed Black Sand Beach Development On Big Island Hits Rocky Shores. The Windward Planning Commission granted petitions for a contested case hearing over a developer's plans to build 225 units along a remote strip of coastline. Civil Beat. Tribune-Herald.  Big Island Video News.  Big Island Now.

Star Alameda, wife of mayoral candidate dies. Star Alameda, wife of Hawaii County mayoral candidate Kimo Alameda and a career educator, died Friday. She was 54. Tribune-Herald.

National Science Foundation to decide on billions in funding for Thirty Meter Telescope. The National Science Foundation has until September to decide on advancing the Thirty Meter Telescope to the final design stage. The TMT is competing against a telescope project in Chile for limited NSF funding.  Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaiian Name Given To New Astronomy Instrument On Maunakea.  ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo have named a new instrument that will be used at the Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope on Maunakea. Wenaokeao, meaning “earliest glow of light,” was given after extensive research by high school students. Big Island Video News.

Maui

Notices of Maui homeless sweep lacking information cited by state Supreme Court. Notices of an ongoing homeless sweep at Maui’s Kahului Boat Harbor by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources lack the same information that was cited by the Hawaii Supreme Court in a challenge to Maui County’s homeless sweeps. Star-Advertiser.

A judge is forcing Hawaiʻi to give wildfire investigation documents to lawyers handling lawsuits. A judge on Friday forced the Hawaiʻi attorney general's office to turn over to lawyers involved in the hundreds of lawsuits over last summer's Maui wildfires all documents, interviews and data collected by the outside team hired to investigate the disaster. Associated Press.

Candidates file nomination papers, aim to help with Maui’s housing crisis. Two candidates for public office are testing political waters and saying they aim to help address Maui’s housing crisis, especially in the wake of the August wildfires. Maui Now.

Expeditions Maui-Lānaʻi Ferry expands to three round trips per day; continues to adjust following wildfires. The Expeditions Maui-Lānaʻi Ferry is expanding service with three round trips per day, seven days a week, starting the week of June 3, 2024. Maui Now.

Civil Beat Named Pulitzer Finalist For Maui Fire Coverage. Civil Beat’s reporting exposed critical flaws in the state and county’s emergency preparedness and response, including the absence of Maui’s top emergency management official, the county’s lack of transparency overall and the history of failures in ecological management that laid the foundation for the disaster.  Civil Beat.

Kauai

County and hotel developer respond to recent wastewater spills at Coco Palms. Two recent wastewater spills at the Wailua Coco Palms sewer pump station, expected to accommodate a 350-room hotel currently under construction, have added to public opposition to the development. However, county officials and the hotel developer assert that the sewer issues are not linked to the hotelʻs construction.  Kauai Now.

Niumalu Bridge on Kaua‘i closed till further notice. Following the flooding event in April, Kaua‘i County consultants inspected county bridges across the island and determined that the Niumalu Bridge was unsafe for motorists, prompting an immediate shutdown. Kauai Now.

Hawaii Medal of Honor ceremony honors war dead, Honolulu Civil Beat editor heads to Washington Post, Legislature mulls state bank, mandatory sick leave, charter schools, new garbage study for Big Island, hostess bars for Maui, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii Medal of Honor ceremony, courtesy House Majority Office

Hundreds of people gathered at the State Capitol Wednesday to remember 24 servicemen with Hawaii ties who died during the past year in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hawaii News Now.

The annual Hawaii Medal of Honor ceremony is more than just a time to recognize and honor fallen troops. It's a time for friends, colleagues and loved ones of the dead to gather, console and connect with each other, to be reassured that those close to them will not be forgotten, and to be welcomed into the island ohana. Star-Advertiser.

courtesy House Majority

The families of two dozen fallen service members received the Hawaii Medal of Honor on Wednesday. It was a chance to thank them and their loved ones for protecting our country. KITV4.

Abercrombie: Environmental Critics Are 'Apocalyptic Naysayers' Civil Beat.

Large private sector employers without labor contracts would have to provide workers with up to five days a year in paid sick and safe leave under a bill approved Wednesday by the state Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee. Star-Advertiser.

Should the State of Hawaii open up its own bank? Some lawmakers want to saying it will stimulate economic growth and development.  But opponents say taxpayers shouldn't be backing risky loans. Hawaii News Now.

Public assistance recipients might be able to put away more in savings under a proposal before the state legislature. Associated Press.

A 90-plus-page bill to boost the accountability of Hawaii charter schools is racing toward passage in the Legislature. Civil Beat.

A bill that would relax some of the state building code requirements was gutted when it crossed from the House to the Senate, Rep. Robert Herkes, D-Puna, Ka‘u, South Kona, North Kona, said. West Hawaii Today.

Dog fighting bill ripped, gutted and turned into something else. KHON2.

Hawaii Land Use Commission’s top exec Dan Davidson will retire. Pacific Business News.

Navy Seeks Expanded Partnerships to Reach Clean Energy Goals. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

Civil Beat Editor and General Manager John Temple has accepted a new position as managing editor of The Washington Post. Civil Beat.

The arrest of four city supervisors and eight inmates on drug and contraband charges has triggered scrutiny of the prison work lines. KITV4.

More new Honolulu residents moved from San Diego than from any other county in the United States, and more former Honolulu residents moved to San Diego than anywhere else. Civil Beat.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's newly appointed CEO Daniel  met with the head of the Federal Transit Administration and Hawaii's congressional delegation this week to lobby for federal funds for the city's planned $5.3 billion elevated steel on steel rail project. Hawaii Reporter.

As the city and county of Honolulu prepare to begin construction of the $5.3 billion rail project, KITV4 News has learned some out-of-state workers are already on the job. KITV4.

Honolulu Zoo staff Wednesday were trying to lure back three exotic birds after they escaped earlier this week when vandals cut holes in their cages. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

The county could save up to $1.5 million annually by trucking East Hawaii’s garbage to West Hawaii rather than expanding the Hilo landfill, according to a consultant’s report released Wednesday. West Hawaii Today.

Hawaii's largest grower of macadamia nuts plans to break into the business of making and selling processed food products after decades of selling raw nuts to processing and marketing companies, including Hershey Co. Star-Advertiser.

The Hilo Veterans Administration clinic is looking for a new location in town to call home. Tribune-Herald.

Spilled mercury found Wednesday at a Hawaii County Department of Water Supply facility in Waimea resulted in no reported injuries, according to the Hawaii Fire Department. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Mayor Alan Arakawa said that the county can cut around 33 positions from its payroll for 2013, thanks to his employee attrition policy. Maui News.

The Liquor Commission’s recommendation to remove the 12 cap limit for hostess bar licenses on the island, “is too extreme a change all at one time,” said Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa. Maui Now.

A settlement has been reached in a dispute over the proposed 310-room expansion of the Grand Wailea. Maui News.

Kauai

The entire island of Kauai went dark, some communities for six hours Wednesday, when a transformer failed at Kauai Island Utility Cooperative's Port Allen Generating Station. Star-Advertiser.

The power outage that occurred at the peak of the Wednesday afternoon rush hour was an island-wide shutdown. Garden Island.

The Kaua‘i County Council spent the entire day deliberating on a bill proposing further property tax exemption for Kaua‘i residents, only to see decision-making cut short by the island-wide power failure about 5:15 p.m. Garden Island.

Molokai

Molokai residents are used to some of the highest gas prices in the nation. But with an overnight jump of 25 cents last week – reaching $5.36 for regular unleaded – even locals were left in disbelief. Molokai Dispatch.