Tourism up, crime down, final vote for $2.4B rail bailout bill today, Ige cools 1k schools, OHA member pays $25k ethics fine, waters woes not to impact Ironman, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Tourists at Honolulu farmers market © 2017 All Hawaii News

Hawaii Visitor Spending Jumped Nearly 10 Percent In July. Travelers spent $1.6 billion last month, and the number of visitors climbed almost 7 percent to more than 890,000. Associated Press.

Hawaii’s visitor industry knocked it out of the park in July, which was the biggest month ever in Hawaii tourism. Star-Advertiser.

Visitor spending in Hawaii increased 9.8 percent to $1.6 billion in July, with year-to-date spending rising 8.9 percent to $9.95 billion, compared to the same period last year, beating expectations for the month, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Pacific Business News.

Visitors to Hawaii from the U.S. East Coast brought the largest gains in spending in July, with spending from that market increasing 22 percent last month to $452.5 million, compared to last year, and contributing to an overall increase in visitor spending of 10 percent. Pacific Business News.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority says spending by visitors jumped nearly 10 percent last month compared to a year earlier. Garden Island.

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Hawaii achieved a record-low crime rate in 2016 as three of the state’s four counties led the way in setting their own record rates. Star-Advertiser.

Go. David Ige fulfills goal to air-condition 1K classrooms. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii's public school children will be more comfortable this school year after the state kept its promise of installing air conditioning units in 1,000 classroom across the islands. Pacific Business News.

Gov. David Ige out beats his promise to cool 1,000 classrooms. KITV.

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Based on a procedural voice vote Thursday, rail’s controversial bailout bill appears poised to easily pass the House today. Star-Advertiser.

The Legislature’s $2.4 billion rail funding package, expected to clear its final legislative hurdle Friday, won’t just bring a big influx of of cash to the over-budget and behind-schedule project. Civil Beat.

A bill increasing the hotel tax statewide to bail out the vastly over-budget Honolulu rail project advanced in the House on Thursday after narrowly clearing its committees the night before. West Hawaii Today.

Senate Bill 4 is nearing final passage during this week’s Special Legislative Session. But funding Honolulu’s Rail Transit Project caused some clashes between lawmakers. Hawaii Public Radio.

The rail bail out bill faces one final hurdle with a final floor vote in the House Friday. KITV.

Facing pressure from state lawmakers to find new revenue sources, the city and the rail authority are taking a second look at private and public partnerships. Hawaii News Now.

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The state Ethics Commission has fined an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee $25,000 for violating ethics laws by using his state office, staff and resources for his own business purposes on “innumerable occasions,” including on a critical vote and subsequent work associated with the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission announced Thursday that it has reached a $25,000 settlement agreement with Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Peter Apo, who admitted to using the state agency’s connections and resources to benefit his consulting firm, The Peter Apo Company. Civil Beat.

An Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee who admitted to making an inquiry with a business from the Thirty Meter Telescope after publicly advocating for its construction will pay a $25,000 fine to the state ethics commission. Hawaii News Now.

The Army has declared as deceased the final two missing members of a UH-60 Black Hawk that crashed during night training off Kaena Point Aug. 15. Star-Advertiser.

The Army has declared dead the final two soldiers missing after a Black Hawk helicopter with a crew of five crashed off Hawaii earlier this month. Associated Press.

Hawaii is neglecting a “hidden economy” by significantly undervaluing its nearshore fisheries both economically and culturally, according to a recently published report. West Hawaii Today.

Oahu

On Oahu 1,400 establishments hold liquor licenses. The Honolulu Liquor Commission's proposed license fee increase would raise what they pay by 70 percent. Hawaii News Now.

A nonprofit developer has completed a $33 million first phase of preservation work on an old Kunia pineapple plantation village to provide affordable housing for retirees and low-income farmworkers. Star-Advertiser.

An annual truck rally held Sunday in Kapolei was disrupted when Honolulu police officers and city vehicle inspectors arrived in force. Hawaii News Now.

Can anything be done about the flooding in Mapunapuna? KHON2.

Honolulu-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co. on Thursday received two contracts totaling close to $39 million from U.S. Department of Defense for construction work in Hawaii and Guam. Pacific Business News.

Hawaii Island

Crime hits record low. Tribune-Herald.

Rates that will cause Hawaii island residents’ electrical bills to rise nearly $5 a month went into effect Thursday. Star-Advertiser.

A U.S. Coast Guard investigator identified a brownish slick floating offshore of Kahaluu Beach Park as possibly algae, authorities said Thursday afternoon. West Hawaii Today.

The Ironman World Championship, the thousands of visitors it brings and a water shortage at the heart of the action in North Kona during one of the hottest times of the year appears a volatile and potentially dangerous mix. But it might not be so bad as it seems. West Hawaii Today.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo welcomes Douglas Shinsato, nominated by the governor to be the new UH Regent. Big Island Video News.

State Sen. Kai Kahele of Hilo wants the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s enrollment to exceed 5,000 students in 10 years. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Maui County’s total Index Crime rate in 2016 was the highest in the State of Hawaii; but it was also its lowest level on record since the start of statewide data collection in 1975. Maui Now.

Maui’s Short Term Rentals. Residents of Paia and Haiku are trying to decide the future of short-term rentals in their community after an unusual discovery: their current community plan and the Maui County Code don't match up. Hawaii Public Radio.

New Study: 72% of Maui Ocean Drownings are Visitors. Maui Now.

The Hawaii State Department of Education reports that progress is being made by school bus contractors to address the current shortage of Commercial Driver Licensed drivers on Maui and Kauai qualified to operate school buses. Maui Now.

Kauai

Though the Air Force reduced the number of bombs aimed at a training area 50 miles off the coast of Kauai, conservationists are still concerned about the whales and dolphins in the area. Garden Island.

Tropical disturbance threatens Hawaii, state Supreme Court overturns Waikiki hotel variance, Kaiser Permanente picked for Maui hospitals, Kakaako tech park advances, Sandwich Isles ousts Hee, Kauai to learn about coral bleaching, Kona timeshare project cleared, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

2:02 a.m. Thursday Hawaii storm track, courtesy Central Pacific Hurricane Center

A developing weather system about 800 miles southeast of Hilo has a high chance of forming into a tropical cyclone in the next few days, according to forecasters. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii’s long-term care ombudsman is lobbying the federal government to take action that better protects the elderly from inadvertently signing away their right to sue a nursing home should a dispute arise during their stay there. Civil Beat.

President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders arrived in Hawaii on Tuesday for the first time on a mission to better understand issues facing the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Star-Advertiser.

Sandwich Isles Communications Inc. is planning a corporate restructuring that will remove owner Al Hee from “any management responsibilities or involvement” with the company in the wake of Hee’s convictions this summer on federal tax charges, the Hawaiian Homes Commission was told Tuesday. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu

The Hawaii Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a city variance that was necessary for Kyo-ya to replace the existing eight-story Moana Surfrider Diamond Head Tower with a 26-story hotel and residential tower. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled that the city shouldn’t have granted a variance to allow a 26-story hotel and residential tower to encroach on a Waikiki shoreline. Civil Beat.

Hawaii’s highest court has overturned a city variance granted to Kyo-ya Hotels that would have allowed them to construct a new building along Waikiki Beach outside the developmental restrictions enacted for the Waikiki Special District. Hawaii Independent.

State officials heading a technology park in Kakaako published a draft environmental assessment Wednesday that estimates an initial $39 million phase of what is being called the “Innovation Block” could be completed by 2018, followed by two more perhaps equally costly phases in 2020. Star-Advertiser.

A technology park meant to boost tech industry jobs in the state could be coming to Honolulu as soon as 2020 under a plan being pushed by a state development agency. Hawaii News Now.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources  and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District are holding a public meeting on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 to present the Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Ala Wai Canal Project. KHON2.

Honolulu paid $167,500 to two hikers who said they were brutalized by officers, but its Police Department overruled a finding that excessive force was used. Civil Beat.

The University of Hawaii is moving ahead with plans to lease more than 150 acres of vacant land next to the UH-West Oahu campus for mixed-use development to help support the growing Kapolei university. Star-Advertiser.

Transit-oriented developments key in addressing Honolulu's housing crunch, state official says. Pacific Business News.

The City continues its sidewalk enforcement in Kaka’ako and has placed nearly one-third of the homeless individuals and families into emergency shelters. Hawaii Public Radio.

The 77-foot sunken fishing vessel Judy K — covered in mud, algae and barnacles — was floated Tuesday for the first time in eight months at Pier 16 thanks to the Army’s 7th Engineer Dive Detachment taking on the recovery as training. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

The alala hasn’t been seen in the wild for about 13 years, but an effort to prevent Hawaii Island’s native crow from going the way of the dodo could soon begin to pay off. According to a draft of the state’s revised Wildlife Action Plan, there are now 114 alala being raised in captivity — enough to begin reintroducing the birds to the island’s forests as early as next year. Tribune-Herald.

A planned condominium timeshare development mauka of Alii Drive has been downsized slightly to accommodate neighbors’ concerns about a family graveyard. West Hawaii Today.

The $60,000 that the IRONMAN World Championships pay to use the Kailua Pier for four days would be cut in half, under a request that the state Board of Land and Natural Resources will consider on Friday. West Hawaii Today.

County workers are piecing together a flood-damaged road shoulder on Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona — again. West Hawaii Today.

A Kailua-Kona man who punched a shark and saved a surfer friend has been awarded a Carnegie Medal for heroism. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

The Maui Region board of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation has selected Kaiser Permanente as a potential partner for Maui's three public hospitals. Maui News.

The state’s public hospital system has selected Kaiser Permanente to operate and manage three Maui county hospitals. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii Health Systems Corp.’s Maui Regional System Board announced Wednesday that it has selected Kaiser Permanente to enter negotiations with the state and the Maui board to manage the three state-owned hospitals in Maui County. Pacific Business News.

Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui today raised concerns over the selection of Kaiser Permanente by the Hawaiʻi Health Systems Corporation’s Maui Regional System Board as its choice to operate its facilities under a planned partnership. Maui Now.

Maui resident Christopher Profio is asking the Maui Planning Commission to include sugar cane smoke as a factor when granting special management area use permits. Maui Now.

The Water Resources Committee on Wednesday recommended adoption of a resolution approving land purchase agreements for the expansion of the ʻĪao Water Treatment Facility and development of Wailuku Well 1, Committee Chair Gladys Baisa announced. Maui Now.

Short-term rental approved for Helen Hunt, denied for Fleetwood. Planning commission hears requests. Maui News.

Kauai

Researchers reported a successful result from this week’s bait experiment to eliminate the rat population on Lehua Rock. Garden Island.

Bleachapalooza, a statewide effort to train Hawaii residents how to identify and report sightings of coral bleaching, is coming to Kauai. Garden Island.

Hawaiian monk seal captured after biting Kona Ironman contestants, Honolulu one step closer to rail transit, Kauai postpones GMO vote, gay marriage symposium canceled, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian monk seal watches Ironman contestants, photo by Ironman Greg Welch

Two marine biologists and a veterinarian have removed a young Hawaiian monk seal from the wild after it bit two triathletes swimming in Kamakahonu Bay Tuesday. The 6-month-old seal, weighing 100 pounds, was reportedly following and swimming circles around the triathletes prior to nipping them. Both men had minor injuries and were treated on site. One man was bitten on a knee and the other was bitten on the side of his abdomen, said Michelle Barbieri, a veterinarian with The Marine Mammal Center. West Hawaii Today.

Honolulu transit officials filed court documents Tuesday asserting that they've complied with a federal judge's instructions to study the alternative routes and impacts of the city's rail project. If Judge A. Wallace Tashima accepts the city's "notice of compliance," filed in District Court, the move could lift his order blocking rail construction in the heart of Honolulu. Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu is one step closer to putting to rest a federal lawsuit that aimed to stall the city’s $5.26 billion rail project. On Tuesday, the city’s attorneys filed paperwork with the U.S. District Court that answered Judge A. Wallace Tashima’s questions regarding the city’s compliance with federal transportation and environment requirements. Civil Beat.

A symposium on the religious exemption in a gay marriage bill that was scheduled for Wednesday evening at the state Capitol has been cancelled. Organizers from the University of Hawaii law school said there was a misunderstanding about whether the symposium would only focus on the religious exemption or whether other issues related to the bill would be discussed. Star-Advertiser.

Marriage Equality Could Make Hawaii Schools More Gay-Friendly. Civil Beat.

State Rep. K. Mark Takai, a congressional hopeful who voted against civil unions and had been undecided on gay marriage, said Tuesday that he supports marriage equality. Star-Advertiser.

Ahi lovers could face a price hike for fresh sashimi and poke next year because of a proposal that would slice the bigeye tuna limit for Hawaii's longline fleet. The overfishing of bigeye tuna is a problem across the Pacific Ocean. The issue is managed at an international level, and the U.S. is hoping to keep the current quota in place. Hawaii News Now.

The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is warning the public about unauthorized websites that appear to be trying to get personal information from those seeking unemployment benefits. The department said Tuesday the sites bear the state of Hawaii seal and are targeting those wanting to file unemployment benefits online. Associated Press.

Twenty-nine confirmed cases, 11 hospitalizations, two liver transplants and one death later, the state Department of Health on Tuesday finally confirmed the name of the dietary supplement linked to a surge in acute liver inflammation and liver failure in the isles, asking that sale of the product come to a halt. Health Department staff traveled store to store Tuesday appealing to local retailers to voluntarily remove all formulas of the marketed "fat burner" OxyELITE Pro from their shelves while the agency continues to work with the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control to investigate the precise cause of the rash of cases. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii Department of Health and federal agencies are warning the public to stop using a diet supplement and have asked retailers to take the product off the shelves after reports of hepatitis and liver failure around the state. Associated Press.

Some Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers will soon be flying missions in unarmed civilian turboprop aircraft over battle zones in Afghanistan. The Detachment 55 soldiers will be using Super King Air 300s loaded with high-resolution sensors and cameras to support troops on the ground. Star-Advertiser.

The state Department of Health reported Tuesday afternoon that it had linked a single case of salmonella poisoning reported in Hawaii to multiple other illnesses on the mainland that have been connected to a California-based chicken farm. Tribune-Herald.

Chad Blair: A Postcard From Washington, D.C. Civil Beat.

Nationwide, Hawai`i has the second-largest percentage of its agriculture land held by foreign investors, according to a recent survey by the US Department of Agriculture. Maui Now.

Oahu
Hundreds turned out at Kahuku High School where the Honolulu City Council heard a controversial plan that could pave the way for new housing and hotel developments to the North Shore and Windward Oahu communities. The Koolau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan, or Bill 47, sets the blue print for future growth in the rural community that first coined the term "Keep the Country Country." Hawaii News Now.

State conservation officers continue to monitor waters off Oahu for large illegal fishing nets after several were confiscated in Kaneohe Bay this summer. The Department of Land and Natural Resources this week reported that its enforcement officer retrieved two illegal lay nets in Kaneohe Bay this summer that totaled more than 1,200 feet long and also removed several derelict net balls comprised of different types of tangled net whose weight can destroy coral reefs as they roll around in the waves. Star-Advertiser.

Federal agent Christopher Deedy has joined in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's request for an order from the Hawaii Supreme Court prohibiting a state judge from holding closed court sessions in his murder case without giving the public a chance to object. Star-Advertiser.

A veteran police officer who's the member of an elite Honolulu Police Department unit is facing a criminal trial and an internal investigation after being accused of assaulting a man arrested for beating up the officer's adult daughter. Hawaii News Now.

Aloha Tower Marketplace would look less like a retail center and more like a university campus under the latest plan proposed by Hawaii Pacific University a year after it took control of the shopping and dining complex fronting Honolulu Harbor. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

County Public Works crews expedited a Kuakini Highway-Kaiwi Street intersection repaving project this month, partially at the request of Ironman World Championship officials, Public Works Director Warren Lee said. West Hawaii Today.

A measure asking the state Legislature to fund the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy Building at the University of Hawaii at Hilo — one of 14 bills being circulated among the four counties for approval before the January legislative session — is apparently not getting much support outside Hawaii County. West Hawaii Today.

Hawaii County and the state are quickly running out of patience with the operators of the Naniloa Volcanoes Resort. Both the county and state Attorney General’s Office submitted filings in federal bankruptcy court late Monday requesting that the hotel’s bankruptcy trustee be unable to assume its lease on Oct. 21, a step needed to proceed with a sale, citing more than $1.6 million in unpaid bills and other problems with the beleaguered operation on Hilo’s Banyan Drive. Tribune-Herald.

For the second time in less than two weeks, a breakdown at an East Hawaii wastewater treatment plant has resulted in ocean discharge of partially treated but disinfected sewage. The latest event occurred at the Papaikou Wastewater Treatment Plan located near Waipahi Point several miles north of Hilo. Big Island Now.

Maui
The second of two stakeholder meetings to discuss a plan for the proposed transition of Pāʻia Elementary School into an entirely Hawaiian speaking, immersion site, takes place tonight. Maui Now.

A workday Saturday at the Kalakupua Playground at the 4th Marine Division Park in Haiku will literally help lay the groundwork for the rebirth of the community-built play structure that had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer safe for children. Maui News.

Kauai

Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho wants to put the brakes on a controversial bill that would increase county oversight of biotech companies and heavy agricultural users of pesticides. Carvalho and his staff testified Tuesday during the Kauai County Council’s hearing on Bill 2491, that the county is ill-equipped to implement the measure, lacking qualified staff and sufficient funds. Civil Beat.

The Kauai County Council will reconvene Tuesday after the administration asked for more time to tackle a bill that would regulate use of pesticides and genetically modified crops by large agribusinesses. The Council heard testimony on Bill 2491 from community members, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., Managing Director Gary Heu and Deputy County Attorney Mauna Kea Trask. Star-Advertiser.

Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and his administration recommended Tuesday that the Kauai County Council consider another deferral of Bill 2491. Garden Island.

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative officials say they will break ground next month on the state’s largest photovoltaic facility aimed at curbing the island’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. The 12-megawatt array, which will be built on 67 acres of leased land owned by Grove Farm Company affiliate Haupu Land Company LLC, is scheduled Nov. 6 following nearly a year of work.  Garden Island.

Volunteers sought for space-travel isolation study, Golden Week for Chinese tourists, first whale sighting of the season off Maui, anti-gay marriage rally draws 500, Kauai Mayor Carvalho to seek re-election, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

University of Hawaii isolation dome on Mauna Loa (c) 2013 All Hawaii News

University of Hawaii researchers are looking for volunteers to act as crew members for a new series of space exploration studies scheduled to take place in an isolated research dome on Mauna Loa. Star-Advertiser.

The special session on same-sex marriages is a little more than three week away but the lobbying efforts are already in high gear. More than 500 people attended a rally the state Capitol today to oppose the legalization of same sex marriages. The rally was organized by the United Fellowship of Churches, which wants the issue decided at the ballot box and not by the state Legislature. Hawaii News Now.

News organizations throughout the state are asking the Hawaii Supreme Court to make it clear that a judge can't close a criminal trial or hear arguments in secret unless the press and public are first given a chance to object. Hawaii is the only state that has not expressly asserted the First Amendment right to attend criminal judicial proceedings, according to a "friend of the court" brief expected to be filed Monday in a case that seeks the release of transcripts from closed sessions of the recent murder trial of U.S. State Department special agent Christopher Deedy. Civil Beat.

Hawaiian Telcom officials told the Federal Communications Commission last month that the company needs a larger subsidy than what the agency is proposing to underwrite the cost of providing broadband service to rural areas in Hawaii. The FCC is providing ratepayer funds to Hawaiian Telcom and other telecommunications companies as part of its new "Connect America" program designed to extend the reach of high-speed Internet into underserved areas of the country. Star-Advertiser.

No need to cry over spilled milk. In Hawaii, just pouring the stuff can make us wince. Milk is expensive here. Civil Beat.

If you see more Chinese tourists than usual in the islands this week, it might be because this is China’s “Golden Week.” It’s one of the country’s semi-annual set of holidays—the other one comes in the spring. Hawaii Public Radio.

Facing thousands of dollars in additional penalties for breaking state campaign finance laws, Hawaii Rep. Karen Awana stepped down from her House leadership position Friday. House Speaker Joe Souki accepted her resignation as majority floor leader, effective immediately. But he also assured her that he would give her a new leadership position if she took care of her fines. Civil Beat.

The University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine has been awarded $18.4 million over five years to foster biomedical careers among students at the UH-Hilo College of Pharmacy, Chaminade University, Hawaii Pacific University and UH community colleges. Star-Advertiser.

A high-level University of Hawaii executive remains in her job — at the same pay — following the conclusion of a university investigation into whether she misrepresented herself as a certified public accountant. University officials refuse to say why she’s still on the job or whether or not they concluded that she illegally misrepresented herself on her resume. Civil Beat.

The Hawaiian Electric Cos. unveiled a new logo Friday, developed by noted Hilo designer Sig Zane, that aims to represent the state’s largest public company’s roots in the Islands as well as its role in helping Hawaii reach its renewable energy goal. Pacific Business News.

Do you feel rich? The Wall Street Journal claims you are, as a fiscal watchdog group says the opposite, citing crushing amounts of government debt. Hawaii’s median household income is $66,000 a year, up $3,000 over last year. The state has a relatively low unemployment rate of 5.8 percent, and the percentage of population below the poverty line is 11.6 percent, the eighth lowest in the country. Hawaii Reporter.

Nearly 1,000 federal technicians around Hawaii have been recalled after being furloughed due to the government shutdown. A spokesperson for the Hawaii National Guard says the technicians, who are based at various military installations throughout Hawaii, will start reporting to work on Monday and Tuesday. KHON2.

State roundup for October 7. Associated Press.

Oahu

The University of Hawaii was scammed out of $200,000 for a Stevie Wonder concert last year, but Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison pulled the right strings for the artist to perform in a private concert for his company employees that will take place in Waikiki on Saturday night. The outdoor concert will only be open to Oracle Club Excellence 2013 members, but anyone in the area should be able to enjoy the sounds of Stevie Wonder, although they might not be able to catch a glimpse of him on stage. Pacific Business News.

BOUNCE houses dotted the state Capitol lawn, dancers gyrated in the Capitol courtyard and makeshift tennis courts occupied Punchbowl Street. Since 1993 families have flocked to the Capitol and environs on the first Sunday of October to celebrate Children and Youth Day, and Sunday's festivities were no different. Star-Advertiser.

A site where heroes are laid to rest in Hawaii is running out of space. The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is moving ahead with expansion plans while trying to balance the concerns of Native Hawaiians. The cemetery opened to the public in 1949, but it's expected to run out of room in three years. Hawaii News Now.

The state is releasing $3.85 million to build a long-awaited ambulance facility in Waipio and more than $4.2 million for other priority projects at hospitals around the state, acting Gov. Shan Tsu­tsui's office announced today. The funds will cover planning, design, construction and equipment costs for the Central Oahu facility, which will also be the emergency operations center for Oahu's Emergency Medical Services. Star-Advertiser.

It's back to work Monday for nearly 3,000 of Hawaii's federal workers, despite the government shutdown. KITV.

At least four warships in the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Pearl Harbor — a sort of mothball fleet — are taking on some patchy sandy-pink hues. The culprit is "low solar absorbance" paint developed in the mid-1990s — and tested in Hawaii — to reflect the hot Middle Eastern sun, according to Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. Star-Advertiser.

Today is Hina‘i Eugenio’s birthday. And while he’s celebrating his 11th year with his friends at Kahuku elementary, his family is waiting for state sheriffs to evict them from their home in Kahuku. Hawaii Independent.

The year isn't over yet, but an annual record for the median price of previously owned homes sold on Oahu is more poised to fall following strong results in September for the local residential real estate market. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

Hawaii County is considering legal action against the Naniloa Volcanoes Resort, including closure of the troubled Banyan Drive hotel, after it failed a series of building inspections, Mayor Billy Kenoi said. Tribune-Herald.

Oral arguments are scheduled to begin Dec. 13 for a legal case challenging Hawaii's decision to grant a permit for the construction of the world's largest optical telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea. Associated Press.

More than 2,000 triathletes from around the world will embark on the grueling 140.6-mile Ironman World Championship Saturday, when they’ll be presented the ultimate test of body, mind and spirit.  West Hawaii Today.

Maui

The first whale sighting off Maui for the 2013 season was reported on Saturday morning, about two miles from Molokini, officials said. Maui Now.

Kauai

Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. said he will seek re-election in 2014. The incumbent announced his decision Saturday evening during a fundraiser at Kilohana. It would be Carvalho’s second full term to the four-year seat. Garden Island.

Kauai officials are set to consider a proposal to regulate pesticide use and farming of genetically modified crops. The Garden Isle's county council is slated to vote Tuesday on a bill that has provoked emotionally charged public hearings and a march against GMO's that attracted large crowds. Associated Press.

In three months, state legislators will return to the state Capitol to mow through thousands of proposed bills in a four-month period. Many of those bills are introduced by request of the Hawaii State Association of Counties, which sends a package approved by all four county councils. The Kauai County Council’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee reviewed Wednesday 14 proposals to be included in the 2014 HSAC Legislative Package, approving support for 11 bills — two were voted down and one got stuck on a tie. Garden Island.

Evolta robots finish Ironman, Akaka OK with new Hawaiian rights bill, candidate Hannemann allowed radio show, school buses costly, Big Island seeks sign restrictions, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Panasonic Evolta Robot courtesy photo

Three Evolta Robots, created by Japanese robot designer Tomotaka Takahashi, finished the 230 km Kona Ironman course Sunday with a combined finish time of 166 hours and 56 minutes, according to organizers. KITV4.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, who patiently sought a vote on a Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill in the Senate for a decade, has signed off on a more aggressive strategy to advance the idea before he retires in January 2013. Star-Advertiser.

Hannemann Radio Show Doesn't Cross Legal Line. Civil Beat.

Two dozen Japanese-American veterans were given a soldiers sendoff Sunday with flower lei, handshakes and hugs. KHON2.

Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald has guided the state Judiciary through furloughs and budget cuts, and while the Hawaii Supreme Court has made significant rulings under his watch, there have been no sweeping opinions signaling any new directions. Star-Advertiser.

In 2009, Hawaii taxpayers paid Roberts Hawaii $200 a day to operate a bus route serving Kohala Elementary and High schools on the Big Island. Civil Beat.

Hawaii was one of 47 states that lost retail jobs during the recession, but the state fared better than most, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pacific Business News.

Oahu

Amid criticism that it targets the homeless, a measure that would ban personal property such as furniture, clothing or household goods from being stored in public spaces, including sidewalks and parks, is up for consideration again at the City Council. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

Four years after the Hawaii County Council asked for a crackdown on illegal signs, the Public Works Department is offering an update on the county's sign code. West Hawaii Today.

After six months of work, the Hawaii County Redistricting Commission is facing a self-imposed Nov. 10 deadline to create nine council districts with resident populations that vary by no more than 1,021 people. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Motorists should be aware that several streets in Lahaina town will be closed today beginning at 3:30 p.m. for Halloween festivities. Maui News.

Workers have doubled their efforts to maintain greens at the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course, significantly reducing weeds and improving the quality of grass at the course, county parks officials said. Maui News.

Kauai

County officials have been working for five months on developing a Multimodal Land Transportation Plan for Kaua‘i, which will ultimately be incorporated into the county’s General Plan. Garden Island.