Public parks, private profits? Big changes coming to Hawaii restaurant inspections, ocean nibbling Kauai development, Maui tech park in the works, Big Island school kitchens clean, electric bills, tuition going up, more news

Oahu North Shore beach (c) 2011 All Hawaii News

A father and son from Oahu have a dramatic fishing tale to tell and video to prove it. They came face to face with a tiger shark while spearfishing on the Big Island Sunday. Hawaii News Now.

Allowing private companies to profit from state parks and beaches may sound like a tough sell in Hawaii. But Act 55, signed into law two months ago by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, facilitates just that. Civil Beat.

Big changes are coming to the way the state Department of Health inspects and evaluates food establishments. West Hawaii Today.

Without union agreement, the state is forging ahead on a pilot program in the coming school year that will substantially change how some public school teachers are evaluated, basing their rating in part on the academic growth of their students. Star-Advertiser.

The state will be applying for the new “Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge” federal grant administered jointly by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Filipino Chronicle.

Hawaii has long been a national leader in the generation and consumption of solar energy, and the state continues to be a concrete example of the growth of the solar energy industry in the United States. Hawaii Independent.

A solar-powered charging station in Honolulu is being used to study the impact electric vehicles can have on electric grids.Associated Press.

Hawaii has been largely successful in preventing snakes from entering the island paradise over the years and avoiding the grave danger they present to tropical birds, colorful plants and the vibrant environment that draws millions of tourists to the state each year. Associated Press.

An advisory committee to help Honolulu find a new landfill site must weigh dozens of possible choices Star-Advertiser.

The Mayor of Honolulu went on the offensive today in the battle of what to do with the city’s wastewater sludge. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu residents will begin paying more for electricity starting Tuesday. KITV4.

When University of Hawaii at Hilo students set pen to checkbook this summer in preparation for the first day of classes on Aug. 21, they will no doubt notice that tuition has once again increased. Tribune-Herald.

Schools on the Big Island keep their kitchens pretty clean. West Hawaii Today.

New plans in the works for Maui high-tech park. Maui News.

Ocean eating Anahola properties. Garden Island.

A Maui-based veterans charity called "highly questionable" by a watchdog group and now under review by the state attorney general's office has dropped its website, but the organization's president vows to resume operations. Star-Advertiser.

Four Punahou graduates are hoping to change the on-line marketplace when buying and selling college textbooks. KHON2.

Kealakehe High students will no longer earn a "D." West Hawaii Today.

The start of direct flights from Shanghai to Honolulu is welcome news for Hawaii tourism industry officials still recovering from the impact of the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami as well as state’s persistent economic downturn. Hawaii Reporter.

State considering closing parks

Four or five state parks would be closed and entrance fees charged at the remaining ones, under a bare-bones budget presented Thursday by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

DLNR Chairwoman Laura Thielen said the department hadn’t “shredded down” to deciding which parks would be closed. Closing four or five parks is part of a 20-percent budget-cut scenario that might get even more draconian, based on revised economic estimates that put the state $1.8 billion short over three years.

Factors that would be considered include how easy the property would be to close off from public access, how popular it is, how much would be saved in utility costs and whether it was in a remote location that stretches parks staff too thin. No matter where the parks were, the department would take care that the impact wouldn’t’ be felt by just one community or island, she said.

Thielen, speaking to the House Finance Committee, said closing four or five parks could save $250,000 out of a $4.7 million parks and recreation budget. Hawaii's Division of State Parks maintains 53 state parks spanning 25,000 acres on five islands. About 60 percent of park-goers are tourists, compared to 40 percent locals.

“The parks are in dire straits,” Thielen said.

Her preference, however, is not shuttering parks but improving them and charging fees. Under her “Recreational Renaissance” plan, DLNR would float $240 million in bonds, fix up the parks and small boat harbors, and then charge fees for people to use them. Walk-on guests would pay $1 and cars could get in for $5, Thielen said.

“While people don’t like fee increases,” Thielen said, “I think if they see improvements and transparency and a comprehensive plan, we’re going to see we have popular support for that.”