Hawaii refinery closure raises fuel concerns, Dems seek applicants for Maui House seat, corrections officer files whistleblower lawsuit, Kauai solar a no-go, Honolulu trims drivers license wait time, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Tesoro Hawaii refinery, corporate image

The impending closure of one of Hawaii’s two oil refineries is bolstering calls from energy experts and state officials to diversify Hawaii’s energy sources and wean the state off of its near total dependence on imported oil. Civil Beat.

Tesoro Corp.’s Hawaii refinery in Kapolei, the largest of the two oil refineries in the state with a capacity of 94,000 barrels a day, is closing its refining operations in April and will convert it to an import, storage and distribution terminal. Pacific Business News.

Most energy experts Hawaii News Now spoke with Tuesday said they do not expect the price of gas at the pump in Hawaii to jump because of the shutdown of Tesoro's refinery in Kapolei. Hawaii News Now.

The refinery shutdown means Hawaii will be more fuel dependent on outside markets but experts say there is no need to worry over added pain at the pump. KHON2.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz plans to meet next week with former Gov. John Waihee, chairman of the state Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, to develop a strategy on how to continue the state delegation's pursuit of federal recognition of Native Hawaiians. Star-Advertiser.

At least one local health insurance plan for state and county workers offered through the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF) violated provisions of federal law for an unspecified period by limiting access to outpatient mental health services, according to a case summary published in the 2011-2012 annual report of the Office of the Ombudsman. Civil Beat.

A little over a year after the state announced a comprehensive initiative to tackle bullying in schools, Department of Education officials say they have made progress — but that there's still much more to do. Star-Advertiser.

Education leaders are facing a tough assignment. Despite an anti-bullying campaign in Hawaii schools, bullying and harassment cases went up during the 2011- 2012 school year. Hawaii News Now.

State roundup for January 9. Associated Press.

Oahu

Help is on the way for those stuck in line waiting for a state identification card or driver's license. The city is hiring seven part-time people on a temporary basis to help deal with the influx of people showing up at Oahu's five licensing offices, Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced Tuesday. Star-Advertiser.

The DMV hasn't had the best reputation for efficiency.  Now wait times in Honolulu are even worse because the City is processing drivers licenses and state identification cards and the lines have been painfully long. Hawaii News Now.

The state plans to add more lanes to a large portion of the H-1 Freeway and possibly to a major road in Leeward Oahu. This comes at a time when Honolulu has been named one of the most traffic-congested cities. KHON2.

The Honolulu District Court is functioning although its four elevators still are not. Star-Advertiser.

The Chinatown Business and Community Association is trying to rally more support for an alcohol ban during street parties, like First Friday events. KITV4.

A Circuit Court jury will resume deliberations today on whether to award about $14 million to a 79-year-old man who was paralyzed in a fall of 15 to 20 feet from the elevated first tee late at night at the Mid-Pacific Country Club. Star-Advertiser.

HPD K-9 gets Kevlar vest protection. KITV4.

Hawaii

The County Council’s Finance Committee gave its support Tuesday to a proposal that would add composting to its green waste operation, currently limited to recycling yard clippings for mulch. Tribune-Herald.

The county is looking to expand its green waste program to provide an improved product for the public – but at a price. Big Island Now.

Schatz to ‘work very hard’ for Saddle Rd. funding. West Hawaii Today.

As the nation debates whether armed guards are necessary on school premises in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, Hawaii school and police officials are continuing their assessments of security protocols and procedures. Tribune-Herald.

Department of Land and Natural Resources officials don’t yet know when their governing board will consider a package of proposed rule changes for West Hawaii’s waters. West Hawaii Today.

The new Hawaii County Council is having its first meetings of the year today and tomorrow in Hilo. Hawaii Public Radio.

Two public hearings have been scheduled this month regarding a plan to re-open the Kulani Correctional Facility. Hawaii News Now.

Maui

Those interested in filling the District 9 state House seat vacated by Democrat Gil Keith-Agaran have until noon Friday to apply for the spot. Maui News.

The Maui County Democratic Party is now accepting applications from individuals interested in filling the District 9 state House vacancy created by the governor’s appointment of Gil Keith-Agaran to the state Senate. Maui Now.

A Maui Community Correctional Center jail guard has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the state Department of Public Safety, alleging retaliation when he made complaints that a jail sergeant used an inmate work crew to do landscaping for his private business. Maui News.

$6 million in state funding has been released for the construction of part of the new Kahului Airport Access Road. The funds cover a portion of the road from Puunene Avenue to the Hana Highway. Maui Now.

Nearly a year after public discussion about the urgent need for a major overhaul of Kahului Airport's 71-year-old, 7,000-foot main runway, state Department of Transportation officials remain undecided about which repair option to choose and how long Maui's air overseas lifeline would need to be closed, if at all. Maui News.

Kauai

Poipu Solar LLC’s 3-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility on Kauai’s South Shore is not happening, a source told PBN. Pacific Business News.

The University of Hawai‘i hosted a Community Forum at Kaua‘i Community College Monday with President M.R.C. Greenwood. Garden Island.

Permits for Hanalei’s new building deferred. Differing opinions on ‘what is rural’ stall decision at Planning Commission meeting. Garden Island.

The Kaua‘i Planning Commission unanimously approved Commissioner Wayne Katayama to preside as chair of the volunteer group during 2013 in its first meeting of the year. Garden Island.

State most expensive for car ownership, Election Office withholding records, congressional race and civil unions continue to dominate headlines, fire rages on Maui, more top Hawaii news

Hawaii has been ranked the most expensive state to own a car by Edmunds.com, an automotive information website.

The state Department of Human Services has called off a plan to close all the state's welfare eligibility offices and lay off 228 public employees.

Across the country, Democrats are on the defense, laboring to put out political fires sparked by angry voters and emboldened Republicans. Even Hawaii, the bluest of blue states, where a Democratic machine has controlled politics for the five decades since statehood, has become a dangerous hot spot for the party in power.

Representatives of three Congressional campaigns say the state's office of elections is not providing them with key information that would allow them to stop making thousands of phone calls to potential voters asking them if they’ve already voted in the special election.

Ed Case said he believes that most voters think the same way he does about government and politics in Hawai'i and Washington, D.C.: too partisan, too dysfunctional, too out of touch with everyday concerns.

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, trailing in the polls and hearing of intense pressure from national Democrats who want her to step aside, vowed yesterday to stay in the special election for Congress until the end.

In the second installment of our special-election preview, Honolulu Weekly talks with each of the three best-known candidates in the race for Congress.

The congressional debate: watch the clips

The state Senate could be led by a Big Island lawmaker next year if Senate President Colleen Hanabusa prevails in her quest for a congressional seat.

Gov. Linda Lingle says she soon will start gathering information about the controversial civil unions bill that passed the state Legislature last week.

Civil unions bill on Lingle's desk

Madam Pele is on the move, putting on the hottest show in Hawaii that's too close for comfort. On Wednesday night, firefighters were on alert and families on edge as Big Island Civil Defense tracked a lava flow that shut down a popular sightseeing spot.

Safer streets, less traffic, and higher morale - those are the goals Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha unveiled on Wednesday.

Twenty people who were either cited or arrested during a protest at the governor's office are now going through the justice system. Some were in court on Wednesday.

The debate swirling around a proposed community development in Central Oahu is just the latest example of the tension between growth and farmland preservation in Hawaii.

A fire, the cause of which remained unknown, burned roughly 1,100 acres of brush mauka of the sparsely populated areas of Olowalu and Ukumehame to the ridges atop the West Maui Mountains on Monday and Tuesday.

A group of downtown Hilo businesspeople, professionals, surfers and anglers is hoping that Gov. Lingle will sign over a half-acre parcel on the Hilo Bayfront to the county.

A divided Hawaii County Council committee Tuesday agreed to strengthen the county's ethics code, despite protestations from opponents that county government is already ethical enough.

Dr. Peter Matsuura's vision for a Hilo medical complex and pedestrian-oriented community was endorsed by a County Council committee Tuesday.

Two bills regulating how much water Hawaii County residents may draw from county spigots will go to the full council with negative recommendations from the Public Safety and Parks and Recreation Committee.

After a nearly three-year Kaua‘i Police Department investigation, two local men were arrested on suspicion of first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.

The most recent Green Harvest mission on Kaua'i netted 200 marijuana plants and several arrests, county officials said Monday.

Top Hawaii Headlines: Thursday morning edition

Hawai'i drivers are third-worst in the nation when it comes to their know-ledg
e of basic road rules, according to a survey.

Federal weather officials said they plan to give more advance notice to the public the next time a hurricane approaches the state

State lawmakers have agreed to give public hospitals more money to help them climb out of a financial crisis and greater flexibility to meet community healthcare needs, but have weakened corporate control over the system in favor of more power for regional administrators.

Gas guzzlers and imported vegetables may one day be a thing of the past, according to three energy-related bills awaiting Gov. Linda Lingle’s final approval.

A Maui judge issued an injunction yesterday preventing the state Office of Elections from using new voting machines or procedures in the 2010 elections without first adopting administrative rules.

Honolulu is looking for its 10th police chief after the Honolulu Police Commission voted unanimously yesterday to end Boisse P. Correa's contract when it expires in August.

Come New Year's Day, Big Island motorists will have to hang up their cell phones while driving, according to an amended bill a County Council committee advanced Tuesday by an 8-1 vote.

The Hawaii County Council is set Wednesday to knock the teeth out of its government watchdog, just months after voters put the office into the county charter.

Opponents and supporters of the U.S. Forest Service releasing a Brazilian scale insect to combat the invasive strawberry guava were optimistic Monday that their side would prevail and the facts would be revealed.

Thousands of people went to the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall on Wednesday with the hope of finding a job.

Island Chevrolet has reached the end of the road, closing both its Hilo and Kona locations.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Webber will receive $150,000 and 30,000 shares of stock as part of his resignation agreement, according to a report filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A warning about asian eyelid surgery - new research from a University of Hawaii professor reveals a misperception that could lead to undesirable results.