Tourism ticks up, U.S. tests new weapon from Kauai, Hawaii Supreme Court allows Hawaiian Homelands to sue for state funds, Honolulu voters won't get to decide rail transit, Maui bus system struggling, Big Island marijuana advocates lose in court, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Waikiki Beach (c) 2012 All Hawaii News

Hawaii will host a record 7.8 million tourists this year, leading to 2.2 percent growth in the state's economy, according to a recalibrated government forecast released Wednesday. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii’s state economists have revised their forecast upward for tourism in the state, predicting the number of visitors to the Islands will increase by 6.5 percent to top 7.7 million by the end of 2012. Pacific Business News.

The state, in violation of the Hawaii Constitution, has failed to adequately fund the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, according to a unanimous ruling by the Hawaii Supreme Court on Wednesday. Civil Beat.

The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Native Hawaiians can sue the state to provide sufficient funding for administrative and operating expenses for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, but not for the development of homestead lots. Star-Advertiser.


President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he supports same-sex marriage — and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's response that marriage is for heterosexuals — is rippling through Hawaii politics. Civil Beat.


For the second time in four months, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has bought television ad time in Hawaii to support former Republican Gov. Linda Lingle's run for U.S. Senate. Star-Advertiser.

Linda Lingle

 Former Governor Linda Lingle, candidate for Hawaii's open U.S. Senate seat, released the following statement today regarding the endorsement she has received from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Hawaii Reporter.


With Hawaii's Aug. 11 primary election three months away, several candidates in state and local races have stockpiled sizable campaign war chests, according to a Civil Beat analysis of campaign finance data. Civil Beat.


The state's chief negotiator is asking the teachers union to return to contract talks, and says the state "remains committed" to reaching a new agreement. Star-Advertiser.

After months of what's often been characterized as tedious and difficult hearings, the Hawaii Labor Relations Board finally heard from the union's most critical player in the convoluted negotiations over the famously failed teachers contract. Civil Beat.

Hawaii was among 16 states whose eighth-graders saw gains on a national science test in 2011, but students in the islands continued to score well below their peers nationally, results scheduled for release today show. Star-Advertiser.


Gov. Neil Abercrombie has released $37.5 million to address highway damage caused by stormy weather in March. Associated Press.

Donne Dawson has returned to State service as Film Industry Development Manager for the Hawai‘i Film Office. KHON2.

The U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday it is set to cut hours at 13,000 rural facilities -- 12 of them in Hawaii -- instead of closing thousands of post offices across the country. KITV4.

The Marine Corps in Hawaii is officially transforming its Sea Stallion helicopter squadron into an Osprey aircraft squadron. KHON2.

Oahu

A proposed ballot question to ask voters whether the year-old Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation should be abolished failed Wednesday to win approval from the City Council. Star-Advertiser.

Attempt to Dismantle HART Fails. Hawaii Public Radio.

The City and County of Honolulu is thinking about setting aside 0.5 percent of its budget for charity, now that the Honolulu City Council has put a proposed charter amendment on the ballot for November despite objections from Mayor Peter Carlisle. Civil Beat.

A bill banning all commercial activity at Kailua Beach Park got the second of three needed approvals from the City Council Wednesday evening. Star-Advertiser.

Mayor Peter Carlisle today announced a new City effort to address homelessness in urban Honolulu by creating specially focused transitional housing. Hawaii Independent.


Hawaii

Five Big Island post offices could see a reduction in their operating hours under new cost-saving measures proposed by the United States Postal Service. Tribune-Herald.

Patients spending time within Kona Community Hospital’s medical and surgical unit will rest a little more comfortably with the addition of 30 state-of-the-art beds this summer. West Hawaii Today.


One company has survived and is on track to serve the island with up to 5.5 million gallons of biodiesel per year, or 16,000 gallons a day. Tribune-Herald.

Keauhou mauka Kona coffee farmer Dave Bateman has announced he will run for the state House District 5 seat, representing Kona and Ka‘u. Bateman pulled papers May 9 making his official entry into the House 5 race. West Hawaii Today.

A Third Circuit judge has rejected a lawsuit filed against a host of county officials that accuses them of not fulfilling the requirements of a 2008 ballot initiative making the personal use of marijuana the “lowest law enforcement priority.” Big Island Now.


The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has closed the remote Muliwai Trail in North Kohala for public safety, effective yesterday through Friday May 11 and Monday May 14 through Thursday, May 17, while it conducts annual trail and campground maintenance and repair. Associated Press.


Maui

Maui County's public transit system is straining to meet the growing demand of bus riders. Maui News.

A forum on flooding in South Maui titled "Stormwater: Can a Problem Become a Resource?" will be held Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Maui News.

The funds released by Gov. Neil Abercrombie include $2 million for improvements to the Hana Highway between Uakea Road and Keawa Place.  The CIP project includes widening to provide two-way traffic flow, facilitating emergency vehicles responding from the nearby Hana Fire Station. Maui Now.

Kauai

missile courtesy NAVAIR Photo Point

The United States destroyed a target missile near Hawaii in the first successful test of a new defense tool. Hawaii News Now.

Starting today, the Kaua‘i County Council begins a four-day review of the supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2013 submitted Tuesday evening by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. Garden Island.

The Kauai Planning Commission is approving a plan to nearly double the size of the Kauai Veterans Cemetery in Hanapepe. Associated Press.

Representatives of RSVP, Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions programs took to the street following a visit with Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. to bring their traffic safety messages to the public, traversing along Rice Street fronting the Kaua‘i Museum and First Hawaiian Bank’s Lihu‘e Branch. Garden Island.

Molokai

Construction of the new Kawela Bridge is scheduled to continue through January 2014, according to a statement from Goodfellow Bros., the Molokai company contracted to complete the work. The $8.4 million project is being paid for with $6.5 million in federal funds, $1.6 million in state money, and some additional funding, according to DOT spokesperson Michael Moscati. Molokai Dispatch.

Kona lava graffiti removed, raises for Honolulu officials, council, rate hike for health insurer HMSA, Kauai in top 10 for film locations, still no GOP candidate for Congress, rail project needs more credit, waste to energy on Maui mulled, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Kona lava (c) 2012 All Hawaii News

Less white coral graffiti decorates the lava on the shoulders of Queen Kaahumanu Highway these days. West Hawaii Today.

Families of fallen war heroes have been invited to a special joint session of the state Legislature on Wednesday. Associated Press.

March is almost over and still no Republican candidate in the open 2nd Congressional District race. Civil Beat.

Two good government advocacy groups are taking state Sen. Rosalyn Baker to task over her conduct of a confirmation hearing Friday. Civil Beat.

Lawmakers question UH Manoa Chancellor's necessity. KHON2.

Hawaii Medical Service Association plans to raise health insurance premiums for roughly 84,000 small-business members by 3.8 percent after posting a more than eightfold profit to $43.8 million in 2011. Star-Advertiser.

The State Department of Education is being put to the test.  Federal officials are in town to decide if Hawaii should get $75 million in Race to the Top grant money. Hawaii News Now.

Honolulu

Honolulu's job market still had not recovered fully from the 2008-2009 recession by the end of last year, although the city fared better than three-quarters of the nation's largest metropolitan areas, according to a report due out today by the Brookings Institution. Star-Advertiser.

The Salary Commission of the City and County of Honolulu voted to recommend raises of 5.5 percent for the police chief and his deputies, 4 percent for the fire chief and his deputy, and 3 percent for city council members, and most directors and department heads and their deputies. KHON2.

Rhetoric is heating up over the financial impact of the city's planned $5.27 billion rail transit project as two top contenders for the mayor's job traded accusations Tuesday of reckless spending and misinformation. Star-Advertiser.

Extending Honolulu's line of credit is the "big piece that's outstanding" before officials can formally ask for funding from the federal government to help pay for Honolulu's $5.2 billion rail project, incoming HART CEO Daniel Grabauskas told Civil Beat in an exclusive interview Tuesday. Civil Beat.

The new CEO and executive director of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation met with the head of the Federal Transit Administration and with Hawaii's congressional delegations in Washington Tuesday. KITV4.

Rail debt is going up, and spending on other capital projects is coming down. Civil Beat.

This letter was submitted March 26, 2012 to Leslie T. Rogers, the Regional Administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, Region IX with the U.S. Department of Transportation, 201 Mission Street, Suite 1650, San Francisco, CA 94105 by University of Hawaii Law Professor Randall Roth, Honolulu Transportation Expert Cliff Slater and Retired Judge Walter Heen, who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the City & county of Honolulu and the FTA over the city's planned $5.3 billion elevated steel on steel rail project. Hawaii Reporter.

Honolulu City Council members learned yesterday that one possible step to lower obesity rates is to link health with transportation options. Hawaii Public Radio.

Community, Castle complex in high-risk redesign program. KITV4.

Hawaii

The county Water Board approved a budget Tuesday that’s 6 percent less than this year’s spending plan and relies on an already approved 2.2 percent increase in water rates starting July 1. West Hawaii Today.

Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union employees improperly accessed the names, addresses and last four digits of Social Security numbers of “several hundred” Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union members, President James Takamine said Tuesday. West Hawaii Today.

A “fecal incident” over the weekend, and a slowed water filtration rate, closed the Kona Community Aquatic Center Sunday, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Fitzgerald said Tuesday. West Hawaii Today.

Major changes at Old Kona Airport Park are unlikely to happen until the state transfers the 117-acre recreation and beach area to the county. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Mayor Alan Arakawa's administration is exploring ways to turn waste into energy at the Central Maui Landfill. Maui News.

Eight years after becoming stuck on a reef off of Lahaina, Maui, the “Dolphin” vessel was finally carted away in pieces by helicopter at around 11 a.m. today, according to state officials. Maui Now.

Kauai

The Kaua‘i Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a $10 million multiplex cinema project, complete with nine movie screens and 1,274 seats, to be built on the back parking lot of Kmart, at Kukui Grove Center. Garden Island.

The Hawaiian island of Kauai has made a list of the top 10 film locations around the world. Pacific Business News.

With the global box office success of the Hunger Games movie filmed in North Carolina, Cheapflights.com listed the top 10 film locations worldwide that included Kauai. Star-Advertiser.

Kaua‘i will share in $600,000 in federal grants that were awarded to public housing agencies in Hawai‘i to help homeless veterans transition into permanent housing. Garden Island.

Waikiki sand project snarls, Honolulu, Hawaii mayors release staus quo election-year budgets, Senate honors 'Descendants' author, more solar for Kauai, new publisher for Pacific Business News, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Waikiki Beach sand groins (c) 2012 All Hawaii News

A monthlong sand-replenishment project undertaken to widen a stretch of Waikiki Beach will be more disruptive than initially planned, officials said Thursday. Star-Advertiser.

Long stretches of the usually majestic Waikiki Beach will be turned into roads for dump trucks and other heavy machines over the next few months while the City makes changes to its plans for replenishing the beach between the Duke Kahanamoku Statue and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Hawaii News Now.

The state and visitor industry have to turn to an inconvenient plan "B" on the Waikiki sand project due to a sand-blowers shortcomings. KHON2.

Taxpayers are on the hook for $90,000 following a whistleblower lawsuit claiming state officials failed to comply with environmental laws when issuing dozens of permits for activities at the protected Papahānaumokuākea monument. Civil Beat.

The financial picture for the state's two largest health insurers significantly improved in the fourth quarter, as premiums caught up with actual medical costs after a series of rate hikes over the past year. Star-Advertiser.

Hundreds of kupuna marched at the state Capitol Thursday, fighting to keep Kupuna Care a priority. KITV4.

More steps have been taken to make good on HGEA's favored nations clause, but the state and counties don't yet know how budgets will be affected in this fiscal year. KHON2.

Good news for Hawaii’s fastest growing industry — the state has been ranked fourth for U.S. Renewable Energy Attractiveness. Pacific Business News.

Members of a dissident faction of Democrats who have long opposed Hawaii House Speaker Calvin Say argue that Say is behind new political boundaries that could force some of those dissidents out of office this year. Civil Beat.

Days after returning from the Academy Award in Los Angeles, Kaui Hart Hemmings was recognized by the state Senate for the success of her novel "The Descendants." Hawaii News Now.

Two weeks after emailing questions about email retention to the state's Department of Accounting and General Services — and 10 days after our article ran — we heard back. Civil Beat.

State roundup for March 2. Associated Press.

Oahu

Mayor Peter Carlisle's $1.953 billion operating budget proposal for the next fiscal year would increase city government spending by $28 million compared with last year but does not increase real property tax rates or user fees. Star-Advertiser.

Mayor Peter Carlisle's operating and capital budgets for next year are nearly flat, together up just 2.3 percent from this year's budgets. Civil Beat.

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle outlined his new spending plan on Thursday for the fiscal year that starts in July. The $1.953 billion dollar operating budget is $28 million higher than the current one. Hawaii News Now.

A bill allowing food trucks and other vendors to operate on city roads and highways for up to three hours at a time advanced from the City Council Transportation Committee Thursday afternoon.Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit CEO Daniel Grabauskas is now the highest paid city employee. Hawaii Reporter.

Mary Beth Lohman, publisher of Pacific Business News    since December 2009, is resigning. Advertising Director Bob Charlet will succeed her and become publisher on March 2. Pacific Business News.

A group of tech savvy designers in Honolulu wants to hear from people to help design new applications to improve life around the city. It’s called, Code for America. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaii

Mayor Billy Kenoi on Thursday unveiled an election year status quo budget that holds the line on property taxes, maintains monthly employee furloughs, eliminates the West Hawaii golf subsidy and again postpones advance payments on health care for retired employees. West Hawaii Today.

Mayor Billy Kenoi is proposing to eliminate the county-operated lava viewing program at Kalapana to save $300,000 in the next fiscal year. Tribune-Herald.

The final settlement terms in the long-running Hokulia bypass saga will be revealed today. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

The more than 1.1 million visitors to Haleakala National Park in 2010 spent nearly $75 million in the park and on the island, and supported 861 jobs, a new National Park Service report showed. Maui News.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa is eager to grab a piece of the film industry saying the neighbor islands saw only $5 million dollars last year, compared to Oahu's $100 million. KITV4.

Officials with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands led a presentation on the proposed Public Safety Complex in Puunene before the Council’s Policy Committee on Wednesday. Maui Now.

A nasty virus causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain has flared up all over Maui, a state heath official said last week. Maui News.

Work on the $21.6 million Science Building at the University of Hawaii Maui College continues on pace for an August completion, in time for next school year. Maui News.

Kauai

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative officials said Thursday that they plan to pursue a second major solar farm of up to 10 megawatts. Pacific Business News.

Within hours of the end of the fifth and final forum on Thursday for Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative Board of Directors candidates, the co-op announced its intent to build a second large-scale solar project in the 8 to 10 megawatt range. Garden Island.

An oversight in the final version of the Lydgate camping ordinance, which took more than six years to be approved, prompted the Kaua‘i County Council to revisit the rules once again. Garden Island.