HECO unveils power shutoff plan for wildfires, Turtle Bay sale rebrands as Ritz-Carlton, food insecurity grows, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Electric lays out initial plan for wildfire prevention power shutoffs. About 48,000 Hawaiian Electric customers on four islands should start preparing for power shutoffs possibly lasting several hours to a few days under a new effort to prevent wildfires during high-risk weather conditions. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat.  Tribune-Herald.  Big Island Video News. Maui Now.  Hawaii News Now.  KITV4.

Hawaii Council On Revenues Trims Its State Tax Collection Estimate. The Council on Revenues is projecting that state government will have about $65 million less to spend this fiscal year than lawmakers and Gov. Josh Green’s administration had anticipated during the past legislative session. Civil Beat.

Hawaii bills address two very different uses for AI. Hawaii is preparing for the advent of artificial intelligence through a pair of proposed laws on the verge of passage. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaii Foodbank shares concerns over food insecurity. Nearly one in three households in the state experienced food insecurity last year, and in 29% of households with children, at least one child faced food insecurity, according to the Hawaii Foodbank’s 2023 report released Wednesday. Star-Advertiser. Tribune-Herald. KITV4.

Feeding Kids Can Be Tough For Some Hawaii Charter Schools. Without state funding, principals say they need to find creative solutions to offer lunches to their students. Civil Beat.

COVID is on the rise in Hawaii; possible summer wave ahead. Health officials on Wednesday reported an average positivity rate of 10.5%, up from 8.5% the previous week. On May 1, the average positivity rate was at 4.3%. The seven-day average reported Wednesday reached 100 per day, double what it was mid-May. Star-Advertiser.

Virginia Beck reflects on 20 years of engaging the public in the legislative process. Virginia Beck has been the head coordinator at the Public Access Room for nearly 10 years, and has worked there for almost 20. She will retire at the end of the week. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

Turtle Bay Resort sold and to be rebranded as Ritz-Carlton. A Maryland-based lodging and real estate investment firm said Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the 450-room Turtle Bay Resort and nearby land for at least $680 million. Star-Advertiser.

Blangiardi signs resolution creating standalone Ocean Safety Department. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed a resolution creating a standalone Ocean Safety Department in a ceremony at Honolulu Hale on Wednesday afternoon. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

City salaries resolution closer to 2024 ballot. The Honolulu City Council resolutions urging voter-approved charter amendments to overhaul how the city pays its employees were reduced to one this week. Star-Advertiser.

City cannot recoup $12.5M from man facing gun, drug charges. The 38-year-old man awarded $12.5 million after he sued the city following injuries suffered in a 2021 police pursuit appeared in court Wednesday to face federal charges that he used a ghost gun while selling methamphetamine in Waianae. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Judge Orders New Environmental Review Of West Oahu Wave Pool. A judge has halted plans for an artificial wave pool until developers can revise an environmental assessment to address concerns raised by Native Hawaiians and others who say the project is unnecessary in the birthplace of surfing and a waste of water. Associated Press.

‘Honolulu is the safest place to visit in the world’ . According to a survey conducted by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, Honolulu is the safest place to visit in the world. KHON2.

Hawaii Island

Hawaiʻi Food Insecurity Highest On Big Island, Report Finds. Food insecurity rates were reported to be the highest of Hawaiʻi island (40%), followed by Maui (31%) and Oʻahu (28%). Big Island Video News.  Big Island Now.

Maui

FEMA seeks over 20 long-term positions on Maui.  FEMA is on a hiring spree to fill nearly two dozen long-term positions on Maui. Departments include media relations, IT, and digital communications. Hawaii News Now.

Red Cross Regional CEO Was Fired After Standing Up For Maui Wildfire Survivors, Lawyer Says. Former Hawaii Red Cross CEO Diane Peters-Nguyen was fired from the nonprofit disaster relief organization in early May after she called for reforms and urged the organization to stop prodding Maui wildfire victims to move off-island, her attorney says.  Civil Beat.

Maui Fire battalion chief charged with sexually assaulting minor. Prosecutors on Wednesday charged a veteran Maui Fire Department battalion chief with first-degree sexual assault and continuous sexual assault of a minor under 14 years old. Hawaii News Now. KITV4.

Maui’s police chief defends pricey night-vision chopper request. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier wants to invest $24 million over the next decade on a helicopter program that he says will improve safety in the county.  Hawaii News Now. KITV4.

Maui Fire Survivor Gets Kicked Out Of Emergency Shelter In Hotel While Away On A Work Trip. The Lahaina businesswoman had made prior arrangements with the Red Cross but says she's not inclined to fight its decision since the program is winding down anyway. Civil Beat.

Kauai

DLNR says it found no evidence cruise ship violated state rule. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources today said it failed to find any evidence that a Celebrity Cruise Lines ship violated state rules while sailing off Kauai’s Na Pali Coast earlier this month. Star-Advertiser. Kauai Now.

Steep drop in coffee yields, 50-year-old Waikiki murder solved, food banks struggling, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Coffee beans on drying floor ©2022 All Hawaii News

Local coffee farmers brace for yields up to 40% lower than usual. The Kona Coffee Farmers Association says farmers are bracing for what could be one of their worst years for production. The drought conditions and challenges with coffee leaf rust and the coffee borer have made for a tough 2022. Yields are coming in at 30% to 40% less. Hawaii Public Radio.

Pacific Islands Call For More Climate Financing At Hawaii Conference. Representatives from 15 countries and territories convened in Honolulu for the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders. Increasing financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation is a critical goal for Pacific island countries and territories, according to panelists who presented Tuesday at a conference featuring leaders and others from the region. Civil Beat.

Rules and requirements file in for Hawaiʻi concealed firearms licenses. After a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June, all four of Hawaiʻi’s police departments have released new rules on how to obtain concealed firearms, or are in the process of proposing new requirements. Civil Beat.

Preliminary $600 million plan framed for Hawaiian homesteads. The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has refined its plan to spend a historic $600 million mostly to produce homesteads for beneficiaries, and may be acquiring land and helping private developers finance housing projects as part of the effort. Star-Advertiser.

‘People Are Really Struggling’: Hawaii Food Banks Scramble To Meet Increased Demand. Rising food costs and the end of pandemic-era assistance programs are driving a spike in demand for food assistance. Civil Beat.

Hawaii housing experts worry inflation will throttle back development, buying power. As the stock market fell Tuesday due to inflation fears, local housing experts are watching another troubling financial development — rising interest rates. The jump in interest rates is cutting into developers profits, forcing some to rethink their plans. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Health Department reports 2 more monkeypox cases for total of 30. The number of monkeypox cases in Hawaii has grown to 30, two more than reported last Thursday, according to the state Department of Health. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu

2 nonprofits will continue managing affordable city housing. Two nonprofits will continue to manage five affordable housing properties for kupuna and at-risk youth. The Honolulu City Council last week approved a measure granting Catholic Charities Hawaii and Hale Kipa Inc. to manage city properties designed to help those in need. Hawaii Public Radio.

City clears out litter, squatters from undeveloped Hawaii Kai property, but some want more action. Vandalism and trespassing have become an ongoing nuisance to nearby residents of an undeveloped, 17-acre city property in Hawaii Kai on the mauka side of Kalanianaole Highway, across of Wawamalu Beach. KITV4.

‘Big Oil’ pushes back in Honolulu suit over climate change. About 20 oil companies sued by the city two years ago in an effort to have them pay for climate change impacts on Oahu are advancing their defense in the already drawn-out litigation. Star-Advertiser.

Attorney For Mitsunaga’s Engineering Firm Has Been Arrested In Bribery Case. Sheri Jean Tanaka, who was arrested in California, is the sixth defendant indicted in the case centered on former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro.  Federal prosecutors say Mitsunaga and his accomplices directed over $45,000 to the prosecutor so that he would pursue a bogus prosecution of a former employee of the firm, Laurel Mau. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

Oahu firefighters join police for key training on active school shooter situations. First responders are training together for an active shooter on campus. Their focus is saving lives ― faster. Hawaii News Now.

Honolulu police crack 50-year-old cold-case killing. A former Nevada deputy attorney general was arrested Tuesday, five decades after police allege he stabbed a young woman more than 60 times and left her body in a pool of blood in her Waikiki apartment. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

Hawaii Island

Food bank supply at ‘historic low’. Food Basket Hawaii is urgently requesting donations after a “perfect storm” of circumstances has left the food bank with an unprecedented shortage of food supplies. Tribune-Herald.

Can’t Drive 55: Residents react to lowered speed limit on Queen Kaahumanu Highway. Rocker Sammy Hagar couldn’t drive 55 and now you can’t either. At least not on Queen Kaahumanu Highway from mile marker 67 and 75.4, between the vicinity of Kawaihae Road and vicinity of Waikoloa Beach Drive. West Hawaii Today.

Leningrad Elarionoff, cop, councilman and community leader, dies at 83. Leningrad Elarionoff, a former county councilman, retired police captain and longtime community leader and volunteer in Waimea died Sunday at North Hawaii Community Hospital. He was 83. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Council looks to accept land, parks donated by A&B. Despite possible much-needed infrastructure improvements that could cost up to $3 million, a Maui County council committee recommended accepting eight donated roadway lots in Kahului from property owner Alexander & Baldwin Hawaii LLC. Maui News.

Lahaina teacher housing and Puʻu Kukui Elementary land acquisition included in CIPs. More than $87.7 million was released in July and August for Capital Improvement Projects across the state, including more than $16 million for projects in Maui County. Maui Now.

Maui median home prices drop under $1 million for first time this year. The median sales price for single-family homes dropped below $1 million — to $983,575 — for the first time this year. Maui Now.

Kauai

Council Supports ‘Mosquito Birth Control’ To Save Kauaiʻi’s Endangered Birds. To try to help the native forest birds escape extinction, the Kauaʻi County Council passed a resolution on Sept. 7 urging elected officials throughout the state to fund and implement mosquito birth control. Kauai Now.

Candidates come out for Lihu‘e coffee hour. There were more candidates in the general election than kupuna who showed up for the Tuesday coffee hour coordinated by Pam Jardin of the Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center seniors. Garden Island.