LGBTQ+ students added to Hawaii Title IX, high-tech economy boosted by cyber spies, Sensei Farms transforms Lanai agriculture, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Gay pride parade in Hawaii ©2020 All Hawaii News

Hawaii's new Title IX law includes protection for LGBTQ+ students. Hawaii's new Title IX law is the first in the nation to include protection for LGBTQ+ students. Activists say this addition is a positive step forward in expanding rights in educational programs. KITV.

State senators grill University of Hawaii on salary funding details. University of Hawaii officials Friday were unable to answer pointed questions from state senators about who should pay for what could be more than $14 million worth of “fringe” employee benefits for an estimated 1,076 UH salaried positions paid through tuitions rather than the state’s general fund. Star-Advertiser.

Cyber Spies Are Quietly Boosting Hawaii’s High Tech Economy. Can the state build on a massive base of National Security Agency and other government cyber jobs? Civil Beat.

Hawaii's New Asset Forfeiture Rules Take Effect Jan. 17. New requirements will apply to local enforcement authorities in seizing cars and other property of criminals under long-awaited asset forfeiture rules issued by the Hawaii attorney general on Dec. 31. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaii bankruptcies in 2019 hit highest level in 5 years. The U.S. stock market had a record bull run in 2019. But not everyone shared in the wealth. Star-Advertiser.

Pay Hikes for Special Ed, Hawaiian Language, Rural School Teachers Start On Tuesday. Pay increases for public school teachers in hard-to-fill positions, including those for special education, rural areas and Hawaiian language immersion, start on Tuesday. Hawaii Public Radio.

A $75,000 Settlement Is Scaring Hawaii Charter Schools. A recent legislative directive that forces state agencies to cover the costs of legal claims could have a big impact on charter schools. Civil Beat.

New law on reporting inmate deaths exposes alleged prison homicide. A new law that requires prison officials to report to the governor each time an inmate dies in custody has already revealed the case of a prisoner who died on Christmas morning after being assaulted at Oahu Community Correctional Center.  Star-Advertiser.

Maunakea Looms Over American Astronomical Society Meeting. The Thirty Meter Telescope controversy will be a major topic of discussion during the four-day conference being held at the Hawai‘i Convention Center on Oʻahu. Big Island Video News.

TMT supporters rally at Hawai‘i Convention Center. Supporters of the Thirty Meter Telescope waved signs and flags Sunday outside of the Hawai‘i Convention Center while a major astronomy conference was being held inside. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu

Honolulu Board Of Water Supply Fined For Stream Pollution. The Board of Water Supply failed to notify state health officials about a sediment discharge for 15 days, according to the state health department. Civil Beat.

Honolulu Board of Water Supply faces $420K penalty for polluting Nuuanu Stream. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply and a trio of contractors face a possible $420,000 fine for polluting the Nuuanu Stream over an 18-day period last year. Star-Advertiser.

Dead Koi fish led to a $420K fine from the Department of Health. The Department of Health announced a notice of violation for the Board of Water Supply and some of its consultants and contractors carrying a $420K fine. KITV.

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Hauula residents want long-term fix for collapsed road. Repair crews began work Sunday morning along a portion of Kamehameha Highway that collapsed into the ocean in Hauula, but some residents questioned why the state allowed the road’s condition to deteriorate to that extent. Star-Advertiser.

Traffic in Hauula still impacted as crews make emergency repairs to crumbling roadway. A lane of Kamehameha Highway in Hauula remains closed Monday morning as crews make emergency shoreline repairs to the crumbling roadway. Hawaii News Now.

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Development firms to build affordable housing through state resolution. A development partnership is positioned to start building a low-income housing tower in Pawaa later this year following a recent tentative endorsement by the state to finance the $89 million project. Star-Advertiser.

New rules for tent installers impact vendors at Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. Vendors of the popular Aloha Stadium Swap Meet say they were caught off guard when trying to set up Saturday, leading to tensions over the market. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Herbicide ban not a sure thing. While the County Council had voted 6-3 to approve Bill 101 — the same number of affirmative votes needed to override Mayor Harry Kim’s veto — there’s no guarantee all six council members who previously voted yes on the bill will also agree to override the veto. West Hawaii Today.

Kim to meet with governor, TMT officials this week. Although the protesters at Maunakea Access Road have physically changed their position, their philosophical position remains the same as in July. Tribune-Herald.

Charges dropped against retired police captain. Charges against a retired Hawaii Police Department captain accused of tipping off arcade owners prior to a gambling raid have been dropped. Tribune-Herald.

Charges in a 2-year-old drug case have been dropped because of officer misconduct, a judge ruled. ose Miranda was charged in December 2017 with 11 counts of first-degree promoting a dangerous drug, class A felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. West Hawaii Today.

Councilwoman seeks affordable housing fund. The Big Island’s shortage of affordable housing is reaching the crisis stage, says a County Council member sponsoring a nonbinding resolution pushing for the creation of an affordable housing fund. West Hawaii Today.

Hilo Woman Pulls Slug From Mouth After Eating Island Naturals Sandwich. A Hilo woman will have to wait about two weeks to find out if she’s contracted rat lungworm disease after nearly ingesting a half-inch slug on New Year’s Eve. Big Island Now.

Maui

Mahi Pono: ‘We are not profiting off water’. Officials offer details of approach to vital resource. Maui News.

New Self-Service Kiosk for Vehicle Registrations at Maui County Building. A new self-service DMV kiosk was installed and blessed today at the county’s Kalana O Maui Building, bringing to five, the total number available in Maui County. Maui Now.

Crab, lobster hearings next week. Hearings are set on Molokai, Lanai and Maui next week on a housekeeping consolidation of rules regulating the take, possession and sale of Samoan crab, Kona crab and lobsters in state waters. Maui News.

Maui fires burned 25,000 acres in 2019. Brush fires took their toll on Maui in 2019, setting ablaze more acres of land last year than in recent years, and in the process destroyed utility poles, amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs by the county and displaced hundreds of people. Star-Advertiser.

Kauai

Hawaii Tour Helicopter Owner Rejects Congressman’s Criticism. Richard Schuman says the industry is safe and does not need increased federal regulation. Civil Beat.

Forums target climate change. The National Tropical Botanical Garden is holding another series of forums on climate change, starting in February, titled “Climate Crisis 2020.” Garden Island.

Lanai

Lanai undergoes agricultural transformation using hydroponic greenhouses. Lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers are lined up to be part of the first commercial harvest from a pioneering hydroponic greenhouse farm on Lanai developed by technology billionaire Larry Ellison and envisioned for expansion to serve the state and potential replication beyond Hawaii. Star-Advertiser.

Sensei Farms Lanai’s greenhouses mix old and new technology. Paving over red dirt that was once part of the most productive pineapple plantation in the world might not seem like the way to start a positive transformation of agriculture on Lanai. Star-Advertiser.

No surprise: Hawaii more than half Asian, accused Army spy faces court martial, Honolulu rail could have double the cars, fewer trips, drones on the Big Island, federal court rules against Department of Education in Maui disabled student case, dead monk seal found on Kauai, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Honolulu Spam Jam (c) 2013 All Hawaii News

A state analysis of U.S. Census data released Thursday shows Hawaii has by far the largest share of Asians and the smallest share of whites in any U.S. state’s total population. Associated Press.

Immigrant families from Asia, a relatively high rate of interracial marriage and the fact that many white people who move to the islands are retirees are likely factors behind Hawaii leading the nation, by far, in the portion of residents of Asian ancestry, a population expert says. John Butler, associate dean of academic affairs at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Shidler College of Business, said the U.S. Census Bureau figures won't surprise most people here. Star-Advertiser.

Census: Hawaii Has Largest Share Of Asian Population. Civil Beat.

Asians account for more than half of Hawaii’s population, according to information released today by the US Census Bureau. Big Island Now.

An Army officer who worked for U.S. Pacific Command is on trial in Hawaii, accused of illegally possessing and passing classified national defense information, the Army revealed Thursday. Major's case is third in Hawaii. Star-Advertiser.

As a high-ranking Army intelligence officer, accused spy Seivirak Inson had immense access to the military secrets of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. Now, the 43-year-old Major is facing court-martial proceeding for attempting to hand over some of those secrets to the Cambodian government. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii plans to undergo a substantial energy efficiency initiative that aims to more than double the energy efficiency in state and county buildings through additional energy savings performance contracting with the private sector. Pacific Business News.

An intensive year-long community planning process to assist the electric utilities in coming up with five-year energy plans for Oahu, the Big Island and Maui County needs more time, some members of the planning committee say. Civil Beat.

State roundup for June 14. Associated Press.

Oahu

Rail officials are considering doubling the capacity of Oahu's future passenger trains to accommodate more people per stop — but the proposal would also halve the number of trains planned for the line. Star-Advertiser.

Beneath the feet of attendees at the historic Kawaiahao Church, there is a basement full of baskets, many of which are stacked atop one another. They contain the exhumed human remains of 660 long dead believers, and many of them have been there for years. The bones, or iwi, believed to date from the 19th century, were dug up from a broad plot of land on the side of the church. Civil Beat.

One dollar. That is the amount of compensation private contractor AC Kobayashi Inc. billed the University of Hawaii each month under a “Pre-Construction Services Agreement” to build the university’s new West Oahu campus. That’s $1, plus as much as $60,000 a month for reimbursable expenses over 18 months ending Dec. 31, 2010. Hawaii Reporter.

Two managers at Kapiolani Community College, including the woman who used to be in charge of investigating personnel complaints at UH's second-most-populated campus, have filed discrimination complaints against KCC Chancellor Leon Richards. Hawaii News Now.

Completing a two-year, $135 million construction project, Michaels Development Co. has delivered on its promise to renovate the once-dilapidated Kuhio Park Terrace, which even has a new name, the Towers at Kuhio Park. The mammoth face-lift — awarded to Michaels and its development partner Vitas Group in September 2009 — marks the first mixed-financed, public-private housing partnership in the state. Star-Advertiser.

A former Waianae public charter school clerk pleaded not guilty in Circuit Court on Thursday to felony charges that she stole $19,750 from the school. Star-Advertiser.

Plans to build a Foodland in Hawaii Kai suspended. KHON2.

Hawaii

A county project estimated to cost $50,000 ballooned to $146,913, leaving one would-be bidder crying foul. West Hawaii Today.

The highest bid at a foreclosure auction for more than 5,800 acres of sugar plantation land on the Big Island was $12.2 million and now a confirmation hearing for sale of the WWK Hawaii Holdings land is scheduled for June 27. Pacific Business News.

Hamakua Springs volunteering hundreds of acres for testing drones. KITV4.

There’s less than a month remaining until Independence Day festivities kick off in Kailua-Kona, culminating with a community parade and fireworks display over Kailua Bay. However, the Kailua-Kona Community Parade Association, the group that makes it all possible, still needs to raise about $5,000 to put on the annual parade and fireworks display for a fifth straight year, said Barbara Kossow, the association’s Independence Day activities and sponsorship coordinator. West Hawaii Today.

The future of Hawaii’s Volcano Circus remains to be determined six months after the Windward Planning Commission last tabled the matter of revoking a permit for its location in Kalapana Seaview Estates. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

The state Department of Education failed to provide a Maui special-needs student with a free appropriate public education when it excluded the boy's father from participating in a meeting that changed the student's school placement for the first time in six years, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Thursday. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii Department of Education can't put the burden on parents to ensure that children with learning disabilities get what is due to them from the state’s public schools, according to a significant U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision issued Thursday. Civil Beat.

Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission members approved a nearly $2.9 million budget Wednesday for the fiscal year beginning July 1. And, while the spending plan continues operations for another year at a "bare minimum," according to commission Executive Director Michael Naho'opi'i, the budget doesn't address a new source of funding. That would be needed to stem the rapidly depleting remainder of a $44 million trust fund established for commission operations in 1994 during the federal government's cleanup of Kahoolawe. Maui News.

After months of searching for a qualified candidate to fill the newly created county auditor position, members of the Maui County Council Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday unanimously supported the appointment of the man they think is right for the job. Maui News.

The Halemau'u trailhead parking lot will be closed Tuesday through June 25 while work is done on disabled accessibility improvements, Haleakala National Park officials announced. Maui News.

Kauai

A Hawaiian monk seal found dead on Kauai’s Westside appears to have died of natural causes, according to Jamie Thomton of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Garden Island.

The Kauai Humane Society is closing on Saturdays, starting July 7, a move to help reduce operating costs, which have increased over the last three years. KHS is also laying off one position, and cutting back on part-time hours. Garden Island.