Hawaii's quiet holiday, politicians line up for 2020, 2022, contests, Honolulu vacation rental operators strive for deal with city, Kauai ex-police chief sues over termination, Maui councilwoman chided by ethics board, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Statehood Day, photo from Hawaii State Archives

Hawaii hits 6-0 as a state without fanfare. State and local government offices are closed today, and that’s about the only way the 60th anniversary of Hawaii becoming a state will be formally celebrated. Star-Advertiser.

With Hawaii’s primary election less than a year away, some big names begin to campaign. With Hawaii’s next primary election less than a year away and the governor’s office up for grabs in 2022, well-known politicians are thinking about future campaigns. Hawaii News Now.

Gov. David Ige has more than three years left in his second term as governor, but the race to replace him seems to already be taking shape. Two high-profile candidates are already raising money for the election, which takes place in 2022. Hawaii News Now.

A familiar name appears to be eyeing a run for Honolulu mayor in 2020. Former Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa has filed an organizational report for a mayoral candidate committee with the Campaign Spending Commission and has also launched a website. Hawaii News Now.

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Hawaii DOE Releases Revised Data on Student Suspensions. Release of the data comes amid efforts to correct what the DOE says was erroneous counts of students suspensions in the 2015-16 school year. Civil Beat.

Limited Training Options Worsen Hawaii’s Doctor Shortage. Officials estimate the state needs 800 more physicians, but the training pipeline for future doctors would need to expand three-fold to begin filling the gap. Civil Beat.

HMSA, Kaiser earnings rose in second quarter. Hawaii Medical Service Association, with 722,634 members in the quarter that ended June 30, reported a $14.4 million profit, down from $56.8 million a year ago, while Kaiser Permanente Hawaii posted $1.4 million in net income, reversing a $40.4 million year-earlier loss. Star-Advertiser.

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NOAA: ‘The Reefs Weren’t Damaged, They Were Just Gone’. Scientists return from the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument after surveying the underwater aftermath of a major storm last year. Civil Beat.

Hurricane destroyed reefs last year, NOAA finds. Scientists returning from a 22-day expedition to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument aboard NOAA Ship Rainier on Thursday announced their findings, including the destruction of a significant reef by Hurricane Walaka. Star-Advertiser.

Hurricane Walaka’s legacy: Decimated reefs and invasive algae. Scientists who just completed underwater surveys in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands found significant reef damage caused by Hurricane Walaka last October that could adversely affect Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument for decades. Hawaii News Now.

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TMT law enforcement costs slowly being made public. The Honolulu Police Department spent $162,351 to assist the state’s law enforcement efforts on Mauna Kea where demonstrators have been blocking the road leading up to the construction site of the Thirty Meter Telescope for the past month. Star-Advertiser.

The cost of Honolulu Police sending law enforcement backup to Mauna Kea? Over $160K. The cost covers overtime, airfare, and shipping for vehicles. KITV.

Big Island police incident commander described ‘volatile’ day at Mauna Kea protest. Court documents offer more insight into the tense moments before and after 38 kupuna were arrested in a Thirty Meter Telescope protest at Mauna Kea on July 17. Hawaii News Now.

Decommissioning Mauna Kea Telescopes Not As Easy As Switching Off The Lights . Three of the thirteen telescopes on Mauna Kea are set to be decommissioned before the planned Thirty Meter Telescope is built. Hawaii Public Radio.

The Mauna Kea Management Board on Tuesday approved an action item that would establish commercial tour permittee stargazing areas, equipment storage and laydown areas, and traffic delineation in the mid-level area of the mountain. Big Island Video News.

Oahu

The city and the Kokua Coalition agreed Thursday to work together on a plan to allow so-called 30-day vacation rental operators to continue. The Kokua Coalition, also known as the Hawaii Vacation Rental Owners Association, had requested a temporary restraining order to stop the city from enforcing its new vacation rental ordinance that went into effect Aug. 1. Star-Advertiser.

Settlement progress reported in legal challenges to vacation rental law. Hawaii News Now.

Honolulu Rate Commission Weighs $2.75 Rail Fare In Seeking Public Comment. The Honolulu Rate Commission is considering whether rail fares should be lower or higher than a ride on TheBus. Hawaii Public Radio.

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Estate of Hawaii celebrity Jim Nabors goes to auction. Estate Liquidators Hawaii and Oahu Auctions present the Auction for the Estate of Hollywood celebrity Jim Nabors. KHON2.

Memorabilia, collectibles from Jim Nabors’ estate to be auctioned off. Hawaii News Now.

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Owners of Makaha no-kill shelter sentenced. In 2016, the shelter was raided and more than 300 dogs were confiscated by officials with the Hawaiian Humane Society who said the animals were living in deplorable conditions. Star-Advertiser.

Operator of no-kill shelter to serve a year behind bars for animal cruelty. Hawaii News Now.

State scrambles to eradicate population of coqui frogs found on Oahu. In less than two months, 16 coqui frogs have been found in Palolo Valley ― the largest population found on Oahu so far. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Salary Commission nixes big raises. The county Salary Commission on Thursday rejected across-the-board average 6.1% raises for county officials, but settled on a 1.25% cost-of-living adjustment instead.  West Hawaii Today.

Commission grants petition for contested case over Alii Drive development. The Leeward Planning Commission on Thursday granted a petition for standing in a contested case over a 50-unit residential community proposed across from Pahoehoe Beach Park on Alii Drive. West Hawaii Today.

Southwest to begin Hilo service in January. Southwest Airlines will begin offering flights from Hilo early next year, it was announced Thursday. Tribune-Herald.

Expanded Southwest Airlines Service, Including To Hilo, Goes On Sale. Big Island Video News.

Maui

Ethics Board chides Kelly King over biofuel tax comments. Panel: Member who abstains from vote should not be part of discussions. The opinion, approved by the board in a vote Wednesday afternoon, centered on an ethics complaint against King, who as vice president and co-founder of Pacific Biodiesel, spoke in detail about her biofuel production business and the impact of a proposed 12 cent a gallon tax on biodiesel during council discussions in April. Maui News.

Move-in for senior affordable rentals is February. Kahului Lani is now accepting applications for future tenants. Maui News.

Input Sought on Proposed Wailuku Zoning Updates. The Maui Redevelopment Agency is hosting three workshops in August for the public to help shape the next generation of development in Wailuku. Maui Now.

Lanai, Molokai focus of renewable energy projects. Maui Electric Co. has been focusing on Lanai and Molokai renewable energy projects amid Hawaii’s ambitious green energy goal of 100 percent renewable by 2045. Maui News.

Kauai

Former Kauai Police Department Chief Darryl Perry is suing the county. He is suing for wrongful termination, defamation and several other claims related to an investigation into his conduct that his lawsuit says was inappropriate and intentionally designed to harass. Garden Island.

Southwest expands flights. Southwest has announced inter-island flights to and from Lihue Airport. Garden Island.

Honolulu rail project to get its day in court, low turnout at late-opening precincts, Inouye plans to run again, Hawaii legislators rake in big bucks during session, Hawaii watches California GMO debate, Alaska looks to Hawaii as natural gas market, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Honolulu rail courtesy photo

Supporters and opponents of the city's $5.26 billion rail project will be back in court this week for arguments in a lawsuit alleging city and Federal Transit Administration officials violated federal environmental law in the planning of Honolulu's train system. Star-Advertiser.

A much anticipated lawsuit that could determine the fate of Honolulu’s $5.26 billion rail project is nearing an end, and the timing could affect the race for Honolulu mayor. Civil Beat.

Sovereignty activists who want Hawaii to leave statehood behind and become a sovereign nation have put a stop to all the Statehood Day celebrations. Hawaii Reporter.

Hawaii lawmakers raked in close to $800,000 for their campaign purses during this year's legislative session, a Civil Beat analysis of campaign finance filings shows. Civil Beat.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye will turn 88 next month. And, if his health keeps holding up, the spry World War II hero said on Saturday that he will run for another six-year term in four years. Maui News.

Political Analysts Say Make Way for Sen. Hirono. Civil Beat.

Hawaii's Department of Agriculture is warning the public to be careful when attending fairs or other events where there are pigs. Associated Press.

The state teacher's union board plans to meet Monday in an effort to resolve the teacher's contract issues. KHON2.

For more than a year, some Alaska political leaders have been quietly pursuing an untapped market for the state’s vast stores of natural gas: Hawaii. Associated Press.

On election day California residents will be asked if labeling of genetically modified foods should be labeled. If the most populated state says, “Yes” it could have impacts across the nation, including Hawai`i. Hawaii Public Radio.

State roundup for Aug. 20. Associated Press.

Oahu

Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle's administration is moving forward with changes to 12 additional bus routes Sunday as the city looks to save $10 million in fuel and labor costs. KITV4.

Get ready for more cars on the road Monday morning. About 40,000 university and private school students are heading back to class. KHON2.

On Monday, 40,000 college students will add to the freeway and bus congestion. KITV4.

Every year, tens of thousands of people head to the popular Made in Hawaii Festival at the Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall. But how many of the products are actually made in Hawaii? Hawaii News Now.

The new headmaster of the Kamehameha Schools' Kapalama Campus says he wants to continue the work of his predecessor — longtime Kapalama President and Headmaster Michael J. Chun — in moving from "being a school for Native Hawaiians to being a Native Hawaiian school." Star-Advertiser.

Fans of "Hawaii Five-0" can exhale now: CBS announced today that it will hold a red-carpet Sunset on the Beach premiere of the crime drama one day before the start of the third season. Star-Advertiser.

Disney has sent out a request for proposals for its expansion of Aulani, which is part of the Ko Olina resort's final build-out. Pacific Business News.

Hawaii County precincts (c) 2012 All Hawaii News

Hawaii

Three West Hawaii precincts that opened late on primary election day were among the four with the worst voter turnout in the county, a trend that leads at least one candidate to question whether the late openings cost her crucial votes. West Hawaii Today.

Point your index finger to the ground and measure to about the first two digits. That’s about 2 inches, the amount of water that a rain gauge at Waikoloa town has gathered this year. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaiian Electric Co. has paid a prominent volcanologist to tell the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that Madame Pele is causing the haze over Hawaii. Civil Beat.

Maui

Construction of a long-discussed public parking facility for Wailuku isn't in the "foreseeable future," although the county has spent $1.2 million in federal funds on design work and environmental studies. Maui News.

After the state Supreme Court kicked back the state Commission on Water Resource Management's 2010 ruling about exactly where - and how much - water to restore to Na Wai Eha, opponents said last week that they were jubilant that the commission will be forced to "redo" its review of competing water uses. Maui News.

A public informational meeting will be held later this month to discuss preparations of a master plan for the district of Pulehunui on Maui. Maui Now.

Kauai

The primary election results show the Kaua‘i County Prosecutor’s race as a close contest, and the two candidates will present their ideas in a debate this Tuesday. Garden Island.

Crews continued to fight high winds and dry conditions but were making progress in fighting the wildfire along the Poki‘i, Paua and Waiaka ridges in Koke‘e on Sunday. Garden Island.

Molokai
The amount of solid waste exported out of the Kalaupapa settlement is estimated to near 41,000 pounds by the end of September, increasing almost 50 percent from last year’s 27,000 pounds of trash. Molokai Dispatch.

Molokai’s Native Hawaiian health care provider, Na Pu`uwai, recently received $1,696,281 in federal funding. Molokai Dispatch.

Hawaii commemorates statehood

Hawaii will com- mem- orate, but not celebrate 50 years of statehood on Friday, the an- niversary of statehood.

No state fought harder than Hawaii to become a full-fledged member of the United States, and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin beat the drum for the movement from the beginning. Within five years of annexation, the Territorial Legislature passed a statehood resolution. The first bill seeking Hawaii statehood was introduced in Congress by Territorial Delegate Prince Kuhio in 1919.

Sandra Reyes strolled across the empty grounds of 'Iolani Palace this week and fully understood why state officials are not marking 50 years of Hawai'i statehood today with any kind of celebration.

As Hawaii observes a half century of statehood Friday, some Maui County Native Hawaiian activists remained steadfast that the achievement only cemented the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy

Instead of luxury homes, large-scale hotels and numerous beachfront vacation properties, sugar cane fields dominated Kaua‘i’s landscape 50 years ago.

Ceded lands bills moving forward

With oral arguments in a U.S. Supreme Court case just weeks away, committees in both houses of the Legislature advanced bills today reining in the state administration’s ability to sell ceded lands.

The alii (chiefs) of the Royal Order of King Kamehameha I, wearing their trademark red and yellow capes, dominated the front row of committee rooms and were among the dozens who testified in support of a moratorium on the sale of Ceded lands.

Ceded lands are lands once owned by the Hawaiian monarchy but ceded to the state to be held in trust for Hawaiians. Ceded lands comprise 1.2 million acres of land on all Hawaiian islands - about 29 percent of the total land mass of the state and more than 90 percent of state-owned lands.

Eight bills were being heard in their first committees today, ranging from an outright ban of the sale of the lands (HB 1667, HB 1805, HB 1841, HB 902, SB 1085, SB 475) to the requirement that the Legislature approve each deal by a two-thirds majority (SB 1677, SB 476).

All of the House bills moved forward unanimously, with HB 1805 further modified to include the two-thirds requirement favored by the Senate.

At most immediate issue is the Lingle administration’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of a Hawaii Supreme Court opinion that placed a moratorium on the state selling ceded lands until an agreement could be worked out between the state and the Native Hawaiian people. That case is scheduled to be heard in Washington D.C. on Feb. 25.

Attorney General Mark Bennett, one of the few opponents testifying about the bills, said passing legislation now is wrong from both a legal and a political perspective.

“The bill raises the potential for additional federal court lawsuits against the state by persons oppose3d to government programs that provide benefits to Native Hawaiians,” Bennett said. “We also believe that it makes sense as a policy matter for the state to retain flexibility as to the use and management of its land.”

Clyde Namuo, administrator for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which is battling the state administration in the lawsuit, said he and Bennett have worked side-by-side preserving Native Hawaiian rights in the past. But now, he said, he’s reaching a new understanding.

“Eight years ago when I joined OHA, I wondered why Native Hawaiians seemed so angry,” Namuo said. “Listening today to this discussion, I finally get it.”