Deadline today to resurrect water bill, more legislative shenanigans as sine die nears, Honolulu council passes vacation rental bills, tour helicopters scrutinized after fiery crash, Kauai's Kuhio Highway reopening uncertain, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Flume brings water down from the mountain ©2019 All Hawaii News

Last Chance For The Water Rights Bill. The Senate has only Tuesday to revive the contentious legislation. But a related court case remains in limbo. Civil Beat.

Donovan Dela Cruz Plays Hardball With Foes Of The Airbnb Tax. The Senate Ways and Means chairman is threatening to kill 15 other bills in order to get senators to flip their votes and revive Senate Bill 1292. Civil Beat.

McCartney’s DBEDT nomination heading to Senate. State Sen. Glenn Wakai recommended that the full Senate not confirm Mike Mc­Cartney to lead Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism during a hearing Monday, accusing him of poor communication with the Senate, lacking a vision for DBEDT, being short on details when it comes to policy matters and not following through on commitments. Star-Advertiser.

Ige signs firearms reporting bill. Gov. David Ige signed HB 720 (Act 23), establishing reporting requirements for gun owners. Garden Island.

Red Light Camera Bill Likely To Pass Legislature. A measure that would have implemented red light cameras at intersections will instead call for further study. Hawaii Public Radio.

Former Governor George Ariyoshi received one of the state's highest honors Monday. Lawmakers inducted Ariyoshi into the Aloha Order of Merit at the State Capitol. KITV.

Southwest Airlines Announces $29 Interisland Fares. After completing an inaugural flight from Kahului to Honolulu yesterday morning, Southwest Airlines is offering $29 fares for interisland flights. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

Honolulu City Council committee passes 2 vacation rental bills. One bill would allow for up to about 1,715 newly permitted vacation rentals on the island, while the other would crack down on the thousands of illegal units on the island. Star-Advertiser.

City, Waste Management of Hawaii to pay $425K in settlement with EPA. The city and Waste Management of Hawaii will pay $425,000 as a part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency. Hawaii News Now.

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Honolulu police officer charged in Kealoha mailbox case gets probation. Honolulu police Sgt. Daniel Sellers will not be going to jail for telling former deputy prosecutor Katherine Kealoha information he discovered in an investigation. Star-Advertiser.

Former HPD Sergeant Gets 1-Year Probation In Mailbox Theft Case. The first trial for former chief Louis Kealoha, his wife and two other officers is slated to begin May 13. Associated Press.

‘A humbled man’: Officer sentenced in connection with case against Kealohas. In federal court Monday, Sellers apologized for his actions, choking up as he spoke. Hawaii News Now.

In filings, Katherine Kealoha says she was ordered to tell officer to ‘stand down’. Hawaii News Now.

Confused By The Kealoha Cases? Here's A Catchup On Where Things Stand. He was Honolulu's Rolex-wearing police chief, an avid surfer who chatted with beat cops in Pidgin, Hawaii's creole language. She was his deputy city prosecutor wife, who drove a Maserati and led an elite unit targeting career criminals while showering lunches on colleagues, friends and even the workers renovating her home. Associated Press.

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Why Plans For A New Navy Dry Dock Leave Ship Repair Industry Divided. Proponents say a state plan to help a well-connected maritime firm is needed to save hundreds of jobs. Civil Beat.

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3 Dead In Kailua Tour Helicopter Crash. The aircraft went down on a road in a Kailua neighborhood. Fire and helicopter parts rained from the sky Monday in a suburban Honolulu community as a tour helicopter crashed and killed all three people aboard, officials and witnesses said. Associated Press.

Crash prompts calls for more scrutiny. Hawaii’s tour helicopter industry could face new regulatory head winds in the wake of Monday’s tragic helicopter crash, which killed all three people aboard when it went down in a dense Kailua neighborhood. Star-Advertiser.

Investigators to examine wreckage of a helicopter crash that left 3 dead. Hawaii News Now.

State lawmaker from Kailua wants all tour helicopters grounded until authorities assess Monday's helicopter crash. KITV.

Windward residents say they've been complaining for years about helicopters flying over their homes. Both Rep. Cynthia Thielen and Sen. Laura Thielen are asking the FAA to immediately halt tour operations in Hawaii until they find out what happened. KHON2.

Hawaii Island

Lawmakers again fail to agree on measures for Banyan Drive redevelopment. Redevelopment of Banyan Drive will have to wait until next year once again after the failure of three bills earlier this year. Tribune-Herald.

Charter Commission rejects ballot measure abolishing minimum property tax. Some owners of vast Hamakua land holdings don’t pay much more in annual property taxes than an owner of a tiny lot on a Puna lava field, says Kevin Hopkins, who wants to make the county’s property taxes more equitable. West Hawaii Today.

Big Isle tourism yet to recover. Visitor arrivals are only creeping back toward pre-eruption levels, prolonging economic pain for many businesses and workers in the state’s biggest industry. Star-Advertiser.

Researchers Battle The Rat Lungworm Problem. More funding is leading to new discoveries as the parasite continues to sicken people in Hawaii. Civil Beat.

Maui

Public Input Sought on Maui Wind Projects, May 22. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comment concerning wind farm projects on Maui and throughout the state. Maui Now.

Threat of plastic pollution focus of presentation. The public is invited to a free presentation titled “Thinking Like an Island: How to Survive the Plastic Pollution Pandemic” that will be offered by Hannah Bernard from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Wednesday meeting of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council at The Sphere at Maui Ocean Center. Maui News.

Kauai

Kuhio Highway reopening delayed? The Hawaii Department of Transportation didn’t confirm with The Garden Island before press time or answer any questions about the project, but several anonymous sources close to the situation said Monday the highway reopening will be delayed. Garden Island.

Audit finds Office of Hawaiian Affairs spent millions inappropriately, Honolulu threatens to cancel $53.6M traffic management contract, Maui won't pay mayor's legal fees, plastic straws, tiny homes, police standards mulled in Legislature, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii police officers ©2018 All Hawaii News

Bill To Regulate Police Officers Clears Another Hurdle. Hawaii is one of the few states without minimum standards for cops, but the Legislature is considering a measure to change that. Civil Beat.

The state agency responsible for improving the well-being of Native Hawaiians spent nearly double the amount on pet projects than on competitive grants, the state auditor said in a report released Tuesday. Associated Press.

Audit finds inappropriate spending of millions by OHA and trustees. During fiscal year 2015 and 2016, OHA spent nearly double as much on discretionary disbursements — $14 million — as it did on planned, budgeted and properly vetted and monitored grants — $7.7 million. Star-Advertiser.

After release of critical audit, OHA leaders admit: 'Change needs to happen'. Hawaii News Now.

State audit claims Office of Hawaiian Affairs misspent millions ‘with little restraint’. KHON2.

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Some hotels ditch plastic straws. Now, lawmakers want to ban their use. Hawaii News Now.

Bills Seek Tiny Homes on Hawaiian Home Lands. Senate Bill 2424 and House Bill 2473 seek to establish a public private partnership to leverage $5 million in state funds to create a $20 million revolving loan fund for the development of affordable tiny homes on Hawaiian Home Lands. Maui Now.

Bill Would Spare Micronesians A Yearly Trip To The DMV. The Department of Transportation opposes the measure, saying it could render all Hawaii driver’s licenses useless for flying. Civil Beat.

A Kansas father and husband who is fighting efforts to deport him to Bangladesh was taken off a plane that was flying him back to his native country and is being held at a detention center in Hawaii, his attorneys said today. Associated Press.

Congressional Budget Deal Likely Means More Federal Money For Hawaii. President Trump proposed massive cutbacks, but the opposite is likely to happen after a bipartisan deal lifted spending caps. Civil Beat.

The number of outpatient flu visits in Hawaii continues to remain higher than the national base line. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii State Board on Geographic Names Mulls Changes. Iao Stream or Wailuku River? Mauna Kea or Maunakea? These are just a couple of the challenges before the Hawaii Board of Geographic Names. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

The city has issued a notice of default to the contractor of the $53.6 million state-city Joint Traffic Management Center, citing numerous deficiencies on the part of Watts Constructors LLC that could delay the project’s completion. Star-Advertiser.

City threatens to cancel contract for multi-million dollar traffic center if problems linger. Hawaii News Now.

Rail Promised Lots Of Jobs But There’s No Sure Count Of What It’s Delivering. HART doesn’t keep track of the totals, but its point-in-time counts suggest fewer people are employed than had been projected. Civil Beat.

Honolulu Rail Project Pursuing Public-Private Partnerships for City Center Segment. The Honolulu Rail Transit Project is hosting a 2-day forum to attract private development partners. Hawaii Public Radio.

By a 5-4 vote the Honolulu City Council decided to postpone for two weeks a vote on a bill that would temporarily stop the city Department of Planning and Permitting from issuing building permits for larger-­scale houses. Star-Advertiser.

Settlement reached in alleged 2012 police brutality, cover-up case. Hawaii News Now.

The Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye Airport will get a new $1.1 billion concourse to increase the number of gates, add passenger capacity and provide a new international arrivals area, Gov. David Ige announced today. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige, alongside the Hawaii Department of Transportation and members of the Airlines Committee of Hawaii, announced plans for a new $1.1 billion Diamond Head Concourse at the Honolulu international airport that will be built out over the next 10 years. Pacific Business News.

Leadership in the state House of Representatives tabled a bill Tuesday that would have protected roughly 200 residents of a long-standing homeless encampment near the Waianae Small Boat Harbor from being swept from the state-owned property. Star-Advertiser.

New renderings revealed Tuesday show the vision for the new Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. KITV.

A former employee of Waste Management Inc., operator of the city’s Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill admits to stealing more than $800,000. Star-Advertiser.

Waialua High School’s Glenn Lee, who kicked off Hawaii’s robotics movement, is the only American to reach the top 10 as a finalist out of 30,000 entries in the $1 million Global Teacher Prize competition. Star-Advertiser.

A Waialua teacher inches closer to a global teaching award, and its $1M prize. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

With a do-or-die hearing of a bill raising the general excise tax scheduled for next week, the administration and County Council are holding a bevy of last-minute community meetings to get feedback and explain their budget straits. West Hawaii Today.

Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim and Finance Director Deanna Sako fielded questions and heard statements Tuesday night from West Hawaii residents sharing their voices on a proposal to raise the county’s general excise tax by one-half percent. West Hawaii Today.

A bill to fund two Big Island homeless villages died in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Tuesday after clearing its first two committees. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Mayor’s plea for legal fees in Taylor suit shot down by panel. A Maui County Council committee on Tuesday voted against having the county foot the bill for private attorneys to defend Mayor Alan Arakawa and Maui County in a lawsuit filed by water director David Taylor, who is seeking to get back to work and off paid leave. Maui News.

The state Supreme Court has dismissed a misdemeanor charge against a weekly tabloid publisher who was detained when he used his cellphone to videotape a police traffic enforcement operation six years ago. Maui News.

The Hawaii Supreme Court has dismissed a misdemeanor charge against a weekly tabloid publisher who was detained when he used his cellphone to videotape a police traffic enforcement operation six years ago. Associated Press.

Kauai

The Federal Aviation Administration and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources have initiated an investigation into a report of a drone that struck a tour helicopter on Kauai. Star-Advertiser.

Realtor Neal Norman of Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers has listed a 16,000-square-foot home on 18.25 acres above Secret Beach on Kauai for $35 million. Pacific Business News.

Molokai

The majority of the county offices in the Mitchell Pauole Center in Kaunakakai will be moving to room No. 300 in the Moore Center at 2 Kamoi St. later this week due to a leaky roof. Maui News.