Hawai‘i House Finance Chair Has Plans For Big Changes In The Tax Code. Rep. Kyle Yamashita has been talking about shifting millions of dollars in tax surcharge revenue from the counties back to the state. Civil Beat.
U.S. Supreme Court avoids Hawaii legal fight over gun rights. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Hawaii man’s bid to throw out criminal charges for carrying a pistol while hiking, as the justices declined to review a ruling by the liberal-leaning state’s top court that denounced an expansion of gun rights by the nation’s highest judicial body. Reuters. Associated Press. Hawaii News Now.
Luigi Mangione’s Hawaiʻi Friends Shocked By Arrest In UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting. Luigi Mangione lived at the Surfbreak co-living community near Ala Moana Park on Oʻahu and later at 801 South St. Friends recall him as a natural leader who led a book club where members would share ideas while watching sunsets from a place called Magic Island. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now. KHON2. KITV4.
Senators Urged To Examine Gabbard’s ‘Deep and Intense’ Ties To Hawaiʻi Sect. A former member of the scretive Science of Identity Foundation is warning members of Congress about the potential dangers of confirming Tulsi Gabbard as President-elect Donald Trump’s next director of national intelligence. Civil Beat.
Lawmakers again introduce measures to boost civic education and media literacy. Hawai‘i lawmakers are renewing efforts to help students identify disinformation and improve their understanding of how the government works. Hawaii Public Radio.
UH, Navy, Marines team up on resource management. The University of Hawaii and the Department of the Navy signed Monday an unprecedented 10-year agreement aimed at safeguarding natural and cultural resources on Navy and Marine Corps installations in the state. Star-Advertiser.
Hawaiian to take over Seattle-based routes, add airplanes and crews. Alaska Air Group today plans to tell investors in New York that Hawaiian Airlines will take over West Coast routes from Alaska Airlines to Hawaii and fly new nonstop routes from Seattle to Japan and South Korea, and announce more Hawaiian Air planes, and flight and ground crews. Star-Advertiser.
Oahu
Honolulu City Council to vote on standards for office-to-residence conversions. The Honolulu City Council will have its final vote Wednesday on a bill that would lay out the standards to convert commercial buildings to residential. Hawaii Public Radio.
City Council to vote Wednesday on empty homes tax bill. More than 9% of Oahu homes are vacant. That’s 34,000 unoccupied units based on 2020 U.S. Census data. Hawaii News Now.
Property values are going up again, here’s why. Heads up to homeowners, real property assessments will be mailed out soon and valuations are up again. That means many will be paying higher property taxes. KHON2.
Hawaiʻi Has Money To Police Agriculture Crime, But No Timeline To Start. Despite the high-profile killing of an Oʻahu rancher, local law enforcement don’t receive any specialized training in agricultural crime. Civil Beat.
City and state collaborate to improve Kailua Beach Park. The city Department of Parks and Recreation, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands and the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program say they plan to work with community groups to smooth and flatten the dunes toward the makai side of the park. Star-Advertiser. KITV4.
The Case Against Mike Miske Could Be About To Disappear As If It Never Happened. A federal legal doctrine requires all actions be vacated if a defendant dies before being sentenced or if any appeals remain. Civil Beat.
Hawaii Island
Military Exemption To Hawaiʻi Nuclear-Free Law Repealed. The military is no longer exempt from Hawaiʻi County’s Nuclear-Free Law, according to Big Island lawmakers. Big Island Video News.
Agency sees uptick in marine debris. The Hawaii Wildlife Fund has removed about 350 tons of marine debris from Big Island shores between 2003 and 2023, the majority of which came in the form of net bundles, masses of tangled rope and nets that can weigh hundreds of pounds. Tribune-Herald.
Maui
Maui County Council considers ban on flavored tobacco sales. The council passed the measure through its first reading on Friday after a series of mostly supportive testimony. If passed, retailers would not be allowed to sell or market flavored tobacco, including menthol products. Hawaii Public Radio.
This unsheltered Maui community is stepping up to improve the road they call home. It’s shower and laundry day at Holomua Road in Pāʻia, where nearly 30 Maui residents live unsheltered. Hawaii Public Radio.
Maui coalition of the Hawaiʻi Workers Center departs to Washington D.C. to demand Congress release disaster recovery funds for Lahaina. A Maui coalition of the Hawaiʻi Workers Center has departed to Washington D.C. where they will demand that Congress release disaster recovery funds for Lahaina. Maui Now.
Private Maui school’s proposed anti-trans policy stirs controversy. A West Maui school is considering controversial new guidelines that would essentially ban transgender students. The proposed changes would come to Maui Preparatory Academy in 2025. Hawaii News Now.
Kauai
University of Hawai‘i and the US Navy partner to support Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands. The University of Hawaiʻi and the Department of the Navy signed a historic 10-year agreement to support the protection and management of natural and cultural resources on Navy and Marine Corps installations in Hawaiʻi. Kauai Now.
Trump cuts environmental justice programs at EPA, DOJ
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WASHINGTON >> The Trump administration has placed on leave nearly 200
employees who work on environmental justice programs at the Environmental
Protectio...