Property tax increases looming in counties across the state, Native Hawaiian remains at issue on Oahu, Kauai, state health subsidy aims to stem unemployment, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

The tax increase on people who own their homes but don't live in them was presented as a way to protect resident homeowners from additional taxes.

Farmers and hoteliers joined forces Monday to decry tax increases they say hit the county's two main economic drivers the hardest.

The public sent a unanimous message to the Hawaii County Council at a Monday night hearing: Don't raise real property tax rates.

The Maui County Council voted unanimously Monday to fix the real property tax rates as it had last discussed them in April, but two members voted with reservations.

A forensic anthropologist has confirmed that remains found by Army contractors Friday at a Schofield Barracks construction site were human remains, the Army said Tuesday.

More than five years after opening for business, the Keeaumoku Street Walmart and Sam's Club have seen the end to a legal challenge to their construction.

Wailua path project delayed amid Hawaiian protest

Hawaii's special election wraps up this weekend, but what happens after the next Congressional Representative is chosen?

Tax collections needed to pay the city's share of a planned elevated commuter rail line are running flat year-over-year with two months to go in fiscal 2010. If they continue at their current pace, transit tax collections are headed for a third straight year of little to no growth.

Small businesses in Hawaii are getting a big boost. The state says hire someone who is collecting unemployment right now and we'll help you pay for them.

As owners of a small home construction business in Waimanalo, Ozzy and Shontaz Naweli say one of the primary roadblocks to hiring new workers is the cost of providing health care.

In 2009, 95 percent of the applications were approved, meaning a record high 33,678 firearms were registered last year, outpacing the previous year by 30 percent.

The value of building permits authorized in Hawaii County increased in March, compared with the same month last year, while the number of permits decreased slightly.

A group of around 20 volunteers worked diligently last Friday to cultivate a small piece of land that soon will thrive with papayas, bananas and taro. This is not a farm or backyard–it’s in the heart of urban Honolulu at the Institute for Human Services (IHS) homeless shelter.

Keiki on board -- no smoke in car now law on Big Island, Hawaii Five-O coming back to TV, Lingle weighs in on congressional race, Abercrombie opens West Hawaii HQ, city parking contractors say boss stole $250,000, more top Hawaii news

Gov. Linda Lingle has rebuked claims made by Hawaii’s three former governors, who said Sunday electing republican Charles Djou to Congress would not bode well for the state’s congressional delegation.

Smiling candidate? Check. Photos with keiki? Yep. Red, white and blue background? Uh-huh. Prominently placed "Contribute" button. Duh.

Hawaii elections officials are reporting that almost 41 percent of the ballots mailed to registered voters in the contest for Hawaii's vacant congressional seat have been returned.

The delay of state refund checks has been lifted, somewhat.

Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday that she would release most tax refunds sooner than expected because revenue collections have improved as the state's economy improves.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie opened his West Hawaii campaign headquarters Sunday evening in Kailua-Kona, where he encouraged people to "break away from the false comfort of the status quo" and help change the current political climate.

Even though it has not been announced by CBS, a revamped version of "Hawaii Five-0" will finally see the light of day as part of the network's upcoming fall season lineup

'Hawaii Five-O', take two! In showbiz slang, the Five-O pilot has been picked up.

When the owners of KGMB9, KHNL and K5 television stations launched Hawaii News Now in October, they characterized the deal as a newsroom merger and not as an ownership change.

A bill signed into law yesterday expands the list of felony charges that prosecutors can levy against a suspect without going through the grand jury process.

Local anti-smoking advocates are applauding a new Big Island law that prohibits smoking in a vehicle when a minor is present.

The former general manager of a city parking concessionaire told KITV4 two city officials and co-workers helped a former city parking lot manager steal $250,000 from two city parking lots.

At the Big Island Regional Underwater Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) Tournament, held Saturday at the University of Hawaii at Hilo Student Life Center Pool, Hilo High student Quintin Watanabe prepares to launch his team's underwater robot.

A new Kihei high school, a second Wailuku elementary school, a replacement cafeteria at Paia Elementary and a bigger one at Lahainaluna High School are the Maui District's big-ticket items moving forward soon, a top state Department of Education official said recently.

What can you do with $287? That is the fine for having an illegal tint on an automobile as stated in the citation book used by Kaua‘i Police Department officers.

Cockfight bust scatters 500, former governors band against Djou, televised Honolulu City Council meetings could fall to budget ax, UH studies deep-sea vents, Hilo branch to get new chancellor, more Hawaii news

A deep-sea expedition headed by a University of Hawaii geologist has yielded insights into one of Earth's most active volcanic areas, in the Galapagos Islands.

Showing a united front in a party that has been described as divided, Hawaii's last three governors, all Democrats, warned yesterday that the election of Republican Charles Djou to the U.S. House would be a setback for Hawaii.

Three former Democratic governors asked voters yesterday to choose a Democrat in the special election for Congress and prevent Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, a Republican, from taking advantage of a divided electorate.

Less than a week left in the special election and democrats are worried a republican could win the race for congress.

The latest ad campaign from Republican Charles Djou blasts Democratic opponent Ed Case.

Three of Hawaii's past governors are calling on voters to keep the 1st Congressional District seat Democratic

Here are some of the questions and answers that didn't make it into our one hour long debate-- like what the candidates have done and will do to help small businesses.

When construction begins on Honolulu's rail line is now up to the governor and federal government. But it's unlikely that the mayor who's been the force behind the project will be in his office for the groundbreaking.

Four O'ahu men have been charged with animal cruelty after Honolulu police raided a Nānākuli cockfight attended by an estimated 500 people Saturday afternoon.

Residents of Hakimo Road in Nanakuli have split opinions regarding a massive police raid in their neighborhood Saturday. Officers armed with a search warrant broke up a cockfighting event that was attended by an estimated 500 people.

Fifty-one of the most beautiful women took the stage for the 2010 Miss USA Pageant.

A plan by some City Council members to chop funding for the televised broadcasts of its committee meetings is starting to draw protests from their colleagues and others.

New legislation would place limits on the use of leaf blowers, offering some relief to residents from the noisy machine — but not as much as some had hoped for.

Mayor Billy Kenoi's administration appears to be moving quickly to convert the Hawaii County Band into a private nonprofit corporation.

The dean of science at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona has been tabbed to succeed Rose Tseng as University of Hawaii at Hilo chancellor.

West Hawaii, which accounts for 76.2 percent of all property value in the county, is set to be hit the hardest by property tax hikes proposed by Mayor Billy Kenoi.

The 10th Maui Matsuri was held on Saturday at the University of Hawaii Maui College.

Biotechnology is a viable industry, said agricultural expert Douglas Jones during a luncheon hosted by the Hawai‘i Crop Improvement Association and the Chamber of Commerce last week at JJ’s Broiler.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Engineering Division will hold a public information meeting on Wednesday, May 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss a planned improvement project at Maalaea Small Boat Harbor.

Just sayin' -- Veil of secrecy threatens access to Hawaii public records

I guess if a journalist were allowed to have an opinion about anything, it would be access to public records.

So it's appropriate here to post two letters the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter recently sent to Gov. Linda Lingle, asking her to veto two insidious bills the state Legislature passed this year. I'm the signatory on these letters, and I did write them, but they represent the opinion of the SPJ board, on behalf of FOIA-ers everywhere.

As a moonlighting FOIA lobbyist, I guess I’d better keep my day job. Lingle on Wednesday signed the bill formerly known as “vexatious requestor” and now simply known as the  “birther” bill, and we can only hope that it won’t take on a life of its own and continue past its original purpose. Talk about vexatious!

Still to come – what the governor decides to do with the public’s right to know about complaints filed against their dentists, builders, real estate professionals, etc. Think HB1212 is a bad bill? It’s not too late to register your concerns with the governor’s office.

Stay tuned here or follow me on Twitter for updates on this bill and other government news. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. I’m just sayin.

You don't have to be married to live on a boat, crowds gearing up for camping trips, congressional election tit for tat, windmills coming to North Shore, Furlough Fridays soon no more, monk seal dies, more news

A long running controversy over live-in boat rules at state run harbors, may soon be resolved.

Dozens of people across the island are sleeping on sidewalks and in city parks -- not because they are homeless, but because they are trying to get their hands on camping permits for Memorial Day weekend.

The state land board is poised to accept $350,000 in federal drug eradication funds.

A critically endangered juvenile female Hawaiian monk seal was found dead at Glass Beach near ‘Ele‘ele and Port Allen on May 6, but the cause of death has not been determined, said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Coordinator Jeff Walters

Hawaii's hotly contested special election to fill the 1st Congressional District seat vacated by Democrat Neil Abercrombie is moving into high gear nine days before ballots are counted May 22

"The election is pretty much over." That is the quote that sparked controversy in the special election for Congress. Charles Djou made the comment to a Washington DC reporter on Tuesday, but now says he's been taken out of context..

A political stalemate blocked efforts to restore furlough days to this year's public school calendar in Hawai'i, but the Board of Education may not have to rely on Gov. Linda Lingle's largesse next year.

Imagine there were no Furlough Fridays. Imagine if you try. Imagine that the teacher is in the classroom and the students are there, too.

The state yesterday fined the city and the company that operates the Waimānalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill $424,000 for violating their permit.

The North Shore is known for big surf, but could become famous for something else, Oahu's first wind energy farm in two decades.

The state Public Utilities Commission has approved a power purchase agreement between Hawaiian Electric Co. and the developer of a Kahuku wind farm project, described as the largest of its kind on O'ahu.

Buying a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or trading in an old refrigerator for a newer energy-efficient model could pay off for Hawaii consumers.

The former manager of two Honolulu city parking garages in Downtown Honolulu will no longer fight charges that she stole about $250,000 in parking fees over a two-and-a-half year period

A state judge refused yesterday to dismiss theft charges against the wife of state Sen. Fred Hemmings.

A Maui County Council committee voted unanimously Wednesday to ban the use of hand-held mobile electronic devices, including cell phones, while driving.

Garden Island newspaper Publisher Randy Kozerski was driving to work yesterday when he saw a dark cloud ahead — at first thinking it was a "weird cloud," then realizing it was smoke.

More than $400 million in highway projects have been proposed by various government agencies, including Hawaii County, for 2011

An apparent misunderstanding over access to the beach below the old Papaikou sugar mill has put surfers on one side of the fence and landowners on the other -- literally.

The Maui Planning Commission took action Tuesday to advance a new Maui Bus transfer center at the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center and a new McDonald's restaurant in Lahaina.

Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity officials in a press release stated their pleasure with receipt of an Office of Hawaiian Affairs grant of $58,745 to assist in operation of the island’s only emergency homeless shelter.

The Pioneer Mill abandoned the sugarcane fields of Lahaina in 1999, and the browning of the once verdant slopes of the West Maui Mountains began.

Lingle signs Obama birther bill, Honolulu budget includes tax hikes, layoffs looming for merged newspaper employees, Hawaii County police seek accreditation, more news from around the state

It's now law in Hawaii that the government can ignore repetitive requests for President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie's plan to decentralize authority over public education in Hawaii to put more accountability at the school level drew support from campaign supporters Tuesday night in Waimea.

Real estate in Hawai'i's foreclosure pipeline hit a high for the year last month, signaling that homeowners continue to struggle with mortgage payments even as the economy and real estate market are showing signs of a slow recovery.

The Honolulu City Council has advanced a $1.8 billion city operating budget that includes funding for programs such as the Royal Hawaiian Band and Summer Fun, but also proposes to increase taxes on nonoccupant homeowners.

The Honolulu City Council moved another step toward a budget that raises the property tax on non-occupant homeowners, but promised to look for ways to minimize the increase before a final vote.

The merged Honolulu Star-Advertiser debuts June 7, with nearly 400 people losing their jobs in the process, according to the publisher of the combined newspaper.

Dennis Francis, Oahu Publications' president, said yesterday that the company should retain about two-thirds of the Star-Bulletin's 300 workers and about half of the Advertiser's staff of 580.

Nearly 35 percent of the state's mail-in special election ballots have been returned so far, state officials said.

On Nov. 5, 2002, Patsy Mink was re-elected to Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District with 52 percent of the vote. She had died six weeks earlier.

Former television news anchor Ramsay Wharton has filed candidacy papers for the Republican nomination for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District seat.

Honolulu police officer Kevin Fujioka has been convicted in Las Vegas of possessing marijuana and driving drunk, both misdemeanor charges.

The Hawaii Police Department has applied for national accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi brought his budgetary justifications to a Kona audience Tuesday evening, detailing departmental cuts, furloughs and just how many funded, vacant county jobs remain.

An inmate who escaped from corrections officers during a funeral Saturday was back in police custody Wednesday afternoon after he was found in a vehicle in Kihei, police said.

With an estimated 500,000 people hiking the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail every year, from Ke‘e Beach to Hanakapi‘ai, closing the trail for maintenance purposes isn’t really an option, a state parks official said.

Ed Case trailing in fundraising, Obama still popular at home, hydrogen cars coming to Hawaii, homeless buy one-way tickets, The Bus riders buying fake passes, news all around the state

Robert White came here about two years ago after living on the streets in Sacramento, Calif. He figured if he was going to be homeless, he might as well live in Hawai'i.

Hawaii's upcoming special election will fill a vacant seat in the U.S. House for only six months, but that has not stopped candidates from raising $3 million so far.

Charles Djou and Colleen Hanabusa continued to receive strong financial backing from their core groups — both topping $1 million since the start of the year — while Ed Case came in a strong third place heading into the final weeks of the special election for Congress.

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa raised more than $364,000 in April in her bid for the 1st Congressional District seat, her campaign reported Tuesday.

What he’s Djou-ing here

A state known for high gas prices is becoming the go to spot for alternative fuel options.  Just days after Korean manufacturer CT&T tapped Hawaii to build electric cars, General Motors announced a deal with The Gas Company to bring hydrogen powered cars to Hawaii.

Auto-maker General Motors has teamed up with The Gas Company for a pilot project using hydrogen fuel to power vehicles.

Voters will decide this November whether they would rather trade in their elected board of education for an appointed one, but little data exists to help them make an informed decision.

Board of Education committee on Tuesday recommended a fee hike for the popular A+ after-school program.

Mr. President, can you still feel the Aloha spirit?

Honolulu Police on Tuesday called for stricter new laws dealing with people who brandish replica guns in public, or use them while committing a crime.

Hundreds of Oahu bus riders are being lured into buying "bargain" bus passes but are finding that using the fake cards will get them ejected from TheBus, city officials said yesterday.

Wedding bells could soon be ringing at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, and some harbor residents don't like the sound of it.

Instead of heading to the chopping block, a 13,130-acre koa forest north of Hilo is going on the auction block.

Some members of the Hawaii County Council are taking a dim view of Mayor Billy Kenoi's proposal to balance the budget in part by raising property taxes.

First the architectural plans needed to be redrawn because the county administration omitted the County Council. Then the elevators had to be custom-made because the specs for the elevator shaft didn't fit any known elevator on the planet.

The mainland company that insured the bond for the Mamalahoa bypass wants more information from Hawaii County before handing over any money to county officials.

Power has been restored to about 1,400 Kahului customers who were left without electricity when a short circuit occurred on a power line on Dairy Road about 9:17 a.m. Tuesday, said Kau'i Awai-Dickson, spokeswoman for Maui Electric Co.

Sterling Kim's six-year struggle to build the Hale Mua affordable housing project has hit another barrier: a $12 million foreclosure action by a Colorado lender against the real estate and against the value of his hard-won government approvals.

Employees at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel spent four months building a four-man, single-hull Hawaiian sailing canoe.

Kaua‘i County Council members needed only one of the two scheduled sessions this week to tweak the mayor’s proposed budget.

Seventy-five homes for 100 years. That is the capacity of a new hydroelectric plant that was dedicated by Green Energy Hydro, Monday afternoon, in an albizia forest just outside of Koloa

Hotels more profitable, homeless invade Diamond Head, coqui coming to Oahu neighborhoods, Djou raising money as local Dems bicker, is state reneging on promise to investors? Top Hawaii news of the day.

Hotel occupancy climbed enough in March that the local lodging industry was able to turn the corner on a key measure of profitability for the first time in two years.

Even though Hawaii hoteliers are still offering room deals, a boost in occupancy statewide helped bring the industry a better return on its investment for March and for the first quarter.

Homeless Invade Slopes Of Diamond Head

First Congressional District candidate Ed Case has a new TV commercial that stops one step short of saying President Barack Obama endorses him.

Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou has seized the fundraising advantage in the special election for Congress, and likely has more cash available for the final two weeks of the campaign than congressman Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa.

The national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has made it official, saying it will spend no more money in the special election for Hawaii's vacant seat in Congress because an internal struggle among local Democrats could hand the seat to a Republican.

The state made a promise to investors. Then when the going got tough — a $1.2 billion deficit — lawmakers decided that they did not mean what they said.

Four Oahu high schools will be fitted with solar panels this year in a deal that will lower utility bills and save the state $1 million in roof repair costs.

What's that sound? You don't have to live in Hilo to hear that tell-tale chirp. Coqui frogs have been heard in neighborhoods all over Oahu.

Hundreds celebrate Saint Damien Day at state capitol

The possible disposition of 1,040 acres of Hawaii County's Paauilo lands will be the subject of a public meeting Mayor Billy Kenoi's administration has scheduled for later this month.

A former member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots program from World War II ditched her wheelchair, settled into the cockpit of a DA-20 Diamond Eclipse and relived her flying days Saturday.

Seventy-five homes for 100 years. That is the capacity of a new hydroelectric plant that was dedicated by Green Energy Hydro, Monday afternoon, in an albizia forest just outside of Koloa.

The wafting aroma of decaying animal carcasses is not something visitors should have to endure while enjoying Waimea Canyon’s beautiful vista, said Arthur Keale.

Employees at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel spent four months building a four-man, single-hull Hawaiian sailing canoe.

In January, Hawaii’s three former governors offered this plan for fixing our school system.

New poll shows Djou in the lead for Congress, public school repair backlog halved, what makes the coqui frog sing, other top Hawaii news

Republican Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou is on his way to Washington to represent Hawaii's 1st Congressional District, according to a new poll of likely voters conducted for Civil Beat.

Satellite city halls and many other city offices would be closed two Fridays a month beginning July 1 under a tentative agreement reached between the Hannemann administration and its two largest employee unions, according to documents obtained by The Advertiser.

Last year's federal economic stimulus law so far has steered about $584 million into Hawaii's economy, paying for transportation projects, unemployment benefits and other expenses the state and its four counties could not otherwise afford.

Office of Elections workers are tying up loose ends and making final preparations for the upcoming congressional special election.

State Rep. Lynn Finnegan entered the lieutenant governor's race with a song: "Watch out Mufi!"

A backlog of repair and maintenance work at Hawai'i's public schools that at one point soared to nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars has been cut by half and stands today at one of its lowest points in the last 10 years.

A man shot by an off-duty FBI agent along scenic Tantalus Drive yesterday afternoon was out on bail after allegedly posing as a police officer at the University of Hawai'i last week

The Big Island could soon serve as a model for the nation when it comes to accuracy and accessibility of patient medical records.

In the heart of coqui country, researchers are trying to figure out what makes the frogs sing.

The first case of the destructive tomato yellow leaf curl virus on the Big Island was recently found in a home garden in Kailua-Kona and confirmed in early April by testing at the University of Hawaii's virology lab in Manoa. 

Sixty-five percent of Maui County voters would favor changing the current system of electing County Council members to one that would create "nine single-member districts," according to a recent poll commissioned by a group supporting the idea.

Waimea residents and an attorney representing a family which has Kaua‘i roots dating to 1898 are involved in a battle to decide whether the family has rights to develop a piece of land sitting on a flood zone close to Waimea River.

The question of whether the county should allow dogs on the shared-use path has carried on for several months, stirring the community, who gave impassioned testimony

Abercrombie campaigning in Hilo: Kids are not bargaining chips

Feds say teachers can work for free, Big Island mayor says tax the rich, new electric car plant coming to Oahu, Neighbor Islands struggle with budgets, state to sell fishponds, more Hawaii news

Feds: Union Wrong, Teachers Can Work Legally For Free

A South Korea-based company has committed to build a $200 million assembly plant on O'ahu that would turn out two-seat electric cars and other vehicles and employ as many as 400 people.

A South Korea-based auto manufacturer announced yesterday its plans to build Hawaii's first car assembly plant.

Unable to reach an agreement after threatening legal action in March, conservationists and cultural practitioners are suing the St. Regis Princeville Resort for the hotel’s alleged failure to mitigate deaths and injuries of rare Hawaiian seabirds, according to a Thursday press release.

In less than two months, two stealthy F-22 Raptor fighters will fly from Utah to Hickam Air Force Base.

Frustrated by a divided local party, national Democratic groups that have spent more than $300,000 on ads and phone calls in attempts to weaken Republican Charles Djou's campaign for Congress appear ready to pull out of the battle.

Colleen Hanabusa has power.

State plans to auction ancient fishponds

The state Department of Transportation is ordering a contractor to restore a damaged stream on Oahu's north shore.

A Seattle-based firm that planned to ship hundreds of tons of the city's trash to the Pacific Northwest has been fined $40,400 by the state for illegally storing waste.

Marybeth Yuen Maul, 85, who served as an attorney and judge on Molokai for nearly 40 years, died April 23 in Eugene, Ore.

The number of homes resold on Oahu in April climbed compared to the same time last year and the previous month, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Tax rates for the county's wealthiest property owners could spike as much as 31.5 percent under a "cautiously optimistic" budget proposed Wednesday by Mayor Billy Kenoi.

The Hawaii County Council voted Wednesday night to delay the start new energy efficiency building standards to June 15, pending mayoral approval.

Partial funding for Hawaii County's two bands, extended transfer station hours and higher property tax rates are all part of the amended spending request Mayor Billy Kenoi gave to lawmakers Wednesday.

A proposal to increase water rates, particularly for agricultural users, met opposition during a public hearing before Hawaii County's Water Board on Wednesday at King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona.

Concerns about loss of conservation land, the impact of airplane noise above a development and a developers' broken promises were reiterated at a state Land Use Commission meeting Wednesday.

Even as they furlough employees, close pools and raise property tax rates to cope with a major decline in revenues, Maui County officials expressed frustration that more than $19 million in potential collections are frozen due to a backlog in property tax appeals.

Maui County will hold its first property tax foreclosure auction in more than 13 years later this month.

Recycling, The Kaua‘i Bus, lifeguards, the county auditor and other topics were on the minds of Kauaians at the last County Council public hearing on the county operating budget before Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. today delivers his final version to councilmembers.

State most expensive for car ownership, Election Office withholding records, congressional race and civil unions continue to dominate headlines, fire rages on Maui, more top Hawaii news

Hawaii has been ranked the most expensive state to own a car by Edmunds.com, an automotive information website.

The state Department of Human Services has called off a plan to close all the state's welfare eligibility offices and lay off 228 public employees.

Across the country, Democrats are on the defense, laboring to put out political fires sparked by angry voters and emboldened Republicans. Even Hawaii, the bluest of blue states, where a Democratic machine has controlled politics for the five decades since statehood, has become a dangerous hot spot for the party in power.

Representatives of three Congressional campaigns say the state's office of elections is not providing them with key information that would allow them to stop making thousands of phone calls to potential voters asking them if they’ve already voted in the special election.

Ed Case said he believes that most voters think the same way he does about government and politics in Hawai'i and Washington, D.C.: too partisan, too dysfunctional, too out of touch with everyday concerns.

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, trailing in the polls and hearing of intense pressure from national Democrats who want her to step aside, vowed yesterday to stay in the special election for Congress until the end.

In the second installment of our special-election preview, Honolulu Weekly talks with each of the three best-known candidates in the race for Congress.

The congressional debate: watch the clips

The state Senate could be led by a Big Island lawmaker next year if Senate President Colleen Hanabusa prevails in her quest for a congressional seat.

Gov. Linda Lingle says she soon will start gathering information about the controversial civil unions bill that passed the state Legislature last week.

Civil unions bill on Lingle's desk

Madam Pele is on the move, putting on the hottest show in Hawaii that's too close for comfort. On Wednesday night, firefighters were on alert and families on edge as Big Island Civil Defense tracked a lava flow that shut down a popular sightseeing spot.

Safer streets, less traffic, and higher morale - those are the goals Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha unveiled on Wednesday.

Twenty people who were either cited or arrested during a protest at the governor's office are now going through the justice system. Some were in court on Wednesday.

The debate swirling around a proposed community development in Central Oahu is just the latest example of the tension between growth and farmland preservation in Hawaii.

A fire, the cause of which remained unknown, burned roughly 1,100 acres of brush mauka of the sparsely populated areas of Olowalu and Ukumehame to the ridges atop the West Maui Mountains on Monday and Tuesday.

A group of downtown Hilo businesspeople, professionals, surfers and anglers is hoping that Gov. Lingle will sign over a half-acre parcel on the Hilo Bayfront to the county.

A divided Hawaii County Council committee Tuesday agreed to strengthen the county's ethics code, despite protestations from opponents that county government is already ethical enough.

Dr. Peter Matsuura's vision for a Hilo medical complex and pedestrian-oriented community was endorsed by a County Council committee Tuesday.

Two bills regulating how much water Hawaii County residents may draw from county spigots will go to the full council with negative recommendations from the Public Safety and Parks and Recreation Committee.

After a nearly three-year Kaua‘i Police Department investigation, two local men were arrested on suspicion of first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.

The most recent Green Harvest mission on Kaua'i netted 200 marijuana plants and several arrests, county officials said Monday.

Gubernatorial race too close to call, Hawaii County mayor denies plans to run for lieutenant governor, Obama calling home on congressional race, 500 Honolulu Advertiser employees get layoff notices, Maui County cutting 108 jobs, more

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi: No plans to run for lieutenant governor, despite $47k contributions

In a head to head battle between Neil Abercrombie and Mufi Hannemann, former congressman Abercrombie has the lead by a margin of 36 to 32 percent.  The margin of error is four percent.

Republicans here and on the Mainland are banking on Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou becoming their first Hawai'i representative to Congress since Pat Saiki nearly two decades ago.

House Republicans call it the "death wish," by which they mean when Democrats take what they like in a Republican bill and make it their own.

President Obama has your number. So do U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka. Even former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie is planning to call you.

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona denounced efforts to link him with an evangelical group that has been accused of trying to make Hawaii the first Christian state and supporting efforts to imprison gays in Uganda.

Advocates for the separation of church and state have filed an ethics complaint against Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona

Federal officials said they think a decomposing humpback whale calf that washed ashore Monday night at Po‘ipu may have floated all the way from O‘ahu.

Despite signs of an economic recovery, advocates warn that many Hawai'i families are still teetering close to homelessness — or falling into it — as they run through their savings.

The Maui County Council Budget and Finance Committee on Monday voted unanimously to recommend a budget for 2011 that would cut 108 county jobs and furlough remaining workers, while increasing property tax rates to partially offset lower tax collections.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo's 3-year-old College of Pharmacy has been awarded $16.1 million as one of 15 communities participating in a national pilot project to use information technology to improve health care.

Already battling one pest attacking honeybees, state agricultural officials are now starting an investigation into another: the small hive beetle.

More than 500 Honolulu Advertiser employees got their layoff notices last night. It came one day after HA Management took over daily operations of the Advertiser.

An estimated 1,100 acres burned in Maui brushfire

West Maui resident Jan Ehrenkrook said she looked out her window at about 1 a.m. yesterday and saw a wall of flames from a brush fire coming over a hill.

Kona coffee. We love it and we take pride in it in Hawaii, but did you know there is a chance your Kona Coffee is not Kona coffee after all.

A stretch of Queen Kaahumanu Highway fronting the Kohanaiki Business Park closed Monday afternoon as hazardous materials experts, state Highway Division crews and a private contractor removed about 10 tons of gravel, oil and coolant that spilled from a semi-truck that overturned and burned.

Gov. Lingle's popularity hits 8-year low, congressional candidates rumble in TV debate, voters prefer Democrat for next governor, Neighbor Island lawmakers weigh civil unions, more Hawaii news

Gov. Linda Lingle's job approval rating has tumbled to the lowest point in her two terms as the state's chief executive, a new Hawai'i Poll has found, as teacher furloughs and a sour economy have weakened her popularity.

The new version of the state budget, passed last week by the state Legislature, keeps almost all the budget cuts recommended by Gov. Linda Lingle.

A bill providing for civil unions exposed splits among the Big Island's legislative delegation.

Kaua‘i delegation split on civil unions

Hawai'i voters are divided between former Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in the Democratic primary for governor in September, but prefer either Democrat to Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, a Republican, in the November general election, a new Hawai'i Poll has found.

President Obama will appeal to Honolulu voters to choose a Democrat in the special election for Congress, as national Democrats grow increasingly alarmed that Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, a Republican, could snatch the president's hometown district.

Three candidates running in the special election for the 1st Congressional District seat agreed native Hawaiians should receive some form of federal recognition similar to American Indians.

Three veteran politicians waged a battle of big ideas Monday night.

The most heated exchanges came between front runners Ed Case and Charles Djou in a televised debate for the 1st Congressional District Monday night.

Cheers, boos, and bursts of laughter - ask the live audience, and the one word nearly everyone used to describe Monday night's congressional debate was 'spirited'.

A plan to shift the route of Honolulu's proposed elevated commuter rail project to avoid Honolulu International Airport airspace has found favor with the Federal Aviation Administration, the city said yesterday.

A 66-year-old Colorado utility executive who was set to retire this summer was killed on his Big Island farm Sunday night after he was pinned under an overturned tractor.

Hawaiian Airlines began a major upgrade of its fleet Monday. The company received a new state-of-the-art plane for its trans-Pacific flights.

Man claims police illegally confiscated his pakalolo

The Lahainaluna High School boarders program survived in the Legislature's budget for the next fiscal year, but its future remains uncertain with Gov. Linda Lingle still having 45 days to take action on the lawmakers' spending plan.

Olowalu businesses and residents were advised to prepare to leave the area, if necessary, if a nearby brush fire gets too close, said county spokeswoman Mahina Martin on Monday night.

Most favor federal recognition for Native Hawaiians, man builds Styrofoam house, Chinese language amusingly difficult for English-speakers as more Chinese head to islands, more top Hawaii news

Hawai'i residents still favor federal recognition of Native Hawaiians by a 2-to-1 margin, the latest Advertiser Hawai'i Poll numbers show.

We're hearing directly from Governor Linda Lingle for the first time since she returned from a four-day trip to the Mainland.

Poorly maintained roads cost Hawai'i drivers an average of $503 a year as they shell out extra money for tire repairs and damaged shock absorbers.

Federal stimulus spending saved or created 2,566 jobs in Hawai'i during the first three months of this year, which is down from the 3,019 jobs attributed to the program during the last three months of 2009.

A Hawaii News Now-Honolulu Advertiser poll shows that Republican candidate Charles Djou has a big lead in the special election for Congress.

Across the country veteran politicians are facing serious competition generated by a tide of voter anger, even from within their own party.

Two social service organizations are giving food to an increasing number of people -- some of whom used to donate food themselves -- a reflection of the sour economy.

Tourism industry eager for Chinese

For English speakers with subpar Chinese skills, daily life in China offers a confounding array of choices. At banks, there are machines for "cash withdrawing" and "cash recycling." The menus of local restaurants might present such delectables as "fried enema," "monolithic tree mushroom stem squid" and a mysterious thirst-quencher known as "The Jew's Ear Juice."

Families Threaten Lawsuit Over Care For Autistic Children

Hawaii Family Builds Styrofoam Home

A proposed $286 million Hilo development promising shopping, housing and medical services has received the Windward Planning Commission's endorsement and is now heading to the County Council for consideration.

West Hawaii residents got a glimpse of several master plan alternatives for the Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park at a community meeting Saturday in Kealakekua.

While the question of whether civil unions will be legal in Hawaii rests with Gov. Linda Lingle, Maui County lawmakers cheered its passage in the state House of Representatives last week.

An agreement signed last week between Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and a private developer conveyed 138 acres of ocean-front property to the county, which prompted some community members to question what was given up in exchange for the land.

Boys’ Day, falling on the fifth day of the fifth month, is steeped in Japanese tradition and came to Hawai‘i with the immigrants brought to the Islands to work on the plantations.

New! Weekly blog feature Just sayin' -- Bidding aloha to the 2010 legislative session in Hawaii

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session."
 -- Mark Twain

Whew! They're gone. The Hawaii Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, and reporters around the state are busily figuring out just what lawmakers accomplished during the 60-day session that in Hawaii Time stretches from Jan. 20 to April 29.

The debate over civil unions grabbed most of the headlines this legislative session, but tax and access issues hit equally close to home.

Old Samuel Langhorne Clemens had it right about property, at least as far as this year’s legislative session is concerned. In this tough economic climate, lawmakers raised the barrel tax from 5 cents to $1.05, an action expected to hike the cost of gas, electricity and shipping. Lawmakers also reinstated the death tax and tapped their old favorite, smokers, who face a 40-cent-per pack increase.

Legislature on last day passes civil unions, reinstates steep tax hikes, after 27 years, Kilauea losing steam, more top news from around the state

In a dramatic last-minute reversal, the state Legislature sent Gov. Linda Lingle a bill legalizing civil unions between any two consenting adults.

State House lawmakers yesterday approved a bill that would give same-sex and heterosexual couples the ability to enter into civil unions and enjoy the same rights as married couples under state law.

Many are calling it a very historic moment for Hawaii, and it's big step towards a huge victory for civil union supporters.

Opponents of a civil unions bill are urging Gov. Linda Lingle to veto the measure when it hits her desk.

Expect gas prices, electric bills and shipping costs to rise because the state Legislature voted yesterday to override a veto of a $1-per-barrel tax increase on oil products.

From veto to law, legislators went against the governor and overturned 11 issues today many centered on jobs and tax increases.

Hawaii state lawmakers Thursday overrode one of Gov. Linda Lingle's vetoes to clear the way to impose an almost 2000 percent oil barrel tax hike.

The Lingle administration lashed out at state lawmakers who ended the 2010 regular session with overrides of 11 of the governor's vetoes.

Here is a list of some of the measures revived today:

A government watchdog activist was injured and another was arrested yesterday during a protest over prayer at the state Legislature.

At least eight Hawaii lawmakers may leave office following this year's legislative session.

A drop in sulfur dioxide released from an eruption on Kilauea volcano's east side might mean the eruption is finally running out of gas after 27 years, scientists say.

Some of the best minds in social media are here for a two day conference on creating a business strategy using social media tools.

Work continues on efforts to cover up contaminated soil on the site of the future Target and Safeway stores in Hilo, where high levels of arsenic, dioxins and petroleum compounds have been found.

A state senator says the Department of Public Safety broke state and county laws and administrative rules during last year's closure of Kulani Correctional Facility.

Bowing to the inevitable, county and state officials emerged Wednesday from a closed-door strategy session determined to fill the hole in Big Island tourism left by the loss of Japan Airlines flights to Kona International Airport.

The state Department of Transportation assured residents Wednesday evening there will be no more protests to delay work on the Queen Kaahumanu Highway widening project and construction of the second phase is expected to begin in the fall.

Maui County Council members on Wednesday debated proposals to require the Department of Environmental Management to come up with a plan to recycle more wastewater and conduct sampling for water contamination before spending money to rehabilitate existing injection wells.

Many Kauai community members who closely followed the progression of the bill seeking to allow leashed dogs on the entire shared-use path were baffled when the author of the bill voted to defer it, sending it back to committee for possible amendments

Loss of JAL big blow to Big Island, state tourism up, great time for lava peepers, newspaper consolidation starts Monday, Navy to resume war games offshore, Legislature's last day, more top Hawaii news

Hawaii officials say they hope to get Japan Airlines to reconsider its decision to end Kona service, or find another carrier to do it.

Japan Airlines plans to reduce daily airlift into Hawaii by about 800 passengers a day, eliminate its Kona route despite lobbying from state leaders, and add a flight from Haneda International Airport to Honolulu as part of the company's government-backed bankruptcy restructuring.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority reported improving visitor arrivals and visitor spending across the state in March, the agency said Tuesday.

Maui island led all others in the state in drawing the highest percentage increases in visitor arrivals and in tourist spending in March, compared with the same month last year, state tourism officials said Tuesday.

Under a new law landowners will be responsible for maintaining an open corridor on the beach.

State lawmakers gave final approval yesterday to a bill that would authorize $67 million from the state's Hurricane Relief Fund to eliminate teacher furloughs next school year.

State lawmakers have given final approval to the use of $67 million from the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund toward restoring public school furlough days and now wait to see whether an agreement can be reached to return teachers and students to the classrooms.

A domestic violence resolution designed to make sure judges stick to the law and not grant batterers child custody, is just one final house vote away from passing.

Hawaii County Fire Chief Darryl Oliveira and South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford are cheering a bill the state Legislature passed Tuesday giving counties control over fireworks.

The House and Senate passed into a law on Tuesday a bill that raises the maximum salary for the state department of education superintendent and other department officials.

A naval exercise that brings to Hawai'i's shores thousands of service members from the U.S. and foreign nations, an aircraft carrier, beach landings — and millions in Waikīkī tourist dollars — is returning between late June and early August.

State Sen. Will Espero doesn't believe for a second that the end of the "birther" conspiracy theory is near, but he hopes lawmakers gave understaffed and overwhelmed Health Department officials a new tool against persistent requests for President Obama's Hawai'i birth certificate.

Despite the fact that Honolulu’s special congressional election has largely been reported as a race between three familiar, highly polarizing politicians, the ballots that will begin to appear in Honolulu voters’ mailboxes next week will feature the names of 14 candidates.

The consolidation of Honolulu's two rival dailies is expected to begin one minute after midnight on Monday when Honolulu Star-Bulletin owner Black Press concludes its purchase of The Honolulu Advertiser from Gannett Co.

A city audit has found that nearly 40% of high-rise residential buildings on Oahu did not undergo fire inspections every two years as required.

The Honolulu Fire Department hasn't caught up with the computer age, leaving it with incomplete records of the island's 600-plus residential high-rises and the violations and hazards found in them, according to the city auditor.

A broad, slow-moving flow has come within a few dozen feet of the county's public viewing area.

A proposal to cut the Maui County's work force by eliminating vacant positions could result in disruptions of county operations and services, department directors warned Tuesday.

A Kauai County bill still in the germinating stage may lead to the explicit legalization of hundreds of existing transient vacation rentals on agricultural land.

The U.S. Army's plan to monitor the air over Pohakuloa Training Area for depleted uranium has drawn sharp criticism from some Native Hawaiians, environmentalists, activists and independent experts. Now the Army has gotten an admonishment from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Legislature passes budget avoiding GET increase but grabbing high-tech credits, veil of secrecy drawn over business complaints, tourism looking up, state's two largest newspaper merger OK'd by court, Maui trims budget, more top Hawaii news

State lawmakers on Tuesday passed a $10.2 billion budget that included many fee and tax hikes, but avoided an increase in the general excise tax.

The Hawaii legislature passed a flurry of bills Tuesday, covering everything from fireworks to requests for President Obama's birth certificate to shark fin soup. More than 60 other bills also passed the final House and Senate votes Tuesday.

With Furlough Fridays on their minds, lawmakers took steps to ensure a minimum number of instructional days for public school students while leaving it up to voters to decide on a measure aimed at increasing accountability in the system.

A conflicted state Senate, under threat of potential lawsuits, voted yesterday to end a high-technology tax credit program early and temporarily suspend investors' ability to claim the credits to help with the state's budget deficit.

Gov. Linda Lingle is saying no to oil barrel tax increases, plus jumps in traffic abstract fees and estate taxes.

As expected, Gov. Linda Lingle on Tuesday vetoed the state Legislature’s attempt to block her from reorganizing the state Department of Human Services.

State lawmakers on Tuesday passed legislation that would shield from public view thousands of complaints about real estate agents, contractors, doctors, barbers and other licensed professionals.

Hawaii lawmakers have passed a constitutional amendment proposal that would mandate an appointed Hawaii State Board of Education.

A rebound in Hawai'i's visitor arrivals and spending gathered momentum in March, boosting sales at many businesses.

Hawaii's two largest newspapers, the Honolulu Advertiser and the Star Bulletin will be merging. What many have feared is about to happen, Honolulu will become a one paper city. Hundreds of employees will be laid off and the Advertiser staff is expected to take the biggest hit.

Black Press, the Canadian-based parent of the 128-year-old Honolulu Star-Bulletin, received approval yesterday from the U.S. Justice Department to conclude its purchase of its longtime rival, The Honolulu Advertiser.

Property tax increases would be blunted, and transportation programs and social service grants would get a boost, under a budget proposed Monday by Maui County Council Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Joe Pontanilla.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo has announced five finalists for the university's top job.

Residents have until Friday to turn in their obsolete televisions, computers and other electronic waste without charge to the drop sites in Hilo and in Kona.

The Hawaii visitor industry has rolled out a package of incentives it hopes will persuade Japan Airlines officials not to cancel a daily flight between Narita International Airport and Kona International Airport.

In-car smoking ban raises legal questions

The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply manager said he'll welcome an investigation into the contract process for an Ocean View well project.

A federal jury Monday found Kevyn Paik, 47, and James Alan Duarte, 48, both of Kaua‘i, guilty of multiple wire-fraud and mail-fraud offenses involving the award and performance of contracts for work at the Hanalei Wildlife Refuge, a federal press release states.