Last month, the County of Hawai`i’s director of planning, Virginia Goldstein, sent the owner of an ocean-front house in Kailua-Kona a certified letter notifying him of numerous violations of county building laws in the reconstruction of his house. The list … Continued
A recent audit by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General for Audits (Western Division) questioned Maui County’s use of $1,094,241 in federal funds for work associated with construction of the Lahaina sewage treatment plant from 1975 to … Continued
Does Botanical Garden Divert Stream? Its Stories to State, County Differ The Hawai`i Tropical Botanical Garden, on Conservation District land north of Hilo, Hawai`i, is seeking permits on two fronts. From the County of Hawai`i Planning Department, it is asking … Continued
‘Space Czar’ Hayward Received New DBEDT Contract Last September Just as the public — and the state’s own auditor — were lulled into the belief that the Waihe`e administration’s ties to Thomas Hayward, the ‘space czar’, had finally come to … Continued
In March 1992, Environment Hawai`i reported allegations of illegal bulldozing, cattle trapping, and construction in the ahupua`a of Kukuiopa`e in South Kona. At that time, the Department of Land and Natural Resources characterized its investigation into the allegations as pending … Continued
If Environment Hawai`i may be said to have a birthday, Earth Day 1990 would be that day. That was when, at Kapi`olani Park, founders Marjorie Ziegler and Patricia Tummons began collecting names and addresses of people who wanted to be … Continued
Readers of Environment Hawai`i have been treated regularly to discussions of one or another of the several problems that the Hawai`i Tropical Botanical Garden has had in complying with terms of its Conservation District permit. In April 1995, in an … Continued
In March 1991, Environment Hawai`i reported on problems in management of Pu`uwa`awa`a Ranch, what was then the largest single lease of state-owned land. Partly as a result of that, the state House of Representatives established a special sub-committee to look … Continued
In April and May of 1992, and several times since, Environment Hawai`i has reported on the demise of the Hamakua Sugar Company. Most of the assets of the company have been sold in foreclosure auctions. Ownership of one of the … Continued
In April 1991, Environment Hawai`i reported on the decline of the ‘alala, or Hawaiian crow. Inbreeding of the few captive birds made their reproduction difficult. Capture of birds in the wild was held up by private landowners. Since then, settlement … Continued