“It’s amazing, the amount of power — there really is a lot of power on the board.” That’s the view of Chris Yuen, former Big Island member of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, who was interviewed in the … Continued
Kauila A legend relates that there was a time when stormy weather prevented the men from diving for water. There were two supernatural turtles who had come out of the ocean to Punalu`u: Honu-po`o-kea (Turtle-with-white-head), the mother; and Honu-`ea (Turtle-with … Continued
“Should the dam collapse, a flood wave could envelop the communities of Waialua and Hale`iwa within 40 minutes…. Human safety is the primary concern,” states a report to the 1996 Legislature written by the Wahiawa Reservoir Task Force. The group … Continued
It’s right there in black and white: “DLNR does not have any documentation of a Registration of Stream Diversion Works and Declaration of Water Use, a Stream Diversion Works Permit, or a Water Use Permit for Moloa`a Ditch.” Since the … Continued
Second only to sludge, auto fluff, also known as auto shredder residue or ASR, is one of the largest waste components in O`ahu’s Waimanalo Gulch landfill. In 2006, 29,786 tons of auto fluff were dumped into the landfill, accounting for … Continued
The Auditor, State of Hawai`i. <i>Performance Audit on the State Administration’s Actions Exempting Certain Harbor Improvements to Facilitate Large Capacity Ferry Vessels from the Requirements of the Hawaii Environmental Impact Statements Law: Phase I [April 2008] and Phase II [December … Continued
As with most other state agencies, the Department of Land and Natural Resources is facing straitened circumstances as Hawai`i attempts to deal with forecasts of crashing revenues. From an authorized spending level of roughly $111.6 million for the current fiscal … Continued
The annual Variance Report, published by the state Department of Budget and Finance, is a rich mine of information on the operation of Hawai`i government agencies. Here are a few tidbits: Average number of business days the Department of Taxation … Continued
Whales, Dolphins Unprotected from Fishers: The Government Accountability Office has found that the National Marine Fisheries Service has failed to take protective measures for 14 marine mammal populations that, by law, it is required to protect. Among them are Hawai`i … Continued
A decade ago, Daniel Pauly, one of the leading scientists in the field of fisheries management, coined a term: Fishing down the food web. This describes what happens when the large marine predators are overfished and their numbers decline, while … Continued