Recent reports by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) suggest that the pelagic population of false killer whales within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Hawai‘i may be larger than was previously thought. Or it may be about … Continued
On February 28, Curt Cottrell, administrator for the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks, asked the Land Board for permission to hold public hearings on proposed fee increases for parking, entry, and facility uses. He noted … Continued
Had Christopher Arai and his wife been made aware that short-term renting was not allowed at their beachfront house in South Kona, they wouldn’t have bought it, he wrote in a letter to the Board of Land and Natural Resources … Continued
Nearly a year ago, the Board of Land and Natural Resources granted a 55-year easement and a right-of-entry permit to allow a non-profit group of Hanalei taro farmers to repair and maintain the ancient, pre-contact Hawaiian irrigation system that they rely on … Continued
Here we go again. The owner of ‘Aina Le‘a, the 1,060- acre tract of land in the Big Island district of South Kohala slated since 1989 for an enormous housing, commercial, and golf-course development, is now suing Hawai‘i County and … Continued
Temperatures are rising. And as they soar, so, too, do the mosquitoes that carry the parasite that causes avian malaria, fatal to so many of the native Hawaiian forest birds. For years, scientists and biologists concerned with the health of … Continued
Chalk one up for the state. A big one. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has shredded the takings claims of Bridge ‘Aina Le‘a, LLC, over the state Land Use Commission’s decision in 2011 to … Continued
Last month, Hawai‘i County asked the state Land Use Commission (LUC) to rule that transient vacation rentals aren’t allowed in farm dwellings within the state Agricultural District. In November 2018, the county adopted Bill 108, which regulates short-term vacation rentals on … Continued
At its February 14 meeting, the Board of Land and Natural Resources continued to levy fines against landowners in Kona who had been using their houses in the Conservation District as vacation rentals. The board fined Sheri Parish-Hamilton, who owns a beachfront … Continued