In February 1967, officers with the Kahala Hilton Hotel Company signed an agreement with the state that allowed for the hotel’s creation of a public beach and swimming area fronting what is now the Kahala Hotel & Resort in south … Continued
NELHA Tenant Exits: Cellana, the company that wanted to produce biofuel from algae, has abandoned its six-acre facility at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i Authority (NELHA) in Kona. To get out from under its debt of roughly $280,000 in … Continued
On September 18, the state Commission on Water Resource Management approved groundwater reservations for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) totaling more than 13 million gallons a day (mgd) and spanning 20 aquifers across the islands of Lana`i, Kaua`i, … Continued
“It’s not that I don’t like ResortTrust. You just got the potato at the end of the game,” Board of Land and Natural Resources member Keone Downing told the company’s representatives on September 14. “One potato, two potato, three potato, … Continued
On September 14, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved the purchase of 2,800 acres of conservation and agricultural lands in Wahiawa from Dole Food Company, Inc., for $15 million. The lands are slated for a variety of … Continued
“The Waikoloa Highlands project you see today is unusual.” In this way did Steve Lim, attorney for the developer, prove himself master of the understatement. Lim made the comment to the Land Use Commission at its meeting of September 6, … Continued
This time, they were ready. When the state released five male, captive-reared endangered Hawaiian crows (`alala) into the Pu`u Maka`ala Natural Area Reserve on December 14, 2016, managers found out the hard way that some of them weren’t ready to … Continued
If Bones Could Nest… Environmental assessments are often written with less care and attention than environmental impact statements. The August 8 Environmental Notice includes a couple of EAs that provide ample evidence. Consider the draft EA prepared for an after-the-fact … Continued
News flash. Hawai`i County has too much affordable housing. That, anyway, was the position that appears to have been staked out by the county’s Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) during the final months of the administration of Mayor … Continued
Saved by the storm! Thanks to Hurricane Lane, the state Land Use Commission was spared the need to make a critical decision on the stalled-out plans to develop a 398-lot residential subdivision on land just upslope of Waikoloa Village. On … Continued