In April 2017, the state Commission on Water Resource Management approved a settlement agreement signed by the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC), the Kekaha Agriculture Association (KAA), the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, and the community group Po‘ai Wai Ola, to resolve … Continued
On January 26, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to fine two tour companies that cater to Chinese tourists $2,500 each for conducting commercial activities within the Mauna Kea forest reserve without a permit. Dave Smith, administrator … Continued
On January 24, with aid from staff with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, several legislators introduced a pair of bills regarding shoreline encroachment easements — House Bill 2653 and Senate Bill 3093 — as an alternative to bills … Continued
One of the most exclusive enclaves in Hawai‘i is the gated community of Kuki‘o, adjoining the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the western coast of the Big Island. Although homes in the area have a property-tax valuation as high as … Continued
March 2018
In 2016, the Legislature passed a controversial bill that gave two dozen or so individuals and companies throughout the state with revocable permits to divert water a period of three years (and perhaps longer) to secure long-term leases from the … Continued
Kahului Questions: A company that wants to use energy crops from 500 acres of Alexander & Baldwin land on Maui, produce biogas, and use the fuel to run a power plant that will provide electricity to Maui County’s Kahului wastewater … Continued
The Public Utilities Commission has ruled on the matter of who should pay the costs incurred by Hawaiian Electric utilities when they service loans made from the Green Energy Market Securitization fund, or GEMS. Hint: It’s not the utilities. Another … Continued
The Hawai‘i Green Infrastructure Authority has recommended that the Legislature consider allowing at least part of the balance of Green Energy Market Securitization funds to be used as “a revolving credit facility for any state agency to access low-cost financing … Continued
Late on the night of October 10, 2017, the Pacific Paradise, a Honolulu-ported longline fishing vessel, hit a reef just 1,000 feet off Waikiki beach in the middle of the night. Twenty people were aboard the 79-foot-long craft, which would … Continued