December 2014 PDF
December 2014
Kaua`i Pumped Storage Project Wins Preliminary Approval of Land Lease
As a way to boost Kaua`i’s capacity to incorporate more solar power onto the electrical grid, the Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative’s proposed pumped storage hydropower project using old sugar plantation infrastructure seems like a no-brainer. But with an independent power … Continued
Creditor Owed $30 Million Presses Forward with Foreclosure Action against Hu Honua
Over the last year, Hu Honua Bioenergy, LLC, builder of the proposed biomass-fueled, 28-megawatt power plant on the Big Island coast a few miles north of Hilo, has faced multiple applications for mechanic’s and materialman’s liens filed by contractors and … Continued
Kona Man Accused of Destroying Sites Challenges County over Grubbing Law
What’s the difference between “grubbing” and “mowing”? That was the question posed to the Hawai`i County Board of Appeals earlier this year, as a Kona landowner challenged the accusation he had violated the county’s prohibition on grubbing without a permit. … Continued
NMFS, Wespac Butt Heads Over MHI Bottomfish Stock Assessment
The morning of the vote, before the day’s meeting officially began, members and staff of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council huddled with staff from the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Pacific Islands Regional Office. Wespac executive director Kitty Simonds, NMFS … Continued
Wespac Spends Taxpayer Dollars to Lobby Against Expanded Pacific Islands Monument
How much did U.S. taxpayers spend to argue against the recent expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument? Environment Hawai`i asked that question after the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Wespac) issued a press release describing a meeting … Continued
Board Talk: Board Again Delays Enforcement of Illegal Shoreline Construction
At its November meeting, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources deferred for the second time acting on a proposed $31,000 fine against Grand View Apt., Inc., which owns a shoreline parcel in Mokuleia, O`ahu, that was devastated by … Continued
New & Noteworthy: New Name for Monk Seals; An OIP Opinion; Pepe`ekeo Point Update
A Seal by Any Other Name…: The endangered Hawaiian monk seal has a new name: Neomonachus schauinslandi, reflecting its genetic divergence from the Mediterranean monk seal. The name change reflects recent genetic studies by researchers at the Smithsonian and colleagues … Continued