March 2013

Shearwater Deaths: In January, the state Attorney General’s office asked the chief procurement officer for an exemption from the usual bidding practices. The AG was seeking to retain legal counsel to represent it in a criminal case that the U.S. … Continued

What force and effect should be given to the community development plans that the Hawai`i County Council has adopted in recent years? That question is at the heart of a lawsuit being heard in 3rd Circuit Court, which challenges a … Continued

It was a decision none of the Land Use Commissioners was eager to make. A long silence greeted commission chair Kyle Chock when he asked for a motion on a request by Maui Tomorrow Foundation, Inc., South Maui Citizens for … Continued

One of the state’s best tools against invasive species is biocontrol, according to state Department of Agiculture invasive species specialist Carol Okada. And in recent years, local resource management agencies here have received approvals to release carefully selected insects to … Continued

This month, the Hawaiian Electric Company is expected to submit its report to the state Public Utilities Commission re-examining the initial phases of its feed-in-tariff program, which guarantees participants that HECO, Maui Electric Company, and the Hawai`i Electric Light Company … Continued

All further “development” of the troubled project known as the Villages of `Aina Le`a has been halted as a result of an order of Judge Elizabeth Strance of the 3rd Circuit Court. Last month, Strance ruled that the County of … Continued