On May 26, 1959, representatives of the Hawai`i Land Hui, a group of three Honolulu businessmen, met with Hiroshi Kasamoto, director of the Hawai`i County Planning and Traffic Commission. As their attorney, Masanori Kushi, later described the encounter, the investors … Continued
The state Legislature tried to make great strides to address the flooding projections in the Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report (SLR report) issued just before the session began, but wound up taking a baby step. Armed with the … Continued
Without so much as a news release, the Hawai`i Department of Health has shuttered its Environmental Planning Office. Effective May 2, the office – which was instrumental in coordinating the Department of Health’s strategic plans, reviewing land use and environmental … Continued
Waikoloa Woes: The long-stalled rural development known as Waikoloa Highlands, just outside of Waikoloa Village in the Big Island district of South Kohala, is in jeopardy of losing its development rights granted by the Land Use Commission. In 2008, the … Continued
The photos are hard to view. Adult albatrosses with bloodied heads. Gray, night-time shots of mice preying on birds that can’t or won’t leave their nests. Beautiful, dead birds, killed by the “vampire” mice of Midway National Wildlife Refuge. The … Continued
In March, a jury in Honolulu federal court decided that Bridge ‘Aina Le‘a, LLC, had suffered damages when the Hawai‘i Land Use Commission voted in 2011 to put land the company owned on the Big Island back into the Agricultural … Continued
The land at issue in the Bridge ‘Aina Le‘a litigation was placed into the Urban district in 1989. A succession of owners failed to develop it, and in 1999, a subsidiary of Bridge Capital, a company now headquartered in the … Continued
It’s been five years since the National Marine Fisheries Service adopted a take reduction plan (TRP) to address the Hawai‘i longline fleet’s interactions with false killer whales (FKW). The plan required vessels to use stronger branch lines and weaker hooks … Continued
In its first few meetings, Honolulu’s new Climate Change Commission has heard from a slew of city agency heads about the status of their respective agencies’ efforts to plan for climate change effects. Some agencies have gone further than others. … Continued
Maunakea Silverswords: At some time in late March or early April, the gate leading into the silversword reserve near Hale Pohaku, on Maunakea, was not just damaged, but completely removed by vandals, as revealed on a visit in early April. … Continued