Keeping the Country Country: Last month, Ikaika Anderson, chair of the Honolulu City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee, proposed gutting all references in the draft Ko`olau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan (KLSCP) to a new residential community in Malaekahana. In his … Continued
When the Hawai`i Legislature passed Senate Bill 1087 in 2013, the bill was hailed as a way to democratize access to energy-saving technology, such as rooftop photovoltaic installations. Nearly two years later, as the program anticipated in the legislation is … Continued
Cycle City: Honolulu’s King Street now has a dedicated bicycle lane, and, if all goes according to plan, it will soon have its own bikeshare program, financed through the Department of Health’s Healthy Hawai`i Initiative. Last month, the Chronic Disease Prevention … Continued
Scott Watson, builder of the “Pepe`ekeo Palace,” just won’t take “no” for an answer. Having twice tried, and twice failed, to get the Hawai`i County Windward Planning Commission to amend conditions of subdivision approval for the lot on which Watson … Continued
The Hanalei River boatyard operated by Mike Sheehan has for years been a thorn in the side of the Kaua`i County Planning Department, its Public Works Department, its Planning Commission, and environmental groups too numerous to count. But last month, … Continued
Posted 06/02/2014 Maui County’s operation of its Lahaina sewage treatment plant has been found to violate the federal Clean Water Act. U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway issued a ruling on May 30 finding that the four injection wells used … Continued
Posted 04/24/2014 The long and acrimonious dispute over ownership of the Haleakala Trail has been decided. On April 23, a jury determined that the state of Hawai`i does indeed own the six-foot-wide trail extending from Makawao up to Haleakala crater. … Continued
Posted 12/30/2013 The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing a change in fishing regulations that would make permanent what has been a year-to-year rule allowing Hawai`i-based longliners to exceed the annual catch limits on bigeye tuna imposed by the Western … Continued
(Posted December 23, 2013) The Land Use Commission’s approval of a controversial O`ahu housing development known as Koa Ridge has been tossed out by the state Supreme Court. In an opinion written by Associate Justice Paula A. Nakayama and signed … Continued
Posted 07/29/2013 To the surprise of probably no one, scientists at the University of Hawai`i have determined, once and for all, that indeed, there is a link between the treated wastewater from the Lahaina sewage treatment plant and nearshore water … Continued