Last month’s meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, an agency of the federal government that has no other source of funds than the U.S. taxpayer, began this way: William Sword, a council member from American Samoa and chair … Continued
Last May, the state Land Use Commission received an update on plans to develop about 1,000 houses on land near Lahaina, Maui. The LUC had first approved a project in this area three decades ago. In the intervening decades, ownership … Continued
On September 25, plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the City & County of Honolulu that alleges corrupt Department of Planning and Permitting employees stymied development at Marconi Point filed a motion to compel the production of documents. The parties … Continued
On October 5, dozens of tenants within the Moloaʻa Hui agricultural subdivision on Kauaʻi — including residents, farms, and businesses — will be cut off from the well water that they’ve relied on for years. Some of those tenants testified … Continued
For Hoʻokipa: On August 6, the state Bureau of Conveyances recorded a Unit Deed transferring ownership of Unit 1 of the Marconi Point Condominiums from Yue-Sai Kan to the North Shore Community Land Trust. For years, the trust has been … Continued
What is happening with the Launiupoko Irrigation Company? To judge from its most recent financial statements provided to the Public Utilities Commission, the company seems to have done little more than collect payments from customers and salt away most of … Continued
In the summer of 2020, members of Kiaʻi Kauaula met with an archaeologist with Scientific Consulting Services. SCS had been retained by West Maui Land Construction to oversee excavation it was undertaking to install irrigation lines for Launiupoko Irrigation Company … Continued
With global temperatures inexorably rising, how much groundwater pumping will the state’s aquifers be able to sustain in the coming decades? A study by the U.S. Geological Survey on groundwater recharge, released in May, may help the state Commission on … Continued
Seven and a half years ago, on February 24, 2017, the then-chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Suzanne Case, signed off on an exemption notification. This memorialized her agreement with Department of Land and Natural Resources’ staff … Continued