“Council Offended by Removal of Last Vestiges of US Ocean Waters Open to Fishing.” That was the headline on a press release issued June 23 by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council. Members of the panel, the presser stated, were … Continued
A week before Western Pacific Fishery Management Council members railed against a proposal to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, a member of the council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) suggested that there was at least one aspect … Continued
Two recent judicial rulings have sent the Land Use Commission back to court. The first, a ruling on May 2 by 3rd Circuit Judge Wendy DeWeese, overturned a Hawaiʻi County law, supported by the LUC, that banned short-term vacation rentals … Continued
Remembering ‘Doc’ Maciolek: Dr. John A. Maciolek (1928-2021), a career biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service and former zoology professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, died at his home last summer in Westlake, Oregon. At UH, Maciolek … Continued
On June 24, the Public Utilities Commission approved a new rate schedule sought by Launiupoko Irrigation Company (LIC) for the delivery of water to its 400-plus agricultural and residential customers. Instead of paying a flat rate of 76 cents per … Continued
Land Board Heeds Community’s Wishes In New Rules for Miloli‘i Fishing Area On June 9, seventeen years after the Legislature designated Miloli`i as a Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA), the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved rules … Continued
How did a newly minted company get the County of Hawai‘i to purchase 13 acres of land for it? With only $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses the company was able to acquire land valued by the county at $948,200. It later … Continued
Hawai‘i County’s affordable housing policy is a disaster. Other counties have their problems as well when it comes to addressing the shelter needs of households who are priced out of market-rate rentals. But on the Big Island, the insanely complicated … Continued
Above photo: Office of Housing and Community Development administrator Suzan Kunz. Hawai‘i County, like every other county in the state, struggles with the problem of affordable housing. Unlike the others, though, it has a law – Chapter 11 of the … Continued