First, it was a lack of water that constrained the growth of farming on 1,200 of the 1,700 acres of former Galbraith Estate land that the state purchased in 2011 for $25 million. With limited well water and the inability … Continued
Red Hill Rebuke: On February 21, Judge Jeffrey Crabtree of the 1st Circuit delivered a knockout blow to the state Department of Health. In granting a motion for summary judgment filed by the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, Crabtree found that … Continued
Nearly two months after hearing oral arguments in the contested case hearing over the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Incidental Take License (ITL) proposed by the Na Pua Makani wind farm, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources had … Continued
In April 2017, the state Commission on Water Resource Management approved a settlement agreement signed by the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC), the Kekaha Agriculture Association (KAA), the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, and the community group Po‘ai Wai Ola, to resolve … Continued
On January 26, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to fine two tour companies that cater to Chinese tourists $2,500 each for conducting commercial activities within the Mauna Kea forest reserve without a permit. Dave Smith, administrator … Continued
On January 24, with aid from staff with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, several legislators introduced a pair of bills regarding shoreline encroachment easements — House Bill 2653 and Senate Bill 3093 — as an alternative to bills … Continued
One of the most exclusive enclaves in Hawai‘i is the gated community of Kuki‘o, adjoining the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the western coast of the Big Island. Although homes in the area have a property-tax valuation as high as … Continued
March 2018
In 2016, the Legislature passed a controversial bill that gave two dozen or so individuals and companies throughout the state with revocable permits to divert water a period of three years (and perhaps longer) to secure long-term leases from the … Continued
Kahului Questions: A company that wants to use energy crops from 500 acres of Alexander & Baldwin land on Maui, produce biogas, and use the fuel to run a power plant that will provide electricity to Maui County’s Kahului wastewater … Continued