For years, Wailuku Water Company (WWC) has been trying to get Maui County to take over its irrigation system. Maui mayors have repeatedly included in their proposed budgets $9.5 million to purchase the company’s lands and infrastructure, but the County … Continued
The state Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) is at crossroads. Is it going to be strict a landlord that terminates land licenses for repeated non-compliance, or is it going to do whatever it can to help those small farmers — who … Continued
More than a year after the Hawai`i Supreme Court heard oral arguments, it has issued its decision in Patrickson v. Dole, a case that revolves around harm to Central American workers exposed to DBCP, or dibromochloropropane. That chemical was widely … Continued
Plans to make the Whitmore area in North O`ahu the island’s agricultural hub — complete with processing facilities, an agribusiness-technology park, and thousands of acres of farmland — are quickly coming together, at least when it comes to acquiring … Continued
Posted 5/24/2011 Because members could not agree on proposed amendments to the Wai`anae Sustainable Communities Plan, the Honolulu Planning Commission decided on May 16 to forward a draft plan, prepared by the city Department of Planning and Permitting, to the … Continued
Posted 05/02/2011 At last month’s Honolulu Planning Commission meeting at Kapolei Hale, a handful of West O`ahu farmers tried to dispel the notion that the 96 acres in Nanakuli proposed for development of a light industrial park are … Continued
On June 4, the state Land Use Commission unanimously approved a petition by Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. to designate more than 80 percent of its vast Maui fields as Important Agricultural Lands (IAL). While commissioners praised the company’s dedication to … Continued
Council Loses an Advisor: Robin Baird, one of the leading experts on false killer whales in waters around Hawai`i, has resigned from the Protected Species Advisory Committee of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Wespac). Baird resigned effective January 31. The … Continued
Tobacco Project Wins ADC License Despite Board Member’s Objections Over the objections of an incensed William Tam, the Agribusiness Development Corporation board voted to approve a three-year license to LBD Coffee, LLC, to test its tobacco crops on three acres … Continued
DLNR Proposes Strict Size, Bag Limits On Fish Catches Around Maui, Lana`i On June 12, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved a request by the state Division of Aquatic Resources to hold public hearings on some rather … Continued