“Ultimately, the governor’s directive spoke to me. Ultimately, I have the authority.” So stated Peter Young, administrator of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, referring to an order issued last May by Governor Linda Lingle. The order required … Continued
Seven years ago, [i]Environment Hawai’i[/i] reported on the state’s lease of an acre of privately owned vacant land at Ma’alaea Harbor, on Maui’s southern coast. The lease, with real estate agent Don Williams, locked the state into 30 years of … Continued
“Kona land designated as wilderness.” So read the headline over an article in the May 17, 2003, Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The article, by reporter Rod Thompson, described how Governor Linda Lingle had signed a bill “creating a 22,000-acre wilderness area in … Continued
State To Exchange Lands With Kapalua Developer Does an exchange of 226.545 acres of ceded ag land in Lahaina for 1.432 acres of private land at a Waikele industrial park sound fair? To the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, it … Continued
We’ll get back to you. That pretty much sums up the way the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ administration has treated the Natural Area Reserve System Commission’s push to get some enforcement down at the Ahihi-Kina’u NAR on Maui. … Continued
Coughing up blood is never a good thing. So when Jason Pacheco started doing just that after following orders to mix a vat of unknown chemicals with cement at work, he complained to the Department of Health and filed suit … Continued
Since 2001, the Hawai’i Department of Health has proposed fines totaling about $5 million against what would seem to be some of the state’s biggest environmental scofflaws: Eco-Feed, Maui Electric Company, Silva’s Equipment Rental, Inc., Marisco, Ltd., Chaminade University, the … Continued
Disappearing Act: The Incredible Shrinking Fines at the DOH Time and again, newspaper headlines in Hawai’i scream out the apparently high fines the state Department of Health proposes for any and all who fail to toe the line when it … Continued
“The distance from Los Angeles to Honolulu is half that between the Middle East and New York City, and it made that jump,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Jeff Burgett says, describing the leaps made by the West Nile … Continued
With more boats and more whales, it only stands to reason that there will be more collisions between them. And a study prepared last year for the Hawaiian Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary bears out that suspicion. The study, by … Continued