Draft rules, a draft environmental impact statement, and projects whose scope and impacts remain inscrutable to all but the contractors and their government supervisors. That, in a nutshell, describes the nature of the work being done in Hilo in the … Continued
An Interview with Biologist Stuart Pimm For 15 years, biologist Stuart Pimm studied Hawaiian birds. He no longer works in Hawai`i, but Pimm credits his years here with changing his approach to science. Watching critters go extinct virtually under his … Continued
DLNR Moves To Ban Houses In Flood Areas After six years and a recent lawsuit and contested case, the Department of Land and Natural Resources took steps last month to repeal a rule that encourages construction in flood-prone areas of … Continued
On a good day, the intersection of Pa`akea and Ili`ili roads is tranquil in a dusty, rural sort of way. Along the narrow dirt Ili`ili Road, pigs can be seen wallowing in a pond of mud. A soft, earthy smell, … Continued
The names of several individuals crop up frequently in lists of directors, owners, or investors in companies involved with waste hauling, food waste recycling, pork production, and, completing the circle, pork consumption and food waste generation. An asterisk indicates the … Continued
William Bergin, a veterinarian and member of the University of Hawai`i Board of Regents, has enjoyed rent-free use of a state-owned cabin just off the Saddle Road of the Big Island for more than 20 years. The cabin appears to … Continued
By the 1930s, more than a million acres of land in Hawai`i had been placed in designated forest reserves. At the end of the 20th century, however, just 564,598 acres were included, according to the state Division of Forestry and … Continued
Lei of na`u were prized possessions and preferred for their fragrance. In the legend of Ka`ala and Ka`aiali`i, the women of Lana`i presented floral tributes to Kamehameha and others when they came to Kealia for sport. The floral tributes consisted … Continued
Thirteen years ago, the Department of Land and Natural Resources launched a project that signaled a new seriousness of purpose to protect Hawai`i’s diminished forests. An exploding population in West Hawai`i, concerns about loss of habitat for the islands’ imperiled … Continued
“Perhaps thar’s gold in them thar hills,” The Maui News proposed in a January 19, 1952 article following the government auction of a pasture lease at Ukumehame. Bidding for use of the roughly 5,000 acres of arid land in south … Continued