“This is crazy. It’s a crazy amount of money. It’s like $2 million dollars.” Wendy Gady, executive director of the state Agribusiness Development Corporation, was describing the legal charges her agency had already incurred and those it was likely to … Continued
(Above photo: Kevin Minoli. Credit: Alston & Bird) In November 2024, members of the board of the state Agribusiness Development Corporation were advised by Ben Berridge of Stantec GS, Inc., that complying with permit conditions of a draft National Pollutant … Continued
(Above photo: From the state’s contract with Alston & Bird.) Environment Hawaiʻi received detailed breakdowns of invoices submitted by the law firm of Alston & Bird to the Agribusiness Development Corporation. Here’s what we learned: The first invoice, dated July … Continued
‘Good Cause’ Challenge Upheld: On June 26, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court upheld the right of a Hawaiian group, Mālama Kakanilua, to challenge a decision of the Maui County director of Public Works to grant a time extension of a grading...
Cats’ Role in Dolphin Deaths: Robin Baird of the Cascadia Research Institute has published a brief report on the relationship between cat populations and the deaths of cetaceans, including false killer whales and dolphins, that inhabit the ocean around Hawaiʻi....
The first time the presence of coconut rhinoceros beetles on the island of Hawaiʻi was detected occurred in October 2023. In the stump of a decaying palm tree, residents of Waikoloa found six suspicious larvae, which the Department of Agriculture...
June, the last month of the state’s fiscal year, is probably the busiest month of the year for contracting as state agencies rush to encumber funds rather than face the prospect of seeing them lapse back into the general fund....
Above photo: Deputy DAB director Dean Matsukawa, DAB director Sharon Hurd, and DAB legislative liaison Cedric Gates meet with Rep. Mike Gabbard in this photo from April 2025. Credit: Gabbard Instagram Until Cedric Gates ran for state Senate in 2024, … Continued
Rudo Statement: Alan Rudo, the former Hawaiʻi County employee at the heart of a scheme to profit from the sale of housing credits, was scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on May 28. In anticipation, he has submitted to … Continued
LUC Nominees: On April 22, Governor Josh Green informed the Senate that he was withdrawing the nomination of Nancy Carr Smith for a second term on the Land Use Commission. According to the LUC, she will serve through June 30. … Continued