Senate Bill 2070 (now Act 197) calls for the issuance of up to $50 million in special purpose revenue bonds to the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative, LLC. The purpose is to assist the company in a host of worthy endeavors, … Continued
On June 22, Alan Scott Rudo, a former staffer with the Hawai`i County Office of Housing and Community Development, signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, admitting his participation in a conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. That plea … Continued
By Patricia Tummons Heʻeia Estuary: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is asking for public comment on a revision of the management plan for the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve. As described by NOAA, “this draft revised management plan is … Continued
(Contributed by Sheila Conant) I met Fern not long after he took over the ʻalalā captive propagation project. He was working and living at Pōhakuloa. Marie Morin and I drove up to Pōhakuloa to meet the new aviculturist. Fern was … Continued
Last year, the Office of the Inspector General for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a scathing audit of the way in which the Western Pacific Fishery Regional Management Council (WPRFMC, or Wespac for short) had used monies from … Continued
“Council Offended by Removal of Last Vestiges of US Ocean Waters Open to Fishing.” That was the headline on a press release issued June 23 by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council. Members of the panel, the presser stated, were … Continued
Two recent judicial rulings have sent the Land Use Commission back to court. The first, a ruling on May 2 by 3rd Circuit Judge Wendy DeWeese, overturned a Hawaiʻi County law, supported by the LUC, that banned short-term vacation rentals … Continued
Remembering ‘Doc’ Maciolek: Dr. John A. Maciolek (1928-2021), a career biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service and former zoology professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, died at his home last summer in Westlake, Oregon. At UH, Maciolek … Continued
How did a newly minted company get the County of Hawai‘i to purchase 13 acres of land for it? With only $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses the company was able to acquire land valued by the county at $948,200. It later … Continued
Hawai‘i County’s affordable housing policy is a disaster. Other counties have their problems as well when it comes to addressing the shelter needs of households who are priced out of market-rate rentals. But on the Big Island, the insanely complicated … Continued