For nearly three decades, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has conducted or supported regular hauls of marine debris from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Most of it is made up of derelict fishing gear, and most of that is non-biodegradable … Continued
The United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution gathered recently in Busan, Korea, in what was supposed to be its fifth and final meeting in an effort to come up with a treaty to reduce plastic production. On December … Continued
What is driving down the population of false killer whales around the Main Hawaiian Islands? A paper just published in the journal Endangered Species Research suggests that the fishing activities of thousands of commercial and recreational fishers operating in nearshore … Continued
On October 29, Governor Josh Green announced the appointment of V.R. Hinano Rodrigues to fill the spot on the Commission on Water Resource Management reserved for an expert in Hawaiian culture and traditions. Within a week, a complaint alleging numerous … Continued
Hawaiʻi law provides for an unusual – in Hawaiʻi, at least – process to select members of the state Commission on Water Resource Management. A special four-person committee considers applicants for vacancies on the commission. Two of them are named … Continued
News of the selection of V.R. Hinano Rodrigues was not welcomed by many of the same groups who had pushed to have the governor pick a candidate from the two remaining on the original list forwarded to him in February. … Continued
Kona Three Goes Down: The long and fraught controversy over a housing development proposed more than 40 years ago just south of Kailua-Kona seems to have come to an end. On November 20, the Hawaiʻi County Council voted down a … Continued
Discovery Harbour Verdict: A long-running lawsuit over development rights in the South Point area of Discovery Harbour was decided last month in favor of the developer, South Point Investment Group, LLC. Third Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto found that the properties … Continued
In 2020, Honolulu and Maui brought suits in the respective circuit courts of their counties against petroleum companies that have operated in Hawaiʻi for decades. The lawsuits allege that the companies knew for a very long time that the use … Continued
The Public Utilities Commission wants to know why some customers of the Launiupoko Water Company are consuming frankly outrageous amounts of potable water. And so, on October 17, it sent formal requests for information to LWC, laying out in detail … Continued