A developer who has a history of flouting conditions of permits issued by the Hawai`i County Planning Department has now taken the county to court. At issue are the conditions of a Special Management Area permit governing a luxury, gated … Continued
An old-growth `ohi`a forest in South Kona has been spared the developer’s ax – for now, at least. Judge Ronald Ibarra of the 3rd Circuit Court has determined that the County of Hawai`i planning director, Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, and the … Continued
In a recent decision regarding the Kaua`i Planning Commission’s denial of a Koloa water bottler’s use and zoning permits, the Intermediate Court of Appeals has reaffirmed that county agencies are bound by the state Constitution to protect the public trust … Continued
To all those who say you can’t fight city hall or those with deep pockets, or who assert that once-forested of the islands are too degraded to be restored, or who are daunted by a years-long struggle to claim your … Continued
Caren Diamond halts her trek along the shore and peers through dense thickets of naupaka and heliotrope to a man working in his backyard. She warns that if he sees us walk past, he might say some nasty things about … Continued
What kind of evidence is sufficient to prove that a shoreline certification was wrong? Are photographs and eyewitness testimony of where the waves wash and whether the shoreline had been manipulated good enough? Do photos need to be accompanied by … Continued
If sand is stuck to your feet or in your hair or in your toy shovel, fine. If a little bit spilled into your beach bag, fine. If you need to take some with you for traditional cultural purposes protected … Continued
Waiawi Control Agent Is On the Move, Very Slowly In the words of waiawi warrior Tracy Johnson, “strawberry guava was on the radar of land managers for many decades” before a tiny biocontrol agent was finally released last year in … Continued
Some questions and answers about albizia in Hawai`i. What is albizia’s native range? It is native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon Islands. When did it arrive in Hawai`i? It was brought to the islands in 1917 by … Continued
Robert J. Cabin, Restoring Paradise: Rethinking and Rebuilding Nature in Hawai`i. University of Hawai`i Press, 2013. 236 pages. $24.99 (paper binding only). For someone who claims to be a scientist, Robert Cabin sure harbors a lot of scorn for his peers. … Continued