Dairy Update: In 2019, the Big Island Dairy shut down, never having been able to prevent runoff from its manure-filled ponds fouling streams that ran to the ocean off the Hamakua coast of the Big Island. The dairy sits on … Continued
Deputy attorney general Stuart Fujioka lobbed a sandbag at the members of the Land Use Commission when it met on October 27. And the commissioners were not pleased. The LUC is a quasi-judicial body, with procedures governed by a set … Continued
“We have to find a way forward somehow. Sometimes that way forward is very messy,” said state Board of Land and Natural Resources chair Suzanne Case as the board met on October 22. At that meeting, the board narrowly rejected … Continued
Based on a new five-year status review released earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking to reclassify the ‘ōpe‘ape‘a or Hawaiian hoary bat from endangered to threatened. The species was listed as endangered in 1970, “based … Continued
One of the first actions taken by the new administration of Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth following his inauguration last December was to soften the county’s stance toward the ʻAina Leʻa development. The previous administration had been insisting that the … Continued
Hu Honua Update: Proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission in the case involving the Hu Honua power plant, being built just north of Hilo, are gaining steam. In September, parties in the case filed prehearing testimonies. The state Consumer Advocate, Tawhiri … Continued
“Where is the justice in this?” Hui o Na Wai ‘Ehā president Hōkūao Pellegrino asked the state Commission on Water Resource Management at its September 21 meeting. In June, the commission issued its decision and order in a contested case … Continued
The Water Commission’s June decision and order on water use permits for the Na Wai ‘Ehā surface water management area involved some very big last-minute changes. Mahi Pono, LLC, which a few years ago purchased Alexander & Baldwin’s former sugarcane … Continued
When the virtual meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council opened on September 21, chair Archie Soliai led off with a Christian prayer. Although the council is a federal body, no one objected. Rather, participants on the WebEx screen … Continued