Ensuring public shoreline access has never been an easy task in Hawai`i. Almost always, it involves the state or county government acquiring easements across private property as a condition of development. Take the case of a subdivision in Pepe`ekeo, a … Continued
The end may be near for a decade-old case involving the largest fine ever levied by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. After five years in stasis, the Intermediate Court of Appeals finally heard oral arguments on October … Continued
`Aina Le`a Update: The slow pace of development at the Big Island project known as the Villages of `Aina Le`a seems to be matched these days only by the slow progress of challenges to it in court. The state has … Continued
Scott Watson may be a “serial violator,” to use the description of him offered by an employee of the Hawai`i County Planning Department. But as serious and numerous as his infractions may be, the real villain in the sad stories … Continued
“They should have told us a long time ago,” Maureen Gapp said through tears after the vote of the Board of Land and Natural Resources to deny her a Conservation District Use Permit. The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ … Continued
If anyone is in the market for a “private resort,” complete with swimming pool, water slide, high-dive platform, half a regulation NBA court, and a three-level house with seven bedrooms, eight and a half bathrooms, and kitchens on all levels, … Continued
Waikaku`u Subdivision OK’d: The Hawai`i County Board of Appeals has given the green light to a planned 14-lot subdivision in an old-growth `ohi`a forest in South Kona. At its July 13 meeting, the board voted 6-0 (with one recusal) to … Continued
The 2012 Legislature may not have passed any real blockbuster environmental bills, but several that did find their way into law represent important developments (or setbacks) for the long-term quality of the state’s natural resources and environmental health. Here’s a … Continued
Two commercial fishermen who say they were displaced by the establishment of marine national monuments in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs) are finally speaking out against the disbursement of millions of dollars in compensation … Continued
Step up or get lost. That’s basically what state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz told board members of the state Agribusiness Development Corporation on July 11. That day, Dela Cruz outlined his vision to turn former plantation lands in central O`ahu … Continued