The first session of the 2017 Legislature broke little new ground in terms of environmental law-making. About a dozen bills that nibbled at the edges of meaningful action made it across the finish line with the signature of Governor David … Continued
Over the last decade, Hawai`i County has approved Community Development Plans (CDPs) for most of the districts making up the Big Island. The Kona CDP was one of the first, adopted by the County Council in 2008, and resulted from … Continued
For `Aina Le`a, Inc., the prospect that it will be able to carry out its planned development on 1,000-plus acres in South Kohala is growing ever dimmer, with the company facing multiple foreclosure actions, potential downzoning of its property by … Continued
Lehua Rat Project: The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been given the green light to award a contract to Island Conservation of New Zealand for preparation of a plan to eradicate rats from Lehua Island, located a few … Continued
Hawai`i County, once one of the biggest cheerleaders for the development known as the Villages of `Aina Le`a, is over it. In a nine-page letter dated May 16, county planning director Michael Yee informed attorney Alan Okamoto that in light … Continued
The long-awaited settlement of a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the state Land Use Commission was signed in February. Lawyers from both the Attorney General’s office and the company that, for a while, proposed to develop the Villages of `Aina Le`a … Continued
Nearly a year after NextEra’s proposed takeover of Hawaiian Electric was voted down by the Public Utilities Commission, four of the renewable energy projects that were axed by Hawaiian Electric – at the behest of NextEra, some claim – have … Continued
Kaua`i Springs Order: The Public Utilities Commission has rejected the request from a Kaua`i water bottler that it determine the bottler’s source of water is exempt from requirements that apply to water utilities. The May 22 order notes that the … Continued
`Aina Le`a Update: DW `Aina Le`a, LLC, which owns 1,072 acres of land near Waikoloa, on the Kohala coast of the Big Island, is suing the state of Hawai`i for $200 million as a result of actions by the Land … Continued
With a piddling fraction of a $146 million Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) fund being loaned out over two years, it is easy to understand legislators’ frustration with the program. But will a new measure that the Legislature is poised … Continued