Two bills that would allow expanded residential and touristic uses of agricultural lands are moving ahead in the state Legislature, despite resistance from those who say the measures would undermine efforts to keep farming viable in the Islands. Senate Bill 2350, introduced by Sens.
Crowded beaches, traffic and overflowing rubbish bins were among the concerns of citizens who testified before the City Council at Kapolei Hale in support of Bill 5 on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
After hearing over six hours of public testimony overwhelmingly against it, the City Council passed Bill 50, which will rezone 97 acres of farmland in the Lualualei Valley to allow its development into an industrial park. More than 50 members of the surrounding community protested “the purple spot” on the map, signifying the industrial land use designation made by the Waianae Sustainable Community Plan against their will.
A recently introduced bill in the state Senate would require businesses in Hawaii to impose a 10 cent fee for single-use bags provided to customers upon checkout. The bill, SB2511, was heard last Thursday, Feb.
In order for Hawaii to reach the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) of 40 percent renewable energy by 2030, big changes must be made. A number of bills proposed this year seek to knock Hawaii Electric Industries (HEI) off of its energy monopolizing pedestal.
Year after year, residents of Honolulu–and cities all over the world–open up their doors to find an unsought pile of wood pulp that has become increasingly obsolete over the years: the yellow pages. A small percentage of people may continue to make use of the phone book (the elderly, people stuck in business waiting rooms and pay phone frequents), but, as internet culture has evolved, so has the way that people get their information.
Hawaii People’s Fund will be holding a workshop entitled “Community Organizing 101” to help clarify goals, strategy and tactics of community organizing. Studio 909, Musicians Hall, 949 Kapiolani Blvd., Sat., 2/18, 9am-1pm, $40.
Last Thursday, the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection had a busy session hearing several controversial bills relating to geothermal energy. Chairman Denny Coffman introduced HB2689, which seeks to exempt slim-hole, or exploratory, geothermal test wells from any sort of environmental review as is currently required under Chapter 343 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.
On Feb. 1, the Hawaii State House Agriculture Committee heard testimony on HB2703, dubbed the Food Self-Sufficiency Bill.
Mega-developer Castle & Cooke has re-filed an application with the Land Use Commission (LUC) seeking to convert approximately 768 acres of Ag land–currently in cultivation–into a “master-planned community” entitled Koa Ridge. If successful, the project will consist of two parcels–Koa Ridge Makai and Castle & Cooke Waiawa.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs holds a second round of community meetings to discuss the latest updates on the Kakaako land settlement. Stevenson Middle School, 1202 Prospect St., Wed., 2/8, 6:30pm; Waimanalo Community Center, 41-253 Ilauhole St., Thu., 2/9, 6:30pm City Council committees on Zoning and Planningand Transportation will take public testimony on agenda items.
On Jan. 26, members of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART) Finance Committee mostly sat in silence while listening to an earful from Wynnie Joy-Hee of Mililani, who said that she had taken the bus all the way into town at 7am to address the issue of how her tax money is being spent.
HART intends to hire an executive director as early as March 1, 2012. The semi-autonomous agency is currently headed by interim executive director Toru Hamayasu, who is also a candidate for the permanent position The ED’s salary has been estimated to be within the range of $150,000 to $350,000, and HART has allotted $300,000 for the position thus far, Vice Chair Ivan Lui Kwan told the City Council Committee on Transportation on Jan.
Poor communication between the union and the teachers themselves, on top of a general sense of mistrust, were blamed for the overwhelming rejection of the Hawaii State Teacher’s Association (HSTA) contract last week–an unprecedented two-thirds voted against the union-backed contract. The president of the teachers’ union, Will Okabe, quickly took the blame, stating in a Jan.
The “war on terror” has taken a bite out of beach access on Kauai, where the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) has kept five miles of westside shoreline off-limits since Sept. 11, 2001.
A bill that would require bags of roasted coffee sold in Hawaii to list the place where each type of coffee it contains was grown, and its percentage by weight in descending order, was introduced to the state legislature by Sen. Josh Green.
In September of 2011, the Weekly ran a piece highlighting one of Hawaii’s most dangerous invasive threats: the dreaded brown tree snake. Following up on Gov.
HART Board: The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit will meet and take public testimony before convening an executive session. For more info, contact the project hotline at 566-2299 or e-mail [email: info].
Gov. Neil Abercrombie gave his State of the State address in the House Chambers on Monday, Jan.
The Weekly asked former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who has been characterized by opponents in the Honolulu mayoral race as a one-issue candidate, to specify his overall goal.
“For this session, we must focus our efforts on maintaining economic recovery and promoting immediate job growth,” said Speaker of the House, Rep. Calvin Say in his opening remarks as Hawaii state legislators convened on Jan.
Finally! On Thursday, Jan.
Hawaii ’s State Department of Transportation (DOT) has joined the State Department of Agriculture and the Department of Permitting and Planning in reversing its position on Hoopili, having been against it when the project was rejected by the Land Use Commission (LUC) in 2009. DOT’s conditional endorsement hinges partly upon project developer D.R.
A panel discussion held Jan. 18th at the UH Department of Hawaiian Studies raised ethical questions regarding Monsanto’s support of College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), including the $500,000 contribution that created the Monsanto Research Fellows Fund.
Welfare Bill: The House Committee on Human Services will hold an informational briefing to discuss HB1710 and HB1711 relating to drug testing applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Conference Room 329, State Capitol, 415 S.
Given the city’s crumbling infrastructure and rail controversy, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to be the next mayor of Honolulu. But a few do want the job, including the incumbent, Mayor Peter Carlisle, the former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney who won a 2010 special election to fill the remainder of Mufi Hannemann’s term.
I’d never been to a Honolulu City Council meeting until a few weeks ago. Features, not politics, was my beat.
Victoria Holt Takamine is a kumu hula, a cultural activist and a teacher and has an impeccable pedigree to back up all these titles. Born of an alii family whose kuleana was in Moanalua, she graduated as a hula teacher under the legendary Auntie Maiki Aiu Lake and taught hundreds of students in her own halau (Pua Alii ‘Ilima) and at the University of Hawaii.
On April 25, a state judge dismissed trespassing charges against a Kauai man after finding that he had been exercising traditional native Hawaiian rights hunting wild pigs on private land. Kui Palama, 28, was arrested on Jan.
The city plans to dish out $3.5 million from its Affordable Housing Fund and either purchase or renovate a structure to provide transitional housing for Honolulu’s special needs homeless population. “Our community has invested considerable effort and resources in addressing homelessness,” Mayor Peter Carlisle said in a statement, “but there remains a population whose disabilities or chronic conditions make it difficult for them to participate in traditional shelter programs.” Carlisle is referring to those homeless with mental illnesses, addictions and physical disabilities.
Makaweli Poi faces an uncertain future after its owner, a corporate subsidiary of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) ordered the West Kauai mill to suspend operations May 23. Mona Bernardino, chief operating officer of the corporation, Hiipoi LLC, says the move to shut down Makaweli Poi was prompted mainly by financial concerns.
A resolution adopted by the City Council will solidify an agreement between the City and County of Honolulu and the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center (UH-WRRC) to conduct an analysis of impacts from ocean sewer outfalls on the marine environments off of Oahu. The city will pay UH-WRRC as much as $2.5 million for biological and sediment studies in portions between now and June 30, 2017 .
Along with the deep, verdant growth of spring sprouts an unyielding desire to spend more time in the open air. That’s why it should come as no surprise that National Bike Month falls in the sun-drenched time of May.
Of the many letters you publish against rail, how many offer an alternative that won’t send us into further economic demise? Billions of gallons of oil are imported for us from every oil-producing nation on this planet so that we can buy billions of gallons of gasoline.
TheBus is taking a back seat to rail. At the May 3 Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting, an audience member asked city Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka when we could expect the bus route cancellations and changes to be reversed.
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