Laniakea parking might reopen this week, officials say
The parking area across the highway from the North Shore’s popular “Turtle Beach” might finally reopen following work scheduled for today through Friday. Read more
Mindy Pennybacker
Mindy Pennybacker has retired as a staff writer at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
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Born and raised in Honolulu, Pennybacker graduated from Stanford University, University of Iowa Writers Workshop and UC Davis School of Law.
In New York City, she worked for the Trust for Public Land, Natural Resources Defense Council, Glamour and This Old House magazines, and as editor for The Green Guide, an award-winning national, green-lifestyle print and online publication. In Honolulu, served as editor for Honolulu Weekly before joining the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in 2015.
She is the author of "Do One Green Thing," (Harper, 2010).
Latest Stories by Mindy Pennybacker
Public workshops scheduled for Ala Wai flood risk abatement
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City and County of Honolulu are inviting the public to participate in the Ala Wai Canal Flood Risk Management General Reevaluation Study in a series of virtual “miniworkshops” next month. Read more
Beachboy artist Barry Napoleon, drew on Hawaiian traditions, dies at 92
Barry Napoleon, a veteran Waikiki beachboy and accomplished high school athlete who dedicated his later years to pursuing his art and advocating for Hawaiian sovereignty, died Feb. 20 in Honolulu. Read more
Oahu residents are asked to reduce water use
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply on Thursday called on all Oahu water users to voluntarily reduce consumption by 10% — a consequence of the loss of a key source of city water in the aftermath of Navy water contamination by fuel from its Red Hill fuel storage facility. Read more
Hawaii residents show their support for Ukrainians
Smiling as she sat in her wheelchair beneath the trees of Ala Moana Regional Park, Aiko Kaneshige, 96, her slight, trim figure clad in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, held a sign that said “Putin get out” in Japanese. Read more
Retired civil servant Gary ‘Gabby’ Haui Makalena, dies at 89, had second career as Waikiki beachboy
Waterman Gary “Gabby” Haui Makalena, a retired civil servant and longtime Waikiki beachboy, died Jan. 27 surrounded by family at his Waipahu residence. Read more
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Bill addresses concerns over visitor impacts at Sharks Cove and Pupukea tidepools
A bill arising from concerns about surging numbers of visitors to the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District on Oahu’s North Shore will be heard today by the state Senate Ways and Means Committee. Read more
Rally to help Ukraine will be held Wednesday at Ala Moana park
Honolulu resident Yaryna “Rainy” Volynska was born and lived in Ukraine until her family emigrated to Nebraska when she was 10. Read more
Court upholds decision on North Shore wind farm
The Hawaii Supreme Court last week rejected Keep the North Shore Country’s appeal of a lower court ruling upholding the state Board of Land and Natural Resources’ approval of a habitat conservation plan and incidental take license for Na Pua Makani LLC’s 25-megawatt wind farm on Oahu’s North Shore. Read more
Bill for Duke Kahanamoku license plate advances
Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, renowned as the father of modern surfing and Hawaii’s first Olympic swimming gold medalist, has been commemorated by a statue in Waikiki since 1990, the 100th anniversary of his birth. Read more
To promote leadership, Michelle Obama met in-person with girls in Honolulu
Former first lady Michelle Obama met in Honolulu this week with eight girls, ages 11-17, to listen to their dreams and concerns and offer advice and support. Read more
Mindy Pennybacker: A kindler and gentler surfing community
Maybe I’m dreaming, but lately it seems that surfing competitions are getting less cutthroat and more inclusive, mindful, sometimes even kind. Read more
Guidelines urge boats to slow down near whales
It’s peak season for kohola, the North Pacific humpback whales that migrate from Alaska to Hawaii each winter, and new guidelines ask that watercraft slow down to 15 knots during general travel in whale season and 6 knots when within 400 yards of the species, which is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Read more
Boat strike likely killed baby humpback whale off Oahu, officials say
The 12-foot-long, male calf, which was less than a week old with evidence of nursing, had suffered traumatic brain injury that “may have been caused by an impact of concussive force,” which could have been produced by another whale but was “more likely caused by a vessel strike,” NOAA said. Read more
Buffalo Keaulana’s surf contest to return to Makaha Beach
The five-day event, canceled for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held over two weekends, Feb. 19-21 and 26-27. Read more
Public can help shape new surf contest rules
As the curtain lifted on the North Shore’s winter wave season, female surfers stole the show with no-holds charging, wipeouts and glorious tube rides in big, gnarly conditions at Banzai Pipeline, where they competed in storied contests that included them for the first time. Read more
Bill to support public high school surf teams advances
When California declared surfing its official state sport in 2018, some complained Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing, had been snaked — to use a term for grabbing someone else’s wave. Read more
Moana Jones Wong defeats Carissa Moore as women make surf history in Billabong Pipe Pro
Oahu’s Banzai Pipeline crowned its first queen on Sunday. Hawaii’s Moana Jones Wong, 22, made surf history by winning the first-ever women’s Billabong Pipe Pro in Loving Memory of Andy Irons. Read more
Hawaii bill banning more sunscreen chemicals advances
Wherever you shop for sunscreen in Hawaii, from the Hanauma Bay gift shop to the drugstore, you should no longer see sunscreens with the reef-harming chemicals oxybenzone or octinoxate, which are banned for sale in the islands by a state law that took effect in 2021. Read more
Legendary Oahu big-wave surfer Peter Cole dies at 91
He was one of the pioneering group of California-born surfers who helped revive and modernize the Hawaiian tradition of big-wave riding in the late 1950s and early ’60s. Read more
Hawaii surfer Moana Jones Wong wins women’s Billabong Pipe Pro
Moana Jones Wong, 22, made surfing history by winning the first-ever women’s Billabong Pipe Pro a day after Kelly Slater, 49, earned the men’s trophy. Read more
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