Report on false missile alert could be released next week

The state might release next week a report on the Jan. 13 false ballistic missile alert, which took 38 minutes to correct.

On Jan. 15 Gov. David Ige asked Hawaii National Guard Brig. Gen. Kenneth Hara to conduct a comprehensive review of the false alert within 30 days.

“The report was completed by deadline. We can probably expect the report to go public next week,” Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, a spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said Friday.

Tour companies must now pay fee to stop at Waimanalo Bay

A bill that establishes permit fees for recreational stops at Waimanalo Bay Beach Park was signed into law by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Thursday.

Bill 93, originally introduced to the Honolulu City Council in October, aimed to curb tour vehicles at the city’s Waimanalo beaches.

It establishes a $165 monthly fee for up to five permitted tour operators with vehicles that seat no more than 15 passengers to conduct “recreational stops” at Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, also known as Sherwood Forest, from sunrise to sunset on weekdays.

Herbicide chemical detected in Mililani and Waipio wells

State Department of Health officials said Friday that drinking water remains safe despite trace levels of the chemical bromacil recently detected in water samples collected at wells in Mililani and Waipio Heights during testing.

Bromacil is a commercially available herbicide used for weed control in pineapple fields and citrus plants, department officials said.