Members of Hawaii’s Board of Land and Natural Resources expressed growing concern Friday about the loss of Hawaii’s beaches to homeowners erecting illegal seawalls as they ordered several structures to be removed along beaches on Oahu and Molokai and fined the property owners. Read more
Homeowners along Sunset Beach, Punaluu and Portlock on Oahu, as well as a property owner on Molokai, are facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines for allegedly constructing illegal seawalls and boulder revetments along Hawaii’s beaches. Read more
In normal times, protesters, lobbyists, government officials and students flood the Hawaii Capitol in downtown Honolulu for opening-day festivities of the Legislature. Read more
Island burial council leaders are accusing the state of “systemic and chronic mismanagement” of a program developed three decades ago to handle the discovery of Native Hawaiian burials and are calling on the Legislature, which convenes today, to establish a working group to implement reforms. Read more
Laura Acasio was among three Democrats whose names were submitted to the governor to complete the remaining two years of Kahele’s four-year term in the state senate. Kahele was sworn in to Congress earlier this month. Read more
Seawalls erode Hawaii’s beaches, but the state has been lax about approving them and disorganized about enforcing the law. Officials now pledge action, after a Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica investigation. Read more
Everybody knows that seawalls cause beach loss, and Hawaii law forbids building them. But Honolulu County officials have granted exemptions to 46 homeowners over the past two decades even as a quarter of Oahu’s beaches have disappeared. Read more
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica have developed an interactive, web-based app that compiles 20 years of shoreline exemptions in a searchable map of properties that got permits to keep existing shoreline structures or build new ones. Read more
Hawaii’s beaches are public land, which officials are obligated to protect and preserve. But a state agency has repeatedly allowed homeowners, including surfer Kelly Slater, to use tactics that protect property while speeding up the loss of beaches. Read more
Honolulu officials have granted an exception to the state’s beach protections, clearing the way for a controversial multimillion dollar renovation of a century-old seawall at a property owned by the chair of the Obama Foundation. Read more
Plans to overhaul a seawall to protect a Waimanalo property with ties to former President Barack Obama ran into public opposition on Friday, with the Oahu chapter of the Surfrider Foundation going so far as to advocate for the complete removal of the wall so that the beach could be restored. Read more
Although Hawaii has laws meant to preserve disappearing shorelines, beachfront property owners have been able to bypass them. That’s what happened at an expansive coastal estate officials say the Obamas will live in. Read more
After Native Hawaiian remains were found on the multimillion-dollar oceanfront lot being developed by the chair of the Obama Foundation, a state official decided to relocate the remains. Kamuela Kala‘i is speaking up for her ancestors Read more
Hawaii residents and visitors caught with small quantities of marijuana can rest assured they won’t be charged with criminal offenses under a new law that takes effect this year. Read more
Two men have been charged with sexual assault on Hawaii island following a statewide effort to test hundreds of rape kits that for years sat unprocessed in county storage facilities. Read more
More than 150 doctors left the state this year, while another 91 retired and 123 decreased their work hours, contributing to the ongoing physician shortage throughout Hawaii, according to a report from the Hawaii Physician Workforce Assessment Project that was recently submitted to the state Legislature. Read more
The former governor says Gabbard’s missed votes and absence from her district are “unacceptable.” Read more
The former governor says Gabbard’s missed votes and absence from her district are “unacceptable.” Read more
Hawaii’s two members of the U.S. House of Representatives diverged in Wednesday’s historic vote to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Read more
If her censure resolution fails, which is expected, it’s not clear how Gabbard will vote on impeachment. Read more
If her censure resolution fails, which is expected, it’s not clear how Gabbard will vote on impeachment. Read more
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