More Protections for Cetaceans: At its recent meeting in Fiji, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission adopted a measure intended to provide some measure of protection to whales and dolphins that interact with longline fishing vessels throughout the vast … Continued
Kona Three Goes Down: The long and fraught controversy over a housing development proposed more than 40 years ago just south of Kailua-Kona seems to have come to an end. On November 20, the Hawaiʻi County Council voted down a … Continued
Discovery Harbour Verdict: A long-running lawsuit over development rights in the South Point area of Discovery Harbour was decided last month in favor of the developer, South Point Investment Group, LLC. Third Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto found that the properties … Continued
Vacation Rentals on Ag Land: The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court has issued its decision in a long-festering dispute over vacation rentals of houses built in the state Agricultural land use district. They’re not allowed, the court ruled, upholding the finding of … Continued
Forefeiture: Six acres of Kona land acquired by disgraced former Hawaiʻi County housing staffer Alan Rudo and his three associates through the use of affordable housing credits acquired by deceit are now being offered for sale. The asking price is … Continued
FKW Trigger Lowered: The National Marine Fisheries Service has reduced the level of observer coverage in the deep-set longline fishery of Hawaiʻi. And as the level of observer coverage is lowered, so, too, is the number of false killer whales … Continued
Mosquito Case: Environmental Court hearings on Tina Lia’s and Hawaiʻi Unites’s motion for a preliminary injunction to halt a mosquito-suppression project in East Maui are on hold due to the fires that devastated Maui last month. An initial hearing was … Continued
Awards: Environment Hawaiʻi editor Patricia Tummons’ pieces on affordable housing, published in 2022, won two awards in the All Media category of the Society of Professional Journalists, Hawaiʻi Chapter, annual contest. The winners were announced at an awards dinner on … Continued
More ʻAina Leʻa Delays: A year ago, the 38-acre parcel on which ʻAina Leʻa had begun to build the first of nearly 400 units of “affordable housing” was sold at a foreclosure auction to Romspen Investment Corporation, one of the … Continued
Koaiʻa Sanctuary: The Department of Land and Natural Resources has applied to Hawaiʻi County to subdivide a large parcel of land now leased to Parker Ranch in order to extend a sanctuary for Acacia koaiʻa, the smaller cousin of the … Continued