Tough Choices On Hawaii’s Prisons And Jails Lie Ahead, Official Says. Corrections officials need millions of dollars to maintain aging prisons and jails but say the real solution is to build new jails. That would be even more expensive. Civil Beat.State Fire Council considers expediting fire marshal hiring process. The State Fire Council is composed of all the county fire chiefs and state fire service representatives. The group says it has finalized the job description for the new position, which was approved by Gov. Josh Green in July. Hawaii Public Radio.Hand delivered letter urges Gov. Green to fill key position on state's Water Board. Students of Ke Kula Kaiapuni 'o Kekaulike—a Hawaiian immersion school on Maui— on Monday, with the help of members of non-profit organization Earth Justice Hawaii, a letter urging the governor to make a selection from a list of candidates was hand delivered. KITV4.Suspected Trump gunman pleads not guilty. Ryan Routh, the Oahu man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump after allegedly positioning himself with a rifle outside one of the former president’s Florida golf courses on Sept. 15 pleaded not guilty Mon day to five federal charges. Reuters. Hawaii News Now. Hawaiʻi Tourism Conference kicks off as Hilton strike continues in Waikīkī . State tourism officials are gathering at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center this week for the Hawaiʻi Tourism Conference. Striking Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel workers plan to pass out leaflets to draw attention to their labor dispute now moving into its second week. Hawaii Public Radio.Hawaii’s visitor industry is faced with soft data. Visitor expenditures and arrivals increased in August, but the year-over-year gain was due to the comparison with August 2023, when the devastating Maui wildfires took tourism to new lows. Star-Advertiser. Shipyard starts building first of 3 new Matson ships. Construction has begun on the first of three new ships for Hawaii-based ocean cargo transportation firm Matson Inc. Star-Advertiser.Territorial Savings board says no to revised acquisition offer. For the second time in two weeks, board directors of Territorial Bancorp Inc. have rejected a bid by a group of investors to buy the company and reaffirmed their endorsement of an offer from a California-based bank. Star-Advertiser.UH study finds high prevalence of swine brucellosis in feral pigs. An estimated 60,000 feral pigs currently run loose throughout the state. A new study finds that many carry a nasty disease called swine brucellosis. It can jump over to livestock and humans, and there are several cases in Hawaiʻi each year. Hawaii Public Radio.OahuShould Honolulu’s Emergency Management Chief Need Minimum Qualifications? A charter amendment proposal would include a requirement for at least five years of experience in emergency management or public health. Civil Beat.900-unit affordable complex proposed for Kapolei.  It includes units for extremely low-income households — those earning 30% of area median income, or $41,750 annually for a four- person family — up to 140% AMI, or $168,150 a year for a family of four, according to state data. Star-Advertiser.Hawaii man pleads guilty to violating Atomic Energy Act. On Jan. 9, 2019, after Mark Kazee’s employer’s contract with a Kapolei oil refinery expired, Kazee’s unlicensed company entered into a contract to do “testing and examination services” for the refinery. The equipment Kazee’s company was using “contained Iridium-192 and depleted uranium radioactive source material,” according to U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors. Star-Advertiser. KHON2. State plans eradication of coqui frog infestation near Kuliʻouʻou trail summit. The Department of Land and Natural Resources said the infestation is in a remote location with steep slopes inaccessible by foot, so crews plan to use drones to apply a non-toxic citric food additive mixed with water. Hawaii Public Radio.Hawaii IslandA new bill on the Hawaiʻi County Council agenda could end the military exemption to the Big Island’s “Nuclear-Free Law”.  Bill 206 will be heard by the County Council’s Policy Committee on Health, Safety, and Well-being in Hilo on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Big Island Video News.Hawai‘i County Council to discuss release of additional funds to start rehab of Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant. Hawai‘i County is requesting that the County Council release $116 million in additional funds to enable work to begin on a federally mandated project at the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant. Big Island Now.State considers extending temporary fishing ban on pākuʻikuʻi, Achilles Tang. A temporary ban on fishing for pāku‘iku‘i off West Hawaiʻi Island is scheduled to end in mid-December, although the state is suggesting an extension to December 2026. Hawaii Public Radio. Proposal calls for a ‘county radio plan’. State and county agencies and local amateur radio operators should work together to develop an islandwide communication plan to respond to emergencies in case of blackouts, according to a Hawaii County Council proposal. Tribune-Herald.Hilo fire station still slated for improvements. Work to improve the 91-year-old Central Fire Station building on the corner of Kinoole and Ponahawai Streets in Hilo should begin soon, according to Hawaii Fire Department Chief Kazuo Todd. Tribune-Herald.Former Youth Challenge staffer sentenced to 10 years for sex assault. A 44-year-old Keaau man was sentenced last week by Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a then-minor girl six years ago on the campus of the Hawaii Youth Challenge Academy in Hilo. Tribune-Herald.MauiMaui County Debates A Return To Using Pesticides At Parks, Golf Course. Bill 131, which was heard by the council’s Agriculture, Diversification, Environment and Public Transportation Committee last week, specifically exempts county agricultural parks, county parks with grass playing fields and the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course from the ban on use of the chemicals. Civil Beat.State project to improve Hāna bridges gets finding of no significant environmental impact. A $40 million project to improve the safety and public use of a half-dozen Hāna Highway bridges while retaining their historic character has received a finding of no significant environmental impact, according to the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation. Maui Now.Civil Beat Survey: Maui Residents Say County Response To Lahaina Fire Falls Short. About two-thirds of Maui County residents responding to a Civil Beat survey say Mayor Richard Bissen and the County Council have not done a good job helping the island recover from the deadly Lahaina wildfire a year ago. Civil Beat.KauaiKauai Police Commission votes to discipline Chief for losing his gun. On March 4, records reveal Chief Todd Raybuck left his loaded Glock wedged between the wall and a handicap assist bar inside a KPD bathroom stall. An officer later found it and turned it into evidence. Hawaii News Now.Kauaʻi County Council candidates to speak at two public forums this week. Local community organizations on Kauaʻi are hosting two public forums this week to give residents an opportunity to hear from the candidates running for County Council before the General Election on Nov. 5. Kauai Now.Kalalau Trail to fully reopen today after norovirus outbreak. State park officials had temporarily closed the trail and campsite at Napali Coast State Wilderness Park on Sept. 4 upon the advice of the Hawaii Department of Health.  Star-Advertiser. Kauai Now.A group effort to remove abandoned vehicles in Anahola. About 120 students from Waimea High School, Kanuikapono Public Charter School, Kapaa High School and Kauai High School, as well as the Kauai Fire Department (KFD), and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), were all in attendance for the heavy machinery field trip. Garden Island.