Hawaiʻi Restricts Movement Of Palm Plants Due To Invasive Beetle. The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture on Friday established a new interim rule to help stop the movement of the coconut rhinoceros beetle across the state. Big Island Video News. Maui News.  Hawaii News Now. Chinese ballistic missile launch stirs apprehension. In September the Chinese military launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew 7,400 miles before splashing down in the Pacific south of Hawaii. Hawaii is the nerve center of U.S. military operations in the Pacific. It hosts headquarters of the U.S. Indo-­Pacific Command and the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, and is home to several other critical U.S. military facilities. Star-Advertiser.Hawaii’s Marine Littoral Regiment trains for high-tech operations. The Marines are training in preparation for a deployment in 2025 to the Western Pacific to train with military forces around the region. Star-Advertiser.Finalists for University of Hawaii president to meet regents, pick likely coming soon.  Julian Vasquez Heilig, 49, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Western Michigan University; and Wendy Hensel, 54, executive vice chancellor and university provost for The City University of New York, are scheduled to meet all 11 regents, who are likely to interview them separately in executive session during Wednesday’s regents’ meeting. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat.Who Are The 2 Finalists For UH President?  Wendy Fritzen Hensel is a Harvard-educated lawyer, vice chancellor of one of the nation’s largest university systems who calls Hawaii her second home. Julian Vasquez Heilig is a Stanford-trained education leader and provost of a Midwestern university where he’s boosted enrollment. Civil Beat.Keiki issues a priority for mayoral candidates in Hawaii, survey finds. The survey, conducted by Ward Research and organized by Commit to Keiki — a nonpartisan education initiative under the Early Childhood Action Strategy collaborative — found that over 90% of Oahu and Hawaii island voters want more early childhood programs.  Star-Advertiser.OahuCity Council advances bill to establish tax on empty homes. The Honolulu City Councilʻs Bill 46 would create a property tax on homes not occupied by long-term residents for at least six months out of the year. Hawaii Public Radio.$1.6B state plan aims to boost housing around rail stations in Iwilei, Kapalama. A state plan is being advanced to foster development of nearly 28,000 new homes around planned city rail stations in Iwilei and Kapalama. The estimated $1.6 billion endeavor includes roughly $850 million in infrastructure improvements possibly shared by the state, the city and private property owners, and a $750 million or so state office tower project that includes housing. Star-Advertiser.State agency helps reduce purchase prices of hard-to-sell units. Hawaii taxpayers are going to help the developer of a year-old Honolulu condominium and hotel tower complex make some of its required affordable housing more attractive to buyers. Star-Advertiser.Illegal Game Rooms: Landlords May Face More Fines, Code Violations. The city's Gambling Rooms Task Force recommended codifying efforts to hold property owners accountable. Civil Beat.City looks to reduce the amount of parades and activities in Waikiki.  A bill aimed at reducing the number of parades and activities in Waikiki is getting closer to becoming law.  Hawaii News Now.Elected officials and guests join union picket line. Waikiki guests and the community are getting weary as more than 1,800 hotel workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 5 enter their 21st day of an open-ended strike at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. Star-Advertiser.‘A fire hazard’: Concerns grow about former swap meet space as city issues more violations. Concern is growing in Pearl City after another notice of violation was issued to the owners of the old Kam Swap Meet property recently. Hawaii News Now.Hawaii Island‘Marquee’ Hawaii general election contest is for Big Island mayor. The headliner bout, for Hawaii island mayor, is between incumbent Mitch Roth and challenger Kimo Alameda. Roth is a former Hawaii County prosecutor who moved to the state more than 40 years ago and is a University of Hawaii graduate. Alameda is a psychologist who was most recently vice president of business development for the Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center and once led Hawaii County’s Office of Aging. Star-Advertiser.Big plans for Hilo airport: Initial design work will begin soon for $162M runway project. The Hawaii Department of Transportation has received more than $7 million in state funds to prepare for an eventual project to rehabilitate the Hilo International Airport’s main runway in 2027. Tribune-Herald.Maunakea authority to occupy former Bank of Hawaii building. DLNR will grant a 30-year lease to the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority at a great discount: the DLNR will waive the authority’s first seven years of rent — determined by appraisal to be more than $95,000 per year — in order to offset the agency’s costs of renovating the building and closing a cesspool on the property. Tribune-Herald.Land Board approves land transfer of more than 7,000 acres. More than 7,000 acres of pastureland on the Big Island has been transferred from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Video News. Hawaii Island resident brings unexploded grenade to police station. A Hawaii Island resident turned in an unexploded grenade they had discovered at a vacant residence in Hilo to Hawaii Island police authorities on Saturday. Hawaii News Now.Hawaii seawater to become jet fuel. A Texas company backed by the U.S. Office of Naval Research plans to do some potentially groundbreaking work on the process of making jet fuel from seawater at a state technology park on Hawaii Island. Star-Advertiser.MauiMayor Bissen hosting budget meetings both in Upcountry and Lahaina Oct. 14-15. Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen and his administration will host community budget meetings in Upcountry Maui and Lahaina this week.  Maui News.Pilot program seeks to improve pediatric mental health support in Maui County. The Mental Health Pediatric Access Line is the “first dedicated warmline designed to significantly improve pediatric mental health services” in Maui County, according to an announcement. Maui Now.FEMA seeks over hundreds of long-term positions on Maui. (video only). Hawaii News Now.Voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa shares history, mission on Maui. Crews from the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Pae ʻĀina Statewide Sail have been sharing the history and mission of Hōkūleʻa to residents and visitors of Lānaʻi. KHON2.KauaiLargest limestone cave in Hawaiʻi to close to public after nonprofit’s lease ends. The Makauwahi Cave Reserve, home to the richest fossil site and largest limestone cave in the state of Hawai‘i, is closing 20 years after its opening on the South Shore of Kaua‘i due to uncertainty about the future use of the property by its landowners. Big Island Now.Nonprofit against rebuilding of Coco Palms resort hosting event Sunday to ‘empower’ community. A nonprofit group that has been leading efforts to stop Utah-based Reef Capital Partners from redeveloping the Coco Palms resort was scheduled to host an event on Sunday to educate people about why the property and the area is an important part of Native Hawaiian history.  Kauai Now.