Kahele seeks improvements at OHA, review underway for Kamehameha Schools trustee selection process, Honolulu overhauls landuse rules, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands
Dec 16, 2024
OHA Chair Kahele uses relationships to aid Native Hawaiians. After staying out of the political spotlight for the past two years, Kahele — a now 50-year-old lieutenant colonel in the Hawaii Air National Guard and a long-haul captain for Hawaiian Airlines — said he’s had time to reflect on his earlier political career, earned a master’s degree in strategic studies at the U.S. Army War College and now wants to change the culture at OHA, whose accomplishments were often overshadowed by dysfunction and feuds between trustees and staff. Star-Advertiser.Selection of Kamehameha Schools Trustees Is Under Scrutiny. While new transparency measures are proposed, some groups want more input.The selection process for Kamehameha Schools trustees is undergoing its first review since scandals in the 1990s unearthed deep problems with the 140-year old estate created to educate Native Hawaiian children. Civil Beat.The Navy to hold public meetings on draft EIS for Pacific training. The service has a federal operating permit for what it calls the Hawaii-California Training and Testing Study Area that expires in 2025, and is required to submit an EIS as part of the renewal process. Star-Advertiser.Hawaiʻi Legislature opens Grant-In-Aid process; applications due Jan. 17, 2025. The Legislature makes appropriations for GIA in accordance with Chapter 42F of the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS). The Eligibility Verification stage requires the submission of documentation to verify that the Grantee meets the standards for a grant award under HRS §42F-103. Maui Now.UH partnership will target disparities in cancer outcomes. The University of Hawaii Cancer Center and the John A. Burns School of Medicine today are launching a historic partnership called Ka ‘Umeke Lama, which aims to erase the disparities that affect cancer outcomes and ensure all people have access to high-quality cancer care, regardless of background or geography. Star-Advertiser.State agencies are urging the public to voluntarily pause the interisland movement of poultry and other bird species for 90 days, effective immediately. The State of Hawaiʻi is calling for a voluntarily pause in the interisland movement of poultry and other bird species for 90 days, effective immediately. Big Island Video News.25 new state conservation officers commissioned. Twenty-five recruits became commissioned conservation officers as the Department of Land and Natural Resource Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement hosted a graduation ceremony Friday at the Hawai’i Convention Center. Maui News.OahuHonolulu City Council overhauls land use rules for housing, agriculture and business. The Honolulu City Council passed its massive land use bill that will impact construction, business and housing across the island. The council has been working on the measure for the last two years. It’s over 250 pages and impacts every type of land usage on Oʻahu. Hawaii Public Radio.BLNR sends strong message to private beachfront landowners. On Friday, the Board of Land and Natural Resources stood by a decision not to allow private landowners to harden public beaches for their own personal gain. KHON2.Family demands answers after burial site disturbed at troubled Pearl City cemetery. An Oahu family is demanding answers after they went to a long-troubled Pearl City cemetery and found a large slab of concrete covering their loved one’s burial plot. Hawaii News Now.Hawaii IslandAlameda joins board of Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority. The MKSOA is the state body formed in 2022 to eventually take over management of the Maunakea Science Reserve, the land on the summit of the mountain where the Maunakea telescopes are located, from the University of Hawaii in July 2028. Tribune-Herald.Mayor Appoints New Hawaiʻi County Directors. Hugh Ono will be returning to lead the Hawaiʻi County Department of Public Works, as one of three newly announced appointments to Mayor Kimo Alameda’s administration. Big Island Video News.Queen’s plans new hospital in Kailua-Kona with helipad, housing. The Queen’s Health Systems plans to build an 80-bed hospital next to the Kailua-Kona Costco on Hawaii island that would include a helipad to cut travel time to its trauma center on Oahu and, critically, construct adjacent, below-market-rate housing to recruit and retain some of the estimated 300 hospital staff, nurses and doctors. Star-Advertiser.MauiFEMA continues the debris removal mission on Maui. The US Army Corp of Engineers was mission assigned by FEMA to complete both residential and commercial debris clearing for this disaster. Maui Now.Lahaina Schools Are Recovering From The Fires, But Challenges Remain. Growing enrollment and providing mental health services remain a top priority for schools, although teachers believe students are better positioned to learn this year. Civil Beat.Kauai4 promoted during Kaua‘i Fire Department, Ocean Safety Bureau ceremony. Kaua‘i Fire Department and Kaua‘i County Ocean Safety Bureau conducted a ceremony Friday at the Līhu‘e Civic Center to promote three firefighters and one Ocean Safety Bureau officer. Kauai Now. Garden Island. Kauai Coffee resumes annual event. Coffee Kalikimaka was celebrated at the nation’s largest coffee plantation Saturday, as Kauai Coffee Company revived its holiday Open House at the site of the former McBryde Sugar. Garden Island.