The Honolulu City Council expedited approval of two critical measures Wednesday that allows construction of the $5.3 billion rail project to resume Monday morning. More at KITV »
Some of Waikiki's biggest hotels and other businesses interested in a company's proposed plan for a seawater air-conditioning project. More at Star-Advertiser »
The Honolulu City Council will vote today on Bill 42, a new tax classification for houses and condominiums valued at $1 million or more. More at Star-Advertiser »
The Memorial Task Force, co-chaired by David Brostrom and Allen Hoe, the Gold Star Fathers of Army 1st Lieutenants Jonathan Brostrom and Nainoa Hoe, are seeking input from the public on the design and location of a newly planned memorial honoring Hawaii veterans. More at Hawaii Reporter »
Legislators have been slow to incorporate digital delivery into the law. Hawaii’s Sunshine Law still requires “mail” delivery. And although “mail” isn’t defined, the law was written before email existed, and this provision hasn’t been amended since. More at Civil Beat »
Students say portable P-1 is the hottest classroom on Campbell High School's campus. At mid-morning the thermometer had already hit 90 degrees. More at Hawaii News Now »
A $1.5 million grant that the 2013 Legislature agreed to set aside for a private Hawaii Catholic school is unconstitutional, according to a recent memo from the state deputy attorney general addressed to Senate President Donna Mercado Kim. More at Civil Beat »
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Debris Program announced Wednesday that it provided $967,000 through NOAA's Restoration Center to support locally driven, community-based marine debris prevention and removal projects. More at KITV »
Global warming’s effect on rainfall distribution so far has been limited by an unexpected source: airborne pollutants, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Hawaii’s International Pacific Research Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. But as greenhouse gases increase, they will overwhelm the influence of aerosols — that is, airborne dust, soot and other pollutants, the researchers say. Their paper was published online Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience. More at Star-Advertiser »
The U.S. Navy is moving ahead with plans to increase training between California and the Hawaiian Islands, rejecting concerns from environmental groups in both states about the impact of sonar and underwater detonations on marine animals. More at West Hawaii Today »
Via NextDraft: "This comic from The Oatmeal gets at an interesting aspect of the debate on Syria. In some ways, it seems like a government can freely kill tens of thousands people as long as the method they use doesn't cross a red line." More at The Oatmeal »
Concerns include a protracted war, the weakening of US position if Syria uses chemical weapons again, and retaliatory attacks by Hezbollah. More at Washington Post »
A proposal to add more changes to the county’s real property tax system — which has been significantly revamped in the last three years — cleared the Kauai County Council’s Finance Committee Wednesday, though with a few tweaks. Among other things, the bill eliminates a property tax cap. More at Garden Island »
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is taking a proactive approach to an expected $26 million budget shortcoming for fiscal year 2014. He has announced $20 million in cuts to all of his departments. More at Hawaii News Now »
Hawaii struggles with being able to feed itself. Our island chain imports more than 80 percent of the food consumed by local residents, in part because the cost of producing our own food is so high people can't afford to buy it. More at Civil Beat »
State Rep. Denny Coffman, who had urged House leaders against quickly moving a gay marriage bill in special session, said Thursday that he now favors a special session. More at Star-Advertiser »
Deep beneath Fukushima's crippled nuclear power station, a massive underground reservoir of contaminated water that began spilling from the plant's reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has been creeping slowly toward the Pacific. Now, 2 1/2 years later, experts fear it is about to reach the ocean and greatly worsen what is fast becoming a new crisis at Fukushima: the inability to contain vast quantities of radioactive water. More at The Associated Press »
The man at the center of 2012′s general election disaster will not get a $36,000 pay hike. The Hawaii Salary Commission, an independent appointed board that recently OK’d pay hikes for the state’s executive, judicial and legislative branches, decided Wednesday against increasing Chief Election Officer Scott Nago‘s salary to $116,000 a year. He earns $80,000. More at Hawaii Reporter »
More than 200 people staged a peaceful protest on Monday outside Hawaii Electric Light Co.’s Hilo headquarters to express displeasure with the utility’s plan to expand geothermal energy development on the Big Island. More at Tribune-Herald »Read More »
About 60 percent of the units in The Collection were snapped up during an opening sales weekend that had people lined up before dawn for first crack at the 397 apartments in A&B Properties’ 43-story condominium project in Kakaako. More at Pacific Business News »
Ray Soon, a well-connected, Harvard-educated private consultant, will take over as Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s chief of staff on Sept. 3. More at Civil Beat »Read More »
An effort by Native Hawaiians to form their own government has signed up fewer than 20,000 of the 200,000 people it is seeking, but organizers are undaunted. More at The Associated Press »Read More »
Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Sunday it is "very likely" there will be a special legislative session on gay marriage. More at Star-Advertiser »Read More »
President Obama met with Hawaii's congressional delegation to discuss immigration and federal recognition of Native Hawaiians. More at Hawaii News Now »
Former US Vice President Al Gore endorsed Senator Brian Schatz's campaign for reelection, citing his push towards renewable energy. More at Politico »Read More »
An international exhibit at UH West Oahu opened this week on the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. We spoke with Leslie Gleim, Mid-Pacific Elementary's pedogogista, to learn more. Read More »
Honolulu Councilman Ron Menor is proposing a new website where the houseless can post personalized donation requests for food, shelter or clothing. More at Civil Beat »
Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway wrote a letter claiming rail is failing to meet it's purpose to serve the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. More at Star-Advertiser »
The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to ban smoking at all parks, beaches, and bus stops on Oahu. No coincidence, then, that e-cig sales are up. More at KHON »