Hawaii News

Archive for December, 2009

A number of companies and hotels will offer pyrotechnics shows around the state on New Year’s Eve as part of celebrations.

Maui might get more crackle and pop this New Year’s Eve.

Dry conditions prompt fireworks warning

Beginning at midnight, employees at Tanioka’s Seafoods and Catering in Waipahu were to begin cutting large blocks of ahi into thin slices. The pre-dawn work today is in anticipation of the morning arrival of scores of customers who ordered sashimi for New Year’s.

President Barack Obama continued his low-key holiday vacation, spending several hours at the secluded North Shore home of a high school friend.

Karl Rove, a senior advisor and top political strategist to former President George W. Bush, is scheduled to appear at the state GOP’s annual Lincoln Day dinner in February, local Republicans said Wednesday.

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk radio host, is “resting comfortably” in the Queen’s Medical Center after suffering chest pains, his program said in a statement.

In stark contrast to Sarah Palin, whose Hawaii vacation was photographed and touted in the press, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is enjoying a very private luxurious time at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the Big Island.

Crime in Honolulu rose nearly 6 percent in the first half of 2009, even as it fell nationwide.

Despite an initial rejection by the governor … a proposed agreement to reduce the number of teacher furlough days is still alive.

Hawaii County is moving forward with its revised version of a $1.4 million upgrade to Reed’s Bay Beach Park in Hilo.

Firefighters continued to build a fire break around the Kealakekua Ranch fire Tuesday, West Hawaii Battalion Chief Reuben Chun said.

Many Hawaii County property owners are abusing agricultural tax exemptions and not paying their fair share of taxes, according to the chairman of the Real Property Tax Board of Review.

The voters’ rejection in 2008 of a proposed charter amendment that would have loosened ethical restrictions does not impact how the law is interpreted, county officials have determined.

Do you walk three miles to and from work everyday? Would you expect a 7-year-old to?

A recent study has thrown new light on the previously underestimated extent of pre-contact Hawaiian agriculture, particularly in dry lee areas of the Big Island.

President Barack Obama picked the perfect day to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay.

Big Island ranch land that is habitat for endangered native bird species and plants will be protected from development under an agreement between the owners and the Nature Conservancy.

Gov. Linda Lingle’s aides are expected to meet with education officials this morning to discuss ending teacher furloughs, but the teachers union will not be at the table.

An interim replacement for the state’s chief elections officer is to be selected by the state Elections Commission.

A state judge Tuesday ordered unsealed the State of Hawai‘i portion of a settlement agreement in the wrongful-death and property-damage lawsuits against retired Honolulu car dealer James Pflueger.

In the Chinese calendar 2009 is the year of the Ox, but it could turn out to be remembered for the rat after video surfaced of rodents crawling all over food in a Chinatown market. Now the community is trying to fight the image with education.

At the Deep Draft Harbor there’s no sight of the barge that’s supposed to make a historic journey. Currently, by the city’s estimates there’s probably about 300 tons of rubbish stacking up dockside.

The fate of two major Mauna Kea telescopes is in limbo following a decision in mid-December to cut funding for at least one of them.

Hawaii County wants to turn down the tap on water waste at emergency water spigots and is proposing changes to county law to do just that.

Local fish retailers are pretty sure there will be enough sashimi to go around this New Year’s, although some say it is too early to tell if the prices will be higher or lower this year.

The County of Hawaii Department of Parks and Recreation announces that the Kona Community Aquatic Center at Kailua Park will be closed on Tuesday, January 5 and Wednesday, January 6 for repairs. The pool will reopen on Thursday, January 7.

La‘aloa Beach Park (aka Magic Sands) Parking Lot will be closed on Tuesday, January 5, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., while employees work to replace the existing lifeguard tower. The County Department of Parks and Recreation has announced the general maintenance schedule for ‘Āhalanui Park, Isaac Hale Memorial Park, Kahalu‘u Beach Park and Spencer Park at ‘Ōhai‘ula Beach for the calendar year 2010.

A 31-year-old Kamuela woman applied for the job on line. She received a check for $1,600 from the supposed employers, along with an e-mail asking her to cash the check, keep $300 and return $1,300 by Western Union. The woman complied with the request and later determined that the $1,600 check was bogus.

MEDIA RELEASE
With Hawaii’s humpback whale season underway, NOAA is reminding boaters and other ocean users to stay safe and legal.
Endangered humpback whales are protected in Hawaii. If you’re on or in the water and whales are in the vicinity, federal regulations require you stay at least 100 yards away from them, and 1,000 feet away [...]

A small earthquake of 3.5 magnitude occurred off the windward coast of Maui this morning at 11:39 a.m. (Dec 31) The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has determined that no tsunami was generated.

A Honolulu federal court jury on Wednesday acquitted two managers of an Oahu agricultural company on felony charges of intentionally hiring illegal workers from Mexico.

The Salvation Army’s Hawaii division collected more than $882,000 statewide through its annual red kettle campaign, 12.5 percent more than last year and 26 percent over its $700,000 goal.

A California-based telecommunications and networking equipment manufacturer has agreed to pay $3 million in fines to settle bribery charges in connection with trips to U.S. tourist spots, including Hawaii, for employees of several Chinese telecommunications firms, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.