Photos from surprise party: Maile Retires from Senate 3 May 2024

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Videos from Senate chamber and surprise party: Maile’s Final Day in the Hawai’i State Senate 3 May 2024

Be sure to watch it in HD (High Definition) 1080P. Click on the settings gear if itʻs not highlighted with “HD.”

By Andrew Gomes, Star-Advertiser, 4 May 2024

Hawaii lawmakers wrapped up the 32nd biennial legislative session Friday in largely ceremonial fashion that included a traditional display of unity, but also cast final votes on a few momentous bills.

House Speaker Scott Saiki called this year’s session, which began Jan. 17, one of the most historic in Hawaii.

Senate President Ron Ko­uchi said “amazing” work this year began with concern over having to cut funding for important needs in order to provide resources to help Maui recover from the Aug. 8 wildfires. Yet by the end of the session, spread over 60 main working days, lawmakers had delivered $5 billion in tax cuts over eight years, put $300 million into the “rainy day” savings account and kept core services and programs level while also appropriating about $1 billion for Maui relief.

Star-Advertiser Editorial

Climate change has brought enormous cause for worry about impacts on the environment and property. With all the excess rain on the one extreme and the continual drought on the other, the effects of the resulting floods and wildfires have been etched into the Hawaii consciousness.

There is another related threat to island health: offshore water pollution, largely from land-based runoff. Rainwater events are often followed by “brown-water” advisories from the state, a persistent pattern that has led environmentalists and lawmakers to push for more water testing by health authorities.

By Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi, Hawaiʻi Public Radio, 7 Mar. 2024

With 45 fishponds across the state currently at various stages of restoration, a hatchery program would ensure they become fully functioning sources of local protein.

Waiʻanae High School teacher Katie Kealoha gives us a tour of the Marine Science Learning Center. This on-campus aquaculture facility offers students hands-on education in marine science and enterprise. Products produced there are sold to the local community.

By Ian Bauer, Star-Advertiser, 8 Feb. 2024

The Honolulu Planning Commission says it will soon decide on the city’s request for a two-year extension to find an alternate site for the 34-year-old Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei.

To help it arrive at a decision, the commission Wednesday heard final oral arguments on the request made by the city Department of Environmental Services in December 2022 to amend a special-use permit the state Land Use Commission granted to the city in 2019.
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Surfrider Foundation challenges Health Department’s brown water advisory protocol
By Arielle Argel, KITV4 IslandNews, 7 Feb 2024

HONOLULU (Island News) – In January, the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) issued a brown water advisory for three weeks for all of Maui. The Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization that does its own water testing, said the advisory could’ve been lifted sooner.
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HPR: Lawmakers advance bill that offers Hawaiian homestead beneficiaries cash instead of a lease
By Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi, Hawaiʻi Public Radio, 31 Jan. 2024

Hawaiʻi lawmakers have advanced a measure that would allow the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to provide cash awards to beneficiaries on the waiting list in place of a lease.

Supporters of the bill say every option to reduce the waiting list should be considered. Critics say the only way to remove Native Hawaiians from the list should be to place them on the land.

“Advocates Push for Implementation of New Management System for Kaena Point”
By Amee Hi‘ilawe Neves, UH Beat, Civil Beat, 18 January 2024

The Waianae community also wants more efforts to restore Makua Beach and Keawaula Beach to their former glory.

Waianae community members are calling on state legislators to finally put in place a new management system at Makua Beach, Keawaula Beach and Kaena Point.

These areas, typically used for Hawaiian cultural activities and recreation, have suffered from heavy usage by locals and visitors alike, leading to broken facilities as well as pollution in the water and brush.

West O’ahu, Hawai’i –  11/27/2023 – In a heartfelt announcement, Senator Maile Shimabukuro is preparing to bid farewell to her role as the State Senator for District 22 (West O’ahu), announcing her decision not to seek re-election in 2024. Reflecting on her remarkable journey through the State Legislature since 2003, Senator Shimabukuro expresses deep gratitude to the community for the privilege of serving.

By Daryl Huff
Hawaii News Now, 17 Oct. 2023

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The historic settlement of the Hawaiian Homelands waitlist case, which involved years of litigation, thousands of beneficiaries and hundreds of millions of dollars, has been stalled by the complaint of a single person. That’s because the complaint forced an appeal.