Happy Camper for Sunday, December 18, 2022

Congratulations, and mahalo, Chip Bahouth and the Sheraton Kaua‘i Resort, on all the holiday benevolence and aloha — more than 1,100 pounds of food for the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank, and about 200 toys for the Toys For Tots program that was picked up by The Salvation Army Hanapepe Corps’ Lt. Jose Gonzalez and Lauren Starner!

Strong winds, thunderstorms in forecast

LIHU‘E — A powerful cold front is forecast to sweep across the Hawaiian Islands bringing with it heavy rain and wind that could lead to roof damage, fallen trees and power outages.

Kaua‘i road closures for the week of Dec. 18 – Dec. 24

KALIHIWAI — The county Department of Public Works and its contractor Maui Kupono Builders announced that portions of Halaulani Road and Kahiliholo Road in Kalihiwai will be closed from Monday, Dec. 19 to Friday, Jan. 13, weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., for road resurfacing work.

CRITTER: Meet ulua kihikihi, the threadfin jack

Many of our Hawaiian salt water fish look very different when they are babies vs when they are adults. The threadfin jack is so unusual looking as a baby that when divers see one they usually have no idea what they are looking at!

BBB: Providing outstanding service during the holidays

Whether you are a brick-and-mortar retailer or an online business, the holiday season is sure to bring a flurry of activity to your doorstep. This may be especially true this year, as experts like the National Retail Federation forecast a healthy growth in retail sales during the holidays, even with shoppers concerned about inflation and economic uncertainty.

TAX MAN: What it takes to spend $600M on housing in three years

As we have written about before, last year’s Legislature approved $600 million to our Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) to reduce the monstrous waiting list of Hawaiians waiting for homestead lands. The catch, however, is that DHHL needs to spend the money, or enter into a contract to spend it, by June 30, 2025. Otherwise, the money goes back to the general fund.

Biodiversity talks in final days with many issues unresolved

Negotiators at a United Nations biodiversity conference Saturday have still not resolved most of the key issues around protecting the world’s nature by 2030 and providing tens of billions of dollars to developing countries to fund those efforts.

2022 is deadliest year on record for Mexican journalists

MEXICO CITY — The deadliest year in at least three decades for Mexican journalists and media workers is nearing a close, with 15 slayings — a perilous situation underlined by a brazen near-miss attack this week on one of the country’s most prominent journalists.