$100M will be left for Native Hawaiian causes from the estate of an heiress considered last princess
HONOLULU — In life, Abigail Kawānanakoa embodied the complexities of Hawaii: Many considered her a princess — a descendant of the royal family that once ruled the islands.
Palisades Tahoe ski resort reopens after deadly avalanche
RENO, Nev. — A skier said she would be back on the slopes Thursday, a day after she was buried by an avalanche that roared down a mountain at a California resort near Lake Tahoe, leaving several people trapped and a 66-year-old man dead.
Nanoplastic particles found in bottled water
The average liter of bottled water has nearly a quarter million invisible pieces of ever so tiny nanoplastics, detected and categorized for the first time by a microscope using dual lasers.
Alaska Airlines cancels flights on certain Boeing planes through Saturday for mandatory inspections
Alaska Airlines is canceling through Saturday all flights on Boeing 737 Max 9 planes like the one that suffered an in-flight blowout of a fuselage panel last week, as it waits for new instructions from Boeing and federal officials on how to inspect the fleet.
Maui’s mayor says Lahaina debris site will be used temporarily
WAILUKU, Hawai‘i — The mayor of the Hawaiian island of Maui said Thursday that a site selected to hold debris from last year’s deadly wildfires that devastated the city of Lahaina will not store it permanently.
Plans emerge for moving Maui fire survivors from hotels
HONOLULU — The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Friday it plans to move thousands of hotel-dwelling survivors of wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui into long-term housing over the next month.
How native families make salt at one of Hawai‘i’s last remaining salt patches
HANAPEPE, Hawai‘i — The process of making salt from sea water is a lengthy and laborious one that requires patience, perseverance and stoicism.
Felon used unregistered rifle in New Year’s chase and shootout with Honolulu police, records show
HONOLULU — The subject of an islandwide manhunt New Year’s Day in Hawai‘i was a felon barred from owning the high-powered rifle he used to open fire on Honolulu police in a shootout that left two officers wounded and the suspect dead, court records show.
Man killed in New Year’s Day shootout on O‘ahu
HONOLULU — A man in Hawai‘i shot and wounded a woman, stole a car at gunpoint and was later killed in a shootout with police that left two officers wounded, authorities said.
Surfer dies after shark encounter in Maui
PAIA, Hawai‘i — A surfer in Hawai‘i has died after being injured in a shark encounter off Maui’s northern shore, according to the Maui Police Department. Authorities stopped short of calling the event an attack and didn’t describe the man’s injuries.
States enact new laws on Jan. 1
Fuzzy dice finally will be free to dangle in Illinois.
Maui’s economy needs tourists. Can they visit without compounding wildfire trauma?
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — The restaurant where Katie Austin was a server burned in the wildfire that devastated Hawai‘i’s historic town of Lahaina this summer.
Huge surf pounds West Coast and Hawaii, flooding some low-lying areas
LOS ANGELES — Powerful surf rolled onto beaches on the West Coast and Hawaii on Thursday as a big swell generated by the stormy Pacific Ocean pushed toward shorelines, causing localized flooding.
Minor earthquakes rattle Big Island, Puget Sound area, with no damage reported
Hundreds of people reported feeling minor earthquakes of similar intensity on Hawaii’s Big Island and on the Olympic Peninsula northwest of Seattle, but no damage was reported.
Ready, set, travel: Holiday rush to airports and highways is underway
It’s beginning to look a lot like a hectic holiday travel season, but it might go relatively smoothly if the weather cooperates.
Gov. Green offers first budget after wildfires on Maui
HONOLULU — Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green on Monday said he was requesting $425 million from lawmakers during the next fiscal year to help Maui recover from August’s wildfires, and millions more to reduce the risk of wildfires statewide.
Governor wants 3,000 vacation rentals converted to housing for Maui wildfire survivors
HONOLULU — Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green on Friday said he wants 3,000 condos and homes that are normally rented to Maui tourists converted to long-term housing for displaced wildfire survivors who are now living in hotels.
Mauna Kea is sacred to spiritual practitioners and treasured by astronomers
MAUNA KEA, Hawai‘i — Shane Palacat-Nelsen’s voice drops to a reverent tone as he tells the story of the snow goddess Poliahu who Native Hawaiians believe inhabits the summit of Mauna Kea, the highest point in Hawaii.
Heart of Hawaii’s historic Lahaina, scene of deadly wildfire, reopens to residents after 4 months
LAHAINA, Hawai‘i — The heart of Lahaina, the historic town on the Hawaiian island of Maui that burned in a deadly wildfire that killed at least 100 people, is reopening to residents and business owners holding day passes.
Pilgrims yearn to visit Kalaupapa where Catholic saints cared for Hawai‘i’s leprosy patients
KALAUPAPA, Hawai‘i — Kalaupapa beckoned to Kyong Son Toyofuku. She had long prayed to visit the hard-to-reach Hawaiian peninsula, trapped by its deep-green, sheer sea cliffs and rugged, black rock shores that glisten under the Pacific’s pristine waters.