UH Rainbow Warriors ball out with Kaua‘i’s keiki
LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors men’s basketball coach, staff and student-athletes took to the Garden Island on Saturday morning for their second annual free keiki clinic at Kaua‘i High School, teaching local youths basketball lessons and providing an opportunity for autographs.
Agriculture department seeking input on $3.2M food sector funding
LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is seeking public comments as it determines priorities for the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI), a federal program aimed at creating resilient food supply chains across the United States.
University of Hawai‘i ranked a top 100 employer for women
LIHU‘E — The University of Hawai‘i System is one of the United States’ top 100 workplaces for women, according to a Forbes magazine list released this week. The university system, comprised of 10 campuses across Hawai‘i, ranked number 90 overall and number 17 in the U.S. education industry.
$10.7M to fund University of Hawai‘i microbiome research
Small-scale science is about to get a big paycheck.
Study indicates human sewage across Kaua‘i’s waters
LIHU‘E — A newly published report detected sucralose — an artificial sweetener commonly found in manufactured foods — throughout Kaua‘i’s streams and rivers, indicating nearly islandwide water contamination by human sewage.
Nearly two-thirds of Kaua‘i’s tested waters polluted
LIHU‘E — Washing off isn’t supposed to make you dirtier. But depending on where you’re swimming, it just might.
Feds invest $1M in endangered Hawaiian, Pacific Island plant protections
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a $5.1 million federal investment to aid in the recovery of endangered species, with approximately $1 million dedicated to native Hawaiian and Pacific Island plants.
UH Manoa researchers develop dolphin, whale facial recognition tool
Researchers at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa announced this week they’ve developed a new conservation tool, allowing them to track and identify individual dolphins and whales using facial recognition technology.
Feds propose over 428,000 square miles of honu habitat protections surrounding Hawai‘i, Florida
LIHU‘E — In an effort to protect the endangered honu (green sea turtle), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Tuesday a proposal to designate over 8,500 acres of beaches and nearly 428,000 square miles of coastal waters as protected critical habitat.
Hawai‘i Gov. Green signs housing emergency proclamation
HONOLULU — Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green on Monday signed a sweeping emergency proclamation on housing, slashing development regulations and creating a new streamlined process in an effort to rapidly meet the state’s housing demands.
Kaua‘i environmentalists call for Wailua wetland restoration
Environmental activists on Wednesday reiterated their call to revert the lands surrounding the long-dilapidated Coco Palms Resort into wetlands, arguing that natural restoration could help Kaua‘i better combat climate change and its impacts.
Hawai‘i Gov. Green touts successes to United Nations despite missing most state targets
NEW YORK — Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green spoke at the United Nations headquarters this week to highlight the state’s successes in environmental and housing goals. The newly-released report he referenced, however, tells a far bleaker story.
Only five of Kaua‘i’s ‘akikiki left in wild
LIHU‘E — Only five of the native Hawaiian honeycreeper species, ‘akikiki, are left in the wild. after a decades-long population decline, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
KIUC begins using Hawai‘i-made biodiesel on Kaua‘i
Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative has announced a three-year partnership with Maui-based biodiesel producer Pacific Biodiesel Technologies in a push to wean off its reliance on fossil fuels.
Kaua‘i paniolo to compete in national rodeo
Kaua‘i High School rodeo participants Kahanu Blackstad and Kiana Mertz are set to represent Hawai‘i later this month after qualifying for a national competition.
Josh goes Green — Hawai‘i governor signs several bills into law
HONOLULU — Governor Josh Green signed several environmental bills into law in a push to both combat climate change and guide the state toward its goal of reaching zero-emission, 100 percent clean energy by 2045.
Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green signs agriculture bills into law
HONOLULU — Governor Josh Green on Wednesday signed several agricultural bills into law, ranging from expanding land leases to protecting crops against invasive species.
Kaua‘i police reopens Amber Jackson murder case
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department is renewing its search for the killer of Amber Jackson, a Kapahi resident who was found dead in Kealia more than a decade ago.
Kaua‘i’s state lawmakers reflect on legislative session
After a frenzied 2023 legislative session, Kaua‘i’s state legislators — Senate President Ron Kouchi, House Majority Leader Nadine Nakamura, House Majority Floor Leader Dee Morikawa and state Rep. Luke Evslin — spoke with The Garden Island to discuss the session’s successes and failures.
Low rainfall keeps Kaua‘i surf spots clean despite chronically polluted streams
LIHU‘E — The dry season has been kind to Kaua‘i’s waters, as low rainfall protected much of the island’s surf spots from runoff pollution this month, according to Surfrider Kaua‘i’s Blue Water Task Force.