Blood alcohol content legislation dies again
HILO, Hawai‘i — Legislation that would reduce the threshold for drunken driving from 0.08 percent blood alcohol content to 0.05 percent is dead for this year.
Hawaiian Electric warns of energy deficit
HILO, Hawai‘i — Hawaiian Electric is asking all Hawai‘i Island customers to reduce or shift their electricity use over the next month.
‘Safe Space’ draws concerns: Residents, lawmaker worried about impact of homeless camp on area
HILO, Hawai‘i — A state lawmaker has joined some Hilo residents in their concerns about a planned government-sanctioned homeless encampment near the Hilo Lagoon Center.
Marijuana bill gains traction in Legislature
HILO, Hawai‘i — The long-anticipated legalization of recreational marijuana in Hawai‘i is only a few votes away from the desk of Gov. Josh Green.
‘Clean elections’ bill is washed up
HILO, Hawai‘i — A proposed program that would publicly finance election campaigns in Hawai‘i is dead after a Hawai‘i Island lawmaker concluded last week that the plan was fatally flawed.
Dangerous dogs legislation advances
HILO, Hawai‘i — A proposal to strengthen state laws regarding vicious dogs will reach another milestone today following weeks of overwhelming public support.
Dredging of Wailoa Small Boat Harbor on track
HILO, Hawai‘i — Lawmakers and boaters hope for smooth sailing at the Wailoa Small Boat Harbor in Hilo, as a long-awaited dredging project inches closer toward beginning.
Coffee labeling bill before Senate committee
KAILUA-KONA, Hawai‘i — A bill, which would establish a timeline by which roasted coffee, instant coffee and ready-to-drink coffee beverages that use a geographic origin in labeling or advertising are required to contain a certain percentage of coffee by weight from that geographic origin is making, is on the move.
Cockfighting bill clears Senate Judiciary Committee
HILO, Hawai‘i — A state proposal to impose greater criminal penalties relating to cockfighting drew outcry from residents.
Kawakami delivers State of the County address
LIHU‘E — In his sixth State of the County address since taking office, County of Kaua‘i Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami laid out a sweeping plan for the island as he navigates a final term in office.
State of the County Address on March 14
LIHU‘E — Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami will deliver the State of the County Address on March 14.
Kaua‘i to get millions in federal funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Brian Schatz announced on Tuesday that he secured $394 million in new congressional directed spending, known commonly as earmarks, in the first half of this year’s government funding bill.
GOP presidential caucus to be held March 12
LIHU‘E — The 2024 Hawai‘i Republican Presidential Caucus will held on Tuesday, March 12. The caucus will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Evslin to host town hall meeting on Monday
LIHU‘E — Capitalizing on the Legislature’s five-day recess, House Representative Luke Evslin is inviting the public to attend a community town hall meeting where he will deliver an update on the 2024 Legislative session.
Pot legalization bill advances in Legislature
HILO, Hawai‘i — A bill that would legalize the recreational use of cannabis by adults 21 and over cleared its first legislative hurdle on Tuesday.
‘Clean elections’ bill has widespread support
HILO, Hawai‘i — A proposal to publicly finance Hawai‘i election campaigns is riding a wave of public support through the state Legislature.
Committee hearing set for cannabis bill
HILO, Hawai‘i — A bill that would legalize adult-use recreational marijuana in Hawaii on Jan. 1, 2026, will receive a committee hearing this week.
Assault will cost state $1.25M: Settlement reached in Hilo case involving DLNR officer
HILO, Hawai‘i — Companion bills in the Hawai‘i Legislature that appropriate money to settle claims against the state and its employees contain $1.25 million for a Hilo woman who was sexually assaulted when she was on a Hilo beach by a Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officer.
Hawai‘i Supreme Court issues gun rights ruling
HONOLULU — A ruling by Hawai‘i’s high court saying that a man can be prosecuted for carrying a gun in public without a permit cites crime-drama TV series “The Wire” and invokes the “spirit of Aloha” in an apparent rebuke of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded gun rights nationwide.
Connecting to Kaua‘i’s endangered forest birds
LIHU‘E — The primary objective of Makahiki o na manu, or the Year of the Forest Birds, is to rekindle people’s pilina, their relationship, with the native forest birds, said Julie Diegmann of the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project on Wednesday.