This story is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.Officials in Honolulu have granted the developers of a luxury, oceanfront estate tied to Barack Obama a major exemption from environmental laws designed to protect Hawaii’s beaches.The shoreline permit, issued by Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting on Monday, clears the way for the controversial multimillion dollar renovation of a century-old seawall in the heavily Native Hawaiian community of...…This story is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.Officials in Honolulu have granted the developers of a luxury, oceanfront estate tied to Barack Obama a major exemption from environmental laws designed to protect Hawaii’s beaches.The shoreline permit, issued by Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting on Monday, clears the way for the controversial multimillion dollar renovation of a century-old seawall in the heavily Native Hawaiian community of...WW…

|EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is co-published with , a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica .———On a Wednesday morning in early July, the Oahu Island Burial Council logged on to Zoom for its monthly meeting. Members, who are appointed by the governor to oversee and consult on the treatment of Native Hawaiian remains, faced a long agenda. Bones had been found at a variety of construction sites. Some were discovered under a sidewalk, others near a waterline replacement project.Kamuela Kala‘i was there to speak up for...…|EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is co-published with , a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica .———On a Wednesday morning in early July, the Oahu Island Burial Council logged on to Zoom for its monthly meeting. Members, who are appointed by the governor to oversee and consult on the treatment of Native Hawaiian remains, faced a long agenda. Bones had been found at a variety of construction sites. Some were discovered under a sidewalk, others near a waterline replacement project.Kamuela Kala‘i was there to speak up for...WW…

|This story is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica .——As Barack Obama entered the home stretch of his presidency, his close friend Marty Nesbitt was scouting an oceanfront property on Oahu, the Hawaiian island where the two regularly vacationed together with their families.A home in the nearby neighborhood of Kailua had served as the winter White House for the Obama family every Christmas, and photographers often captured shots of Obama and Nesbitt strolling on the beach or golfing...…|This story is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica .——As Barack Obama entered the home stretch of his presidency, his close friend Marty Nesbitt was scouting an oceanfront property on Oahu, the Hawaiian island where the two regularly vacationed together with their families.A home in the nearby neighborhood of Kailua had served as the winter White House for the Obama family every Christmas, and photographers often captured shots of Obama and Nesbitt strolling on the beach or golfing...WW…

|After weeks of saying the newest round of federal relief funds can’t be used to cover tax breaks of any kind, including relief for low-income workers and the unemployed, state lawmakers are now poised to use nearly half of the $1.6 billion allocated to the state under the American Rescue Plan Act to provide tax relief to Hawaii businesses.The state budget, which is expected to receive afinal vote in the House and Senate on Tuesday, allocates more than $700 million in rescue plan fundsto shield businesses from tax increases incurred by this past year’s soaringunemployment rates.The move has...…|After weeks of saying the newest round of federal relief funds can’t be used to cover tax breaks of any kind, including relief for low-income workers and the unemployed, state lawmakers are now poised to use nearly half of the $1.6 billion allocated to the state under the American Rescue Plan Act to provide tax relief to Hawaii businesses.The state budget, which is expected to receive afinal vote in the House and Senate on Tuesday, allocates more than $700 million in rescue plan fundsto shield businesses from tax increases incurred by this past year’s soaringunemployment rates.The move has...WW…

Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!The state Senate Ways and Means Committee salvaged a bill this week that would require state agencies to begin preparing their coastal facilities and infrastructure for the realities of sea level rise. Committee members had previously said they were inclined to shelve the bill amid complaints from department heads that the task is too difficult and would stress existing resources.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital...…Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!The state Senate Ways and Means Committee salvaged a bill this week that would require state agencies to begin preparing their coastal facilities and infrastructure for the realities of sea level rise. Committee members had previously said they were inclined to shelve the bill amid complaints from department heads that the task is too difficult and would stress existing resources.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital...WW…

Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!Hawaii lawmakers are poised to pass legislation reforming the state’s civil asset forfeiture program, which allows law enforcement agencies to seize property, such as cars and cash, that they suspect is connected to criminal activity. But the bill could still be rejected by Gov. David Ige, who vetoed similar legislation in 2019.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital Subscription.Already a subscriber? Log in now to continue reading...…Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!Hawaii lawmakers are poised to pass legislation reforming the state’s civil asset forfeiture program, which allows law enforcement agencies to seize property, such as cars and cash, that they suspect is connected to criminal activity. But the bill could still be rejected by Gov. David Ige, who vetoed similar legislation in 2019.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital Subscription.Already a subscriber? Log in now to continue reading...WW…

Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!Proposed legislation that would exempt unemployment benefits from Hawaii’s income tax hit a roadblock this month when President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan. While the federal relief package exempts unemployment compensation up to $10,200 from federal income taxes, it prohibits states from using the federal aid to plug budget holes created by tax cuts.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital Subscription.Already a...…Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!Proposed legislation that would exempt unemployment benefits from Hawaii’s income tax hit a roadblock this month when President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan. While the federal relief package exempts unemployment compensation up to $10,200 from federal income taxes, it prohibits states from using the federal aid to plug budget holes created by tax cuts.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital Subscription.Already a...WW…

Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha is set to for felony convictions relating to his use of police officers to help frame his wife’s uncle. But that won’t stop his $9,700 monthly pension payments that come with having served 33 years on the police force.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital Subscription.Already a subscriber? Log in now to continue reading this story.Print subscriber but without online access? Activate your...…Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha is set to for felony convictions relating to his use of police officers to help frame his wife’s uncle. But that won’t stop his $9,700 monthly pension payments that come with having served 33 years on the police force.Mahalo for reading the Honolulu Star-Advertiser!You're reading a premium story. Read the full story with our Print & Digital Subscription.Already a subscriber? Log in now to continue reading this story.Print subscriber but without online access? Activate your...WW…

This story is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica .——In the winter of 2013, 45-foot waves barreled toward Oahu’s North Shore. The storm surge sent water gushing up a public walkway between Dean Hanzawa’s two beachfront homes. The ocean sucked sand and soil away from the yards and pulled a wall fronting one of the homes into a 45-degree angle toward the ocean, causing the property’s yard to split in half.To protect his property, Hanzawa brought in an excavator and dumped mounds of...…This story is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is a member of the ProPublica .——In the winter of 2013, 45-foot waves barreled toward Oahu’s North Shore. The storm surge sent water gushing up a public walkway between Dean Hanzawa’s two beachfront homes. The ocean sucked sand and soil away from the yards and pulled a wall fronting one of the homes into a 45-degree angle toward the ocean, causing the property’s yard to split in half.To protect his property, Hanzawa brought in an excavator and dumped mounds of...WW…