In a dispute that shows just how complicated things can get when a performing artist packs up and leaves his group, members of a popular island reggae band have asked the group’s former lead singer to quit playing the band’s music.In a letter sent earlier this month to Hawaii reggae singer , an attorney for his former band, , asked Puaauli to quit singing tunes from the band’s catalog and to quit performing under the “purported auspices” of the band.“It has come to my client’s attention that over the past seven (7) years, you and your band have been scheduling and performing various shows...…In a dispute that shows just how complicated things can get when a performing artist packs up and leaves his group, members of a popular island reggae band have asked the group’s former lead singer to quit playing the band’s music.In a letter sent earlier this month to Hawaii reggae singer , an attorney for his former band, , asked Puaauli to quit singing tunes from the band’s catalog and to quit performing under the “purported auspices” of the band.“It has come to my client’s attention that over the past seven (7) years, you and your band have been scheduling and performing various shows...WW…

Guidance issued Friday by the CDC gives Hawaii the green light to modify the program that lets arriving travelers avoid a 10-day quarantine by showing proof of full vaccination, the program’s author said on Friday.But key details, including how to verify that the travelers have been vaccinated, still must be worked out, Lt. Gov. Josh Green said. Still, Green said, the announcement marks another step toward reopening Hawaii’s key tourism industry.The that “people who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine can travel safely within the United States” and “do not need to get tested...…Guidance issued Friday by the CDC gives Hawaii the green light to modify the program that lets arriving travelers avoid a 10-day quarantine by showing proof of full vaccination, the program’s author said on Friday.But key details, including how to verify that the travelers have been vaccinated, still must be worked out, Lt. Gov. Josh Green said. Still, Green said, the announcement marks another step toward reopening Hawaii’s key tourism industry.The that “people who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine can travel safely within the United States” and “do not need to get tested...WW…

Oahu ratepayers may face a significant increase in electricity costs in late 2022, as the island’s power company turns to oil temporarily to fill the gap when it shutters a coal-burning power plant now producing about one fifth of the island’s power.Hawaii’s top energy regulator, Public Utilities Commission Chairman Jay Griffin, suggested the cost of producing power at the plant could triple. He offered the “back of an envelope” calculations during a tense meeting with Hawaiian Electric officials earlier this month in which the company provided an update on its planned shutdown of the...…Oahu ratepayers may face a significant increase in electricity costs in late 2022, as the island’s power company turns to oil temporarily to fill the gap when it shutters a coal-burning power plant now producing about one fifth of the island’s power.Hawaii’s top energy regulator, Public Utilities Commission Chairman Jay Griffin, suggested the cost of producing power at the plant could triple. He offered the “back of an envelope” calculations during a tense meeting with Hawaiian Electric officials earlier this month in which the company provided an update on its planned shutdown of the...WW…

 Olomana Heights’ developer, Chad Waters, declined to comment; however, an email from his firm asserted that soil quality is such that the House and Senate bills would have had no effect on the development.But whether Olomana Heights would allow such messy activities in a neighborhood of homes where the lots start at a million bucks would be up to the neighborhood, not the county.While the specter of running afoul of the committee might discourage a farmer hoping to set up, say, a smelly pig farm in Olomana Heights, the greater concern for farmers is the cost of land.Two miles away...… Olomana Heights’ developer, Chad Waters, declined to comment; however, an email from his firm asserted that soil quality is such that the House and Senate bills would have had no effect on the development.But whether Olomana Heights would allow such messy activities in a neighborhood of homes where the lots start at a million bucks would be up to the neighborhood, not the county.While the specter of running afoul of the committee might discourage a farmer hoping to set up, say, a smelly pig farm in Olomana Heights, the greater concern for farmers is the cost of land.Two miles away...WW…

To many people, it might smell like a pile of rotting leaves, but not to Fung Yang.“What you’re smelling is the smell of money to us,” says Yang, owner of in Waimanalo.Yang grows organic mushrooms, and the earthy smell comes from piles of wood-chipped trees that Yang composts into what amounts to soil – the scientific word is substrate – for the portobellos he cultivates.Hawaii imported about 2 million pounds of mushrooms in 2004, Yang says, the last year that figures are available. And that’s just a small part of the flow of food into a state where almost all of what’s eaten here is...…To many people, it might smell like a pile of rotting leaves, but not to Fung Yang.“What you’re smelling is the smell of money to us,” says Yang, owner of in Waimanalo.Yang grows organic mushrooms, and the earthy smell comes from piles of wood-chipped trees that Yang composts into what amounts to soil – the scientific word is substrate – for the portobellos he cultivates.Hawaii imported about 2 million pounds of mushrooms in 2004, Yang says, the last year that figures are available. And that’s just a small part of the flow of food into a state where almost all of what’s eaten here is...WW…

The state agency set up to help convert Hawaii’s agriculture lands from plantations producing mainly pineapple and sugar for export to more economically viable farms growing a variety of crops has failed in its mission, an audit released Thursday found.The assessment of the Hawaii Agribusiness Development Corp. comes at what some see as a critical time for the state’s tourism- and military-dependent economy as the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to diversify.The corporation was set up more than 25 years ago to help do that by reinvigorating Hawaii’s agriculture industry, which...…The state agency set up to help convert Hawaii’s agriculture lands from plantations producing mainly pineapple and sugar for export to more economically viable farms growing a variety of crops has failed in its mission, an audit released Thursday found.The assessment of the Hawaii Agribusiness Development Corp. comes at what some see as a critical time for the state’s tourism- and military-dependent economy as the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to diversify.The corporation was set up more than 25 years ago to help do that by reinvigorating Hawaii’s agriculture industry, which...WW…

After a flurry of confusion set off by various county officials voicing concerns that travelers would bring COVID-19 cases to their communities, the main elements of Hawaii’s plan to reopen to out-of-state travel appeared to solidify on Tuesday, two days before the Oct. 15 date set by Gov. David Ige.The general terms of the plan remain the same as they have for weeks: people traveling to Hawaii from out of state – including tourists and returning residents – can sidestep the state’s 14-day quarantine by testing negative within 72 hours of departing for Hawaii.Now, however, neighbor islands...…After a flurry of confusion set off by various county officials voicing concerns that travelers would bring COVID-19 cases to their communities, the main elements of Hawaii’s plan to reopen to out-of-state travel appeared to solidify on Tuesday, two days before the Oct. 15 date set by Gov. David Ige.The general terms of the plan remain the same as they have for weeks: people traveling to Hawaii from out of state – including tourists and returning residents – can sidestep the state’s 14-day quarantine by testing negative within 72 hours of departing for Hawaii.Now, however, neighbor islands...WW…

A Hawaii Department of Health virologist and case investigator who exposed flaws in the state’s COVID-19 contact tracing program is speaking out for the first time since being forced out of the department and put on paid leave last week.Jennifer Smith prompted an outcry from and in August when she publicly reported her experience conducting contact tracing for an agency that she said was woefully understaffed and unprepared to contain the virus.By then COVID-19 in Hawaii had mushroomed to more than 100 new cases per day – and would soon escalate to more than 300 — from about one new case...…A Hawaii Department of Health virologist and case investigator who exposed flaws in the state’s COVID-19 contact tracing program is speaking out for the first time since being forced out of the department and put on paid leave last week.Jennifer Smith prompted an outcry from and in August when she publicly reported her experience conducting contact tracing for an agency that she said was woefully understaffed and unprepared to contain the virus.By then COVID-19 in Hawaii had mushroomed to more than 100 new cases per day – and would soon escalate to more than 300 — from about one new case...WW…

A California congresswoman is pressing Gov. David Ige for answers on why Hawaii has had such a turnaround on its COVID-19 infection rate and whether it mismanaged millions of dollars in federal stimulus money aimed at helping with virus prevention efforts.In a letter dated Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, who chairs the House Health subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, asked Ige for more information on the Hawaii Department of Health’s testing and contact tracing program, including things like how many contact tracing personnel the state has had on staff each week since the...…A California congresswoman is pressing Gov. David Ige for answers on why Hawaii has had such a turnaround on its COVID-19 infection rate and whether it mismanaged millions of dollars in federal stimulus money aimed at helping with virus prevention efforts.In a letter dated Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, who chairs the House Health subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, asked Ige for more information on the Hawaii Department of Health’s testing and contact tracing program, including things like how many contact tracing personnel the state has had on staff each week since the...WW…

As Hawaii’s public health officials announced a record 355 new COVID-19 cases amid mounting criticism for their failure to execute the stated plan for controlling the virus, a new face emerged to assure a concerned public that the department was making changes to address a virus that appears to be spiraling out of control.Instead of Bruce Anderson, who has been the most visible as the director of the Hawaii Department of Health, the public heard from Danette Wong Tomiyasu, a deputy director who will help oversee investigations. Also absent was Dr. Sarah Park, the state epidemiologist, who...…As Hawaii’s public health officials announced a record 355 new COVID-19 cases amid mounting criticism for their failure to execute the stated plan for controlling the virus, a new face emerged to assure a concerned public that the department was making changes to address a virus that appears to be spiraling out of control.Instead of Bruce Anderson, who has been the most visible as the director of the Hawaii Department of Health, the public heard from Danette Wong Tomiyasu, a deputy director who will help oversee investigations. Also absent was Dr. Sarah Park, the state epidemiologist, who...WW…