Honolulu news

• Mexican officials: At least 25 people in truck were Mexican

  25-07-2017 12:46 via KHNL - National - Headline
  Mexico's foreign ministry says 25 of the migrants found inside a sweltering tractor-trailer found parked outside a Texas Walmart were Mexican.
  
  Read more

• Tropical storm weakens but 2 others gain power

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Tropical Storm Greg continued to weaken as it approached the Central Pacific on Monday, but two other major storms following in its wake are increasing in intensity.
  Greg was 1,405 miles east of South Point, Hawaii island, as of 5 p.m. Monday. The storm bore maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour and was moving west-northwest at 9 mph.
  Forecasters predict that Greg will become a tropical depression by Wednesday.
  Tropical Storm Irwin gathered force as it continued to move west-northwest at
  
  Read more

• Trial set for soldier over alleged Islamic State aid

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  A federal judge Monday scheduled a trial date in September for Wheeler Army Airfield soldier Ikaika Erik Kang on four counts of trying to provide support to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
  Defense lawyer Birney Bervar entered not-guilty pleas to all four charges on Kang’s behalf, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield set the Sept. 19 trial date.
  Mansfield accepted the not-guilty pleas after Kang, 34, of Waimanalo, said he understood the charges against him.
  U.S. District Se
  
  Read more

• Queen Kapiolani Hotel to undergo $30 million renovation

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  The Queen Kapiolani Hotel, a 312-room property across the street from Kapiolani Park, is starting a$30 million makeover.
  The renovations, which are slated to begin this month and extend through the spring, are the first major changes since 2015, when DiamondHead Land purchased the hotel. DiamondHead Land is a joint venture of San Francisco-based real estate investment company ProspectHill Group and longtime Hawaii tourism executive Patrick Fitzgerald, who served on the board of the Hawaii Touris
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Peter Boy’s dad receives 20-year prison sentence for son’s death

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  HILO >>The family of Peter “Peter Boy” Kema Jr. had hoped for an apology from his father, sentenced Monday to 20 years’ imprisonment for the 6-year-old Hawaii island boy’s death 20 years ago.
  Peter Kema Sr. failed to offer one.
  “I thought he would at least turn to us and look at us and apologize,” said James Acol, 75, Peter Boy’s maternal grandfather. “Say something. If you’re human, say something. … He didn’t say anything
  
  Read more

• Honolulu retail law sets 2020 phase-out of plastic checkout bags

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Monday signed into law a bill that bans nearly all plastic bags distributed at Oahu retail checkout counters starting Jan. 1, 2020.
  Honolulu has had a retail plastic bag ban since July 1, 2015, but critics called foul because a provision in the law allowed for distribution of thicker bags of 2.25-­ thousandths of an inch thick. Environmental groups argued that the thicker bags are worse for sea turtles and other ocean creatures than the standard “T-shirt” b
  
  Read more

• Health study, found online, covers many island groups

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Question: I would like more information about the Native Hawaiian health survey that was in the news, but I couldn’t find the full report. Can you provide? Also, how did they define Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander?
  Answer: Find the full “Chartbook on Health Conditions and Behaviors of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Persons in the United States, 2014,” at808ne.ws/nhpihealth. It was released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on inf
  
  Read more

• Going blind can’t block Pearl City woman’s vision to help others

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  There is, Sharon Ige will tell you, a significant distinction to be made between “busy-busy” and “good-busy.”
  A weekly schedule filled with family caretaking, volunteer community serv­ice, teaching opportunities, church activities and standing appointments with friends and family?
  “That’s good-busy,” says the 55-year-old Pearl City resident. “How can life be bad if you have all of that?”
  That Ige enjoys such a full life is testament not j
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Fights rise among Big Island school kids

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Cases of serious misconduct such as fighting and the use of illicit drugs increased at Hawaii island public schools this past school year, while offenses such as bullying and harassment declined, according to the state Department of Education.
  Big Island schools tallied 839 Class A violations in 2016-17, compared with 734 in the 2015-16 school year, according to the department. At the same time, Class B violations dropped to 1,654 cases from 1,755.
  More than half of all violations last year were
  
  Read more

• Federal panel gets OK to collect voter data

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  A federal judge has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s commission on election fraud to resume collecting detailed voter roll information from the states, but at least one election official in Hawaii says he won’t comply with the federal request.
  The commission asked states last month to provide publicly available data including registered voters’ names, birth dates and partial Social Security numbers, but it later told them to hold off until a judge ruled on a lawsuit
  
  Read more

• Farmer built Hawaii Regional Cuisine foundation

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Back in the early 1990s, when 12 local chefs were developing Hawaii Regional Cuisine, Hawaii island farmer Kurt Hirabara helped them set the standard for the fledgling movement.
  “Everything he produced was gorgeous and perfect, the very best quality, from how it was grown to how it was packed to the condition it was received in,” said chef Peter Merriman, one of the founders of the cuisine, who began serving Hirabara Farms produce in 1998. “He set the bar that other farmers fol
  
  Read more

• Emergency gear hastens kayaker’s rescue

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  The Coast Guard and the Honolulu Fire Department on Monday rescued a kayaker off of Kaena Point who was equipped with a VHF radio and a personal locator beacon.
  In a statement, Petty Officer 1st Class Ashely Labarr called the rescued kayaker “a model example of being prepared. Having the radio and PLB with him made communications and locating him significantly faster and easier.”
  At 7:34 a.m. the Coast Guard received a distress call from the kayaker saying he was taking on water.
  Whe
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Bobbing boozers have city crafting response

  25-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  The July Fourth Waikiki “floatilla” attracted a crowd of about 9,000 partyers, led to at least 30 alcohol-related injuries and cost the city and state more than $12,000 to police, so it’s little wonder officials want to halt alcohol use at future floatillas.The Honolulu City Council’s Public Health, Safety and Welfare Committee will hear a resolution today aimed at urging the state to adopt rules prohibiting alcohol use and disorderly behavior at Waikiki floatilla events.
  
  Read more

• Former contract workers key in Mississippi Nissan union vote

  25-07-2017 09:36 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A bid by workers at Mississippi's Nissan Motor Co. plant for United Auto Workers representation could turn on a key voting bloc _ the 1,500 Nissan employees who were initially hired through contract labor agencies.
  
  Read more

• US safety board to detail findings of deadly NY train crash

  25-07-2017 06:26 via KHNL - National - Headline
  Federal safety investigators will present their findings following a commuter rail crash that killed six people in the suburbs of New York City in 2015.
  
  Read more

• Pressure mounts to curtail surgery on intersex children

  25-07-2017 06:26 via KHNL - National - Headline
  For decades, U.S. doctors have been performing surgery on intersex children before they are old enough to have a say in that decision, but that practice is now under assault.
  
  Read more

• Smugglers offer crammed big rigs as 'VIP treatment' to US

  25-07-2017 06:16 via KHNL - National - Headline
  The gruesome discovery of a tractor-trailer full of dozens of dead and suffocating people outside a San Antonio Walmart reflects a durable business model for smugglers.
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Parents say teen didn't mean to kill sister

  25-07-2017 05:16 via KHNL - National - Headline
  The parents of a teenage driver who livestreamed on Instagram the fatal crash that killed their younger daughter in California say they believe their daughter didn't mean for her sister to die.
  
  Read more

• Last orca calf born in captivity at a SeaWorld park dies

  25-07-2017 02:36 via KHNL - National - Headline
  Last killer whale born in captivity under SeaWorld's former orca-breeding program has died at its San Antonio park.
  
  Read more

• Iowa firm tied to truck deaths has history of legal problems

  24-07-2017 23:28 via KHNL - National - Headline
  The small Iowa trucking company linked to the deadly case of immigrant smuggling in Texas has a history of safety and tax violations and financial problems.
  
  Read more

• Family of brain-dead California girl fights to reverse death

  24-07-2017 23:16 via KHNL - National - Headline
  More than three years after a coroner declared a teen girl dead, a Northern California judge is deciding whether to revoke her death certificate at the family's request.
  
  Read more

• Burr-Hamilton? Angry lawmaker singles out 'female senators'

  24-07-2017 22:46 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A Republican congressman says it's "absolutely repugnant" that the GOP-led Senate has failed to vote to dismantle Barack Obama's health care law and he is singling out "some female senators from the Northeast.".
  
  Read more

• Teenage driver livestreams crash that killed sister

  24-07-2017 22:45 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A teenage driver lost control of her car while she was livestreaming on Instagram and recorded part of the crash that authorities say killed her sister in California.
  
  Read more

• APNewsBreak: Rail design led to deadliness of train crash

  24-07-2017 22:05 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A U.S. official says federal investigators have concluded that an unusual rail design contributed to the death toll in a fiery commuter rail crash that killed six people in a New York City suburb in 2015.
  
  Read more

• APNewsBreak: Rail design led to deadliness of NY train crash

  24-07-2017 22:05 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A U.S. official says federal investigators have concluded that an unusual rail design contributed to the death toll in a fiery commuter rail crash that killed six people in a New York City suburb in 2015.
  
  Read more

• Rescuer clung to boy plucked from Arizona flash flood

  24-07-2017 20:35 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A helicopter rescued hikers clinging to tree branches and perched on boulders as fast-moving floodwaters tore through a normally quiet creek in Arizona.
  
  Read more

• Police: Driver heavily armed during interstate shootout

  24-07-2017 20:35 via KHNL - National - Headline
  Police say a driver who shot at officers during a chase that closed a busy highway near St. Louis is dead.
  
  Read more

• Hikers rescued from trees after another Arizona flash flood

  24-07-2017 20:35 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A helicopter rescued hikers clinging to tree branches and perched on boulders as fast-moving floodwaters tore through a normally quiet creek in Arizona.
  
  Read more

• In Minneapolis, fake sign warns of 'easily startled' police

  24-07-2017 18:45 via KHNL - National - Headline
  The fatal shooting of an Australian woman by a Minneapolis police officer has sparked the posting of at least two fake street signs warning people of "easily startled" officers.
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Driver could face death penalty if convicted

  24-07-2017 18:39 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A federal criminal complaint says the driver of a broiling tractor-trailer found packed with immigrants in San Antonio told investigators he was unaware there were people inside until he parked.
  
  Read more

• Latest: Survivor says he lost consciousness while sweating

  24-07-2017 18:39 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A federal criminal complaint says the driver of a broiling tractor-trailer found packed with immigrants in San Antonio told investigators he was unaware there were people inside until he parked.
  
  Read more

• Latest: Official: At least 25 migrants in truck were Mexican

  24-07-2017 18:39 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A federal criminal complaint says the driver of a broiling tractor-trailer found packed with immigrants in San Antonio told investigators he was unaware there were people inside until he parked.
  
  Read more

• US maker of panels in London fire: Others install them

  24-07-2017 18:05 via KHNL - National - Headline
  The leader of a U.S. company that manufactured panels on a London apartment tower where at least 80 people perished in a fire says the firm quit making it available for high-rises because it doesn't control how the material is installed on buildings.
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Ex-officer's lawyer applauds dropping of charges

  24-07-2017 17:55 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A judge in Cincinnati has dismissed charges against a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black motorist, after a prosecutor declined to pursue a third murder trial.
  
  Read more

• Ward condos’ developer offers incentives

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Typically, free cars and other high-value goodies that developers sometimes offer to new-home purchasers as enticements are rolled out during bad times in a housing market.
  So it might seem odd that a developer in Honolulu that said it is pleased with new condominium sales would add incentives to attract more buyers. But that’s just what Howard Hughes Corp. has done.
  The company developing Ward Village in Kakaako recently began offering consumers a new Mercedes-­Benz for three years (l
  
  Read more

• Royal Kunia residents lose planned golf course to divvied sale

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  About 300 Royal Kunia residents in Central Oahu have some new neighbors, and that’s not sitting well with the community that long expected manicured golf fairways and putting greens to grace a vacant piece of land bordering its homes.
  Instead, it could be farm crops, livestock or perhaps even a waste disposal facility that sprouts on 172 acres within the residential community where 18 holes of golf were master-planned but never built.
  “We have an issue here,” said Albi Mateo, g
  
  Read more

• NOAA grants Hawaii $715,000 for coral reef conservation

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  LIHUE >> Those who study Hawaii’s coral reefs are hoping a recent $715,000 federal grant awarded to the state of Hawaii will amp up both the education and conservation of the underwater ecosystems.
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the grant to the state as part of a cooperative agreement between the organization and Hawaii’s Division of Aquatic Resources, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono announced Thursday.
  The money will be used to pay for activities critical
  
  Read more

• No sprinkler systems, more costly damage

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Financial losses from fires in Oahu high-rises were more than 12 times greater in buildings without sprinklers than in buildings with them, according to Honolulu Fire Department data covering a decade of blazes.
  While the actual damage amounts were relatively small, the dramatic difference in losses between the two types of buildings is likely to fuel the debate on whether the city should require old residential high-rises to install automatic sprinkler systems.
  Mayor Kirk Caldwell proposed such
  
  Read more

• Mayor to sign plastic bag phase-out law

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Mayor Kirk Caldwell is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony this afternoon for a city ordinance to phase out the distribution of reusable plastic checkout bags on Oahu.
  County law already prohibits the distribution of plastic and nonrecyclable paper checkout bags. Businesses, however, have been exploiting a loophole in the law to hand out reusable bags made of thicker-grade plastic and so-called compostable plastic bags.
  Under the new law, starting July 1 next year, businesses will be required t
  
  Read more

• Maui woman helps find photos of fallen Vietnam soldiers

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Six years ago, Maui resident Janna Hoehn agreed to help gather photographs of Valley Isle soldiers who died in Vietnam — honoring them as part of a virtual “Wall of Faces” on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website.
  Once she finished the Maui project, she kept going in an effort to help find all of the 58,315 photographs of the fallen.
  Hoehn and dozens of other volunteers nationwide have completed the vast majority of searches and are now down to finding some 5,940 photograp
  
  Read more

• Kalihi nonprofit helps Micronesians retain values

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  A fledgling nonprofit in Kalihi-Palama is trying to help Micronesians in Hawaii hold on to the cultural values that mean the most to them.
  Micronesians value family relationships above most things, but their communal lifestyle can clash with the Western value of individuality, said We Are Oceania Director Josie Howard.
  “We are nobody if we have no connections or aren’t related to anyone,” and caring for one another holds the clan together, she said.
  Howard said if her children
  
  Read more

• Human rights agency is asked to look into Hawaii’s fishing fleet

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  A human rights complaint has been filed with an international commission to investigate claims of human rights violations in Hawaii’s commercial fishing industry.
  Turtle Island Restoration Network said it filed the complaint last week with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. The filing asks the panel to determine the responsibility of the U.S. for human rights abuses against foreign workers in Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet.
  An Associated Press investigation into the seafood
  
  Read more

• Bus transit depot parking isn’t for nearby businesses

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Question: Please find out who has parking privileges at the bus transit depot, Middle Street location. Finding parking nearby where I work is almost impossible. I was once warned by security my car would be towed away in the future.
  Answer: Public parking at the Kalihi Transit Center, 811 Middle St., is for people visiting TheBus Pass Office or catching a bus there to another destination (park-and-ride), said Jon Nouchi, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transportation Services.
  
  Read more

• A Maui woman helps find photos of fallen Vietnam soldiers

  24-07-2017 12:05 via Hawaii News – Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  Six years ago, Maui resident Janna Hoehn agreed to help gather photographs of Valley Isle soldiers who died in Vietnam — honoring them as part of a virtual “Wall of Faces” on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website.
  Once she finished the Maui project, she kept going in an effort to help find all of the 58,315 photographs of the fallen.
  Hoehn and dozens of other volunteers nationwide have completed the vast majority of searches and are now down to finding some 5,940 photograp
  
  Read more

• Girl's HIV infection seems under control without AIDS drugs

  24-07-2017 10:15 via KHNL - National - Headline
  A South African girl born with the AIDS virus has kept her infection suppressed for 8 1/2 years after stopping anti-HIV medicines.
  
  Read more

• AP PHOTOS: American black women feel it's time to get a gun

  24-07-2017 09:55 via KHNL - National - Headline
  From ministers to bankers, American black women are picking up firearms and learning how to shoot.
  
  Read more

• Black women picking up firearms for self-defense

  24-07-2017 09:45 via KHNL - National - Headline
  Black women are picking up firearms and learninghow to shoot, citing a desire to protect themselves and fears about today's political climate.
  
  Read more

• Senate GOP gets new pressure from Trump on health care

  24-07-2017 09:25 via KHNL - National - Headline
  The Senate plans a vote this week on a Republican health care bill but it's a mystery what they are voting on.
  
  Read more

• McCain making dramatic Senate return for crucial health vote

  24-07-2017 09:25 via KHNL - National - Headline
  The Senate plans a vote this week on a Republican health care bill but it's a mystery what they are voting on.
  
  Read more

• GOP favor dropping tax beneficial to blue states

  24-07-2017 08:31 via KHNL - National - Headline
  Republicans favor dropping deduction for state and local taxes, a break that mostly benefits heavily Democratic states.
  
  Read more

Follow @Honolulu_News_ on Twitter!