HPR News Staff

The state Department of Health said Tuesday tests of water samples from the Navy's water system at Pearl Harbor have so far been inconclusive after it received more than 100 complaints about fuel-like odor coming from tap water in the area. One military mom shared her frustrations about communication.

With Gov. David Ige handing over the reins to the counties for some COVID-19 procedures on Wednesday, The Conversation spoke with Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth about how the Big Island plans to move forward.

During the Thanksgiving weekend, the World Health Organization designated omicron as “a variant of concern.” There is no report of the variant in Hawaiʻi — or in the United States — as of Nov. 29.

Environmental groups are calling on President Joe Biden and military leaders to shut down tanks that provide an important fuel reserve for U.S. forces in the Pacific. The director of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi told a rally and news conference that the Red Hill fuel storage tanks are an unacceptable threat to the drinking water of 400,000 Oʻahu residents.

Veteran Hawaiʻi journalist, columnist and television news anchor Bob Jones died Monday at his home on Diamond Head. He was 85. Jones is survived by his wife, his daughter and son-in-law, a grandson, and two brothers.

Hawaiʻi restaurants are trying to find workers as COVID-19 capacity and social distancing rules that have been in place for much of the pandemic are lifted. Restaurants and bars can operate at 100% capacity with no spacing requirements beginning Dec. 1.

Former Honolulu mayor and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Kirk Caldwell announced he has secured the endorsement of Kauaʻi County Mayor Derek Kawakami.

Lynn Finnegan, a former state lawmaker who represented the Aiea, Halawa, Pearl Harbor and Moanalua Gardens areas of Oʻahu from 2003 to 2011 was elected Saturday. Finnegan is the third state GOP chair this year.

Last Monday, 43 staff and crew shipped out of Honolulu on the Ocean Exploration Trust's exploration vessel Nautilus, headed to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The Conversation connected with education coordinator Andy Collins and team leader Emil Petruncio to talk about the expedition.

This Thanksgiving week, you might be thinking about food — although maybe not Korean food. One local woman credits Korean food with transforming her life, helping her to lose 110 pounds in one year. Author Africa Yoon said a turning point came in the form of an interaction with an elderly Korean woman at a Korean store in New Jersey.