General News

A shuttered dairy processing plant in Honolulu has been listed for sale for $25 million after shutting down in April, a closure that affected more than 200 employees.

The leadership of the Honolulu City Council has halted an independent forensic audit of the agency charged with building Honolulu’s rail line.

Updated: 6/13/2020, 12 p.m.

The Hawaii Department of Health reported another sharp spike in cases of COVID-19 Saturday with 17 new cases reported. That follow's Friday's 15 new infections.

Twenty-one people who recently arrived in Hawaii, describing themselves as a family with a leader, were arrested and charged with violating the state's mandatory 14-day quarantine put in place in an attempt to protect the islands from the spread of the coronavirus, police said.

Leaders in Hawaii's tourism industry are waiting for a definitive date on when they can reopen. They're also preparing to reopen safely and giving a lot of thought to what the future of the industry might look like.

Updated: 6/12/2020, 5:18 p.m. The state reported a sharp spike in cases of COVID-19 today, with 15 new infections, according to the Hawaii Department of Health. Gov. David Ige said the increase was expected as the state reopens businesses and activities in phases.

Updated: 6/11/2020, 12:33 p.m.

Where we stand

Seven new cases of COVID-19 have been reported today by the state health department. All of the cases have been reported on Oahu.

WASHINGTON — Army Gen. Mark Milley, the nation's top military officer, said Thursday he was wrong to accompany President Donald Trump on a walk through Lafayette Square that ended in a photo op at a church. He said his presence "created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics."

Updated 6/10/20, 4:30 p.m.

BOISE, Idaho — The bodies of two children uncovered in rural Idaho are a boy and his big sister who have been missing since September, relatives said Wednesday, bringing a grim end to a search that captivated people worldwide but no fewer questions about a case that has put their mother and her husband behind bars.

Updated: 6/10/2020, 1:11 p.m.

Where we stand

Four new cases of COVID-19 have been reported today by the state health department. All of the cases have been reported on Oahu. 

Updated 6/9/20, 3:35 p.m.

BOISE, Idaho — Authorities said they uncovered human remains at an Idaho man's home Tuesday as they investigated the disappearance of his new wife's two children — a case that's drawn global attention for its ties to two other mysterious deaths and the couple's doomsday beliefs.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced his nominations for two vacancies on the Honolulu Police Commission on Monday. Michael Broderick, the current president and CEO of the YMCA of Honolulu, and Doug Chin, former Hawaii attorney general, were nominated for the panel.

Updated  6/10/20 5:10 p.m.

The Hawaii Department of Human Services updated its classroom capacity guidelines Tuesday back to pre-pandemic ratios which are:

• For three-year-olds, 12 children to one teacher
• For four-year-olds, 16 children to one teacher
• For five-and-over, 20 children to one teacher

Many child care providers are now reopening as more parents return to work. However, the added restrictions for social distancing have limited the number of children they can accept back. 

Maui County’s unemployment rose to 35% in April, the highest rate in the state due largely to the massive impact of the coronavirus on the tourism industry.

The Honolulu Police Department is reviewing its policies in light of the nationwide call for police reforms.

Police Chief Susan Ballard said yesterday that an HPD committee began re-evaluating the department’s use of force policies in the last week. She says it has been five years since there was a complete review of that policy.

KAILUA-KONA — A Hawaii ocean shipping firm requesting federal coronavirus relief funding will continue operations under a reduced schedule and move its barge service to Mondays, officials said.

WAILUKU — The Maui County Council has approved an $822.6 million budget for the next fiscal year that includes $66.6 million in federal coronavirus relief funds.

Updated: 6/8/20, 1:02 p.m.

When bars are allowed to open on Oahu next week, the question on a lot of minds is how will social distancing be enforced when patrons get intoxicated?

A judge has imposed a $260 fine on one of three fisherman in Hawaii who was accused of violating the state's ban on aquarium fishing and recovered an illegal catch worth more than $37,000 in February, court officials said.

Updated: 6/7/2020, 12:15 p.m.

Hawaii recorded two new coronavirus cases today, both on Oahu.

The state health department now reports the number of cases stands at 675; deaths remain at 17.

The case count for Oahu is at 441, Maui County at 120, Hawaii Island at 81 and Kauai at 21. There are 12 cases diagnosed out of state. Some 617 people have been released from isolation. 

Updated: 6/7/2020, 4:57 p.m.

Police around the U.S. took a less aggressive stance and even sometimes joined protesters demanding a reckoning with institutional racism, as leaders in the city at the center of the latest call for police reforms pushed Sunday to dismantle its department.

BARCELONA, Spain — The confirmed global death toll from the COVID-19 virus reached at least 400,000 fatalities on Sunday, a day after the government of Brazil broke with standard public health protocols by ceasing to publish updates of the number of deaths and infections in the hard-hit South American country.

Members of an Kailua community have expressed opposition to plans to build a rental apartment complex with primarily low-income units.

Updated: 6/7/2020, 1:02 p.m.

Hawaii recorded another nine new coronavirus cases Saturday, eight on Oahu and one diagnosed out of state. The nine are being investigated, the state health department said.

WASHINGTON — Scott Nichols, a balloon artist, was riding home on his scooter from the protests engulfing Minneapolis last weekend when he was struck by a rubber bullet fired from a cluster of police officers in riot gear.