General News

It will be another three weeks before a court hearing is held about the online petition to impeach Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro.

A community effort to impeach Honolulu City Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro is scheduled to be heard in court next month.

An Alaska-based company wants to build a spaceport on the east side of Hawaiʻi Island. The plan is still in a phase of assessment, but it already faces some local opposition. And there are also some voices of skepticism from Alaska.

Legalizing recreational marijuana is a hot topic across the nation. Hawaii already allows medical marijuana...is this the year it legalizes recreational use? HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi posed that question to those at the 2019 Hawaiʻi Cannabis Expo.

An Alaska-based company wants to build a spaceport in East Hawaii Island. As it turns out, Puna is one of the best locations in the United States from which to launch rockets. But local residents are not so enthusiastic about the idea. Residents and officials in the company's hometown reported a complex relationship with Alaska Aerospace.

Honolulu is the latest county in the state to allow residents to renew their vehicle registration at a self-service kiosk.

Hawaii's attorney general is asking the state's highest court to immediately suspend Honolulu's top prosecutor because he is the target of a federal investigation.

Hawai‘i Electric Light crews have been scrambling to restore power to customers hit by the weekend wind storms. And while that work continues on the ground, there is change at the management level. Earlier this month, the president of Hawaiʻi Electric Light retired. And the new president of Hawaiʻi Island's electric utility is Sharon Suzuki — who is also president of Maui Electric. That's led to questions about how the needs of the state's largest yet least populated island will be handled.

Tomorrow marks the  anniversary of the coronation of Queen Kapiʻolani

Local designer Kini Zamora of Project Runway fame is putting the final touches on a replica of the gown she wore in 1883.

We visited his studios located deep in the industrial park at Halawa Valley here on Oʻahu where it was a beehive of activity.

Hawaiʻi’s second-largest shopping mall, Pearlridge Center is rebranding its buildings with Hawaiian names. As HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports this may be part of a growing trend among Hawaiʻi businesses – but getting it right remains a challenge.

Hawaiʻi County is facing a number of significant challenges this year. That includes recovery from the summer 2018 lava flow and the 50 inches of rain from Hurricane Lane. Another challenge is figuring out how to manage the budget in a period with many competing financial demands.

There’s a non-profit group on O‘ahu that’s renovating a pair of buildings to serve as a shelter for young girls. It needed some assistance with design and construction — and another local group stepped up to help.

A new entrepreneurship center is opening up in downtown Honolulu. HPR’s Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi got a preview of the space and a look at its plans. 

State lawmakers are seeking to change the way Hawaiʻi votes for trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 

Hawaiʻi County Mayor Harry Kim has set up a task force to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on the island.  With 32 traffic fatalities in 2018, and two so far this year, Hawaiʻi County has the highest per capita death rate from car crashes in the state. And another 1,200 people have suffered serious injuries. 

Professional soccer is coming back to Hawaiʻi. It’s not only for a short stay – but state officials hope the Pacific Rim Cup is part of a broader movement: growth in sports tourism for the islands. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

The state is in the process of creating a high-resolution map detailing how a tsunami would affect coastal areas on Oʻahu.

One of the biggest challenges for a successful small business is knowing when and how to hand it over to new owners. PBN editor A. Kam Napier has more on how Hawaiʻi’s small businesses should approach succession planning.

Native Hawaiian leaders opposing construction of the Thirty-Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea are taking their grievances beyond the shores of Hawaiʻi to TMT decision-makers and a financier in the Bay Area. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more.

This week, a group of investors and entrepreneurs from around the Asia Pacific are gathering in Honolulu. Some will be looking to pitch ideas---others are ready to offer some financial backing.

The retail sector is a key part of Hawai‘i’s economy — both for sales and for jobs. 2018 was a year of modest growth — and industry leaders expect certain trends to continue in the year ahead.

Hawaiʻi State Senator Kai Kahele recently announced his bid to run for U.S. Congress. If elected, Kahele would be the first neighbor island resident to represent the second congressional district, which is made up primarily of the neighbor islands.HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story.

Coral reefs in West Hawaiʻi are showing signs of recovery from the global El Niño event in 2015.