Kauai

A Kauaʻi helicopter company is facing fines of up to $10,000 a day for structures that lack permits on its property in Port Allen. The tour company’s initial request for the Kauaʻi County permits was met with strong opposition from traditional salt makers who practice in nearby Hanapēpē.

Bookstores used to be all over the islands, and all over the country. There are fewer now than there used to be, and on Kauai there is only one left – the Talk Story Bookstore.

The highway beyond Hanalei on Kauaʻi’s North Shore is officially open to the public today. Kūhiō Highway has been closed for more than fourteen months to complete repairs following last year’s massive rain and flooding. While some residents are glad the roadway is open, others are bracing for the influx of visitors.

Kūhiō Highway on Kauaʻi’s North Shore is set to fully re-open next Monday. This also means the re-opening of the popular Kalalau Trail on the Nā Pali Coast, but visitors should know there will be a few changes.

A Kauaʻi family dispute over kuleana land within Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s estate continues today in court. In a lawsuit filed in state circuit court, one faction of the Rapozo family is alleging the other committed fraud and deceit leading up to the forced land auction. The court will rule today on whether the case can proceed.

In gratitude for the thirty years Hawai‘i has nurtured his professional life, Hawai‘i Symphony principal oboist Scott Janusch came up with a novel idea. He would use a piece of endemic Hawaiian wood to create a very special oboe, one that can be passed on to future generations.

Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami is urging the state to postpone its planned reopening of Kūhiō Highway this Wednesday. The flood-damaged road has been closed for nearly a year, and Kawakami says there is still much to be done first. 

On May 1st, a stretch of Kuhio Highway on Kauai’s North Shore will reopen to the general public for the first time in more than a year. State and County officials are rolling out a new permit system that aims to limit the human impact on one of Hawaii’s most popular attractions: the Na Pali Coast.

In the wake of a closely watched kuleana land auction on Kauaʻi last week, one faction of the family caught up in the property dispute is calling for change. A core group of Rapozo family members is demanding new policies and protections for kuleana landowners. 

Remember when Mark Zuckerberg caused public outcry on Kauaʻi after seeking land titles from kuleana property owners? Yeah, Hawaiʻi lawmakers haven’t forgotten either. A bill before the State Legislature aims to change the way these property disputes are resolved. 

Kauaʻi’s electrical utility has a different history from the rest of the islands and different opportunities. Pacific Business News editor in chief A. Kam Napier has more on what that has meant for its customer-owners.

This past April, Kūhiō Highway on Kaua‘i’s North Shore was devastated by heavy flooding. Road repairs are now nearing completion. The state Department of Transportation plans to reopen the highway to the public by the end of January or early February. But HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports local residents are concerned the coast isn’t ready for the increased traffic.

Hawai‘i’s Menehune are not very much like Christmas elves, but children in the islands all knew stories about them, growing up.  Menehune were said to be about 3 feet tall.  They lived in the mountains and when they felt like it, they helped Hawaiians of old to build temples, roads, walls and fishponds.  HPR’s Noe Tanigawa reports, the island of Kaua‘i is rich with Menehune stories, and evidence of their industriousness.

The last several miles of road along Kauaʻi’s North Shore remain closed to the public since the April flood. Local residents are limited to commute along one lane of the highway and only during scheduled convoy times. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi hopped on a recent convoy up the coast and filed this report.

A new community-driven initiative on Kaua’i’s North Shore aims to ensure residents have a say in rebuilding their coast after the massive flooding earlier this year. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi recently visited the Garden Isle and filed this report.

  This morning we heard from farmers on Kauai and Maui in advance of an upcoming Hemp Conference this weekend. What is the way forward? What are the barriers in the way of success? What other states have pulled out in front of Hawaii in the search for an alternative crop here in the islands now that the sun has set on sugar? What are the downsides of growing hemp? How much water does it use? Some states are wrestling with the noxious smell, or regulations that are slow to materialize.

Our guests today were:  

On Monday, power was temporarily knocked out across the island of Kaua‘i. The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is still investigating. But meanwhile the cooperative is also continuing to push for the use of more renewable energy. And there’s a new program to make clean energy more accessible to individuals and groups who have faced challenges in getting access to it in the past.

Taylor Camp was the name given to a commune built Kauai’s hippie community in the 1960’s. A documentary about it called "The Edge of Paradise" has now been updated and renamed. It debuted on the Garden Isle and now heads to the Big Island.

As Kauaʻi residents continue to deal with the impacts of heavy rain and flooding, we want to turn your attention to another water issue on the Garden Isle....one that residents have been dealing with for more than a century. HPR Reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has more.