Stewart Yerton

1 week ago | civilbeat.org | Stewart Yerton

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority faces a major restructuring, staff defections and legal drama. The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is filling the void. For the past five years, ʻOlena Alec has run Haleakalā National Park’s nonprofit arm with a staff of one: herself. Now, Alec has an intern. It’s a small but important change for an organization that supports the park at a critical time, when federal money for national parks has been unstable, Alec said.

2 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Stewart Yerton

More problems within the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority are coming to light in the lawsuit by Isaac Choy, a former vice president of finace. A top executive with the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority who was suspended for allegedly making derogatory remarks toward Native Hawaiians has filed a lawsuit against the agency, saying he’s being retaliated against after reporting procurement violations and other problems that are wasting millions of dollars.

2 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Stewart Yerton

Opponents of the measure said the bill would hurt the industry it was intended to help. It was a grassroots effort that many did not expect to succeed: Hawaiʻi farmers mobilizing to stop the governor from signing a bill that had made it through the House and Senate without a single “no” vote. The bill was meant to protect Hawaiʻi’s māmaki tea industry, but many farmers and distributors believed it would inadvertently hurt the fledgling industry.

3 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Stewart Yerton

Making solar available to middle- and low-income residents was intended to help meet the state’s 2045 all-renewable energy goal. Now one developer says: “We just want out.”The Hawaiʻi Legislature crafted a seemingly elegant solution to a thorny problem when it passed Hawaiʻi’s shared solar program in 2015.

4 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Stewart Yerton

HECO’s parent company got a boost to its credit rating after significant moves during the last legislative session to shore up the utility’s finances. Wall Street rewarded Hawaiian Electric Industries’ efforts to strengthen its financial profile by restoring the company to the edge of investment-grade creditworthiness for the first time since shortly after the August 2023 wildfire that killed 102 people and destroyed much of Lahaina.