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Hawaii announces $4 billion settlement in Maui fire cases – DW – 08/03/2024

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Hawaii announces  billion settlement in Maui fire cases – DW – 08/03/2024


Hawaiian Electric Industries is among several defendants who agreed on Friday to pay more than $4 billion (€3.7 billion) to settle lawsuits over the deadly 2023 Maui wildfires.

The utility operating on the island and its parent, Hawaiian Electric, are liable for $1.99 billion of the amount before tax.

It also includes $75 million previously contributed to the One Ohana Initiative.

“We’re under no illusions that this is going to make Maui whole,” Jake Lowenthal, a Maui attorney selected as one of four liaisons for the coordination of the cases, told The Associated Press. “We know for a fact that it’s not going to make up for what they lost.”

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What do we know about the settlement?

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said in a statement that seven defendants will pay the $4.037 billion to compensate those who have already brought claims for the August 8, 2023, fires.

The wildfires killed 102 people and destroyed the historic downtown area of Lahaina on Maui, with Green saying the proposed settlement is an agreement in principle and would “help our people heal.” 

“My priority as governor was to expedite the agreement and to avoid protracted and painful lawsuits so as many resources as possible would go to those affected by the wildfires as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement.

“It will be good that our people don’t have to wait to rebuild their lives as long as others have in many places that have suffered similar tragedies,” Green said.

Meanwhile, Thomas Leonard, who lost his apartment in the fire and spent hours in the ocean behind a seawall hiding from the flames, said: “It gives us something to work with. I’m going to need that money to rebuild.”

Maui housing crisis lingers months after Hawaii wildfires

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Who was being sued?

Hawaiian Electric and defendants, including county officials, faced lawsuits over the blazes that tore through Maui last year, causing deaths, destroying thousands of properties and causing damage estimated at $5 billion.

The lawsuits claimed the utility company failed to shut down power lines despite previous warnings that high winds might blow them down and spark wildfires.

Settlement payments will begin after judicial approval and are expected to be made from mid-2025, Hawaiian Electric said in a statement.

km/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP)



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Hawaii

No tsunami threat to Hawaii following large earthquake off the Philippines

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No tsunami threat to Hawaii following large earthquake off the Philippines


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – There is no tsunami threat to Hawaii following a large earthquake off the Philippines, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.8-magnitude quake happened at 12:23 p.m. Hawaii time and was located 11 miles east of Barcelona, Philippines at a depth of 10 kilometers.

There was no immediate information on any damage from the temblor.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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5 Must-Try Craft Breweries on Oʻahu for Beer Lovers – Hawaii Magazine

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5 Must-Try Craft Breweries on Oʻahu for Beer Lovers – Hawaii Magazine


Hawai’i has a long history of beer making. Honolulu Brewery, established in 1854 (now closed), was the first commercial brewery on Oʻahu, followed by Primo Beer in 1901. After a long lull, the craft beer movement made its way back to the Islands in 1994 slowly growing over the years. Oʻahu has a tight craft beer community. From Kalihi to Kāneʻohe, brewers share their support for one another, as well as for local farms and restaurants, by creating collaboration beers. Besides having highly skilled, passionate brewers and a love for connecting with their community, these breweries are also all self-distributors, meaning the only place you will find their beer is on O’ahu.

Here are five to try.

Hana Koa Brewing Co.

Photo: Courtesy of Hana Koa Brewing Co.

“I like to cultivate memories with beers,” said Josh Kopp, head brewer at Hana Koa Brewing Co. His Midnight Pretender—a porter made with koshihikari rice from The Rice Factory in Kakaʻako—takes him back to his street racing days when he was underage, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes in an Oʻahu parking lot until two in the morning. Once that tap runs dry Kopp will replace it with cortado, a coffee-infused stout he made in collaboration with TRY Coffee. The beer smells and tastes just like its namesake espresso drink with a hit of dark chocolate. My current favorite is Earth To Beer, a sour beer fermented with fragrant basil, lemongrass and lime that is so pure and bright it drinks like a muddled cocktail. Kopp’s go-to is the Rooftop, named after a time in his life when he and now-wife girlfriend and brewery co-founder would hang out on the roof of her apartment and drink Ballast Point Grunion pale ale.

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Since expanding his business, Kopp has acquired a number of tools for quality control and offers lab services for other brewers on island. He has also offered to sell his hops to other brewers at cost and invites them to Washington to visit farms, so they can select the hops together to ship back to O’ahu.

“It’s kinda like if you were the kid in the neighborhood that got the Nintendo first you shouldn’t be a jerk and not let the other kids come over and play,” Kopp explains.

hanakoabrewing.com, @hanakoabrewing

Howzit Brewing

20240801 Oahu Breweries Put The Rad In Radler Howzit Sarah Burchard

Inside Howzit Brewing.
Photo: Sarah Burchard

After a good surf sesh, owner Justin Heikkinen said he likes to pour himself a refreshing Put the Rad in Radler, Howzit’s lemonade slush infused delight. “It’s the gateway to beer,” he said. If the slushie radler is the gateway to beer, the Solar Journey is the gateway to IPA. Its fruity notes and lack of bitterness make it so easy to crush. Heikkinen, born in Seattle where the craft beer scene exploded, spent a good portion of his life in Portland where he became a home brewer. When Phil Pesheck, formerly of Burke-Gilman Brewing Co. in Seattle, became available he quickly snagged him to open Howzit. Beers here are ever-rotating. Heikkinen isn’t interested in having flagship beers. He wants customers to always have a new reason to visit. It will be a sad day for me when the Bonfire Baja runs out. The dark Mexican-style lager reminds me of my beer drinking days in my hometown San Diego. Still excited about the novelty of having a slush machine in a brewery I ordered the Kakaʻako Cold Brew, a coffee-vanilla cream ale, in slush form. Thick like soft serve, I could have eaten it with a spoon, but just like Heikkinen promised, as it began to melt the frozen golden ale turned into a frappuccino-like treat.

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@howzitbrewing

Inu Island Ales

Inu Island Ales presents a unique, modern approach to brewing beer. Head brewer John “Magic” Montes De Oca makes beers that people will crave and keep reaching for, such as the Mango Colada, a coconut hard seltzer that is thick and fruity like a smoothie. The Mo-Waka, a West Coast-style IPA made with Mosaic and Riwaka hops, is another stand-out. The modern techniques and lager yeast he uses amplify the tropical notes in the hops and make it so smooth and well-balanced it tastes like it is in a category all on its own. Montes De Oca champions West Coast-style IPAs believing they have gotten a bad rap for being overly bitter. “The way people make them now with modern hops and techniques lends to a much better drinking experience,” he said. The Coco Fumes stout is akin to a Mexican hot chocolate dessert drink and is meant to be shared as such.

Collaborations happen organically. Tradition Coffee Roasters in Kailua is one of Montes De Oca’s favorite local roasters. After sharing with the owner that he wanted to make a blonde stout with pandan (a herbaceous tropical plant that grows in Southeast Asia) and coffee he invited Montes De Oca to the roastery and taught him how coffee is made and how he selects and roasts beans. They tasted several coffees together to decide which would work best resulting in a beer that smelled of vanilla cappuccino and grassy, nutty pandan.

inuislandales.com, @inuislandales

Beer Lab HI

20240802 Oahu Breweries Beer Lab Pxl 20240508 020837657

Photo: Courtesy of Beer Lab HI

Co-founder Nicolas Wong believes that living on an island means we need to support one another. Beer Lab HI does its part by constantly highlighting local businesses and sourcing Hawai’i-grown ingredients. For a chill beer garden experience visit Beer Lab’s newest location on Beretania Street in Honolulu, which offers 12 picnic tables covered by umbrellas are surrounded by two walls of murals, a modest walk-up bar (which also includes whiskey and wine) and a poke counter with smoked marlin dip, fruit tarts and dog treats. On a warm evening I sampled some new and old brews while music by Red Hot Chili Peppers played in the background: Omakase, seemingly everyone’s go-to, including mine, is a hazy IPA with low bitterness and citrus notes; Chasing Sunrises is a bright and refreshing sour made with passion fruit and the newest release, Green Rivah, is a collaboration with the iconic Rainbow Drive-In that tastes just like the local favorite lemon-lime soda.

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beerlabhi.com, @beerlabhi

Kalihi Beer

Originally Broken Boundaries Brewery, founder and head brewer Chris Cook changed the name to Kalihi Beer to better reflect what was most important to him. “We took on the name Kalihi because we are proud of our community,” he said.  “Kalihi is the blue-collar lifeblood of this city, and while Kalihi, like any other community, has its challenges, you’ll find people here with extraordinary determination and ambition who are making a way to succeed despite lacking the resources that some others may have. We are proud to be a part of this, and we wanted our name to reflect that pride.” To connect with Kalihi the brewery hosts events and collaborates with a number of Kalihi nonprofits such as Hoʻoulu ʻĀina, the Kalihi Watershed Management Partnership, Fire Station 31 and The Pōpolo Project. On any given night you can experience live music, local art and conversations about conservation in Kalihi and Kāpalama.

Beers range from the most bitter of IPAs, such as the Hi-Fi, to Cook’s “desert island beer,” Bierfurdeinkin Hefeweizen, which is refreshing and pairs well with food. Cook takes what he knows about traditional brewing and applies them to an audience who is looking for something modern and new. His wildly popular Pop Top Kolsch can be found on draft in some of Oʻahu’s best restaurants, such as Peter Merriman’s Monkeypod Kitchen and natuRe Waikīkī.

kalihibeer.com, @kalihibeer





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Officials: Hawaii inmate at Arizona prison attacked guard and fellow prisoner, opened other cells

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Officials: Hawaii inmate at Arizona prison attacked guard and fellow prisoner, opened other cells


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – An investigation is underway after alleged attacks targeting a prison guard and a Hawaii inmate at Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona.

The mother of that inmate believes other prisoners are trying to kill her son.

“We’re not the only family who wants answers,” said Rhonda Kosi.

Rhonda is demanding to know how her baby brother, Daniel, who is an inmate at Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona was stabbed multiple times while he was inside his private cell.

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“We don’t know where he was stabbed, how he was stabbed. We were told that one of the stab wounds was to his eye, his eye, his retina, had to get sewed,” Rhonda said.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said both a correctional officer and a Hawaii inmate were assaulted at the Saguaro Correctional Center (SCC) in Eloy, Arizona on Saturday, July 27.

“Consider it attempted murder … why him?” said Kosi’s mother Wanda Ishimine. Kosi was sentenced in 1999 to eight life terms in prison, one without the possibility of parole, after he was convicted of murder.

His family says he, and all inmates, still have human rights.

“They’re not dogs. They’re not animals. They’re human beings. They’re somebody’s family. They’re someone’s loved one,” Rhonda. “We all bleed the same. We’re all human.”

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“He’s not a dog. He’s a human being,” said Wanda.

Wanda and Rhonda said Kosi was in segregation at the time of the alleged attack, which means he was isolated from other inmates. “

This is segregation, supposedly high security section,” said Rhonda. “It takes time to overpower an ACO (Adult Correctional Officer), get the keys, find that right key to open a cell, and then another cell, then another cell, then to my brother’s cell … cameras everywhere … we want to know, how does this happen?”

Hawaii inmates are sent to Arizona to ease overcrowding.

In May, Anton Myklebust, 46, died after an apparent assault at the facility.

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Kosi’s family fears it has gotten out of control and other inmates could be in danger.

“They make money to house everybody, and they should be doing their job,” Rhonda said.

Rhonda said no one from the facility called them to notify them about the alleged attack on her bother and said staff is refusing to let them speak with him.

She said all they want is answers and reassurance that their loved ones are safe.

“Daniel, if you hear, I love you and be strong,” said Wanda. “Give him strength, Jesus. Give him strength to protect himself.”

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“I can’t stay quiet,” said Rhonda. “Somebody got to be held accountable.”



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