HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Starting July, the Biki bikeshare system will now be overseen by the city’s Department of Transportation Services.

The city announced Friday that the nonprofit Bikeshare Hawaii will transfer oversight to the city as the program evolves.

Officials said that there will be no changes to Biki operations during this transition and that riders will not notice any changes in system availability, operations, Biki accounts or customer support.

“Secure Bike Share will continue their effective and efficient operations and maintenance of the Biki Bikeshare system, as they have since system opening in 2017,” said Roger Morton, director of the Department of Transportation Services.

DTS will oversee a concessions contract beginning July 1, 2024 and running until June 30, 2025.

Officials said this transition will allow the city to expand Biki’s network and achieve greater coverage on Oahu.

“Biki is the 6th most-used bikeshare system in the country, illustrating how critical our kamaaina-based system is to Honolulu’s shared mobility,” aid Greg Gaug, board chair for Bikeshare Hawaii.

The current Biki fleet includes 1,288 bicycles, 136 self-service stations, and 2,500 docked bicycle stalls. In 2023, there were nearly 800,000 rides on Biki, with 62% taken by residents, and nearly 17,000 active members.

DTS said it plans to deploy future federal funding towards the acquisition of replacement bicycles and docks to continue our support of Biki and provide affordable, efficient, and healthy ways for residents and visitors to move around Honolulu.

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Reynolds, who lives in California, previously told Business Insider she had planned to use the land for a home for her children as well as to host women’s retreats, but said in legal filings that she discovered in June 2023 that a house worth roughly $500,000 had been built on the plot.

PJ’s Construction, which was contracted by Keaau Development to build twelve properties in Hawaiian Paradise Park, mistakenly built the property on the wrong plot after using telephone poles to try to identify Lot 115 — but accidentally built it on Lot 114, the other side of the telephone pole, per legal filings.

Patrick John Lawrence, Jr., the owner of PJ’s Construction, said that he was first made aware that the property had been built on the wrong lot when he was informed by the real-estate agent after the house was sold.

Keaau Development then sued Reynolds, claiming she was “unjustly enriched” by the property.

PJ’s Construction has to pay for the demolition of the house on Reynolds’s property, Judge Robert D. S. Kim wrote in an order on Monday, viewed by BI. The company may seek contribution or indemnity from Keaau Development at a subsequent trial or hearing, Kim wrote.

Reynolds had also asked for the court to order Keaau Development and PJ’s Construction to restore the plot of land to its original state. To build the house, PJ’s Construction had bulldozed the lot, which “removed all of the previously standing native vegetation,” Kim wrote. After this, there was a “long period of neglect,” during which invasive Albizia trees were able to “infest” the lot, he wrote.

As well as building the house, PJ’s Construction also installed a septic tank and a catchment water system.

But Kim wrote that it was ‘”impossible” to return the property to its original state.

The companies had “seriously disturbed the peaceable use, enjoyment, and possession of real property,” Kim wrote.

Reynolds had testified that her property taxes for the plot shot up after the house was constructed and that she found signs of squatting such as empty drink containers and human waste in the toilet and on the floor.

Keaau Development and PJ’s Construction excavated the lot and built the house without a survey as part of a plan to “cut corners to reduce construction costs,” Kim wrote in Monday’s filing. And because the construction permits were approved for Lot 115, not Lot 114, the house is illegal, he wrote.

The case is still ongoing, with a trial scheduling conference currently set for the end of July.

“We are thrilled with the court’s decision that PJ’s Construction must bear the costs of demolishing the unauthorized structure on Anne Reynolds’ property,” Reynolds’ lawyer, James D. DiPasquale, told BI.

“This ruling not only preserves Anne’s property rights but also sets a precedent for accountability in the construction industry. While it’s regrettable that the land cannot be restored to its original state, the judgment underscores the importance of meticulous adherence to property and zoning laws.”

Business Insider was not immediately able to contact lawyers for PJ’s Construction, and did not immediately receive a response from Keaau’s attorney.

The 29th iteration of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise is set to cover all major aspects of warfare and naval operations, from anti-submarine warfare to disaster response. Partner nations from around the world have gathered in Hawaii to participate in a range of exercises and team building spanning the next month.

Carter Johnston

28 Jun 2024

Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 has officially begun in Hawai’i, bringing 29 partner nations and 25,000 personnel, making this year’s RIMPAC in the largest iteration to date by number of countries involved. Over the next month, from June 27th to August 1st, participants will embark on exercises that cover all the bases of the maritime domain, from disaster response to multi-axis carrier defense.

RIMPAC 2024 Combined Task Force Commander Vice Admiral John Wade opened the day answering questions and beginning the formal ceremony that kicked off this year’s iteration of RIMPAC.

Partner nations have been arriving in Hawai’i by sea and air over the past few weeks, building up the scores of aircraft, ships, and submarines in the days before RIMPAC. Notable participants this year include a French Aquitaine-class FREMM Frigate Bretagne (D655), Royal Netherlands Navy’s De Zeven Provinciën-class air defense frigate HNLMS Tromp (F803), the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) with its F-35C Lightning II Advanced Air Wing, and a South Korean Sejong the Great-class ROKS Yulgok Yi I (DDG-992), among dozens of other ships and submarines participating.

Participating nations in this year’s iteration of RIMPAC are Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga and the United Kingdom.

The RIMPAC 2024 Docket

While a full list of events is not public, the U.S. Navy has confirmed that this year’s RIMPAC will feature the largest humanitarian aid and disaster response to date.

This year’s RIMPAC will host its largest humanitarian aid and disaster relief exercise with eight countries, five ships, five landing craft, five aircraft, multiple land forces, and over 2,500 total participants including the statewide Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management exercise. The exercise control and scenario development are supported by subject matter experts from the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management, Pacific Disaster Center, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, and Singapore’s Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre.

U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Press Statement

Customary to RIMPAC, a SINKEX is also planned for mid-July featuring ex-USS Tarawa (LHA-1), an amphibious assault ship that served in the United States Navy from 1976 to 2009. Tarawa was stricken from the naval registry on April 30, 2024. More SINKEX events may be planned, but their details are not currently available to the public.

Other at-sea activities include anti-submarine warfare, multi-ship surface warfare, multinational amphibious landings, and multi-axis defense of the carrier strike group against live forces.