Hawaii
Hawaii reaches settlement with youth who sued over climate change
Thirteen children and teens in Hawaii took the state government to court over the threat posed by climate change. Now they’re celebrating a settlement that emphasizes a plan to decarbonize Hawaii’s transportation system in the next 20 years.
It’s the latest example of frustrated youth in the United States taking their climate concerns into the courtroom.
The settlement reached in Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation recognizes children’s constitutional rights to a life-sustaining climate, Gov. Josh Green and attorneys with public interest law firms Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice said in separate statements Thursday.
The youths in the suit had argued that Hawaii was violating the state constitution by operating a transportation system that harms the climate and infringes upon the right to a clean and healthy environment. More specifically, they accused the Hawaii Department of Transportation of consistently prioritizing building highways over other types of transportation.
The burning of fossil fuels —oil, gas and coal— is the main contributor to global warming caused by human activity. Hawaii is the state most dependent in the U.S. on petroleum for its energy needs, according to Our Children’s Trust.
The parties said the settlement was the first between a state government and youth plaintiffs to address constitutional issues arising from climate change.
“Climate change is indisputable,” Director of Transportation Ed Sniffen said in the governor’s statement. “Burying our heads in the sand and making it the next generation’s problem is not pono,” or not right.
Personal frustrations led to the 2022 lawsuit, along with a larger sense of activism that has driven youth climate movements around the world.
The lawsuit said one plaintiff, a 14-year-old Native Hawaiian raised in Kaneohe, was from a family that has farmed taro for more than 10 generations. However, extreme droughts and heavy rains caused by climate change have reduced crop yields and threatened her ability to continue the cultural practice.
The complaint said that rising sea levels also threatened to put their lands underwater.
The settlement’s provisions include the establishment of a greenhouse gas reduction plan within one year of the agreement that sets out a road map to decarbonize Hawaii’s transportation system in the next 20 years.
Provisions also include “immediate, ambitious investments in clean transportation infrastructure” such as completing the pedestrian and bicycle networks within five years, and dedicating at least $40 million to expanding the public electric vehicle charging network by 2030.
A volunteer youth council will advise the Department of Transportation.
The plaintiffs said they found some hope in the settlement.
“Being heard and moving forward in unity with the state to combat climate change is incredibly gratifying, and empowering,” one plaintiff, identified as Rylee Brooke K., said in a statement.
Elsewhere, youths’ efforts to press the state or federal government have been mixed.
The city of Honolulu filed two lawsuits against major oil and gas companies accusing them of engaging in a deceptive campaign and misleading the public about the dangers of their fossil fuel products and the environmental impacts. The oil companies have appealed to the Supreme Court in an attempt to halt the lawsuits from going forward.
In May, a federal appeals court panel rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued that the U.S. government’s role in climate change violated their constitutional rights.
Early this year, the state Supreme Court in Montana declined a request by the state to block the landmark climate ruling that said regulators must consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when issuing permits for fossil fuel development while its appeal was pending. That case was filed by youth plaintiffs. Oral arguments before the Montana Supreme Court are set for July 10.
Hawaii
Historic Hawaiian Kukui Tree Cut Down After Nearly 30 Years at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – WDWNT
A notable piece of living history has been removed from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort after reportedly dying from recent cold weather.
Walt Disney World’s One-of-a-Kind Hawaiian Tree
The Polynesian Resort’s one-of-a-kind kukui nut tree was cut down in late June after Disney horticulturalists determined the tree could no longer survive in the wake of a uniquely difficult Florida winter.
The large tropical tree was located to the rear of the Great Ceremonial House, just off a guest footpath. According to a 2020 Forestry Journal feature, it was believed to be the only tree of its kind in mainland North America.
The tree, Aleurites moluccana, was donated to Disney by the people of Hawaiʻi and planted at the resort on April 5, 1997, the 25th anniversary of the opening of Magic Kingdom.
The kukui tree carried particular significance as the state tree of Hawaiʻi from 1959 forward, and it is still regarded as an important cultural symbol of the state. The tree at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort had been transplanted directly from Hawaiʻi, with a time capsule reportedly placed in the soil around its roots and base when it was planted.
In accordance with a traditional Hawaiian custom, according to the Forestry Journal piece, the kukui tree was planted behind the Great Ceremonial House rather than at the front, and it was deliberately planted by one lucky hotel guest, rather than a Cast Member. The article explained that this reflected a Hawaiian belief that kukui trees should be planted toward the rear, or “hale,” of a home and by a stranger to bring good luck.
In our photos, crews are seen working in the landscaped area near the resort’s longhouses and the Lava Pool. Orange cones and barricades block off portions of the walkway, with a utility vehicle and equipment nearby. The tree had been cut down, with a tall remaining trunk section visible where the kukui tree once stood.
At Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, the tree helped support the resort’s South Pacific placemaking. The tree’s distinct light green, silvery leaves, striking trunk, and small green fruits stood out against native Florida trees and even other tropical trees planted at the resort.
For much of the kikui’s tree life, a Moreton Bay fig tree grew nearby on the opposite side of an adjacent footpath, another transplant tree which itself was removed some time around 2022.
The Facebook group Tikiman’s Unofficial Polynesian Resort Pages made a post regarding the tree’s removal, detailing that the recent unusual cold weather at the resort was too much to bear.
The tree had, however, a history of surviving violent Florida weather. A Disney Resort Team member told Forestry Journal that the kukui tree had been struck by lightning twice, survived hurricanes, nearly been uprooted, and endured prior cold snaps before this latest reported decline.
It is not currently known whether Disney plans to replace the kukui tree, or whether the reported time capsule at its base was removed, returned to the ground, or preserved elsewhere. We will keep you updated
Do you have any memories or photos of the kukui tree during its time at the Polynesian? Please share your memories with us on social media.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Whether four-star 2028 prospect King Pitts has an offer from the Washington Huskies as an offensive lineman or an athlete, he’s firmly on Jedd Fisch and the Washington Huskies coaching staff’s radar.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound two-way lineman is back in his native Hawaii and set to play his junior season at Kapa’a High School after playing at Cardinal Newman in California, after establishing himself as a national recruit during his sophomore year as an offensive tackle and versatile defensive lineman.
The No. 241 overall recruit—according to the 247Sports Composite—Pitts holds 43 total scholarship offers with two years still left of high school football.
As a defensive lineman, Pitts can play either defensive tackle or defensive end with his ability to be a disruptive force against the run and pass. Whichever position the Islands product ends up playing at the next level, there isn’t a question of if, but how well he’ll hold up against Big Ten and SEC-caliber talent.
UW hasn’t ventured heavily into recruiting Hawaii as much recently as the football program has in previous decades. Aside from signing tight end Kekua Aumua in the 2026 class, who began and finished his prep career at Kahuku after transferring to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for his junior season, Fisch has only signed one other prospect from Hawaii, Mililani quarterback Treston Kini McMillan in 2025.
Over the years, the Huskies have featured several notable recruits from the Islands, including defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele in 2019 and a pair of edge rushers, Zion Tupuola-Fetui in 2018 and Hau’oli Kikaha in 2010.
If Fisch and Co. can get the coveted two-way lineman on campus for at least one, if not multiple, unofficial visits over the course of the next 12 months, UW should be a major factor in Pitts’ recruitment long-term.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A drive-by shooting road rage incident in Kailua has prompted an attempted murder police investigation.
According to the Honolulu Police Department, at around noon Sunday, an unknown man driving a white Ford van was involved in an alleged road rage incident with a 25-year-old man and his 24-year-old female passenger while they were inside their vehicle.
Police said the suspect allegedly displayed his handgun and then fired, hitting the vehicle.
No one was hurt.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at (808) 955-8300.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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