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Hawaii sues oil companies despite lawsuit by Trump administration

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Hawaii sues oil companies despite lawsuit by Trump administration


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Trump administration sued Hawaii late Wednesday in an attempt to block the state from filing lawsuits against oil companies for damages from climate change.

But that didn’t stop Hawaii’s governor and attorney general from taking legal action Thursday.

The state is suing seven groups of affiliated fossil fuel companies — big names like BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Shell, as well as the American Petroleum Institute — alleging deceptive conduct and failure to warn of the harmful effects of their products on the environment.

State lawyers are seeking a jury trial and monetary damages.

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It follows several similar lawsuits across the country, including one by the City and County of Honolulu.

“The focus of these complaints typically has been about the deceptive marketing practices of companies that have sold fossil fuels, as opposed to being about the emission of carbon into the atmosphere itself. It’s about the extra carbon that ends up in the atmosphere because of the deception,” said Richard Wallsgrove, co-director of the Environmental Law Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s School of Law.

The state’s lawsuit comes a day after the U.S. Justice Department announced it’s suing Hawaii and three other states — Michigan, New York and Vermont — claiming their actions against the oil industry are a constitutional overreach and conflict with President Donald Trump’s energy dominance policy.

The DOJ argues Hawaii is violating the Clean Air Act, which gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate air pollution in the U.S. and “displaces” states’ ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions beyond their borders.

Trump supporters feel the climate lawsuits hurt efforts to lower energy costs.

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“I do support states’ rights to file their own lawsuits and do things, but if it’s going to hinder a company that has impact across the nation, it doesn’t make sense to allow a few select blue states to raise the cost of energy for all Americans across the country,” said Republican state Rep. Diamond Garcia.

In a statement, state attorney general Anne Lopez condemned the federal lawsuit saying, “The use of the U.S. DOJ to fight on behalf of the fossil fuel industry is deeply disturbing and is a direct attack on Hawaii’s rights as a sovereign state.”

Gov. Josh Green added oil companies should bear the cost of the climate crisis, including the loss of 102 lives and billions of dollars in damage from the Maui wildfires.

But not everyone agrees.

“You can’t blame big oil companies for the Maui wildfires. There is so much other involvement with HECO, with malfunctions, with human error, and to blame that on climate and then sue and then point that blame on these national companies, it just isn’t right,” Garcia said.

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Some Hawaii legal experts say the law is clear when it comes to deceptive practices.

“We all know that you can’t lie to consumers. That’s simple. That’s not really a matter of federal law. That’s a matter of state law,” Wallsgrove said.

“To have an administration that is simultaneously shutting down clean energy projects while trying to promote coal, a dying coal industry, it reeks of a sort of political mobster approach of protectionism for an industry that can’t stand on its own, because all of a sudden it’s being called to account for the damage that it’s caused in the past,” he said.

View Hawaii’s complaint against the fossil fuel companies.

View the Justice Department’s complaint against Hawaii.

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Hearings set for men charged in attempted murder case – Hawaii Tribune-Herald

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Hearings set for men charged in attempted murder case – Hawaii Tribune-Herald






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4,000 troops lose air conditioning in Hawaii

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4,000 troops lose air conditioning in Hawaii


Mechanical problems with a water treatment plant in Hawaii have left thousands of soldiers without central air conditioning in the barracks, a spokesman for U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii confirmed Tuesday in a statement to Military Times.

Four thousand soldiers in Area North Barracks are opening windows, turning on fans or using other tools to beat the heat while the base grapples with pump issues.

On July 10, deep-well pumps supporting Army installations in central and northern Oahu started experiencing problems.

According to the garrison, only one pump is currently pushing water to the surface. To maintain essential water services, water chiller systems have been turned off. Without the chiller systems — which make up almost 40% of the daily water use — the barracks do not receive central air conditioning. The incident was initially reported by Task & Purpose.

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According to the National Weather Service, temperatures for the remainder of the week range from the mid-70s to the upper-80s.

Units are able to move troops to MWR facilities with central air conditioning, according to the service, but as of Sunday, no units had done so.

Repairs are underway, but an exact timeline for when the pumps will be fully functional again was not provided.

The cause of the issues has not been definitively identified, however “age and extreme heat due to ventilation system repairs are believed to be part of the cause,” said Nathan Wilkes, the garrison’s external communications chief.

The installation is prioritizing keeping safe drinking water available.

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Barracks and residential housing have access to drinkable water, and plumbing and sanitation systems are operational. Wilkes also said the installation has paused irrigation systems pulling from Area North water supply.

Family housing still has air conditioning and water access, Wilkes added.

The garrison’s commander, Col. Rachel Sullivan, was scheduled to host a town hall on the installation’s Facebook page on Tuesday.

Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.



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Hilo woman killed in Kona traffic crash – West Hawaii Today

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Hilo woman killed in Kona traffic crash – West Hawaii Today


A 21-year-old Hilo woman died as the result of a three-vehicle traffic collision Sunday night on Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona.

Officers responded to a 9:28 p.m. report of a head-on collision near the north end of Kahaluu Beach Park.

Their preliminary investigation determined that the woman, Hinanui T. Starr-Boyle, was driving a gray 2012 Toyota Tacoma northbound at a high-rate of speed for the area.

While passing another northbound vehicle in a no-passing zone, the Tacoma crossed into the southbound lane and collided head-on with a silver 2010 Nissan Frontier pickup truck driven by a 20-year-old Holualoa man.

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Following the initial collision, the Nissan Frontier continued onto the makai shoulder of the roadway, where it struck a parked tan Ford Econoline van.

Starr-Boyle was pronounced dead at 10:17 p.m. at Kona Community Hospital. Her passenger, a 25-year-old Hilo man, and the driver of the Nissan were admitted to KCH. Both were listed in stable condition.

The driver of the Nissan was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

None of the people involved in the collision were wearing seat belts, and speed and impairment are believed to be contributing factors in the crash, police said.

Starr-Boyle’s death is the 18th traffic fatality on Hawaii Island in 2026, compared to 14 at the same time last year.

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Potential witnesses or anyone with video camera footage from the area around the time of the crash are asked to contact Officer John Harvey at (808) 326-4646, ext. 3229, or john.harvey@hawaiicounty.gov.

Those who prefer anonymity may contact Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.





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