The cost rivals that of the largest private, personal construction projects in human history. Building permits put the price tag for the main construction at around $100 million, in addition to $170 million in land purchases, but this is likely an underestimate. Building costs on the remote island are still higher than pre-pandemic levels.
That price for a private residence is unparalleled in the local construction industry—as is the level of secrecy and security. “The only other time you see that is when you’re doing secure military installations,” says one local construction industry official affiliated with the site. “For a private project to have an NDA attached to it is very rare.”
A guard tower over looks Larsen’s Beach which abuts the Zuckerberg property.Photograph: Phil Jung
A fruit stand sits across the street from the compound.Photograph: Phil Jung
With such scale and complexity come workplace accidents. In February, for instance, a crane traveling down a steep, narrow road on the property fell off an edge—careening down a hill with the operator inside. The driver, a 53-year-old Kauai local, suffered serious injuries and was transported to the hospital in stable condition. He has since returned to the site, Hoffine Barr tells WIRED.
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In August 2019, 70-year-old security guard Rodney Medeiros, who was under an NDA that, from what his family understood, prevented him from discussing specific details about his job, ended a 12-hour shift standing watch at a beach by the property. He was a contracted worker and was only hired when Zuckerberg was visiting—which he was that weekend, according to court documents reviewed by WIRED. These documents, later filed on behalf of Medeiros’ children, claim that rainy conditions made it impossible for an ATV to pick him up, as was standard practice. Medeiros began making his way up a steep trail to reach the compound’s exit, and midway up the path he suffered a heart attack. He was transported to a hospital, where he died hours later.
The secrecy of the compound was evident in the wake of Medeiros’ death. A recorded conversation between three of his children and a compound security manager, Hank Barriga, a week after his death, hints at what their legal team has implied in their wrongful death suit against one of Zuckerberg’s LLCs. The filing alleges that there is an effort behind the scenes of the Zuckerberg project to control the flow of information. In the recording, Medeiros’ children express frustration that in the days after their father’s heart attack they weren’t provided any details about what happened. Barriga says that he wanted to talk with the family but was blocked from doing so. “I was told to just wait, you know, all the supervisors want to talk to each other,” he says. Another contracted worker, a longtime roommate and close friend of Medeiros, said in a court deposition that he had also felt reluctant to discuss the incident because of his NDA. Hoffine Barr declined to comment on the recording due to the ongoing litigation.
According to Allan Parachini, a local journalist, the focus on managing the flow of information around the compound has included reprimanding the local press for critical coverage. Throughout 2017, Parachini had been requesting permits in an effort to learn what Zuckerberg was building on Kauai. He’d also recently written an opinion piece in the local newspaper, The Garden Island, that was critical of Zuckerberg, ending with a call for residents to “tell Zuckerberg that abusing his stewardship of public beaches as if we are just another batch of Facebook victims is unacceptable.”
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After the article was published, Parachini claims, a local Zuckerberg representative informed him that their team would not communicate with him for any future pieces. This ban extended beyond the professional world. Parachini also volunteered with a marine mammal rescue program, which on one occasion in 2017 needed to cross Zuckerberg’s land to quickly reach a distressed seal on the beach next to the property. After crossing the compound, he claims he was informed that he, specifically, would no longer be allowed on the property under any circumstances, at the request of the owner. “I was amused,” Parachini says. “I thought it was a silly, petty, juvenile thing to do. I just laughed it off.” Hoffine Barr declined to comment on Parachini’s account of these events.
HONOLULU — Hawaii’s land board rejected the Army’s environmental impact statement to retain land on the Big Island used for live-fire training, a vote some Native Hawaiian leaders say reflects a growing distrust of the U.S. military in the islands.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted Friday after members considered voluminous written testimony and listened to hours of oral comments, including from many in the Native Hawaiian community citing environmental destruction and cultural desecration.
The Army calls the Pohakuloa Training Area the “premier” combat training grounds in the Pacific theater for all U.S. ground forces, including the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force.
Board Chair Dawn Chang later called the vote “one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make.”
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Chang said the decision was based on the adequacy of the environmental review, and not about the merits of whether the Army should not conduct training in Hawaii. No decision has been made on the Army’s longterm lease request. The Army’s lease for 23,000 acres (9,308 hectares) is set to expire in 2029.
What happens next is up to the Army, Chang said.
The Army, noting that the environmental impact statement was created with community input, said in a statement it was observing a 30-day waiting period. After that, the Army will determine how much land it will seek to retain.
In this photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, people gather in an overflow area outside a state building in Honolulu, Friday, May 9, 2025, to watch a land board meeting about an environmental impact statement for an Army training site. Credit: AP
The vote was a “pleasant surprise” to activists who are concerned that military training in Hawaii harms island aquifers, sensitive wildlife and ancient Hawaiian burials, said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a Native Hawaiian activist. It was unexpected because of the military’s economic stronghold on Hawaii, she said.
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“Friday’s vote is a real shift,” Sonoda-Pale told The Associated Press Monday. “I think the shift here happened because of the Red Hill spill. The military lost a lot of trust and respect.”
In 2021, jet fuel leaked into the Navy water system serving 93,000 people on and around the Pearl Harbor base. It sickened thousands in military housing and heightened concerns about leaks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
The military eventually agreed to drain the tanks, amid state orders and protests from Native Hawaiians and other Hawaii residents worried about the threat posed to Honolulu’s water supply. The tanks sit above an aquifer supplying water to 400,000 people in urban Honolulu.
“U.S. Army Hawai‘i understands and deeply respects the concerns expressed by community members, cultural practitioners, and environmental advocates regarding the Army’s presence and activities at Pōhakuloa Training Area,” Lt. Col. Tim Alvarado, U.S. Army Garrison Pōhakuloa commander, said in a statement. “We recognize that past actions have caused harm and eroded trust, and we continue to seek a balance with consideration for the cultural and environmental significance of this land.”
The U.S. Army is seeking to return nearly 3,300 acres (1,335 hectares) of leased lands back to the state and retain 19,700 acres (7,972 hectares) to sustain training, the Army statement said.
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Hawaii’s congressional delegation issued a joint statement saying they “believe there can be a path forward that accounts for the critical importance of Hawaii’s role in our country’s national security strategy and fundamentally respects and responds to the needs of the people of Hawaii.”
In a statement, Gov. Josh Green acknowledged the rejected environmental impact statement presents challenges but doesn’t end the conversation: “This is a time for collaboration, not division, as we seek balanced solutions that honor both our heritage and our future.”
Fueled by reserve power, the Hawaii baseball team defeated Cal State Fullerton 10-2 today at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, Calif.
Kamana Nahaku, who started the previous 28 games, came off the bench to hit 3-for-4, including his team-high ninth homer of the season.
UH starting pitcher Cooper Walls exited with two outs in the third inning, three batters after a line drive struck his left calf. But relievers Liam O’Brien, Freddy Rodriguez and Isaiah Magdaleno allowed one run over the next 6 1/3 innings to help the Rainbow Warriors win for the second time in this three-games series. O’Brien pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the victory.
The ’Bows improved to 31-18 overall and 14-13 in the Big West, to move into a three-way tie with UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego for fourth place. The ’Bows play host to UCSD in Thursday’s opener of a key three-game series at Les Murakami Stadium.
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Matthew Miura went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs to contribute to the ’Bows’ 15-hit attack. Miura’s scored the game’s first run, racing home from third when Andrew Kirchner could not handle Chris Hernandez’s pick-off attempt at first. Ben Zeigler-Namoa’s ensuing RBI single staked UH to a 2-0 lead in the first.
Nahaku’s pinch-hit homer and Miura’s two-run triple were the highlights of the ’Bows’ four-run fourth inning.
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The Titans stranded 14 runners, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh innings. After Kirchner’s single to lead off the ninth, Magdaleno struck out the next three Titans to end the game.
A Tesla driver convicted of committing road rage crimes against motorists in Southern California has been arrested again for a similar alleged attack in Hawaii.
Nathaniel Radimak, 39, was charged after allegedly assaulting an 18-year-old girl and her 35-year-old mother on May 7, the Honolulu Police Department said.
The teen was parking her vehicle downtown when she saw a gray Tesla speeding past, police said.
She and the Tesla driver “exchanged words” before he got out of the Tesla and assaulted the two before taking off from the scene, police said. The suspect vehicle was a 2022 gray Tesla with Oregon license plates.
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PIPE-WIELDING TESLA DRIVER CONVICTED FOR CALIFORNIA ROAD-RAGE ATTACKS RELEASED LESS THAN A YEAR INTO JAIL TERM
Nathaniel Walter Radimak, 39, was convicted of attacking several female drivers on Southern California roads. (FOX 11 Los Angeles)
Honolulu Police said they located and arrested Radimak the following day in the Waikiki area.
Radimak was released from prison in August after only serving less than a year of a five-year term after his conviction, a move that outraged his victims. He was sentenced in September 2023 following a spree of violent attacks. He pleaded guilty to assault, vandalism, elder abuse and making criminal threats.
He was known for driving a Tesla and using a pipe to attack the cars of his victims, mostly women.
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CALIFORNIA TESLA DRIVER ARRESTED AFTER VIDEO CAPTURES ROAD RAGE ATTACK, AUTHORITIES SAY
The Honolulu police emblem on an officer’s shirt in November 2023.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told Fox News Digital that Radimak was granted 424 days credit for time served while he was awaiting his sentence. He was also eligible for opportunities to earn credit for good behavior while he was incarcerated.
“Radimak was released to parole supervision in Los Angeles County on Aug. 28, 2024, after serving his full sentence as defined by law,” a CDCR statement said.
Nathaniel Walter Radimak is known for driving a Tesla when attacking his victims, police say.(California Highway Patrol)
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Radimak’s bail in Hawaii was set at $100,000 after being charged with unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle in the first degree and two counts of assault in the third degree. He was also arrested on a “no-bail parole revocation warrant,” police said.
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Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
