Hawaii
Pain, anger as Hawaii wildfire death toll climbs to 80 – Times of India
Over 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed in the fire that tore through Lahaina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said, wreaking $5.5 billion in damage and leaving thousands without homes.
Hawaiian authorities said they were opening a probe into the handling of the fire as a congresswoman from the state acknowledged that officials had underestimated the danger, and as residents said there had been no warnings.
“The mountain behind us caught on fire and nobody told us jack,” said Vilma Reed, 63.
“You know when we found that there was a fire? When it was across the street from us.”
Reed, whose house was destroyed by the blaze, said they had fled the flames with what they had in their car, and were now dependent on handouts and the kindness of strangers.
“This is my home now,” she said, gesturing to the car she has been sleeping in with her daughter, her grandson and two pet cats.
In the ashy ruins of Lahaina, Anthony Garcia told AFP how the fire had gutted his apartment.
“It took everything, everything! It’s heartbreaking,” the 80-year-old said. “It’s a lot to take in.”
The town of more than 12,000, once the proud home of the Hawaiian royal family, has been reduced to ruins, its lively hotels and restaurants turned to ashes.
A majestic banyan tree that has been the center of the community for 150 years has been scarred by the flames, but still stands upright, its branches denuded of green and its sooty trunk transformed into an awkward skeleton.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez said her office would examine “critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires on Maui and Hawaii islands this week.”
Maui County officials have now revised the death toll to 80 and Governor Josh Green warned that the number of fatalities was sure to rise further. Over 1,400 people were in emergency evacuation shelters.
“We underestimated the lethality, the quickness of fire,” Hawaii Congresswoman Jill Tokuda told CNN on Saturday morning.
Jeremy Greenberg, FEMA’s director of operations and for years a volunteer fireman, said the recent blaze was of a type “extraordinarily difficult” to control.
“We talk about these types of fires moving as quickly as the length of a football field in 20 seconds or less,” he said on MSNBC.
Maui suffered numerous power outages during the crisis, preventing many residents from receiving emergency alerts on their cellphones — something, Tokuda said, officials should have prepared for.
“We have got to make sure that we do better,” she added.
Greenberg said FEMA and its allied agencies were “bringing every resource that the state of Hawaii needs,” including water for areas where the public sources are contaminated.
He said FEMA, which has a permanent distribution center in Hawaii, was sending more than 150 employees to the affected area.
The fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest.
Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. Scientists have said global warming caused by carbon emissions is contributing to the extreme weather.
For some of those who made it back into Lahaina, there was a momentary sense of elation when they tearfully reconnected with neighbors they feared might not have made it out alive.
“You made it!” cried Chyna Cho, as she embraced Amber Langdon amid the ruins. “I was trying to find you.”
Fears of looting were also on residents’ minds, and county authorities said anyone accessing Lahaina would have to prove they lived or were staying at a hotel there, and that a curfew would be in place between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.
Some of those who made it back to Lahaina wandered in stunned silence trying to take in the enormity of the destruction.
Anthony La Puente, 44, said the shock of finding his home burned to nothing was profound.
“It sucks not being able to find the things you grew up with, or the things you remember,” he told AFP of the house he had lived in for 16 years.
No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State will meet Monday in the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii, in a clash of college basketball powers that has more the look of a tournament championship game than that of a first-round contest.
While the high-level matchup is unusual for the opening round, it does give the Tigers and Cyclones a chance to see how they stack up among the NCAA elite.
And although Iowa State (3-0) has hammered three mid-major teams, Auburn (4-0) already owns a measuring-stick victory at then-No. 4 Houston on Nov. 9.
Now comes more challenging competition as the tournament includes No. 2 UConn and No. 10 North Carolina, as well as three other teams that arrive in Maui with undefeated records — Memphis, Colorado and Dayton.
“The next four games are against Elite 8-caliber teams,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said, referring to the tournament games as well as including a Dec. 4 date at Duke. “It’ll be a true test and a true measure of where we’re at.”
The Tigers are currently at a good place. In addition to their win over Houston, they’ve beaten up on three mid-majors.
Johni Broome made 13 of 17 shots to finish with 30 points in Auburn’s 102-69 victory over North Alabama on Monday. He also pulled down 17 rebounds, while Dylan Cardwell made 5 of 6 shots to finish with 12 points.
“Our bigs shot an incredible percentage,” Pearl said. “Johni and Dylan are two of the best centers in college basketball and we’ve got both of them.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the Tigers’ starters scored in double figures. Denver Jones delivered 13 points and nine assists in the win.
Playing three games in three days will be a big change for Iowa State, which has been one of the least active teams in Division I. Its only three games have come on the three Mondays in November.
“We’ve had these experiences in years past. Last year it didn’t go as well,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said, referring to last November when the Cyclones lost two of three games in the ESPN Events Invitational.
“Yes, you want to win every game, but last year we had a great season and we weren’t as good at this point,” Otzelberger said of his team, which went 29-8 and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
With five double-digit scorers, the Cyclones have shown balance, led by backcourt players Curtis Jones (15 points per game), Tamin Lipsey (13.7) and Keshon Gilbert (12.3).
St. Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson recorded his first double-double for his new team by collecting 16 points and 10 rebounds in Iowa State’s 87-52 victory over IU Indianapolis last Monday. He made all seven of his shots from the floor.
On Monday night, the Cyclones face a team that is “playing as well or better than anyone in the country,” Otzelberger said.
“They’re a tremendous team. They pressure defensively, really get after you. They’ve got tremendous depth. They try to wear you down,” Otzelberger said. “In the Houston game, Houston had the lead early and that’s what happened.”
–Field Level Media
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A bill aimed at cracking down on vacant homes on Oahu by increasing taxes is expected to face a final vote at the Honolulu City Council in the coming weeks.
It comes after the proposal has been revised several times because of questions and concerns from the community.
Bill 46 would add an incremental 3% yearly tax for vacant dwellings on a property that would be rolled out over three years.
Some owners could end up paying tens of thousands of dollars more in property taxes, but a recent change to the measure adds exemptions for Hawaii residents.
The 2020 U.S. Census reported roughly 35,000 unoccupied housing units on Oahu.
Council Chair Tommy Waters, who introduced the bill, said it’s meant to get people to rent out or otherwise free up their unused units.
Under the measure’s current language, the higher tax would be placed on homes that are unoccupied for six months.
“We’re trying to get creative to figure out how we can get our local people to stay here. We can’t build our way out of this solution,” said Waters.
This week, the council’s budget committee narrowly passed the bill in a 3 to 2 vote after making several changes.
One change would allow Hawaii residents to request an exemption for a second home they own.
To reduce administrative costs that would likely come with a new tax, the bill proposed it to operate under the already running property tax system by adding a new class.
There’s also changes to the bill’s language to comply with both with state and federal law to try and avoid potential lawsuits.
But still some residents still believe it will do more harm than good.
“Trying to enforce this and make sure that it’s equitable is going to be a nightmare,” said Hawaii Kai resident Natalie Iwasa.
“My other concern about this is the landlords, they obviously have a stake in this but if they miss a deadline, it is no skin on their backs you know why? Because they will increase the rent for people like me and other families who cannot afford a home,” she added.
But younger constituents seem to support the proposal.
“This is not about punishing anyone. It is about making housing accessible to the people who call Hawaii their home,” said one testifier.
Bill 46 could still undergo even more revisions.
The bill is expected to go for a final vote on December 11, where public input will also be taken.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – If you’re headed to Kaua’i and looking for a unique farm-to-table experience, Hualani‘s at Timbers Kaua’i serves creative dishes and drinks made with local ingredients and hyper seasonal produce grown on their farm at Hokuala.
Alex Amorin, executive chef at Hualani‘s, and Cory Dotario, Timbers food and beverage director, joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about their fresh, sustainable philosophy and upcoming Ha’aheo o Kauaʻi events, meaning “pride of Kauai” because talent and ingredients are sourced from the Garden Isle.
Among their signatures: honeycomb and goat cheese salad with a lemon vinaigrette (tapping into fall citrus season on their farm and honey from their own apiary) and a Barrel Aged Old Fashioned using their signature “Nagao of Never” bourbon named after a longtime employee, David Nagao, as a way to usher in the holiday season.
Ha’aheo o Kauaʻi lets guests enjoy a hands-on harvesting experience at The Farm at Hokuala and learn about Kauai produce, seafood and meats, and wine pairings.
Amorin talked about the farm’s organic and biodynamic practices.
“There’s a nuanced beauty to selecting produce in its prime seasonality. The delicate flavor profiles take artistry to celebrate and enhance as the star of the plate. Similar to the artistry of working with watercolors and the delicate skillset that’s involved with mixing paint colors, working with vegetable-forward dishes takes the same approach and it’s ingredients sourced at peak ripeness that allow me to create culinary works of art,” said Amorin, an avid waterman and fisherman.
The next Ha’aheo o Kauaʻi farm-to-table dinner is on December 19 and can be booked on Open Table or by calling (808) 320-7399.
For more information, visit timberskauai.com/eat-drink/hualanis or follow on Instagram @timberskauai.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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