HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A California woman who died from injuries she suffered while hiking on Kauai last month has been identified.

According to the Kauai Fire Department, the woman was hiking Makaleha Falls Trail in Kapaa on Sunday, March 23, when she was hit on the head by a falling rock.

First responders said they found her unconscious at the base of the falls, with labored breathing and heavy bleeding from an apparent head wound.

She was airlifted to Wilcox Memorial Hospital and then to Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.

Loved ones identified her as Gianna Buzzetta, and said she died on March 24. The 26-year-old had worked as a pastry chef in Carlsbad.

According to her family, Buzzetta was hiking with her boyfriend, who ran to get help.

A fundraiser has been set up here to help with medical and funeral expenses.

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

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Divers off Makaha on Oahu were treated to an incredibly rare sight on March 28 when they saw a potential pygmy albino blackfish whale, known outside of Hawaii as either false killer whales or short-finned pilot whales.

“[The Blackfish is] one of four species that we call Blackfish because they’re all kind of black in color and hard to distinguish,” said Dr. Jessica Jacob, assistant professor at Hawaii Pacific University. “Based on the shape of the fin and the white lips, I would say it’s a pygmy killer whale.”

Although the false killer whales have skull shapes that closely resemble that of an orca, they aren’t closely related. Like orcas, though, they are a toothed species. They’re normally dark grey or black, which is why seeing a white one in a pod was so surprising.

“We noticed there was a white baby with them,” Travis Woo, a safety diver with Iruka Hawaii Dolphin Snorkeling Tours, told KHON2 News. “My initial reaction was euphoria.”

According to KHON2, an albino whale of any species has never been seen off Hawaii. It’s possible that this calf is leucistic, which is a genetic condition where some or all of the whale’s cells don’t produce melanin. It’s different than pure albinism, where there is a complete absence of melanin. Albino animals generally have white or pink eyes.

“It is potentially an albino individual, but there’s really only two ways to confirm that,” Pacific Whale Foundation Chief Scientist Jens Currie explained. “One is to do genetic sampling and look for that mutation that would cause a lack of pigmentation and lack of melanin production, which produces the color of individuals. Or, sometimes, you can examine the eyes of those individuals and the lack of color in their eyes makes them appear pink.”

According to The Cascadia Research Institute, white whale calves would have a hard time reaching adulthood. They said that this particular calf looks to have sunburns and blistering, and due to its coloring, they stand out to predators.

“Usually these dolphins, they go and hunt kind of far off shore and we don’t see them that often, but we’re seeing them hanging in closer to shore trying to guard this calf,” Woo said. “So, they’re sticking with it. We’re all rooting for it and hopefully it makes it. It’s unlikely, but it is possible.”

On March 13, 2025, a key Senate committee in Hawaii pushed forward a proposal to legalize digital sports betting in the state. This proposal, House Bill 1308, has been welcomed by Hawaii sports betting fans with enthusiasm, as expected.

With this proposal, four digital sports betting platforms would be allowed to operate in Hawaii without having any retail locations.

What would change

House Bill 1308 would legalize online sports betting in the state of Hawaii. However, many of the details of this legalization are not covered by the bill. Issues like tax rates and licensing fees were not included in the bill, and these have been keeping discussions active during debates about the bill. Also set to be legalized in the bill is daily fantasy sports, serving further to expand Hawaii’s online gaming options.

If the bill is approved in its current form, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) will lose its oversight on the subject to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), in what was another critical amendment in the bill.

While there are concerns over legalizing sports betting in Hawaii, Senate members who were part of the House Bill 1308 review committee argue that digital sports betting is already happening in Hawaii but through unregulated, offshore platforms.

Concerns and opposition

For Deputy Attorney General David Williams, a known critic and opponent of this bill, legal sports betting would bring several negative consequences to the state. He argued that credit card debts, bankruptcies, and domestic abuse would rise with more access to online sports betting.

Similarly, Brandon Maka’awa’awa, vice president of the Independent & Sovereign Nation State of Hawaii, criticized the lawmaker’s failure to get an economic impact study before moving the bill forward. Then there’s DCCA Director Nadine Ando, who warned that building a regulated sports betting market afresh would be costly and difficult to achieve.

She further stated that most states with legal sports betting manage their regulatory challenges via dedicated gaming commissions—a resource that may be lacking in Hawaii. Testimony from Boyd Gaming also highlighted that similarly sized states have sometimes seen lower-than-expected revenues from sports betting, potentially undermining funding for regulatory enforcement and responsible gambling programs.

Support for modernization

Many senators feel that it is finally time for Hawaii to embrace digital gaming, despite the wave of opposition. Sen. Donna Mercado Kim has stated that sports betting is already an everyday activity in the state. She even suggested that some of the law enforcement people currently with her have placed bets at
online betting sites
just before pushing out some of the amendments’ provisions.

In her words, proceeds from betting activities can be channeled back into education and for public benefit. Here’s submission aligns with most of what has been the prevailing argument for the benefit of the proposal. The main point is that the revenue that has previously been lost to offshore operators would be captured with the legalization of digital sports betting and then put to good use.

This revenue would help strengthen the state’s finances and modernize its gambling industry. The hope is that it would create an environment that is both competitive and consumer-friendly.

Local economic implications

For traditional Hawaii casino operators and Video Gaming Terminal (VGT) operators, the stakes are particularly high. They are wary of the fact that most of the revenue they make would be cannibalized with the introduction of digital sports betting. Add this to the fact that Hawaii’s tourism and local economies are loosely tied to its existing gaming sector, and you’ll understand why they’re seriously opposing the proposal.

The larger fear is that many of these operators will lose their profits with a swift shift to online betting, ultimately leading to job losses and diminished support for public services.

The road ahead

Now that it has passed a Senate committee review, the next stop for House Bill 1308 is the Senate Ways and Means Committee. This is the last step before the bill is put to a full Senate vote. During this process, further amendments can still be added to the bill.

The challenge before the lawmakers is the task of carving out substantial new revenue streams without causing financial harm to the traditional gaming sector or social harm to the Hawaiian people.

A few issues like tax rates, licensing fees, and regulatory guidelines remain unsettled, and it’s one to keep an eye on.