Hawaii
US military’s attempt to retain strategic land for training runs into Native Hawaiian opposition
HONOLULU (AP) — A high-altitude plateau on the Big Island is the only place in Hawaii where thousands of ground forces can practice firing live munitions. It’s also a place many Native Hawaiians consider the spiritual heart of the island.
The U.S. military wants to keep training at this spot, called Pohakuloa, so it’s ready to quickly send troops to Asia and the Pacific. Its importance to the U.S. is only growing as China becomes more assertive, particularly regarding Taiwan.
But the Army’s lease for state lands beneath a key part of the training range expires in 2029. Native Hawaiians upset with the U.S. military’s history of damaging Hawaiian lands with target practice and fuel leaks want the Army out.
“They have bombed and contaminated not just our land but our waters,” said Healani Sonoda-Pale, a community organizer with the Hawaiian sovereignty group Ka Lahui Hawaii. “When does this end?”
A problematic history
The military controls about 5% of Hawaii’s land, including bases for all branches. It has programs and staff to protect endangered and threatened species, prevent fires, and plant native plants.
But past incidents have made many Native Hawaiians skeptical.
The Navy turned the island of Kahoolawe, off Maui, into a bombing range after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Navy returned it in 1994 after years of protests. But subsequent cleanup efforts have been incomplete. Live grenades and bombs remain scattered across a quarter of the island.
Memories are still fresh from when the Navy spilled jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water from a network of underground fuel storage tanks and pipes in 2021. The leak prompted 6,000 people to seek medical care for rashes, nausea and other ailments and contaminated a Honolulu aquifer. The disaster occurred after admirals spent years dismissing community calls to move the tanks. On Tuesday, Honolulu’s water utility sued the Navy seeking to recoup an estimated $1.2 billion that it has had to spend because of the spill.
Also on Oahu, environmental advocates say Army live-fire training in Makua Valley sparked wildfires and destroyed native forestland and sacred cultural sites. A legal settlement stopped such training in 2004.
The cultural significance of Pohakuloa
Pohakuloa consists of rocky plains, hills and brush about 6,200 feet (1,900 meters) above sea level between the Big Island’s tallest volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It hosts endangered species including the Hawaiian catchfly shrub.
Early Hawaiians ventured across the plateau to reach a Mauna Kea quarry that produced high-quality basalt for stone tools and to travel between coastal towns.
In 2022, Army staff discovered ancient wooden “kii,” or figures, in a lava tube, an underground passageway created by molten rock. Consultants said the figures are from human burials, and state preservationists say they’re among Hawaii’s most significant archaeological finds.
Pohakuloa Training Area spans more than 200 square miles (518 square kilometers). The section in question is only 17% of that total, but it’s critically located in between two larger federal parcels. Troops fire munitions from the state-owned parcel onto federal lands.
The land’s importance for training and deterrence
Other live-fire training areas in Hawaii are too small to accommodate battalions and brigades.
Commanders say it would take too long to send troops, trucks and helicopters to the U.S. mainland for drills.
“What we anticipate in a future fight is that we will not have the time to recover that equipment and to position ourselves back into the region,” said Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees, U.S. Army Pacific chief of staff.
Pohakuloa training, he said, allows troops to “move from Hawaii into the Indo-Pacific, into key terrain, to be prepared to meet our adversaries, or more importantly, to deter them.”
The Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force exercise there, as do allied and partner militaries. The Hawaii National Guard accounts for one-quarter of Pohakuloa’s training. County fire and police departments use it too.
Negotiations to exchange land
The Army prepared an environmental impact statement, including public feedback, that analyzed how the military’s continued use of the land would affect plants, animals and cultural heritage.
On May 9, the state land board rejected it after hearing hours of often emotional testimony in opposition. Among other issues, the board cited inadequate inventory of unexploded ordnance and insufficient inventory of ancient burials and associated artifacts.
The Army is considering whether to appeal. It could also negotiate a land exchange with the state instead.
Such talks can’t begin until the Army finalizes its environmental study with a decision about its plans. The defense secretary’s office then must sign off on acquiring land.
Alice Roberts, U.S. Army Pacific’s program manager for training land retention, said the service has had some informal conversations, including trying to understand the state’s swap criteria.
Buying the land would be a “a big hurdle,” for the Army, she said, because two-thirds of the state House and Senate would need to approve such a transaction.
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Democrat, said the Army must double down on being good stewards and make up for the military’s past mistakes.
Tokuda wants the military to help increase Hawaii’s housing supply, given that service members occupy 14% of Oahu’s housing stock and that high housing costs are driving residents out. She said it could bolster Hawaii’s water and sewer infrastructure.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green suggested in an interview with Hawaii News Now that the military could take the land through eminent domain, but Tokuda said she hasn’t heard anyone in the military or President Donald Trump’s administration mention that.
A call for a cleanup
Kaialiʻi Kahele, the chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which advocates for Native Hawaiians, wants to see what federal lands the Army would offer. He wants to know whether it would be willing to reduce the impact of its training, and what sort of clean up and community benefits it would provide.
“We have to get to a point where you do training and then you clean up your mess,” said Kahele, a former congressman who served more than 20 years in the Hawaii Air National Guard and is now in the Air Force Reserve.
“That should be the model of training that respects aina, respects this place and its culture and its people,” he said, using the Hawaiian word for land.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Honolulu Fire Department is preparing to open recruitment for new firefighter recruits.
The application period for recruits will open June 2 and run through June 4.
HFD officials are encouraging people interested in public service, emergency response and teamwork to explore a career in the fire service.
Firefighters respond to emergencies across Oahu, including fires, rescues, hazardous materials incidents, crashes and medical calls.
Recruits will receive extensive training, including emergency medical response and search-and-rescue operations.
Interested applicants are encouraged to begin preparing now for the physical and mental demands of the profession.
For more information, visit fire.honolulu.gov.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Tourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaiian monk seal was trying to protect sea turtles, lawyer says
The defense attorney for a tourist from Washington state accused of hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal says his client was trying to protect sea turtles and has since been physically assaulted, threatened and doxed.
Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Honolulu Wednesday on charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal.
Earlier this month, a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him throwing the rock at a Hawaiian monk seal at a Maui beach. He later made arrangements to surrender in the Seattle area as special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were seeking to arrest him, prosecutors said.
The video drew widespread condemnation and demands for prosecution in Hawaii, including from Maui’s mayor. Scientists identified the seal as an adult male known as “R404,” NOAA said.
According to prosecutors, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer investigated a report of Hawaiian monk seal harassment in Lahaina, the community that was largely destroyed by a deadly wildfire in 2023. A witness showed the officer video of the seal swimming in shallow water while a man watched from shore.
The video showed Lytvynchuk throwing the rock, directly at the seal, narrowly missing its head, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.
Maui resident Kaylee Schnitzer, 18, told HawaiiNewsNow she witnessed the incident while taking photos nearby.
“What he was picking up was like a rock the size of a coconut,” Schnitzer said. “It wasn’t no small rock. It was the size of a coconut. And he threw it right, directly aiming towards the monk seal’s head.”
When a witness confronted Lytvynchuk, he said “he did not care and was ‘rich’ enough to pay any fines,” according to the complaint.
Afterward, a man “brutally assaulted” Lytvynchuk, his defense attorney Myles Breiner told The Associated Press. Lytvynchuk declined to file a police report on the assault, the attorney said.
Breiner explained his client had been to Hawaii previously and was familiar with sea turtles, but not Hawaiian monk seals. Lytvynchuk is a fisherman and thought the seal was an aggressive sea lion, the lawyer said.
“So his response was not to hurt this monk seal, but to get it away from the turtles,” Breiner said.
The incident shows NOAA must do more to educate the public about protecting Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaii’s U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Since the video surfaced, Lytvynchuk has faced death threats and doxing, including receiving a package at his home containing what appeared to be feces, Breiner said.
He said his client is being treated unfairly because he’s a white outsider. “The vast majority of attacks on monk seal and turtle are by locals,” he said.
Lytvynchuk is charged with violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Hawaiian monk seals are a critically endangered species. Only 1,600 remain in the wild.
“The unique and precious wildlife of the Hawaiian Islands are renowned symbols of Hawaii’s special place in the world and its incredible biodiversity,” U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson said in a statement. “We are committed to protecting our vulnerable wild species, in particular, endangered Hawaiian monk seals.”
If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison for each charge. He also faces a fine of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and a fine of up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
In 2016, a man was seen on video appearing to beat a pregnant Hawaiian monk seal in shallow water.
Hawaii
‘Tesla Road Rage Driver’ sentenced to seven years in prison after attacking mother and daughter in Hawaii
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A man dubbed the “Tesla Road Rage Driver” was sentenced to seven years in prison in connection with a violent road rage attack in Hawaii.
Nathaniel Radimak was sentenced Thursday in connection with a 2025 attack involving a mother and her 18-year-old daughter in Honolulu.
Radimak, who has prior convictions tied to road rage attacks against motorists, acknowledged his actions during sentencing.
“I take accountability. I just feel bad about it,” Radimak said, according to Hawaii News Now. “It shouldn’t have happened, but I really need a certain kind of treatment that is being prolonged and farther away. It’s not helping me, but I take accountability.”
TESLA ROAD-RAGE DRIVER ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS TEEN, MOM IN HAWAII MONTHS AFTER PRISON RELEASE
Nathaniel Walter Radimak, 39, was convicted of attacking several female drivers on Southern California roads. (Fox News)
Radimak was charged with one count of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and two counts of third-degree assault. He pleaded no contest earlier this year.
Judge Clarissa Malinao said during sentencing that Radimak had failed to seek necessary medical care and continued using illegal substances while on parole for previous convictions.
“His history of violence is propensity for violence, and defendant’s voluntary intoxication and discontinuation of medication increase the risk of his dangerousness to self and to the public,” Malinao said. “These findings also demonstrate and reinforce that the defendant is indeed a danger to the safety of the public.”
WATCH: ROAD RAGE SUSPECT DRAGS MOM OUT OF VEHICLE, BODY-SLAMS HER ON PAVEMENT
Nathaniel Walter Radimak is identified by police as a driver involved in road rage incidents while driving a Tesla in California. (California Highway Patrol)
Radimak, 39, was charged after allegedly assaulting an 18-year-old woman and her 35-year-old mother during an incident on May 7, 2025, according to the Honolulu Police Department.
Police said the teen was parking downtown when she saw a gray Tesla drive past her.
The two allegedly exchanged words before Radimak got out of the vehicle and assaulted both victims before fleeing the scene, police said. Authorities said he was driving a 2022 gray Tesla with Oregon license plates.
MOTORIST ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY TRYING TO RUN DRIVER OF TESLA OFF THE ROAD AT HIGH SPEEDS: REPORT
Honolulu police arrested Nathaniel Radimak following a reported road rage assault involving a mother and daughter.
Radimak was arrested by Honolulu police the following day.
The arrest came just months after Radimak was released from prison after serving less than a year of a five-year sentence tied to a series of violent road rage attacks in Southern California.
He was sentenced in 2023 after pleading guilty to assault, vandalism, elder abuse and making criminal threats.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Radimak was known for driving a Tesla and using a pipe to attack the vehicles of his victims, including multiple women.
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The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation previously said Radimak received 424 days of credit for time served while awaiting sentencing in the earlier case.
Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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