HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new optical illusion is taking shape in Kalihi.

Commissioned by Kamehameha Schools, the mural will feature plants and trees native to the area. The artwork aims to highlight how forestry can exist within urban areas.

Coincidentally, the new artwork sits adjacent to one of Kalihi’s most famous murals: Wave 01/101.

The artist Kai’ili Kaulukukui plays with depth and shadow, creating an optical illusion on the flat face of a building.

“The painting style is called ” trompe-l’œil”, it means ‘trick the eye’,” says Kaulukukui. “It’s been around for 2000 years. They have images of trompe-l’œil style murals at Pompeii, so it’s a very old style.”

Kaulukukui said he’s always been intrigued by the art style, though this is his first time painting it.

“They’re both kind of environmental themed murals,” he said. “This is bringing an image of what a forest could look like in the city. That is like an homage to Pipeline and our beautiful waves that we have here.”

The 55-foot-tall mural is expected to be completed by Sunday, May 31.

After this project, Kaulukukui will start an ocean-themed mural just one street over, bringing a bit more nature into urban Honolulu.

BOISE, Idaho — Sixteen years ago, Drew Whalin’s dog got bitten by a rattlesnake, and ever since, Drew and the Idaho Chukar Foundation have put together training to help dogs and their owners avoid dangerous animals in Idaho.

“I never wanted to go through my dog getting bit by a rattlesnake again,” said Whalin. “The good news is the rattlesnakes we have here are the least toxic, but the bad news is we have more of them.”

WATCH | See these dogs react to real snakes during a training session—

Idaho Chukar Foundation hosts rattlesnake, skunk and porcupine avoidance training

The Idaho Chukar Foundation hosted its first avoidance training in Julia Davis Park, inviting dog owners to bring out their pooches to learn how to avoid rattlesnakes, skunks, and porcupines using a specific method.

“We do that by using a science that is called operant conditioning,” Whalin explained. “We associate a mild shock stimulation with the dog recognizing the snake and then having the dog owner praise the dog, so it is twofold.”

The foundation uses real snakes during the training sessions, and by the end, the dogs were improving at recognizing the snake and avoiding it.

The Arguedas family brought their dog Banjo, and they appreciate this public service.

“It would be horrible to have your dog bit or have something happen,” said Gretchen Arguedas. “We have been really thankful to have this over multiple hunting dog seasons, and with multiple dogs. Its been a nice insurance policy that we can get outside and feel safe.”

The skunk and porcupine training uses the same method, and the training also featured a booth with the Idaho Trappers Association, which gave dog owners tips on how to get their dog loose from a trap.

The event also included information on rattlesnake ecology, how important it is to have a plan, and what to do in case your dog gets bitten. Funds raised from the training will be used by the Idaho Chukar Association to improve wildlife habitat in Idaho.

If this piques your interest, the Idaho Chukar Foundation is offering additional training days at Julia Davis Park next Saturday, June 6. For additional event information, click here.

A group of legal and civil rights organizations late Friday sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over conditions at Camp East Montana in El Paso, the country’s largest immigration detention facility.

“Camp East Montana is nothing short of a civil rights catastrophe,” Kyle Virgien, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, said in a statement. “We’re suing to ensure that no other human being has to endure the inhumane treatment that the Trump administration has inflicted on our clients.”

The Texas Tribune has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

Filed by the ACLU of Texas, the ACLU, the Texas Civil Rights Project and law firm Farella Braun + Martel, the federal lawsuit comes less than a year after the opening of the sprawling tent camp.

In that time, the facility has seen at least three detainee deaths, a measles outbreak and nearly 50 detention standards violations as reported by ICE’s own inspectors, prompting calls for the camp’s closure from immigrant advocates and Democratic lawmakers.

The civil rights groups behind the lawsuit also alleged in a December letter that detained immigrants were subject to medical neglect, physical and sexual abuse by officers, insufficient food and denial of meaningful access to attorneys. In March, ICE switched out the facility’s prime operator for a more experienced contractor, saying the agency would “work closely with them” to improve services, including higher standards of medical care. Still, in a subsequent letter to ICE dated May 22, the groups said the situation “continued to deteriorate” and outlined additional complaints such as hazardous dust exposure.

Friday’s lawsuit argues that conditions at the facility are “unconstitutional punishment” and violate detainees’ due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. 

“These conditions are longstanding, pervasive, and well documented, and Defendants’ continued inaction in the face of known risks shows their deliberate indifference — not mere negligence — to detainees’ constitutional rights,” the lawsuit said.

The petition, filed on behalf of four detainees, is also seeking approval to proceed as a class action to cover all those who are currently or will be detained in Camp East Montana.

One of the plaintiffs is Gerald Akari Angye, a detained immigrant who called the conditions at the camp “inhumane and cruel.”

Prior to this lawsuit, the 35-year-old man had filed a petition in January seeking release from ICE detention. According to the filing, Angye was a high school teacher in Cameroon but fled after being kidnapped and tortured amid a separatist conflict. He sought asylum after crossing through a New Mexico port of entry in December 2024. An immigration judge later denied his application, and Angye appealed.

In a statement provided by the civil rights groups, Angye said he had been beaten at Camp East Montana and never thought he would face “such severely violent treatments” in the United States. He was also placed in solitary confinement for 15 days, according to the lawsuit.

“No one deserves such cruel treatment,” he said. “We are all humans and deserve to be treated like it.”

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar said in a statement to the Tribune that she is grateful for the legal fight. A leading critic of Camp East Montana, the El Paso Democrat called the facility “a purgatory for human beings held there.” She also vowed to continue her oversight visits and demand for the tent camp’s permanent closure.

Camp East Montana, first opened in August 2025, is located on Fort Bliss U.S. Army base.

Expected to ultimately reach a 5,000-bed capacity, the camp had a daily average of more than 2,500 detainees as of April 2, according to the most recent public data from ICE. The facility has also held the largest number of detained immigrants thus far in fiscal year 2026, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University found.

“Camp East Montana is at the epicenter of the administration’s cruel deportation agenda,” Savannah Kumar, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement. 

Disclosure: ACLU Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.