General News

HONOLULU — Officials were scheduled to gather in Pearl Harbor on Monday to remember those killed in the 1941 Japanese attack, though public health measures adopted because of the coronavirus pandemic mean no survivors will be present.

WAILUKU — The Maui County Council voted to remove the county's prosecuting attorney over claims of violence and threats in the workplace.

HONOLULU (AP) — A couple arrested at a Hawaii airport after traveling from the U.S. mainland despite knowing they were infected with COVID-19 took several flights, authorities said.

Wesley Moribe, 41, and Courtney Peterson, 46, boarded a United Airlines flight to Lihue with a 4-year-old child after testing positive for the coronavirus while returning home from international travel and transiting between Seattle, San Francisco and Hawaii, the Kauai Police Department said.

Updated: 12/4/2020, 12:23 p.m.

The state Department of Health reported 10 deaths and 106 new COVID-19 cases today -- a startling increase in fatalities. Because of the department's two-day delay in posting new numbers, the counts represent cases from Wednesday.

Some counties are reporting more timely numbers that may differ from the state's counts.

According to the state numbers, Oahu had 73 new cases, Maui County 15, Hawaii County 11, and Kauai 3. Lanai and Molokai had none. Four more were diagnosed out of state.

Updated: 12/3/2020, 12:10 p.m. 

The state Department of Health reported two deaths and 144 new COVID-19 cases today -- a doubling of cases from the day before. Because of the department's two-day delay in posting new numbers, the counts represent cases from Tuesday.

Some counties are reporting more timely numbers that may differ from the state's counts.

According to the state numbers, Oahu had 118 new cases, Maui 14, Hawaii County 7, Kauai 2, and Molokai and Lanai had none. There were 3 new cases diagnosed out of state.

The state Department of Health is looking to scale down its contact tracing operation at the end of the year. This comes as local officials seek more federal funds to pay for COVID-19 efforts -- and as infections continue to spread unabated countrywide.

Updated: 12/3/2020, 6:15 a.m. The city yesterday reopened the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve after a nine-month shutdown because of the pandemic, but with a limit of 720 people a day under a new pilot program. Prior to the pandemic, as many as 3,000 residents and tourists entered the marine sanctuary daily.

Updated: 12/2/2020, 12:45 p.m. 

The state Department of Health reported no deaths and 78 new COVID-19 cases today. Because of the department's two-day delay in posting new numbers, the counts represent cases from Monday.

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said her department takes responsibility for the actions of officers on its now-suspended coronavirus enforcement units who are accused of abusing the department’s overtime policy.

HONOLULU (AP) — A judge sentenced a former Honolulu police lieutenant on Tuesday to three-and-a-half years in prison and a former officer to four-and-a-half years for helping a now-retired police chief and his now-estranged ex-prosecutor wife frame a relative as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy aimed at preserving the couple's lavish lifestyle.

A disproportionately large number of poor and minority students were not in schools for assessments this fall, complicating efforts to measure the pandemic’s effects on some of the most vulnerable students, a not-for-profit company that administers standardized testing said Tuesday.

HONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. judge sentenced a former high-ranking Honolulu prosecutor to 13 years in prison Monday and her retired police chief husband to seven years, saying she stole money from her own grandmother and then used his law enforcement power to frame her uncle for a crime he didn’t commit -- all to maintain the couple’s lavish lifestyle.

Updated: 12/1/2020, 12:09 p.m. 

The state Department of Health reported no deaths and 44 new COVID-19 cases today. Because of the department's two-day delay in posting new numbers, the counts represent cases from Sunday.

Some counties are reporting more timely numbers that may differ from the state's counts.

According to the state numbers, Oahu had 32 new cases, Maui 5, Hawaii County 6, and Kauai, Molokai and Lanai 0. There were no new cases diagnosed out of state.

A seniors advocacy group has called on the state department of health to reveal more about nursing home inspections than it presently does. The lack of disclosure involves both the state and federal governments.

Updated: 11/30/2020, 3:25 p.m. A federal judge today sentenced former Honolulu deputy prosecutor Katherine Kealoha to 13 years in prison for masterminding an elaborate scheme that defrauded her grandmother, led to her uncle's false arrest and plundered the trust funds for two children. Her husband, ex-Police Chief Louis Kealoha, received 7 years in prison for his part in the scheme.

Updated: 11/20/2020, 12:25 p.m. The state Department of Health reported no deaths and 85 new COVID-19 cases today. Because of the department's two-day delay in posting new numbers, the counts represent cases from Saturday.

Some counties are reporting more timely numbers that may differ from the state's counts.

According to the state numbers, Oahu had 66 new cases, Maui 9, Hawaii County 4, Kauai 1, Molokai 1 and Lanai one. There were 4 new cases diagnosed out of state.

HONOLULU (AP) — Software engineer Raymond Berger begins his work day at 5 a.m., before the sun comes up over Hawaii.

Rising early is necessary because the company he works for is in New York City, five hours ahead of Maui, where he is renting a home with a backyard that's near the beach.

“It’s a little hard with the time zone difference,” he said. “But generally I have a much better quality of life.”

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A mysterious silver monolith that was placed in the Utah desert has disappeared less than 10 days after it was spotted by wildlife biologists performing a helicopter survey of bighorn sheep, federal officials and witnesses said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — She's fended off protesters who made a run at her husband. She's moved him farther from reporters during the coronavirus pandemic. She's supported his presidential ambitions again and again — except in 2004, when she deployed a novel messaging technique to keep Joe Biden from running.

Organizers of the Merrie Monarch Festival announced there will be no live audience for the annual hula competition next year.

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green suggested that the way to “perfect" the state's coronavirus testing system for incoming travelers is to extend the mandatory pre-flight testing window from three days prior to arrival to four and requiring a second test when the person touches down.

HONOLULU (AP) — Line-Noue Memea Kruse lives on Oahu's famed North Shore, where marveling at sea turtles, epic waves and sunsets that paint the sky orange and purple are a must for many tourists in Hawaii.

HONOLULU (AP) — A Honolulu city councilman has called on the city's police chief to reinstate its coronavirus enforcement unit, which was suspended after allegations that officers abused overtime hour submissions.

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Rep. Ed Case, a Democrat, said he was confident that unspent federal coronavirus relief funds meant for the state will not have to be returned at the end of the year despite the bill's assertion that the money must be spent by Dec. 31.

HONOLULU (AP) — Travelers to Kauai will have to spend 14 days in quarantine regardless of whether they obtain a negative COVID-19 test, Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Friday.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Donald Trump’s legal team suffered yet another defeat in court Friday as a federal appeals court in Philadelphia roundly rejected its latest effort to challenge the state’s election results.

Updated: 11/27/2020, 6:15 p.m.

Gov. David Ige has granted Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami's request to temporarily reinstate the 14-day mandatory quarantine for travelers arriving on the island effective Dec. 2, regardless of whether they received a negative COVID-19 test or not.