1. On Mar. 15, which Maui legislator introduced two resolutions to create regional task forces on cesspools? A. Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran B. Sen. Roz Baker C. Rep. Angus McKelvey D. Rep. Justin Woodson E. Rep. Kyle Yamashita 2. Last year, the County of Maui’s share of the state’s Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) was $23.5 million–barely […]
Hawaii Nature Center’s Iao Valley facility goes solar
Though you often see rain and gray clouds hugging the mountain peaks that tower over Iao Valley, Hawaii Nature Center’s program facility there will soon get solar power (while solar cells do work on overcast days, they’re not as efficient as on sunny days, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association). Hawaii Pacific Solar is […]
County of Maui finally hires new Energy Commissioner
It’s been well over a year since Doug McLeod resigned as Maui County Energy Commissioner and formed his own consulting firm (DKK Energy Services LLC), after holding down the post for four years. The county didn’t exactly rush to replace McLeod–in fact, they only announced their new energy commissioner–Frederick Redell–on April Fools’ Day of this year. “Frederick Redell […]
Solar Impulse aircraft grounded in Hawaii until April 2016
Bad news for the sun-powered Solar Impulse aircraft, which recently flew from Japan to Hawaii without using a drop of fossil fuels–technically difficulties will keep it in the ground until next spring at the earliest. Turns out the batteries overheated during the flight and were severely damaged, according to a July 15 news release sent […]
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa Gives State Of The County, And Saw That It Was Good
So last night Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa delivered the fourth and last State of the County address at the Maui Art & Cultural Center’s McCoy Studio Theater. We couldn’t make it, but have a copy of the speech and today’s Maui News, which described the attending crowd as “standing room only.” Speeches like this, […]
Hawaii Pacific To Install Solar Energy Panels At 18 County Of Maui Facilities
Anyone driving by that new fortress on a hill otherwise known as the “New Kihei Police Station” will see two things pretty much immediately. First, that it truly does look like a fortress on a hill, and second, that it has a great deal of roof area that seems to be just sitting in the […]
Solar Power Is Helping and Hurting Hawaiian Electric
There’s some disconcerting arithmetic going on at the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO). It seems, according to a few recent press accounts, that alternative energy like solar power is actually costing the company so much money that they’re going to have raise rates (click here for the original Honolulu Star-Advertiser story on the issue and here […]
Kula, Maui’s (Now!) Solar-Powered Surfing Goat Dairy
Governor Abercrombie: “All I said was, ‘Maui wants goat cheese.’” by Anna Such *** Surfing Goat Dairy Farm celebrated the completion of their new 50- kilowatt solar power system last Friday (July 29) afternoon. Governor Neil Abercrombie and Mayor Alan Arakawa visited the dairy farm for a champagne toast to commemorate this small step towards […]
Gimme S’more
The 7th century Chinese get all the credit for fireworks. Granted, they discovered them, developed them and perfected them, but 7th century Byzantine Greeks also had a hand in creating one of our most beloved combustible traditions—and to their credit, put it in our hands. That flickering little stick we know and love as the […]