Tourism

...U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today released a fact sheet highlighting information the committee received from whistleblowers....

...FAA bosses twice denied him travel authorizations to visit the helicopter company, making it next to impossible to perform adequate FAA oversight....

...House Bill 2728 implements a $5 surcharge for all overseas flights except for interisland travel....

...On average, there were 249,021 visitors in the Hawaiian Islands on any given day in 2019, up 3.0 percent from 2018....

...how much will Kona Coast billionaires contribute to these 'non-profits'?....

...Couples in Hawaii spent $37,827 in 2018....

...U.S. air-safety regulators likely acted improperly in the way they authorized Southwest Airlines Co. to begin flights between California and Hawaii last year....

...“A pilot flying his eighth 50-minute tour in one day. Without instrument certification and flying in a rough and variable terrain, rapidly changing weather environment, on visual flight rules only (solely what he could see).  According to a close-by witness and other observations, probably in ‘20 ft visibility in rain and fog.’ No flight tracking equipment aboard....

...ultimately, it comes down to how far do those retirement dollars go....

...On Saturday the 28th of December, a museum closed its doors for the final time....

...Hawaii has seen 18 civilian helicopter crashes in the last five years....

...After failing in the Legislature four times, maybe the fifth time will be the charm....

...and tourist spending is up 3.4%....

...On O‘ahu, the vacation rental supply in November was 252,000 unit nights. This is a decrease of 4.4 percent from a year ago....

...First they came for the owners of million-dollar homes, but I didn’t speak against it because I didn’t have a million-dollar home....

...The bill would classify bed and breakfast homes and other transient vacation rental units as “hotel and resort” for property tax purposes....

...a civil fine of $20,000 plus $10,000 per day for each day the unlawful operation persists....

...The cooperative agreement between the zoo and the Zoo Society hampered roles and responsibilities.... 

...One of the most visible features of what has been called a “new day” for Hā’ena State Park and the adjacent Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park, is the presence of park rangers....

...Follow-Up on Recommendations from Report No. 05-02, Audit of Selected Management Issues of the Honolulu Liquor Commission....

...only one study in eight considered the limitations of the computer model used in a flood damage analysis....

...Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants today voted 99.9 percent to authorize a strike, with 95.1 percent participating....

...How the 20 next-largest U.S. airports performed in 15 categories....

...It all turns on the language of the Clean Water Act, and what does the term "from" mean....

“...There are more than 500,000 similar underground injection wells in the country and nearly 6,000 in Hawaii alone....”

... It was all hype.  It always is.  It will be back next year complete with knashing of teeth and pulling of hair ....

... The State of Hawai‘i has experienced record levels of visitor arrivals over the last seven years. However, during this time the number of traditional lodging units, such as hotels, condominium hotels, and timeshare resorts has increased minimally ....

...Total visitor arrivals increased 5.5 percent to 7,858,876 in the first three quarters of 2019--spending dropped by 0.1%....

... Chilean officials said they cancelled the Nov. 16-17 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to focus on restoring law and order in the country ....

...Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.50 billion in August, 2019, an increase of 6.3 percent compared to August, 2018....

...more NOVs are anticipated in the coming weeks....

... Fee increases for users of Hawai‘i small boat harbors and boating facilities will be implemented soon, after they were signed into law by Governor David Ige on August 13, 2019 ....

...Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.70 billion in July 2019, an increase of 2.4 percent compared to July 2018....

...The impact of the vacation rental ban on Oahu has not yet been seen in visitor arrivals....

...a July 22, 2019 'melee' between members of the Fullard-Leo family and 20 pimps and drug dealers....

... read the full complaint ....

...Please do not minimize the danger of the current situation: you can easily improve it by dropping the suit....

...HDOT is confident that if the barriers were in place this collision would not have happened....

...Hawaii Visitor Statistics Released for the First Half of 2019....

"...the Legislature should have fully and seriously considered HB 1586 and allowed the public to weigh in on the measure, given the major financial effects on the State, instead of using the ‘gut and replace’ practice currently being challenged in court....”

...we are starting to see laws passed in the 2019 Legislature take effect....

...“If you want to maintain your aircraft there are not a lot of options up there because the state won’t allow it.”...

...“Let’s not kill the goose that lays the golden egg”....

...Hawaii’s property owners now have many more options for fighting back against oppressive government regulation of property than they did last week.... 

... average daily visitor spending was down 4.2% -- Total visitor arrivals increased 4.6 percent to 841,376 ....

...Ige notified legislative leaders and key lawmakers of his Intent to Veto the following 20 measures....

...Skydiver's GoPro video taken from within the cabin records a 2016 incident over Byron, CA involving the same skydiving plane which later crashed at Dillingham Airfield, June 21, 2019, killing 11.... 

...banning short-term rentals could hurt Hawaii more than people realize....

...Released today, a State Auditor’s report shows the Convention Center ‘s operating loss has jumped up from an anemic $4.3M in 2017 to a much more robust $8.3M in calendar year 2018....