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Billionaire plans for new Lanai hotel

WAILUKU, Maui — Billionaire Larry Ellison has a new vision for Lanai.

The Maui News says Ellison’s plans were discussed at a meeting of the Lanai Community Plan Advisory Committee meeting. At that meeting, committee members said that Kurt Matsumoto, who is the chief operating officer of Ellison’s Lanai Resorts LLC, presented a vision statement for the island. That vision includes a bungalow-style hotel, a desalination plant and a new airport runway.

Committee members said Ellison’s vision was “positive”, noting that the proposals also included improvements to health care, education, housing and conservation on the island.

Hawaiian reaches deal with pilots on new planes

HONOLULU — Hawaiian Airlines says it has reached a deal with its pilots union to operate new Airbus planes as part of a plan for expanded routes between the West Coast and the islands.

The airline said Monday its pilots have ratified an agreement between the company and the Air Line Pilots Association.

Hawaiian says it is working on a similar agreement with the union representing flight attendants.

The deals come as the airline makes plans to add 16 new A321neo jets between 2017 and 2020. The single-aisle planes each seat about 190 passengers.

The Honolulu-based airline plans to add 1,000 jobs in the expansion.

Hawaiian’s CEO Mark Dunkerley has said the planes could be used for new nonstop routes between western mainland U.S. cities and Kauai, Maui and the Big Island.

Young man dies in moped crash

HONOLULU — A young man died over the weekend in a mo-ped crash in Honolulu.

Hawaii News Now (https://is.gd/GnTARq) reports that 17-year-old Francisco Hufana was killed late Saturday night when his mo-ped hit a vehicle that was turning left onto Kalihi Street from Machado Street.

The driver of the other vehicle was not injured but two passengers were treated for minor injuries.

Hufana was taken in extremely critical condition to the hospital, where he later died. Police say he was not wearing a helmet.

More than two dozen of Hufana’s friends gathered at the memorial for him Sunday.

Agriculture and more on Hawaii Legislature agenda

HONOLULU — The 2013 Hawaii legislative session is in full swing with nearly 2,900 bills filed.

Now, committees in the House and Senate are starting to consider the pros and cons of each initiative.

Here’s a look at some of the hearings and briefings set for this week:

— PUBLIC SCHOOL LANDS: The Senate Committee on Education will consider a bill Monday that allows the state to lease public school land to increase revenue.

— AGRICULTURE: The Senate’s agriculture committee will hear testimony Tuesday on a program to help Hawaii rely less on imported food.

— UTILITIES: The Senate is holding a briefing Tuesday morning to learn what causes Hawaii’s high utility rates and solicit solutions.

— PUBLIC HOUSING: The House Committee on Housing will meet Monday and entertain a bill to ban smoking in public housing projects.

— HOMELESSNESS: The Senate Committee on Human Services will hear a proposal to have the state help pay for homeless people to voluntarily return to their home state.

4 companies resolve EPA violations

HAGATNA, Guam — Four companies on Guam have resolved failures to properly report the storage of hazardous materials.

The Environmental Protection Agency says each of the companies has paid $2,000 and corrected their violations by submitting reports listing qualities of hazardous chemicals they have stored.

Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, says the reporting requirement is important because it allows local emergency planners and fire departments to be aware of hazardous materials stored in their communities.

The four companies are: The Westin Resort of Guam, Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Guam, Guam Waterworks Authority and Goodwin Development Corp.