The Leeward Planning Commission wasn’t ready Thursday to give Parker School a pass on a sidewalk it promised in a lawsuit settlement and instead voted 5-0 to defer the issue for a month to give the applicant a chance to pursue a less costly option.

Earthjustice filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of a coalition of conservation groups, Native Hawaiian fishermen and cultural practitioners, seeking to stop the resumption of commercial aquarium fish collection off the West Hawaii coast.

A plan to preserve 644 acres of Mahukona land of historical and cultural significance has taken a big step forward with the County Council’s unanimous approval of a resolution authorizing sale negotiations.

A cost-conscious County Council balked at new construction code requirements that builders say could add at least $10,000 to the cost of building a home.

Required improvements at 10 county parks will likely continue, with a $25.5 million bond issue forwarded Wednesday by the County Council on an 8-0 vote.

In less than a month, the county’s building and zoning permitting systems are going paperless, and officials are optimistic they’ll be ready.

Developers of the 1,300-unit master-planned Kaloko Heights are choosing a less onerous pathway to finance a $22 million sewer line project, but taxpayers are still protected in the change from an improvement district to a facilities district, county officials said.

Text messages between Stacy Higa and a former associate who pleaded guilty to a scheme to embezzle $600,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds show Higa allegedly offering to teach the associate how to “launder money” and “funnel cash.”

Hawaii County is in search of a new Human Resources director after the resignation of Bill Brilhante, who leaves his post Thursday to work in his family’s business.

Almost a quarter-century after Big Island resident Alexa Russell sued Hawaii County to enforce Americans With Disabilities Act mandates in county parks, only six of the 16 facilities the county agreed to upgrade have been done, and the County Council will be asked to float $25.5 million in bonds to pay for the rest.

A bill Gov. David Ige is threatening to veto and one he signed are the “winners” of this year’s Rusty Scalpel award from two public-interest groups.

A proposal to build a five-story condominium on Alii Drive is heading to a contested case hearing after three neighbors petitioned the Leeward Planning Commission.

Despite population growth, West Hawaii has actually been using less water than was projected in a 2017 plan designed to protect the Keauhou Aquifer.

Gov. David Ige has included on his list of 28 legislative measures for possible veto a bill taking away the counties’ share of the tax on hotel rooms and short-term rentals.

In what appeared to be the smoothest discussion and vote on building code amendments in more than a decade, a County Council panel Tuesday unanimously advanced changes bringing the county up to the 2018 code for new and existing residential buildings.