Good evening, Hawaii. The state department of transportation will try out two all-pedestrian crossings in Waikiki. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports on the plans for the 52-acre Wai Kai lagoon in Ewa Beach, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is ordered to pay Sandy Hook families $1 billion. Here are the most important stories you need to know.

Your Weather Planner 

We have humid weather building in Hawaii. Expect humid conditions and waves of rain and possible thunderstorms overnight into Thursday near Kauai and Oahu. A front pushes into the state Friday and Saturday. We can expect stable weather and drier conditions Friday into the weekend. The front will also bring the return of the trade winds, too. The winds we be light and we could see showers develop again because of the sea breezes.

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Today's Big Stories

1. HDOT to test all-pedestrian crossings in Waikiki

Beginning Oct. 22, the Hawaii Department of Transportation will run a pilot program transforming two Waikiki intersections into all-pedestrian crossings. The two intersections are at Ala Moana Blvd. and Hobron Lane and Ala Moana and Ena Rd./Kalia Rd.

According to the HDOT, an all-pedestrian crossing phase reduces potential conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians by providing a phase when all traffic signals are red. Currently, cars waiting for pedestrians to cross, then turning right or left have the potential for an accident (view the model here). With the pilot all-pedestrian crossing, all vehicles will come to a complete stop and pedestrians will be able to cross the street in all directions.

The HDOT provides a model of the all-pedestrian crossing available for viewing. Testing of the timing phases shows a reduction in pedestrian-vehicle conflicts from six to one, a reduction in average vehicle delay by 30%, and a slight increase in average pedestrian delay from 26 to 39 seconds.

2. Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Public opening nears for Ewa Beach lagoon, surfing wave pool

A 52-acre recreational lagoon and shoreside commercial development featuring a surfing wave pool and restaurants in Ewa Beach is slated to open for initial public use early next year.

The Wai Kai lagoon and commercial complex are scheduled to open Feb. 10, activating a long-planned and shifting centerpiece of Hoakalei Resort and Ocean Pointe communities produced by Haseko Development Inc.

Haseko announced the schedule Tuesday and offered media a construction tour of the roughly $100 million commercial complex to include two restaurants, a coffee shop and bar, two event lawns, a retail boutique, a boardwalk, sandy areas, a dock, lagoon equipment rentals and the artificial wave attraction along part of the lagoon’s inland shoreline.

For many years, Haseko intended to develop a community with a boat marina as its centerpiece instead of a lagoon.

Initial plans for the 1,100-acre residential and resort community date back to the 1990s and included a 120-acre marina. Later, the marina’s planned size was cut by more than half as Haseko amended its plans while it built and sold homes.

Excavation of a 20-foot-deep basin for the marina was finished in 2008 after six years of work. But in 2011 before a channel to the ocean was dug, Haseko announced that the basin, which filled up with water naturally, would be a better community resource as a recreational lagoon for nonmotorized watercraft and with no outlet to the ocean.

Some homeowners disgruntled by the change sued Haseko, and a state judge in 2018 awarded about 3,000 homeowners $20 million in damages, though an appeal by Haseko is still pending.

3. Ige says Hawaii won't cooperate with states prosecuting for abortions

Gov. David Ige signed an executive order on Tuesday protecting reproductive health care services in Hawaii. 

The executive order will protect reproductive rights by not cooperating with states that try to prosecute women who get an abortion in Hawaii or with states that try to sanction medical professionals who provide abortions in Hawaii. 

The governor’s action comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the 1973 decision from Roe v. Wade that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. 

More than a dozen states banned or severely restricted abortion access. Some of the most restrictive states have adopted policies where they impose criminal liability on patients and doctors or revoke medical licenses of doctors for abortions that take place outside of their states. 

Gov. Ige said on Tuesday during a news conference that Hawaii would not assist states that try to prosecute patients or doctors.

“We will not cooperate with any other state that tries to prosecute women who receive abortions in Hawaii, and we will not cooperate with any other state that tries to sanction medical professionals who provide abortion in Hawaii,” said Ige.

4. Jury orders Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion in Sandy Hook defamation case

A jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to people who suffered from his lies that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.

The verdict is the second big judgment against the Infowars host over his relentless promotion of the lie that the 2012 massacre never happened, and that the grieving families seen in news coverage were actors hired as part of a plot to take away people’s guns.

Robbie Parker, who lost his 6-year-old daughter, Emilie, said outside the Connecticut court that he was proud that “we were able to accomplish this, just to simply tell the truth.

“And it shouldn’t be this hard,” he added.

The jury ordered Jones, who wasn't in court during Wednesday's proceedings, to pay $965 million on Wednesday. Speaking on his show as the verdict was being read, Jones called it "a joke" and indicated he will appeal to "keep them in court for years."

"They want to scare us away from question Uvalde or Parkland," Jones said, adding: "We're not going away. We're not going to stop."

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the relatives of five children and three educators killed in the mass shooting, plus an FBI agent who was among the first responders to the scene. A Texas jury in August awarded nearly $50 million to the parents of another slain child.

5. Biden releases long-delayed National Security Strategy

Placing an emphasis on beating geopolitical competitors, strengthening the nation’s role as a global leader and tackling challenges that extend beyond U.S. borders, the Biden administration on Wednesday released its new National Security Strategy.

The new strategy comes as the U.S. faces a wide range of issues that could impact national security, including nuclear threats from Russia, Iran and North Korea; China’s efforts to increase its influence in the Indo-Pacific; and climate change. 

Meanwhile, Washington is reevaluating its relationship with Saudi Arabia after the Saudi-led OPEC+ oil cartel announced it was slashing oil production by 2 million barrels a day, which is likely to cause an increase in already-high gas prices in the U.S.

Biden’s strategy aims “to advance America’s vital interests, position the United States to outmaneuver our geopolitical competitors, tackle shared challenges, and set our world firmly on a path toward a brighter and more hopeful tomorrow.”

The White House said the “most pressing strategic challenge” comes from powers with authoritarian governments, namely China and Russia.

Your Notes for Tomorrow

Thursday, October 13

• Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol holds a hearing
• ​President Biden delivers remarks on "historic investments in our nation's infrastructures"
  
• Jury trial for the Louisville police officer charged with depriving Breonna Taylor of her civil rights
  
• President Biden attends a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reception
• SpaceX Crew-4 mission return to Earth

Here are events happening on the islands tomorrow:

Oahu

• What: Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival
• Where: Various venues
• Details: Celebrating its 33rd anniversary this year, the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival continues to bring enriching films to Hawaii and empowers the diverse LGBTQ community through storytelling, Oct. 13-23. Opening night, Oct. 13, is at Consolidated Theatre Ward followed by an after party at Hula’s Bar & Lei Stand; films will stream online during the week of Oct. 14; and the closing weekend, Oct. 21-23, will include in-person screenings at the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Doris Duke Theatre. Visit the event website for details that include six in-person screenings and more than 20 films shown online.

Maui

• What: Mālama Wao Akua - ‘Caring for the Realm of the Gods’ Exhibition
• Where: Hui Noeau Visual Arts Center | 2841 Baldwin Ave., Makawao | 808-572-6560
• Details: Hui Noeau and East Maui Watershed Partnership welcome the public to view Mālama Wao Akua, an annual juried art exhibition honoring the native species of Maui Nui. If you’re inspired to create with your own hands, see the classes available at the Hui Noeau website.

Hawaii Island

• What: Weldon Kekauoha
• Where: Sage Sounds Musician’s Lounge | 79-7401 Hawaii Belt Rd., Kealakekua | 808-335-4774
• Details: Award-winning Hawaiian musical artist Weldon Kekauoha performs, 7-9 p.m. Oct. 14. Tickets.

Kauai

• What: 2022 Kauai Chocolate and Coffee Festival
• Where: Historic Hanapepe Town
• Details: This event hits the perfect flavor combination of deep, soothing chocolate with mellow to spicy coffee flavors, Oct. 14-15. Enjoy chocolate and coffee sampling, workshops and demonstrations, activities, crafters, food vendors, entertainment and more. A gala dinner at Blu Umi Garden at Japanese Grandma’s Kitchen on Oct. 13 kicks off the event. It features a menu created with cacao and coffee. Tickets for the festival and dinner available here.

For more on these and other events, see this week's HI Out & About.

Watch Live

• Catch an OIA Girls Volleyball quarterfinal doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on OC16 or streaming on the Spectrum News app.