Good evening, Hawaii. Here are the main stories we've been following today:
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Today's Big Stories
1. Senate advances power outage compensation bill
A bill that would provide for a faster, more equitable system for determining when power utilities are responsible for compensating their customers for significant interruptions in service cleared the state Senate and is under consideration in the House.
Senate Bill 1648 was introduced in the aftermath of a series of hours-long outages in downtown Honolulu and Chinatown in June 2024 that resulted in area businesses suffering spoiled inventory, equipment damage and revenue loss.
An estimated 3,000 Hawaii Electric customers were affected by the outages; about 300 claims were filed, roughly half the total filed over the entire year.
Under the existing system, affected businesses had 30 days to file a claim for losses due to an outage. Under Public Utility Commission rules, utilities are required to compensate customers for damaged incurred by an outage that was within the utility’s control — as determined by the utility.
2. Hawaii County settles on COVID hazard pay with unions
Hawaii Island Mayor Kimo Alameda has signed agreements with the Hawaii Government Employees Association and Hawaii Fire Fighters Association for COVID-19 hazard pay.
Tentative agreements were being finalized, with two other unions representing county employees, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers and United Public Workers.
Alameda says the agreements fulfill his promise to settle hazard pay fairly with all employees.
“With these agreements, we are recognizing the hard work of our county employees,” said Alameda in a release. “Our employees go above and beyond supporting our communities, and we are committed to showing deep respect for their contributions. Importantly, we are also upholding our contractual obligations, ensuring consistency with other jurisdictions, and strengthening our partnerships so that we can move forward together.”
3. Honolulu Civil Beat: Maui Mayor calls for police Chief to be placed on leave over Diddy lawsuit
Mayor Richard Bissen has called for Maui Police Chief John Pelletier to be placed on administrative leave in light of recent allegations that he played a role in an elaborate scheme that allowed people to be assaulted by rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2018.
At the time, Pelletier was a Las Vegas police captain in charge of an area that included the glitzy boulevard of hotels and casinos known as The Strip.
On Friday, Pelletier’s name was added to a long list of defendants that includes high-profile celebrities such as former Miami Dolphins star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and comedian Drew “Druski” Desbordes, according to the lawsuit originally filed in October in the U.S. District Court for Northern California by Ashley Parham and two unnamed plaintiffs.
“While the allegations in the amended complaint remain unproven, they are serious in nature and involve claims of alleged criminal conduct,” Bissen said in a letter Monday to the Maui Police Commission. “This approach does not constitute a presumption of guilt but ensures that the individual in question is not in a position that may compromise the integrity of the office while the matter is under review.”
Bissen urged the commission to conduct its own independent review of the accusations.
4. Lily Wahinekapu named Player of Year, Laura Beeman Coach of Year in Big West women's basketball
Another outright regular-season championship begat a haul of Big West postseason awards for the Hawaii women’s basketball team.
Point guard Lily Wahinekapu was named Big West Player of the Year, Laura Beeman was named Coach of the Year and center Ritorya Tamilo earned Freshman of the Year.
Wahinekapu was UH’s representative on the six-player BWC first team while forward Imani Perez was named to the five-player second team, in addition to the BWC All-Defensive team.
UH coaches announced the awards to the team at a practice on the mainland ahead of this week's Big West championships in Henderson, Nev.
For Beeman it is her fourth coaching honor in the conference, and third in the last four years as it has mirrored UH winning the conference outright three times since 2022. With four conference coach of the year honors, Beeman matches Vince Goo for the most in program history. Goo won three in the Big West and one in the WAC.
5. Kilauea eruption starts and stops again, marking 13th episode
The eruption at Kilauea started again on Tuesday at 8:32 a.m. — six days after it paused, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. But on Tuesday at 3:13 p.m., the eruption stopped.
This marks the 13th episode in the eruption that began on Dec. 23, 2024. Before this, there have been 12 episodes of lava fountaining separated by pauses in activity.
Episode 13 started was preceded by small, sporadic spatter fountains 15 to 30 feet high that began around 1:30 p.m. on Monday within the north vent and continued to increase in intensity until 6:35 p.m., when HVO could see spattering on the streaming webcam.
Spattering continued to increase in intensity overnight and into the early morning hours on Tuesday. The north vent erupted at 2:36 a.m. and high fountains began about 10 minutes later. By 3:30 a.m., the north vent’s fountains reached heights up to 500 feet.
At 3:11 p.m., the north vent stopped erupting. Around the same time, the south fountain became unsteady and ceased activity by 3:13 p.m. Episode 13 fountaining lasted for 12 hours and 37 minutes, and lava flows covered more than 60% of Halemaumau crater floor.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
Wednesday, March 12
- President Donald Trump hosts Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin for a bilateral meeting as part of the latter's annual St. Patrick's visit
- SpaceX Crew-10 mission - a Dragon spacecraft, on a Falcon 9 rocket, launches to the International Space Station, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, alongside JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov
- Equal Pay Day, symbolizing how far into each year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned in the previous year on average
- NFL 2025 League Year and Free Agency period begins
- 2025 House Democratic Issues Conference
- Court hearing for Buffalo, NY, supermarket shooting suspect on federal hate crime charges
- Court hearing for suspect charged in Gilgo Beach serial killings case
- Court appearance for man charged with lighting woman on fire on New York subway
In Case You Missed It
First-ever Impact SmallBiz Showcase highlights Hawaii's rising entrepreneurs
In partnership with the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii hosts its first-ever Impact SmallBiz Showcase, an event designed to celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship and the future of small business in Hawaii.
The showcase takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 27 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort’s Coral Ballroom.
“This showcase is a testament to the creativity and resilience of Hawaii’s entrepreneurs,” said Sherry Menor-McNamara, president & CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, in a news release. “It’s a chance to connect with emerging businesses, celebrate their success, and see firsthand how they’re shaping Hawaii’s future.”
Pacific Business News Editor-in-Chief Janis Magin will emcee the event, which highlights the accomplishments of participants in the Impact SmallBiz accelerator program, a statewide initiative that supports small businesses and early-stage entrepreneurs. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with local businesses, hear their stories and see their growth.
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