Our Kuleana Academy fellow, Sonny Ganaden is one of the lawyers providing pro-bono legal services to the kupuna arrested protecting Mauna Kea on July 17, 2019. Sonny reflects on how the movement to protect Mauna Kea underscores the need for real criminal justice reform in Hawaii.

Today Governor Ige issued a statement urging lawmakers to pass HB 1326 HD2, a bill that would extend the holdover of temporary water permits for another 7 years. Of particular concern, the HD2 version of the bill, which the Governor advocates for in his memo, would allow A&B to continue to operate under revocable permits that have already been invalidated by a Circuit Court ruling. In response, HAPA’s Executive Director, Anne Frederick has issued the following statement…

To protect our communities from pesticide drift, we must improve pesticide incident response and deter future misuse by increasing penalties for pesticide use violations. You can help by submitting testimony in support of HB 929.

Decision low-balls water returned to stream, ignores its cultural significance

If perhaps the tides are beginning to turn for communities suffering public health impacts from dangerous pesticides, Hawaiʻi is the fringe on the wave of change.

Honolulu, Hawai‘i: Hawai'i made history today when Governor David Ige, watched by representatives of the community from across the islands, signed into law Senate Bill 3095, banning all uses of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxin that has been banned for home use for over 10 years because of its known impacts on the developing brains of children.