Free Republic

Following the horrific and incredibly destructive fires in southern California earlier this year, hundreds of residents of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood are opting to sell their homes rather than rebuild. For months now, various people have predicted that this would happen because the bureaucratic red tape in California is a nightmare to deal with, not to mention the exorbitant costs. It is absolutely awful that so many of these people find themselves in a position where they’re unable to rebuild homes they have lived in for years. This is all on the Democrat leaders of the city and the state....

The Supreme Court unanimously decided on Thursday to limit environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects in a case that will have sweeping impacts on President Donald Trump’s energy agenda. In a move that will restrict power of federal judges, Thursday’s decision reduces the scope of reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to focus solely on immediate impacts. Under NEPA, federal agencies are required to study any potentially significant environmental consequences of federal permits for infrastructure projects. “NEPA does not allow courts, ‘under the guise of judicial review’ of agency compliance with NEPA, to delay or block agency projects...

Immigration enforcement is intensifying in Hawaii, with federal authorities making dozens of arrests in May, including at Kona’s coffee farms, which has left communities shaken. On Maui, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents questioned in early May several Filipino teachers who are employed through a work visa program as part of a cultural and educational exchange, detaining some briefly while they were interviewed. No arrests were made in that instance, but Homeland Security Investigations Honolulu, along with federal partners, later arrested 50 people in one week during several raids across the islands of Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii. “I think there’s...

Kīlauea volcano has erupted with tall lava fountain

This week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem got in a heated argument with Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman (NY). The hearing was meant to focus on the budget. Of course, the hearing got sidetracked when Democrats began to press Noem about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the so-called “Maryland Man” who was living in the United States illegally and got deported to El Salvador. Democrats have flown to El Salvador to advocate for his release, despite the fact that judges determined that he is a member of MS-13. "It's gotta be extremely discouraging to be one of your constituents," Noem told...

The Tesla driver who served prison time for several road rage attacks in Southern California was attacked in a prison near Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was recently arrested for a similar attack. According to the Hawaii Department of Corrections, 38-year-old Nathaniel Radimak suffered injuries to his face and torso on Monday, May 12, at the Halawa Correctional Facility, KTLA sister station KHON reports. He was later taken to a hospital for treatment.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, who served as Speaker of the House and is now head of the House minority, is once again spending her Christmas at the exotic Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka'upulehu in Kona on the island of Hawaii. Pelosi reportedly plans to spend her Christmas Eve at midnight mass in St. Michael's Catholic Church in Kailua-Kona. Pelosi spent the last two Christmas holidays in Kona at the same hotel in an elaborate suite that rents for $10,000 a night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwGJtc0PHb0 Kilauea is currently erupting.

Planning a vacation in Hawaii? Might be better to make it sooner rather than later as local lawmakers are ready to hike a tax imposed on travelers staying in hotels, vacation rentals and other short-term accommodations. AP reports the first-of-its-kind impost will earmark the funding boost for programs to cope with “climate change” with the politicians responsible pointing to the wildfires that devastated parts of Hawaii in 2023 as evidence that something must be done. State leaders highlight projects like replenishing sand on eroding beaches, helping homeowners install hurricane clips on their roofs and removing invasive grasses as a starting...

Two teenage girls from Germany were detained, arrested, and deported at an airport in Hawaii after immigration officials said it was suspicious they had not booked a hotel room. Backpackers Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepere, 18, arrived in Honolulu from Auckland while undergoing a round-the-world trip. The duo planned to spend five weeks in Hawaii before moving onto California and Costa Rica for the next legs of their journey. But despite having ESTA travel authorization, immigration officials accused them of attempting to enter the U.S. to work illegally, and they were placed in handcuffs and taken to a nearby...

Hawaii Democrats have advanced a bill that would clear the way for individuals and insurers adversely affected by an “event attributable to climate change” to sue companies and other entities for spreading climate “misinformation.” S.B. 1166, introduced by Democratic Hawaii State Sen. Chris Lee, aims to “provide a new, specific cause of action for any person other than an officer or employee of a state or local governmental entity” and insurers to file suit against companies or other entities that supposedly misinformed the public about the nature of climate change. Lee introduced the bill on Jan. 17, and it is...

April 18, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of Ernie Pyle’s death on the battlefield Eighty years ago, Ernie Pyle, one of America's most recognized war correspondents, was killed while covering the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -- Eighty years ago, one of America’s most recognized war correspondents was killed while covering the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. When it came to telling the story of the American soldier fighting the good fight overseas, no one compared to Ernie Pyle. “He exemplified the courage and the willingness to hear the story of the common soldier,...

At 106 years old, Vaughn Drake Jr. was the oldest known survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor until his death on April 7, according to his obituary. Born Nov. 6, 1918, in Winchester, Kentucky, Drake served in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He saw the battles of Pearl Harbor and Saipan in the Marianas, collecting an array of honors including the special congressional medal for Pearl Harbor veterans and the World War II Victory Medal. In 2016, the Lexington Herald-Leader sat down with Drake to record some of his memories of the fateful attack on...

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Recently, there was an expose on Mark Zuckerberg’s Kauaʻi compound where he and his partner have been making waves in the local community. As sea levels rise, you’re probably asking yourself why he’s investing so much money into a compound that will be impacted by beach erosion, rising ocean levels and a disappearing island. One article that gives a bit of insight into why Zuckerberg is sinking so much money into the property comes from a tech futurist writer with The Guardian. This writer was asked by the world’s biggest tech leaders to a meeting to explain...

A former Hawaii resident, and longtime green card holder, is among those being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HONOLULU (Hawaii News Now) -- Green card holders are officially Lawful Permanent Residents of the United States, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. But being a resident of the United States is very different from being a citizen. Lewelyn Dixon immigrated from the Philippines to Hawaii 50 years ago. She graduated from Farrington High School and has been working as a lab technician at the University of Washington. Dixon was returning home to Seattle from a family trip...

Steering the utility from the brink of bankruptcy justified a $1.7 million raise for its CEO, the company said. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. and its subsidiaries faced torrents of bad news in 2024. Federal investigators found the company’s equipment had started the Lahaina wildfire that killed 102 people and destroyed most of the historic town. The company agreed to pay $1.9 billion to settle hundreds of lawsuits blaming it for the fire. Legislative measures to help bail out the company stalled. The bottom line: a net loss of $1.4 billion for the company. [Caption] Hawaiian Electric Industries, whose equipment sparked...

[Video] After an outcry, the Army has republished a history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team on its website. WASHINGTON, D.C. (Hawaii News Now) -- The U.S. Army has republished an article detailing the history of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team on it’s website. https://www.army.mil/article/283793 The article was republished Saturday, replacing the webpage that was taken down sometime earlier this month, https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/03/14/history-nisei-go-broke-wwii-unit-removed-army-website/ triggering an outcry from relatives of members of the unit and others, including U.S. Congressmen Ed Case of Hawaii and Mark Takano of California, whose great uncle was a veteran of the 442nd. The 442nd, combined with...

The Trump administration is planning to cancel its lease at a government laboratory in Hawaii, a site where scientists support key observations of surging greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, according to a list obtained by Democratic members of Congress and shared with The Washington Post. The Global Monitoring Laboratory in Hilo, Hawaii, is on a list of dozens of National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration facilities whose leases are set to expire later this year. The lab is connected to the Mauna Loa Observatory, where scientists gather data from atop a volcano to produce the famed Keeling Curve, a chart on...

Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) this week blocked a border reform bill introduced by freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), despite his plea to Democrats to unite on something so common sense. “I know that my Democrat colleagues are in a mode where they want to fight everything that we’re doing, Mr. President, but we should at least come together on this,” Moreno said on the floor. “As I look over at my democratic colleague, there’s only two of us — two of us as entire chamber — that are naturalized U.S. citizens,” he said of himself and Hirono. “We know...

United States Geological Survey said that it started around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, and fountains of lava are now reaching up to 600 feet. [Video] HONOLULU (Hawaii News Now) -- Fountaining at Kilauea reached dramatic heights Tuesday evening. Episode 12 of Kilauea’s current eruption began at around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday with small, sluggish lava flows from the south vent. Two hours later, similar flows erupted from the north vent and both grew significantly throughout the day. The U.S. Geological Survey said as of 3:15 p.m. fountains reached heights of 600 feet with flows covering approximately a third of Halemaumau crater. Kilauea’s...