On TV

  • Lawmakers introduce bill to expand industrial hemp operations

    KHON - January 26, 2016

    Lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday to expand industrial hemp operations in Hawaii.

    The measure, HB2555, supports a public-private partnership to consider the benefits of industrial hemp to our state’s economy.

    The measure has been cosigned by over 30 members in the House of Representatives.

    A similar industrial hemp measure, SB2659, was introduced last week on the Senate side by Sen. Mike Gabbard.

    As of now, there is only one plot of industrial hemp that’s allowed to be grown in Hawaii, and that’s the University of Hawaii’s research project in Waimanalo.

  • Microbeads now under federal ban

    KITV - January 12, 2016

    HONOLULU -

    On the same day the San Bernardino mass shooting captured our attention, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to ban the use of what are called microbeads in cosmetics.

    "The worst part of this stuff goes right through our sewage treatment plants and right into the ocean," said Kahi Paccaro of Sustainable Coastlines.

    Weeks later, during his Hawaii vacation, Pres. Obama signed the bill into law.

    "The ban the president put through is for the betterment of all of our health," said Paccaro.

  • Kauai wants state to help make interisland travel cheaper

    Hawaii News Now - November 3, 2015

    LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) - Kauai County is asking the state to incentivize competition and help make interisland travel cost less.

    The Garden Island reports council members unanimously approved a resolution last month asking the Legislature to step in.

    Councilman Ross Kagawa says he's spoken with officials on other islands and he thinks they will pass similar resolutions.

  • Exclusive: Electric vehicles park free for days, weeks at airports

    Hawaii News Now - August 10, 2015

    Electric car owners are taking advantage of a loophole and for three years have been parking free at state airports when the law originally passed was only supposed to give them 24 hours of free parking.

    At Honolulu International Airport, the daily parking rate is $15.

    State legislators approved a law in 2012 allowing drivers of EVs to get 24 hours of free parking at airports across the state, regardless of whether they were using charging stations or even parking in special designated parking spots.

  • Historic hemp harvest buoys hopes

    KITV - July 23, 2015

    “They are beasts. I call them monsters. It's crazy. They are ten weeks old, and they got this big," said UH researcher Harry Ako.

    According to Ako, the plants are not only drought-resistant and self-weeding, they're organic too. There has been no use of pesticides or fertilizer.

    The ceremonial harvest celebrated results that have yielded robust plants in a short window of time.

    With the potential of three crops a year, lawmakers who support the development of a Hawaii hemp industry say it's time to drop the stigma.

  • Industrial hemp project yields incredible crop

    Hawaii News Now - July 23, 2015

    "It's crazy. It's crazy fast". That's how Dr. Harry Ako, the lead researcher on UH Manoa’s industrial hemp project, describes how well one of the varieties has taken to the local environment.
    In just ten weeks, several plants have grown to nearly 10 feet in height.

    "Notice they destroy the weeds underneath because they grow so much faster than the weeds" he continued.

    Longtime advocates were thrilled with the results.

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