All posts tagged: Hawaii

Suspect in the killings of 3 men in Hawaii is charged with murder

Suspect in the killings of 3 men in Hawaii is charged with murder

A Hawaii man arrested last week following a dayslong manhunt has been charged with murder in connection with the killings of three men on the Big Island, police announced. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Jacob Daniel Baker, 36, is charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder, the Hawaii Police Department said in a news release Saturday. The murder charges came after police conferred with the Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the department said. The first-degree murder charge pertains to “intentionally or knowingly killing two or more people,” and the second-degree murder charges relate to the three slain victims, police said. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive. Attorney information for Baker was not immediately available Sunday. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Hilo District Court on Monday. Baker is also charged with burglary, breaking into a car, auto theft and other offenses, authorities said. “Baker’s bail for the murder charges is set at no bail. …

Hawaii is turning fishnets and other plastic trash into roads

Hawaii is turning fishnets and other plastic trash into roads

biologist: A scientist involved in the study of living things. chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds. climate: The weather conditions that typically exist in one area, in general, or over a long period. debris: Scattered fragments, typically of trash or of something that has been destroyed. Space debris, for instance, includes the wreckage of defunct satellites and spacecraft. environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest). innovation: (v. to innovate; adj. innovative) An adaptation or improvement …

Kelsey Pfendler is trying to become the youngest woman to row solo from California to Hawaii

Kelsey Pfendler is trying to become the youngest woman to row solo from California to Hawaii

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. A 31-year-old New York native named Kelsey Pfendler is one week into her audacious quest to become the youngest woman to row unassisted from California to Hawaii. To complete her over 2,400-mile journey, she will need to face stormy seas and traverse waters teeming with all types of ocean life.  If she succeeds, Pfendler will become the first American woman ever to do so. @yourowkelsey A couple hours of napping and some food will make you feel like a new woman! Waves and wind are still big, but luckily they are becoming more favorable, allowing Kelsey’s boat to catch and ride the waves. Kelsey is rowing to raise funds for The Whale Foundation an organization whose mission is to support, restore, and celebrate …

Man Wanted Over 3 Killings Apprehended After an Intense Search of Hawaii’s Big Island

Man Wanted Over 3 Killings Apprehended After an Intense Search of Hawaii’s Big Island

HONOLULU (AP) — A man wanted in connection with the killings of three men was apprehended Thursday after a massive search of Hawaii’s Big Island that had left residents on edge. Police said Jacob Baker, 36, of Pahoa, Hawaii, was arrested on suspicion of murder, burglary and other charges following a search that involved “significant resources,” including help from state and federal authorities. They described him as “armed and extremely dangerous.” Authorities said they believe Baker is involved in the deaths of three men: a 69-year-old man found partially submerged in a cement pond, a 79-year-old man who was found just a few hundred feet (meters) away, and a third man, also 69, whose body was found about 19 miles (31 kilometers) away. The killings took place over two days in a remote and mostly rural part of the island, which is the largest in the Hawaiian chain at more than 4,000 square miles (10,360 square kilometers). The area is a mix of tropical landscape and barren lava fields. Police received information Thursday afternoon that …

A battle over dark money is brewing in Hawaii and Montana

A battle over dark money is brewing in Hawaii and Montana

Political spending that is funneled into elections from a variety of nonprofits is known as dark money — and unlike campaign spending or the money deployed by PACs and super PACs, these sources are not required to disclose their donors. Following the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which created the country’s current election spending landscape, this has ramped up dramatically, with the 2024 election seeing a record $1.9 billion in dark money spending, nearly double the $1 billion spent in 2020. Now, some campaign finance reformers think they’ve found a state-level reform that can rein in this spending. Now, campaign finance reformers think they’ve found a solution, and it’s already in place in Hawaii. A newly enacted corporate law, SB 2471, changes the powers that corporations, or other artificial persons like nonprofits, are granted by the state of Hawaii. In the United States, states grant artificial persons powers as part of an agreement that allows those artificial persons to operate in the state. SB 2471 works by changing the powers that Hawaii grants these entities …

Tesla driver infamous for California road rage attacks goes to prison for another one in Hawaii

Tesla driver infamous for California road rage attacks goes to prison for another one in Hawaii

A Tesla driver who became infamous for a series of road rage attacks captured on camera in Southern California is headed to prison after being convicted of a similar attack in Hawaii. Nathaniel Radimak, 40, was previously convicted and jailed in Los Angeles over two incidents of road rage, during which he was seen threatening women with a pipe in 2022 and 2023. But after serving less than a year of his five-year sentence, he was paroled and released due to overcrowding. Then last May, he was arrested in connection with an attack in Hawaii. Honolulu police arrested Radimak after he exchanged words with an 18-year-old woman parking her car on Halekauwila Street, officials said. Radimak was accused of getting out of his car and assaulting her and a 35-year-old woman before fleeing. He was charged with one count of unauthorized entry into a car and two counts of assault in the third degree. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After initially pleading not guilty in the case, Radimak entered …

The Zuckerbergs Are Hiring a Lifeguard but Calling It a ‘Beach Water Person’

The Zuckerbergs Are Hiring a Lifeguard but Calling It a ‘Beach Water Person’

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are hiring a seasonal, on-call “Beach Water Person” based in Kauai, Hawaii, where the family owns a sprawling compound, according to a new job listing on Greenhouse associated with West 10, the Zuckerberg family office. This is an interesting choice for a job title, because according to the job description, the primary duties of this “Beach Water Person” include serving as a “Beach Lifeguard,” and “Pool Lifeguard.” In other words, being a lifeguard. The job listing names a few additional duties related to water activities, such as instructing “stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), canoe paddling, snorkeling, and other ocean-based activities.” These, however, come after the water safety duties in the job description. This position easily could have been called “Pool/Beach Lifeguard,” or simply “Lifeguard.” For the sake of comprehensiveness, “Pool/Beach Lifeguard and Boat Deckhand” would have also worked. Alternatively, the Zuckerbergs could have chosen “Beach/Pool Attendant,” a job title roughly synonymous with lifeguard that could reasonably be interpreted as encompassing extra duties associated with leisure, such as tending …

Hawaii’s Worst Flooding in 20 Years Leaves Farmers Struggling and Fewer Veggies at the Market

Hawaii’s Worst Flooding in 20 Years Leaves Farmers Struggling and Fewer Veggies at the Market

WAIALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The reddish-brown mud that smothered Bok Kongphan’s Hawaii farm has hardened in the tropical sun. Irrigation tubes lie in a tangle where his lemongrass, cucumber and okra once flourished. His niece, Jeni Balanay, lost her crops too — a mustardy green called choy sum, bitter melon, tomato. The leaves of her recently planted banana, coconut and mango have gone yellow, the trees unlikely to survive. Across Oahu’s North Shore, an area famed for its big-wave surfing, the small farms that help supply the island’s food are struggling after back-to-back storms in March brought the state’s worst flooding in two decades. Officials are pleading with farmers not to give up, stressing that local agriculture is crucial for the isolated archipelago. “In some cases entire farms have been wiped out,” said Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. “These are farmers who were just days or weeks away from harvesting and now they have to start over.” According to data collected by farming advocates, more than 600 of Hawaii’s 6,500 farms …

New Virginia Law Banning `Assault Firearms’ Prompts Quick Lawsuits From Gun-Rights Groups

New Virginia Law Banning `Assault Firearms’ Prompts Quick Lawsuits From Gun-Rights Groups

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, prompting immediate lawsuits from gun-rights groups. The limits on “ assault firearms,” as they are described by the legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months in office. That marks a sharp policy reversal from her Republican predecessor, who had vetoed many similar measures. “Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets,” Spanberger said in a statement Friday. “We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe.” The new gun restrictions move Virginia closer to the likes of California, Illinois and New York, which similarly have full Democratic control of their legislatures and governors’ offices. They also highlight a continued national divide on gun policy, as various Republican-led states have taken steps to relax firearm restrictions that they describe as an infringement on Second Amendment rights. A dozen …

Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial, emails show

Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial, emails show

WASHINGTON — When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement. Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor. The swim, revealed in government emails obtained by the Associated Press, comes to light amid criticism of Patel’s use of the FBI plane and his global travel, which have blurred professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover on the island. “It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second-deadliest attack in U.S. history — instead …