Following 15 months since it last inspected the Ka Loko Reservoir Dam, the state is waiting until next Friday to decide whether its engineers will conduct a second structural assessment.
The last time the Department of Land and Natural Resources inspected the dam was Oct. 10, 2006, when state engineers conducted phase I of its post-breach [...]

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Last year’s rain and subsequent dam burst led to the devastation
Three streams damaged by last year’s heavy rain and the private land surrounding them will get a cleanup and restoration work, thanks to a $6.7 million joint federal-state project, officials said yesterday.
Private and public lands along Makaua Stream in Kaaawa as well as Wailapa and [...]

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THE ISSUE: The owner of a Hawaii news Web site has been subpoenaed to name her confidential sources for recent articles.
A lawyer is challenging the right of Internet journalist Malia Zimmerman to protect the identities of her confidential sources, mistakenly calling her a blogger. Zimmerman clearly derives her livelihood from gathering the news and disseminating [...]

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Hawaii’s Circuit Court Judge Gary Chang decided Monday, April 30, that Malia Zimmerman, editor and reporter for Hawaii Reporter, should be deposed as part of a civil lawsuit by retired auto mogul Jimmy Pflueger. Mr. Pflueger, who was convicted in 2005 on 10 felony counts for illegal grubbing and grading of Kauai’s Pilaa Bay, also [...]

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“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
By Jane Dahm, Sonia Thosar, Keenan Herman and Maddie Stevens, 5th Grade Students, Daniel Wright Junior School in Lincolnshire, IL
Editor’s note: Litigation to determine who is at fault for the March 14, 2006, Ka Loko Dam breach and the deaths of 8 people is still [...]

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The finished session is notable for rejection of Lingle nominees
The 2007 Legislature ended with House and Senate members holding hands and singing, but the session will most be remembered for the two people not there: Iwalani White and Peter Young.
The Senate Democrats handed Republican Gov. Linda Lingle her first two Cabinet nomination defeats as the [...]

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A Burst Dam in Hawaii Killed Seven People — Was It Really an Act of God?
The Hawaiian island of Kauai, with its pristine rain forests and idyllic beaches, is an American paradise. The “Garden Isle,” as it’s called, is also a popular wedding destination, a remote and romantic setting that lures young couples to take [...]

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Those seeking closure for one of Kaua‘i’s deadliest tragedies will have to wait until the year 2009 before the first of two civil trials begins, a judge determined yesterday.
That’s largely due to the arguments made by several defense attorneys that adequate preparation for those accused of negligence in the Ka Loko Reservoir Dam breach will [...]

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It’s an anniversary that haunts Bruce Fehring, and his wife Cynthia. On March 14th 2006, the Kaloko dam bursts. More than three hundred million gallons of water is released, wiping out everything in its path. Seven people are swept away. Among the missing, the couple’s daughter Aurora, their son in law Alan, [...]

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Key Witnesses Speak Out for the First Time; Dam’s Owner James Pflueger Goes on the Record with Hawaii Reporter; Kauai County Mystery Unsolved; Government on the Hot Seat; Families Still Wait for Justice

22-year-old Christina “Sunny” McNees was captured by a friend on video last March talking about the meaning of life, her belief in God [...]

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