Happy weekend, Hawaii! Spectrum News Hawaii is excited to launch a new weekly series, where we recap the top stories you may have missed throughout the week.
[Note: The stories below have been truncated, so please click on the links to read them in their entirety.]
This week’s big stories
1. Maui's Ka‘imi Kahalekai saves day for Long Beach State baseball against Hawaii
Ka‘imi Kahalekai heard it from the Les Murakami Stadium sellout crowd as he warmed up and sailed a ball into the backstop. He heard it even more when he went to a 3-0 count on the first batter he faced.
But the lanky Maui native had the last word as he recorded the last two outs Saturday night, stranding the tying run on second base in Long Beach State’s 3-2 win over Hawaii to even the teams’ Big West series at 1-1.
It was the first career save for the freshman from Kahului.
After he battled back from that 3-0 count to strike out Draven Nushida and got the last out on a fielder’s choice for pinch hitter Aidan Kuni, Kahalekai told Spectrum News he relished the moment.
“I love it, man. It's fun. It's a fun environment,” the 6-foot-8 Kamehameha-Maui graduate said. “Get to prove to people who I really am, let myself do the work and just shout for my team and for my family, is what it's all really about.”
2. Kilauea eruption starts and stops again, marking 17th episode
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported Kilauea volcano began its 17th episode on Monday at 10:15 p.m., continuing the ongoing eruption. But at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, episode 17 ended when low fountaining at the south vent stopped.
During episode 17, fountains from the south vent sustained heights of 50-200 feet. High lava fountains up to 1,000 feet, which have been seen in previous episodes, did not occur during this episode.
The current eruption, which began on Dec. 23, 2024, has already produced 16 episodes of lava fountaining, each separated by brief pauses in activity. These spectacular bursts of lava originate from two vents within the Halemaʻumaʻu crater: the north vent and the south vent.
3. AGs seek to restore humanitarian parole for immigrants
State attorney general Anne Lopez and 15 other attorneys general filed an amicus brief Thursday to support a class-action lawsuit seeking to compel the Department of Homeland Security to process applications for so-called parole pathways despite President Donald Trump’s executive order terminating humanitarian parole programs for immigrants fleeing dangerous conditions in their home countries.
“The state of Hawaii has been a major beneficiary of immigration and welcomes those who have followed lawful procedures to escape war, oppression and chaos in their home countries,” said deputy solicitor general Thomas Hughes, the state’s lead attorney in this matter. “The Trump administration’s sudden termination of all humanitarian parole programs will have devastating impacts on immigrant communities. We were proud to join with a coalition of attorneys general to fight against the harms the federal government’s reckless actions will have on law-abiding immigrants in our states.”
Under Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, DHS stopped processing new applications for parole pathways — which allow newly arrived immigrants to temporarily remain in the United States and join the workforce while their request for permanent residence is under review — and barred current parolees from applying for other forms of temporary or permanent immigration status.
4. New parking restrictions in effect on various streets in Kailua
In an effort to improve water quality in nearby streams, new parking restrictions on 11 Kailua streets went into effect on Thursday, April 3. The city says additional restrictions will be announced on April 7.
Developed in collaboration with the Kailua Neighborhood Board and local community members committed to protecting the environment, the parking restrictions will be enforced and citations issued by Honolulu Police Department officers on the first Monday and Thursday of each month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Department of Facility Maintenance says restrictions will follow an “alternate-side sweeping schedule” — parking will be prohibited on one side of affected streets on the first Monday with restrictions shifting to the opposite side on the first Thursday, according to a release.
The affected streets:
- The entire length of Keolu Drive, Akumu Street, Kainehe Street, Hoolai Street, Aulike Street and Uluniu Street
- Maluniu Avenue from Kuulei Road to Uluniu Street
- Kihapai Street from Kainehe Street to Oneawa Street
- Kailua Road from Hamakua Drive to Oneawa Street
- Kuulei Road from Oneawa Street to Maluniu Avenue
- Hamakua Drive from Kailua Road to Keolu Drive
5. Hawaii men's volleyball achieves back-to-back sellouts for 1st time in 29 seasons
Top-ranked Long Beach State will bring a considerable challenge to bear for the No. 4 Hawaii men’s volleyball team at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center this weekend.
The Beach is also drawing the crowds.
UH announced Wednesday afternoon that Friday’s matchup between the Big West co-leaders at the 10,300-seat arena has sold out; Saturday’s rematch sold out last month.
“I think everybody knows they're important matches,” coach Charlie Wade said. “Two of the best teams playing each other; seems like, whenever we play, there's something at stake. So, (it) just kind of goes with the territory. And think everybody's been looking forward to it for a long time and excited to get out and compete.”
Per the school, they are UH’s first back-to-back sellouts in men’s volleyball since 1996, the sport’s second year in what was then called the Special Events Arena, when Yuval Katz mania took hold under then-coach Mike Wilton.
They are the first back-to-back sellouts for any UH arena sport since men’s basketball’s Dynamic Duo era of Anthony Carter and Alika Smith in 1998.
