...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts up to 35 kt and seas
6 to 9 feet.
* WHERE...Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu Leeward Waters, Kaiwi
Channel, Maui County Windward Waters, Maui County Leeward
Waters, Maalaea Bay, Big Island Leeward Waters and Big Island
Southeast Waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Friday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (AP) — Residents of Hawaiian homelands may soon have more options for connecting to the internet.
That’s because the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is lifting a decades-old exclusivity clause allowed only one internet service provider option for Hawaiian homesteaders.
The clause made Sandwich Isles Communications the only telecom provider for Hawaiian homelands since 1995.
It’s a step toward increasing digital equity for Native Hawaiians, said department Deputy Director Tyler Iokepa Gomes.
Homesteaders have had no other internet options, even after Sandwich Isles ran into legal and financial trouble in 2015 and wasn’t able to provide needed upgrades in service.
The department will receive at least $90 million in federal funds to provide high-speed internet access to homesteaders.
Homelands residents can continue to remain with Sandwich Isles or choose from other providers including Hawaiian Telcom or Spectrum.
The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 was meant to provide economic self-sufficiency to Hawaiians by allowing them to use land to live on. Those with at least 50% Hawaiian blood quantum can apply for a 99-year lease for $1 a year.