The Hilton Hawaiian Hotel sponsors a professional legal fireworks show weekly off the beach. It’s usually a short five-minute display. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)It’s usually a short five-minute show, set up and broken down by the trained professionals at Hawaii Explosives and Pyrotechnics, Inc. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)At Daniel K. Inouye International Airport a rose hair tarantula waits inside its display tank before a news briefing on digitizing the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture’s plant and animal declarations, the forms travelers fill out on the airplane. Residents and visitors are prohibited from importing this hairy spider. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)A bearded dragon inside its display tank at the same news briefing, which also are banned for importing. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)A gopher snake is among the prohibited non-venomous and venomous snakes. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)A Panther Chameleon reaches out to Lt. Gov. Sylvia Lukes’ after the news briefing on digitizing the plant and animal declarations. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)
A rare Mitsubishi Pajero Jr, “Flying Pug,” parked among other trucks and SUVs at Sakura Cars showroom in Honolulu. Mitsubishi initially planned to produce 1,000 of the right-hand drive cars, imported from Japan. There’s a cult-like following in Hawaiʻi for these small and unusual vehicles. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)
A Suzuki Cappuccino two-seat roadster at Sakura Cars also has a right-hand drive orientation. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Kapolei High School students volunteer to help “Battery Bill” Ogawa collect electronic waste, or e-waste, at Ho’okele Elementary School in Kapolei. E-waste includes some rechargeable batteries, computers, laptops, monitors, flat-screen televisions, tablets and smartphones. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Ogawa recycles a computer monitor during the event, where an estimated 15,000 pounds were collected. Once recycled, 10% of proceeds will go back to the school. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Kapolei High School students and volunteers learn about the dangers of e-waste during the event, including that if it ends up in landfills, toxic materials can leach into the soil and ground water. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Rev. Kordell Kekoa blesses participants in the opening ceremonies for Kumu Ola Hou Iwilei, a new Transitional Shelter, opened Feb. 27. Located in the city’s Iwilei Center building, Kumu Ola Hou offers a holistic approach to treating homeless individuals. The shelter features 13 housing units that will help as many as 24 residents at a time begin reshaping their lives by addressing trauma, focusing on brain health and teaching lifestyle skills. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025) Mayor Rick Blangiardi, Governor Josh Green and Connie Mitchell from the Institute for Human Services hold a maile lei that Rev. Kekoa Kordell blessed at the opening of the new transitional shelter. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)Tours of ʻIolani Palace begin in the back of the palace where, visitors are met by docents before they start their tours on the steps. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)Residents in these two-story Kūhiō Park Terrace buildings are losing their Hawaiʻi Housing Authority homes to demolition. In the future, they may have a right to return to replacement units in a tower similar to the one in the background. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)
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