The emotionally charged special session of the Legislature that led to Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s signing of the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act was the top local news story of the year, but also dominating the headlines were shark attacks, including two fatalities, a massive molasses spill, the Christopher Deedy murder trial and GMO restrictions:
Same-sex marriage: Last month, Hawaii became the 15th state plus the District of Columbia to allow gay marriage. The special session that began Oct. 28 came after the U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act and allowed married same-sex couples to receive federal benefits. Abercrombie said a same-sex marriage law would need to be in effect by today for married gay couples to be able to take full advantage of tax benefits now offered by the federal government as a result of that ruling.
Shark bites: There were 14 shark-biting incidents across the state, four more than last year’s unprecedented total. Hawaii averaged between two and three incidents a year in the 1980s. During the past two decades, the annual average edged up to between three and four. Eight of the bites in 2013 occurred near Maui. Washington visitor Patrick Briney, 57, died shortly after he was bitten Dec. 2 while kayak-fishing; and 20-year-old German visitor Jana Lutteropp, who lost her right arm to a shark while snorkeling on Aug. 14, and died of her injuries a week after the incident.
Molasses spill: In September, more than 233,000 gallons of molasses leaked into Honolulu Harbor. Its oxygen-depleting plume destroyed marine life in its path after oozing through a fist-size hole in a corroded steel pipe below Pier 52. As a result, Matson Navigation suspended its molasses export operation, but questions remain as to whether there had been previous leaks and whether the state and Matson dropped the ball in averting the disaster.
Deedy trial: State Department special agent Christopher Deedy of Arlington, Va., is accused of murdering Kailua resident Kollin Elderts with a gunshot to the chest during an early-morning confrontation at a McDonald’s in Waikiki in November 2011. Deedy’s highly publicized trial ended in late August with the jury unable to reach a verdict on the second-degree murder charge. The prosecution tried to prove that an intoxicated Deedy escalated the confrontation and shot the unarmed Elderts without justification. Deedy, in Hawaii for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, testified he fired in self-defense to fend off Elderts, who had attacked him and grabbed for the gun. Deedy is expected to be retried in late June.
GMO debates: The Kauai County Council last month voted to override Mayor Bernard Carvalho’s veto of a controversial bill requiring large farms to disclose pesticide use and cultivation of genetically modified crops. The move was preceded by months of in-your-face political campaigning and marathon public hearings. Supporters linked pesticide use and GMOs (genetically modified organisms) to health problems while opponents contended that county restrictions were unwarranted. Earlier this month, Hawaii island Mayor Billy Kenoi signed a bill designed to limit planting of genetically modified crops in Hawaii County, and a Maui County Councilwoman introduced a bill similar to Kauai’s legislation.
