Good evening, Hawaii. Here are the main stories we’ve been following today:

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Today’s Big Stories

1. 2024 edition of Maui Invitational to return to Lahaina Civic Center in November

The 2024 edition of the Maui Invitational college basketball tournament will be played at its traditional home in the Lahaina Civic Center, event operator KemperSports announced on Thursday.

In the wake of the Aug. 8 wildfires on the Valley Isle that killed more than 100 people, damaged or destroyed thousands of structures and came within feet of singeing the exterior of the Civic Center, the decision was made to relocate the prestigious and popular event to the University of Hawaii’s Oahu basketball venue, SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Tournament officials made clear at the time that their intention was to return to Maui, but offered no guarantees until Thursday’s news release. The LCC has been used as a federal relief site in the months after the fires. A visit to the area by Spectrum News on Sept. 6 showed just how close the blaze came to the building; a tree in the middle of a roundabout on its southern side, facing historic Lahaina town, was scorched bare where the flames approached. Much of the hillside was charred, with burned-out structures in direct view.

Meanwhile, the 2024 field is shaping up to be another loaded one on the heels of a 2023 tournament that featured, at the time, the Nos. 1, 2, 4, 7 and 11 teams in the country. Purdue, the current national No. 2, won the event’s Wayne Duke Trophy for the first time.

It will be held in its traditional window of Thanksgiving week. Due to come for games Nov. 25 to 27 are Connecticut (current No. 1), North Carolina (7), Iowa State (10), Auburn (13) and Dayton (16), plus Michigan State, Memphis and Colorado.

“We are tremendously excited to bring the tournament back to where it belongs,” Tournament Chairman Dave Odom said in the KemperSports release. “It will be great to showcase the beauty of Maui while watching some of the best college basketball in the country.”

2. 5 cases of whooping cough confirmed in Hawaii

Five members of the same household have contracted pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, the state Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday.

According to DOH, the family, which was unvaccinated, had traveled from the continental United States and stayed at a hotel on Oahu. One of the family members, identified only as a child, was hospitalized.

The department is coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other states to notify travelers who were exposed. The DOH investigation has identified no close contacts after the family’s arrival in Hawaii.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by bacteria. It can cause severe coughing fits that persist for 10 weeks or more. It draws its popular name from the “whoop” sound produced when breathing in.

Both the CDC and DOH advise that the best way to protect against the disease is to stay up to date with recommended pertussis vaccines.

3. State prevails in affordable housing development suit

More than a dozen years since the state Land Use Commission reverted land intended for affordable housing development to the agricultural district, a U.S. District Court has ruled against developer DW Aina Lea Development, LLC, in its multimillion-dollar suit against the state. 

The Hawaii Island property that was to be developed as the Villages at Aina Lea was originally reclassified from agricultural to urban in the 1980s on the understanding that it was to be used for affordable housing development. No affordable units were built and the landowner eventually sold the property to new investors, who successfully petitioned to reduce the number of affordable housing units required.

As the court noted in its order for summary judgment in favor of the state, “After decades of receiving unfulfilled promises from the developers that they would build affordable housing, Hawaii’s Land Use Commission decided to return the land to agricultural use, meaning the proposed development could not proceed.”

4. Honolulu Civil Beat: Indictment of Wahiawa couple in child death details alleged abuse and how they hid it

The legal guardians of Geanna Bradley, a 10-year-old girl who died after suffering “chronic physical abuse,” were named in a 19-count indictment Wednesday that includes new charges related to the treatment of their 4-year-old adopted son, who prosecutors say was also severely abused. 

Brandy Blas, 35, Thomas Blas, 41, and Brandy’s mother, Debra Geron, 67, have been in custody since their arrest on Friday and continue to be held without bail. They all face counts of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office.

The Blases were legal guardians of Geanna and had adopted the boy and so were not subject to regular oversight. However, it appears that both of the children may have started in foster care, which would have required vetting of the home and monthly visits.

Child Welfare Services generally conducts at minimum monthly checks on children in foster care, according to a statement from Amanda Stevens, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services. Potential foster homes must also be screened to determine whether they are appropriate prior to children being placed. But the agency has not answered questions about Geanna’s specific case, other than to say that they had not received any reports of abuse or neglect involving Geron or the Blases, since they became legal guardians, until police responded to their home at 33 Karsten Drive in Wahiawa on Jan. 18 when Geanna was found dead.

The indictment details how the Blases and Geron conspired to abuse Geanna and hide her condition from other adults who may have reported it.

The three exchanged text messages about various methods they used to restrict Geanna’s physical movement and deny her access to basic needs. They talked over text about feeding her minimally, tying her up, keeping her confined to an enclosed space, watching her via surveillance video, and punishing her with physical force. 

They also went against the opinions of Geanna’s third grade teacher and school counselor and pulled her from Iliahi Elementary School in Oct. 2022 “under the guise” that they would homeschool her, the indictment says. This kept her away from school officials who would have been required to report any signs of abuse to authorities.

Between October 2018 and January, Thomas Blas would often appear on regular Zoom sessions with Geanna’s psychiatrist. Sometimes he would attend the sessions without Geanna present, the indictment says. Each session lasted around 15 minutes, and Geanna never attended alone. 

5. The Pōpolo Project brings Hawaii’s Black community together

The seed for the Pōpolo Project, a nonprofit that brings Hawaii’s Black community together, was planted in 2009 when Akiemi Glenn was a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

As she worked with people in Hawaii on her dissertation, she noticed there were a lot of misconceptions about her as a Black person. She also found she wasn’t interacting with a lot of other Black students. 

Originally, the Pōpolo Project started as a blog, where Glenn would publish interviews she conducted with Black people in Hawaii about their history and experiences. 

She realized that Black people in Hawaii were looking for community.

Since starting in 2017, the nonprofit has held many events and consulted on cultural projects, including the ongoing Honolulu African American Film Festival. However, she said the primary aim of the Pōpolo Project is to connect Black people in Hawaii to one another. 

In honor of Black History Month, the Pōpolo Project is hosting its annual Community Work Day at Kokua Learning Farm in Haleiwa on Feb. 24 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The nonprofit asks anyone interested in attending to RSVP.  

The Pōpolo Project is also working on a documentary film, which explores connections between Hawaii and African diaspora cultures, by following the story of falsetto musician Ryan Kamakakēhau Fernandez. A Hawaiian woman adopted Fernandez when he was a baby, raising him on Maui, where he learned about Hawaiian language and music. When his adoptive mother died in 2019, he felt a desire to learn more about his own history. The documentary will follow him as he travels to his birthplace in Little Rock, Arkansas and to Ghana, where many of his ancestors came from.

Your Notes for Tomorrow

Friday, Feb. 16

• 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend begins
• London Fashion Week
• Jennifer Lopez releases first studio album in 10 years
• UK’s Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan conclude visit to Canada for Invictus Games one-year-to-go celebration
• United Nations Association of the United States of America 2024 Global Engagement Summit