Island Life Live: coqui frog sweep, Kailua burial find, and OHA's military lease documentary
A local-news roundup from Oahu, mostly neutral but with warning signs for Kailua developers and bad news for one Windward Mall restaurant.
- A volunteer task force has caught close to 4,000 coqui frogs on Oahu since 2024, with new infestations spreading toward Kaneohe and Palolo.
- Two human teeth, likely Native Hawaiian and over 50 years old, turned up during a survey at a proposed Chick-fil-A site in Kailua — builders there now dig deeper and hit old burials more often.
- The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is releasing a documentary on military land leases signed for $1 over 65 years that all expire in the next two years; OHA wants public input, not a military exit.
- Big City Diner is closing its Windward Mall location at the end of October after 11 years, though its other spots stay open.
- Lea Salonga performs with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra in mid-October for Filipino American Heritage Month, and Home Depot's tool-belt holiday sweater sold out in hours.
Outlook: The fight over what happens to Hawaii's expiring military lease lands is set to become the state's biggest land decision in a generation.