Happy weekend, Hawaii! Spectrum News Hawaii is excited to launch a new weekly series, where we recap the top stories you may have missed throughout the week.
This is the second story in the series. Check out last week’s round up here.
[Note: The stories below have been truncated, so please click on the links to read them in their entirety.]
This week’s big stories
1. Sterling Carvalho out as head coach of Kahuku football program
Despite authoring a run of success that included three consecutive Open Division state championships, Sterling Carvalho has been removed as head coach of the Kahuku football program.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Billy Hull first reported late Tuesday night that Carvalho, the Red Raiders’ six-season leader, was the subject of an email dated March 31 sent to parents of student-athletes by Kahuku principal Donna Lindsey.
“This letter is to inform you that effective immediately, Coach Sterling Carvalho will no longer be serving as the head coach of the KHIS Football Program,” Lindsey wrote. “Plans are in place to ensure continued support and stability for our student-athletes and the Football Program. An interim head coach will be assigned while we begin the process of selecting a new head coach.”
There was no immediate word on the specific reasoning for his removal.
2. Kilauea eruption stops and starts again, marking 16th episode
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported Kilauea volcano began its 16th episode on Monday at 10:57 p.m., continuing the ongoing eruption. High lava fountains started to emerge at 10:24 a.m. on Tuesday, reaching heights of 700 feet.
But at 12:03 p.m. on Wednesday, Episode 16 ended when high fountaining at the south vent stopped. Fountains from the south vent sustained heights of 600-700 feet for 23 hours, then dropped to less than 300 feet at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday.
The current eruption, which began on Dec. 23, 2024, has already produced 15 episodes of lava fountaining, each separated by brief pauses in activity. These spectacular bursts of lava originate from two vents within the Halema?uma?u crater: the north vent and the south vent.
3. Kauai County warns residents of 'E-Z Pass' scam
There is a new public scam circulating on Kauai involving a text message directing those who get it to pay an “E-Z Pass lane debt.”
E-ZPass is a toll system operating across 20 states on the continental U.S., which has put out its on alert regarding scam texts. Hawaii does not operate any toll system.
The county says the scam text message is coming from individuals posing as representatives of the county’s Division of Motor Vehicles and states the victim must settle an “E-Z Pass lane debt” to avoid fines and the suspension of driving privileges, according to a release.
A link included in the scam text directs people to a clone website with the aim to get them to enter credit card details and update their profiles in order to get the person’s personal and credit card information.
4. Hawaii men's volleyball alone in 1st in Big West with sweep of UC San Diego
Louis Sakanoko called for the ball, and Tread Rosenthal obliged with a set to the left pin. But the French sophomore was oriented toward the Hawaii bench, not the net.
He improvised with a reverse swing behind his body, somehow connected and found an open spot between UC San Diego's defense.
"I was like, I need to do something. And so I just did that, and that works," said Sakanoko, who added that the move has French roots. "Pretty cool to do that in America."
Charlie Wade could only shake his head after the 25-21, 25-21, 25-18 outcome that gave him the seventh 20-win season of his 16-year UH career, and fourth in a row.
5. Egg prices in Hawaii nearly double U.S. national average
Egg prices in Hawaii have risen sharply in the first quarter of 2025, with the cost of local and mainland eggs in Honolulu now nearly on par. However, Hawaii continues to face egg prices that are almost double the national average.
According to data from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture Market Analysis and News Branch, the price of local eggs rose by 20% since Jan. 1, 2025, reaching a median price of $9.51 per dozen. Meanwhile, the price of imported mainland eggs increased by 30%, now averaging $9.46 per dozen — a difference of just a few cents.
Despite the price parity between local and mainland eggs, Hawaii’s prices are significantly higher than the national average of $4.90 per dozen. This price hike is primarily attributed to the ongoing effects of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, which has disrupted egg production across the continental U.S.
While Hawaii was the last state to detect HPAI — confirmed in two locations in November 2024 — there have been no confirmed cases in the state’s commercial egg facilities.
6. DLNR continues crackdown on people picking opihi, arrests one person and cites two others
On Saturday, state conservation officers cited two people and arrested a third person for allegedly picking opihi along the shoreline in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island.
This comes less than a week after officers cited two men for allegedly collecting opihi from the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District on Oahu’s North Shore.
On Saturday, DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers approached 60-year-old James Kanuha of Kailua-Kona, who was allegedly seen picking opihi along the Alli Drive shoreline. He had collected 156 undersized opihi, according to a DLNR news release. Officers told him to return the opihi to a tide pool.
Officers cited Kanuha for violating a Hawaii law that says it is illegal to take any opihi shell (with the animal attached), which is less than one and one-fourth inches in diameter. He is required to appear in Kona District Court on May 8.