Honolulu Zoo earns accreditation
HONOLULU — The Honolulu Zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums after years of efforts to recapture the designation.
The zoo announced Wednesday that the facility has sought to renew its accreditation since 2016.
The association represents more than 230 facilities in the U.S. and abroad, according to its website.
The Honolulu Zoo, operated by the city’s Department Enterprise Services, submitted an application in September in the hope of winning approval in four years.
The zoo underwent a review by the association’s accreditation commission to ensure it met standards in categories including animal care and welfare, veterinary programs, conservation, education and safety.
The association requires zoos and aquariums to complete the accreditation process every five years to maintain membership, which is considered a mark of recognition by a group of animal and conservation experts.
The accreditation also gives zoos access to breeding programs, resources and conferences.
The zoo is closed, along with Honolulu parks, in response to the coronavirus pandemic and officials do not know when the facility will reopen.
Disputed project halted because of virus concerns
HONOLULU — Honolulu’s mayor announced a city park construction project will be delayed after expressing concern about gatherings of protesters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell was criticized for ordering construction to resume Monday in a section of Waimanalo Bay Beach Park known as Sherwood Forest.
Residents are under stay-at-home orders to minimize the spread of the coronavirus, but protesters gathered at the park Monday.
Much of the opposition to the $1.43 million project comes from Native Hawaiian activists who want to preserve Sherwood Forest, where about 100 ancestral bones have been found.
Caldwell reported that a 3-inch bone fragment was found by an archaeological monitor during construction Monday.
Honolulu City Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson, Lt. Gov. Josh Green and Honolulu Councilwoman Kym Pine were among the elected officials who called on Caldwell to stop construction.
City officials said in January they planned to continue the first phase of the development involving an 11-stall parking lot and a grassy field for gatherings and cultural activities.
