Hawaiian Church Sued Over Construction On Former Cemetery Site

AP reports on a lawsuit filed in Hawaii last Wednesday to require Honolulu's Kawaiahao Church and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to fully comply with state burial laws in a construction project on land that was once a cemetery. The church is building a $17.5 million multipurpose center. The suit was filed by Abigail Kawananakoa after initial construction discovered 69 graves. Among those buried in the cemetery is Queen Kapiolani, an ancestor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit. The church says it followed all state laws in the construction, while the lawsuit alleges that the laws have been circumvented in order to speed up the building project