Activists delay rebirth of Hawaii hotel with Elvis ties

HONOLULU (AP) — Developers rebuilding a storied, hurricane-ravaged Hawaii hotel with a Hollywood connection were looking forward to the Coco Palms' rebirth when two men showed up last year, claiming to own the property because they descend from King Kaumualii, the last ruler of Kauai.

The men set up camp in tents and at the old tennis pro shop at the shuttered resort, where Elvis Presley's character got married in the 1961 film "Blue Hawaii." Hurricane Iniki forced its closure in 1992.

"They simply just showed up and started squatting," said Chad Waters, one of the partners of Coco Palms Hui, the company leading the redevelopment.

Police were called, trespassing citations were written, and a judge last month issued an order to evict them.

Since then, a stream of protesters has come and gone, with some days just a few demonstrators and others dozens camped out at the resort near an ancient Hawaiian fishpond in the community of Wailua.

It's the latest example of Native Hawaiian activists taking a stand on cultural issues and sacred places, such as challenging a giant telescope planned for a Hawaiian mountain and blocking the U.S. military from using an uninhabited Hawaiian island as a live-fire testing site.

The protest also comes amid continued activism by indigenous groups across the U.S., who have rallied over issues ranging from sports mascots to environmental causes such as the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines.