House’s New Money Man Talks About His Hopes For Changing The Legislature. Hawaiʻi State Rep. Chris Todd is taking over one of the key financial positions in the Hawaiʻi Legislature amid growing uncertainty about how federal budget cuts might affect the islands. Civil Beat.
Military’s role in immigration policy spurs debate. The Hawaii National Guard confirmed to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that 30 Hawaii guardsmen, members of a Hilo-based helicopter unit, are deployed to California as part of Task Force Sentinel, a military operation providing air support to the U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies. Star-Advertiser.
Hawaiʻi Braces For Cuts That Could Strip Medicaid From Tens Of Thousands. Community health clinics offer a window into how the state might be impacted by hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts expected in the coming years. Federal funds are about three quarters of the $3 billion Hawaiʻi spends on Medicaid each year. Civil Beat.
Cheaper solar energy in Hawaii threatened by new federal law. Changes enacted July 4 under President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill threaten to imperil several planned utility-scale solar farms and thousands of additional residential rooftop solar systems across the state by eliminating a 30% federal tax credit for such project costs much sooner than previously slated. Star-Advertiser.
School Smartphone Bans Reflect Growing Concern Over Mental Health, Academics. Hawaiʻi’s Legislature considered several bills aimed at banning smartphones in school but none of them passed. Civil Beat.
Keohokalole mulling challenging Case for Congress. State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua) may challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Ed Case to represent urban Honolulu in the 2026 midterm elections. Star-Advertiser.
UH awarded $1.5M to aid rural health disparities. The University of Hawaii has been awarded more than $1.5 million in private grant funding to strengthen rural health care systems and shape policy solutions across Hawaii and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands, where residents face some of the most severe health challenges in the nation. Star-Advertiser.
Commentary: How The FBI Interfered In The Legislature And Let A Dirty Lawmaker Get Reelected. A new legal filing makes a compelling argument for why the public needs to be able to scrutinize federal law enforcement investigations. Civil Beat.
Oahu
Could this Hawaii community be the next Lahaina? Some residents fear a similar wildfire fate. Waianae and Lahaina have a lot in common. They’re both situated on parched western island coasts, with road access pinched by topography, and are bastions of Native Hawaiian culture. Associated Press.
Waikiki storm drainage system could fail by 2050. Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa are sounding an alarm that by 2050 large rain events coupled with sea level rise could cause major failure of storm drainage across 70% of Waikiki. Star-Advertiser.
ʻEwa Developer Settles Marina Case For $40 Million. A 14-year legal battle over a disappeared marina in ʻEwa has finally ended. Civil Beat.
Nonprofits join to serve community at Opportunity Center in Kakaako. Goodwill Hawaii and Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai‘i on Friday announced their recently opened Opportunity Center after hosting a Hawaiian blessing for the property, which they bought in December for $6.3 million from Hawaii State Federal Credit Union. Star-Advertiser.
Waimanalo Beach Park Campground named after George Mahoe Jr. The City and County of Honolulu officially renamed the campground at Waimanalo Beach Park after longtime city parks employee George Kea Mahoe Jr., following a ceremony held Thursday that recognized his more than 40 years of public service to Windward Oahu. Star-Advertiser.
Hawaii Island
Honua Ola, HECO mull possible power deal. After numerous thwarted attempts to go online, a completed but long-idle bioenergy power plant in Pepeekeo is once again in contract negotiations to generate power and sell it to Hawaiian Electric Co. Tribune-Herald.
Hawai‘i County Police Commission to discuss appointment of interim chief. At its next meeting on July 18 in Kona, the Hawaiʻi County Police Commission will discuss the selection of an interim police chief to take over for Ben Moszkowicz, whose last day as chief is Aug. 31. The commission also will discuss the next steps to hiring a new chief. Big Island Now.
Banyan uproots and crashes onto Hilo’s Kilauea Avenue. A portion of Kilauea Avenue, a busy crosstown thoroughfare in Hilo, remained closed Sunday after a massive banyan tree near the corner of Aupuni Street uprooted, toppled and crashed Saturday afternoon. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Video News. Big Island Now.
Parking lot expansion underway at Kona’s hospital. Parking lot expansion, resurfacing and paving at Kona Community Hospital will begin Tuesday and continue through mid-October, the hospital announced Friday. Tribune-Herald.
Maui
New ownership unlikely to quench conflict over Maui water. A kamaaina company that once operated the biggest sugar plantation in Hawaii has surrendered its interest in a historic water system on Maui after a decade of litigation over state allocations of the public trust resource. Star-Advertiser.
Homeless community at Amala Place must leave by next week, Maui County says. Some 40 unhoused people who received notices to vacate from Maui County, nearly four years after county and state officials forced everyone to leave the area in a sweep that the courts later ruled had violated residents’ rights. Maui Now.
Kahului pump prices steady. According to the latest AAA Hawaii weekend gas watch, as of July 10, the average price in Kahului was $4.48, which is one cent less than last week and 25 cents lower than the price was a year ago. Maui News.
For these Maui paniolo, an annual rodeo is about more than wins — it's about tradition. Thousands of fans cheered as announcer Rob Smets welcomed the crowd at the Fourth of July Makawao Stampede on Maui. It’s Hawaiʻi’s largest rodeo — and a tradition that’s been going strong for almost 65 years. Hawaii Public Radio.
Kauai
Social security to school supplies for Congresswoman Jill Tokuda. Tokuda’s trip was added to as the Kauai County Farm Bureau General Membership Meeting had Tokuda talking about the cut in SNAP benefits and how that impacted farmers by eliminating opportunities to provide for the SNAP program. Earlier, the congresswoman opened her Kauai tour with a stop at the Back to School Bash taking place at the Kukui Grove Shopping Center where 2,500 backpacks of school supplies were distributed to elementary, middle and high school students. Garden Island.
Part of county parking lot in Nāwiliwili to be closed until further notice starting July 15. Kaua‘i County Department of Parks and Recreation notifies the public that a portion of the county parking lot in Nāwiliwili — adjacent to Anchor Cove — will be closed until further notice beginning July 15. Kauai Now.
Residents tackle excessive traffic, other issues near trailhead to Ho’opi’i Falls in Kapaʻa. Every day, carloads of mostly tourists drive down the narrow, one-lane, dead-end Kapahi Road in search of the trailhead in Kapaʻa that leads to Hoʻopiʻi Falls, a location used in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park. Kauai Now.
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