Hawaii offers to pay TSA, FAA workers to keep planes flying, state SNAP money arriving earlier than expected, OHA to provide emergency relief to Native Hawaiians, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

State offers to pay TSA, FAA workers to spare Hawaii from air travel cuts. The state Department of Transportation has offered to advance the full salaries and benefits of Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration airport screeners assigned to Hawaii during the federal funding lapse in a bid to avoid a 10% cut to air traffic that could severely impact the state’s economy and public safety.  Star-Advertiser.

Hawaiian, Southwest flights canceled for Friday due to FAA reduction requirements. Hawaiian Airlines has canceled four neighbor island flights scheduled for Friday, Nov. 7, due to flight reduction requirements by the Federal Aviation Administration. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

Support via the Hawaiʻi Emergency Food Assistance Program is arriving to SNAP accounts ahead of schedule, officials say. An additional $250 in relief funds should be visible in SNAP accounts now, Governor Josh Green announced on Thursday. Big Island Video News. Hawaii News Now.

OHA outlines plan to administer $6.1M in emergency relief to Native Hawaiians. The office said that payments of up to $350 will go to kupuna (age 60 and holder), low-income adults, or disabled beneficiaries who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding but do not meet the criteria for the Hawaii relief program. Hawaii News Now.

Longtime OHA Leader Rowena Akana Has Died. Her tenure as a trustee was marked by a commitment to Native Hawaiians but also ethical challenges and board power struggles. A long-serving member of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees, Rowena Akana, has died. She was 82. Civil Beat.

Deep-sea mining risks disrupting the marine food web, study warns. Drilling for minerals deep in the ocean could have immense consequences for the tiny animals at the core of the vast marine food web — and ultimately affect fisheries and the food we find on our plates, according to a new study by University of Hawaii researchers. Associated Press.

Oahu

Should HART Be Allowed To Manage City Projects Beyond Honolulu Rail? Mayor Rick Blangiardi says he’s opposed to the idea but the rail authority has submitted a proposal to the Honolulu Charter Commission anyway. Civil Beat.

How parking spot mandates affect affordable housing in Honolulu. It’s been about five years since the City and County of Honolulu eliminated parking mandates for developers in the urban core, transit-oriented development districts, and areas within half a mile of a rail station. Hawaii Public Radio.

Honolulu councilmembers shift gears to limit cycling on sidewalks. A new bill moving through the city council is trying to clean up the language in the city’s traffic code, which says that bikes are not allowed on sidewalks in business districts. Hawaii Public Radio.

Police make arrests, seize $13k and 48 gambling machines after raids. The Honolulu Police Department said it seized cash, gambling machines, and made an arrest after raiding three game rooms this week. Hawaii News Now.

Thousands line up for food at Aloha Stadium as shutdown drags on. A line of cars stretched through the Aloha Stadium parking lot Thursday morning as more than 2,000 households pulled up for a drive-thru food distribution — the Hawai‘i Foodbank’s largest yet since the start of the federal government shutdown. Star-Advertiser.

City and nonprofits partner to protect East Honolulu ridge. The city’s purchase of the final parcel to the last undeveloped ridgeline in East Honolulu was lauded Thursday by area preservation groups and Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration. Star-Advertiser.

Infrastructure around King Kamehameha Statue is crumbling. The King Kamehameha Celebration Commission is worried about the crumbling infrastructure surrounding the statue. Hawaii Public Radio.

City starts master plan process for botanical garden that’s rocketed in popularity. The city started the process of finding ways to manage the increasing popularity of Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden, with a community workshop Thursday evening at Windward Community College. Hawaii News Now.

Prices jump 5.7% for Oahu home sales in October. The Honolulu Board of Realtors on Thursday reported that sale volume for previously owned homes on Oahu rose for condominiums but was flat for single- family houses last month compared with a year earlier, and that median sale prices were higher for both parts of the market. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Island

Controversial Geothermal Firm Wants OHA To Invest $5 Million In A New Plant. Waikā Consulting said the agency’s involvement would lead to economic returns for Native Hawaiians, but it faced pushback from local communities on the Big Island. A geothermal consulting firm that came under fire earlier this year during taxpayer-funded outreach efforts on the Big Island is asking the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for a $5 million investment in exchange for a stake in a future $275 million geothermal plant. Civil Beat.

Nighttime military flight operations planned between Pōhakuloa, Kona airport, Hāwī. Pōhakuloa Training Area officials alert the public to scheduled nighttime military helicopter flight operations planned for tonight on Hawai‘i Island between the training camp in the saddle region between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport and Hāwī. Big Island Now.

Another Destructive Beetle Is Spreading, Killing Hawaiʻi’s Trees. Big Island farmers want the state to tackle the Queensland longhorn beetle before it spreads to the rest of the state and wreaks havoc like the coconut rhinoceros beetle.  Civil Beat.

Free Republican Party event features three speakers this Sunday. The West Hawaiʻi GOP is hosting an event in Kailua-Kona to grow membership and strengthen the conservative voice in West Hawaiʻi. Big Island Now.

Maui

Police officer reassigned after allegedly hitting handcuffed suspect. Officer under investigation for alleged misuse of force. A Maui Police officer is under investigation after the department reported a video surfaced on social media appearing to show the officer using unjustified force while taking a person into police custody. Maui News. Maui Now.  Hawaii News Now. KITV4.

County to clear area near Maui Lani Parkway and Waiale Road. With 13 fires in the area this year and calls for police up 174% over last year, the Maui County Emergency Management Agency plans to start removing dangerous debris and wildfire fuels from approximately 52 acres of county-owned land in Wailuku. Maui News.

Pulelehua zoning condition amendment gains Council committee approval, despite West Maui water scarcity concerns. A Maui County Council committee tried to breathe life Wednesday into the languishing 304-acre Pulelehua development in West Maui, a “shovel ready” housing project with the promise of hundreds of affordable units but long dying of thirst. Maui Now.

Residents detail water priorities for East Maui. Priorities include the county taking control of the East Maui water system and the creation of a new East Maui base yard, in addition to other infrastructure upgrades and watershed health initiatives. Maui News.

Kauai

West Kauaʻi highway becomes focus of new initiative to reduce nēnē deaths. A new conservation initiative is underway on Kauaʻi’s west side to address a troubling trend: frequent vehicle collisions with the endangered Hawaiian goose known across the islands as nēnē (Branta sandvicensis).  Kauai Now.

Kauai ICE raid leads to community concern, rumors. Council members and community organizers on Kauai are hoping to ease concerns on Thursday, Nov. 6, after an ICE raid led to dozens of arrests across the Garden Isle in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 5. KHON2.

Producers can now apply for compost reimbursement, including transportation costs. Hawai’i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Plant Industry Division is now accepting applications for the Compost Reimbursement Program for fiscal year 2026. Kauai Now.