Group outlines spending plan for 'Green fee' tourist tax, Houses urges AG to expedite bribery investigation, Case gathers war chest in congressional race challenged by state legislators, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Group outlines spending plan for new climate change tax. The new Green Fee Advisory Council had to choose from among more than $2 billion worth of funding requests to help Hawaii respond to climate change, but will only have $100 million or so annually to recommend through the first statewide tax of its kind in the country, which has been collecting revenue since Jan. 1. The recommendations that the 10-member, volunteer council made to Green include $1.5 million to track and publicize how the Green Fee is being dispersed among three separate funding “buckets” mandated by Act 96: environmental stewardship; climate and hazard resilience; and sustainable tourism. Gov. Josh Green signed the so-called “Green Fee” into law last year as Act 96. It increases the state’s transient accommodation tax by .075% — to 11% — on overnight lodgings for everyone, including local residents. Star-Advertiser.

House urges Hawaiʻi AG to expedite investigation into alleged $35,000 payment. The state House passed a resolution urging the Hawaiʻi attorney general to expedite the investigation to identify a Hawaiʻi lawmaker who is accused of accepting $35,000 in 2022.  Hawaii Public Radio. Big Island Now.

Ed Case Has Substantial Lead In Money Race For U.S. House Seat.  Two state lawmakers, Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole and Rep. Della Au Belatti, have mounted campaigns against Case. Civil Beat.

The State Capitol Is Buzzing About This Prominent Hawaiʻi Lawmaker. Longtime Sen. Michelle Kidani may be leaving office early amid concerns about whether she is mentally fit. Sources say the 77-year-old lawmaker is suffering from dementia and has been under a doctor’s care. Civil Beat.

Bill deferred that would prohibit open carry of bladed weapons. Multiple machete-related violent crimes across Oahu left Hawaii lawmakers to revisit a proposal that would prohibit the open carry of any deadly or dangerous weapon. KHON2.

Nurses brace for a long haul on second week. The United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, which represents 31,000 workers, including about 250 in Hawaii, began striking on Jan. 26.  Star-Advertiser.

Dozens of traveling preschools in underserved communities at risk of closing. More than 60 of these early learning programs across the state could soon close with millions in federal funds drying up as early as this summer, leaving more than 2,000 keiki without access. KITV4.

Bankoh passing CEO torch as Ho retires. Bank of Hawaii Corp. CEO Peter Ho is set to hand off the chief executive role at the 128-year-old financial institution to company President and Chief Banking Officer James Polk. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaiʻi practitioners say AI has no place in cultural tattoo practices. The rise of AI-generated images has cultural practitioners in Hawaiʻi worried about the misappropriation of Indigenous tattoos and copying designs. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

Judge orders mediation for HART, Hitachi litigation. A state judge presiding over contending, multimillion dollar lawsuits brought by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation and its main contractor has directed both parties to submit to mediation, a HART lawyer confirms. Star-Advertiser.

University of Hawaiʻi to search for separate Mānoa campus chancellor. The University of Hawaiʻi is thinking about splitting President Wendy Hensel’s job into two positions — similar to how it was a decade ago. Hawaii Public Radio.

State Agrees To Settle Case Over Prison Drug Withdrawal Death. The settlement calls for a $600,000 payment to the estate of Brian Kimo O’Gorman after he suffered heart failure while withdrawing from methadone. Civil Beat.

State, county settle lawsuits over wrongful psychiatric detention. When finalized, the deal will end the state and federal civil lawsuits filed by Joshua Spriestersbach, who was 46 years old in 2017 when he was arrested for someone else’s crimes outside a shelter in Chinatown. Hawaii News Now.

No Parking signs near Lanikai Beach could mean more ticketing, towing. About 170 cars are parked illegally along the loop near the popular Lanikai Beach every day, according to city officials, who drafted a proposal to ease congestion in the area. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Honolulu real estate company buys family-owned Pāhoa Village Center. Watumull Properties Corporation acquired the 101,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping center located at 15-2880 Pāhoa Village Road in Pāhoa in October for $4.39 million from the Bellman family. Big Island Now.

Council urges restoration of Isaac Hale park. A resolution urging the county Department of Parks and Recreation “to prioritize and expedite the restoration of Isaac Kepo‘okalani Hale Beach Park at Pohoiki” was approved 6-0 on Jan. 23 by the County Council with council members Ashley Kierkiewicz and Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder of Puna and Heather Kimball of Hamakua excused. Tribune-Herald.

Kealakehe Elementary breaks ground on $16 million classroom building. The two-story structure will add more than 13,000 square feet of learning space, including four new classrooms, special education areas, faculty offices, and an outdoor learning space. Hawaii News Now.

Waimea Town Hall to address unexploded ordnance cleanup, drug seizures, proposed legislation. At the upcoming Waimea Town meeting on Thursday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will address the current unexploded ordnance cleanup slated to begin at Waimea-Kohala Airport this month, as well as the latest statistics of drug seizures made by Hawai‘i Island police and proposed county legislation. Big Island Now.

Maui

Oceanfront Lahaina Property Owners May Get Buyout In Updated Disaster Plan. The county is seeking an amendment to create a voluntary buyout program with some of its $1.6 billion fire recovery grant from the feds. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Water Service requests rate increase for Kapalua, Maui. Hawaii Water Service Company, which provides water and wastewater services in Kapalua, Maui, is requesting a rate increase. Hawaii Public Radio.

Kauai

Hawai‘i governor selects new Kaua‘i Circuit Court judge. Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green has appointed Stephanie R.S. Char to be Circuit Court judge for the Fifth Circuit on Kaua‘i. Char currently serves as a district family court judge for the 5th Circuit, where she presides over a wide range of civil, criminal and family court matters. Kauai Now.

Finance Department, Mayor celebrate installation of DMV kiosk. Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami and the joined the Western Motor Service ‘ohana, including the Kaiakapu family — Crystal, Koty and Jed — to celebrate the self-service motor vehicle registration kiosk that was installed at the business in December. Garden Island.

Coral reefs recognized as 'legal persons' under bill, Green seeks to repeal 5 years of income tax cuts, Hilo lawyer gets 6 years in affordable housing scam, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Bills would protect reefs, bar military live-fire training, expand robotics. Hawaii’s watersheds and coral reefs would be recognized as “legal persons” with legal rights; high school robotics could become an interscholastic sport; military live-fire training would be banned on state land; and a new fee would be charged on any “sugar-sweetened” beverages under new House and Senate bills to be considered during the legislative session that’s scheduled to adjourn May 8. Star-Advertiser.

Green’s tax cut freeze plan repeals five years of additional savings for taxpayers. Hawaii taxpayers stand to receive dramatically stunted financial savings under a plan by Gov. Josh Green to cancel future state income tax cuts. A single person earning $75,000 a year would miss out on $3,855 in estimated tax savings over the next five years, and $1,103 a year after 2031 if Green’s legislation is approved by the Legislature, according to calculations by the state Department of Taxation. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii lawmakers look to ban popular ‘prediction market’ wagering. Ahead of Gov. Josh Green’s annual State of the State address last week, online betters placed $448,667 in “prediction market” wagers on whether he would say phrases that included “affordable,” “affordability,” “mainland,” “cost of living,” “aloha,” “kauhale,” “housing,” “health care,” “tourism” and “volcano” as part of an online gambling phenomenon that would be prohibited under House Bill 2198. Star-Advertiser.

Bills address nurse staffing levels and patient safety. A coalition representing thousands of nurses is backing legislation to address what they say have been chronic staffing issues statewide at hospitals in Hawaii to improve patient safety. Star-Advertiser.

New legislative bills would allow residents to kill wild chickens. Two bills being considered this legislative session would allow residents to kill feral chickens, under House Bill 1852 and the latest version of HB 980, which stalled in the 2025 legislative session but automatically rolled into this one. Star-Advertiser.

End of aquarium collecting does not lead to recovery of reef fish in Hawaiʻi waters, new analysis finds. A new analysis of state and federal monitoring data finds that yellow tang populations on Hawaiʻi reefs failed to recover — and in some cases declined — after commercial aquarium fish collecting ended, contradicting long-standing claims that the practice was sustainable. Maui Now.

New UHERO report finds Hawaiʻi’s economy has “lagged behind the rest of the U.S. for years”  According to a new report from the University of Hawaiʻi’s Economic Research Organization, Hawaii’s economy is among the worst in the nation.  KHON2.

DOE to open priority placement process for Kaiapuni education. The state Department of Education announced that a new statewide priority placement process for Hawaiian language immersion programs will open Monday, with the application window to close March 13. Star-Advertiser.

Commentary: Hot Political Topics Are Stoking Sunshine Bills This Year. Now that the bill-filing deadline has passed, here’s our handy roadmap for following hundreds of government accountability and political reform bills proposed for the 2026 session. Civil Beat.

Oahu

Honolulu City Council’s affordable housing bills face strong resistance. A trio of Honolulu City Council measures is drawing opposition from building developers and housing advocates alike over an effort by some Council members to potentially roll back existing incentives related to affordable housing development on Oahu. Introduced on Jan. 22, Bills 14, 15 and 17 variously look to revise the city’s existing affordable housing laws to reduce or eliminate real property tax exemptions and similar requirements for housing incentives and waivers for developers. Star-Advertiser.

Meet The Oʻahu Woman On A Mission To Stop The Ala Wai Canal Bridge. Laura Ruby has opposed a bridge over the Waikīkī canal for almost 20 years. Even as construction inches closer, she has no plans to stop. Civil Beat.

Hawaiʻi tech company Servpac is adding a new building to its data center in the Mililani Technology Park. Despite the additional space, most Hawaiʻi data is stored on the continent. Hawaii Public Radio.

Road rehabilitation project to take place in Kaneohe. The city said construction will begin on an 18-month-long project on Monday along Kamehameha Highway from Haiku Road to Likelike Highway and Kaneohe Bay Drive.  Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Operation Reverse Robinhood: Big Island Lawyer Gets 6 Years For Scam. Gary Zamber is the first of the four defendants to be sentenced for conspiring to take advantage of loopholes in the Big Island’s system for handing out affordable housing credits to developers. Civil Beat.

Reed Mahuna Tapped To Serve As Hawaiʻi County’s Next Police Chief. The 28-year veteran cop was born and raised on the Big Island. The Hawaiʻi County Police Commission unanimously chose longtime Big Island cop Reed Mahuna as the department’s next police chief after a two-day hearing that wrapped up Friday.  Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser.

Tram collision at Hilton Waikōloa Village prompts suspension of service. Two trams at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii Island crashed Saturday night. No one was hurt, and the hotel said emergency services were called to the scene. Hawaii News Now. Big Island Now. 

Spittlebug threatens Hawaii Island’s cattle industry. The tiny black bug has destroyed an estimated 320,000 acres of ranchlands from Pu‘u Wa‘awa‘a to South Point. Star-Advertiser.

Kawili Street Paving Project Begins This Week. The project will be carried out in phases, totaling 1.6 miles between Kanoelehua Avenue and Puainako Street. Big Island Video News. Big Island Now. 

Maui

PUC to hold public hearing on proposed Hawaiʻi water rate increase in Kapalua, Maui. The Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission will conduct a public hearing Monday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Maui Preparatory Academy on Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc.’s request for a rate increase for its Kapalua Water and Wastewater Divisions. Hawaii Water is asking the commission to approve  a 59% increase over revenues at current effective rates, including a 7.46% rate of return, a power cost charge pass-through, a water purchase rider and refunds of excess 2021-2025 revenues. Maui Now.

Bezos donation boosts Lahainaluna scholarships and wildfire research. A $3.5 million donation from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez  includes $1.5 million for Lahainaluna High School graduates affected by the fires and $2 million for vegetation management and land stewardship research. Star-Advertiser.

Kauai

Hawaii health officials investigate chickenpox outbreak at Kauai school. The Hawaii Department of Health today said it is investigating an outbreak of chickenpox at Kilauea Elementary School on Kauai. To date, five cases have been reported among four students and one household member. Health officials said none of the individuals were vaccinated against chickenpox, also known as varicella. Star-Advertiser.

Found human remains ends search for missing 19-year-old fisherman on Kauai.  The massive multi-agency search for a 19-year-old Kapaa man was suspended after three days when human remains were found in the waters off Kahili Beach on Saturday afternoon. KITV4.