State labor force hits 6-year high as hospitality industry rebounds, Hawaii DOE hires largest cohort of foreign teachers, 1st in nation savings accounts for foster children, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii’s labor force hits 6-year high; unemployment rate increases to 2.5%. An influx of 1,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in Hawaii’s leisure and hospitality industry in May helped boost the local economy by 1,900 positions for the month as the state’s labor force reached its highest level in more than six years. Star-Advertiser.

Wespac Stacks Seats With Fishing Industry Players As Marine Protections Erode. The Hawai‘i Longline Association’s Eric Kingma and Roger Dang will join the fisheries management council next month. As the Trump administration works to open commercial fishing to U.S. fleets across the Pacific, some of its strongest allies in that push will soon fill open seats on the influential council that oversees fishing grounds around Hawaiʻi and the Western Pacific. Civil Beat.

Lost reef recreation because of climate change could cost Hawaiʻi up to $3 billion by beginning of next century. A new study finds coral reef decline driven by climate change could cost Hawaiʻi residents between $1.8 billion and $3 billion in lost reef-related activities by 2100. Big Island Now.

Hawaii fast-tracks pilot recruiting efforts as aviator shortage looms. Hawaii’s aviation industry is accelerating efforts to rebuild its pilot pipeline, turning to youth training programs and new community partnerships as retirements mount and global demand for cockpit­-ready talent continues to rise. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii DOE welcomes largest cohort of foreign teachers. Hawaii public schools will begin the upcoming academic year with a record 237 new J-1 visa teachers, bringing the state’s total number of international educators in the program to more than 600 as the state Department of Education credits overseas recruitment with helping reduce teacher vacancies to fewer than 100 statewide. Star-Advertiser. Maui Now. 

Gov. Green announces first-in-the-nation savings accounts for foster youth. Gov. Josh Green announced that Hawaiʻi is becoming the first state in the nation to ensure every eligible child in foster care, from newborn through age 17, has a funded, tax-advantaged savings and investment account.  Maui Now.

Grassroot Institute Aims To Keep Growing Its Political Influence. Now in its 25th year, the nonprofit policy research organization wants to play a larger role in influencing state and county governance. Civil Beat.

Oahu

Transportation Barriers Block The Route To Opportunities For Many On Oʻahu, Study Finds. On the same day a study was released calling for more accessible public transportation, fares for TheBus were hiked. Civil Beat.

Honolulu sees improvement in pedestrian safety, national report finds. In a recently released national pedestrian safety report, urban Honolulu ranked among the safer major metropolitan areas, even as pedestrian fatalities remain a persistent challenge locally and nationwide. Star-Advertiser.

Dole Food Co. sells Hawaii’s largest cacao farm. Dole Food Co. has exited the chocolate business in Hawaii after pioneering large-scale farming of cacao on former sugarcane fields in Waialua. Star-Advertiser.

Chinatown, Sewers And Public Safety: State House District 28 Candidate Q&As. Five Democrats are on the primary election ballot to represent urban and industrial Honolulu neighborhoods. Civil Beat.

Hawaii veterans reflect on their service, America’s role in the world. Sterling Kanoa Beair served as an Army combat medic in Iraq. He excelled in the military, attaining the rank of staff sergeant and earning accolades from his comrades and superiors. But he also carried demons from his wartime experiences as he struggled to reintegrate into civilian life, wrestling with post-traumatic stress and substance abuse, eventually finding himself homeless and living in a tent near Kaena Point. Star-Advertiser.

Emergency flood mitigation work to begin in Waianae. State transportation crews are beginning emergency flood mitigation work along Paakea Road in Waianae after recent heavy rains highlighted ongoing flooding concerns in the area. KHON2.

Hawaii Island

Paid parking lots debate continues. The Hawaii County Windward Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to defer consideration of a bill banning new paid parking lots on the island after hearing input from the planning director and co-author of the measure. Tribune-Herald.

A new state-led vision for Hilo’s Banyan Drive resort district is in the works. Hawaii’s Legislature this year laid a foundation to turn most of the Waiakea Peninsula, including two blighted hotel sites, into a blank canvas for a state agency to plan new development that could include hotels, retail, park space, a cultural center and a performance venue larger than the nearby Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-­Purpose Stadium that hosts the annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Star-Advertiser. Big Island Now. 

Court Clears The Way For $81M Affordable Rental Project In Kona. The Honuaʻula project was delayed for years by a Big Island affordable housing scandal and then by a dispute with a neighboring land owner. Civil Beat.

Queen’s Health Systems plans its first employee housing at new Kailua-Kona hospital. In the next five years, Hawaiʻi's largest health system will build 150 below-market-rate residential units on Hawaiʻi Island, on the campus of a planned new hospital in Kailua-Kona. They're being built for a specific group: hospital employees. Hawaii Public Radio.

UH lab gives sweet potato farmers a leg up on the Hamakua Coast. A University of Hawaii at Manoa lab, located at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience facility in Hilo, has been working to tackle threats from numerous diseases by identifying and distributing “clean,” disease-free plants to local farmers. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Exemption path opens for Maui vacation rental phaseout. Owners of a few thousand condominiums on Maui long approved for vacation rental use have a new opportunity to sidestep an approaching ban intended to increase the supply of housing for residents after losses in the 2023 wildfire that destroyed most of Lahaina. Star-Advertiser.

Maui County’s fringe mayoral candidates add unique ideas, opinions, entertainment to race. Anyone who thinks local candidate forums are boring did not attend the Kīhei Community Association’s event on June 16 featuring nine of the 10 people running for mayor of Maui County. Maui Now.

Outdoor marketplace aims to bring business back to Front Street in Lahaina. Plans for a new outdoor marketplace on Front Street in Lahaina are bringing hope to local business owners as Maui County officials and nonprofit partners look to revive commercial activity lost in the 2023 wildfire. Maui News.

Study: Maui among areas facing early reef recreation losses. Leeward Maui is among the areas expected to see the earliest and most severe recreational losses from climate-driven coral reef decline, according to a new study that estimates Hawaii residents could lose between $1.8 billion and $3 billion in reef-related recreation by 2100. Maui News.

Kauai

A New Era for West Kaua‘i’s Agriculture? After decades of being dominated by large seed operations, the state Agribusiness Development Corp.’s Kekaha lands are slowly moving towards increased local food production. Civil Beat.

State hires contractor for Battle of Hanapepe memorial. The state has selected a contractor to build a monument to remember the 1924 Battle of Hanapepe, which was instrumental in shaping Hawaii’s labor rights. Hawaii News Now.