Hawaii tourism falters, Hawaii County loses Punaluu beach park lease, Lahaina post office faces closure, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Shorter Hawaii vacations erase 1 million visitor days despite higher arrivals. Preliminary data released Thursday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism showed visitor days fell 13.1% to 6.71 million in July from 7.72 million a year earlier. The decline came as the average visitor stay dropped 14.1% to 7.59 days, the shortest July stay since 2011. That was down nearly 21% from the peak July stay of 9.6 days in 2010. Star-Advertiser.

Financial Literacy Is Required For Hawai‘i Grads. Are Schools Ready? The education department is requiring financial literacy lessons after two decades of advocacy from lawmakers and educators. Implementation — and effectiveness — may vary. Civil Beat.

State to receive $18.5M for electric grid projects. The Hawaii State Energy Office in partnership with Hawaiian Electric and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said the money will support $25 million of investments for projects on Oahu, Hawaii Island and Maui. Star-Advertiser.

Oahu

Hawaii Vital Records Office moving to downtown Honolulu. Health officials said the move to Suite 100 at the City Financial Tower, 201 Merchant St., will begin Sept. 21 and is expected to be complete by Oct. 1. The Office of Health Status Monitoring issues about 300,000 certified copies of birth, death and marriage records each year. It also maintains Hawaii’s official vital records dating back to the mid-1800s. Star-Advertiser.

Cyclosporiasis case on Oahu raises questions about possible local source. A new cyclosporiasis case is raising questions about whether the illness could have been acquired in Hawaii. While health officials investigate where the patient may have been exposed, local farmers say there is no evidence linking the case to Hawaii-grown produce. (video only). KITV4.

Nearly a century of watercress: Sumida family business shows unique model of running a community farm . In the middle of a busy urban center, right off Kamehameha Highway, sits a fourth-generation, family-run farm tucked between the two phases of Pearlridge Mall in Central Oʻahu. Hawaii Public Radio.

This Form Of Japanese Buddhism In Hawaiʻi Could Disappear. Jikoen Hongwanji, a Japanese Shin Buddhist temple on Oʻahu, is losing popularity. The elders and old friends who once filled it, many of them Japanese immigrants or their children, have died. The temple is now facing an existential question.  Civil Beat.

Feral chickens are a common headache for some residents across Oahu, and trapping them is now turning into its own debacle. Some of the traps are being destroyed, and taxpayers are footing the bill. KHON2.

Hawaii Island

County’s loss of lease for Punalu‘u park sparks concerns. Since at least 1954, the county has leased the 6.8-acre site from successive private landowners to provide recreational opportunities and shoreline access for residents and visitors. The attorney for the property owner said Thursday that a statement in a press release from Mayor Kimo Alameda’s office that Black Sand Beach LLC — whose principal is Eva Liu — “declined the county’s offer and chose to terminate the existing lease agreement as of June 30” is false. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Video News. Big Island Now.  KHON2.  Hawaii News Now. 

Hawaiʻi Island Water Restoration Update for Thursday, August 27. The Hawaiʻi County Department of Water Supply reported that power has been restored to key infrastructure in Mountain View and Pāhala, and that normal water use may resume in those locations. Big Island Video News.

Power restored to Ka‘ū Hospital 11 days after Hurricane Lala struck Big Island. Power was restored at Kaʻū Hospital on Thursday after 11 days of being forced to run on generators due to damage caused by Hurricane Lala. Big Island Now.

Maui

Maui Council votes 8-1 to authorize county acquisition of private water systems in Launiupoko and Olowalu. Maui County Council members authorized the Department of Water Supply Tuesday to spend up to $6 million to acquire two privately owned West Maui water systems. Maui Now.

Tokuda and Paltin speak out against the proposed permanent closure of Lahaina Downtown Post Office. In a letter dated Aug. 20, 2026 to postal customers in Lahaina, the USPS reported that it intends to permanently close the Lahaina Downtown Station, located at 132 Papalaua Street because of irreparable damage to the facility as a result of the August 2023 wildfire.  Maui Now.

Kauai

Vandalism forces closure of Kauaʻi preschool as new owner works to reopen under new name. Little Wonders Preschool, formerly A Room to Grow Preschool, is on a mission to restore its vibrant learning environment after acts of vandalism forced its closure. Kauai Now.

KIUC seeks to purchase headquarters property. Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is seeking approval from the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission to purchase the Hana Kukui property on Pahe‘e Street in Lihu‘e. The cooperative has rented this property for its headquarters for well over 20 years.  Garden Island.