State Senate panel questions lavish spending by homeless contractor, Oregon fisheries group to manage millions in Green Fees, school superintendent Hayashi gets 7% raise, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Fraud Or Incompetence? Lawmakers Probe Homeless Housing Program. The charges had no apparent connection to homelessness: office space, laptops, food and drink — including beer. An oceanview condo in Wailuku. A parking ticket. Steel-toed boots. Jeans from Nordstrom Rack. But HomeAid, the state’s homeless contractor, billed Hawaiʻi taxpayers. And the state paid. State Auditor Les Kondo at a Capitol hearing Thursday defended and amplified his highly critical August audit of the state’s oversight of kauhale spending, which found $13.7 million in state payments for “unauthorized, unsupported or questionable” reimbursements to builder HomeAid Hawai‘i. Civil Beat.  Star-Advertiser.

 Outside Fisheries Group Poised To Manage Millions Of Hawaiʻi’s Green Fee. The state is planning have an Oregon-based group handle proposals and contracts for projects in nearshore waters.  Civil Beat.

Hawaii Elections Commission restarts work after breakdown. A bare minimum of commission members needed to hold a meeting met Thursday and unanimously agreed to elect member Tamara McKay, a former chair of the Hawai‘i Republican Party, as chair pro tem to lead future meetings on a temporary basis and get on with commission duties that include investigating election complaints and evaluating state Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago within two months of the Nov. 3 general election. Star-Advertiser.

BOE OKs 7% pay increase for superintendent. The state Board of Education unanimously approved a 7% performance-based salary increase for Department of Education Superintendent Keith Hayashi on Thursday, raising his base salary to about $315,301 from $294,674. Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat. 

Centene to lay off 69 employees early next year. Centene, a national health insurer, is pulling out of Hawaii’s Medicaid market known as Med-QUEST, effective Dec. 31, and ending its Ohana Health Plan, which provided medical, behavioral health and long-term services for low-income families for nearly 20 years. Star-Advertiser.

 Hawaiʻi Still Needs Doctors. We’re Gaining On Nurses, At Least. The state still has 3,700 job openings but is making inroads, especially on the neighbor islands. Civil Beat.

Results are in! More than 22,000 students across the Hawaiian Islands cast ballots in the 2026 mock election by Kid’s Voting Hawaiʻi, a nonpartisan organization aimed at getting keiki involved and empowered to vote. KHON2.

Oahu

Some community members want a role in clearing ordnance from Mākua. The Army last month closed several training ranges on Oʻahu and could return them to the state before their leases expire in three years. But clearing the lands after decades of use could take longer. That's particularly true of Mākua, which is littered with unexploded ordnance after decades of live-fire training.  Hawaii Public Radio.

Here's how fuel costs affect your HECO bills. Since May, Oʻahu customers have been paying about 20% to 30% more on their bills every month, largely due to fuel costs. Hawaii Public Radio.

West Oahu traffic lights get camera-radar upgrade. New camera and radar technology is being installed on traffic lights in West Oahu to detect vehicles better and manage signal timing. KHON2.

Waialua engineer sentenced for evading Iran sanctions. Arash Einolghozati, 38-year-old engineer was sentenced to two years in federal prison and will be deported to Iran for evading U.S. financial sanctions with cryptocurrency exchanges and digital payment applications to send more than $220,000 to his uncles in Iran. Star-Advertiser.

A month after a fatal hit-and-run, friends and family plead for the driver to come forward.  It was just over a month ago that a vehicle struck and killed Tiana Nagadome. The driver left the scene. But whoever it was also left behind friends and family grieving and searching for answers. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

New transit hub slated for Kailua-Kona. The Hawaii County Council last Friday greenlighted the proposed purchase of a 3.15-acre property in the heart of Kailua-Kona for the development of a combination park-and-ride and transit hub facility. Tribune-Herald.

Volpe sworn in as new fire chief. Hawaii County Fire Commission voted to formally appoint Daniel Volpe as Fire Chief on Thursday during a meeting in Hilo. The effective date for his appointment was set as Nov. 17. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Now. 

New Acting Civil Defense Administrator Takes Over Next Week. Hawaiʻi County Public Works Deputy Director Neil Azevedo will be replacing Darryl Oliveira as the Acting Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Administrator beginning next week. Big Island Video News. Big Island Now. 

Hawaii Island residents seek to halt Verizon cell tower planned near homes. A small Hawaii Island community is trying to stop construction of a cell phone tower near their homes. But those behind the project say it’s badly needed and nearly a decade in the making. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Community College has a new interim chancellor. Donnette Leilani Kapono began her tenure as interim chancellor of Hawaii Community College on Nov. 2, returning to a campus where she previously served for eight years and helped expand workforce training and educational opportunities across Hawaii Island. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Hawai‘i’s immigrant communities have feared increasing enforcement. New laws aim to increase protections. In September 2025, Roots Reborn got word that federal immigration officers were searching Ka La‘i Ola, the state’s temporary housing project for displaced Lahaina fire survivors. But next year, a new law will take effect in Hawai‘i that will restore protections to community locations operated by state and county governments. Maui Now.

‘Very insidious’: Maui bill targets contractor fraud against fire survivors. Over the past year and a half, Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said his office has fielded dozens of complaints from fire survivors claiming contractors defrauded them. With more expected, Martin is advocating for Maui County Council’s Bill 147, which proposes creating a position in his office dedicated to investigating fraudulent contractors targeting fire survivors.  Hawaii News Now.

Two Maui areas designated as federal Opportunity Zones. Lahaina’s Front Street area and a section of Kihei have been designated for a federal investment incentive program aimed at attracting private capital to economically distressed communities, according to Gov. Josh Green’s office. Maui News.

Kauai

Four legends, including 1 from Kauaʻi, inducted into Hawaiʻi Waterman Hall of Fame. Five-time state outrigger canoe champ, 1976 U.S. Open Surfing champion and 1977 U.S. Open Tandem Surfing champ Lāʻola Lake Aʻea of the Garden Isle is a 2026 inductee, sporting — among those already mentioned — a long list of surfing and paddling accomplishments. Kauai Now.