Student vaccinations fall below herd immunity, state boards required to conduct business in public, Maui to release report on vacation rentals, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii student vaccinations fall below average rate. Kindergarten vaccination rates in Hawaii continue to lag behind the national average, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While there was a slight improvement over the year, the rates of routine childhood vaccinations for measles, mumps, whooping cough and chickenpox, among others, remain below the national average and failed to meet most rates required to reach so-called herd immunity. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii minimum wage to rise by $2 in 2026. Hawaii workers earning minimum wage will see the state’s biggest pay bump in years when the new rate takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, jumping from $14 to $16 per hour — an increase of $2 that outpaces most other states. Tribune-Herald.

It's Official: Boards Can't Go Behind Closed Doors For Most Personnel Matters. The Office of Information Practices has finally formally acknowledged court rulings on hiring, firing and evaluating top public officials. Civil Beat.

Senator Voted For Bills Backed By Lobbyists He's Going To Work For. State Sen. Henry Aquino is stepping down to go to work for one of the biggest lobbying firms in the state after serving in the Hawaiʻi Legislature for 17 years. Civil Beat.

Campaign Commission Will Push Again For Reforms Lawmakers Keep Rejecting. Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to resurrect four government reform measures next year that were rejected by the 2025 Legislature. Civil Beat.

‘Shows how much they care’: Federal workers in Hawaiʻi keep airports operational despite working without pay. Despite nationwide airport disruptions, Hawaiʻi’s airports have not seen any significant disruption during the government shutdown, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation said. KHON2. KITV4. Kauai Now. 

Native Hawaiian empowerment gains momentum. Bringing the convention to Washington — the state with the fastest-growing Native Hawaiian population — helped the council expand its reach. As of 2020, more than half of Native Hawaiians in the U.S. (360,000 of 680,000) lived on the mainland. Star-Advertiser.

DTRIC Insurance To Withdraw From Hawaiʻi Market. The Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is alerting DTRIC customers that the insurance company will be withdrawing from the Hawaiʻi market.  Big Island Video News. KITV4.

Federal cuts threaten a digitization project to preserve windows to Hawaiʻi's past. The state archives lost its federal funding this year to help with the preservation effort. It was a $213,000 grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services grant.  Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

Federal shutdown casts doubt on Honolulu rail funding payment. The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is expecting $125 million in federal funds toward its ongoing rail construction.  Since the federal government’s Oct. 1 shutdown, however, President Donald Trump has acted to suspend federal funds to mass transit projects across the United States. Star-Advertiser.

Skyline’s newest segment opens with high expectations. Honolulu’s Skyline rail system has passed its testing phase — with some lingering challenges — before Thursday’s opening of the next 5.2-mile route for public ridership that will take passengers into four new stations at Makalapa/Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Lagoon Drive and Middle Street in Kalihi, amid elevated expectations of a significant boost in ridership. Star-Advertiser.

National report calls for urgent action to protect coastlines. A new national report from the Surfrider Foundation is spotlighting Oahu’s North Shore as a leading example of how communities can take the lead in confronting climate change — and calls for more urgent action as Hawaii’s beaches and shorelines face growing danger from erosion and rising seas. Star-Advertiser.

Grant improves water quality assessments along Hawaiʻi coastlines. A new grant for the University of Hawaiʻi’s Water Resource and Research Center will help researchers analyze how fecal contaminants are transferred between shores and the ocean. The $549,960 grant from the National Science Foundation will cover research costs over the next three years and will cover the salaries of two graduate assistants.  Hawaii Public Radio.

Renovation Of Ala Wai Driving Range Is Months Overdue. After missing a spring deadline to reopen, a city spokesperson said the popular golf course driving range will be back in business in November. Civil Beat.

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet moves to new spot in parking lot this week. Starting Wednesday, Oct. 15, the Swap Meet moves to its new location at the Halawa lot. It’s the parking lot right in front of the volcano and the ticket office. KHON2.

Parents Are Hopping Fences To Sneak Into Playgrounds. Lawmakers have pushed schools to open their facilities for recreational use, but the education department has raised concerns about liability and safety. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Island

Building Department considered. A proposed charter amendment to create a new Department of Building in Hawaii County was postponed Tuesday following growing concerns about the department’s cost, scope and necessity. Tribune-Herald.

Drought severe in Hilo. Hilo International Airport received just 2.76 inches of rain in September, 32% of its normal total for the month. For the year, the Hilo airport’s rain gauge has recorded 38.17 inches through September, just 46% of its norm. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaii AG investigates case of fallen banyan tree. The circumstances surrounding the collapse of a large banyan tree that killed two women July 12 on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo are now being investigated by the state Department of the Attorney General. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Temporary Investigative Group to release report Oct. 14 on proposed phase out TVRs in apartment districts. Council Member Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins announced that a report from the temporary investigative group she led on policy responses to the possible phasing out of transient vacation rental uses in Apartment Districts will be released Tuesday. Maui Now.

Affordable housing deed extension bill revived after near-death experience. Maui County Council members killed a bill aimed at maintaining affordable workforce housing when they failed to muster a fifth vote needed for passage, even after the measure passed unanimously out of committee 8-0 last month. Maui Now.

Legal feud over Maui water expands to land. Litigation between two companies on Maui with billionaire owners has spread from contention over water to land, and specifically control of an association representing landowners at Kapalua Resort. Star-Advertiser.

Maui contends with tourism and housing troubles amid ongoing fire recovery. The rebuild efforts are expected to give the island's economy a boost, but it's also facing a tourism slowdown, workforce shortage issues and housing supply scarcity. Hawaii Public Radio.

DAGS hires Maui District Office manager. The Department of Accounting and General Services hired Maui native Wade Shimabukuro as its new Engineering Program Manager. KITV4.

Hundreds more ‘paper leases’ for Hawaiian home lands are being awarded on Maui. Now the state must deliver. Driven by a historic $600 million allocation from the State Legislature and an urgent need for housing after the 2023 Maui wildfires, the department is making a big push to award more than 2,600 leases statewide this year, including more than 1,200 on Maui. Maui Now.

Kauai

Kauai Comic Con packs the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall. Hundreds of people streamed through the secured entry point at the Comic Con that moved from the previous event at the Royal Sonesta Kauai Resort. Garden Island.

Green Fee Advisory Council sketches out priorities, state expects hundreds of millions for rural health care, Honolulu building permits delayed by new system transition, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Community presses Hawaii’s new Green Fee Advisory Council. Representatives of Hawaii’s new Green Fee Advisory Council who will make recommendations on how increased lodging fees should be spent to combat climate change said Wednesday that they understand the scrutiny they’re under and pledged transparency. Star-Advertiser.

Look Who’s Talking — Or Not — At Hawaiʻi’s Legislature. For some lawmakers, quietly is the most effective way to legislate. Others feel the public should hear exactly where they stand. Civil Beat.

Civil Beat Launches Digital Democracy AI. Technology that reveals how decisions are made in Hawaiʻi. The custom-built AI tool tracks every word spoken in public hearings, every dollar donated to politicians, every bill introduced, every vote cast and more.  Civil Beat.

Sen. Aquino is leaving Legislature for lobbying firm position. Sen. Henry Aquino announced his retirement Wednesday, with it becoming effective Nov. 30. Aquino (D, Pearl City-Waipahu-West Loch) has served 17 years in the Legislature, and is assistant majority whip in the Senate. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaiʻi Gov. Green to speak at annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York. Gov. Josh Green was to have traveled to New York on Wednesday afternoon to attend the Clinton Foundationʻs Global Initiative Annual Meeting. Big Island Now. 

Hawaii’s air ambulance services get much-needed lift with new companies. For the last three years, Hawaii has had just one air ambulance company that serves the entire island chain. Now a new carrier is helping meet growing demand, with another on the way.  Hawaii News Now.

Hawaiʻi expected to receive hundreds of millions from federal rural health fund. The state is planning how it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars from a new federal Rural Health Transformation Program, and it wants public input. Hawaii Public Radio.

E-Bikes In Schools: Hawai’i Politicians Call For Restrictions. Efforts to implement stricter rules and more consistent standards have taken on urgency amid a sharp increase in traffic fatalities this year. Civil Beat. KHON2. 

State's AI-generated podcast invites more eyes (and ears) on classroom AC audit. State Auditor Les Kondo launched an AI-generated podcast, "The Audible Audit," this month.  Hawaii Public Radio.

University of Hawaiʻi’s four-year universities earn national recognition. The University of Hawaiʻi’s three four-year universities earned national recognition in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges rankings released on Tuesday. Big Island Now.

Oahu

Proposed Honolulu ‘Downtown Business Improvement District’ nears approval. A new taxing entity involving downtown Honolulu property owners paying into a revamped special improvement district to boost public safety and economic revitalization in an area known for crime, homelessness and shuttered businesses is nearing City Council approval. Star-Advertiser.

Judge To Decide Fate Of CEO Accused Of Illegal Campaign Donations. Prosecutors allege that JL Capital CEO Tim Lee reimbursed employees for donations they made to the mayoral campaigns of Keith Amemiya and Kym Pine in 2020. Civil Beat. KITV4. 

Building, solar permits delayed in Honolulu with launch of new software system. The city Department of Planning and Permitting said the $5.4M HNL Build system, which was paid for using federal funds, launched on Aug. 4. Hawaii News Now.

DPP sets public meeting over North Shore plan. The  Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting will host a community meeting Tuesday in Waialua to discuss the public review draft Opens in a new tab of the North Shore Sustainable Communities Plan, the main planning document for use of land that runs for 27 miles along the coastline from Kaena Point in the west to Waialee Gulch near Kawela Bay in the east. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Island

Proposed county pay hikes advance. Those raises would include a 3.5% increase on Jan. 1, 2026, a 3.79% raise on July 1, 2026, and 4% hikes on July 1, 2027, and July 1, 2028. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaiʻi Will Soon Be Home To The World’s Biggest Land-Based Seaweed Farm. Ag tech company Symbrosia is scaling up production of its feed supplements for more environmentally friendly livestock production. Civil Beat.

Plea deal in the works for alleged puppy abuser. A plea deal is on the table for a 58-year-old homeless Hilo woman accused of abusing a pet puppy in April. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Billionaire Larry Ellison Shuts Down Vacation Home Division On Lana‘i. The closure will eliminate 15 jobs, or about 4% of Pulama Lānaʻi’s 400-strong workforce, but the company said employees can apply for other positions. Civil Beat.

Maui nonprofit funding pledged after PGA tournament canceled. The owner of two shuttered Maui golf courses has pledged to donate $750,000 to Valley Isle nonprofits in place of anticipated lost donations connected with a PGA tournament in January canceled due to a water shortage. Star-Advertiser.

Immigrant Lahaina Fire Survivors Terrified By ICE Presence. Members of Maui’s large immigrant population were on edge this week after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were seen knocking on doors in Lahaina, including at the largest temporary housing development for survivors of the deadly 2023 wildfires. Civil Beat.

Maui tops in state drowning rate. Maui led the state with Kauai a close second in having the highest rate of drownings from 2020 through 2024, according to the Hawaii State Department of Health. Maui News.

Kauai

Healthy aging and living better. On Wednesday, Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami presented a proclamation announcing that September is National Healthy Aging Month and National Senior Center Month to representatives of the county’s Agency on Elderly Affairs, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and several of Kauai’s most well-known kupuna, including Janice Bond and Santa in Paradise (also known as Phil Worwa). Garden Island.

Cultural practitioners, chefs unite at Waipā for Eat the Invasives gala fundraiser. On Kauai's North Shore, an innovative culinary event spotlighted the fight against invasive species by transforming them into gourmet dishes. Kauai Now.