HMSA delays medical reimbursement changes, Kanakaole tapped to head DLNR, Grassroot Institute sues over campaign contribution limits, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

HMSA Delays The Change Threatening Patient Access After Governor Steps In. Change of heart extends insurance reimbursement shift for six months. Hawaiʻi’s largest health insurer is giving primary care doctors more time to adapt to a dramatically different reimbursement model that doctors say threatens their ability to keep their doors open after Gov. Josh Green intervened. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser. KHON2.

Suit challenges campaign spending activity law. The nonprofit Grassroot Institute of Hawaii filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to invalidate the new state law, which intends to bar campaign spending activity by companies, labor unions and other organizations that had such abilities protected in a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2010 under a case called Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. Star-Advertiser.

Green appoints Kanaka‘ole to head BLNR, DLNR. Gov. Josh Green announced Monday that Dawn Chang will retire as chairwoman of the Board of Land of Natural Resources and director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, effective July 1. Green appointed Hawaii Island native Ryan Kanaka‘ole to serve as chairman of the board and director of the department. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Video News. Big Island Now.

Proposed guidelines reignite fight over aquarium fishing. After lawmakers refused to stop aquarium fishing this year, fishers are pushing for new limits, spurring debate over whether the controversial practice can be done sustainably.  Hawaii News Now.

Hawaiʻi advocates say monk seal protection falls short amid harassment case. Hawaiian monk seals have been on the endangered species list for 50 years. But advocates of marine mammals say they need more protection from people, including enforcement and education. Hawaii Public Radio.

Oahu

$3M in illegal rental fines uncollected a year after foreclosure threat. A year after the Honolulu City Council approved foreclosure on a short-term rental owner, the case remains unresolved — and nearly $3 million in fines remains uncollected. Hawaii News Now.

Agency unveils homelessness central response command center. The facility will will serve as a central command center for homelessness response efforts, gathering data from across Oahu and helping connect individuals with housing, support services and other resources. Star-Advertiser. KHON2. 

‘Cannot Happen Again’: Lawmaker Targets Doctors Who Impregnate Patients. After learning a beloved North Shore gynecologist was accused of using his own sperm to inseminate patients without their consent, Rep. Amy Perruso is seeking to outlaw this behavior. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Island

Annual EPIC system update scheduled later this week. Hawaiʻi County Department of Public Works and Planning departments will perform the annual update to the county’s Electronic Processing and Information Center — or EPIC — beginning early Thursday morning, June 11. The EPIC site will be unavailable from 1 a.m. June 11 through 8 a.m. Friday, June 12. Big Island Now.

$6M in renovations planned for UH Hilo theater. The Performing Arts Center at the University of Hawaii at Hilo has changed very little throughout its over 50-year lifespan, manager Lee Barnette-Dombroski said. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

Man gets 2 years prison time for filing false FEMA claims. A man who stole more than $60,000 with his ex- girlfriend from the Federal Emergency Management Agency by lying about being victims of the deadly 2023 West Maui wildfires and the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires was sentenced to two years in federal prison Friday. Star-Advertiser. Maui Now.  KITV4.

West Maui Taxpayers Association to host candidate forum June 25.  The West Maui Taxpayers Association will host its 2026 Primary Candidates Night on June 25 at the Lahaina Civic Center Social Hall. Maui News.

Empty Shelves: Young Brothers Misses 3 Shipments To Molokaʻi In 21 Days. The shipping monopoly has missed its past four shipments to the Friendly Isle, leaving residents frustrated by empty store shelves and costly alternatives. Civil Beat.

Kauai

Kauaʻi police said financial dispute reason Billy Sinclair allegedly killed a 37-year-old in Hanalei. The victim, who was identified by his cousin on Facebook as Tito Reyes, was killed where he worked at a restaurant in Hanalei, police said. Kauai Now. Garden Island. KHON2. 

Mike Coots joins county council race. Kauai-born photographer, ocean advocate, author and shark attack survivor Mike Coots announced his campaign for the Kauai County Council on Sunday. Garden Island.

Kanaka'ole named interim DLNR chair, condo insurance rates drop dramatically, future unclear on Maui short-term vacation rental exemptions, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

 

Gov. Green appoints Ryan Kanaka‘ole interim chair of DLNR. Gov. Josh Green announced the appointment of Ryan Kanaka‘ole as acting chair and director of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, effective immediately, while Chair Dawn Chang is on medical leave.  Kanaka‘ole, who was deputy director of DLNR, most recently served as a deputy attorney general with the Department of the Attorney General, where he represented the Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corp. and the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority. He also served as deputy attorney general for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands from 2017 to 2023. Star-Advertiser. Tribune-Herald. KHON2. 

Hawaiʻi Cracked Down On Pension Spiking. It’s Still Costing Taxpayers Millions. In 2012, lawmakers tried to get a handle on unexpectedly high pensions by billing state and county employers. In most cases, it’s only gotten worse. Pension spiking by public employees has cost Hawaiʻi taxpayers more than $434 million over the last seven years. Civil Beat.

State competition lowers condo insurance prices.  Hawaii condo owners are seeing dramatic reductions in insurance premiums as state-run insurance products create new competition in the market, forcing private companies to slash rates that had made some condos unaffordable. Insurance premiums have dropped 30% to 70%, depending on the coverage, according to Paul Eaton, a consultant for the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund. Hawaii News Now.

Can Kamehameha Fend Off Admissions Lawsuit With Free Tuition? The state probate court must first approve a plan to make the school tuition-free starting in the 2026 school year. Civil Beat.

Jackie Keefe announces run for Hawaiʻi State House, District 14 on Maui. Community advocate Jackie Keefe announced her candidacy for the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives, District 14, which includes Kahakuloa, Waiheʻe, portions of Waiehu and Māʻalaea, Lahaina and Honokahua. Maui Now.

Oahu

First transitional housing project for Native Hawaiians is underway. Hale o Kumumamo, at 91-1078 Yorktown St. in Kalaeloa, converted formerly vacant military housing into 18 studio apartments — two of them specially equipped for those with disabilities — with a kitchenette and a community laundry room and office space. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now. KITV4. 

Oahu-based teams search for remains of missing troops from ‘Secret War’ in Laos. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency operates its forensics lab on Oahu and has historians combing through records and archives, as well as teams of service members and scientists traveling the globe to find and identify missing service members from America’s wars. Star-Advertiser.

Prosecutors: Victim families in Aliamanu explosion refuse to cooperate. As the first anniversary of the deadly New Year’s fireworks explosion approaches, not one suspect has been charged, and prosecutors say victims’ family members and friends are refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Hawaii News Now. KHON2. 

Blangiardi, police vow stricter fireworks enforcement over New Year’s. The Honolulu Police Department and the state Department of Law Enforcement say new laws enacted by the state Legislature earlier this year will be more effective at targeting those who possess, use, or traffic in contraband fireworks. Star-Advertiser. KITV4. 

Hawaii Island

Hilo man charged with property damage related to shattered downtown windows. The charges arise from an incident reported at approximately 12:38 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 28, when South Hilo patrol officers received multiple anonymous calls reporting a male throwing rocks at business windows in the areas of Pūnāhoa Street, Furneaux Lane, and Kamehameha Avenue. 45-year-old Wayland Leong Sr. was charged with five counts of criminal property damage, three in the second degree and two in the fourth degree. Big Island Now.

Maui

Future unclear on exempting many Maui short-term rentals from new law. A proposal to exempt 4,519 Maui short-term rentals from having to convert to long-term housing for Maui residents faces an uncertain future after it failed to generate the necessary six votes before the Maui County Council. Star-Advertiser.

Kauai

Preston Chong tabbed to be new deputy parks director. Chong was officially sworn in as the new deputy director of the County of Kauai Department of Parks and Recreation by Eddie Topenio before a small audience of Chong’s family and Parks staff, including Parks Director Patrick Porter. Garden Island. Kauai Now.