After Spending Debacle, DOE Appoints New Assistant Superintendent To Oversee School Facilities. The Hawaii Department of Education has a new official responsible for overseeing campus facilities as it struggles to handle millions of dollars in capital improvement project funds. Civil Beat.
Hawaii Prison Chief Wants Department Changes To Bring ‘Paradigm Shift’. Tommy Johnson will become the director of Corrections and Rehabilitation after the Public Safety Department is dissolved on Monday. Civil Beat.
Minimum wage to increase to $14 on Jan. 1. Act 114 incrementally increases the minimum wage to $16 per hour Jan. 1, 2026, and to $18 per hour Jan. 1, 2028. Big Island Now. KITV4.
Food insecurity rises in Hawaii amid increasing costs. A new study from nonprofit Hunger Free America found that 137,000 people across the state lived in food-insecure households between 2020 and 2022 — including 14.7% of children, 8.3% of employed adults and 4.4% of older residents. Star-Advertiser.
Oahu
Feds back effort to make Honolulu streets safer. Under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, a $1.67 million grant to the city’s Department of Transportation Services will allow for the study of alternate roadway configurations and improvements to pedestrian safety on Beretania Street, Kapiolani Boulevard and Wilder Avenue as well as on South King, Young, Piikoi and Kaheka streets, the city says. Star-Advertiser.
Task force seizes 17 more tons of fireworks. The Illegal Fireworks Task Force, operated under the state Department of Law Enforcement, seized about 17 tons of illegal fireworks at Honolulu Harbor on Wednesday from a shipping container that falsely declared its contents as “other items,” the DLE announced in a news release. Star-Advertiser. Maui Now. Hawaii News Now.
State looks for new contractor to remove Falls of Clyde from Honolulu Harbor. The state transportation department will try again to get a third party to remove the worn-down Falls of Clyde ship from Honolulu Harbor. Hawaii Public Radio.
Monster waves roll into Oahu’s North Shore, creating dangerous conditions in the water and on shore. Honolulu Ocean Safety says they’ve got all hands on deck Wednesday with dangerous conditions across the North Shore, including powerful shore breaks and strong rip currents. Hawaii News Now.
Hawaii Island
Cell tower raises concerns: Proposed project in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates would be located near Kahuku Park. At a Dec. 7 meeting of the Windward Planning Commission, Ocean View resident Colleen Conifer successfully petitioned for a contested case against a plan by Renegade Towers LLC to build a telecommunication facility — including a 150-tall cell tower and an equipment storage space — on a 4,994-square-foot portion of a parcel roughly 700 feet from Kahuku Park at the intersection of Paradise Circle Makai and Keaka Parkway. Tribune-Herald.
Federal plan limits number of helicopter tours in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. It's expected that there will be nearly 10,000 fewer helicopter and air tours a year at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on Hawaiʻi Island under a new plan from the federal government. Hawaii Public Radio.
Maui
Kula residents sue Maui utilities over damage caused by wildfire. Dozens of Kula residents, represented by law firm Singleton Schreiber, have filed a lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., Hawaiian Electric Co., Hawaii Electric Light Co. and Maui Electric Co., claiming that the utilities are responsible for the Kula fire. Star-Advertiser.
Petition garners 5,287 signatures against use of Olowalu as a fire debris disposal site. The petition from a family on Olowalu Village Road says even temporary storage of these substances from the Aug. 8 wildfires “poses great risk of causing irreversible damage to soil, water, air, the ocean and people.” Maui Now.
Hundreds protest in Olowalu against proposed dump site for toxic fire debris. West Maui families are protesting in opposition to a proposed dump site for toxic fire debris south of Lahaina. Hawaii News Now.
$900K to market Maui to ‘respectful’ Canadian visitors. Tourism officials said visitors to Maui from Canada accounted for almost 8% of arrivals before Tuesday, Aug. 8. KHON2.
Kauai
County seeks approval for ‘Waimea 400’ affordable housing. County seeks approval for ‘Waimea 400’ affordable housing. As the County of Kaua‘i Housing Agency works to obtain land use and environmental approvals for a new affordable housing development on the island’s westside, the agency is asking members of the public to weigh in on plans for the future project. Garden Island.
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