Hawaii governor forms team to address disasters and climate change
Just before announcing the Climate Advisory Team, Green signed a bill appropriating $385.4 million in emergency funding for Maui wildfire recovery and response costs. Read more
Just before announcing the Climate Advisory Team, Green signed a bill appropriating $385.4 million in emergency funding for Maui wildfire recovery and response costs. Read more
Bissen announced his proposal a day after the full state House of Representatives voted to send Senate Bill 2919 to Gov. Josh Green, who’s expected to sign it into law today. Read more
Bissen’s bill first will have to go before the County Planning Commission and then the full County Council where Councilmember Kani Rawlins-Fernandez said today that she expects her colleagues to pass it. Read more
Maui County filed a lawsuit Wednesday against wireless service providers for not notifying it of network outages or providing delayed, incomplete information while emergency management officials tried to send evacuation alerts during the Aug. 8 wildfires, which killed at least 101. Read more
“Throughout its emergency response on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9, 2023, the County was not aware of these widespread failures,” according to the complaint. Read more
The lighting is part of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Light the Night for Fallen Firefighters annual event, which begins today and continues through Sunday. Read more
Ka La‘i Ola is expected to provide 450 interim homes for wildfire survivors who did not qualify for any type of federal aid. Read more
Hawaiian Electric hopes to introduce its plan at the end of the month, with a targeted implementation date of July 1. Read more
There’s a new deadline to register for the state’s One ‘Ohana Fund: now May 31, extended from April 30. Read more
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State lawmakers this year dialed back financial grants awarded to private projects and programs with public purposes but kept the level of giving on par with other recent years. Read more
The missing forms are a key component in the first phase of findings released on April 17 by the state Attorney General in the investigation of how the Maui wildfires were handled. Read more
There’s a 617-home gap between the ask from Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and the commitment made so far by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for assistance with Maui fire disaster relief, and no guarantee that it can be bridged. Read more
The deferral came Thursday after strongly favorable votes in the Senate and House on differing drafts of the bill in March and earlier this month. Read more
State House and Senate leaders have determined that close to $1 billion should be appropriated by the state for Maui wildfire response and recovery work through mid-2025. Read more
The Hawaii Community Foundation awarded a $40 million grant through the Maui Strong Fund on Thursday to nonprofit HomeAid Hawaii to support the Ka La‘i Ola interim housing development project. Read more
The full House and Senate will now consider the question of whether to allow each county to determine how — if at all — to regulate short-term vacation rentals on their islands, including the possibility of outlawing them. Read more
Gov. Josh Green has promised to sign the latest version of Senate Bill 2919 if it gets to his desk. Read more
Gov. Josh Green on Tuesday pledged to sign a bill into law that would give each county clear authority over vacation rentals — including the possibility of banning them — if it arrives on his desk, as expected. Read more
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen is making an overtime plea to state lawmakers for more Lahaina wildfire recovery funding. Read more
Laguna Jabola-Ing, a second grader from Ewa Elementary School, won his primary school division of the 2024 Guy Ontai State K-12 Scholastic Chess Championship tournament over the weekend. Read more