Hawaii Business Magazine Newsletters

Hawai‘i to pay government workers up to $20K each for hazardous work during pandemic
Two-tiered settlement with the Green administration awards government employees back pay of either $10,000 or $20,000, depending on how many days they worked. Civil Beat.

Hawai‘i governor: State biosecurity chief’s contract will not be renewed
Carol Okada, the state’s embattled acting biosecurity administrator, will not have a job with the Department of Agriculture after June 29. Civil Beat.

Lawsuit seeks to stop Alaska-Hawaiian merger
A consumer antitrust lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Hawai‘i seeks to stop the acquisition of the 95-year-old Hawaiian Airlines by Alaska Airlines on the grounds that the merger would result in higher fares, fewer flights, job losses, and cause injury to Hawai‘i’s economy. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.  KHON2.

Rising sea levels could eat away at Hawaiʻi’s underground infrastructure, UH study says
According to the study, led by UH coastal geologist Shellie Habel, cities with buried infrastructure are most at risk for corrosion and system failures due to interaction with this shallower and saltier groundwater. Big Island Video News. Kauai Now.

Fatality rate in Hawai‘i due to distracted driving twice as high as the mainland
Hawai‘i’s fatality rate due to distracted driving is twice as high as the mainland and officials said it’s completely preventable. KHON2.

Taiwan wants to expand its military attache office on O‘ahu
Taiwan is seeking to increase the size of its military attache office at its de facto consulate in Honolulu as the self-ruled island democracy looks to tighten ties with the United States and bolster defenses against potential Chinese military attacks. Star-Advertiser.

Family identifies cruise ship passenger who died after bus plowed into group
Officials say the shuttle bus driver dropping off passengers hit the gas instead of the brake and pinned several people against concrete barriers. Hawaii News Now.

Solar farm on University of Hawaiʻi land comes online in West Oʻahu
The facility, developed by AES Hawaiʻi, is on 66 acres of open UH agricultural land north of the West Oʻahu campus in Kapolei. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawai‘i organizations were awarded $42.6 million in federal funds to expand the urban tree canopy. Some neighborhoods need it more than others… read more.

NPR reporter Dara Kerr talks story about billionaire Marc Benioff buying Waimea land
After the story broke, many internet articles and social media posts echoed suspicions about Marc Benioff’s ulterior motives. He’s the CEO and co-founder of Salesforce, one of the world’s largest software companies. Hawaii Public Radio.

PUC orders HECO to provide status updates following power outages
The Public Utilities Commission issued an order on Monday requiring Hawaiian Electric to provide a status update on the mitigation measures it intends to implement to address the Hawai‘i island outage situation, as well as its customer communication strategy regarding conservation measures and the outages. KHON2.

Jr. Tupa‘i enters race for Hawai‘i County mayor
This is Tupa‘i’s second time running for office. In 2022, he was a candidate for lieutenant governor on the Duke Aiona ticket in the gubernatorial race. Big Island Now.

Community meeting to address instream flow standards for Waikōloa
Staff of the Commission on Water Resource Management will host a fact-gathering meeting on Thursday to collect testimony and information to be compiled as part of an Instream Flow Standard Assessment Report. Big Island Now. Big Island Video News.

Maui Council committee reviews budget for Mayor’s Office
The mayor’s Fiscal Year 2025 proposed budget is $30,952,924. It includes a decrease of -2.9% for operations, a decrease of -74.3% for equipment, and an increase of 1.8% for salaries. That translates to a -27.4% reduction in total department costs.  Maui Now.

Findings from Lahaina fire investigations being released
The probe looks only at how firefighters managed the emergency Aug. 8 but will not include an official determination of what caused the fire or where it started. Star-Advertiser.

AG’s wildfire probe doesn’t find fault with first responders, those briefed on report say Hawaii News Now.

Lahaina’s wildfire burned so hot that many dangerous contaminants likely vaporized
Scientists, state officials and the Army Corps of Engineers are finding the burn zone may not be as toxic as initially feared. Civil Beat.