Fire Prevention, Housing Top Priorities as New Lawmaking Session Gets Underway

Initial bills to address old, new concerns. State lawmakers already have announced their intentions to introduce nearly 500 bills ahead of today’s start of the legislative session. Each legislative session, 2,000 to 3,000 bills are introduced, and about 250 become law.

Maui Now. Kauai Now.

State Legislature Drafts Several Bills Cracking Down on Illegal Fireworks

Hawaiʻi lawmakers who hope to curb the use of illegal fireworks already have several bills drafted ahead of the start of today’s new legislative session.

Star-Advertiser. KHON2.

Hawaiʻi Department of Law Enforcement Director to Step Down

Amid a slew of controversies, the director of Hawaii’s Department of Law Enforcement is stepping down, and a Honolulu Police Department major has accepted the position.

Hawaii News Now.

The Number of Hawaiʻi Children in Foster Care Dropped to Lowest in Decades

The number of children in foster care in Hawaiʻi hit a 20-year low last year, an encouraging development for the troubled state Child Welfare Services Branch.

Civil Beat.

SpaceX Seeking Permit to Splash Down In Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and Indian Ocean

Public comments are due Jan. 17 on Elon Musk’s plans for his SpaceX rockets to splash down in a much wider area, including Hawaiian waters and 240 nautical miles east of the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary.

Maui Now. 

O‘ahu Headlines

Resolution Opposing Landfill Sites Above Oʻahu’s Aquifer Advances

A Honolulu City Council resolution meant to uphold a more than 20-year-old city policy over solid waste landfills and their proximity to Oʻahu’s drinking water supply has advanced.

Star-Advertiser. Hawaiʻi Public Radio. Hawaii News Now.

Honolulu City Council Considers Increasing Penalties for Fireworks Violations

The Honolulu City Council is considering increasing the penalties for fireworks violations on Oʻahu. According to city law, owning or using illegal aerial fireworks is currently a misdemeanor with a fine between $250 and $2,000, and up to a year in prison.

Hawaiʻi Public Radio.

Executives Hope a New Fee Can Save Downtown Honolulu

Honolulu business and political leaders are pushing to create a new special downtown business improvement district, similar to the one governing Waikīkī, to add more safety, sanitation and security to a once thriving neighborhood that has never fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Civil Beat.

Honolulu Proposes to Ease Ambulance Strain with Help from Rideshare Companies

A proposal to ease the strain on Oʻahu’s ambulance crews by enlisting the help of rideshare companies is prompting questions from some drivers.

Hawaii News Now.

State is Banking on Charter Schools to Help Expand Hawaiʻi’s Free Preschool

Hawaiʻi’s first-ever charter preschool is slated to open in Kapolei next month, amid a push to utilize the charter system to increase access to early learning in the state. Parkway Village Preschool is located in an affordable housing complex that recently opened there and will eventually serve up to 80 3- and 4-year-olds.

Civil Beat.

Hawai‘i Island Headlines

Lawsuit Over Epic System Moves Ahead

Oral arguments have been scheduled in a lawsuit in which a Miloliʻi homeowner is suing the county, alleging its Electronic Processing and Information Center system, known as EPIC, has trapped him in a permitting catch-22 that will allow him only to demolish his home — which is in a shoreline management area — not to remodel or live in it.

Tribune-Herald.

Playground Improvements Ongoing at Pu‘u Nui Park

Playground renovations and the installation of new equipment are underway at Pu‘u Nui Park in Waikoloa Village and are projected to be completed by the end of February, county officials announced last week.

West Hawaii Today.

Replacement of Narrow Hilo Bridge Pushed Back

Plans to replace the Four Mile Creek Bridge are unlikely to come to fruition before 2028.

Tribune-Herald.

Residential Program for Integrated Clinical Care Launched

A grand opening was held for the 6-bed program that “offers transitional housing and structured support for its most vulnerable members experiencing homelessness.”

Big Island Video News. Big Island Now.

Maui Headlines

At Least 1,000 People Have Left Maui Since The Fires, Tax Records Show

Hawaiʻi will see its annual income drop by $53 million due to migration from Valley Isle, researchers say.

Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.

Final Maui Fires Report Calls for Better Communication, Prevention, Education

The Hawaiʻi Attorney General’s office released its final report Tuesday on the August 2023 Maui wildfires, making 140 safety recommendations for state and county agencies, utility companies and landowners.

Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser. Maui Now.

South Maui Community Pushes Back After Plan Gets More Developer-Friendly

Advisory committee members say the county Planning Department’s changes will contribute to an unsustainable future for the greater Kīhei area.

Civil Beat.

Kaua‘i Headlines

Wilcox Nurses Start Three-Day Walk-Out

On Tuesday morning starting at 7 a.m., 159 nurses represented by the Hawaii Nurses Association took to the sidewalks fronting the Wilcox Medical Center in a three-day strike that, according to the HNA notice provided to Hawaii Pacific Health, will end at 6:59 a.m. on Friday.

Garden Island.

Kilauea Roundabout Generating Buzz

The ongoing groundwork for the upcoming roundabout on Kauaʻi’s North Shore is anticipated to be completed in 2026.

Garden Island.

Kaua’i Forest Bird Rescue and Recovery Organizations Joining Forces in One Facility

Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources members last week approved a request from Kaua‘i County Mayor Derek Kawakami to cancel a 1955 executive order that set aside state land for the county as the Hanapēpē Dog Pound.

Kauai Now.