OHA Presses for Role in Military Land Decisions

Office of Hawaiian Affairs board of trustees chair Kai Kahele is appealing to Congress to press the military to engage with Native Hawaiian groups in negotiations for leases on state-owned training lands.

Star-Advertiser. Big Island Now.

Grants Awarded to Strengthen Food Security for Local Nonprofits

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is investing $263,000 in four local nonprofits to expand access to healthy, locally sourced food for families across the islands. The grants support programs aimed at reducing hunger, improving nutrition and strengthening local agriculture at a time when food insecurity remains stubbornly high across the state.

Star-Advertiser.

Locally Created AI Tool Transcribes and Dissects Government Meetings

Joe Kent is the executive vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi. He created the Open Hearings tool after he felt he was wasting time and money hiring interns to monitor meetings.

Hawaiʻi Public Radio.

O‘ahu Headlines

Kaka‘ako Makai Housing Plan Could Skirt Ban

The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs is pursuing a new strategy to develop housing on land it owns in Kaka‘ako where the Legislature banned residential development in 2006, and it has the potential to sidestep the prohibition.

Star-Advertiser.

Council Pushes for Transparency Over Unspent Money

The Honolulu City Council seeks to hold Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration more accountable over the funding appropriations it provides for the city’s use each year.

Star-Advertiser.

Fatal HPD Chases Cost City Millions. Will A New Law Change That?

As Honolulu looks to settle with the family of a teenager killed in a 2021 chase, efforts to regulate police pursuits continue to draw criticism.

Civil Beat.

The Foster Girl’s Bones Kept Breaking. Expert Suggested She Didn’t Feel Pain

In response to a Hawaiʻi Supreme Court decision, case files in one of Hawaiʻi’s most notorious child abuse cases were unsealed. They reveal how the state and experts ignored multiple warnings before Ariel Sellers died.

Civil Beat.

$17M in Forfeitures Sought Against Company’s Late Founder Christopher Dawson

Federal prosecutors are seeking to recoup roughly $17 million meant for Native Hawaiian charitable causes that they allege was embezzled to pay for polo, homes in Hawaiʻi and Florida, and other personal expenses of the late founder of Hawaiian Native Corp., according to federal court records.

Star-Advertiser.

Popular Downtown Honolulu Street Crossing Needs to Be More Visible

In the past two months, Honolulu architect Joshua Briggs said he has almost been hit three times by cars and even a city bus, all while crossing King Street’s striped crosswalk between ʻIolani Palace and the King Kamehameha statue.

Civil Beat.

Hawai‘i Island Headlines

UH Debuts Advanced Robotic Optics on Maunakea, Sharpening Images in Night Sky

The University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) has launched initial science operations for Robo-AO-2, a robotic laser adaptive optics system now operating at the UH 2.2-meter telescope.

Maui Now.

Mobile Family Resource Center Rolls Out in Puna

The van was made available to Neighborhood Place of Puna through partnerships with state nonprofit organizations Blueprint for Change and Hawai‘i ‘Ohana Support Network.

Tribune-Herald.

Outreach Team From Hawaiian Council Coming to Big Island to Help With Emergency Relief Applications

The team will provide in-person support for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries needing help filling out applications, eligibility verification forms and more.

Big Island Now.

Puna Geothermal to Host Final Quarterly Community Meeting of 2025

Ormat Technologies Inc. and Puna Geothermal Venture invite residents and stakeholders to join the final quarterly community meeting of the year. The meeting is slated for 4 p.m. Nov. 25 at the Pāhoa Neighborhood Facility, located at 15-0322 Kauhale St., in Pāhoa.

Big Island Now.

Maui Headlines

Maui Water Department Begins Initial Planning for West Maui Desalination Plant

The Maui County Department of Water Supply is taking the first steps toward developing its first publicly owned desalination facility in West Maui.

Maui Now.

Earthjustice Asks Water Commission to Stop Kapalua Golf Courses From Using Drinking Water for Irrigation

The environmental law firm Earthjustice is claiming that two Kapalua golf courses unlawfully used millions of gallons of drinking water for irrigation, and with the knowledge of the state water commission chair.

Maui Now.

First Eight Families Receive County of Maui’s First-Time Homebuyer Program Shopping Letters

Marking a significant chapter in rebuilding, the County of Maui Office of Recovery announced that eight families received First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program shopping letters that allow them to begin shopping for a house within their approved price range.

Maui Now.

Kaua‘i Headlines

State Completes $24M Project to Secure Landslide-Prone Hanalei Hill on Kauaʻi

After a four-year effort, the project to stabilize the slope at Hanalei Hill and make one of Kaua‘i’s most vulnerable roadways safe is finally finished, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation said.

Kaua‘i Now.

Project Housing Connect Program Raising Awareness

Tessa Belardo of the Department of Education, Project YES (which stands for Youth Education Stability program) said on Tuesday that even children who are homeless need to be educated.

Garden Island.