Bill to Ban Disposable E-cigs Gains Ground

Senate Bill 2175, introduced by state Sen. Tim Richards (D-Kohala), would prohibit the sale or distribution of disposable electronic smoking devices in Hawaiʻi, starting Jan. 1, due to the environmental problems they cause.

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Federal Lawsuit Challenges Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program

A mainland advocacy group, led by former University of Pennsylvania’s medical school dean and retired kidney doctor Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a decades-old scholarship program aimed at addressing health disparities among Native Hawaiians, marking the latest legal battle over programs that consider ancestry in eligibility.

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West Maui Advocates Seek to Make Water a Public Resource

As West Maui recovers from fires and storms, residents call for public control of water systems — aiming to restore stream flow, protect the island’s future and honor ancestral stewardship.

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Trump Proposes Cut to Hawaiian Home Lands Funding

Native Hawaiian leaders and lawmakers are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove funding for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which he suggested last year, but failed. After the president’s unsuccessful attempt to deny federal funding for DHHL last year, the department was awarded more than $22 million to help clear its waitlist of more than 29,000 beneficiaries.

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Best Places to Work, Gold Winner: Hickam Communities

Nine years running, Hickam Communities (HC)—formed through a 50-year Centinel–U.S. Air Force partnership—has been named one of Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work. Employees describe HC as a place where a lean team turns purpose into action – feeling respected, supported and connected.

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Cesspools Increase Contamination Risks for Areas Hit Hard by Kona Lows

The Department of Health has identified 43,000 of 88,000 cesspools as posing a risk to water resources, with a total of 53 million gallons of raw sewage released each day.

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