Artificial Intelligence is Here to Stay

Are Hawaiʻi Schools Ready? From preschoolers to high school seniors, Hawaiʻi students share how artificial intelligence is shaping their learning and plans for the future. There’s wide variation in how much teachers and students are willing to engage with the new technology.

Civil Beat.

Della Au Belatti’s Change of Plans Upends Lieutenant Governor and U.S. House Races

State Rep. Della Au Belatti’s decision to suspend her run for Congress to jump into the race for lieutenant governor has upended both campaigns and brought new attention to the most high-profile campaigns so far leading up to the Aug. 8 Democratic Party primary.

Star-Advertiser.

UH Commits $5M in Student-Athlete Pay Despite Failure at Legislature

The University of Hawaiʻi, which has about 500 student-athletes on 21 teams, did not score taxpayer funding this year to pay student-­athletes.

Star-Advertiser.

HMSA’s Payment System Pivot Has Hawaiʻi’s Medical Community Reeling

Hawaiʻi patients could face fewer choices for primary care — and longer waits for services — as the state’s largest insurer Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association reverses a decade-old payment model, prompting fears that some clinics may close or scale back.

Star-Advertiser.

Ann Wright, Hawaiʻi’s Global Warrior for Peace, is Not Giving up the Fight

The retired Army colonel has been active on the frontlines of protest, from the Iraq War to Gaza, from Cuba to Minneapolis, from Red Hill to Pearl Harbor.

Civil Beat.

O‘ahu Headlines

Honolulu Officials Accept Raises Without Hearing Public Opposition

Members of the public had little opportunity to comment on the raises, which are paid for with their tax dollars.

Civil Beat.

HART Gets Reimbursed $125M for Segment 2 Completion

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation has received a $125 million federal reimbursement connected to last year’s opening of the more than $10-billion Skyline project’s second segment past the airport, the agency’s leadership announced Friday.

Star-Advertiser.

Group Seeks to Restart Aquarium Fishing on Oʻahu

The Hawaiʻi Fishers Association is moving to restart the trade on Oʻahu just one month after a bill to ban it died in the Legislature.

Star-Advertiser. 

Woman Fights $600K in Fines for ‘mistakenly’ Advertising Short-term Rental

An 83-year-old Oʻahu woman is fighting $600,000 in fines from the City and County of Honolulu for an online advertisement of an illegal short-term rental. Sandra May has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court Thursday for “mistakenly” posting her one-bedroom rental unit in Wilhelmina Rise as a short-term rental, which is available for rent for less than 30 days.

Hawai‘i Public Radio. 

City Reverses Course on Koko Crater Stables Eviction Notice

Aloha Riding Lessons LLC, the longtime operator of Koko Crater Stables, recently threatened with eviction, has received a reprieve after the city rescinded its notice to vacate the city-owned property.

Star-Advertiser. 

Plans for New Costco, Zippy’s Closure in Waipahu Met With Pushback

The vacant building that was once the Don Quijote in Waipahu could be home to Hawaiʻi’s first Costco Business Center.

Hawaii News Now. 

Hawaiʻi National Guard Concludes Kona-low Storm Relief Efforts

The Hawaiʻi National Guard has officially concluded its support for relief efforts in the aftermath of two Kona-low storms that swept across the islands and ravaged Oʻahu’s North Shore in March, as well as intense weather that followed in April.

Star-Advertiser. 

Hawai‘i Island Headlines

13 Applicants in Play to Be Next Fire Chief

Hawaiʻi County has received applications from 13 individuals it says are conditionally qualified to be the next chief of the Hawaiʻi Fire Department. Those 13 have been culled from 33 applicants.

Tribune-Herald. 

Former Hawaiʻi County Official Sentenced to Prison for Taking $1.9 Million in Bribes

Alan Scott Rudo, 59, a former Hawaiʻi County housing specialist, will spend nearly four years in federal prison for his role in a seven-year scheme of accepting bribes in exchange for awarding more than $11 million through four affordable housing development agreements.

Star-Advertiser. Civil Beat.

Her Dad’s Death Led to Tougher Penalties for Dangerous Dog Owners in Hawaiʻi

Now her daughter tests law after attack. In 2024, Shannon Matson pushed for the passing of a state law that significantly toughens the legal consequences for owners of dangerous dogs after the death of her 71-year-old father, Bob Northrop.

Big Island Now. 

FEMA Doles Out $2M to Kona Low Victims in Hawaiʻi County

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $2.1 million in grants to Hawaiʻi County residents for damage suffered during the two Kona low storms that wreaked havoc statewide in March.

Tribune-Herald. 

The Earth Shook

Tanks burst. Now Kona faces a water crisis. One of the most coveted coffees in the world comes from Kona, where the coffee crops thrive on afternoon rains. So do the farmers, who rely on rainwater to fill the tanks that supply their homes and orchards. Parts of the area have no county water infrastructure.

New York Times. 

Maui Headlines

Longshot Congressional Candidate Pulled Gun on Maui County Workers

An armed man entered a Maui County government building Friday morning and brandished his gun during an argument with county workers, but police were not called for an hour and a half. Kirill Basin, who had recently announced he planned to run for Congress, was arrested and charged with Terroristic Threatening in the First Degree.

Civil Beat. Maui Now.

Lahaina Harbor Restoration Moves Forward With Dredging Project

State officials say routine dredging work scheduled to begin Monday at Lahaina Small Boat Harbor will also provide a rare opportunity to dredge the main harbor basin for the first time since 1966.

Maui News. 

$241M Solar Energy Project to Power 18,000 Maui Homes Moving Through Permitting Process

With the passage of a federal budget severely rolling back clean energy investments, the company behind a $241 million solar project in Central Maui is working feverishly to get through the permitting process and have enough time to build the facility so it can be operational by the end of 2028.

Maui Now. 

Kaua‘i Headlines

Kaua‘i Wants to Expand Its Only Landfill — Again

The island’s sole permitted landfill in Kekaha will fill up in just four years. With a new landfill still a decade away from opening, the Garden Isle is running out of room for its trash. So, to buy time, the county hopes to expand its 73-year-old Kekaha landfill — at a cost of up to $43 million.

Civil Beat. 

Online Visits to Remote Seabird Sanctuaries Offered in ‘Year of Our Coastal Kuleana’

New online field trips are being offered this year to remote seabird sanctuaries: Lehua Island, 19 miles west of Kauaʻi, and Hōlanikū, also known as Kure Atoll, 1,400 miles away at the furthest reaches of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.

Kaua‘i Now.