Unopposed Races Scattered Across Hawaiʻi’s Primary Election Ballot

Hawaiʻi News Now reviewed more than 100 candidates running for state legislative and county council seats and found about 23 are running unopposed in the upcoming primary election. That means they will advance automatically and win their races without opposition. Among them are some of the state’s most powerful political figures, including Senate President Ron Kouchi and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura.

Hawaii News Now.

Familiar Faces Reemerge as Hawaiʻi’s Primary Election Takes Shape

The marquee races in the Aug. 8 party primaries remain the Democratic elections for lieutenant governor and to represent urban Honolulu in Congress, but there are also interesting down-ballot challenges that will see familiar faces returning to political life or resigning their seats to challenge other incumbents.

Star-Advertiser.

New Lawsuit Targets Eligibility Requirements for Hawaiian Homes Leases

A new lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. It was filed Monday by attorneys on behalf of a man named Eric Ryan, who tried to apply for a lease, but was denied due to the 50 percent Native Hawaiian blood quantum requirement.

Hawaii News Now. KITV4.

Legislature Shows Support for Local Agriculture, Food Security

While money was tight at the state Legislature this year, it was still another successful year for local agriculture and food security.

Hawai‘i Public Radio.

State Fixes Flawed LNG Forecast

The Hawaiʻi State Energy Office revised its alternative fuel analysis last month after it found a spreadsheet error in one of its scenarios that inflated benefits of using liquefied natural gas by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Star-Advertiser.

O‘ahu Headlines

3 Juveniles Arrested in North Shore Attack

Honolulu police arrested three juveniles in connection with an alleged assault by masked assailants at Waialee Beach on Saturday that sent a 23-year-old man and 15-year-old boy to the hospital with broken bones and concussions.

Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now. KHON2.

Mayor Threatens Budget Veto If Office of Economic Revitalization is Defunded

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi is threatening to veto the city’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget if the City Council moves forward with plans to slash funding and staff for the city’s Office of Economic Revitalization.

Star-Advertiser.

Where, Oh Where, Have the Bikis Gone? Oʻahu is Missing 800 Bikes

Only 478 bikes remained as of the end of April, down from a peak of roughly 1,300 bikes soon after its start.

Civil Beat. 

Oʻahu Man is Arrested by FBI After Threatening to Kill Michigan Governor

Ronald William Saville, 48, of Honolulu, previously imprisoned for threatening to kill the U.S. president and a federal judge was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill the governor of Michigan.

Star-Advertiser. 

Honolulu Plate Lunch Spot Shuttered Due to Sewage Backup

The state Health Department has issued Grace’s Inn a red placard, immediately shuttering it due to a sewage backup in the kitchen.

Star-Advertiser. 

Coqui Frogs: Is Haʻikū the New Hilo? Locals Try to Stop the Spread

Frustrated residents say they face a nearly impossible task in stopping the amphibians, as the under-resourced county group tasked with combating invasive species focuses on other priorities.

Civil Beat. 

Hawai‘i Island Headlines

Bill Aims to Increase Funding for PONC Maintenance Fund

A Hawaiʻi County Council committee unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that would double the share of property taxes earmarked for a popular land conservation maintenance fund.

Tribune-Herald. 

Extensive Upgrade for Pahoa Elementary Moves Forward

A project to redevelop and upgrade the campus of Pahoa Elementary School is moving forward, nearly 10 years after $500,000 was allocated by the state in 2017 to create a master plan for the site.

Tribune-Herald. 

NASA Funds May Bring More Missions to Mars — on Maunaloa

The site is called HI-SEAS, or the Hawaiʻi Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, and organizers recently secured NASA funding to resume testing at the research station after a hiatus of several years.

Hawai‘i Public Radio. 

Hilo Man Accused of Torching Kona Homeless Camp

Hawaiʻi Island police have arrested and charged 34-year-old Kaleb Paulus of Hilo in connection with an arson investigation and other offenses stemming from two incidents that occurred May 18 at a homeless encampment in Kailua-Kona.

Tribune-Herald. 

Maui Headlines

Filipino National on Maui Charged With Unlawfully Voting in the US

Remedios Alasaas, 66, of Kahului, Maui, came to the United States in or around 2014 on an immigrant visa and registered to vote soon thereafter. According to court records, Alasaas was a non-citizen when she cast votes in two Federal elections: first, in a general election on or about Nov. 8, 2022, and then in a primary election on or about Aug. 10, 2024.

Maui Now. 

Atlantis Submarines Resumes Lahaina Harbor Tours

Atlantis Submarines Maui has resumed operations from Lahaina Harbor nearly three years after the August 2023 wildfire destroyed the company’s submarine, support vessels and harbor facilities.

Maui News. 

Hawaiʻi Off Grid Starts Maui ‘Bunkhouse’ Build as a Sustainable, Rapid Solution for Habitat for Humanity

A lot that once held a home destroyed in the August 2023 Maui wildfires is now the site of something new: the first-ever mass timber home in Habitat for Humanity’s global history.

Maui Now. 

Kaua‘i Headlines

Kauaʻi Pride Parade and Festival Saturday

The 8th annual Kauaʻi Pride Parade and Festival will take place on Saturday — the first Saturday of June, which is LGBTQ+ Pride Month — with the parade starting at 10 a.m. from the Vidinha Stadium parking lot, and the festival running until 2 p.m. on the lawn of the historic County Building.

Garden Island.