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The embattled Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority has come out of this legislative session with strong financial support. The Conversation talked to HTA chair Mufi Hannemann about surviving the session and his outlook for the visitor industry.
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State Sen. Maile Shimabukuro will resign from her seat at the end of the month. She has represented West Oʻahu for the last 21 years.
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Measures aiming to improve language access in Hawai‘i passed their final reading in the House and Senate on Wednesday. The bills will head to the governor’s office for final approval.
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The policy, announced by Mayor Richard Bissen and grassroots advocacy group Lahaina Strong, is intended to free up housing for displaced families devastated by the August wildfires. The county will have the authority to enact this policy due to the state Legislature's final approval of Senate Bill 2919.
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The County of Maui filed the complaint saying carriers failed to give proper notification about the widespread cellular service outages during the height of emergency response to the August wildfires.
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Popular measures on energy efficiency and solar permitting died abruptly in their last committees, leading some energy stakeholders to label this session a letdown. HPR's Savannah Harriman-Pote reports.
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The city wants to build 18,000 affordable housing units by fiscal year 2029, according to its 2023 housing plan, but the availability of land and city funding continue to be two of some of the most expensive obstacles to doing that.
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The Navy wants to reduce how much water is being discharged into Hālawa Stream, but the Hawaiʻi Department of Health is concerned about the lack of monitoring proposed in its plan.
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One of the bills dying in this legislative session would have allowed Hawaiian Electric to issue ratepayer-backed bonds — a process called securitization — to pay for wildfire mitigation efforts. State Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole spoke with The Conversation about the measure, as well as HECO's future.
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The One ʻOhana fund is a $175 million settlement program for families of the 101 people who were killed in last year’s Maui wildfires, or for people who were hospitalized and severely injured from the disaster.
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At Honolulu's federal courthouse, military families have been detailing their lives and medical ailments since being exposed to jet fuel from the Navy's Red Hill storage facility in 2021. The federal government has already admitted responsibility for the leaks, but now it's arguing the contamination was not enough to get people sick. HPR's Mark Ladao has more.
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The parties that damaged coral and live rock near Honolua Bay with a yacht in early 2023 were originally fined $117,000. Now they’re on the hook for $1.8 million.