Local News

Military families living near Pearl Harbor have complained for days of stomach pain, nausea and other health ailments after the Navy's water system became contaminated by petroleum. The issues may threaten one of Honolulu’s most important aquifers and water sources. The Navy says tests identified petroleum in a well that taps into an aquifer near the base.

Hawaiʻi’s COVID count hit 1,000 the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday. Imagine if all those people were buried in one place. That's what happened to 1,000 Native Hawaiians who died of smallpox. The Conversation takes you to their final resting spot in Kakaʻako.

The military has held town hall meetings over the past few days fielding the community outcry over what some see has been a slow response to the fumes in their tap water. Families voiced fears not only about what they were smelling in the water but what they were seeing in the water.

Lawmakers representing areas near the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam highlighted relief plans to help families dealing with tainted water. Hundreds of military housing residents and area schools have reported fuel-like or chemical odors coming from the Navy water distribution system.

The first of the month was a busy day for Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. The county moved forward with lifting some COVID-19 restrictions just as news broke of the first case of the Omicron variant in the U.S. Blangiardi spoke with The Conversation about all of it.

The Conversation talks to Honolulu Board of Water Supply Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest "Ernie" Lau and Erwin Kawata, the water quality program administrator. They had just learned petroleum was detected in a Department of Health water sample from Red Hill Elementary.

The Omicron coronavirus variant was confirmed Thursday in an unvaccinated Oʻahu resident with no recent travel history, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health said. State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble said it was only a matter of time before the variant was detected in Hawaiʻi — and there are likely more cases in the state.

With over 30 temples and several schools across the state, the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiʻi is home to the Jodo Shinshu Buddhism tradition here in the islands. The Conversation sat down with the head of the mission, Bishop Eric Matsumoto, to learn how they’ve adapted to the pandemic.

As median home prices hover at $1 million on Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, the statewide search for shelter that people can afford, continues. HPR's Noe Tanigawa reports Maui now has a plan that could provide enough affordable housing, and fed-up renters on Oʻahu are starting to organize.

The Honolulu City Council approved Wednesday a new 3% tax on transient accommodations, allocating between one-third to one-half of revenues to the city’s rail transit project. That tax is on top of the state’s existing 10.25% hotel room tax. HPR's Jason Ubay has more.