Ryan Finnerty

Data from the Hawaii Department of Health show that most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the islands are local residents. But some legislators are calling for increased quarantine restrictions on visitors.

Five governors have now joined a coalition of Western U.S. states developing common standards for reopening their economies. Hawaii’s executive remains reluctant.

Updated: 4/24/2020, 8:18 a.m.

President Trump today signed off on another $320 billion in loans approved by lawmakers to help businesses cover payroll and other expenses. Hawaii firms secured $2.46 billion from the first round of funding, but not without difficulty.

With hotels, restaurants, and farmers largely shuttered, demand for fresh, local produce has plummetted. The loss of revenue puts future harvests at risk.

Eligible residents in Hawaii, and around the country, are starting to receive cash stimulus payments from the federal government. But the one-time $1,200 checks won’t go far in Hawaii.

Air travel is down by as much as 96 percent and airlines have responded by drastically cutting the number of flights they operate. That is impacting the price of global shipping.

Experts in academia and healthcare have unveiled separate plans for safely reopening Hawaii’s economy. Both frameworks rely heavily on testing, but the state health director says that isn’t where the focus should be.

It’s unclear when conditions will allow the resumption of normal economic activity. Two Hawaii experts have outlined a plan for how that might be achieved, even before a vaccine for COVID-19 is developed.

Just under half of all households nationwide have responded to the decadal survey of the U.S. population. Fewer than 40% of Hawaii residences have answered.

Restaurants employ 13% of Hawaii workers. Many of those businesses face an existential threat from the coronavirus pandemic, but some are already finding success in the new reality.

With economists predicting short-term unemployment rates as high as 25 percent, the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic will dwarf the Great Recession.

Civic participation is a challenge during the time of coronavirus. Some agencies are finding ways to still include the public, despite Gov. David Ige's emergency order suspending the requirement among other state laws.

Updated: 3/31/20, 10:42 a.m.

It’s been less than a week since a statewide stay-at-home order largely shut down Hawaii’s economy in an effort to contain the coronavirus. The latest economic projections indicate restarting activity will take much longer.

Updated: 3/27/20, 4:50 p.m.

More than 97,000 new unemployment claims have been filed in Hawaii since March 1st. Workers in the restaurant and hotel industries have been some of the hardest hit.

Help is on the way says Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz. The words came as the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a $2 trillion aid package designed to save the American economy from collapse.

As the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe, Americans returning to the U.S. were entering the country without any health screening.

Manufacturers say their supply chains haven’t been interrupted. Shippers say cargo volume is normal. So why are many Hawaii stores out of toilet paper?

Tax revenue coming into Hawaii state coffers is now expected to be $48 million to $80 million less than previous estimates for the rest of 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus.

Voters on Oahu will elect a new mayor in 2020. HPR will be sitting down with mayoral hopefuls to discuss their top concerns and why they want the job.

Both chambers of the state Legislature have passed some form of a prohibition on the governor and county mayors earning income from employment other than their elected office.

The idea of a carbon tax has broad support from economists and a version was already approved by the state Senate. If agreed to by the House and Gov. David Ige, it would become the first measure of its kind in the U.S.

How long it takes to get the coronavirus to run its course will make the difference between a short-term hiccup and serious economic woes, says a University of Hawaii economist.

There are still no reported cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Hawaii. But a spate of canceled events and falling visitor numbers from abroad indicate the virus is creating economic headwinds. 

The Honolulu transit fare review body wants to raise the price of a bus ride by 25 cents to $3, but provide free transfers between the rail and bus.

The City and County of Honolulu signed an agreement with Hitachi worth $918 million over 13 years to operate the long-delayed rail transit system.

Japan Olympics and Global Economy; Electric Vehicle Bills; Hawaii Keeps Fluoride Out Of Drinking Water; Taxes - And Who's Paying Them; Sex Trafficking And Homelessness

The latest data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority shows the number of short-term vacation rentals on Oahu continued to decline, while Maui and Kauai saw substantial increases.

Roughly 99 million Americans still do not have identification in compliance with a federal law set to take effect in October. More than half of Hawaii licenses and IDs are compliant, but for those on Oahu who haven't gotten the approved identifications, the wait for an appointment now stretches to about six weeks.

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz says the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak has fallen far short and he is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Japan embassy to see if that country can provide coronavirus test kits to Hawaii.