Derek Kawakami

This week and next, The Conversation is connecting with the mayors across the state. We talked to Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth earlier in the week and recently caught up with Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami. He says tourism on the island has picked up faster than the local government expected.

Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami is refocusing the county’s priorities away from COVID-19. As HPR’s Casey Harlow reports, he’s returning to commitments he made when he first entered office.

Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami joined The Conversation live to talk about the COVID situation on the Garden Isle — and his hopes for the new year.

Hawaiʻi's county mayors now have the authority to adjust COVID restrictions in their jurisdictions under the latest emergency order signed by the governor. Here's our conversation with Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami.

Former Honolulu mayor and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Kirk Caldwell announced he has secured the endorsement of Kauaʻi County Mayor Derek Kawakami.

Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami has issued a new emergency proclamation which repeals the county’s pandemic tier system.

Kauaʻi is planning to revise its coronavirus restriction structure as the Delta variant continues to impact the county. Mayor Derek Kawakami says officials will continue to enforce strict COVID-19 safety measures even as the state approaches a vaccination rate of 70%, a milestone earlier set for loosening rules under a tiered reopening plan.

The Kauaʻi County Council has passed a bill adding a 3% surcharge to the state’s hotel tax. The county expects revenue from the tax to replace the roughly $15 million Kauaʻi used to receive each year from its share of the state’s transient accommodation tax.

A setback in collecting the new county hotel room tax, the state Attorney General’s office says the state tax office does not have the authority to collect the taxes for the individual counties. That puts the mayors in a fix now that the state hotel tax will not be distributed to county governments.

The Conversation last week spoke with each of Hawaiʻi's county mayors to learn how the COVID-19 surge is affecting their communities and health care systems.