City and County of Honolulu

One of the most popular, and illegal, hiking trails in Oʻahu may not exist for much longer.

Honolulu is overhauling its building permit process after a federal investigation resulted in indictments alleging a bribery scheme.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi re-emphasized that he is "dead set against" rolling Oʻahu back to Tier 2 restrictions, and he is discussing possible amendments to the city's reopening plan to keep the island in Tier 3.

The City and County of Honolulu reopened its rent and utility relief program for struggling households Monday afternoon. But hours after its launch, the city temporarily closed the online portal in order to process the 8,000 applications it received.

With a state lockdown in effect, Hawai‘i saw fewer pedestrian fatalities in 2020 compared to the year before, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

There could be another delay to the interim service of Honolulu's rail project. Interim rail authority executive director Lori Kahikina told city council members that during a budget review of the semi-autonomous agency.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced Tuesday that Honolulu will be moving from Tier 2 to Tier 3 on the county's framework of reopening. The move will loosen certain restrictions on businesses and other activities.

Updated 2/17/21, 12:08 p.m.

The Honolulu City Council is considering two measures that address abandoned boats and trailers on city streets today. The measures aim to address safety concerns in communities, while also clarifying jurisdictions and procedures for their removal.

HONOLULU — A Honolulu Police Department study found that its officers used the most force against Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

HONOLULU — The Honolulu City Council has endorsed an affordable rental housing tower for older adults on city land in Chinatown.

HONOLULU — Hawaii is assisting about 800 residents of American Samoa traveling through Oahu to their island home, which was cut off by the coronavirus.

Updated 1/15/21, 12:19 p.m.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi is keeping Oahu in the second tier of its reopening plan, and hopes to safely move the city to Tier 3. This is despite the island averaging 130 new cases (not including inmates), and a positivity rate of 3.9% between January 7 and 13. 

HONOLULU — Honolulu has a new slate of leaders after the mayor and five first-term City Council members took the oath of office.

Mayor Derek Kawakami is awaiting Governor David Ige's approval on a proposed change to Kauaʻi's Rule 23. The amendment would rescind the county's moratorium on the Safe Travels program for inter-island travel.

Updated 12/30/20, 11:59 a.m.

It's official: any furloughs of state workers will not begin until July 1 at the earliest. Governor David Ige says that's because of the latest federal COVID-19 relief measure just signed by President Donald Trump.

Updated 12/24/20, 3:46 p.m.

Where we stand

The state Department of Health reported 129 new cases and no new fatalities Thursday.

According to the state's numbers, Oʻahu had 79 new cases, Maui 33, Hawaiʻi County 11, Kauaʻi 1, Lanai and Molokaʻi had none.

The latest state counts bring the Oʻahu total to 17,356, Hawaiʻi County 1,848, Maui 838, Kauaʻi 139, Lanai 106 and Molokaʻi 22. The number of out-of-state cases totals 341.

Since the pandemic began, the state has tallied 20,650 cases. The death toll stands at 285.

Governor David Ige announced Wednesday afternoon that there will be a delay in state furloughs, that were set to begin on January 1, 2021.

Oʻahu will be adjusting its tiered reopening plan by removing new cases from the Halawa Correctional Facility cluster. Under the changes, Honolulu will be subtracting new cases among the prison population from its weekly averages, but will still count positives among prison guards and staff.