Hawaii News

Hawaiʻi’s most immediate throughline is recovery and housing support after recent storms. The Hawaiian Council’s Host Housing Support Program is being rolled out statewide, with Maui Now and Big Island Now both reporting that qualifying hosts can receive monthly assistance for displaced people. Kauaʻi Now is also tracking Hurricane Lowell recovery as the county continues cleanup, repairs and reconstruction, and has named Solomon Kanoho to manage recovery and mitigation.

Education and health are another major thread. The University of Hawaiʻi is expanding access through ApplyHawaiʻi, a single undergraduate application for all 10 campuses, while UH also appears in a new partnership with the University of Massachusetts focused on energy systems, critical infrastructure and other priorities. In health, the UH Cancer Center secured a $3 million grant to study breast cancer disparities in Hawaiʻi, while AARP Hawaiʻi is offering workshops on Medicare coverage for kupuna.

On the ground, island communities are also dealing with rebuilding and service needs. Maui Now says the next Lahaina Community Meeting will include an update on the King Kamehameha III School rebuild, while the East Maui Water Authority is holding a rescheduled board meeting in Kula. On Hawaiʻi Island, the Ironman Foundation donation will help the Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center add mobile trailers while repairs continue. Kauaʻi is also seeing local recognition and infrastructure work, including a guest pass program reopening at the Pacific Missile Range Facility and a county IT-services donation to repair damage from the Kapule Building fire.