Hawaii News

Across the islands, emergency preparedness and wildfire-related utility precautions are a major focus. Hawaiian Electric has extended a public safety power shutoff watch through Friday on Maui and the Big Island as high pressure, strong trades and dry vegetation raise concern, while urgent repairs are also prompting a planned outage in portions of Haʻikū and Huelo on Maui. At the same time, the state Department of Transportation is staging an emergency response exercise at the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole, with both Maui Now and Big Island Now noting the drill and flight operations continuing as normal.

Local governments are also moving on infrastructure, land use and public services. Maui County issued a no-significant-impact finding for $31.5 million in Hāna Highway repairs at Kalepa Point, and Maui residents are being reminded to apply for the Circuit Breaker Tax Credit by Dec. 31. On Kauaʻi, the Department of Water is seeking public comment on the expansion of the Waiahi Surface Water Treatment Plant in Līhuʻe, while the county has awarded $450,000 to six agricultural projects aimed at boosting local food production and food security. Kauaʻi also reopened Kōkeʻe and Waimea Canyon State Parks after Hurricane Lowell impacts forced closures, and recovery work from that storm is still continuing nearly two months later.

Public safety and community engagement remain active themes. Big Island Now reports that West Hawaiʻi police will host eight Coffee With A Cop events this month, and the Hawaiʻi County Council has selected leadership for the upcoming term, with Dr. Holeka Inaba returning as chair and Dennis “Fresh” Onishi as vice chair. Big Island Now also reports a sentencing in a Kona airport drug-smuggling case, while Kauaʻi Now says the DMV database update now allows customers with expired learner’s permits to schedule road tests. In Maui, council business was briefly disrupted when a bill on outdoor lighting was posted in error and removed from Friday’s agenda.

Several stories point to seasonal and cultural activity as well. Veterans Day observances include a public tribute in West Hawaiʻi and free admission at all national park sites, while humpback whale coverage from Big Island Now and Kauaʻi Now marks the animals’ return to Hawaiʻi waters. Maui is also seeing community-centered events, including the ordination and consecration of Elizabeth “Libby” Berman as the sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaiʻi and the grand opening of ʻUlu o Lele in Lahaina.