We have made great progress toward the recovery of Maui in March. The One ‘Ohana Fund is now accepting applications from survivors who lost loved ones and those who were seriously injured and hospitalized as a result of the Maui wildfires. As Governor, my hope for this fund is that it will provide a more direct path toward healing and recovery for the families affected. (Read more)

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), as represented by the Department of the Attorney General, prevailed in a lawsuit challenging a project utilizing the Incompatible Insect Technique—which uses a naturally-occurring bacteria to help suppress mosquito populations—for combatting avian malaria on east Maui and giving native birds a chance for survival. (Read more)

With the help of the Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) Early College Program, two teachers returned to their alma maters, becoming the youngest full-time teachers in HIDOE history. (Read more)

AWARENESS, EDUCATION AND ACTION IS THE FOCUS OF TSUNAMI AWARENESS MONTH

As people in Hawai‘i awoke and got ready for work and school on April 1, 1946, an unwelcome visitor barreled its way toward the islands, triggered by a massive overnight earthquake off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. (Read more)

HHFDC SELECTS MASTER PLANNERS FOR KAPOLEI AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT

The Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corporation’s (HHFDC) Board of Directors awarded developers ‘Ikenakea Dev­elopment LLC and The Michaels Organization, both a 75-year lease in early March to master plan and develop Haku Kapolei. The project will include up to 900 affordable rental and for-sale homes at one of the largest, remaining undeveloped properties in the Villages of Kapolei. The 19.4-acre property is located at Farrington Highway and Fort Barrette Road, next to the future Hawai‘i State Veterans Hospital and across from the Kapolei Walmart. (Read more)

UH ADDRESSING STUDENT HOUSING NEEDS WITH SUCCESSFUL P3S

The University of Hawai‘i is just about a year away from completing its second successful Public-Private-Partnership (P3) to build modern student housing facilities on the UH Mānoa campus with zero taxpayer dollars. Construction on the $170 million Residences for Graduate Students facility began in October 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in fall 2025. (Read more)