The merchants in Chinatown, and elsewhere in Honolulu, are already feeling the bite from the Trump administration’s trade war underway with China. The tariffs have pressed sellers to up their prices by some 25% to offset the increase.

That may not stop too many shoppers for smaller items with a lower base price. One reported raising the retail price of magnets she sells to $3 instead of $2.

But when the tariffs hit items such as smartphones and laptops, a one-quarter price bump will hurt.

More EVs, but nearing milestone mark

Eight years ago, then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie unveiled Hawaii’s first electric vehicle charging station at the state Capitol. Since then, need for chargers has steadily climbed along with the count of EVs motoring on our streets. According to the latest state monthly energy trends report, in July the statewide tally was about 300 short of hitting the 10,000 mark.

That still represent less than 1% of the more than 1 million registered passenger vehicles in the state, but projections show the trend upward is holding. In addition, there were 25,031 hybrid vehicles in the state last month, accounting for 2.3% of the total passenger vehicles.