Vacation rentals not OK in Hawaii’s agricultural land district

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 26, 2024

Hawaii’s high court ruled that short-term vacation rentals do not constitute legal “farm dwellings” on land in the state agricultural district. Read more

Ewa community developer Haseko facing $27M judgement again after appeal

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 26, 2024

Plaintiffs in the case alleged that they had been misled and therefore unknowingly overpaid for their homes, which Haseko had developed and sold over nearly three decades while touting a boat marina as the community’s main attraction and central selling point. Read more

Hawaiian Electric Industries adds to stock sale haul

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 25, 2024

The company said today that an option for stock sale underwriters to buy up to $75 million in newshares has been fully exercised. Read more

HEI parent completes portion of stock sale plan

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 25, 2024

Hawaiian Electric Industries has generated $485 million in a sale of newly issued shares of stock. Read more

Hawaiian Electric parent to sell more new stock

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 24, 2024

The parent company of Hawaii’s largest electrical utility might sell up to $825 million in new stock, partly to help fund a pending settlement of claims over 2023’s Maui wildfire disaster. Read more

Oahu offshore wind farm plan gets blowback

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 23, 2024

A company partly backed by France is working to advance an Oahu offshore wind energy project as a federal agency prepares to possibly auction an ocean lease for such use in 2028. Read more

Downtown Honolulu offices become rental housing with city help

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 23, 2024

An old downtown Honolulu office building has become new rental apartment housing for households with low-moderate incomes. Read more

Kapi‘olani’s lockout of nurses is rare use of ‘nuclear’ option in labor fights

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 22, 2024

A recent study found that only two out of 347 U.S. work stoppages involving unionized labor in 2023 were lockouts. Read more

Kapi‘olani, nurses plan to keep talking as lockout continues

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 22, 2024

Talks today are scheduled to begin around 10 a.m. Read more

Tight labor force to weigh on Hawaii economy, especially Maui’s

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 20, 2024

University of Hawaii economists are warning that the statewide labor force likely will continue to lag pre-­pandemic levels for several years, extending challenges for many employers. Read more

Kilauea eruption intensifies along with hazards to park visitors

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 19, 2024

Volcanic hazards increased Thursday from the middle East Rift Zone eruption of Kilauea that began Sunday inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, according to the National Park Service. Read more

‘Golden parachutes’ deployed for top Hawaiian Airlines execs

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 19, 2024

A few top Hawaiian Airlines executives are out of a job now that Alaska Airlines has acquired Hawaii’s largest air carrier, but they are being well compensated with “golden parachute” benefits totaling close to $25 million. Read more

Maui police seek help investigating fatal shooting

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 17, 2024

The Maui Police Department reported a fatal shooting incident that led to the death of Shawn Lewis, 42, of Lahaina on Monday at about 12:05 a.m. Read more

Pearl Harbor shipyard works on 3 top-class submarines

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 16, 2024

The USS North Carolina fast-­attack submarine pulled into a Pearl Harbor maintenance facility recently in an unprecedented situation expected to become more of a future norm. Read more

Rental housing tower for DHHL beneficiaries ready to rise

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 15, 2024

A long-planned rental apartment tower in Honolulu’s urban core for state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries is slated to begin construction next month after delays. Read more

State grapples with uncertainty over Kakaako affordable condo project debt

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 13, 2024

A state agency is moving ahead with a plan to recover what it can on an unpaid $9.8 million loan to the developer of a nearly 3-year-old Kakaako affordable condominium complex where many units remain unsold. Read more

State eyes takeover of struggling affordable condo project in Kakaako

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 10, 2024

An affordable condominium project in Kakaako marketed as extraordinary boutique housing is facing the extraordinary prospect of foreclosure on unsold units nearly three years after opening. Read more

Turtle Bay resort expansion proceeding under new owners

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 8, 2024

The 20 homes are among 100 approved for development on a 43-acre site under a 2014 agreement with the state that protected much of the Turtle Bay property on Oahu’s North Shore from being developed. Read more

Oahu housing market steady ahead of possible demand increase

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 7, 2024

Market observers expect that buyer demand could pick up later this year if interest rates decline further. Read more

‘Booming’ construction helps buoy Hawaii’s economy as tourism lags

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 6, 2024

Hawaii’s economy has recovered 98% from where it was just before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and that economic growth is expected to continue through 2027, a state report says. Read more

Congressional hearing in Lahaina examines federal response

• By Andrew Gomes
• Sept. 5, 2024

Federal agencies responding to Maui’s wildfire disaster over the past 13 months received much praise along with several tough questions during a congressional hearing Wednesday in Lahaina. Read more