He is a fourth-generation kamaaina born on Oahu who earned a journalism degree from the University of Hawaii. Gomes has been a reporter for local newspapers since the mid-1990s. He regularly enjoys surfing, bodysurfing and skateboarding.
Customers of Hawaii’s largest electrical utility should not see bill increases due to the utility’s portion of a pending $4 billion Maui wildfire litigation settlement. Read more
Gov. Josh Green used emergency power Wednesday to help a pair of state government insurance carriers sell policies to Hawaii condominium projects in an effort to relieve many condo owners from skyrocketing industry rates. Read more
State officials this week are scheduled to give house keys to about a dozen households for modular housing planted on vacant state land. Read more
Maui wildfire evacuees have begun moving into a former hotel in Kihei that the state has been fixing up since it bought the 175-room property in March from a religious institute. Read more
A $4 billion agreement Friday to settle every loss claim over Maui’s wildfire disaster of nearly a year ago is a monumental deal, but much work lies ahead to wrap up Hawaii’s biggest incidence ever of mass tort litigation. Read more
Many Hawaiian Electric customers on Oahu turned out their lights and went to sleep Wednesday night before knowing whether the utility had to implement rolling blackouts around 10 p.m. Read more
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The world’s largest online retailer is about to open its own ground transportation operation for package delivery on Oahu. Read more
The National Science Foundation could take until the end of 2026 to complete an environmental review for a potential investment in the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope on Hawaii island. Read more
Gov. Josh Green reluctantly filled a vacant state Senate seat Tuesday by appointing someone running for a state House seat to represent parts of West Oahu in the Senate until the Nov. 5 general election. Read more
An initial piece of a 16-unit modular housing project in Lahaina being built for survivors of the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires recently welcomed its first residents. Read more
The Maui County Planning Commission has thrown its support behind a proposal from Maui Mayor Richard Bissen to phase out legal use of roughly 7,000 short-term vacation rentals mostly on the Valley Isle. Read more
The trust is pursuing what it calls a community-driven holistic approach to better manage a contiguous, roughly 1,160-acre parcel stretching from the mountains almost to the sea. Read more
Green’s reductions amounted to $9.1 million less for programs or projects, and about $675,000 less for staffing. Read more
Plaintiffs in the litigation allege that the Lahaina fire was started by Hawaiian Electric power lines that blew down in gale-force winds and that the fast-moving inferno was fueled by dry vegetation on land owned by the state, county and private entities. Read more
Gov. Josh Green is insisting more go to families affected by the fire that destroyed most of Lahaina. Read more
A temporary site in West Maui storing ash and debris from the Aug. 8 wildfire that laid waste to Lahaina may be temporary for longer after a federal court ruling Monday. Read more
Small-scale wind turbines that don’t resemble the rotating fans seen on typical wind farms could start popping up around the state under an ambitious plan by a startup company. Read more
State Rep. Mark Nakashima, a former Hawaii public school teacher who served 17 years in the state Legislature representing parts of eastern Hawaii island, died Thursday. Read more
Gov. Josh Green signed one bill Wednesday that became the last of 253 enacted into law this year, and described this year’s work with Hawaii lawmakers as collegial. Read more
Gov. Josh Green is refusing to appoint an interim member of the state Senate by a deadline set by Hawaii law to fill a seat vacated in May by then-Sen. Maile Shimabukuro representing parts of West Oahu. Read more
