Honolulu may be changing the way it deals with food waste as the City Council this month passed a measure that requires providing a designated bin for food waste, to separate it from other curbside trash pickup, by 2024. Read more
People will now be able to check how long the lines are at Oahu’s busiest refuse sites in Waipahu and Waianae by checking livestreams from newly installed cameras. Read more
Mayor Rick Blangiardi is continuing his focus on improving Chinatown, announcing 31 initiatives to revitalize the area that include installing 52 security cameras, enhancing Smith-Beretania Park and repurposing vacant city-owned properties. Read more
Supporters of measure counter that it helps bring equity to the pre-trial system for those from a lower economic background. Read more
A federal program grants financial death benefits to families who lost members of their household to COVID-19, but the program largely left out citizens of the Freely Associated States who live in the United States through the Compacts of Free Association. Read more
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation has transmitted its rail recovery plan to the Federal Transit Administration. Read more
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The cost of riding TheBus and TheHandi-Van will increase significantly July 1, anywhere from 9% to 233%, depending on the type of fare. Read more
The Honolulu City Council on Wednesday unanimously passed a $3.22 billion executive operating budget and a $1.03 billion capital improvement plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Read more
Ahead of a Honolulu City Council vote Wednesday allocating $1.3 million to dismantle the hotly debated Haiku Stairs, a nonprofit organization pushing to preserve them has released a survey in a last-ditch effort to save the illegal Windward Oahu hiking trail. Read more
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands might soon swap its Ewa Facility Drum site, a 56-acre property in Wahiawa, for the city’s 52-acre Varona Village property in Kapolei. Read more
Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor discussed local issues regarding affordable housing and also weighed in on national conversations such as abortion rights at the Hawaii Democratic Party’s state convention Friday. Read more
The public is welcome to participate in the town hall via Zoom. Read more
The new rail recovery plan that would notably shorten the route and delay the construction of the Pearl Highlands parking garage advanced out of the Honolulu City Council Transportation, Sustainability and Health Committee on Tuesday. Read more
Hawaii public school and college students now have the same freedom of press protections as working journalists after Gov. David Ige signed a new law into effect Monday. Read more
Oahu saw a decrease overall in this year’s Point-in-Time Count of homeless people, with the number of people in shelters dropping 24% and the number of those unsheltered increasing by 0.4% compared with the count in 2020. Read more
Honolulu Hale’s efforts to distribute upward of $225 million in pandemic- related federal funding through its Rental and Utility Relief Program have been underway for over a year — and recipients are now beginning to hit set limits for financial assistance. Read more
No-shows will be prohibited from making another appointment for 14 days and will lose the $8 deposit they were required to pay before taking the test. Read more
Honolulu City Council members Tuesday added about $167 million in projects they want funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act to the proposed city budget, with a focus on housing and job development. Read more
The plan truncates a 20-mile route to 18.75 miles, decreasing the cost of the beleaguered project from about $11.3 billion to $9.93 billion, officials said. Read more
The Honolulu City Council is considering proposed charter amendments that would impose stricter term limits for Council members, the mayor and the prosecuting attorney, closing off a provision that has allowed some to hold office for more than eight years. Read more
In an effort to encourage private-sector development in neighborhoods along the rail line, the Honolulu City Council in considering a measure that would give tax credits for up to three decades to businesses that invest substantially in facility improvements and create scores of new jobs. Read more
