January 16, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, January 16, 2026

January 16, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:15 PM :: 254 Views

1959: Martin Luther King Jr Salutes Hawaii Statehood

Public Invited to Take 2026 Red Hill Survey

Lahaina: "Prepare for the Potential Conclusion of FEMA Assistance on February 28, 2026”

Bissen’s Next Disaster: After 2.5 years on the dole, 946 Lahaina Burn Zone Households May Lose Rent Subsidies – too bad Maui County didn’t let owners rebuild quicker

MN: … With the end of temporary federal emergency assistance now set for the end of next month, Mayor Richard Bissen (finally got around to) advised(ing) Lahaina wildfire survivors Wednesday night to take a permanent housing alternative, if available.

The looming deadline affects 946 households still relying on direct rental assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bissen said during a Lahaina Community Weekly Disaster Recovery meeting at Lahaina Intermediate School.

He added that he received information from Bob Fenton, FEMA Region 9 Administrator, that said the temporary housing assistance program was initially created for 18 months, and then it was extended for a year.

“And, of course, we’re requesting that they extended for one more year,” the mayor said. However, “if you can find solutions to that temporary situation… my first advice to you as a plan is to take that if it’s available,” Bissen told residents gathered at Lahaina Intermediate School. “Please consider that as your first option.”

The urgent tone comes as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s direct lease program faces a hard expiration date of Feb. 28. While an 18-day extension was granted recently to allow federal reviewers more time, the state and county’s request for a full one-year extension remains in limbo on the desk of the Secretary of Homeland Security….

IJ: For 2 1/2 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been key to assisting those residents.

MN: Maui braces for possible end to FEMA rental assistance and more housing strain for fire survivors | News, Sports, Jobs - Maui News

read … FEMA extension uncertain; Mayor urges wildfire survivors to take alternate housing, if available : Maui Now

Deeply Affordable Housing on Maui is Dormitory-Style

MN: … One example is Kīpūola Kauhale, a small community on Maui designed to serve people earning at or below 30% AMI. It offers deeply affordable housing through a structured program model focused on stability and safety. Kīpūola Kauhale offers tiny home units with shared communal facilities….

MN: Hale Makua announces new ‘CarePlex’ and workforce housing initiatives on Maui : Maui Now

SA: Editorial: Maui has duty to serve its homeless | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … HomeAid Hawaiʻi on Housing: Deeply Affordable Housing : Maui Now

‘Cut out the bull’: Peter Savio and GOP demand affordable housing

HNN: … Republicans say they’ll re-introduce a bill to create a local housing market separate from the rest of the market and call for a resolution asking the federal government to change the tax code….

KHON: Hawaii Republican's plans to attack state's housing crisis

read … ‘Cut out the bull’: developer and GOP demand affordable housing

More people are applying to state jobs, but actual hires still lag

HPR: … The state received about 41,500 applications last year, up 27% from 2024.

The state Department of Human Resources Development says that’s in part due to its marketing efforts as well as Operation Hire Hawaiʻi — the expedited hiring program that launched last February amid federal cuts to services and jobs.

“We got almost 8,000 applications just for the (Operation Hire Hawaiʻi) jobs alone. …

… But those efforts haven’t yet translated to actual hires.

There were nearly 4,300 vacant state jobs as of November 2025, which represents 24% of all state positions and is the same vacancy rate reported for November 2024.

The department did say that outdated vacancy numbers could be inflating the stats, along with the pay discrepancy at the state compared to county jobs and the private sector.

It also noted that nearly 300 state jobs were created last year, so it argued that a similar vacancy rate means there was some hiring progress….

Office assistants represent the biggest portion of the unfilled jobs. About 9.5%, or about 380, office assistant jobs at the state are vacant — the most of any other single job.

There are more than 400 vacancies for adult corrections officer jobs at various levels, about 200 for human services professionals, and 120 for state engineer jobs….

read … More people are applying to state jobs, but actual hires still lag | Hawai'i Public Radio

Legislative Maneuver to Make Green Fee Legally Defensible?

SA: … State Sen. Lorraine Inouye (D, Hilo-Pepeekeo) plans to introduce a bill this month that would reduce the Transient Accommodations Tax charge on cruise ship fares by applying the 11% rate only to cabin cost instead of a cruise’s total base price divided by the number of days a ship is in port.

Previously, Hawaii’s TAT wasn’t assessed on cruise visitors. The new law that applies the TAT to cruise fares, which include costs for meals and entertainment but not optional extras, was estimated to generate about $20 million a year …

“The bill was flawed, and it was signed, and Act 96 has to change,” she said during a Jan. 7 briefing on Hawaii’s economic outlook held by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means….

Cruise Lines International Association, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group that filed a federal lawsuit over Act 96 in August, would not publicly state its view on Inouye’s proposal.

“On behalf of its member cruise lines, CLIA will continue to pursue this matter constructively through the courts while working with Hawaii to support local communities and sustainable tourism,” the organization said in a statement….

read … Hawaii cruise ship tax under fire before getting started | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

NCL Charging Green Fee Just in Case it Loses

CB: … At least one cruise line has started charging its passengers Hawaiʻi’s tax on visitor stays and the new, landmark environmental “green fee” that goes with it, even though a court order currently bars local tax officials from collecting those dollars on cruise stays.

That decision by Norwegian Cruise Lines comes as the cruise industry simultaneously tries to overturn in court the parts of Hawaiʻi’s new green fee law that require ships to pay the same transient accommodations tax as hotel and vacation rental owners. Federal appellate judges issued the injunction against the tax collections on cruise ships on New Year’s Eve, hours before they were to take effect.

Norwegian representatives say the company will refund its passengers if the industry ultimately prevails in court….

Dallas resident Don Yonce, who’s currently aboard Norwegian’s latest Hawaiʻi cruise, said the company first notified him via email in October that his cruise would tack on Hawaiʻi’s 14% state and county transient accommodations taxes, or TAT, for any time spent in port.

That email estimated Yonce would be charged $1,035 in TAT, based on the weeklong cost of his family’s cabin suite….

The association’s lawsuit continues to play out in federal court. The next hearing, a scheduling conference, is slated for Jan. 26….

read … Courts Blocked Green Fee For Cruises. This Company Is Still Charging It - Honolulu Civil Beat

Foreign Oil Floods Into the Islands

CB: … Hawaiʻi is among the top importers of foreign oil in the country, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2024, more than 24 million barrels of crude were shipped to the islands from outside the U.S., ranking the state in the top 10 per capita along with Montana, Illinois, Delaware and North Dakota — all of which serve as distribution hubs for other parts of the country.

(TRANSLATION: The Hawaii Green Energy Initiative is 100% fake.)

And while most of the oil imported into the U.S. comes from Canada and Mexico, Hawaiʻi’s comes from far-flung places, such as Libya, Argentina and, before its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia. In fact, since 2016 data tracked by the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office shows that only about one-fifth of the islands’ oil was domestic….

Venezuelan crude is a no go for Hawaiʻi, Wright said: it’s too dense and loaded with sulfur, and is otherwise known as a heavy sour. The same is generally true for the oil coming out of Canada and Mexico, he said.

The Jones Act, meanwhile, further limits Hawaiʻi’s options for importing domestic oil.

“I’m neither for nor against the Jones Act, that’s a touchy political subject,” Wright said, “but just the facts are that there really isn’t a Jones Act fleet that can transport oil efficiently from the Gulf Coast to Hawaiʻi. You have to go through the Panama Canal and the ships that are large enough to haul crude that are Jones Act are in the Alaskan service.” ….

Even if the Jones Act were to disappear, he said the company would still need to import low-sulfur oil from Africa and South America to be compatible with its refinery and meet local demands.

As far as sourcing ethics go, Wright said Par Hawaii works with reputable oil trading companies in the international marketplace. It also follows federal law. “We rely on the U.S. government,” he said, “to make policy about who we can and can’t buy crude oil from and we follow that to a tee.”

EM: Hawaii hydrogen plant Kapolei?

read … Foreign Oil Floods Into the Islands — But Venezuelan Crude Is Too Tainted - Honolulu Civil Beat

Death of Kazuo Todd Leaves Void at top of State Fire Prevention Effort

CB: … In addition to his role as fire chief, Todd led the Hawaiʻi State Fire Council. His abrupt absence will be felt throughout Hawai‘i, fire officials say, as the state enters yet another legislative session and advocates work to fill longtime gaps in fire safety funding. But they say the chief’s vision for a state prepared to stop most wildfires before they begin will endure….

HTH: Search for new Hawaii County fire chief begins - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

read … Hawaiʻi Fire Officials Embraced Prevention. Then Kazuo Todd Died - Honolulu Civil Beat

HPD Drone Watching Criminals as Game Room Robber, Released Pending Sentencing, Allegedly Shoots Kid

SA: … A Honolulu Police Department drone was used to help capture a 21-year-old man suspected in the shooting late Saturday night of a 14-year-old boy, who told police he was playing Frisbee with neighborhood kids at a public housing complex in Kalihi Valley.

The HPD officer operating the drone testified Thursday at the preliminary hearing of Joseph Konno III that he was “lucky” to have witnessed the shooting in real time by means of the live feed from the drone….

Officer Benjamin Clarke testified he was positioned in a parking lot 2,000 feet south from the Kalihi Valley Homes, where about 10 ~~people~~ (criminals) were seated around a small table between buildings 39 and 40, talking and drinking….

It was about 10:30 p.m. Saturday when Clarke noticed a late model gray Toyota 4Runner pull up, stopping briefly near the group around the table, and an arm from the passenger side was almost fully extended pointing at the group, and saw six bright flashes….

Another officer testified he was right behind the 4Runner (LOL!) and followed it to Mayor Wright Homes housing complex.

Officers arrested Konno and the driver, Romi Jonas. Jonas was charged with third- degree promotion of a dangerous drug and first-degree hindering prosecution….

Konno initially was arrested 11 p.m. Saturday on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder. But he was later charged by complaint with first-degree reckless endangering, second-degree assault and three firearm charges.

The 21-year-old was recently convicted in federal court of robbery and a firearm charge, but released until his sentencing in February, Deputy Prosecutor Hon-Lum Cheung-Cheng told the judge….

According to an affidavit in support of the federal criminal complaint, Konno and two others robbed game room employees at gunpoint on Aug. 22, 2024, at 949 Kawaiahao St. Konno was alleged to have brandished a firearm. Police detained Konno at the scene as he was trying to leave the game room.

Chief Judge Derrick Watson did not have Konno immediately taken into custody, and instead stayed it until his Feb. 5 sentencing….

read … HPD uses drone to help capture man suspected in teen’s shooting | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Status of bus contract talks worries Honolulu City Council

SA: … Introduced by Council member Matt Weyer in November, the resolution states that on Oct. 31, OTS presented its “last, best and final offer,” which included a four-year, 16% total pay increase. The union, however, urged its members to reject OTS’ offer.

“On Nov. 2, 2025, Honolulu’s public news media reported that negotiations between OTS and the union have reached a standstill, raising concerns over a potential strike,” the resolution states. “As there is no backup service, a strike would impact approximately 130,000 daily riders of TheBus, leaving thousands without reliable transportation to work, school, or doctor’s appointments.”

OTS employees have been working without a contract, causing “stress and uncertainty for the employees,” the resolution notes.

“The City Council supports any budget needs of the city’s administration to help OTS employees achieve parity with mainland counterparts who also live and work in high cost of living areas,” the resolution states.

Wednesday’s committee meeting drew many Local 996 members who testified in support of Resolution 313. OTS representatives did not appear at the meeting….

read … Status of bus contract talks worries Honolulu City Council | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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