Allison Schaefers

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will reconsider its vote against funding due diligence for a possible acquisition of KITV and KIKU, reviving a proposal the Board of Trustees narrowly rejected last month.

The Hawai‘i Convention Center is moving ahead with critical leak repairs during its two-year shutdown, but state lawmakers’ rejection of a $55 million funding request means many of the upgrades needed to keep the venue competitive will be pushed off for years.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has extended to October the deadline for Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae (POW), one of Hawaii’s largest long‑standing homeless encampments, to vacate its makai shoreline site and relocate to a new kauhale community.

Real‑world testing of electric aircraft began in Hawaii on Thursday — a pivotal step toward evaluating whether zero‑emission planes can support interisland cargo and passenger service and help the state meet its aggressive climate goals.

North Shore businesses still reeling from March’s Kona‑low storms and related access challenges will get a boost when the Hawaiian Council and its partners launch North Shore Huaka‘i, a 90‑day shuttle service designed to steer visitors and kamaaina back to Haleiwa and Waialua.

Hawaii visitors are trimming their trips to the shortest length in at least seven years, a contraction that threatens to drag on the tourism‑driven economy even as May brought moderate gains in arrivals and visitor spending.

Front Street’s commercial core remains largely empty nearly three years after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire, but Maui County and the Hawaiian Council on Thursday unveiled an $8 million pilot marketplace that will return the first storefronts to what was once one of Hawaii’s busiest economic corridors.

Lanai’s only commercial airport is again under federal review as the U.S. Department of Transportation weighs competing bids for subsidized essential air serv­ice — a program that guarantees baseline scheduled flights so the rural island can maintain reliable, year‑round travel.

Hawaii’s visitor industry is absorbing a new round of fuel-driven shocks as oil prices climb following President Donald Trump’s latest bombing campaign in Iran — a shift that is pushing airfares higher just as summer travel demand had begun to stabilize.

Federal agencies have approved tens of millions of dollars in assistance for survivors of Hawaii’s Kona-low storms in March, with thousands of FEMA, SBA and USDA applications still under review as recovery efforts continue statewide.