Latest Hawaii Headlines

All the headlines from our Hawaii Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Safer Buildings Vs More Housing: How New Building Codes May Impact Hawaii

Nov 22 2024 // A month after wildfires ravaged Maui in August 2023, Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation to postpone the adoption of any new building codes that might exacerbate a housing shortage that had just gotten...

Hawaii Attorney General Probe into Deadly Wildfire Won’t Lead to Criminal Charges

Nov 4 2024 // An investigation by the Hawaii attorney general’s office into the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, which destroyed most of the historic town of Lahaina, won’t lead to any criminal charges.Hawaii...

Insurance Prices Threaten an Affordable Housing Oasis In Hawaii

Oct 24 2024 // Lahilahi Heen has lived for decades in a three-bedroom house surrounded by a carefully groomed garden in the lush Hawaiian Shores subdivision in Lower Puna. It’s also downslope from Hawaii’s most active...

Hawaii High Court Agrees to Weigh in on Issues Holding up $4B Wildfire Settlement

Oct 1 2024 // Hawaii’s Supreme Court will consider questions about issues that threaten to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year’s devastating Maui wildfires.A Maui judge last month agreed to ask the state high court...

HEMIC in Hawaii Issuing $5 Million Dividend to Policyholders

Sep 18 2024 // Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company Inc. is giving policyholders the largest dividend in the workers’ compensation carrier’s history.The HEMIC board of directors recently announced a $5 million...

Hawaii Probe Finds No Single Factor Led to Maui Wildfire Losses

Sep 16 2024 // No single factor led a fire in the seaside Hawaiian town of Lahaina last year to rage out of control and kill 102 people, according to a state report that assesses the government’s response to the disaster but not...

Toxic Debris from Hawaii Wildfire Could Fill 5 Football Fields 5 Stories Deep

Sep 10 2024 // Hinano Rodrigues remembers being 4 or 5 years old, carrying a bucket across a highway to the ocean in the Maui community where he still lives.At dawn, he would accompany his grandmother to a reef at low tide, where she...

Judge to Ask Hawaii Supreme Court About Barriers to $4B Wildfire Settlement

Sep 4 2024 // The Hawaii Supreme Court will be asked to weigh in on an issue that threatens to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year’s devastating Maui wildfires.Judge Peter Cahill on Maui agreed to ask the state high court...

Tropical Storm Hone Sweeps Past Hawaii; Rain Amounts Ease Wildfire Fears

Aug 27 2024 // Hone passed south of Hawaii and weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Sunday, dumping so much rain that the National Weather Service called off its red flag warnings that strong winds could lead to wildfires on...

High Condo Premiums a Top Issue in Hawaii Legislative Races

Jul 17 2024 // Jillian Anderson was planning to make fighting crime in Waikiki the top issue in her campaign for a seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives. Then came the letter from her condo association announcing a 300% increase in...

Hawaii Agrees to ‘Groundbreaking’ Settlement of Youth Climate Change Case

Jun 21 2024 // Hawaii on Thursday agreed to take action to decarbonize its transportation system by 2045 to settle a lawsuit by 13 young people alleging the U.S. state was violating their rights under its constitution with infrastructure...

Utility Launches Shutoff Plan Aimed at Preventing Another Wildfire Like Lahaina

Jun 3 2024 // More than 48,000 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers living in some of the state’s driest areas will soon face the prospect of advance power shutoffs — and outages that could last several days — in order to reduce...

People Moves: SAIF Names Graneto Chief Financial Officer; Chapman and Crandall Join Alliant Employee Benefits; Huihui Joins Alliant’s Hawaii Team

May 24 2024 // SAIF Promotes Graneto to Chief Financial OfficerSAIF, headquartered in Salem, Oregon, promoted Todd Graneto to chief financial officer. In his new role, Graneto will be responsible for the financial services division,...

After Wildfire, Hawaii Fire Crews Take Stock of Their Ability to Communicate in a Crisis

May 24 2024 // Fire departments across the state are reevaluating their emergency communication capabilities after the Maui wildfires, when the vulnerability of the island’s cellular network — and a lack of advanced communication...

Bristol Myers, Sanofi Liability in Hawaii Plavix Case Grows to $916 Million

May 23 2024 // A judge in Hawaii on Tuesday ordered Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi to pay more than $916 million to the state for failing to warn non-white patients of health risks from its blood thinner Plavix, up from an earlier...

Hawaii Outlines Efforts to Prevent Another Devastating Wildfire Ahead of a Dry Season

May 21 2024 // As Maui continues to recover from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, Hawaii officials are looking at preventing another similar disaster ahead of what is expected to be a dry, fire-prone season, Gov. Josh...

Hawaii Study: Nearly 75% of Wildfire Survey Participants Have Respiratory Issues

May 20 2024 // A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui found that up to 74% of participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health, and...

Declarations

May 20 2024 // “As far as we can see, the momentum for the liability lines continues to be as strong as ever. … To the extent you’re seeing any slowing in the momentum of E&S, it’s likely to be property...

After Maui, Hawaii Lawmakers Budget Funds for Firefighting Equipment and a State Fire Marshal

May 15 2024 // Hawaii lawmakers appropriated funds for more firefighting equipment and a state fire marshal after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century ripped through the historic Maui town of Lahaina and exposed...

Hawaii Governor Sets up Climate and Disaster Team to Develop Resilience Policy

May 7 2024 // Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has formed a Climate Advisory Team (CAT) made up of experts and stakeholders to deal with the challenges of climate disasters and to build a roadmap for the state’s strategy to mitigate the...