Hawaii

Hawaii Proposes New Tourist Fees, Targets Vacation Rentals

Published

2 years ago

January 23, 2024

Hawaii Proposes New Tourist Fees, Targets Vacation Rentals

Governor Josh
Green today delivered his second State of the State Address at the Hawaii State Capitol, in which he addressed key topics, such
as the efforts underway to recover from last
year’s Maui fires, concerns about short-term rentals, bolstering the
economy by opening to tourism and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

The issue of reducing
the state’s reliance on fossil fuels came hand-in-hand with a proposal for
charging tourists a new $25 fee. Green also said that he would be forced to place
a moratorium
on all short-term rentals in West Maui if an adequate number of people do
not volunteer their properties to house families displaced by the Lahaina
fire.

Addressing the state’s affordable housing crisis, the governor said that he
believes constructing new homes won’t solve the problem along. He has therefore
proposed an initiative aimed at the short-term
rental market, a topic that’s become quite controversial in recent years,
as local residents are pushed out in favor of high-earning vacation rentals.

“Our state is such
a desirable destination, and such a profitable investment for many, that people
from around the world have purchased property to hold as investments or rent as
short-term rentals to visitors—making on average four times what they would if
the property was simply rented to a local family,” Green said.

Tourist Fees in
Hawaii

Two separate
proposals are on the table, which are aimed at raising funds to support climate
change and fire control efforts by passing the cost on to out-of-state tourists.
According to local news outlet Beat
of Hawaii, the first would raise the accommodations tax rate by an undetermined
percentage, while the other is a $25 fee that would be tacked onto the cost of guest accommodations.

The Aloha State
already has the highest taxes on hotels and vacation rentals in the entire U.S.,
charged in three separate parts and totaling approximately 18 percent. In 2023,
the legislature put forth House Bill 820, which proposes a combined tax rate of 33
percent to be charged on short-term rentals, but that bill has been deferred
for the time being.

Then there’s Senate Bill 304, which puts forth a proposed piece of legislation
that would charge visitors a “Green Fee”, and on which Governor Green based part of his
campaign. If passed, it would assess a $50 impact fee that’s intended to offset the environmental
impacts of tourism (or, more specifically, its chronic
overtourism).

The Green Fee
would be assessed to any “person in Hawaii who is not a resident of Hawaii”,
according to the bill. Funds generated by the proposed law would be put toward
mitigating the effects of climate change by tackling such issues as, “coastal
erosion, sea level rise, damage to reefs, ocean acidification, coral bleaching,
damage to land resources, and other impacts.” The bill’s authors wrote that “current
underinvestment in the state’s natural resources poses a significant liability
to the visitor industry”, SF
Gate reported.

If the bill passes
into law, the Department of Land and Natural Resources would oversee the
visitor impact fee program, which would go into effect on July 1, 2025. Once
paid, visitors would be issued a license, good for one year. Failure to obtain this
annual license would result in an as-yet-unspecified fine.

A
previous draft of the bill passed through the state’s Senate in 2023, but
failed to advance any further, as House representatives failed to settle on the
details before the year’s legislative session came to a close. The same thing
had reportedly happened in 2022, as environmental groups have been pushing to
institute such a tourist fee for several years now.

Honolulu Civil
Beat reported that Green forecasted the Green Fee would generate as much as
$600 million per year for the state, while also weeding
out unwanted tourists (i.e., the ones with less money to spend). He
reportedly said that charging such a fee would, “decrease the number of
tourists that would come in at the low end, so we’ll have fewer tourists
overall with this additional revenue.”

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Hawaii

Healthier Hawaii: How to protect your hearing; head and neck warning signs you shouldn’t ignore

Published

9 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Healthier Hawaii: How to protect your hearing; head and neck warning signs you shouldn’t ignore

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – You may have received new earbuds or headphones during the holidays. But there are a few things you keep in mind when it comes to protecting your hearing.

Dr. Ross Shockley, an otolaryngologist with Wilcox Medical Center and Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, offers the following tips for hearing, as well as head and neck health.

Head and neck cancers

Many people are not familiar with head or neck cancers. What causes it and when should someone see a doctor?

Traditionally, head and neck cancers were mostly associated with longtime smokers and drinkers. Now, more cases are tied to human papillomavirus (HPV), even in nonsmokers and drinkers. HPV is the same virus that can lead to cervical cancer in women. It is common and can have no symptoms.
If you have throat pain, pain when swallowing that doesn’t go away, or a mass in your neck that feels firm and isn’t moving, don’t wait. See your doctor.
Head and neck cancers can be treated, no matter the cause, if caught early.

How to prevent hearing loss

More young adults, in their early 20s, are experiencing hearing loss. Can hearing loss be reversed?

Hearing loss can’t be reversed. Once ringing in ears starts, that can be permanent.
Wear appropriate hearing protection when using power tools or firing weapons.
You can find ear protection that blocks out sound for about $15. Protection that covers the whole ear are better than earplugs.

How do you know if music or movies are too loud?

Don’t turn anything up to the maximum.
You want the volume to be at the lowest level where you can still hear and understand.
If there is background noise, don’t crank up the volume all the way to fight it. Use noise-cancelling headphones or go somewhere quieter.

Dangers of cleaning your ears

You may feel the urge to clean your ears. Shockley says do less, or even nothing at all.

Our ears clean themselves. As new skin grows, it takes wax with it out of your ear.
When you clean your ears, you’re interrupting that natural cleaning process.
You can also put yourself at risk for external ear infections – or make your ears itch more.

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Hawaii

Hawaii Grown: Few isle players in College Football Playoff final four | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

21 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii Grown: Few isle players in College Football Playoff final four | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

MEN’S BASKETBALL

>> Higgy Katoa (Punahou), La Verne: Had 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds in a 74-70 loss to East Texas Baptist, missing a 3-pointer with six seconds left. Cody Aquino (Moanalua) rejoined the starting lineup and scored 12 points to lead the team a night later in a 104-76 loss to Grinnell, his second time this season in double figures.

>> Landyn Jumawan (Leilehua), Northwestern State: Lost his starting job but responded with 13 points with three 3-pointers in a 74-68 win over New Orleans. We was fouled on another 3-point attempt with two minutes left and buried all three to run the margin to four points.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

>> Paige Oh (‘Iolani), Puget Sound: Spent one game coming off the bench and led the Loggers with 10 points in a 42-36 win over Middlebury, returning to the starting lineup three nights later to extend the team’s winning streak to five.

>> Emi Wada (Hawaii Baptist), Pacific Lutheran: Grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw with less than a second left in regulation and put it back with 0.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime, but the Lutes lost 72-62 to Lewis & Clark. She played a team-leading 45 minutes in the contest and scored seven points but didn’t get a shot off in overtime.

FOOTBALL

>> Gavin Hunter (Mililani), Arizona: Had a career-high eight tackles with one of them for a loss and broke up a pass in a 24-19 loss to Southern Methodist in the Holiday Bowl. Kaena Decambra (Saint Louis) started on the offensive line.

>> Iapani Laloulu (Farrington), Oregon: Kept the offensive line under control against a stiff defense in a 23-0 win over Texas Tech in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, helping the offense generate 309 yards of offense while committing one turnover and allowing Dante Moore to get sacked only twice. Kawika Rogers (Kapaa) and Will Straton (Punahou) also contributed to the victory.

>> Blazen Lono-Wong (Kailua), Arizona State: Got onto the field but didn’t record a tackle in a 42-39 loss to Duke in the Sun Bowl. It was his first time since early October he has failed to make a stop, a span of seven games.

>> De’Zhaun Stribling (Kapolei), Mississippi: Caught seven passes for 122 yards in a 39-34 win over Georgia in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, his first time this season over the century mark. It was the captain’s first time over 100 yards since November 2024 against Texas Tech when he was with Oklahoma State. His big catch was for 40 yards on third-and-5 with 32 seconds left to set up the game-winning field goal.

>> Aliki Vimahi (Kahuku), Utah: Collected three tackles and his first sack of the season in a 44-22 win over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl and Brock Fonoimoana (Kahuku) added a tackle. Pupu Sepulona (Saint Louis) and Mana Carvalho (Kahuku) also contributed to the victory.

MEN’S WRESTLING

>> Xander Erolin (Hanalani), San Francisco State: Opened his year with a third-place finish at 157 pounds in Linfield’s Mat Cat Open, going 3-1 with winning scores of 16-0, 11-2 and 15-4. His lone loss was 4-2 to the eventual champion.

WOMEN’S WRESTLING

>> Michaela Sarmiento (Kalaheo), Southern Oregon: With most of the rest of the nation off to prepare for the national duals, she took third place at 103 pounds in Linfield’s Mat Cat Open. She began the tournament with a 16-4 victory and ending it with a 9-8 win over teammate Diamond Lopez.

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Hawaii Island asks for the public’s assistance finding elderly woman, Jacquelyn Glenn

Published

1 day ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii Island asks for the public’s assistance finding elderly woman, Jacquelyn Glenn

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Island police are renewing their request for the public’s assistance in locating 82-year-old Jacquelyn Glenn of Kailua-Kona, who was reported missing by her family.

Police said she is considered endangered due to her age.

Glenn was last seen on Friday, Dec. 5, around 6:37 a.m., on the 75-200 block of Nani Kailua Dr. in Kailua-Kona.

She was wearing a peach-colored shirt, blue denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. She reportedly mentioned going to Hilo with friends, but did not say when she planned to return.

She is described as 5′6″, 125 Ibs, with curly grey hair and brown eyes.

Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jacquelyn Glenn to call the Hawaii Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.

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