West
As Hawaiians struggle to find affordable housing after Lahaina wildfire, lawmakers reconsider vacation rentals
Amy Chadwick spent years scrimping and saving as a single mother of two to buy a house in the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. But after a devastating fire leveled Lahaina in August and reduced Chadwick’s home to white dust, the cheapest rental she and her now-husband could find for their family and dogs cost $10,000 a month.
Chadwick, a fine-dining server, moved to Florida where she could stretch her homeowners insurance dollars. She’s worried Maui’s exorbitant rental prices, driven in part by vacation rentals that hog a limited housing supply, will hollow out her tight-knit town.
Most people in Lahaina work for hotels, restaurants and tour companies and can’t afford $5,000 to $10,000 a month in rent, she said.
MAUI FIRE REPORTS: KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE DEADLIEST US WILDFIRE IN OVER A CENTURY
“You’re pushing out an entire community of service industry people. So no one’s going to be able to support the tourism that you’re putting ahead of your community,” Chadwick said by phone from her new home in Satellite Beach on Florida’s Space Coast. “Nothing good is going to come of it unless they take a serious stance, putting their foot down and really regulating these short-term rentals.”
The Aug. 8 wildfire killed 101 people and destroyed housing for 6,200 families, amplifying Maui’s already acute housing shortage and laying bare the enormous presence of vacation rentals in Lahaina. It reminded lawmakers that short-term rentals are an issue across Hawaii, prompting them to consider bills that would give counties the authority to phase them out.
Gov. Josh Green got so frustrated he blurted out an expletive during a recent news conference.
The Rev. Ai Hironaka, resident minister of the Lahaina Hongwanji Mission, walks in the parking lot of his temple and residence on Dec. 7, 2023, that was destroyed by wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii. An acute housing shortage hitting fire survivors on the Hawaiian island of Maui is squeezing out residents even as they try to overcome the loss of loved ones, their homes and their community. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
“This fire uncovered a clear truth, which is we have too many short-term rentals owned by too many individuals on the mainland and it is b———t,” Green said. “And our people deserve housing, here.”
Vacation rentals are a popular alternative to hotels for those seeking kitchens, lower costs and opportunities to sample everyday island life. Supporters say they boost tourism, the state’s biggest employer. Critics revile them for inflating housing costs, upending neighborhoods and contributing to the forces pushing locals and Native Hawaiians to leave Hawaii for less expensive states.
This migration has become a major concern in Lahaina. The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, a nonprofit, estimates at least 1,500 households — or a quarter of those who lost their homes — have left since the August wildfire.
The blaze burned single family homes and apartments in and around downtown, which is the core of Lahaina’s residential housing. An analysis by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization found a relatively low 7.5% of units there were vacation rentals as of February 2023.
Lahaina neighborhoods spared by the fire have a much higher ratio of vacation rentals: About half the housing in Napili, about 7 miles north of the burn zone, is short-term rentals.
Napili is where Chadwick thought she found a place to buy when she first went house hunting in 2016. But a Canadian woman secured it with a cash offer and turned it into a vacation rental.
Also outside the burn zone are dozens of short-term rental condominium buildings erected decades ago on land zoned for apartments.
In 1992, Maui County explicitly allowed owners in these buildings to rent units for less than 180 days at a time even without short-term rental permits. Since November, activists have occupied the beach in front of Lahaina’s biggest hotels to push the mayor or governor to use their emergency powers to revoke this exemption.
Money is a powerful incentive for owners to rent to travelers: a 2016 report prepared for the state found a Honolulu vacation rental generates 3.5 times the revenue of a long-term rental.
State Rep. Luke Evslin, the Housing Committee chair, said Maui and Kauai counties have suffered net losses of residential housing in recent years thanks to a paucity of new construction and the conversion of so many homes to short-term rentals.
“Every alarm bell we have should be ringing when we’re literally going backwards in our goal to provide more housing in Hawaii,” he said.
In his own Kauai district, Evslin sees people leaving, becoming homeless or working three jobs to stay afloat.
The Democrat was one of 47 House members who co-sponsored one version of legislation that would allow short-term rentals to be phased out. One objective is to give counties more power after a U.S. judge ruled in 2022 that Honolulu violated state law when it attempted to prohibit rentals for less than 90 days. Evslin said that decision left Hawaii’s counties with limited tools, such as property taxes, to control vacation rentals.
Lawmakers also considered trying to boost Hawaii’s housing supply by forcing counties to allow more houses to be built on individual lots. But they watered down the measure after local officials said they were already exploring the idea.
Short-term rental owners said a phase-out would violate their property rights and take their property without compensation, potentially pushing them into foreclosure. Some predicted legal challenges.
Alicia Humiston, president of the Rentals by Owner Awareness Association, said some areas in West Maui were designed for travelers and therefore lack schools and other infrastructure families need.
“This area in West Maui that is sort of like this resort apartment zone — that’s all north of Lahaina — it was never built to be local living,” Humiston said.
One housing advocate argues that just because a community allowed vacation rentals decades ago doesn’t mean it still needs to now.
“We are not living in the 1990s or in the 1970s,” said Sterling Higa, executive director of Housing Hawaii’s Future. Counties “should have the authority to look at existing laws and reform them as necessary to provide for the public good.”
Courtney Lazo, a real estate agent who is part of Lahaina Strong, the group occupying Kaanapali Beach, said tourists can stay in her hometown now but many locals can’t.
“How do you expect a community to recover and heal and move forward when the people who make Lahaina, Lahaina, aren’t even there anymore?” she said at a recent news conference as her voice quivered. “They’re moving away.”
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Utah
Ukrainian family in Utah facing separation, with 2 family members fearing deportation
LINDON — A Ukrainian family now living in Lindon that fled the violent war in the European nation now potentially faces separation, with two family members fearing deportation.
The turn of events — not the first time the family has contended with uncertainty — represents another twist in implementation of immigration policy under President Donald Trump and his crackdown on immigrants in the country.
Indeed, the Lindon family isn’t alone — other Ukrainian immigrants are contending with similar issues, according to representatives from Utah groups that aid Ukrainians.
“We can’t understand why because we didn’t break any laws,” said Yurii Ahieiev, facing deportation along with his 7-year-old daughter, Viktoriia Ahieieva. While the man’s wife and two older sons successfully applied for permission to remain in the country, at least for now, he and his daughter, instead, face deportation, he said, “and I don’t know why we have these issues.”
Several families in Lindon joined together in sponsoring the Ukrainian family’s relocation to the Utah County city in 2023 under the Uniting for Ukraine program, launched in 2022 under President Joe Biden to aid Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia. On starting his second term as president earlier this year, however, Trump paused the program, though his administration later launched a process allowing eligible Ukrainians to apply for “re-parole” to extend their stay in the country.
At any rate, Ahieiev and his daughter, supported by their Lindon neighbors, are now scrambling to figure out their next steps after the apparent rejection, without explanation, of their applications to stay in the United States. Ahieiev and his wife Valentyna Ahieieva run a small accounting business while their two sons, ages 17 and 16, and daughter attend Lindon-area schools.
“We like it here, we like the U.S., like this country. But we don’t like what’s happening now in the immigration system,” Valentyna Ahieieva said. “Hopefully it changes.”
A hearing for Ahieiev is scheduled for July while his daughter is to appear before immigration authorities in February, when they and their backers fear they could be detained for deportation, said Jared Oates, one of the Lindon sponsors.
“Why would you separate a family?” he asked.
In response to a KSL.com query, a rep from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked for additional identifying information about Yurii Ahieiev and his daughter. Supplied the information, the department didn’t provide any comment, nor did reps from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But the transplants to Lindon apparently have plenty of company. Despite the ongoing war in the Ukraine and prior moves to welcome at least some Ukrainians fleeing the conflict into the United States, the situation for many Ukrainians here remains tenuous.
“This is absolutely a major issue right now for both Ukrainians who came here for refuge, as well as for the Americans who sponsored them and those who have become their friends, neighbors, co-workers, employers, etc. It is devastating and heartbreaking to see the decisions and challenges that are being added to these people who have already gone through so much,” said Mindie Packer.
Packer is co-founder of Hope Across Borders, a Utah-based group that offers humanitarian aid in conflict zones around the world, including Ukraine.
Packer has heard many stories of Ukrainians in uncertain migratory situations, fearful they may be targeted by immigration agents. One Ukrainian family Hope Across Borders sponsored had to move to Slovenia because their permission to remain in the United States expired.
“We know many people who came legally and applied for renewal/extension of their status, paid their fees and have not heard anything back. They were not denied or accepted, but now their status is expired and they don’t know what to do,” Packer said.
Anne Perkins of Lifting Hands International, a Utah-based nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine, knows of one Ukrainian family in Utah that moved to Spain. The work visa of the head of the family ran out and he was unable to renew it, prompting the departure. Fees to seek extensions to remain in the country have increased, adding to the difficulties.
“Still, most of the families I’ve talked to are motivated to do whatever it takes to stay,” Perkins said.
Human Rights First, an American human rights organization, says around 50 Ukrainians were deported last November from the United States.
Shining a light on the situation
Given the current climate toward immigration under Trump, it’s unclear “whether immigrants, period, are welcome in the United States right now,” Oates said. “It’s just a very difficult time.”
That said, he and the others who first sponsored the Ahieiev family say they have made strides in transitioning to life here and stand behind them. They’re self-reliant with their accounting business, and the kids, whose English has improved greatly, are thriving in school.
“They’ve been remarkable,” Oates said.
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Their Lindon backers have consulted with immigration attorneys, who haven’t been able to offer any solutions. They’ve also reached out to U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy, their congressional representative, for help in navigating the U.S. bureaucracy for answers.
Kennedy wouldn’t comment on specifics of the Ahieiev family’s situation due to privacy considerations. But he said his office is available to help.
“My office and I are committed to helping constituents of Utah’s 3rd Congressional District resolve issues with federal agencies to the best of our ability,” he said in a statement.
At this stage, Oates thinks the main means of helping the family might be shining the light on their situation in a bid to muster public support.
“The only thing that would change the calculus, as far as we can see, would be changing the political consequences of deporting (Viktoriia) and separating a family,” he said.
As for a possible return to Ukraine, Ahieiev and his wife shudder at the possibility. They lived in the Odessa region, which has faced some of the fiercest and sustained attacks from Russian forces.
“Our parents now still live in this region, but it’s really dangerous,” Yurii Ahiehiev said. “Very often there’s no electricity, no heating.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Washington
Tracking crime in the DMV: Some areas see drop in violent crime, homicide
It is not the way any homicide squad wants to start an already busy new year.
Prince George’s County police Sunday were trying to figure out who was found dead in a car behind a strip center overnight and why. Police, who responded after a call about gun shots, told News4 they’re still searching for the most basic details.
It comes just a day after three people were shot and killed at a Temple Hills banquet hall early Saturday morning. Police told News4 that investigation is active and showing signs of promise.
But the busy start somewhat hides the bigger picture about crime in the area.
Despite the tough start to 2026, homicide in Prince George’s County was down 40% in 2025 percent compared to 2024, and violent crime on a whole was down 19%, both through mid-December according to Prince George’s County police.
In D.C. is a similar story.
“Now we have no crime in Washington, DC. We have no killing,” said President Donald Trump Saturday during a news conference about action in Venezuela.
While the crime rate is not nearly as good as Trump has repeatedly said, the District recorded five homicides in December and 126 in all of 2025. That’s down 32% over 2024. Violent crime is down 29%, according to D.C .police crime statistics.
In Fairfax, homicide is down 14% — but the county only had 12 total — and violent crime dropped 4%, according to the county’s online reporting.
Wyoming
The famous Wyoming cabins featured in a popular Hollywood western – East Idaho News
Editor’s note: This episode was originally published on Oct. 12, 2025.
Two cabins in Jackson, Wyoming are what’s left of a set for a Hollywood western filmed in the area during the 1950s. One of them is five miles north of Jackson in Kelly and the other is under the ownership of History Jackson Hole, a museum in town.
This week on “It’s Worth Mentioning,” Rett Nelson speaks with local researcher Samantha Ford and dives into the history of these cabins, the film in which they were featured and why Jackson was selected as the production site.
If you’re a cinephile or a fan of old movies, this is an episode you don’t want to miss!
Previous episodes are available in the audio player below. Watch previous episodes here.
Season two is coming in 2026. If you have a topic or guest idea for an upcoming episode, email rett@eastidahonews.com.
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