HONOLULU — Ki‘inaniokalani Kahoʻohanohano longed for a deeper connection to her Native Hawaiian ancestors and culture as she prepared to give birth to her first child at home on the north shore of Maui in 2003.
But generations of colonialist suppression had eroded many Hawaiian traditions, and it was hard to find information on how the islands’ Indigenous people honored pregnancy or childbirth. Nor could she find a Native Hawaiian midwife.
That experience led Kahoʻohanohano — now a mother of five — to become a Native Hawaiian midwife herself, a role in which she spent years helping to deliver as many as three babies a month, receiving them in a traditional cloth made of woven bark and uttering sacred, tremorous chants as she welcomed them into the world.
Her quest to preserve tradition also led her into a downtown Honolulu courtroom this week, where she and others are seeking to block a state law that they say endangers their ability to continue serving pregnant women who hope for such customary Native Hawaiian births.
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“To be able to have our babies in the places and in the ways of our kupuna, our ancestors, is very vital,” she testified. “To me, the point of what we do is to be able to return birth home to these places.”
Lawmakers enacted a midwife licensure law in 2019, finding that the “improper practice of midwifery poses a significant risk of harm to the mother or newborn, and may result in death.” Violations are punishable by up to a year in jail, plus thousands of dollars in criminal and civil fines.
The measure requires anyone who provides “assessment, monitoring, and care” during pregnancy, labor, childbirth and during the postpartum period to be licensed. The women’s lawsuit says that would include a wide range of people, including midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, and even family and friends of the new mother.
Ki’inaniokalani Kaho’ohanohano poses on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Honolulu. She is a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner who is among those suing over a Hawaii law they say penalizes anyone who provides advice, information, or care, during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum who does not have a specific state license. Credit: AP/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
Until last summer, the law provided an exception for “birth attendants,” which allowed Kahoʻohanohano to continue practicing Native Hawaiian birth customs. With that exception now expired, however, she and others face the licensing requirements — which, they say, include costly programs only available out of state or online that don’t align with Hawaiian culture and beliefs.
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In 2022, the average cost of an accredited midwifery program was $6,200 to $6,900 a year, according to court documents filed by the state.
Attorneys for the state argued in a court filing that the law “undoubtedly serves a compelling interest in protecting pregnant persons from receiving ill-advice from untrained individuals.”
State Deputy Attorney General Isaac Ickes told Judge Shirley Kawamura that the law doesn’t outlaw Native Hawaiian midwifery or homebirths, but that requiring a license reduces the risks of harm or death.
Supporters of a lawsuit challenging a Hawaii midwife licensure law gather outside a courthouse in Honolulu on Monday, June 10, 2024. Credit: AP/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
The dispute is the latest in a long history of debate about how and whether Hawaii should regulate the practice of traditional healing arts that dates to well before the islands became the 50th state in 1959. Those arts were banished or severely restricted for much of the 20th century, but the Hawaiian Indigenous rights movement of the 1970s renewed interest in the customary ways.
Hawaii eventually adopted a system where councils versed in Native Hawaiian healing certify traditional practitioners, though those suing say their efforts to form such a council for midwifery have failed.
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Practicing midwifery without a license, meanwhile, was banned until 1998 — when, lawmakers say, they inadvertently decriminalized it when they altered the regulation of nurse-midwives, something the 2019 law sought to remedy.
Among the nine plaintiffs are women who seek traditional births and argue that the new licensing requirement violates their right of privacy and reproductive autonomy under Hawaii’s Constitution. They are represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation.
“For pregnant people whose own family may no longer hold the knowledge of the ceremonial and sacred aspects of birth, a midwife trained in Native Hawaiian traditional and customary birthing practices can be an invaluable, culturally informed health care provider,” the lawsuit states.
When Kahoʻohanohano was unable to find a Native Hawaiian midwife to attend the birth of her first child, she turned instead to a Native American one, who was open to incorporating traditional Hawaiian aspects that Kahoʻohanohano gleaned from her elders.
She surrounded herself with Hawaiian cultural practitioners focusing on pule, or prayer, and lomilomi, a traditional massage with physical and spiritual elements. It all helped ease her three days of labor, she said. And then, “two pushes and pau” — done — the boy was born.
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The births of her five children in various Maui communities, Kahoʻohanohano said, were her “greatest teachers” in herself becoming one of the very few midwives who know about Native Hawaiian birthing practices.
She is believed to be the first person in a century to give birth on her husband’s ancestral lands in Kahakuloa, a remote west Maui valley of mostly Native Hawaiians, where her daughter was born in 2015. The community is at least 40 minutes along winding roads to the island’s only hospital.
Kahoʻohanohano testified about helping low-risk pregnant women and identifying instances where she transferred someone to receive care at the hospital but said she’s never experienced any emergency situations.
Among the other plaintiffs are midwives she has helped train and women she has aided through birth. Makalani Franco-Francis testified that she learned about customary birth practices from Kahoʻohanohano, including how to receive a newborn in kapa, or traditional cloth, and cultural protocols for a placenta, including taking it to the ocean or burying it to connect a newborn to its ancestral lands.
The law has halted her education, Franco-Francis said. She testified that she’s not interested in resuming her midwifery education through out-of-state or online programs.
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“It’s not in alignment with our cultural practices, and it’s also a financial obligation,” she said.
The judge heard testimony through the week. It’s not clear how soon a ruling might come.
With approximately six years until Social Security benefits must be cut, one group of Hawaii legislators has come up with a simple plan to prevent a shortfall.
It’s no secret that Social Security, as we know it, is in a pinch. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are six years away from insolvency.
The combination of more retirees, fewer people in the workforce, and the impact of President Trump’s big, beautiful bill (OBBBA) leads the CRFB to estimate a 24% Social Security cut in late 2032 if nothing is done. In addition, retirees could face an 11% cut in Medicare Hospital Insurance payments.
This isn’t the first time the trust funds have been in trouble. In 1982, the fund that helped cover the cost of monthly Social Security benefits faced a significant shortfall and was forced to borrow from other funds to pay benefits on time. Congress was able to work together long enough to raise taxes on some, adjust benefits, and prevent insolvency.
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With a similar problem facing the trusts 44 years later, Hawaii’s Senator Brian Schatz and Representative Mazie Hirono (along with Rep. Jill Tokuda) believe they have a simple solution. Here’s what their proposal, called the SAFE Social Security Act, would do.
Image source: Getty Images.
Lift the payroll tax
To ensure payroll taxes apply fairly across the board and that the rich pay their share, the proposal includes a plan to phase out the payroll tax cap so that no one can stop paying into Social Security once their income hits $184,500.
Adjust benefit calculations
The trio suggests adjusting the way current benefits are calculated, a move that would increase the average monthly benefit by more than $150.
Update how cost-of-living adjustments are determined
As of today, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are based on increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year. In theory, using inflation tied to CPI-W is supposed to help retirees keep pace with the rising cost of living.
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For years, however, senior citizen advocacy groups have insisted that the wrong index is being used because working adults and retired adults spend money differently. For example, an older retiree is likely to spend more on medical care than a younger person still in the workforce.
The Hawaii legislator’s plan would address the issue by basing the COLA on an index that tracks inflation related to seniors’ spending. Specifically, they’re talking about the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E).
Sen. Schatz believes that the SAFE Social Security Act will expand Social Security and put more money in the hands of those who rely on it. It will also strengthen the program for the next generation of retirees, ensuring today’s workforce has something to look forward to.
Watch as Hawaii’s Kīlauea puts on spectacular lava display
Hawaii’s Kīlauea has erupted again, spewing massive fountains of lava that reached over 800 feet high, according to USGS.
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano had its latest eruption on Jan. 12, flowing lava for nearly 10 hours and attracting heavy traffic to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The volcano began erupting at 8:22 a.m. with lava fountains reaching nearly 800 feet high into the sky, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. By 6:04 p.m., the eruption ended with lava flow covering approximately two-thirds of the Halema’uma’u crater floor.
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In a Facebook post announcing the latest eruption, the National Park Service warned visitors to “expect the park to be busy with heavy traffic.” Typically, thousands more visitors than usual flock to the park during eruptions, congesting roads and parking lots for the overlooks.
Considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world, Kilauea has been erupting episodically since Dec. 23, 2024. Most eruptions end within 12 hours with pauses in between that can be as long as several days to two weeks. As of Jan. 13, the volcano remains under an orange “watch” alert, with USGS saying the next lava fountaining episode is “likely about two weeks away.”
Such volcanic eruptions are considered sacred in Hawaiian culture and are tied to Pele, the goddess of creation and destruction who is believed to live in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Here’s what travelers should know.
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Is it safe to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park?
Yes, it’s safe for travelers to visit the park and view the lava as the eruption took place within a closed off area of the park and does not pose a risk to the community, according to the USGS.
However, it’s important that travelers are mindful of their safety by only parking in designated parking lots and staying away from closed-off areas. Last June, a 30-year-old man from Boston plummeted 30 feet off a cliff when he strayed off a trail in an attempt to get a closer look at the lava during nighttime. A tree broke his fall and the visitor was rescued by park rangers, only suffering minor injuries.
Tips for viewing the Kilauea volcano
Here are a few tips to for visitors eager to witness the Kilauea lava flow, according to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park:
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Go early or at night to avoid crowds, with peak hours at the park being between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. (And if you do visit in the evening, pack warm clothes as it’s chillier than you may think.)
Prime viewing overlooks include the Welcome Center, Uekahuna, along Crater Rim Trail and old Crater Rim Drive.
Check the air quality before you go by visiting the NPS website. Volcanic gas and other particles from the eruption can be hazardous, especially to travelers with pre-existing respiratory conditions or children.
The 2026 season kicks off this week at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu with the Sony Open in Hawaii. Nick Taylor is the event’s defending champion, taking down Nico Echavarria in a playoff last year to win.
There’s a pretty stacked field being the first event of the year, with plenty of notables heading to the middle of the Pacific for one week before the West Coast Swing begins.
Here’s a look at the purse and total prize money for the first PGA Tour event of 2026, the Sony Open in Hawaii.
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What’s the total purse for the 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii?
The total purse for the 2025 Sony Open in Hawaii is $9.1 million. That’s up from $8.7 million a year ago.
How much money does the winner make at the 2026 Sony Open?
The winner of the Sony receives $1.638 million, or 18 percent of the total purse. Taylor earned $1.566 million for his win in 2025.
The field size is 120 this time around, as compared to 144 last year.
Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 prize money payouts
Position
Prize money
1
$1,638,000
2
$991,900
3
$627,900
4
$445,900
5
$373,100
6
$329,875
7
$307,125
8
$284,375
9
$266,175
10
$247,975
11
$229,775
12
$211,575
13
$193,375
14
$175,175
15
$166,075
16
$156,975
17
$147,875
18
$138,775
19
$129,675
20
$120,575
21
$111,475
22
$102,375
23
$95,095
24
$87,815
25
$80,535
26
$73,255
27
$70,525
28
$67,795
29
$65,065
30
$62,335
31
$59,605
32
$56,875
33
$54,145
34
$51,870
35
$49,595
36
$47,320
37
$45,045
38
$43,225
39
$41,405
40
$39,585
41
$37,765
42
$35,945
43
$34,125
44
$32,305
45
$30,485
46
$28,665
47
$26,845
48
$25,389
49
$24,115
50
$23,387
51
$22,841
52
$22,295
53
$21,931
54
$21,567
55
$21,385
56
$21,203
57
$21,021
58
$20,839
59
$20,657
60
$20,475
61
$20,293
62
$20,111
63
$19,929
64
$19,747
65
$19,565
65
$19,565
Where is the Sony Open in Hawaii played?
Waialae Country Club originally was designed by famed golden-era architect Seth Raynor and opened in 1927 alongside Kahala Beach. The layout, which first hosted the PGA Tour in 1965, will play to 7,044 yards with a par of 70. Of note: The standard routing is altered for the Sony Open, with the nines reversed to better take advantage of the scenic sunsets.
