Hawaii

Bill raises content requirements for 'Hawaii' coffee

Published

2 years ago

May 3, 2024

Bill raises content requirements for 'Hawaii' coffee

HONOLULU — A bill that would require that coffee labeled or advertised with a Hawaii geographic origin contains at least 51% of coffee (by weight) from that region passed the state Legislature on Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

Under current law, coffee advertised as being from Kona, Kauai or other highly regarded growing areas only needs to contain 10% of coffee actually grown in those areas

A Hawaii Department of Agriculture study found that increasing the minimum amount of Kona coffee from 10% to either 51% or 100% would benefit local farmers, with greater increases resulting in greater benefits

Beyond economic concerns, supporters said House Bill 2298, Conference Draft 1, also preserves the value and integrity of locally grown coffee

The bill has been transmitted to Gov. Josh Green for final approval

Under current law, coffee advertised as being from Kona, Kauai or other highly regarded growing areas only needs to contain 10% of coffee actually grown in those areas.

“This initiative is about protecting Kona’s world-renowned coffee and ensuring that local farmers receive the prices they deserve for their products, and that dollars stay in Hawaii’s economy,” said state Rep. Nicole Lowen, who introduced the measure. “The percentage of Kona coffee required for it to be labeled Kona should be 100%, but given that this is the first progress made on this in more than 30 years, it’s a huge win.”

Two years ago, the Legislature passed Act 222, which requested that the Hawaii Department of Agriculture study the impact of coffee labeling laws on coffee farmers and determine the economically ideal proportion of Kona beans in products marketed as Kona coffee.

The resulting report asserted that increasing the minimum amount of Kona coffee from 10% to either 51% or 100% would benefit local farmers, with greater increases resulting in greater benefits. The report projected that proposed labeling changes could result in a price increase for Kona coffee but minimal impact on quantities grown or sold.

“By gradually implementing an increase in minimum standards, this bill protects the integrity of all regional coffee brands in Hawaii, like Kona and Kau, and supports our local farmers,” said Rep. Kirstin Kahaloa.

Beyond economic concerns, supporters said House Bill 2298, Conference Draft 1, also preserves the value and integrity of locally grown coffee.

As the bill itself notes, “despite existing labeling laws that include specific requirements for font sizes and disclosure of blend percentages, the simple inclusion of a geographic origin name on a product effectively misleads consumers into believing that the product is representative of the specialty product of that region, even though, for example, in a coffee blend that is 10% Kona coffee, the flavor of the Kona coffee is often undetectable at such low concentrations. Consumers are then deceived into paying a premium for a ‘Hawaii’ product that does not represent the name on its label.”

“HB2298 CD1 is a pivotal advancement in our ongoing commitment to safeguarding the integrity of Hawaii’s cherished agricultural industries,” said Senate Majority Leader Dru Mamo Kanuha. “By requiring a majority percentage of coffee from the specified geographic region in labeled products, we’re not only protecting our farmers’ livelihoods but also ensuring that consumers receive authentic, high-quality coffee synonymous with our beloved regions like Kona and Kau. This legislation reflects our dedication to fostering a sustainable and transparent agricultural sector, one that honors our traditions while promoting economic prosperity for generations to come.”

The bill has been transmitted to Gov. Josh Green for final approval.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.

Source link

Click to comment

Hawaii

Hawaii suffers first defeat of the season against Loyola Chicago | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii suffers first defeat of the season against Loyola Chicago | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

The second-ranked Hawaii men’s volleyball team expected a different Loyola Chicago team to show up Friday night in the rematch of Thursday’s 94-minute sweep by UH.

They were certainly correct in that assessment.

Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said flatly the Ramblers were better after No. 7 Loyola Chicago handed Hawaii its first home loss in January in two years in a 25-23, 25-22, 24-26, 29-27 win before a season-high crowd of 5,811 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Aleksandar Sosa put down a match-high 19 kills and setter Ryan McElligott set the tone with four of his five aces in the first set for Loyola Chicago (1-1), which out-served and out-blocked the Rainbow Warriors.

“I thought they touched a lot of balls on the block and those first two sets, the first set, we had three or four balls back on our side to score some points and we didn’t,” Wade said. “We kind of screwed it up. We weren’t quite as crisp and efficient and against a good team, we let them hang around and they come back and make some plays late.”

Hawaii looked done for the night trailing 20-13 when it mounted a furious comeback in the third set to avoid a sweep.

Loyola Chicago had five match points in the fourth set and finally put the contest away with a double block of Ofeck Hazan to complete the upset.

“I think they served way better and we really struggled passing their serve,” said Hazan, who started in place of Trevell Jordan in the middle. “They were more creative out of system. (Thursday) they just hit into our block and today they just found the touches or just played better.”

Louis Sakanoko led Hawaii with 18 kills and set a career high with 12 digs, and Kristian Titriyski added 16 kills before sitting out the fourth set. UH hit .254 for the match and had six aces to the Ramblers’ eight. Loyola Chicago hd 15.5 blocks to Hawaii’s 10.5.

“We weren’t clicking on all cylinders and I’m not trying to use this as an excuse, but (setter) Tread (Rosenthal) didn’t practice all week. He had a back that tightened up,” Wade said. “Trevell’s back tightened up and I thought Ofeck played pretty well and he gave us a nice spark, but you’re just a little off rhythm there. Kristian was kind of grabbing his back late and obviously we made the decision to go with Kainoa (Wade) to give us a spark and he gave us that.”

Kainoa Wade and Sakanoko each served three straight points for UH in the third set after it fell behind 20-13 and Finn Kearney came off the bench to serve the final two points that ended in blocks to get UH back in the game.

Hawaii hit just .171 in the fourth and made eight service errors. It had 20 serving errors for the match and served in at less than 80%.

“Obviously it’s a work in progress. We’re in game four of the year,” Kainoa Wade said. “We got a lot of work to do, but we’ve got to trust what we know. We’ve served a lot of balls in our lives, all of us, so we know we can go on runs and make plays.”

The Ramblers gave Hawaii a taste of its own medicine in the opening set with McElligott building a strong poker hand of aces during an 8-0 run during which Charlie Wade used both timeouts.

McElligott had three aces after Jake Read’s kill put him behind the service line, and despite two Hawaii timeouts and the media timeout, he poured it on until UH caught a break with a Loyola Chicago net violation on an overpass that almost certainly would have been a Ramblers point.

Sakanoko followed with back-to-back kills, including a deep tip into the far corner over a triple block that prompted Loyola Chicago to call timeout leading 17-14.

Hawaii extended the run to 5-0 after Titriyski put down a kill following a long rally to pull UH within a point.

The Rainbow Warriors got back to even at 22-all on Kainoa Wade’s ace as a serving sub. The set was tied once more until a Rosenthal service error and a McElligott ace for his fourth of the set handed UH its first set loss of the season.

Rosenthal wasn’t able to spin serve all night due to the back injury.

Neither team separated by more than a point in the second set until Justin Todd had two aces during a 4-0 UH run to put the ‘Bows ahead 13-10.

Hawaii led 21-19 when the Ramblers scored six of the next seven points to go up two sets to none.

UH’s only point during the final 6-1 run came on a Loyola Chicago service error. The Ramblers scored three of their points on errors by UH and another on their sixth ace of the match.

The Rainbow Warriors will have four days off before playing four matches in three days next week.

Hawaii has doubleheaders against Roberts Wesleyan and Rockhurst in reverse order on Wednesday and Friday.

Source link

Hawaii

2026 Sony Open field is announced. See who’s playing in Hawaii

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

2026 Sony Open field is announced. See who’s playing in Hawaii

The Sony Open in Hawaii has the honors of being the kickoff event to the 2026 PGA Tour season after the cancellation of The Sentry at Kapalua this season.

Instead of Maui, the Tour debuts in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Jan. 15-18, at the Seth Raynor-designed Waialae Country Club, where Nick Taylor prevailed in a playoff over Nico Echavarria last year.

Among the changes this season is the field size, which was reduced from 144 to 120, and, there is no longer is a Monday qualifier offering four spots. Will that help with pace of play? Stay tuned.

The field includes the following notables in addition to Taylor and Echavarria: Daniel Berger, Keegan Bradley, Michael Brennan, Corey Conners, Tony Finau, Chris Gotterup, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Billy Horschel, Robert MacIntyre, Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Sahith Theegala, Gary Woodland and 62-year-old Vijay Singh.

Here’s the full field for the Sony Open, which will be live on Golf Channel all four days as well as NBC with early-round coverage on Saturday and Sunday.

This year’s Sony purse is $9.1 million and the winner also will receive 500 FedEx Cup points.

Source link