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Broadband Coming To More Hawaiian Homes Via Surge In Federal Funding

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Broadband Coming To More Hawaiian Homes Via Surge In Federal Funding


Much of the latest tranche of $72 million will be used to provide or upgrade high-speed service in rural areas of Oahu, Big Island, Maui, Kauai and Molokai.

The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has received a $72 million federal “Internet for All” grant to deliver broadband access to thousands of homesteaders with slow or no internet service and provide job training to DHHL lessees.

The new grant brings the total Hawaiian Homes broadband funding via the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to $89 million.

“This new federal funding will mean communities on Hawaiian homelands will have better, more reliable high-speed internet at home, helping more people access education, health care, and employment resources online,” said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in a written statement. The Hawaii Democrat is chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

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A map showing areas of Maui County without reliable broadband service. Much of the latest federal broadband funding for Hawaiian Home Lands will be used to deliver broadband connections to homesteaders without adequate service. (Hawaii State Office of Planning/2020)

At a press conference Tuesday, DHHL Broadband Coordinator Jaren Tengan said the money will be used to deliver faster internet connections to DHHL lands on Molokai, Maui, Big Island, Kauai and Oahu.

It will upgrade service to existing lots with substandard, and also finance broadband connections to new housing developments. Grant funds will be distributed over a four-year period.

The grants will help rural homesteads that lost service in June when telecommunications provider Sandwich Isles Communications abruptly laid off its employees and terminated service on Hawaiian Home lands.

That left at least 100 homesteads and businesses across the state on the wrong side of the digital divide, particularly on Molokai. Tengan said the federal grant “helps us increase competition, so we are able to avoid a situation like Sandwich Isles again.”

Sandwich Isles had an agreement with DHHL to provide service to homesteaders, including those who were unable to hook up to any other telecommunications companies because their lots are in isolated areas.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who is leading the Green administration’s high-speed internet initiative known as Connect Kākou, said “connectivity and reliable internet is not just something that is nice to have, but it’s a necessity.”

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Connectivity is needed to work from home and for online learning, and “in rural communities even health care access depends on reliable internet,” she said.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke discusses the latest $72 million federal broadband grant for Department of Hawaiian Home Lands on Tuesday. Rural communities need connectivity to access work, online learning and even healthcare, she said. (Screenshot/2024)

The latest NTIA funding is part of a surge in federal broadband funding already committed to Hawaii for a variety of projects. The money is being provided under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which included $65 billion for broadband initiatives across the country.

The other funding earmarked for Hawaii include $115 million in U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Funding, some of which is being used to partially fund installation of new fiber lines between the islands.

The state picked Georgia-based Ocean Networks Inc. to develop that project, which is also a public-private partnership that seeks to create a new player in the Hawaii telecom market. The state plans to retain partial ownership of the new Ocean Networks system.

That system is supposed to be completed by 2026, and will be called the Hawaiian Islands Fiber Link. The undersea segment of the project is expected to total more than 408 miles.

Another $149 million is also in the works in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funding from NTIA to upgrade service across the state. The first priority for that money is to deliver service to an estimated 12,700 homes that lack adequate broadband service today.

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The state is expected to distribute much of that BEAD funding to existing internet providers such as Charter Communications or Hawaiian Telcom, which will then install fiber optic cabling to properties that now have substandard service.

Hawaiian Telcom was also awarded a separate, competitive $37 million federal broadband grant from NTIA last year. The utility plans to use that money and another $50 million in private funding and in-kind contributions to lay both undersea and land-based fiber.

Those new fiber lines will provide redundancy to make the islands’ networks more reliable, and will also reach into areas currently without service.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Native Hawaiian issues and initiatives is supported by a grant from the Abigail Kawananakoa Foundation.



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Hawaii

Proposed empty homes tax gets exemptions added for Hawaii residents as final vote nears

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Proposed empty homes tax gets exemptions added for Hawaii residents as final vote nears


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A bill aimed at cracking down on vacant homes on Oahu by increasing taxes is expected to face a final vote at the Honolulu City Council in the coming weeks.

It comes after the proposal has been revised several times because of questions and concerns from the community.

Bill 46 would add an incremental 3% yearly tax for vacant dwellings on a property that would be rolled out over three years.

Some owners could end up paying tens of thousands of dollars more in property taxes, but a recent change to the measure adds exemptions for Hawaii residents.

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The 2020 U.S. Census reported roughly 35,000 unoccupied housing units on Oahu.

Council Chair Tommy Waters, who introduced the bill, said it’s meant to get people to rent out or otherwise free up their unused units.

Under the measure’s current language, the higher tax would be placed on homes that are unoccupied for six months.

“We’re trying to get creative to figure out how we can get our local people to stay here. We can’t build our way out of this solution,” said Waters.

This week, the council’s budget committee narrowly passed the bill in a 3 to 2 vote after making several changes.

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One change would allow Hawaii residents to request an exemption for a second home they own.

To reduce administrative costs that would likely come with a new tax, the bill proposed it to operate under the already running property tax system by adding a new class.

There’s also changes to the bill’s language to comply with both with state and federal law to try and avoid potential lawsuits.

But still some residents still believe it will do more harm than good.

“Trying to enforce this and make sure that it’s equitable is going to be a nightmare,” said Hawaii Kai resident Natalie Iwasa.

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“My other concern about this is the landlords, they obviously have a stake in this but if they miss a deadline, it is no skin on their backs you know why? Because they will increase the rent for people like me and other families who cannot afford a home,” she added.

But younger constituents seem to support the proposal.

“This is not about punishing anyone. It is about making housing accessible to the people who call Hawaii their home,” said one testifier.

Bill 46 could still undergo even more revisions.

The bill is expected to go for a final vote on December 11, where public input will also be taken.

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Kauai shines in farm-to-table experiences at Timbers resort

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Kauai shines in farm-to-table experiences at Timbers resort


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – If you’re headed to Kaua’i and looking for a unique farm-to-table experience, Hualani‘s at Timbers Kaua’i serves creative dishes and drinks made with local ingredients and hyper seasonal produce grown on their farm at Hokuala.

Alex Amorin, executive chef at Hualani‘s, and Cory Dotario, Timbers food and beverage director, joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about their fresh, sustainable philosophy and upcoming Ha’aheo o Kauaʻi events, meaning “pride of Kauai” because talent and ingredients are sourced from the Garden Isle.

Among their signatures: honeycomb and goat cheese salad with a lemon vinaigrette (tapping into fall citrus season on their farm and honey from their own apiary) and a Barrel Aged Old Fashioned using their signature “Nagao of Never” bourbon named after a longtime employee, David Nagao, as a way to usher in the holiday season.

Ha’aheo o Kauaʻi lets guests enjoy a hands-on harvesting experience at The Farm at Hokuala and learn about Kauai produce, seafood and meats, and wine pairings.

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Amorin talked about the farm’s organic and biodynamic practices.

“There’s a nuanced beauty to selecting produce in its prime seasonality. The delicate flavor profiles take artistry to celebrate and enhance as the star of the plate. Similar to the artistry of working with watercolors and the delicate skillset that’s involved with mixing paint colors, working with vegetable-forward dishes takes the same approach and it’s ingredients sourced at peak ripeness that allow me to create culinary works of art,” said Amorin, an avid waterman and fisherman.

The next Ha’aheo o Kauaʻi farm-to-table dinner is on December 19 and can be booked on Open Table or by calling (808) 320-7399.

For more information, visit timberskauai.com/eat-drink/hualanis or follow on Instagram @timberskauai.

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No. 10 North Carolina runs wild to overwhelm Hawaii on national TV | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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No. 10 North Carolina runs wild to overwhelm Hawaii on national TV | Honolulu Star-Advertiser




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