HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A group of nonprofits are asking the public to help support efforts to return Maunawili Valley to community care.

Dean Wilhelm, co-executive director of Ho’okuaaina, Reyna Ramolete Hayashi, aloha aina project manager at Trust for Public Land, and Kaleo Wong, executive director of Kauluakalana, joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about more than a decade of work by Hui Maunawili–Kawainui, a coalition of nonprofits and generational ohana to purchase and protect more than 1,000 acres on windward Oahu to benefit the community.

“Our Hoihoi Maunawili fundraising campaign is four nonprofits working together to raise $500,000 for the future stewardship of the land. The nonprofit partners are Kauluakalana, Ho’okua’aina, Hawaii Land Trust, and Trust for Public Land,” Hayashi said.

Nonprofit leaders say Hoihoi Maunawili is working with the current landowner, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, to transfer stewardship of the land.

“These lands include the most fertile growing soil in all Hawaii, important cultural sites, and freshwater streams and springs that will be forever protected. Capital funds have been secured to purchase the land,” Hayashi said.

“This land has sustained generations. By returning it to the community and restoring it for shared use and cultural renewal, we will safeguard resources for future generations and increase our community’s resilience,” Wilhelm said.

“Until the 1960s, this land was very productive. It was the ‘Breadbasket of Oahu.’ Alii specifically would ask for kalo grown on these lands. This effort seeks to return it to its former abundance, ultimately improving local food security and water security through community-led agriculture that strengthens Hawaii food systems and creates green jobs for a sustainable local economy.”

“Buying and protecting the land is only the beginning,” Wong said. “In this season of giving, we are asking the community to join us in this movement to restore water, food, culture and community in Maunawili.”

To donate and learn more, visit hoihoimaunawili.org. The public can also support by volunteering or joining a talk story.

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Gov. Josh Green predicted Friday that thousands of Hawaii residents may give up their health insurance after Congress did not extend subsidies for Affordable Care Act policies.

Green pledged millions in local taxpayer funds to help them maintain coverage.

Hawaii’s 24,000 Affordable Care Act customers faced uncertainty in December as they had to reenroll without knowing whether extra subsidies would be extended.

Now that the subsidies are ending, customers must find more money or reduce their coverage.

Premium increases force difficult choices

Insurance agent and radio host Martha Khlopin works with about 300 people who depend on ACA premium subsidies.

“People, I think, will be making the decision, taking that risk and just praying they don’t get sick,” Khlopin said. “So I pray that too. Don’t get sick in 2026, because your premiums and co-pays might be a lot.”

As an example, Khlopin cited a 50-year-old man who makes $40,000. He was paying about $170 a month this year for a plan with good coverage. His new plan will cost about $500 a month starting in January.

“It’s a pretty big increase for him,” Khlopin said. “So what he decided to do was just use his savings to cover the premiums because he really needs to keep the very generous platinum plan that he has right now.”

Coverage downgrades expected

Khlopin said others are downgrading their coverage, choosing lower premiums but much higher out-of-pocket costs and deductibles.

“So it’s a lower premium, but you have higher cost because you have to meet a deductible,” Khlopin said, noting that could lead some people to avoid care.

“So if I do need a particular procedure that’s expensive, I might decide not to get that done, which ultimately can cause more problems down the road,” Khlopin said.

Green predicted an even more dire scenario with thousands choosing to go without coverage.

“That’s really bad, because it’s not just the lack of insurance for them. It’s also $150 million of uncompensated care to rural facilities to our community health centers,” Green said.

State tax credit proposal

Green proposed that the state make up the lost subsidies with a state tax credit for about 8,000 ACA customers.

“The analysis we did is that to do the enhanced subsidy that Congress walked away from for now would cost $16.5 million,” Green said.

“That would definitely be a very, very wonderful gift to people to know that there is some relief coming to lower those health insurance premiums,” Khlopin said.

What remains unclear is how quickly that aid could reach policyholders and what will happen to those who decided not to renew when the deadline for open enrollment ended Monday.

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.