Hawaii

Hawaii's economy on a long road to recovery, economist says

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

Hawaii's economy on a long road to recovery, economist says

(The Center Square) – An aging population, an exodus of residents, and slow recovery in tourism and jobs all contribute to the anticipated contraction of Hawaii’s economy in 2024, an economist told a state Senate panel.

Dr. Eugene Tian, economic research administrator at the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, shared the viewport at the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

According to Tian’s department, there were 10.4 million visitors to Hawaii, spending an estimated $17.7 billion before the pandemic. That figure will reach 9.8 million visitors in 2024, up 0.2% from 2023 to 10.1 million in 2025, according to the forecast.

Tourism is Hawaii’s primary income source, impacting service industries from transportation to retail trade.

“The visitors in 2019, we had 10.4 million, by 2025 our forecast is 10.1, so we will not recover until after 2026 according to our estimates,” Tian said.

Hawaiians would like to see tourism spending grow but not an increase in tourism.

“The sentiment in the population here is they don’t want to see tourism growing above the ten million mark that we used to have,” Sen. Donna Kim said. ”It seems like we’re saying tourism is not growing therefore the economy is not going to grow and we want tourism to grow.”

Tian said most of the visitor spending increases seen in 2023 were due to inflation and an increase in the transient accommodations tax at 3% across services, which was included in the visitors’ spending figures.

“The cost of lodging and food away from home in Honolulu has skyrocketed,” the report said. “Room rates have surged by 31%, and dining out in Honolulu is now 28% more expensive than in 2019. These increases in local tourism costs affect all visitors, and they have pushed up U.S. visitor spending.”

Jobs also grew slowly in the past few years, according to Tian.

“You can see the jobs in 2019 were about 660,000 jobs, but by 2025 we will not recover,” he said. “So the jobs and the visitors, they are consistent that recovery will be 2026 or beyond.”

Non-agricultural jobs, which employed just over 658,000 workers in 2019, fell during the pandemic years but have slowly been increasing. They are forecast to reach approximately 641,000 in 2024 and 652,000 in 2025.

“In terms of jobs, we are still losing about 30,000 jobs compared with 2019,” Tian said.

The Hawaii County or “Big Island” job market has almost recovered to 99.6%.

The Maui fires impacted gross domestic production, but as of the third quarter of 2023, Hawaii recovered 97.7% of the same period of 2019.

“We are still recovering while the U.S. has been fully recovered since 2021,” Tian said “So we are lacking the full recovery from the economy, in terms of GDP (it) will be about 2026.”

Tian said it takes about six years for the economy to recover, and the same is true for Hawaii.

“One of the industries we are doing well is actually construction,” Tian said. “This is one of the bright spots.”

The bulk of the increase in construction is a result of federal spending projects like ”the $4 billion for work at Pearl Harbor” for naval shipyard renovations. Local codes still delay permits for building residential houses for up to eight years, he said.

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Hawaii

Rouhliadeff scores 16, Hawaii beats D-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46

Published

12 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Rouhliadeff scores 16, Hawaii beats D-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46

HONOLULU (AP) — Henry Rouhliadeff scored 16 points to lead six Hawaii players in double figures and the Rainbow Warriors beat Division-II Hawaii Hilo 98-46 on Wednesday night.

Rouhliadeff made 6 of 9 from the field and finished with nine rebounds and five assists. Dre Bullock scored 12 points for Hawaii (9-2) and Hunter Erickson, Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, Gytis Nemeiksa and Isaac Finlinson added 11 points apiece.

Jamal Entezami led Hawaii Hilo with 11 points and Jessiya Villa scored 10.

Hawaii shot 51% overall and made 13 3-pointers. The Rainbow Warriors, who went into the game averaging 13.4 assists per game, had a season-high 25 assists on 35 made field goals.

The 52-point margin of victory was Hawaii’s largest since a 106-49 win over Redlands on Jan. 28, 1972, and the third largest in program history. The Rainbow Warriors beat BYU Hawaii by 67 (106-49) in the 1962-63 season.

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Hawaii

Chef Sam Choy: America’s best poke not from Hawaii is a ‘slap in the face’

Published

24 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Chef Sam Choy: America’s best poke not from Hawaii is a ‘slap in the face’

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Poke is a dish created by Native Hawaiians and perfected by local immigrants. But according to online reviews, the best poke in the country is not from Hawaii. And one world-renowned chef who’s credited with poke’s popularity calls it a “slap in the face.”

People are willing to stand in long lines every day for poke. So to say the best in the country is not in Hawaii – that’s fighting words for some.

“So for you to say that, yeah, I kinda like scrap kine,” said Branden Machado, poke connoisseur.

“Nah, I laugh, I laugh,” said Mike Sablay, poke connoisseur.

The restaurant in Big Bear, California, is called Tropicali and was recently reported to have America’s best poke, based on Yelp.

“When I heard that, I was very upset, because I well know, and as you well know, and our millions of listeners and watchers of our station, they well know that the best poke is in Hawaii,” said Sam Choy, world-renowned celebrity chef/restaurateur.

“When I read that, I felt a little slighted,” said Chris Kam, Alicia’s Market. “Understandable, people from the mainland don’t really know what Hawaiian poke is about.”

With a large shark’s head as the front entrance, the decor – just like the menu – is said to be based on Hawaiian culture, but not to emulate it. So poke there – and elsewhere on the continent – looks much different from the poke bowls we’re used to seeing in Hawaii.

“It came with cucumbers, it came with won ton strips, I ordered the spicy one, so it came with the spicy sauce, and then I ordered unagi sauce on the side, and it tasted so good,” said one anonymous local who tried Tropicali and liked it. “It tasted so fresh, I was so surprised it was crazy.”

“That’s not poke, that’s like a salad,” said Kam.

“Nah, nothing can beat back home,” said Sablay. “Everything over here is like the best. Everything’s all local, everything’s all fresh.”

“Like on Oahu, we have the freshest fish, we have the best recipes, like and it’s not only us,” said Justin Tanioka, Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering. “It’s other companies around the island that have mastered poke.”

Since this is a Yelp award, having great Yelp reviews does help. Tropicali currently has more than 4,000 reviews and maintains a 4.9 Star rating. However, locals say to declare themselves the best in the country for a food that’s not only born in Hawaii, but beloved in Hawaii, is extremely bold.

“It’s definitely a slap in the face for all the poke makers in Hawaii who work unbelievably hard to create their magical dishes,” said Choy. “Two things. One, we use fresh fish. And the other one is tender loving care, TLC is in there. We’re putting our heart and soul in that. We’re representing our history, we’re representing our aina, we’re representing all the people in the past that made poke.”

“It’s all preference, and you know where you are,” said Tanioka. “But to me, the best poke in the world, honestly, is in Oahu.”

“Cuz check that out, Big Bear ain’t got nothing on this, my cuz,” said Machado. “We get the best poke in the world. Bumbye, we teach you.”

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Hawaii

Maui man sentenced for possession of explosive powder

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Maui man sentenced for possession of explosive powder

KULA (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Maui man was sentenced to 40 months in prison for setting off a homemade explosive device near Kaamana Street in Kula, back in August 2024.

According to court records, Jess Kiesel Lee, 43, planted multiple homemade fireworks in the area, one of which had Lee’s finger prints on it.

The Maui Police Department worked with the FBI to determine that at least one of the devices contained a mixture of compounds consistent with explosive firework powder.

A month later, an FBI search of Lee’s residence in Kula uncovered methamphetamine, firearms, ammunition, and IEDs containing flash powder.

Lee admitted to knowingly possessing that explosive powder after as a convicted felon.

U.S. District Judge Jill Otake noted that fireworks pose a danger to both individuals and the general public.

Otake went on to say that Lee’s placing his homemade firework near a wooded area on Kaamana Street placed the surrounding community in danger considering Maui’s susceptibility to wildfires.

“The protection and safety of our community is our highest priority,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “We have witnessed the serious harm and life-threatening danger presented by the possession and use of illegal explosives in our local communities, including illegal fireworks. We pledge to aggressively investigate, charge, and convict those who unlawfully construct, possess, or detonate explosives and explosive materials. We credit our steadfast partners at the FBI for their outstanding investigative efforts in this case.”

Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing any explosive shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

“Homemade explosive devices present a significant danger to our island communities,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “The FBI—in coordination with our law enforcement partners—is committed to using every tool available to hold criminals accountable when they threaten public safety.”

Following his prison sentence, Otake sentenced Lee to three 3 years of supervised release.

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