Hawaii
Maui Fires: Money For Victims, Housing For Survivors Are Hawaii Governor's Priorities
The state will pay West Maui property owners up to $11,000 per month to rent homes to fire survivors, Gov. Josh Green said Tuesday, outlining a new phase of a multi-faceted initiative to help victims of the Aug. 8 fires that killed 101 people and destroyed much of Lahaina.
The governor’s renewed appeal to property owners came as he unveiled a long-anticipated legal settlement fund for people killed or injured by the fires. The $175 million fund will provide $1.5 million each to families of those who perished.
While details of the settlement fund headlined Green’s presentation, the governor used the occasion to provide an update on housing for fire survivors. FEMA and the state have made progress in finding homes for thousands of households displaced by the fires, including people who have been living in hotel rooms for months.
FEMA has secured just under 1,500 units under a program where it leases properties to be used by fire victims. But only a third of the units are in West Maui, where people work and have children in school. As a result relatively few places elsewhere on Maui have been moved into.
As a consequence, Green said he’s seeking to secure 850 additional units in West Maui from property owners now using the properties as short-term rentals for tourists. The state will pay up to $5,000 per month for a one-bedroom home, $7,000 for two bedrooms, $9,000 for a three-bedroom home and up to $11,000 for a home with four bedrooms.
Along with this inducement, Green issued a threat, saying if the 850 homes were not secured by the end of March, he would issue a moratorium on short-term rentals in West Maui until the state had secured the homes it needs.
“I’m not playing around,” he said. “People have been in hotels quite a long time. And it’s very difficult.”
Even before the Maui fires, Green had stressed the need for more housing in Hawaii, running on the housing issue as a candidate and issuing an expansive emergency proclamation on housing as a bold, early step in his tenure.
The wildfires have further highlighted the problem, Green said.
A campaign to convert short-term vacation rentals for tourists into long-term homes for residents is now at the top of his agenda.
“Housing is at the core of our problems in the state of Hawaii,” Green said. “We have too many short-term rentals owned by too many individuals on the mainland, and it is bullshit. Our people deserve housing here.”
In the meantime, the One Ohana Maui Recovery Fund will go live on Friday. The idea is to expedite recovery for victims by letting them apply for $1.5 million payments in exchange for settling wrongful death claims. The fund will also be available to survirors who suffered serious injury.
The state has contributed $65 million, Hawaiian Electric Co. $75 million, Kamehameha Schools $17.5 million and Maui County $10 million, while Hawaiian Telcom, West Maui Land Co. and Charter Communications have each contributed $2.5 million.
Ron Ibarra, a retired state court judge, will administer the fund as a volunteer. Ibarra described the fund as an alternative to litigation that will guarantee recovery with no risk and far less cost than litigation.
Green has said the fund is “deeply personal” to him as a way to help people obtain financial support and move on with their lives. While he said “some people will find it’s better to litigate,” he said, “We have a moral obligation to help people heal.”
Green also addressed questions of why he’s announcing the fund now.
“I have to continue to move us forward,” Green said. “We just can’t wait. If we don’t address this crisis in a smart way, litigation will take us down, costs will take us down, companies will fail, and that will hurt all of us.”
Land Trust Floated As One Idea For One Ohana’s “Phase Two”
A major issue facing the state and other wildfire defendants is that the wrongful death and serious injury claims represent a fraction of what the property damage claims might be — some estimates put those at $5 billion.
While the One Ohana Fund’s first phase for death and injury claims has gotten most of the publicity, Green said political and business leaders have been discussing a second fund to address property damage claims.
“Phase Two is the broader effort to help people heal if they lost their land or their business,” he said in an interview.
Lawmakers who have balked at the state paying $65 million into the victims fund presumably would hesitate more at the prospect of paying many times that amount into a fund for property settlements.
But Green said there are potential solutions that don’t require cash. One idea involves the state and perhaps other parties donating land near Lahaina to victims as compensation to settle claims, he said.
“We could construct a model where there are thousands of parcels to help families recover,” Green said, but stressed that the notion of a land trust was just one idea being discussed.
Regardless, Green said, the overarching idea is to provide relief to victims as quickly as possible.
“The better job that we do as a team inside the state,” he said, “the less litigation there will have to be.”
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
Sign up for our FREE morning newsletter and face each day more informed.
Hawaii
Healthier Hawaii: How to protect your hearing; head and neck warning signs you shouldn’t ignore
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – You may have received new earbuds or headphones during the holidays. But there are a few things you keep in mind when it comes to protecting your hearing.
Dr. Ross Shockley, an otolaryngologist with Wilcox Medical Center and Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, offers the following tips for hearing, as well as head and neck health.
Head and neck cancers
Many people are not familiar with head or neck cancers. What causes it and when should someone see a doctor?
- Traditionally, head and neck cancers were mostly associated with longtime smokers and drinkers. Now, more cases are tied to human papillomavirus (HPV), even in nonsmokers and drinkers. HPV is the same virus that can lead to cervical cancer in women. It is common and can have no symptoms.
- If you have throat pain, pain when swallowing that doesn’t go away, or a mass in your neck that feels firm and isn’t moving, don’t wait. See your doctor.
- Head and neck cancers can be treated, no matter the cause, if caught early.
How to prevent hearing loss
More young adults, in their early 20s, are experiencing hearing loss. Can hearing loss be reversed?
- Hearing loss can’t be reversed. Once ringing in ears starts, that can be permanent.
- Wear appropriate hearing protection when using power tools or firing weapons.
- You can find ear protection that blocks out sound for about $15. Protection that covers the whole ear are better than earplugs.
How do you know if music or movies are too loud?
- Don’t turn anything up to the maximum.
- You want the volume to be at the lowest level where you can still hear and understand.
- If there is background noise, don’t crank up the volume all the way to fight it. Use noise-cancelling headphones or go somewhere quieter.
Dangers of cleaning your ears
You may feel the urge to clean your ears. Shockley says do less, or even nothing at all.
- Our ears clean themselves. As new skin grows, it takes wax with it out of your ear.
- When you clean your ears, you’re interrupting that natural cleaning process.
- You can also put yourself at risk for external ear infections – or make your ears itch more.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii Grown: Few isle players in College Football Playoff final four | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Island police are renewing their request for the public’s assistance in locating 82-year-old Jacquelyn Glenn of Kailua-Kona, who was reported missing by her family.
Police said she is considered endangered due to her age.
Glenn was last seen on Friday, Dec. 5, around 6:37 a.m., on the 75-200 block of Nani Kailua Dr. in Kailua-Kona.
She was wearing a peach-colored shirt, blue denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. She reportedly mentioned going to Hilo with friends, but did not say when she planned to return.
She is described as 5′6″, 125 Ibs, with curly grey hair and brown eyes.
Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jacquelyn Glenn to call the Hawaii Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Canucks Continue Road Trip with a Stop in Detroit on Thursday Night | Vancouver Canucks
Downtown San Francisco Immigration Court Set to Close In a Year
Live updates: Washington Capitals vs Dallas Stars at Capital One Arena
Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD
5 Of The Weirdest Things You’ll Find At Denver International Airport – SlashGear
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
San Diego sues to stop border barrier construction
How Ukraine is shaping Europe’s response to Trump’s Greenland threats
GOP gearing up to face tough midterms. And, Pentagon reviews women in ground combat
Wyoming Supreme Court rules laws restricting abortion violate state constitution
How strong are Latin America’s military forces, as they face US threats?
-
World1 week agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
News1 week agoFor those who help the poor, 2025 goes down as a year of chaos
-
Science1 week agoWe Asked for Environmental Fixes in Your State. You Sent In Thousands.
-
Detroit, MI4 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Politics1 week agoMarjorie Taylor Greene criticizes Trump’s meetings with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu: ‘Can we just do America?’
-
Health1 week agoRecord-breaking flu numbers reported in New York state, sparking warnings from officials
-
Georgia1 week agoBest in Georgia: 2025 AJC Varsity high school football all-state teams
-
Technology1 week agoLG announces new UltraGear evo gaming monitors with AI upscaling