Hawaii

Nearly 5,000 Hawaii hotel workers could walk off the job as vote to strike looms

Published

2 years ago

July 24, 2024

Nearly 5,000 Hawaii hotel workers could walk off the job as vote to strike looms

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Nearly 5,000 hotel workers at some of Waikiki’s biggest hotels, such as Hilton Hawaiian Village and Sheraton Waikiki, could walk off the job if they vote to strike on Thursday.

Their union, Unite Here Local 5!, claims they have not gotten a raise in two years to meet rising inflation and want better staffing conditions.

“You know, living paycheck to paycheck is so hard for me because I have kids,” one worker at Hilton Hawaiian Village said.

Hawaii News Now has reached out to the hotels involved in negotiations and is waiting to hear back.

The chair of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Mufi Hannemann, says the timing is unfortunate as the industry has been working to recover from the Maui wildfires a year ago.

“You don’t want to see strikes happen. That’s the last option we want to see,” Hannemann said.

“Hopefully, they can come to an agreement. I’m the eternal optimist, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that will happen.”

But Hanneman says there is some good news. The June Hotel Performance Report shows that despite the overall state occupancy being down about 1% from last year, every island but Maui surpassed its 2023 June numbers. The Valley Isle is down 13%.

“Its numbers are a drag on the rest of the state, and we need to continue our focus on Maui,” said Hannemann.

To try to turn that around, Hannemann says the HTA will launch a multimillion-dollar campaign in September aimed at Southern California, with a special emphasis on marketing Maui.

Back on Oahu, the overall state of Hawaii’s tourism sector is far from the minds of Tuesday’s 1,000 picketers who could be going without a paycheck if they vote to strike on Thursday.

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Hawaii

American Red Cross assisting displaced family after 2-alarm fire

Published

8 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

American Red Cross assisting displaced family after 2-alarm fire

WAIMANALO (HawaiiNewsNow) – The American Red Cross is assisting a family Thursday after a two-alarm fire was extinguished in Waimanalo.

The Honolulu Fire Department responded to Oluolu Street at about 3 a.m., staffed with 10 units and 39 personnel.

The first unit arrived at about 3:15 a.m. to find a working fire at a two-story residential building. No one was inside.

Flames and smoke were coming from the garage, said HFD. A hazmat team was dispatched to secure a 125-pound LPG tank that was exposed.

The fire was under control at 4 a.m. and fully extinguished at about 4:15 a.m.

No injuries were reported.

The American Red Cross was requested to assist the displaced family.

An investigation is underway to determine what caused the fire and damage estimates.

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Hawaii

Hawaii Water Polo enters Big West Championship as number 1 seed

Published

20 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii Water Polo enters Big West Championship as number 1 seed

The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Water Polo Team has secured the number 1 seed in the Big West Championship Tournament.

“I think everyone understands the importance of the tournament and, what we want to do,” said Hawaii Junior Daisy Logtens.

Hawaii enters the tournament 13-5 overall and 6-0 in conference play.

UH will open up the conference tournament against 8th seed UC Santa Barbara. UH recently defeated UCSB 18-4 on March 28th in Manoa.

The 1st match for UH is set for Friday at 7:00am HT in Long Beach, California.

The winner of (1) Hawaii vs (8) UCSB will take on the winner of (4) vs (5) UC San Diego.

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Hawaii

‘Surreal’: Flood victims near UH Manoa prepare for third storm

Published

2 days ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

‘Surreal’: Flood victims near UH Manoa prepare for third storm

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Anxiety ran high in Manoa ahead of Wednesday’s impending storm, which comes about two weeks after a second Kona low flooded 14 residential units along Koali Road.

It was not the first time the homes were swamped in recent months.

Last November, a water main break overflowed the same ground-level units near UH Manoa, causing extensive damage.

Now, as tenants clean up and repair their homes after the latest storm, they are bracing for yet another storm expected to hit Wednesday.

“It sounds like a movie, it sounds a little surreal, a little not real,” Koali Road resident Carlos Jimenez said.

Jimenez, whose home was flooded both times, recalled the recent one, which covered his home in about two feet of water, describing the deluge as “a little bit above knee high.”

The damage to Jimenez’s unit went beyond the floor, too, because of the heavy rain.

“The ceiling got water-damaged. From what I saw, it was soaking water, sagging, and it was about to collapse,” Jimenez said.

Fortunately, crews repaired his roof days before the third storm could send another round of downpours.

Outside, both of Jimenez’s vehicles sat damaged and dead.

After all that he has seen at his Koali Road home, Jimenez said he would take the new storm seriously.

“Get ready, you know, with my mother. She lives with me. She’s 87,” Jimenez said.

After witnessing the devastation in the neighborhood, Jimenez’s neighbor, Dario Aricala, whose home was spared, is not taking it for granted during this week’s wet weather.

“The last storm, we almost got flooded. We are hoping for the best that this storm is not such bad,” Aricala said.

Click here to donate to Jimenez’s GoFundMe page.

In the meantime, other residents have been staying elsewhere during cleanup and repairs, and the property manager said he has been helping them.

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