Latest news with #HonoluluStar-Advertiser
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grant changes approved for rail-affected businesses
Modifications to the city's financial relief program for small businesses negatively affected by construction of the over-$10 billion Skyline project to Kakaako have been adopted. The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to pass Bill 31, which increases the maximum allowed annual revenue for affected small businesses to $1 million, up from $750, 000, under the city's transit construction mitigation fund, or TCMF, grant program. The program, originally signed into law by Mayor Rick Blangiardi in 2024, was supposed to individually award any struggling, eligible business located along the rail corridor into downtown Honolulu with a $10, 000 grant. But only a few grants—out of the dozens of applications received by the city thus far—were actually awarded, city officials assert. 'Five awards of $10, 000 have been paid, ' Ryan Wilson, a city spokesperson, previously told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Wilson noted the city had received 34 applications submitted by local businesses. Of those, 15 applications were deemed ineligible. And 19 applications were returned for revision. To date, six applications were awarded—one on first submission, five on second submission, he said. 'The sixth business owner has not returned multiple calls and emails from the city, ' Wilson said previously. 'A letter will also be sent to the business owner providing a deadline to comply with the Hawaii Compliance Express (HCE ) certificate requirement, or the award will be terminated.' In March, Council members Radiant Cordero and Tyler Dos Santos-Tam offered new legislation to revamp the program. As adopted, Bill 31 will remove the program's number of employees limit, previously locked at 15 or fewer workers ; and require the applicant business to have opened at least 12 months prior to the start of any rail project construction within the transit construction mitigation zone in which the business is physically located, as determined by the city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services director. Previously, a grant applicant's business had to be open for business at their current physical location before Jan. 1, 2022. 'The expansion of eligibility for the (TCMF ) shows our commitment to making assistance more accessible and inclusive, allowing more small-and medium-sized businesses to receive the support they need, ' Dos Santos-Tam said in a statement. 'Rail project construction can create significant disruptions that impact day-to-day operations, and this bill helps ease those burdens so businesses can continue to serve their customers and maintain their employees.' Andrew Min, of family-owned Min Plastics &Supply Inc. at 921 Kaamahu Place in Iwilei, said his business did not apply to the city's grant program for a number of reasons—among them, the 75-year-old company's proximity to the rail line's route on nearby Dillingham Boulevard. 'I think we are on the opposite side of the street, ' Min told the Star-Advertiser after the meeting. 'So the grant covers the area adjacent to Dillingham, like one block off, so we're on the part that's not covered.' He also noted his family's company also generates more than $1 million in revenue each year. 'So we make more than what's covered, ' he said. But Min claimed he's glad the city offered financial relief to at least some eligible small businesses, and hoped they will continue to do so. 'From what I heard not many companies were eligible for it so they were revising it to include more people, ' he said. 'But even at $1 million we're still not captured.' Meanwhile, Min said rail construction along nearby Dillingham Boulevard does impact his family's company. 'It's definitely increased the frustration with customers coming in and out because access to coming in, they have to go around through Costco, turn around and come back, ' he said, adding access to company's street address can only be gained via Dillingham. 'And only from the eastbound direction because there's no left turn in the westbound direction.' He noted the city could think about using budgeted funds to redo the routing of traffic along Dillingham Boulevard 'to allow better access.' 'And I think that would probably have more impact with less money, ' Min said. Anthony Han, owner of Soul Chicken and Bliss Lounge on the 1000 block of Dillingham Boulevard, confirmed the city approved his $10, 000 grant application earlier this year. He received a check in the mail in April. But Han previously told the Star-Advertiser his business currently owes $60, 000 in unpaid rent. 'I have another debt around $45, 000, ' he asserted. 'It's not enough though, ' Han claimed of the awarded grant, 'the cost of everything went up.' In January, the city started offering $10, 000 grants to applicant businesses located near the rail line. At the time, TCMF grants were to be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, based on authorized and available funding for the program. But by early February, the city had to extend the time to submit applications. That month, the Mayor's Office said the extension—to Feb. 21—was due to TCMF grant applicants not properly filing business documentation with the city. 'Many of the applications that were submitted to the portal needed to be returned to applicants for revisions, especially because they lacked the required documentation, ' Ian Scheuring, the mayor's deputy communications director, previously told the Star-Advertiser. He noted errors led to applicants being denied grant funding. 'The city has received numerous applications for the (TCMF ) program that did not qualify, or were not in compliance with the rules of the program and were rejected, ' Scheuring said previously. According to the city, the total dollar amount spent on this program so far includes $50, 000 for the five $10, 000 awards ; $13, 585 for the program's one-year payment toward its information management system ; and $967.94 to publish legal notices regarding administrative rules hearings on this city-run program.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maui County Council to hear response to vacation rentals conversion today
A key Maui County Council committee will hear testimony today on Mayor Richard Bissen's proposal to convert less than half of Maui's short-term vacation rentals into long-term housing for local residents that's expected to trigger a loss of $60 million in tax revenue while lowering sales and rental prices. The trade-off will be worth it and lead to stable, more affordable housing for Maui residents, Bissen told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on the eve of today's hearing by the Council's Housing and Land Use committee. The Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires killed 102 people, destroyed more than 5, 400 households and sent 12, 000 survivors into emergency housing, exacerbating Maui's housing shortage. 'We've taken a stand we believe in, ' Bissen said. 'It's not anti-visitor. It's pro-local, pro-resident. … It's not meant to divide our community, but to preserve our community.' Visitors remain welcomed on Maui and there still would be hotel rooms and other short-term vacation rentals available in other parts of Maui if Bill 9 passes, requiring 6, 100 rental units to convert to long-term housing for residents, he said. Another 8, 000 vacation rentals in Maui County would be unaffected, with most of them on the island of Maui, Bissen said. Instead of a constant turnover of guests, condominium buildings would turn into new neighborhood communities of full-time, local residents and families, he said. Owners of vacation rentals have urged Bissen and his administration to look for alternatives to developing more affordable housing, which Bissen said he continues to do. But finding appropriate land, getting permits approved and construction costs and time can take years compared to converting existing condos into long-term housing, he said. 'The bottom line is we need to create more inventory, ' Bissen said. 'It's an immediate problem.' Bissen has amended Bill 9 to now call for a three-year phaseout of the 6, 100 vacation rentals to give owners time to either sell to local residents or rent to them long term. He called sales to local residents 'ideal ' and long-term rental agreements 'also a good idea.' The wildfires exacerbated Maui's housing shortage and led many landlords to increase rental prices. Some landlords who had long-term rental agreements with residents evicted them in order to take advantage of higher rates they could charge by taking in fire survivors and, in some cases, nearly double their income, Bissen said. 'It's almost like looting when somebody jacks up prices when there's a need, ' Bissen said. 'I don't know how we punish all those landlords.' Most—94 %—of the people who own the 6, 100 short-term vacation units that would be converted live outside Maui, meaning the units represent second or third homes for them, Bissen said. Only 6 % are Maui County residents, said Bissen's executive assistant, Matt Jachowski. Bissen's proposal has the support of many residents and received unanimous approvals by planning commissions on Maui, Molokai and Lanai. It's drawn opposition from property owners like Loretta Ross, a 68-year-old retiree from San Diego who has owned her ocean-view, studio apartment in the three-story, 67-unit Hale Ono Loa condo complex along Lower Honoapiilani Highway for 20 years. The short-term rental market was first hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, then again in the aftermath of the wildfires and has continued falling ever since Bissen proposed outlawing vacation rentals last year for owners like Ross, she told the Star-Advertiser. 'Property values have dropped 30 %, ' she said. And her business has fallen, too. Ross used to charge $259 a night but cannot get bookings even after dropping her rate to $159. The potential passage of Bill 9 has scared away potential buyers who also would want to use her condo as a rental business, Ross said. 'I've had it listed for over a year, but my agent said no one's buying anything, ' Ross said. 'I'm on Social Security and I'm running out of savings.' Her monthly costs, including mortgage, taxes and association fees add up to $4, 000 a month that Ross doubts a local family could afford for a studio apartment. 'No one's going to pay that, ' she said. So if Bill 9 passes, 'it would probably have go into foreclosure as much as I love it and I've been blessed to have it. It would be like the nail in the coffin.' Bissen expects the Housing and Land Use Committee to hold two or three sessions of all-day hearings to listen to testimony in support for and opposition to Bill 9. The committee's made up of all nine Council members and its vote could foreshadow how the full Council decides the fate of Bill 9. In April, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization estimated that banning 6, 127 short-term vacation rentals could have profound economic implications for Maui County, including the loss of 1, 900 jobs, $900 million in annual visitor spending and $60 million in property tax revenue by 2029. General excise tax and hotel room tax revenues also could fall, adding up to $15 million annually, according to UHERO. But Bissen said Maui still needs workers and the county's $1.5 billion budget could be adjusted to absorb 'some losses.' Overall, he said, 'the benefits outweigh the negatives.'
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man facing murder trial in death of daughter makes a plea offer
The man whose murder trial in the 2021 death of his 18-month-old daughter, Kytana Ancog, had been set for June 16 has made a plea offer to the state. Travis Rodrigues' plea offer was mentioned during an Oahu Circuit Court hearing Wednesday to discuss trial setting. The state said it is still working on the offer, the court minutes say. An offer had been submitted as early as January, and possibly earlier. Court minutes from a Jan. 3 hearing show the state acknowledged it had received an offer and is considering it, but informed the court it needs more time to see if the offer is viable. Rodrigues pleaded not guilty on March 18, 2021, to second-degree murder in Ancog's death. But Rodrigues reportedly confessed to hitting and shaking the child and squeezing her against his chest until she became unresponsive. Rodrigues then said he placed her lifeless body in a duffel bag and left it in a vehicle driven by Scott Michael Carter, who said he would 'take care of it.' Ancog was last seen by her mother Jan. 31, 2021, when she dropped off the child with Rodrigues at an Aiea house. A witness told police Rodrigues appeared high on methamphetamine when he slapped and kicked the toddler and tried to give her a meth pipe. Rodrigues was arrested Feb. 13, 2021. Rodrigues has remained in custody at the Halawa Correctional Facility, unable to post $2 million bail. The parties agreed to have the trial rescheduled to the week of Sept. 22, and Judge Rowena Somerville granted the stipulation. Rodrigues' attorney Walter Rodby did not respond to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's request for comment on the details of the plea offer. Carter, who may be the only one who knows the whereabouts of Ancog's body, had been charged with hindering prosecution. But the judge dismissed his case because the state failed to try Carter within the required time frame since he was charged Feb. 19, 2021. The state said at the time that it had difficulty in obtaining material evidence due in part to the death of the owner of the Aiea house and because Rodrigues was uncooperative. Somerville dismissed Carter's case without prejudice, meaning the state could refile charges at a later date, and he was immediately released from custody Aug. 24, 2022. However, Carter was arrested Nov. 12 in an unrelated auto theft case. He is scheduled to change his plea June 18 for allegedly driving a stolen 2013 Chrysler 300. He was charged with unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug for methamphetamine possession and driving without a license. It is unclear whether the state could negotiate a plea deal with Rodrigues that would ensure his testimony to recharge and try Carter with hindering prosecution in the Ancog case.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council to review city's proposed $5.14 billion budget for approval
The Honolulu City Council today is scheduled to review for approval Mayor Rick Blangiardi's $5.14 billion budget package for fiscal year 2026. Submitted in early March, the mayor's budget—which proposes a $3.93 billion operating budget and a $1.21 billion capital improvement program that, if adopted, begins July 1—touted it would cover costs without raising real property tax rates, according to city officials. The city says spending priorities include directing $143.8 million to affordable housing and homeless service facilities. The Council is expected to vote to revise the mayor's spending plan, and take action on other public business. 'The Council is preparing to vote on 15 measures during the third reading, which includes all of the budget bills for this year, ' Aron Dote, the Council's director and chief communications officer, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 'Although the bills had passed out of the Budget Committee, there are some important discussions needed to address, particularly regarding vacancy funding and various allocation and appropriation discussions.' Blangiardi's budget was deemed a more than 9 % increase over the city's current $4.7 billion budget, which the mayor officially signed and adopted in June 2024. Key city revenues were highlighted. Those included a projected $45.6 million increase in the city's real property tax revenue. Currently, those revenues amount to $1.72 billion but are expected to be at $1.77 billion in fiscal year 2026. Revenue increases occurred due to changes in the assessed values for residential properties across Oahu, according to Andy Kawano, city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services director. 'The residential class assessed valuation was up only 1.4 %, and the Residential A classification was up over 5 %, ' he previously told the Council's Budget Committee. 'Those classes drive the increase in real property tax.' Other long-term liabilities involve the over-$10 billion Skyline project expected to open for public service in Kakaako by 2031. Overall, Kawano noted, city departmental budgets will increase by $147 million. Some of those include rising public transportation costs—for bus and rail—which are pegged at $48.9 million ; $39.1 million to fund Honolulu's green waste program and new wastewater billing system in sanitation ; and an increase in salaries due to overtime for public safety and staff recruitment at $34.2 million. Kawano also asserted the city's next CIP budget targets $697.9 million for the construction of police, fire, ambulance and ocean safety facility improvements as well as upgrades to city-owned parks, streets and utilities. As part of the budget process, the Blangiardi administration proposed a 10-year, 115 % sewer fee rate increase that's expected to begin this summer. City officials say proposed sewer fee hikes under city-initiated Bill 60 are necessary to support ongoing wastewater operations and maintenance efforts, as well as a $10.1 billion capital improvement program for Oahu's wastewater collection and treatment system that is planned through 2040. And they assert the work includes a $2.5 billion upgrade to the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant as required under a 2010 federal consent decree. On May 27, the Council's Budget Committee approved on a split vote the passage of a committee draft of Bill 60. Budget Committee Chair Tyler Dos Santos-Tam's version of the measure, which shaves the city's decade-long span for increased rates down to about six years, will start Jan. 1, 2026, and run through 2031. Dos Santos-Tam's Bill 60 proposes sewer fee increases for a household that uses about 6, 000 gallons per month—deemed 50 % of all single-family households in Honolulu—equates to a 6 % increase in sewer fees in fiscal year 2026, 7.5 % in fiscal year 2027, 8.5 % in fiscal year 2028, followed by 9 % over the remaining three fiscal years. The Council is also expected to review for approval Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's $968.3 million budget package proposed for city rail in fiscal year 2026. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. inside the Council chambers, 530 S. King St.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hawaii delegation pushes Navy for information on Kaula training plan
Hawaii's congressional delegation is pushing the Navy to provide more information on its plan to more than double bombardment training on a small Hawaiian Island that the state and conservation groups consider a critical bird sanctuary. Kaula lies about 23 miles southwest of Niihau and is a nesting ground to about 18 species of birds—including the black-footed albatross—and its shores team with monk seals and other marine life. But since 1953 the island also has been used by the Navy for target practice. The Navy originally used live explosive ordnance, but stopped the practice in the 1980s and began using inert dummy rounds instead. But as tensions simmer with China and the Pentagon increasingly sees the Pacific as its top-priority theater of operations, the military has looked to step up training in Hawaii and across the region. In 2024 the Navy advanced a proposal to increase its bombing runs at Kaula from 12 a year to as many as 31, and argued that the environmental impacts would be 'less than significant.' U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 'I think every aspect of training in the state of Hawaii needs to be explained and justified, but certainly when you're talking about 500-pound objects hitting the side of a mountain and the answer is 'national security, ' my answer is maybe, but that's not a thorough enough explanation for what's happening to be justified.' The Navy is making its pitch at a time when the military is facing heightened scrutiny over its use of land and environmental impacts in Hawaii, with the Navy in particular working to repair its public image since the 2021 Red Hill water crisis. On Tuesday all four members of Hawaii's congressional delegation sent a letter to Navy Secretary John Phelan, telling him that 'in Hawaii, there is a significant level of mistrust with the Department of Defense as a whole, and the Navy in particular.' 'Doubling the amount of training at Kaula is a significant step that warrants more information on the environmental impacts to the island, ' the lawmakers wrote. 'The State's seabird sanctuary on Kaula is home to thousands of seabirds, and the island's sea cliffs are a resting place for endangered species like monk seals. Despite these known populations of wildlife, the draft environmental assessment does not contain sufficient analysis that impacts on wildlife would be 'less than significant.' The public deserves a clear, comprehensive, and evidence-based (environmental impact statement ) to demonstrate that the Navy has done its due diligence on the environmental impacts of these trainings.' The Navy stressed in a draft environmental assessment released in August that it does not seek to resume live explosive training, but rather to increase the frequency of the training it already does on Kaula, which is limited to the small island's southern end. But officials from both the state and Kauai County, along with local conservationists, argue that the increase in training could disrupt a unique ecosystem. To make matters more complicated, there is an ongoing dispute about whether the island is federal or state land, and local officials have called on training to stop altogether. In their letter, the members of the congressional delegation called on the Navy to explain in their formal assessment why training at Kaula is critical to national security. The delegation sought to know how a reduction or end to use of Kaula as a range would specifically affect the readiness of military units operating in the Pacific. They also wanted to know why the Navy has 'not already built in more redundancies to address any readiness issues due to a lack of availability of training ranges.' Moreover, they wanted an explanation of how the Navy had determined that there is 'an irreplaceable need for access to Kaula that cannot be fulfilled by an alternative site.' The delegation also asked that the Navy provide answers by June 16 as to whether the Navy 'plans to program specific environmental remediation funding, including to address existing and future ordnance clean up.' They also asked whether the Navy has plans to ensure regular access to the waters around Kaula by local fishermen and whether the Navy will plan for increased environmental impacts on the southern end of the island. And, the delegation asked for an explanation of what readiness demands and restrictions at other training sites 'uniquely warrants this substantive jump in training activity at Kaula.' The Navy's proposal to increase training was made in the summer of 2024. Since then President Donald Trump won an election and has established a new team at the Pentagon led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has vowed to rid the military of 'woke ' programs and has singled out environmental programs that he argues have 'distracted ' the military from combat training and obtaining new weapons systems. That rhetoric has alarmed several community groups in Hawaii. But Schatz said, 'I'd like to see what they do rather than what they say. Because so far, (the military in Hawaii ) hasn't been different than other administrations. Certainly, the rhetoric is that they are not interested in environmental stewardship, but a lot of these programs are established by law. So they can not like it, but they don't really have the option to not do it.' The senator said that when it comes to how the military does business in Hawaii, issues around its approach to the environment and local communities are long-standing. He said that 'the institution of the Department of Defense, whichever (political ) party is in charge, has had a hard time with internalizing the idea that they are, in fact, our guests and that they should behave like guests and earn their welcome.' When it comes to Kaula, Schatz said the Navy 'should start with a basic explanation of why they feel the need to do this, (and ) that they've thoroughly assessed the environmental impacts. I spend a fair amount of time criticizing Trump, and I will continue to do that where it's appropriate, but I don't think this is a Trump policy problem. I think this is an institutional position of the DOD (Department of Defense ) over many, many decades.'
