Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

This week, Director Kali Watson told legislators that DHHL will need more than $600 million on top of that to develop new land the agency plans to acquire with the money from Act 279.

Connect Kākou was launched on Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke. It's a collaboration between the University of Hawaiʻi and several state agencies, including the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Hawaiʻi Broadband and Digital Equity Office.

More than 2,500 class members have been affected by delays in financial transfers. They have been held up by an appeal in the Kalima v. State of Hawaiʻi case, which the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court dismissed Thursday.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is considering legislation to reduce its waiting list, which currently includes more than 28,000 Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Proposals include everything from general excise tax exemptions for DHHL developments to allowing the department to handle historic preservation reviews of its projects in-house. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi breaks down the proposals.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands says not only is the agency on track to spend the $600 million from lawmakers to reduce its growing waiting list, but it may even need more money. DHHL currently has 20 projects in the pipeline and plans to acquire additional properties to provide housing to approximately 5,300 beneficiaries. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

A fire that broke out at the former Stadium Bowl-O-Drome Saturday on Oʻahu was intentionally set, according to the Honolulu Fire Department. It is the property’s second arson in less than a month.

More than a month after the fires devastated his hometown of Lāhainā, one resident shares how he fought for his community that night — and what life is like these days. He saw death all around him but had promised his family he'd make it out alive. HPR’s Catherine Cluett Pactol spoke with him in Lāhainā.

The Hawaiian homestead community of Leialiʻi, just a few minutes west of Lāhainā, is home to more than 100 Native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Fortunately, only two homes in Leialiʻi were lost in the Aug. 8 wildfires, but homesteaders were left without electricity or water.

Housing remains a key issue for the state, specifically for Native Hawaiians who may suffer from low-income or crowded households. That's according to Kali Watson, the director of the Department for Hawaiian Homelands.

Housing was tight on Maui before the devastating fires. After thousands of homes were destroyed in the wildfire, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is working to expedite projects to help people find housing faster.