January 1, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Thursday, January 1, 2026

January 1, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 3:17 PM :: 176 Views

Visitor Spending Increased in November 2025 Despite Fewer Visitor Arrivals

PUC Approves HECO Wildfire Mitigation Plan

Rep Quinlan: Legislators not required to Respond to Constituents

The Wall That Heals 2026 -- Volunteers Needed

Did Aliamanu Deaths Change Attitude Towards Fireworks?

CB: … The street where a fireworks explosion turned the Āliamanu neighborhood into a war zone last New Year’s Eve was eerily quiet in the minutes leading up to midnight Wednesday.

The house on Keaka Drive where the deadly blast occurred was dark. On the surrounding blocks, though, some families were celebrating in their garages. A few people strolled along the streets, and groups of kids lit poppers on the pavement.

Would last year’s tragedy deter people from setting off dangerous illegal aerials? Or would the pleas of law enforcement officials for the public to celebrate safely be ignored?

At midnight, loud bangs started to ring out. Someone on Puolo Drive, the street directly parallel to Keaka Drive, shot off a succession of large aerial pyrotechnics from the middle of the road. Fireworks from miles away lit up the skyline.

After about 20 minutes, it was over. The skies darkened again, and the neighborhood returned to its hushed state.

For residents, it was the quietest New Year’s Eve in recent memory.

“It’s the first time in 20 years it’s been this dead,” said John Rodriguez, a resident of Puolo Drive who was standing outside with neighbors at midnight….

HNN: Law enforcement patrols Oahu for illegal fireworks violators

Big Q: Were illegal aerial fireworks a problem in your neighborhood this New Year’s Eve? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … Drones And Tougher Fireworks Enforcement Usher In The New Year - Honolulu Civil Beat

CNHA Scoops up $700K before HTA Dumps tourism program

HNN: … The Hawaii Tourism Authority froze a business certification program that launched last year…

Tourism officials touted the Qurator program, which launched with fanfare in June 2024, as a way to highlight companies beneficial to Hawaii….

(CLUE: CNHA involved.)

But few visitors heard about it, and now business owners are left to promote it themselves….

The list is online, but hardly anyone knows about it or uses it to make travel decisions….

After a little more than a year and $700,000 in sunk costs, the state froze Qurator, with no clear path forward….

The Hawaiian Council’s (aka CNHA) tourism ‘division’, Kilohana, manages Qurator for the HTA.

Carmela Resuma, deputy administrator of the Hawaiian Council, said Qurator was ambitious and had its challenges.

“The marketing budget was a little bit of a challenge for us to kind of secure and then kind of execute upon,” said Resuma. “It was too young, and I think we just need a little bit more time.” ….

(TRANSLATION: Thanks for the $700K, suckers!)

“How do we shift that narrative from before visitors even get here and ‘I want to go to Hawaii because the beach is beautiful’ versus ‘I want to go to Hawaii because there’s something about Hawaii, about the culture, about the people, about the place, about the community that I want to experience most respectfully, in the most reciprocal way,’” Resuma said….

(TRANSLATION: “Gimme another $700K.”)

read … State-certified businesses left to decide future of Hawaii tourism program

Will 2026 be the year Hawaii loses pro golf?

SA: … The Sentry golf tournament at the Plantation Course in Kapalua was canceled this year because of severe drought and water disputes on Maui. If the PGA Tour does not return to Kapalua, it could mean no Sony Open in Hawaii after this year….

The future of the PGA Tour’s 60–year presence in Hawaii is at stake this year. Also, one preseason college basketball tournament is gone and might not return, and another is getting major competition from a deep-pocketed event in Las Vegas played at the same time in November….

(CLUE: Just like the Pro Bowl.)

read … Not everything will be rosy in 2026, with pro golf’s future in Hawaii at the crossroads | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Trump administration freezing child care funds to all states amid investigation into Muslim fraud schemes

HNN: … The Trump administration has said it is freezing child care funds to all states until they provide more verification about the programs in a move fueled by a series of fraud schemes at Minnesota day care centers run by Somali residents….

read … Trump administration freezing child care funds to all states amid investigation into fraud schemes

Bomb threat emailed to Oahu synagogue prompts increased security, closure

HNN: … With an ethnic slur in its subject line, the one-sentence message read ”alert NCIS: I am going to bomb a synagogue December 30," and was sent to the Aloha Jewish Chapel on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam on Saturday.

Although the synagogue was scheduled to be closed on Tuesday and military investigators ultimately found the threat not credible, security was placed in and outside the temple, while vehicles were restricted from the grounds….

Rabbi CJ Mays of Temple Emanu-El, which closed its doors Tuesday because of the threat, called the threat, “It’s scary, it’s disheartening, brings up a lot of worry for people.”

“Given the timing, where a number of Jewish communities here in the US, across the world are living in a state of fear, especially with what we saw happening in Australia,” Mays added.

The terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach during a Hanukkah celebration left more than a dozen dead and prompted increased security at a menorah lighting in Waikiki earlier this month….

read … Bomb threat emailed to Oahu synagogue prompts increased security, closure

Police Drones: What can criminal lawyers get ruled inadmissible?

CB: … A dozen drones policed the sky this year, flying 400 feet off the ground to try to pinpoint where illegal fireworks were being used.

Lambert said the drones can only fly over and record public spaces like streets, sidewalks and parks because anything a drone observes on private property would be inadmissible in court. But drone pilots can use what they see to help direct officers on the ground to hot-spot areas….

Emily Hills, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Hawaiʻi, said the use of drones by police can bring up privacy concerns, an issue not yet tackled by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court. Hills said she hopes to see the Legislature take up the issue this year to set guidelines for how drones can be used by law enforcement. …

read … Drones And Tougher Fireworks Enforcement Usher In The New Year - Honolulu Civil Beat

Counties Are On A Hiring Spree: Sister Isles Pay More

CB: … Some neighbor island jobs have the edge in salaries compared to their Oʻahu counterparts ….

read … Counties Are On A Hiring Spree, But Recruitment Challenges Linger - Honolulu Civil Beat

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