July 4, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Saturday, July 4, 2026

July 4, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 8:43 AM :: 125 Views

Two Worlds, One Foundation: Hawaiian and American Ideals of Freedom

The Verified Complaint In Equity: The Declaration Of Independence

Green: Hawaii will be First to Enroll Foster Kids in Trump Accounts

Affordable Housing? Still on the Rent Treadmill After 26 Years of ‘BS’

HNN: … Residents of a city-connected rent-to-own housing program in Ewa say they were promised the chance to buy their homes, but have never been given the opportunity to do so….

Walter Saragosa and Wendy Broxson live a few doors apart on Orrick Street in Tenney Village as tenants of the nonprofit Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation.

Both said they moved in after seeing an offer — still posted on the organization’s website — promising qualified moderate- and low-income workers the chance to rent and eventually own a renovated plantation house.

Saragosa said documentation he provided to HNN Investigates shows in writing that a rent-to-own program existed. He and Broxson said residents were told to maintain their properties, follow association rules, and they would eventually be able to purchase their homes.

Projected sale prices were in the range of $140,000 to $145,000….

Broxson said she and Saragosa applied for the program in 2000. Saragosa got his rental unit in 2009 and Broxson in 2017. Both said the wait for the chance to buy caused them to miss other opportunities to become homeowners….

“Now the kids have moved out,” Broxson said. “I don’t have anyone on my lease with me, so if I croak, all my hard work was for nothing.”

Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation did not respond to requests for comment. The city did respond, and residents described the reply as both shocking and hopeful.

According to the city, 47 properties were set aside as affordable rentals with a rent-to-buy option during the Ewa Village Revitalization Project, but no participants qualified.

“This statement is BS,” Saragosa said.

Saragosa and Broxson said they believed they were qualified. A review of city property records shows Pacific Housing still owns more than a dozen homes on their block alone.

The city’s statement said Pacific Housing Assistance and the city are now reviewing records and discussing the potential to revive a rent-to-own program.

“They don’t know,” Saragosa said of the city’s response. “So we’re thankful you’re giving us this time to maybe shed some light on this program.”

The city Department of Community Services said it appreciates the patience of the residents but must review all paperwork before it can provide a meaningful answer about the program’s future….

Read … Rent-to-own promise delayed years for Ewa tenants

NIMBY News: Legislators Leap into action to … ban gondolas and funiculars

SA: … The same day Gov. Josh Green signed a new statewide ban on passenger and cargo ropeways, Honolulu officials delivered a sweeping rebuke of the controversial Kamananui Ranch gondola project on Oahu’s North Shore, marking what opponents described as a historic turning point in how Hawaii approaches development on agricultural and culturally significant lands.

On June 26, Green signed House Bill 1881 into law as Act 172, prohibiting the construction, maintenance or use of passenger or cargo ropeways — including aerial lifts, tramways and funiculars (but, sadly, not elevated rail lines) — in any land use district across the state unless undertaken by a government entity with legislative approval.

The measure emerged amid years of controversy surrounding the proposed Kamananui Agribusiness project, but lawmakers and community advocates stressed that the law reaches far beyond a single development….

Read … State, city actions reshape North Shore gondola project | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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