Latest news with #RichardBissen
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New educator development housing coming to Lahaina
LAHAINA, Hawaii (KHON2) — Lahaina will be getting a big boost to development with a new housing project coming soon. The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education and Maui leaders broke ground on a new $20 million educator workforce development housing project, with construction starting soon on the 47-unit rental complex. Maui Council passes bill allowing certain Lahaina structures to build back as it was Centrally located near three Lahaina schools, the approximately five-acre site sits above Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary and below Lahainaluna High. 'This development is pivotal to the retention and recruitment of our west Maui staff. We cannot afford to lose our educators. Their presence, their stability, their relationships with students is what helps our students learn, heal and move forward,' Superintendent Keith Hayashi said. 'When teachers have secure housing, students have stable classrooms.'The 2023 wildfires made an already severe housing crisis in Lahaina worse. 'This project responds directly to that need – the need for housing our school employees,' Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. 'That will bring consistency to our classrooms that allows those who guide, who nourish, who transport and care for our students to remain close to the places they serve.' In an employee survey, nearly one-third of the Maui employees were displaced due to the wildfires, with 20% of educators surveyed saying they are thinking about leaving the state due to the high cost of housing. 'It's an honor to work on this project. We're very anxious to get started. We have a tight timetable and we'll make that, I'm sure,' Everett Dowling, founder and president of Dowling Co., said. 'Home ownership equity is the largest creator of wealth in the country. But in order to buy a home, you have to save some money. Hopefully this project will enable employees of the DOE here on the west side to put some money aside as the community rebuilds.' Check out more news from around Hawaii The project will include one and two-bedroom configurations. Rental rates will be income-based. The teacher workforce housing complex is expected to be complete in December. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
News stations across country to honor Maui Week
HONOLULU (KHON2) — This upcoming week is 'Maui Week,' which KHON2 and Nexstar television partners across the country are celebrating to showcase the beauty of they Valley Isle. '[Maui Week] represents an opportunity for us to share our culture, to share the beautiful ʻāina, but to let people see us in all of our glory,' Gov. Josh Green said. Kaiser purchases Maui News building, newspaper to move out A total of 15 stations across the country are participating in highlighting the island, supported by Maui hotels and Hawaiian Airlines. Maui has plenty of aloha spirit to go around, with lots of lively culture and food, but the true centerpiece of the island is the people who work to preserve the island and its identity.'This collaboration is a chance to share what makes Maui truly unique—through the warmth of our people and the richness of our culture,' said Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen in an interview with Living808. Maui Week will feature cultural showcases such as hula, a sacred performance art, and a passion of Maui County First Lady Kaʻihi Bissen. 'Hula is more than movement—it's a living story passed down through generations,' she said. 'It's powerful to see our hotels celebrating and sharing that story with authenticity.' Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news With Maui Week comes plenty of stories from visitors and locals alike, with Green saying that he hopes these stories bring a sense of peace to the Maui community who has already lost so much. 'I hope they receive that peace. I really do. I worry about what's going on in the world, I worry about what people are experiencing in very difficult places, and to have this sense of peace,' the governor said. To catch the exhibitions of aloha, watch the Maui Week stories next week on Living808, which airs at 9 a.m. on KHON2, 3 p.m. on Hawaiʻi's CW and 8 p.m. on KHII. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New loan assistance will help Lahaina families rebuild homes after wildfires
Maui County is launching a new loan program this summer to help middle-income Lahaina homeowners who are still struggling to rebuild since the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires. The Deferred Payment Loan Program is aimed at residents who fall into the 'gap group '—families who make too much to qualify for federal disaster assistance but not enough to cover the full cost of rebuilding on their own. Maui County is committing $7.5 million to the program as part of its fiscal year 2026 budget, with additional contributions expected from philanthropic partners. The Hawaii Community Foundation and Maui United Way have pledged to support the program financially, though exact amounts have not yet been announced. The county's share will be administered through Hawaii Community Lending, which will act as the implementing agency. The program is scheduled to launch later this summer, with July as a tentative target date. Interested Lahaina homeowners can begin the application process through the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program at hawaii /mauirelief, to find information about eligibility, required documentation and available support services. The loans, which require no monthly payments upfront, are designed to close critical funding gaps that have left many families in limbo nearly two years after the disaster. 'This is about ensuring everyone has a path forward, ' Mayor Richard Bissen said in a statement. 'Our community deserves a recovery that reaches all—from our most vulnerable residents to the middle-class families who may not qualify for federal aid but still need support to rebuild their homes and lives. This partnership is a commitment to them.' The Deferred Payment Loan Program is a collaboration among Maui County, HCF, MUW and HCL, which expands on an earlier initiative already underway through the Lahaina Homeowner Recovery Program. Josiah Nishita, Maui County managing director at the Department of Management, said the new loan program has been in the works for some time as officials looked for ways to support families left out of traditional disaster funding streams. Although the county continues to coordinate with FEMA, the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to bring in long-term recovery dollars through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery—or CDBG-DR—program, that federal assistance comes with strict eligibility criteria and income thresholds. 'The (Deferred Payment Loan ) program is primarily going to be able to help those families that are cut in the middle, ' Nishita said. 'They make too much for some of the federal assistance programs but then don't make enough to finance reconstruction or rebuild their homes on their own.' Nishita said HCL already has been working with affected homeowners to help them navigate the complex recovery process, offering one-on-one guidance to connect people with grants, insurance support and financial counseling. The new loan program will build on that work, targeting costs like property surveys, construction estimates, fire-safe rebuilding upgrades, homeowners insurance gaps and even foreclosure prevention. Nishita added that program flexibility is key, as every family's situation is different. While officials do not yet have a specific number of households the program will serve, Nishita said the goal is to stretch available resources to make the greatest possible impact across a wide range of needs. The county also emphasized strong oversight. Each participating organization will be responsible for ensuring that funds are used appropriately, and the county will require documentation and reporting for its share of the funding. 'Hawaii Community Lending has been very open and transparent with the community, as well as engaging a lot of community dialogue, ' Nishita said. 'We have our own requirements for use of public funds, including on grant reporting processes and documentation. … Maui United Way and Hawaii Community Foundation each have their own sets of requirements that Hawaii Community lending will need to ensure to meet so that people can have confidence in the funds being spent appropriately.' As the community awaits the broader rollout of CDBG-DR funds—Maui County expects to receive roughly $1.6 billion in federal aid—Nishita said the loan program fills a critical gap to ensure no one falls through the cracks. HUD already has approved the county's administrative action plan for CDBG-DR, which allows 5 % of the total funds to be used for managing and administering recovery programs. 'One thing that Mayor (Richard ) Bissen has said many times is, if we build a bunch of buildings but don't recognize the faces within them, then we've really failed our mission, ' Nishita said. 'Our goal is really simple : to keep our community at home and to keep our community together … keep our local residents in their homes and on their properties with their neighbors in their neighborhoods.' Outreach will continue through community meetings in Lahaina and updates from the county's Office of Recovery, which also helps survivors access other recovery programs. To date, the county and its partners have held around 60 meetings with homeowners and plan to continue hosting them twice a month. Nishita encouraged wildfire survivors to stay engaged. 'If you've been impacted by the wildfire, continue to participate in the county's informational updates, meetings and keep providing us good feedback, ' he said. 'The county is fully committed to ensure that our local families can continue to stay here, to raise their families here and thrive here.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Maui Fire Department blesses newest wildland firefighting tool
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Maui Fire Department's newest wildland firefighting tool was blessed on Thursday, May 8. MFD personnel, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Fund representatives and others gathered on Community Wildfire Preparedness Day to celebrate the donation of the County's first wildland firefighting apparatus. First responders battle Kōke'e brush fire; 70% contained The Hawaii Community Foundation's 'Maui Strong Fund' and contributions from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez support the fund. According to MFD, the apparatus is the first of seven and will help strengthen the department's ability to protect Maui communities from future fires. MFD Fire Chief Bradford Ventura emphasized that Hawaii no longer has a wildfire season like we used to. Instead, the state prepares for wildfires year-round. 'Our firefighters are putting themselves in harm's way every month to get in front of these fires, and of course, we know during the dry seasons, things are gonna be enhanced and they're preparing themselves,' Chief Ventura added. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news During the ceremony, several speakers emphasized the need for the Maui community to come together to prepare, prevent and respond to wildfires in Hawaii. 'It does take all of us collectively to work together, to make a difference. We are very fortunate in Hawaii, we still have community, we still have the aloha spirit. We do care about everybody else. That's not true in a lot of places elsewhere,' said Laura Mallery-Sayre, Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Fund. Chief Ventura added that reaching out with philanthropy, working with partners and coordinating helps the department tie up loose ends. Check out more news from around Hawaii 'It would've been plenty to say thank you, it would've been plenty to say we appreciate the work of our folks, but to actually translate that into something that's behind me is truly incredible,' said Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
