He is a fourth-generation kamaaina born on Oahu who earned a journalism degree from the University of Hawaii. Gomes has been a reporter for local newspapers since the mid-1990s. He regularly enjoys surfing, bodysurfing and skateboarding.
A federal agency helping pay for Honolulu’s rail system has agreed to release funding it has been withholding over concerns about past city handling of the grossly delayed and over-budget project. Read more
Demand far outstripped supply for nearly 200 affordable rental apartments under construction on Maui that were offered to lucky applicants this week via lottery. Read more
State senators filled two vacant seats on the five-member Hawaii Supreme Court in unanimous confirmation decisions Tuesday during a special floor session. Read more
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An on-and-off effort by the owner of an idle Hawaii island renewable energy power plant to obtain damages in federal court from Hawaiian Electric is on again and seeks over $1 billion. Read more
State budget officials are scraping together a big pile of cash previously budgeted for a wide range of uses to instead pay for mounting Maui wildfire recovery expenses. Read more
One of Hawaii’s largest infrastructure companies engaged in road paving, rock quarrying and other things has been acquired by local construction firm Nan Inc. Read more
The death of Justin Bautista is the only known instance of a worker on the Hawaii State Hospital campus being killed by a patient, according to Kenneth Luke, the hospital’s administrator. Read more
Hawaiian Electric has shared a glimpse of expenses from the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires while vowing to vigorously contest litigation blaming the company for the disaster. Read more
Work by the faith-based nonprofit humanitarian organization currently involves assisting fire survivors visiting remains of lost homes, and in the future may include helping some of the same people rebuild what they lost. Read more
Gov. Josh Green on Thursday filled one vacancy in the state Legislature and created another representing parts of Maui. Read more
A former Kihei hotel that became a Christian missionary training center and more recently was pursued for corporate housing and then state teacher housing is now on track to become homes for Maui fire survivors. Read more
The beginnings of a Lahaina wildfire victims compensation fund were announced Wednesday by Gov. Josh Green, three months after the disaster that killed at least 99 people. Read more
Defining the word “construction” took up a large part of a more than three-hour Tuesday hearing that could determine whether a permit to develop the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea is valid. Read more
The velocity of a roughly two-year slowdown for Oahu home sales eased in October, and the median price paid for single-family houses ticked up to break a 10-month string of year-over- year declines. Read more
Hawaii’s largest electrical utility is now exploring a preemptive power shutoff program and taking other action to reduce wildfire risk in the wake of the deadly Aug. 8 disaster in Lahaina. Read more
The company also announced today that it is immediately implementing new procedures aimed at reducing the chances of its system sparking a wildfire. Read more
Emptying underground Navy fuel storage tanks at Red Hill crossed a midway point Wednesday, and several state lawmakers received a briefing from military officials Thursday about the job and future cleanup work. Read more
Six legislative working groups in Hawaii’s House of Representatives have filed draft reports with recommendations on issues stemming from the Aug. 8 Maui wildfire disaster. Read more
Hawaii has an updated plan to reduce disaster hazard risks statewide, though it was almost entirely produced before the Aug. 8 Maui wildfire that killed at least 99 people and destroyed Lahaina town. Read more
For the first time since a wildfire leveled most of Lahaina town nearly three months ago, members of the intertwined Kahahane and Dizon families reunited Friday with neighbors, fond memories and a departed relative inside their seaside Mala neighborhood that was reduced largely to ash. Read more
A memorial for fire victims could also be part of what is developed on the site, recognizing that ash might contain some elements of human remains from the Aug. 8 wildfire, which killed at least 99 people. Read more
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