#Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

Located in Hilo, the Honomū and Makuʻu homestead lots range in size from one to five acres.

The funding will be used to deploy internet infrastructure and adopt projects to connect unserved households throughout the state to high-speed internet service, providing essential resources to fully participate in the digital economy.

“This assistance provides more than just financial relief — it offers stability and hope as families begin to rebuild their lives and move forward toward a brighter future.” — Dustin Kaleiopu, community care navigator for Kākoʻo Maui Programs by The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement

In a milestone initiative, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Director Kali Watson signed the program’s first in-house building permit for its Yorktown transitional housing project Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. This new approach is set to streamline the building permit process and will enable the department to advance on the development of more than 20 homestead projects statewide.

Storm also wreaks havoc elsewhere on the mountain by causing cracks in the asphalt of access road and landslides near the observatories at the summit; access road is closed until Wednesday for repairs

The funds come from the Internet for All initiative, which provides a total of $65 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand high-speed internet accees in communities throughout the United States. On the Big Island, that includes 7,970 unserved and 295 underserved homes and businesses.

Sandwich Isle Communications recently announced to customers that services would cease on June 1.

The bill would have accepted and added into the County’s budget $1 million from the state, which Puna state Rep. Greggor Ilagan was able to get allocated as a line item in the state budget in 2021, and another $500,000 from County coffers for the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works to do the study.

There is no infrastructure work planned at this time. Bill 107 only would put funds into the County budget for the study, which would be conducted to find an alternate route in and out of Puna to Hilo below Highway 130.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has launched a federally funded broadband infrastructure and digital literacy initiative.

Located in Panaʻewa on the Hilo side of Hawaiʻi Island, these first-of-its-kind half-acre parcels provides native Hawaiian beneficiaries with the opportunity to both live and cultivate on their lots.

In June 2020, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the state breached its trust duty to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust program by not awarding homestead lots in a timely manner.

Two wells, owned and operated by Kohala Ranch, temporarily lost service Wednesday morning.

Native Hawaiians shared their stories about securing suitable housing and offered valuable perspectives to government officials about how to better address these pressing issues for current and future generations of Native Hawaiians.

American Savings Bank’s investment comes at a time when the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, under the leadership of new director Kali Watson, plans to spend $600 million in state funds for housing.

Legendary musician Melveen Leed and kumu hula Iwalani Walsh Tseu were at a craft fair at the Prince Kūhiō Plaza in Hilo giving an impromptu performance when the general manager asked them to leave, sparking some community outrage.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is providing rental subsidies for eligible kūpuna (62 years or older) on the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands wait list.

From 1995 to 1998, Watson coordinated the development of more than 3,100 residential lots on Hawaiian Home Land.

The 2023 Hawaiʻi Housing Planning Study will identify current housing conditions; present demographic and economic characteristics of Hawaiʻi’s households; measure housing needs and preferences; provide updated information on the overall housing inventory; and summarize rental housing data.

The relocation would allow the clinic to expand its treatment rooms to provide primary care, psychiatry, psychology, women’s health, la‘au lapa‘au, lomilomi and acupuncture services.