It was a year that started with a deadly fireworks explosion and ended with a plea from Honolulu’s mayor and law enforcement agencies for residents to mark the end of 2025 in a safer way.
In the months between, Hawaiʻi residents faced a chaotic tsunami evacuation, marked a major milestone in Maui’s wildfire recovery efforts, struggled with rising food insecurity and pressured the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to push for a stronger role in state land negotiations with the military.
Throughout the year, federal policy changes and executive orders dominated headlines. State institutions and politicians scrambled to keep up with threats to climate research, nonprofit funding cuts, immigration raids and threats to food assistance programs. Hawaiʻi’s attorney general filed or joined more than two dozen lawsuits against the federal government…