Hoʻomaikaʻi to 2025’s Koʻi Award Honorees
The Koʻi Awards are conferred by the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce to honor excellence in leadership and to recognize individuals and organizations who incorporate traditional knowledge and practice in business, honor and uplift Hawaiian culture, and dedicate their lives to the betterment of their community. The Koʻi Award recipients were honored at an award celebration on November 14 at the Grand Wailea Maui. The 2025 award recipients include (Top L-R; bottom L-R) Kumu Hula Hokulani Holt-Padilla; Mercer “Chubby” Vicens, president of the Living Pono Project Board of Directors; Clifford Naeʻole, cultural advisor at Ledcor Maui; Bobby Pahia, founder of Hawaiʻi Taro Farm; OHA Maui Trustee Emerita Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey; and Hawaiʻi Small Business Development Director Wayne Wong. In addition, a special award was presented to honor the late Hoapili Ane and the Living Pono Project. – Courtesy Photos
Maui County Council Passes Bill 9
On December 15, in a 5-3 vote, the Maui County Council passed Bill 9, a controversial and historic piece of legislation that will phase out thousands of vacation rentals. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen signed it into law on the same day.
Bill 9 is intended to help restore housing availability for residents and realign zoning policy with its original residential purpose.
Transient vacation rentals (TVR) make up 21% of the available housing in Maui County – more than any other county in Hawaiʻi. In the aftermath of the 2023 Maui wildfires, which exacerbated Maui’s longstanding housing crisis, in May 2024 Bissen introduced Bill 9 hoping to restore balance and prioritize the needs of Maui County residents over investors or visitors.
“For far too long, short-term rentals, offshore investors, and private interests have overwhelmed our housing inventory,” Bissen said.
Bill 9 corrects a long-standing zoning exemption that has allowed TVRs to operate in apartment-zoned districts – areas originally intended to provide long-term housing for local families. The legislation is expected to return more than 6,000 units to long-term residential use.
The legislation does not eliminate short-term rentals in Maui County. Some 6,500 TVRs outside of apartment-zoned districts along with timeshares and bed-and-breakfasts will continue to operate.
Tario Wins Hawaiʻi to the World Talent Competition
Classically trained pianist, cultural practitioner, artist and drag queen T.J. Keanu Tario has been named the first winner of Hawaiian Council’s new talent competition, Hawaiʻi to the World. In the qualifying round for Oʻahu Tario, who goes by the stage name Laritza, impressed judges Amy Hānaialiʻi Gilliom, Lehua Kalima, Patrick Makuakāne, and Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu with their performance of Oli Aloha followed by excerpts from Sergei Rachmanioff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. In the final round, which aired on December 14, Tario performed an excerpt from the musical score of Standing Above the Clouds, a short film about the fight to protect Maunakea, to win the competition. Tario is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama and the Julliard School of Music in New York City. Tario’s film credits include Jimmy Kimmel Live and HBO Max’s Generations. Tario has also appeared as a guest artist for the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra.
BLNR Reconsiders Aquarium Fishing
Late last year, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) voted to advance a petition to re-open Hawaiʻi’s waters to the commercial extraction and export of Hawaiʻi’s native reef wildlife as aquarium pets. This would allow hundreds of thousands of fish to be taken from Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs over the next five years.
Commercial aquarium collection has been banned since 2017.
BLNR’s decision comes despite their 2023 vote to prohibit commercial collection. Polling suggests 84% of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island residents support permanently banning the capture of reef fish for the aquarium pet trade.
The BLNR vote initiates public hearings that will provide two opportunities to comment on the proposed regulations: an in-person public hearing in West Hawaiʻi Island (the industry’s main target area), and a virtual statewide hearing.
The proposed rules may be revised based on public testimony.
“We need the public to show up in force at these hearings and to push for better protections of our reefs,” said Earthjustice attorney Mahesh Cleveland.
Healthy reef fish populations are crucial for supporting ecosystems already weakened from rising ocean temperatures, pollution, and decades of commercial extraction. Despite the 2017 ban, the species and reefs targeted by the industry have not recovered.
Collectors target juvenile native fish species, including species that local communities rely on for sustenance. The fish are bagged, shipped via air freight, and sold to pet stores around the world. Studies show that 50% or more die during capture and transport, and most of the survivors die within the first year of captivity. Left in the wild, some species, like Yellow Tang, can live for 40 years.
The public hearings will take place between January and March 2026, but specific dates have not yet been announced.
ʻŌiwi Named Obama Foundation Leaders
Kepa Barrett and Keʻalohi Reppun have both been selected as 2025-2026 Obama Foundation Leaders for the Asia-Pacific.
Leaders for the Asia-Pacific is a six-month, virtual leadership development program that brings together a small, international cohort of 35 emerging leaders. The program is designed to ground emerging leaders in a values-based leadership framework to advance inclusive and lasting change in their communities, in the Asia-Pacific region, and around the world.
Participants gain tools to advance their leadership and impact to include understanding power dynamics and communicating across differences. They are paired with a leadership coach and meet with prominent regional leaders, from activists to business executives.
Barrett is the manager of sustainability and ʻāina-based learning for Kamehameha Schools Kapālama. In this role, he helps students learn more about their culture through land- and sea-based learning opportunities. Prior to joining Kamehameha, Barrett was a program coordinator and external affairs officer at Kupu, a nonprofit that helps youth explore career opportunities in sustainability and environmental conservation.
Reppun is the director of the Kuaihelani Learning Center of ʻIke Hawaiʻi at Punahou School with kuleana to develop and deliver Hawaiian language and culture curriculum to grades K-12. Her efforts to implement Hawaiian language proficiency assessments are being adopted by immersion schools across the pae ʻāina. Reppun is also the co-founder of Kauluwao, Inc., a nonprofit that supports teachers to deepen the cultural origin of their language and pedagogy.
OHA Trustees Make Oʻahu Site Visits
Konanui Publishes Memoir
Hānau Hou: Rebirth is the powerful, personal story of Malulani “Uncle Malu” Konanui. Orphaned as an infant, Konanui was adopted and grew up in the small, remote fishing village of ʻOpihikao in the moku of Puna on Hawaiʻi Island. He was raised in the old way, immersed in Hawaiian values and traditions.
Sharing family memories, anecdotes, and moʻolelo, he recounts his life as a young boy fishing off the Puna coast, as a Navy serviceman during the Vietnam War, as a dedicated police officer serving in his community, and eventually, as a master woodturner.
To overcome the hardships experienced along the way, he reflects on the Hawaiian values he has embraced – lōkahi (harmony), hōʻihi (respect), aloha, maopopo (understanding), and haʻahaʻa (humility) – which have shaped both his personal journey and his contributions to his community.
Now retired, Konanui describes the joy of discovering his true calling and reviving a nearly forgotten Hawaiian tradition through his creation of pola hānau (birth bowls) – crafted to honor the birth of each keiki. For almost 30 years, he has shaped bowls from native hardwoods, reviving an ancient practice and reconnecting families to their cultural heritage.
Imbued with spiritual insight, Hānau Hou: Rebirth is more than a memoir, it is a legacy of light, love, and cultural renewal. Hānau Hou: Rebirth is available on Amazon.
Playing Pro Volleyball for Kosovo
Late last year, Chloe Paige Hoku Kaʻahanui signed on to play international professional volleyball for the nation of Kosovo in southeastern Europe, becoming one of a tiny handful of female ʻŌiwi professional volleyball players to compete at the international level. The next season begins this month and will continue through May.
After graduating from Punahou in 2020, Kaʻahanui went on to play Division 1 collegiate volleyball at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Since arriving in Kosovo, Kaʻahanui has competed in Super League A, the league’s highest level of competition. She has expressed gratitude to her ʻohana as well as to her many coaches, teachers, mentors and teammates over the years for this opportunity and for helping her to develop confidence and resilience.
“This milestone represents both an incredible challenge and a responsibility I embrace fully. I am committed to representing Hawai’i with pride, gratitude, and the same aloha spirit that has shaped me throughout my life,” Kaʻahanui said.
Climate Solutions Survey
Nonprofit ʻĀina Momona invites community members across the pae ʻāina to participate in a public survey to help them shape a community-led framework for climate solutions.
The group is prioritizing community voices in an effort to ensure that decisions that impact Hawaiʻi’s oceans, coastline and future are guided by the people who live here. Community feedback will directly inform the development of a locally grounded, culturally responsive framework centered on justice, transparency and long-term stewardship.
In 2025, ʻĀina Momona became a partner in Carbon180’s Making Waves initiative, a program that explores equitable approaches to climate action that includes ocean-based strategies such as marine carbon dioxide removal.
The community is encouraged to take a brief online survey to share their manaʻo. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and all responses are confidential. To take the survey, go to surveymonkey.com/r/2YNK8L7. The survey is open now through January 31.
DNC Condemns SFFA Lawsuit Against KS
At its December meeting, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) passed a resolution condemning the lawsuit filed by Students for Fair Admissions against Kamehameha Schools.
In a unanimous vote, the DNC reaffirmed the unique political status and inherent sovereignty of the Hawaiian people.
Hawaiʻi DNC National Committee Member Bronson Silva introduced the resolution which was co-sponsored by the state’s DNC delegation. Silva and Hawaiʻi DNC Vice Chair Mina Morita are both graduates of Kamehameha Schools.
In a Maui News article Morita is quoted as saying, “The resolution recognizes that Native Hawaiians hold a distinct political status, as consistently affirmed by federal law, and that Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policy is rooted in this political classification, not race.”
Last October, Students for Fair Admissions filed a lawsuit against Kamehameha Schools. The conservative organization is headed by Edward Blum whose singular mission is to dismantle school admissions policies he perceives as “race conscious.”
Three ʻŌiwi Named PBN Power Leaders
Pacific Business News (PBN) has named 12 Hawaiʻi business leaders as its 2026 “Power Leaders.” This annual award recognizes individuals who have excelled in their careers, industries and in the community – and who are likely to continue to be leaders in Hawaiʻi in the years to come. This year’s awardees include three prominent ʻŌiwi: Michelle Kauhane, sr. vice president and chief impact officer of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation; Aaron J. Sala, president & CEO of the Hawaiʻi Visitors and Convention Bureau; and Lance Wilhelm, president of The Wilhelm Group. In 2023, to mark its 60th anniversary, PBN launched the Power Leaders feature in its Book of Lists which spotlights Hawaiʻi’s most influential executives – individuals whose visionary leadership has shaped Hawaiʻi’s business landscape, and who will continue to drive innovation, economic growth and community impact. – Photos: Pacific Business News
