Maile with Senate Committee on Ways and Means Visited Maui (10/21/21)

Mahi Pono Vice President of Agriculture Outreach Darren Strand (from left) talks with Hawaii State Sens. Bennette Misalucha, Kurt Fevella, Donovan Dela Cruz and Maile Shimabukuro, Mahi Pono Chief Operating Officer Shan Tsutsui and Mahi Pono Director of Community Relations Tiare Lawrence during a visit to a recently planted lime orchard Wednesday morning. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

By Kehaulani Cerizo, “Drought disaster relief eyed for county,” Maui News, 21 Oct. 2021.

PUUNENE — Officials may again seek a disaster declaration for Maui County amid extreme drought conditions, according to Molokai Sen. Lynn DeCoite.

DeCoite and other senators with the Senate Committee on Ways and Means traveled to Maui early this week as part of a multiday meeting to assess regional agriculture strategic plans. During a presentation by the state Department of Agriculture at Mahi Pono on Wednesday, DeCoite asked what it would take for the governor to issue another request for emergency relief.

SA: $11M in federal grants for Native Hawaiian college students, programs (10/9/21)

Jayna Omaye, $11M in federal grants awarded to help support Native Hawaiian college students, programs, Star-Advertiser, 9 Oct. 2021.

Twenty-two grants totaling $11 million will help new and ongoing efforts to support Native Hawaiian college students and Indigenous higher-education programs statewide, officials say.

Through the U.S. Department of Education and the federal Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions program, grants were awarded to nine of the 10 University of Hawaii campuses, as well as Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific universities, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s office announced Wednesday.

At UH Maui College, Ben Guerrero, student success coordinator, said they will use the $550,000 awarded this year for creating a Native Hawaiian center on campus. The funding is part of a larger five-year grant totaling about $2.75 million. The college currently has an open hale that officials plan to renovate and transform into a center for Native Hawaiian students, their families and community members.

HUD to Protect Tenants Facing Eviction in HUD-Assisted Properties 10/6/21

HUD to Issue Rule Protecting Tenants Facing Evictions for Non-Payment of Rent in HUD-Assisted Properties (HUD No. 21-167, 6 Oct. 2021)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday announced that it will publish a rule that prohibits the eviction of tenants facing eviction for nonpayment of rent from HUD-subsidized public housing and certain properties with project-based rental assistance without providing a 30-day notice period that includes information about available federal emergency rental assistance.

The interim rule, which will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, October 7, provides that when there is a national emergency—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—and federal money is allocated to help tenants facing eviction for nonpayment of rent, the HUD Secretary can (1) Expand the notice a covered landlord must give before such a tenant must vacate a unit from 14 days to 30 days; (2) Require landlords to provide information to the tenant regarding federal emergency rental relief along with the eviction notice; and (3) Require landlords to provide notice to all tenants in public housing of the availability of emergency rental assistance. Separately, HUD is publishing notices that invoke this new rule’s authority and require provision of information regarding the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

CB: Savings Accounts For Native Hawaiian Families

Suevon Lee, “Nonprofit Will Use Grant To Create Savings Accounts For Native Hawaiian Families: Partners in Development Foundation is teaming up with American Savings Bank to help families better prepare and pay for children’s educational needs,” Civil Beat, 8 Oct. 2021.

A nonprofit serving Native Hawaiian children and their families through educational and social service initiatives will launch a new savings program in partnership with a bank to help families build financial security using a $2.5 million grant under the federal American Rescue Plan.

Hawaii’s Partners in Development Foundation was among the nearly two dozen beneficiaries of a combined $28.1 million in federal grants under the Native Hawaiian Education Program announced by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz’s office last month.