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Spotlight Now: Examining Hawaii’s relationship with the military
Description

Spotlight Now welcomes two guests to explore Hawaii's relationship with the military when it comes to water and land leases.

The Board of Water Supply is suing the U.S. Navy for $1.2 billion to help clean up the 2021 Red Hill fuel spill. BWS manager and chief engineer Ernie Lau says he has been asking the Navy to share their monitoring data, but they have not cooperated.

Meanwhile, negotiations continue with the state and military over land leases. Those leases are set to expire in 2029, but the Trump administration has said they want a new deal much sooner. Gov. Josh Green has said it’s in the state’s best interest to engage. Native Hawaiian scholar Jon Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, dean of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, calls his response disappointing.

In our new Community Spotlight segment, Kayla Keehu-Alexander, vice president of community impact at Aloha United Way, reflects on federal impacts to local nonprofits.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Published

September 24th, 2025, 06:04 am

Spotlight Now

Spotlight Now: Examining Hawaii’s relationship with the military

00:00

57m

Spotlight Now: Examining Hawaii’s relationship with the military

Published September 24th, 2025, 06:04 am

Description

Spotlight Now welcomes two guests to explore Hawaii's relationship with the military when it comes to water and land leases.

The Board of Water Supply is suing the U.S. Navy for $1.2 billion to help clean up the 2021 Red Hill fuel spill. BWS manager and chief engineer Ernie Lau says he has been asking the Navy to share their monitoring data, but they have not cooperated.

Meanwhile, negotiations continue with the state and military over land leases. Those leases are set to expire in 2029, but the Trump administration has said they want a new deal much sooner. Gov. Josh Green has said it’s in the state’s best interest to engage. Native Hawaiian scholar Jon Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, dean of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, calls his response disappointing.

In our new Community Spotlight segment, Kayla Keehu-Alexander, vice president of community impact at Aloha United Way, reflects on federal impacts to local nonprofits.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Share

Download

Spotlight Now

Got questions for everyone from Hawaii’s governor to business leaders to community organizers? Get them answered on HNN’s new weekly interview show, “Spotlight Now,” which includes live engagement with viewers on social media.

The program is hosted by interviewers Yunji de Nies and Ryan Kalei Tsuji, who go in-depth on critical topics impacting the islands.