Good evening, Hawaii. Here are the main stories we've been following today:
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Rain chances will increase this week as a cold front approaches the islands. The front will move over Kauai late Wednesday into Thursday, before stalling near Oahu, bringing widespread rain for the weekend. Drier conditions look to return early next week.
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Today's Big Stories
1. Executive budget bill clears key committee
The state Senate Committee on Ways and Means unanimously passed a bill Monday outlining the executive branch state budget for the next two fiscal years, giving the green light to just under $40 billion in total operating budget expenditures and more than $5.7 billion in capital improvement spending.
House Bill 300, House Draft 1, takes into account the latest downward forecast from the Council on Revenues and potential cuts in federal spending and policy. Senate leaders said the budget maintains essential services for the state’s most vulnerable populations while expanding the economy through strategic investments in emerging sectors.
The operating budget totals almost $10.44 billion in general funds and about $19.93 billion across all financing sources for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. It decreases slightly in FY27 to $10.42 billion in general funds and almost $19.74 billion across all financing sources.
Among budget allocations contained in the measure:
- $15 million in FY26 and FY27 for the Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program to help improve access to quality health care in underserved areas
- 58 positions and $5 million in FY26 and 108 positions and $8.2 million in FY 27 for the Lieutenant Governor’s Ready Keiki Initiative to expand access to preschool statewide
- $5 million in FY26 to support state agencies in addressing homeless encampments on state lands
- $3.75 million in FY26 and FY27 for Housing First Program to provide transitional housing to individuals who frequent health care services and the criminal justice system
- 44 positions and $13.3 million in FY26 and FY27 for biosecurity
- $4.1 million in FY26 and FY27 for the First Lady’s Feeding Hawaii Keiki initiative, in collaboration with the state Department of Education and the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
2. Cory Booker sets a record with marathon Senate speech. Will it rally anti-Trump resistance?
In a feat of determination, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday evening, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions.
Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” It wasn't until more than 25 hours later that the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, finished speaking and walked off the floor. It set the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history, though Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor.
“I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people are more powerful,” said Booker, who spoke openly on the Senate floor of his roots as the descendant of both slaves and slave-owners.
Pacing, then at times leaning on his podium, Booker railed for hours against cuts to Social Security offices led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. He listed the impacts of Trump's early orders and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say the program won't be touched.
Booker also read what he said were letters from constituents, donning and doffing his reading glasses. One writer was alarmed by the Republican president's talk of annexing Greenland and Canada and a “looming constitutional crisis.”
3. Intermittent full road closures on Kuhio Highway continue through Wednesday
The Hawaii Department of Transportation alerts motorists to intermittent full closures on Kuhio Highway between the Hanalei Fire Station and Ohiki Road on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Full closure schedule for both days:
- 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
- 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
- 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- 11:30 a.m. to noon
- 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.
- 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Road opens at the top of every hour with work concluded at 4 p.m.
Kauai Bus is operating a special Hanalei shuttle service to and from the Princeville Shopping Center and across from the Princeville library from April 1 to April 2. The shuttle will connect with the 9:15 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. 400 Hanalei to Lihue and the 9:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. 500 Lihue to Hanalei routes. To view all bus schedules, visit kauai.gov/busschedules.
4. Kilauea eruption starts again, marking 16th episode
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported Kilauea volcano began its 16th episode on Monday at 10:57 p.m., continuing the ongoing eruption. High lava fountains started to emerge at 10:24 a.m. on Tuesday, reaching heights of 700 feet and are expected to continue to grow.
The current eruption, which began on Dec. 23, 2024, has already produced 15 episodes of lava fountaining, each separated by brief pauses in activity. These spectacular bursts of lava originate from two vents within the Halemaʻumaʻu crater: the north vent and the south vent.
The high fountain phase of Episode 16 began at 10:24 a.m. on Tuesday, about 12 hours after the start of the episode. Fountaing from the south vent rapidly increased to over 200 feet in height by 10:40 a.m. and then again to over 700 feet by 10:50 a.m. Low dome fountaining and overflows continued from the north vent.
Related: WATCH: Huge lava fountains from the eruption of Kilauea
5. Egg prices in Hawaii nearly double U.S. national average
Egg prices in Hawaii have risen sharply in the first quarter of 2025, with the cost of local and mainland eggs in Honolulu now nearly on par. However, Hawaii continues to face egg prices that are almost double the national average.
According to data from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture Market Analysis and News Branch, the price of local eggs rose by 20% since Jan. 1, 2025, reaching a median price of $9.51 per dozen. Meanwhile, the price of imported mainland eggs increased by 30%, now averaging $9.46 per dozen — a difference of just a few cents.
Despite the price parity between local and mainland eggs, Hawaii’s prices are significantly higher than the national average of $4.90 per dozen. This price hike is primarily attributed to the ongoing effects of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, which has disrupted egg production across the continental U.S.
While Hawaii was the last state to detect HPAI — confirmed in two locations in November 2024 — there have been no confirmed cases in the state’s commercial egg facilities.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
Wednesday, April 2
- Second round of Canadian retaliatory tariffs on over 4,000 imported U.S. products may go into effect
- U.S. Supreme Court hears Planned Parenthood Medicaid funding case
- Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list
- New Directors/New Films Festival in New York
- National Walking Day
In Case You Missed It
489 volunteers take part in final whale count of the season
The last of three whale counts for the 2025 season concluded on Saturday as 489 volunteers on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai and Hawaii Island observed humpback whales from 41 sites.
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count took place on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Hawaii Island while Pacific Whale Foundation’s Great Whale Count was conducted on Maui and Lanai. This marks the final coordinated whale count of 2025 between the two organizations now in its seventh year of collaborating data.
The grand total observed across the state was 714 humpback whales. The final number could include duplicate sightings of the same whale by different observers at different time periods at different locations throughout the day. The coordinated effort between the two organizations provides data that when combined with other research efforts can help reveal trends in humpback whale occurrence within and among whale seasons.
