LIHUE — The address started and ended with “Aloha.” In between, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green touched on a wide range of issues ranging from social health and homelessness to the visitor industry and climate change.
But in the end, the central focal point of his address to the hundreds of people who attended the 26th annual Governor’s Luncheon at Outrigger Kauai Beach Resort on Tuesday, Aug. 27, was the Maui wildfires on Aug. 8, 2023.
The Lahaina Fire, one of multiple wildfires on Aug. 8, 2023, in Maui, claimed the lives of 102 people and destroyed more than 2,000 structures.
“Things you never expected to (happen) have happened,” said Green at the luncheon hosted by the Kauai Chamber of Commerce.
He said the disaster changed the way people look at Hawaii. Green said the outside world saw the way residents pulled together in the aftermath of the wildfires and, for the first time, they began to understand “what we mean when we use the word ‘Aloha.’”
He said the outpouring of support from people he has encountered since the disaster has been extraordinary.
“Yes, we are healing. We are absolutely healing … but they were so aware of that moment,” Green said.
He then shifted to the health of the state, more specially Hawaii being a health state. Green, a medical doctor, said while the state still has disparities, its focus on health care is on full display.
He pointed toward investments in hospitals, the length of time people live and the adoption of social health, which he characterized as “a new kind of health.” The idea leans on community centers to provide a wide range of services to residents, including behavioral health care.
Housing and homelessness were also key topics with the governor talking about having to build housing because we, as a state, “are really short.”
He said the state also needs to focus on the affordability of housing, a major issue on Kauai where the median price of a single-family home was $1.3 million in July and monthly apartment rents are well out of reach for a lot of single workers.
On the topic of homelessness, Green said the state of Hawaii has the highest homelessness per capita except for New York. He said the homelessness issue is a byproduct of people feeling they can survive in Hawaii, but he added the issue has to be handled because people “are starving terribly and it rolls over, and affects all the communities.”
The governor eventually segued into the state of the visitor industry, which he said is recovering.
“It’s basically where it was in 2023,” said Green of the visitor industry. He added the state is “finally seeing international travelers return, however we’re down about 23 percent, 24 percent because Maui’s going through what it’s going (through).”
Near the end of his address Green spoke of the devastation rendered by the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires and the efforts made in the aftermath to take care of the people affected by the disaster.
He said 3,900 properties were destroyed and 12,000 residents were displaced, but in “pure true Hawaiian form everyone got a roof over their head inside of 13 days.” Green said the focus now is to build transitional housing, as well as long-term housing on Maui.
But he also issued a stark warning about the state of the environment and the impact it’s having on Hawaii.
“If we don’t have some kind of ability to deal with the impact of climate, we will see this again,” Green said.
The Governor’s Luncheon, which drew approximately 350 people, was the largest one attended in the last 10 years, said Kauai Chamber of Commerce Director Mark Perriello, who was pleased with the turnout and the address from Green.
“I thought the governor had a lot of positive news to share with the chamber members,” Perriello said.
