Good evening, Hawaii. Here are the main stories we've been following today:
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A wet and windy trade pattern sticks around with showers favoring windward and mauka areas. It dries out Tuesday as the remnants of a cold front move away from the islands. Trades remain breezy through midweek before weakening later this week.
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Today's Big Stories
1. Preseason favorite Long Beach State comes back to take series from Hawaii softball team
Long Beach State had the last word on Hawaii in the first Big West series of 2025.
The Beach swept a Saturday doubleheader from the Rainbow Wahine, 8-3 and 9-1, to take the three-game series 2-1 after UH surprised the preseason Big West favorites at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium on Friday night.
UH (15-10, 1-2 BWC) next takes on Cal State Northridge in Northridge, Calif., Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. Hawaii time both days. The Matadors (10-12, 3-0) swept Cal Poly over the weekend.
Bob Coolen’s No. 2 starter Macy Brandl (6-4) lasted six innings in the first game Saturday but yielded seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in the process.
Wahine ace Addison Kostrencich (8-5), who was victorious against her former program on Friday, was unable to replicate it and exited after just 1 2/3 innings thrown in the final game of the series.
Millie Fidge made two relief appearances on the day.
First baseman Jamie McGaughey went 3-for-3 in Saturday’s first game, including her team-best sixth home run of the season in the first inning to tie the game at 2-2. Kiyara-Leigh Tuiloma added an RBI single in the second and UH claimed a temporary 3-2 lead.
Makayla Medellin got to Brandl with a two-run shot in the fifth and the Beach poured it on with four runs in the top of the seventh.
LBSU (11-9, 2-1) four-hit the Wahine behind a complete game from Kate Barnett in the series finale. Selena Perez hit home runs in the second and fourth innings and Medellin’s bases-clearing double in the sixth pushed the game to mercy rule territory.
UH’s only score was on Milan Ah Yat’s bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
2. Stocks' sell-off worsens as Wall Street wonders how much pain Trump will accept for economy
The U.S. stock market's sell-off cut deeper on Monday as Wall Street questioned how much pain President Donald Trump will let the economy endure through tariffs and other policies in order to get what he wants.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.7% to drag it close to 9% below its all-time high, which was set just last month. At one point, the S&P 500 was down 3.6% and on track for its worst day since 2022. That's when the highest inflation in generations was shredding budgets and raising worries about a possible recession that ultimately never came.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 890 points, or 2.1%, after paring an earlier loss of more than 1,100, while the Nasdaq composite skidded by 4%.
It was the worst day yet in a scary stretch where the S&P 500 has swung more than 1%, up or down, seven times in eight days because of Trump's on -and- off -again tariffs. The worry is that the whipsaw moves will either hurt the economy directly or create enough uncertainty to drive U.S. companies and consumers into an economy-freezing paralysis.
The economy has already given some signals of weakening, mostly through surveys showing increased pessimism. And a widely followed collection of real-time indicators compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta suggests the U.S. economy may already be shrinking.
Asked over the weekend whether he was expecting a recession in 2025, Trump told Fox News Channel: "I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing." He then added, "It takes a little time. It takes a little time."
3. Work begins to improve street lighting at McCully and Kapiolani Boulevard
Work to improve street lighting and enhance pedestrian safety begins Monday, March 10, on the mauka/ewa corner of McCully Street and Kapiolani Boulevard next to the McCully Shopping Center.
The project by the city’s Department of Design and Construction and Department of Facility Maintenance involves installing a steel street light pole and lighting system to better illuminate the crosswalk area in this high-traffic area, according to a release.
The project will continue through April 3 with work being done from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Crews plan to conduct all work in the sidewalk area, but they may need to temporarily block one lane of McCully Street next to the work site to operate equipment and for worker safety. Pedestrians may also be redirected to use alternate crosswalks or follow detours. Drivers are asked to exercise caution and expect minor delays near the intersection.
Paul’s Electrical Contracting, LLC has been contracted to do the work at a cost of $37,700.
4. Pilot program in Kalihi helps residents cross the street safely
The city’s Department of Transportation Services recently installed a solar-powered rapid-flashing beacon on North School Street at Ahonui Street in Kalihi as part of a pilot improvement project to help pedestrians safely cross the street.
When activated by the pedestrian, the LED lights of the rectangular rapid-flashing beacon flash at a high frequency, alerting motorists to a pedestrian in the crosswalk. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the beacon reduces pedestrian crashes by about 50%.
“The community has said loud and clear: we want safer streets here in Kalihi,” said District 6 Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam in a release. “This is so exciting for the keiki from KPT, the seniors from Kokua Kalihi Valley, and everyone else who uses North School Street to get around.”
The project cost $38,540. AARP’s Community Challenge grant program provided $30,000 of the total cost.
The 2022 Oahu Pedestrian Plan and 2024 Oahu Vision Zero Action Plan both identify the North School Street corridor as a priority traffic safety corridor.
The beacon was placed at the Ahonui Street intersection because of its busy location surrounded by local businesses, high-frequency bus stops, Kokua Kalihi Valley health center, and many residences. The surrounding area also includes Dole Middle School, Kaewai Elementary School, Kalihi Waena Elementary School, Fern Elementary School, Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes public housing, and Kalihi Valley District Park.
“The cost to install RRFBs is low, but the value and benefit of these simple traffic control devices is high,” said DTS Deputy Director Jon Nouchi. “Pedestrians enjoy safer crossings while drivers are alerted to slow down and yield with high-visibility flashing lights. RRFBs are one additional tool in our transportation safety toolkit which contribute to safer streets for all.”
5. Hawaii Island asks residents to take survey to find solutions to homelessness
Hawaii County’s Office of Housing and Community Development asked residents to share their issues, needs and solutions regarding homelessness as part of an update to its Strategic Roadmap for Homelessness and Housing.
The County requested community members take a 7-minute online survey to provide their input. Responses are based on each district, so participants may complete the survey more than once if they have relationships with different parts of Hawaii Island. A consulting firm, SAS Services, LLC, will summarize the answers in order to offer recommendations for the update to the Roadmap, but individual responses will be anonymous. The survey will remain open until March 14.
The Strategic Roadmap will guide the priorities for the County’s Homelessness and Housing Fund. Established in 2022, the Homelessness and Housing Fund works to address issues of homelessness and housing instability on Hawaii Island. Ordinance 22-26, which established the Fund, allocates 75% of Residential Tier Two property tax revenues to the Fund until 2027. The Fund provides monetary support to nonprofits to provide programs and services to individuals and families who may be homeless or at-risk of being homeless. The Fund addresses immediate needs of individuals experiencing homelessness — such as food, emergency shelter, financial aid, street medicine, and mobile showers — and long-term needs, such as stable housing, employment, substance use treatment, and mental or behavioral health support.
Before the Fund was created, investments in homelessness services and housing in Hawaii County were limited to funding via Federal and State governments, and private grants and donations.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
Tuesday, March 10
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
- Business Roundtable publishes quarterly CEO Economic Outlook Survey, providing a forward-looking view of the U.S. economy by asking Business Roundtable member CEOs to report their plans for their company's sales, capex, and employment in the next six months
- 5th anniversary of COVID-19 outbreak declared a pandemic
- 4th anniversary of President Joe Biden signing the American Rescue Act
- French President Emmanuel Macron hosts European defense chiefs meeting in Paris to discuss Ukraine. Talks are expected to focus on the possible deployment of European forces in Ukraine to ensure peace is respected in case of a cease-fire
In Case You Missed It
Longtime ESPN Honolulu play-by-play broadcaster Bobby Curran spoke to the crowd at the Stan Sheriff Center during the final game call of his career, Hawaii men's basketball against Cal State Bakersfield on March 9, 2024. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Longtime Hawaii radio play-by-play broadcast legend Bobby Curran dies at 69
Bobby Curran, a prolific Hawaii radio presence who served as the play-by-play voice of University of Hawaii football and men’s basketball for more than 30 years, died Sunday in local hospice care. He was 69.
The pioneering, brash broadcaster's passing from mounting health issues came one year to the day since his final game call for ESPN Honolulu, UH men’s basketball against Cal State Bakersfield on senior night March 9, 2024, during which he was recognized on the court.
UH won by 17.
His wife, Jo McGarry Curran, told Spectrum News on Wednesday that Curran was "peaceful and resting. No pain and just reflections on a life he loved — made joyful by UH sports and the community you all created together."
Curran, a native New Yorker, underwent a double-lung transplant in November 2022 to remedy life-threatening emphysema, and doggedly recovered to the point that he went back on the airwaves about eight months later with some restrictions.
The 2023 UH Sports Circle of Honor inductee was on the call for more than 400 football broadcasts — and more than a thousand for his career including basketball and other sports. UH issued a statement calling him “a storyteller and magician behind the microphone.”
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