Make Puna part of insurance discussion
Gov. Josh Green: What about the citizens of Puna?
Up until 2023, Hawaii had the lowest home insurance rates in the country (except for Puna, which had some of the highest insurance rates in the country).
The Lahaina wildfire disaster, along with other worldwide climate change disasters, woke the insurance companies up. Insurers decided that condo owners and now townhome owners were not paying enough.
When their rates were increased, these homeowners complained to their legislators — prompting Gov. Green to establish a task force to explore this issue. Recently, the governor put out an emergency proclamation and the insurance issue has been all over the news — featuring legislators, condo and townhome owners and even comments from Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito proclaiming that these homeowners need some kind of relief.
Our group Puna Citizens for Affordable Insurance has been raising the issue of the excessive insurance rates since June of last year (before the Lahaina wildfires and the current condo and townhome insurance crisis). The response we got from Ito at a meeting last August as to why HPIA insurance rates escalated 71% since 2019 was (1) reinsurance rates have gone up, ( 2) the 2018 eruption cost HPIA $5 million, and (3) those of you in Lava Zones 1 and 2 in Puna chose to live there and are responsible to pay back that money.
When asked if there was any relief in sight, the response was, “No, you don’t understand how insurance works!”
In response to this, the group Puna Citizens for Affordable Insurance aided our state Rep. Greggor Ilagan in crafting 10 bills which were introduced into the Legislature that addressed some of these insurance issues. As we predicted, all 10 bills failed. No one was interested; this was just Puna complaining.
We long ago realized that the Puna district has negligible legislative clout. When we in Puna sounded the insurance alarm, we were virtually ignored. We should have been, and demand to be, part of any insurance discussion or plan!
Gov. Green, are you governor for all of us or just for citizens with influence?
Lester Frey
Pahoa
Seeking help to find church records
I am seeking your readers’ help to gather information, including records, newspaper clippings/articles, photos and family accounts regarding the Portuguese Christian Church, organized by resolution in December of 1891, and its branch Kaiwiki Chapel.
My great grandparents were immigrants from the Azores, arriving in the early 1880s, and were among the 75 individuals who signed the original resolution to worship together.
My understanding from contact with the current Central Christian Church is that over the years, many early documents and records were lost due to conditions such as termite infestation. Some were removed from the damp church basement for safe-keeping and may be recoverable and professionally preserved, if located.
Pastor Kevin Hill of the Central Christian Church affirmed to me, “Any help gathering and preserving 132 years of lives lived in the community together loving Jesus will be amazing.” I believe your readers will agree.
As a retired teacher, I want to preserve the story of this unique, Portuguese congregation to share with others. I know many of your readers have connections to this early community of faith.
Their help will be welcomed and appreciated.
Mary Ellen Kashing
Folsom, Calif.
mekashing@yahoo.com