Longstanding problems with overcrowding have now helped make OCCC the most dangerous place in Hawaiʻi.

The first wave of inmates will be released into the community on Wednesday as the state works to control the spread of COVID-19 at Oʻahu Community Correctional Center.

Four out of every 10 Oʻahu Community Correctional Center inmates tested for COVID-19 have received positive results since mass testing began at the Kalihi facility a week ago.

Advocates say they’ve had to take over reentry services for prisoners released because of COVID-19 worries.

The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court issued an order Thursday “regarding the release or changes in the conditions of confinement of inmates amid concerns of a potential COVID-19 outbreak in Hawaiʻi’s correctional centers and facilities.”

Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s comments contradict the CDC and the experience of correctional facilities across the country where coronavirus is spreading rapidly.

The Supreme Court is considering the proposed releases to avoid a coronavirus outbreak in correctional facilities.

Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald instructed some Hawaiʻi judges on Tuesday to identify inmates who can be released in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Hawaiʻi’s Department of Public Safety says it would cost more than $1 million to release data related to its long-standing problem with keeping inmates locked up beyond their scheduled release dates.

Like child labor laws, the minimum wage and workplace safety regulations, housing is a basic right.

There is no organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of tenants, and a new study finds they lose nearly every eviction case.

According to a new report from non-profit group Lawyers for Equal Justice, 95 percent of eviction cases in Hawaiʻi resulted in the tenant being evicted.

The study confirms the existence of a stark disparity in legal representation between landlords and tenants, and a corresponding imbalance in eviction case outcomes in favor of landlords.

About nine of every 10 eviction lawsuits in the state result in tenants losing their homes, an outcome that partly reflects a huge disparity in who gets help from attorneys, according to a landmark study that analyzed a decade of Hawaiʻi court data.

The study found that about nine of every 10 Hawaiʻi eviction lawsuits over the past decade ended in tenants losing their homes, and most tenants did not have lawyers to help them navigate a system widely considered to be confusing for lay people.

A lawsuit filed by tenants of a Lahaina affordable housing project has become a bellwether case for the future of affordable housing in Hawaiʻi. Victor Geminiani, an attorney with Lawyers for Equal Justice, is representing some of the plaintiffs in the case.

The lawsuit challenges developer’s attempt to convert the property into market-rate rentals in violation of the 51-year commitment to keep rents affordable to low-income tenants.

Three tenants and a prospective tenant are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in 2nd Circuit Court against Front Street Affordable Housing Partners and Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp.

U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright said he will rule next week, but he was apparently grappling with what could be a life-or-death situation for many.

Among the responsibilities of state government is to help provide basic needs for citizens' whose own means fall short. Where shelter is concerned, the state acknowledges this through its public housing projects.