Steven B. McLaughlin, Brigadier General

McLaughlin assumed command of the 100th Training division (Leader Development) at Fort Knox, Kentucky on November 1, 2019. A native of Hillsborough, California, he obtained his commission as a second lieutenant in 1994, through the Reserve Officer Training Corps from Santa Clara University, California. He has been deployed to Germany, Hungary, Kuwait among other places. His awards include: The Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (3OLC), Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (1 Silver OLC), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Medal (2), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Overseas Ribbon (3), Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, and the German Army Truppendienst (Bronze).

Brigadier General McLaughlin’s military schools include the Transportation Officer Basic Course and Advanced Courses, Combined Armed Service and Staff School, Intermediate Level Education (ILE) Common Core, Army War College, Joint Combined Warfighter School, BN/BDE Pre Command Course, the Force Management How the Army Runs Course (HTARC) and the Anti-Terrorism Officer Course (Level 2 and Level 4).

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Political Science from Santa Clara University and a master’s in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. He is the grandson of Maria Avenido and Vitalino Balitaan who survived the civilian massacres in Laguna, Philippines during WWII. 

Myrna Lynne Willkom Chai, Retired Nurse

Chai, a retired Filipino nurse from Los Angeles flies to Lourdes, a small French town in the Pyrenees every spring and pushes wheelchairs for a week. She does not get paid. She pays her own airfare. She buys her own meals.

Born in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, the second of seven children in a Catholic household, she emigrated to the United States in the late 1970s on a nursing visa, the way thousands of Filipino women emigrated in those years — through a hospital that needed bedside nurses and was willing to sponsor the paperwork. She spent the next four decades on hospital floors in Los Angeles County. ER nights. ICU rotations. Oncology days. Hospice in the final years. She raised two children on those shifts and put them through college on those shifts and buried her husband on those shifts. By the time she retired, she had been a registered nurse for 41 years.

At 68 years old, she signed up to be a volunteer to help the sick and the aged who visit the grotto and basins of Lourdes in the hope of a miracle. Later on, she trained the new American volunteers in the basin protocols — how to position a paralyzed body in the cold spring water, how to time the lift with the breath, how to speak quietly to a woman who has not been touched in a year. She does it in English and in Tagalog and in the kitchen Spanish she picked up on Los Angeles oncology floors. She has gone back every year since.

Flomy Javier Diza, Immigration Lawyer 

Diza is a Filipino American immigration attorney, community leader, and advocate whose journey began as the son of a farmer in the Philippines. A lawyer in both the Philippines and the United States, he is now a Senior Partner at Reeves Immigration Law Group, where he manages the firm’s San Francisco and Concord offices. He is a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar of California and has spent over two decades guiding immigrants and families through complex legal pathways before USCIS, immigration courts, and U.S. consulates worldwide. 

Diza has uplifted the Filipino community through education and advocacy. He initiated Talakayan, a series of public forums in partnership with the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, creating accessible spaces for dialogue on immigration and community issues. He also co-hosts the widely followed radio program, Immigration Law On Your Side, where he delivers timely and practical legal guidance to the Filipino diaspora.

His work has earned both international and community recognition. He was named one of The 2025 Outstanding Filipinos in America (TOFA) and received the Best Regular Radio Program award at the Migration Advocacy and Media Awards by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. In recognition of his direct assistance to Filipino nationals detained during heightened immigration enforcement, he was awarded a Plaque of Commendation by the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco. He was also honored as an Outstanding Advocate for Immigrant Justice by the Amerika Prestige Awards. -Submitted by Ben Loveman

Shawn Felipe, Comedian

Felipe’s victory at the prestigious 2025 San Francisco International Comedy Competition underscores his exceptional talent and dedication to his craft. The Breaking the Mold tour alongside Jo Koy provided invaluable experience and exposure, further honing his comedic skills. In reality television, his win on The Great Food Truck Race with Team Aloha Plate, shows his diverse skill set and competitive spirit. He has performed at over 200 colleges and universities, for U.S. military personnel, at major cruise lines, and Day Bar Comedy.

As a multi-ethnic, stand-up comedian, Shawn Felipe believes that comedy is derived from real life. Shawn always tries to find humor in various situations, even the toughest of struggles he has encountered so far in life. He believes God has blessed him, so that, regardless of the problems or challenges he faces, he can laugh at them and help others see the humor in them as well.

Shawn was born in Victorville, California but raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Theatrical Arts and TV production. Shawn's stand-up comedy acts have been featured on various networks, including Worldasia TV, AZN TV,IA TV,The Filipino Channel,Sprint Comedy-Time Network, and National Lampoon Comedy Radio.

Bea Millan-Windorski, Beauty Queen

Millan-Windorski is the Philippines’ new queen at the Miss Universe Philippines 2026. Born on August 15, 2002 to a family of immigrants, she traces her maternal roots to San Juan, La Union, where her grandparents, Alfredo and Marcela Millan, lived before moving to Nueva Vizcaya, and later deciding to emigrate to the United States in search of better opportunities. In the U.S., her mother met her American father, who comes from a family of Polish-German immigrants. Growing up in a predominantly white area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Bea initially struggled with identity and belonging, but eventually found a sense of responsibility to discover and introduce her Philippine heritage to the community.

The 23-year-old beauty queen earned a double degree in International Studies and History “with comprehensive honors” at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focusing on Southeast Asian Studies, where she learned the Filipino language and completed a thesis on Filipinos in the U.S. Navy. She was also awarded a fellowship with the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in the U.S. and got an internship at the East-West Center in Washington, DC, which paved a path for her to learn more about U.S.-ASEAN relations, as well as hone her Filipino language literacy. Beyond her strong academic background, the 5-foot-11 stunner excels in the performing arts, as she was also a high school varsity dance team member and a ballet dancer in the Milwaukee Ballet School. 

Mark Philip Valerio Santos, Owner, Valerio’s Bakeshop

Mark Philip Valerio Santos was recently recognized as one of the 100 Global Entrepreneurs for his contributions to business leadership, community engagement, and the continued global presence of Filipino entrepreneurship in the United States. As a Filipino American entrepreneur based in San Diego, he represents the next generation of leadership built on heritage, innovation, and community impact.

Santos is the third-generation owner and operator of Valerio’s Bakeshop, the family-owned bakery established by his grandparents, Victor and Milagros Valerio. Under his leadership, the company has continued to grow while preserving the traditions and Filipino identity that shaped the brand through generations.

Valerio’s Bakeshop received national recognition after winning at the 2025 World Bread Awards USA during IBIE Las Vegas, one of the world’s largest baking expos. Beyond the family business, Mark also serves as a Board Director for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, National City Chamber of Commerce.

Andi Therese Sycip, Lab Researcher

SyCip, a biology major at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted research on how minor genetic alterations to estrogen-relation receptor binding sites impact heart functions. She was mentored by Dr. Daniel Kelly (Department of Medicine). She graduated Magna Cum Laude. SyCip, a pre-med student, was offered a Fulbright 2026-27 to conduct field-based research in Leyte, Philippines, evaluating the effectiveness of mass drug administration programs for schistosomiasis to inform targeted, culturally responsive care.

SyCip studied at the International School Manila. She also did research and report writing at the Philippine Daily Inquirer Editorial Department.

Nacho Tambunting, Actor

Tambunting is a New York–based actor working across television, film, and theater. Born and raised in Manila and trained at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, he is drawn to emotionally layered stories of identity, family, power, and belonging.

On screen, Nacho has recurred on NBC’s Rise and Apple TV+’s Dickinson, with guest appearances on Netflix’s Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love and BET+’s First Wives Club. His film credits include Asian Persuasion and Come Into My Arms, and he can be heard in the iHeartRadio scripted series Does This Murder Make Me Look Gay?

Nacho made his Off-Broadway debut originating the title role in Felix Starro with Ma-Yi Theater Company. His theater work includes Trilogy and The Play You Want at Two River Theater, the world premiere of Everything Beautiful Happens at Night at Capital Stage, and most recently, Melchior in Sandbox Collective’s Spring Awakening in Manila.

In addition to acting, Nacho develops new work for stage and screen. He is currently producing Mercury Makes the Skin Glow with playwright Gaven D. Trinidad following sold-out readings in both Manila and New York.

Rear Admiral Victorino Mercado, U.S. Navy

Rear Adm. Victorino Mercado is a native of Virginia and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics/Computer Science. Mercado holds a master’s degree in systems technology in Joint Command, Control, and Communications from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, completed Air Command and Staff College and is a graduate and a Commandant’s Writing Award winner from the Joint/Combined Warfighting Senior School at Joint Forces Staff College.

He was confirmed by the Senate in 2019 as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities. He was responsible for advising the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy on national security and defense strategy; the forces, contingency plans, and associated posture necessary to implement the defense strategy; nuclear deterrence and missile defense policy; and security cooperation plans and policies. Mercado ensured that the Department's program and budget decisions support and advance senior DoD leaders' strategic direction, especially as articulated in defense planning guidance.

Mercado graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science, and he holds a master's degree in systems technology in Joint Command, Control, and Communications from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (three awards), the Legion of Merit Medal (four awards) and various individual and unit campaign awards. He is also a former Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet Shiphandler of the Year award winner.

Marie Husa, Relations Director

Born in Manila, Philippines, Husa has been an Alaskan since 1984. She was an investigator for the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission for 17 years, probing discrimination complaints. Currently she is the Constituent Relations Director where she ensures Anchorage residents of all backgrounds have a direct line of communication with the Mayor’s office.

She holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Alaska Pacific University and is a licensed professional career and life coach. She is a past president and board member of the Alaska Federation of Filipino Americans. She lives in Anchorage with her husband of 26 years; they have two daughters, one attending law school in Seattle University and the other studying Business and Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

J Rey Soul, Singer

Jessica Joy Seria Reynoso aka J Rey Soul, is a Filipino American singer known for participating in the first season of The Voice of the Philippines and collaborating and touring with the Black Eyed Peas since 2018.

Starting her musical career at an early age, she appeared on the first season of The Voice of the Philippines and joined coach apl.de.ap's team, becoming a finalist on the show. After a couple of released singles and a collaboration with apl.de.ap, Reynoso joined the Black Eyed Peas, replacing Fergie as their singer in 2018.

Reynoso was born in Hong Kong to an African American father and a Filipino mother. Having been abandoned at some point by her parents, she would later be adopted and raised in, San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines by her adoptive parents who exposed her to music at a young age. In 2007, she joined the competition show Popstar Kids at age 10. In a later interview, she says that she didn't get much attention due to her skin color. She completed her contract with the GMA Network, which produced the show, in 2012. She attended PATTS College of Aeronautics taking Air Freight Operations.

In 2021, she signed with Epic Records and released the single Pull Up with will.i.am featuring Nile Rodgers, which was used for the Mercedes-Benz AMG campaign. That same year, she sang the national anthem of the Philippines at the professional boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugás.

Originally published by AsAmNews: https://asamnews.com/2026/08/07/lahaina-recovery-rebuild-progress-2026/

Before the 2023 fire, Bayudan’s cousins lived next door. If her family needed eggs, they would walk over and knock. If her cousins needed rice, her family would return the favor.

The fire turned all that upside down. The fast-moving flames burned Lahaina’s entire historic downtown on Aug. 8, 2023, wiping out more than 2,200 structures, causing $5.5 billion in damages, displacing thousands of residents, and killing 102 people. The official death toll puts Lahaina as the deadliest U.S. wildfire in the last 100 years. It burned Bayudan’s neighborhood and family home to the ground.

Finally, earlier this year, the Bayudan family moved back into their rebuilt home in the Wahikuli neighborhood, more than two years after the fire moved through. They were the second on their street to return.

“I think it’s still shocking that we’re back,” Bayudan said.

Recovery has been a long and painful process for Lahaina. With the third anniversary of the fire approaching, AsAmNews obtained more than 3,000 building permits from Aug. 8, 2023, through July 15, 2026, through a public records request, and analyzed nearly 1,000 disaster recovery permits.

The analysis found that about 25% of the single family homes destroyed in the fire have been rebuilt, largely in inland neighborhoods like Wahikuli. Homes closer to the ocean are even less likely to have been completed, in part because of additional environmental and erosion concerns.

Rebuilding Lahaina

Three years after wildfires swept through the Lahaina community on the island of Maui in 2023, about one-fourth of the homes and about 6 percent of nonresidential properties had been rebuilt as of July 15, 2026. AsAmNews analyzed disaster recovery building permits filed with Maui County from the day the fires started on Aug. 8, 2023, through July 15, 2026. The residential numbers do not include large multi-family units, which were included within the nonresidential units at the time the data was released. Click on the dots to see more details.

“We understand why some people feel the recovery is moving too slowly,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a written statement to AsAmNews. “For families who are still displaced or working through the rebuilding process, every day can feel too long. Everyone’s experience is different, and perspectives often depend on where someone is in their own recovery journey.”

Details on multi-family projects became available on July 31, after Maui County revised its method of calculating residential rebuilding in response to questions from AsAmNews. The county’s recovery dashboard now includes apartments, townhomes and condominiums along with single-family homes being rebuilt.

“This will provide a more accurate picture of how many families have been able to return to Lahaina,” Maui County’s communications office said in a written statement emailed to AsAmNews.

The new numbers show that 38% of multi-family construction permits have been completed, with 313 individual housing units built since the fire. Of those, however, 200 units are in one long-planned development, Kaiāulu O Kūkuʻia, which broke ground before the fire but is considered a “new build,” according to Maui County officials.

Even as work continues, Lahaina may not be fully rebuilt for another four years, according to Jennifer Gray Thompson, founding director of After The Fire, a California-based nonprofit that helps communities recover from fires. 

“[Lahaina] could have been rebuilt in two years, for sure,” Gray Thompson said. “But here’s the thing: who would it be rebuilt for, and what would those rebuilds look like? Because you could have had all of Lahaina town be white rectangle boxes, because those are inexpensive.” 

A tight-knit, oceanside community where a grocery-store run can turn into an hours-long storytelling session, Lahaina has been a community defined by its people. But when Bayudan wakes up every morning, the view around her is empty. The homes are still gone. 

“It’s like … where are you?” Bayudan said.

The slow rebuilding process has magnified concerns among residents about the changes underway in their community: Will Lahaina remain Lahaina?

Building back

The widespread devastation from the fire has complicated projects that would have faced logistical problems under the best of circumstances.

As a small island in the Pacific Ocean, Maui must rely on building materials such as wood, roofing and sheetrock shipped in by boat, and it has a limited number of skilled construction workers and contractors. 

Kekai Keahi, a Lahaina farmer who grows kalo, or taro, is a water rights activist and construction manager. He said it takes about the same time to build a house now as it did before the fire. A 1,700-square-foot home can be put up in three to five months with a team of five, Keahi said, but the complexity of the project, individual teammates and team synergy also influence how long any construction will take.

When homeowners applied for permits in the first year after the fire, many faced delays because they ordered materials such as cement from the same suppliers, Keahi said. 

“Everybody [tried to] buy the same stuff,” Keahi said. “Stockpile wasn’t ready.”

Now, Keahi said, there’s enough to go around. 

A change in the permitting process has made the biggest difference in speeding up the time it takes to rebuild, Keahi said. Maui County partnered with a private firm, 4LEAF, after the fire to create an expedited permit system for disaster recovery projects. The new disaster recovery permit combines electrical, plumbing, grading and building requirements into a single application.

Before the fire, owners could wait more than a year to get a permit, Keahi said, but they now can get a permit within two months under the new system.

Not all permits move that fast. County Councilmember Tamara Paltin, who represents Lahaina and who chairs the disaster recovery, international affairs and planning committee, said some shoreline permits are stuck because they have special problems. Some properties are being threatened by rising sea levels, while others fall into a Special Management Area, known as an SMA, with tighter restrictions to protect against coastal erosion and reef damage.

Rebuilds in Lahaina’s historic districts also face additional challenges. Historic properties have specific design guidelines to match the plantation and whaling-era architecture of old Lahaina town, and they may require cultural surveys to ensure the construction will not disturb Hawaiian remains.

Keahi’s family goes back nine generations in Lahaina, and his family’s property on Mala waterfront is Kuleana Land, he said. That means King Kamehameha III granted Keahi’s family the property when the Hawaiian Kingdom transitioned from public to private land ownership. 

Keahi’s home was burned in the fire, but the property still remains vacant despite having a permit because it’s in an area threatened by rising sea levels. Neither the state nor county has yet said whether construction can begin.

“Are they going to give us new land somewhere else?” Keahi said. 

Paltin, however, is generally happy with the pace of recovery, highlighting how Maui County worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to haul the fire debris out of Lahaina to a temporary site in Olowalu, a small town about six miles away, before moving it to a permanent disposal site in central Maui about 25 miles away. AsAmNews’ data analysis showed the debris removal is virtually completed, with more than 99 % of the 1,515 debris removal permits done as of July 15.

Cleaning up after the fires

The removal of debris left behind by the wildfires that swept through the Lahaina community in Maui in 2023 is virtually finished. Of the 1,515 permits for debris removal since the fires first erupted in August 2023, more than 99 percent had been completed as of July 15, 2026. AsAmNews analyzed debris removal permits filed with Maui County from Aug. 8, 2023 through July 15, 2026.

Rebuilds are also proceeding more quickly, Paltin said, on Lahaina’s mauka, or inland, side of Honoapiilani Highway, which divides properties with ocean access and those closer to the mountains.

Bayudan’s situation was unique. Her father worked as an owner/builder, meaning he oversaw the entire rebuild of the family home. He was able to hire people he’d worked with over the years doing building and renovation side jobs in Lahaina. 

While the family lived in a Lahaina rental, Bayudan’s father worked on the house every day for 10 months with no breaks, Bayudan said. Today, six months after they moved back home, the family is still finishing up details such as closets and door stops, and buying furniture. 

They weren’t spared the complications, however, of shipping times, sourcing materials and correcting mistakes, which can lead to long delays for typical rebuilds. The Bayudans, for example, had to wait an extra month for correctly sized roof trusses — and that’s with her family checking in frequently and assertively to make sure the materials were coming.

The Bayudan family largely built back what they had before, but they made everything a little bigger —bigger rooms, bigger bathrooms, a bigger communal space to host family parties. She lives with her parents, who bought the home in 1992, and her three siblings.

A changing town

Lahaina is the historic capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom and deeply sacred to Native Hawaiians. Throughout most of the 1800s, Hawaiian royalty ruled over the islands from their lush town of wetlands, freshwater ponds and waterways. 

The first missionaries arrived in Lahaina in the 1820s, docking boats and transforming the Hawaiian Kingdom into a whaling town. 

Sugar companies took over in the 1860s, diverting the town’s streams to create sugarcane plantations. Sugar companies recruited laborers from around the world, including from China, Japan and the Philippines. 

After the sugar industry died down, tourism took over in the 1960s and remains Lahaina’s dominant industry. The Hawaii Tourism Authority reports over 11,000 units such as hotel rooms and other rental units for tourists in Lahaina in 2025, an increase after a drop of a few hundred units after the fire.

Lahaina soon became a hot spot for property investment, known for its bustling commercial oceanfront street, Front Street, which generated over $70 million in revenue each month. By 2020, before the fires, Lahaina had a population of 12,702. 

The University of Hawaii reported 32% of Maui property owners are from the mainland U.S. or another country, more than for any other Hawaiian island. In Lahaina, over half of the property owners are not residents of Hawaii. 

Today, Lahaina is a melting pot of cultures. Nearly one in three Lahaina residents is Filipino, and there are also strong Mexican and Micronesian communities.

Only about 5% of Lahaina’s population identifies exclusively as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, but about one in four people in Lahaina is multiracial. About 40% are Asian, and 25.9% are White, according to U.S. Census data from July 2025. Less than 1% are Black alone.

Future generations 

For decades, Lehua Iʻi has watched Lahaina change. 

Born and raised on Maui, Iʻi, now 66, has lived on the island all her life except for two years when she attended school on Oahu. She grew up on the oceanfront with Baby Beach as her backyard. Her kids could surf any time they wanted.

Iʻi lost her Fleming Road home in the fire, where up to 12 family members had lived. Of Iʻi’s three daughters, one still lives on Maui, one lives in Las Vegas and the other lives in Oregon. I’i moved eight times after the fire, eventually landing at the Ka La‘i Ola state housing, which provides wildfire survivors a place to stay until 2029.

After the fire, Iʻi wasn’t sure if she should even try to rebuild. But the response from her children was an overwhelming yes. Even if they didn’t live in Lahaina anymore, they wanted a place they could come home to. 

When asked how often she hears of people moving away, she said, “More than I ever did.”

She likes to go to special events and parties for kupuna, or seniors, where she hears of her friends moving to Wailuku on the other side of the island, or upcountry, because it’s closer to the store or hospital. She also sees people announcing their moves on social media.

Finding a home in Lahaina ranges from expensive to impossible. And wages lag behind high rent, electricity, groceries and gas prices. The median Lahaina home cost was about $1.7 million around the time of the fire. In 2025, Lahaina’s median household income was about $88,000 a year.

The other day, Iʻi drove past a “For Sale” sign on her way to the post office. 

“I don’t like to see for sale signs, because you don’t know who is going to get it,” Iʻi said. “Outsiders? Or people from here? I don’t know.”

The data analyzed for AsAmNews found that 212 properties in Lahaina’s burn zone changed hands as of July 2026. 

Of the properties, 43, or about 20%, were sold to an owner who listed an address outside the State of Hawaii, including seven sold to out-of-state corporations.

Will neighbors return?

Lahaina has always been a close community. Keahi said residents often say they’re from the “Island of Lahaina” because Lahaina is its own special place with its own special rhythm. Everyone goes to the same school, and the town is connected to the rest of Maui through a winding, one-lane highway. 

Ask someone from Maui to name their favorite NFL team, and they might say the San Francisco 49ers, Keahi said. Ask someone from Lahaina to name their favorite NFL team, and they’ll likely say the Lahainaluna High School Lunas. 

Bayudan knew all her neighbors on her street. Their moms would talk, and kids in the same age group would play together.

“Half of the street is my relative,” Bayudan said. 

Bayudan estimates about 20% of her neighbors have returned. Most are working on their rebuilds, though the lot behind her home remains empty with no signs of progress. 

Not everyone is returning. A 2025 study by the University of Hawaii found at least 1,000 people left Lahaina for another part of Maui, and more than 120 people moved to another Hawaiian island. The study found that 240 moved out of Hawaii, but researchers acknowledge that is undoubtedly an underestimate.

Craig Hayase moved back to Lahaina in July. Four generations of his family live in Lahaina, with three generations together in his replacement home, since two daughters and two grandchildren live with him.

His neighbors on the left sold their home. His neighbors on the right aren’t sure when they’re going to rebuild. He’s not sure of the status of the neighbors behind him. 

“We were close with both side neighbors,” Hayase said. “It doesn’t make it whole yet.”

Lahaina resident Mikey Burke fears her kids won’t grow up with the same pilina, a Hawaiian word for deep, meaningful relationships with people and places, that she had.

At the time of the fire, her children were entering what she called the “goonie years,” the lighthearted, preteen years when she remembers playing with friends on the street and forming lifetime bonds.

While her home rebuilding is under way, and most of her neighbors are building back what they had, she doesn’t know if her kids will form the same bonds.

“My fear is that we’re going to move back …but that pilina they were moving into is not going to happen,” Burke said.

Building a Land Trust

Autumn Ness wants to create more housing opportunities for local families so Lahaina’s community can stay and thrive.

Ness co-founded the nonprofit Lahaina Community Land Trust after the fire to protect against outsider speculators, who began calling families to buy properties before the flames were even put out.

The land trust purchases vacant properties from Lahaina sellers and then becomes the stewards of those lands. So far, they’ve secured 20 parcels of land that can accommodate 55 housing units. Those units can only be sold to Lahaina families. 

“This is the first at-scale initiative where we’re actually taking land out of the market that was pushing our people out and putting it into an entirely new market that is actually reserved for Lahaina people,” Ness said.

While there aren’t any land trust homes for sale yet, the land trust plans to list units for sale ranging from $300,000 to $700,000. 

The land trust receives funding from independent donors, Maui County and through partnerships in the Kaluaʻehu program, where different businesses donate a portion of their sales to the land trust. 

“I think the number of Lahaina families with home ownership opportunities is actually going to increase in the wake of the fire,” Ness said. “The trend is going to reverse.”

The land trust also has a “Keep Lahaina Home Program,” which helps homeowners address gaps between insurance and rebuild costs. 

Other residents, such as I’i and Frank Perry, got help through religious aid organizations like the Mennonites and Samaritan’s Purse, which filed permits and built homes for low-to-no cost.

Perry moved back into his rebuilt home on Feb. 1 after living in a rental unit across the island.

“Without them, I’d probably die here,” Perry said last year from the rental. “I’d be terribly lost. I will be forever grateful.”

Some families, like Kekoa Mowat’s, qualified for a federally-funded homeowner rebuild program that provides up to $1.2 million in grant money and allows owners to choose from different pre-set floor plans. Congress finalized the funding in June 2025.

“I like the people in Lahaina, and I want the people to live in Lahaina,” Mowat said at a community recovery meeting on May 6. “In the end, I’m going to have a house. And we will be in Lahaina.” 

Looking ahead

Though families have started to return, the fire altered Lahaina indelibly.

Every day, Bayudan talks about the fire or its impacts with her friends and family. Talking about it is part of healing, she said.

But she still has memories of her old house. Sometimes, she said, it feels as if her memories and reality don’t align. She misses seeing her neighbors walk their dogs, or listening to people bicker through thin walls. She doesn’t think the new house will ever feel as homey as the old one did. 

One day, while driving home from her job at a podiatrist’s office, Bayudan tried to picture what the drive used to look like. She couldn’t, so she looked through Google Maps to see the street views of her old neighborhood. 

From her street, she realized she previously could see a line of 40 palm trees framing the ocean front. Now, there are only a few trees in view.

“It was my favorite view of Lahaina,” Bayudan said. “And it’s different now. It makes me sad. It’s bittersweet.” 

As of July, however, Bayudan’s cousins began to put up framing for their new home next door. She can already see two floors and a roof.

She looks forward to the days when she can hang out with her cousins again. She remembers playing cards and Filipino board games, and eating good food. One of their obsessions was tracking down which local grocery stores had boba tea ice cream bars. 

“I’m very happy and excited that those times will continue on very soon,” Bayudan said. “I can finally walk over there and knock on their door to get some eggs.”

This story was produced with the support of Report for America and Investigative Editing Corps, with Dianna Hunt as project editor. Journalist Daniel J. Willis contributed the data analysis and visualization journalist Yuxuan Xie the maps and graphics. Photographer Matthew Thayer took many of the photos.

How we did it

AsAmNews obtained data from Maui County for more than 3,000 building permit applications, starting with the day a massive wildfire swept through the Lahaina community on Aug. 8, 2023, and continuing through July 15, 2026. The initial data represented separate requests for projects at more than 1,600 individual properties.

AsAmNews then analyzed permits identified as “disaster recovery” projects for residential and nonresidential properties, a system that was set up by Maui County after the fire to speed up the rebuilding process. The disaster recovery permit combines electrical, plumbing, grading and building requirements into a single application.

Of the 926 disaster recovery permits for rebuilding residential properties, AsAmNews found that less than 25 percent had been completed. For nonresidential properties, which at the time included commercial and large multi-family structures, less than 6 percent of the disaster recovery projects had been completed.

AsAmNews then overlaid the permit locations onto a map of the burn area, showing that properties along the water were less likely to have been rebuilt than those inland.

AsAmNews also did a separate analysis of the 1,515 permits for debris removal, and found that those projects were largely finished. More than 99 percent of the debris removal permits had been completed as of July 15, with just four permits that remained pending.

Additional details were released by Maui County just days before publication. When questioned by AsAmNews about residential rebuilding, Maui County officials changed the residential rebuilding data to include large multi-family developments. Effective July 31, the county’s recovery dashboard now includes individual apartments, townhomes and condominiums along with single-family homes in the residential data.

AsAmNews journalist Yiming Fu, a Report for America corps member, obtained the permit data and reported the story from his home base on Maui.

Data journalist Daniel J. Willis analyzed the records for AsAmNews, and visualization journalist Yuxuan Xie produced the maps and graphic. Photographer Matthew Thayer took most of the photos.

Noted for performing original works on Filipino history and culture, PhilStagers focuses on high school and college audiences.

Growing out of the Dulaan Bedista Alumni Production (DBAP), Philstagers was founded in 2000 by San Beda Alumnus Attorney  Vincent M. Tañada, playwright, stage director, and actor who has drawn controversy for his innovative and candid ways.

‘Bad Boy’ of Philippine Theatre

Vince Tañada has been fascinated by the world of theater and music since his student days at De La Salle Green Hills in San Juan City, Metro Manila. He joined the secondary music ministry, the LSGH’s Kundirana, one of the most prestigious high school musical groups in the contry. He was also with Tony Espejo’s Bulwagang Gantimpala at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

After his college days at San Beda University-Manila, where he earned an AB in Philosophy, he decided to briefly stay in New York City to try his luck in the musical and theatrical arts, where he met and connected with the crème de la crème of the industry.

From there, he was exposed to the concept of the Renaissance man, an idea that developed during the Italian Renaissance from the notion expressed by one of its most accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472), that a man can accomplish things if he wills himself to do so.

Tañada said he was encouraged by this notion to become a writer, educator, actor, singer, director, entrepreneur, businessman, marketing expert, thinker and, later, lawyer. He studied law at San Beda’s College of Law to fulfill “my promise to my late father, Tony Tañada.”

He said, “My dad was kind but outspoken. That is what I learned or inherited from him. You know that I come on too strong, or sometimes, I am brutally frank, but you know my heart. Alam ko hindi ako mabait (I know I am not kind), but I want to believe na mabuti ako. (that I am good. There is a difference between being kind and being good.” Being good often implies adhering to moral principles, societal norms and personal values, while kindness emphasizes empathy, compassion, and selfless actions toward others.

“Inaamin ko palamura ako at pranka sa pagsasabi ng aking mga opinion (I admit I often use offensive language and am brutally frank in expressing my opinions),” he said. He acknowledged that his bluntness has often created enemies in the theater world, contributing to his image as the “bad boy” of Philippine theater.

He is sometimes called “narcissistic” by detractors for showing off his well-built physique on social media despite getting older, particularly given that he was once overweight.

Controversial The Embalmer

Screened at the Cannes Marché du Film and named a finalist in the Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival in March 2026, Ang Bangkay (The Embalmer) is a suspense-drama play and film written and directed by Tañada.

It has gained a controversial reputation primarily because of its graphic content, including full-frontal nudity performed by Tañada himself and other actors, as well as its exploration of dark and taboo themes. The work is noted for its provocative nature in both its original stage version and its 2026 film adaptation.

In both the play and the film, Tañada performed full-frontal nudity. Tañada has consistently defended these scenes as essential to the work of art and as a reflection of his dedication as an artist, despite criticisms and concerns about potential disbarment.

The Ang Bangkay script, which won first prize at the 2012 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, reportedly contains more than 50 expletives and explores themes of incest, rape, deceit, greed, and murder.

Notably, early screenings of the film allegedly included intense segments that were later trimmed for general audiences. Tañada, however, has maintained the integrity of the dark narrative: The household descends into a bloody climax as secret trysts and incestuous encounters among family members and servants are revealed amid the shadows of the funeral home.

Original Pinoy Musicals

PhilStagers remains committed to creating and staging original Filipino musicals. It promotes Filipino culture and heritage by highlighting important historical and cultural narratives and instilling a deeper appreciation of the nation’s heritage, particularly among Filipino youth.

As a national mobile theater company, the group, composed of homegrown talents, tours its productions across the Philippines, making quality theater accessible to a wider audience. It fulfills its vision of educating the masses about Philippine history, culture, tradition, patriotism and national identity through theater.

By incorporating original Pinoy music into its productions, PhilStagers contributes to the continued evolution and appreciation of Filipino musical artistry and storytelling. Its musicals are crafted to inspire, educate and entertain audiences while addressing themes that resonate with Filipino experiences and values.

Some of its well-known productions include Joe: A Filipino Rockssical; Bonifacio: Isang Sarsuwela, about the life of Andres Bonifacio, a key figure in Philippine history; Katips: Ang Mga Bagong Katipunero, a musical tackling the period of Martial Law and the fight against historical revisionism; Juan Luna: Isang Sarsuwela; and the futuristic historical epic Rizal 3000, among others.

Actor-singer Johnrey Rivas has been appointed president of PSF, succeeding Tañada, who remains chairman of the board and artistic director.

Bonifacio Play

Premiered on August 2, 2025, at St. Scholastica’s College Manila and subsequently toured nationwide through April 2026, Tañada’s Andres Bonifacio musical was performed more than 700 times and seen by students at schools and colleges throughout the Philippine provinces.

Once again, it became a powerful platform for history, identity. and national reflection. Bonifacio: Ang Supremo is a stirring musical that breathed new life into the story of Andres Bonifacio—one of the country’s most revered yet often misunderstood heroes.

Furthermore, the musical traces Bonifacio’s journey from his humble beginnings to his rise as the founder of the Katipunan and a central figure in the Philippine Revolution. More than a retelling of historical events, however, the play delves into the emotional and moral complexities of his life—his courage, his sacrifices, and the painful betrayal that ultimately led to his death at the hands of fellow Filipinos.

Themes of injustice, division, and the continuing fight for truth resonate strongly, making the play particularly compelling for younger audiences. It serves both as a tribute and a call to action, urging Filipinos to reflect on their shared history and their role in shaping the nation’s future.

By incorporating original Pinoy music into its productions, PhilStagers contributes to the continued evolution and appreciation of Filipino musical artistry and storytelling.

With this production, Tañada has demonstrated his stature as one of the Philippines’ leading theater directors and cultural storytellers. His ability to craft narratives that are both historically grounded and socially resonant underscores his vital role in Philippine arts and education.

Vince Tañada has established himself as a prominent cultural storyteller by bridging the gap between Philippine history and contemporary audiences through emotionally resonant and socially relevant theater and film.

He balances his various roles while advocating social transformation through the arts—using art not merely for entertainment but as a vehicle for national identity and collective memory, making him a significant figure in the modern Philippine cultural landscape.

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Associate Professor III Rogelio Constantino Medina is an award-winning Filipino international journalist, columnist and academic. He is one of the awardees of the 4th Philippines Finest Business Awards and Outstanding Achievers. He has been featured on billboards in New York City’s Times Square and Las Vegas, and soon in Tokyo. He is based in Fairfield, California, USA, and is a credentialed member of the Washington, D.C., and New York City Foreign Press Centers.

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