April 10, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Thursday, April 10, 2025

April 10, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:46 PM :: 1286 Views

AG: 2,200 Concealed Gun Permits in Hawaii

Hawaii County Honokohau Sewage 'Sue-n-Settle'

Activists Grab for Control of Water in Effort to Make Housing Even More Unaffordable

CB: … It may not seem like much: Just another Hawaiʻi island well slated to be drilled deep into the dry, volcanic landscape of North Kona.

But this well, dubbed the “Ota well” for the family that used to own the site, has been fought over for years. Its approval, and any conditions placed on its owners, could help steer the future of water use in West Hawaiʻi, one of the fastest-growing regions in the state.

(TRANSLATION: By blocking water, activists can block developments and jack up housing prices even higher.)

It’s also become a flashpoint in the frequent struggle seen across Hawaiʻi between Indigenous water rights, which are firmly protected by the state constitution, and the growing development pressures felt across the state.

Developers, along with state and county leaders, are eager to build hundreds of new homes in North Kona. Some of the projects already have their needed land entitlements. The only thing missing is the water.

(TRANSLATION: By blocking water, activists can block developments and jack up housing prices even higher.)

However, (insert rhetoric pretending this is all based on ‘science’ here) ….

read … West Hawaiʻi Needs More Water. But At What Cost? - Honolulu Civil Beat

HECO Rescue? SB897 and HB1001 head for Secretive Conference Committees

CB: … HECO says it still needs the Legislature’s help, chiefly in the form of protection from future wildfire lawsuits, in the hopes such a measure can help boost the company’s credit rating. The provision limiting the utility’s liability is now the most important piece of a wildfire mitigation bill that has gone through various iterations this session, said Jim Kelly, HECO’s vice president for government and community relations and corporate communications….

Bond rating agencies slashed the credit rating of HECO’s parent, Hawaiian Electric Industries, after the fires, meaning the company must pay high interest rates to borrow money. What Hawaiʻi lawmakers do, Kelly said, will send a message to credit markets, which have seen 14 other western states limit wildfire liability for utilities, including Utah, Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Arizona and New Mexico.

“It sends a really strong signal to credit markets that are watching this closely,” Kelly said.

If the utility’s bill can’t muster the needed votes, he said, “that raises questions about how much support there is for the local hometown utility.”

The Senate has formally disagreed with House amendments to the wildfire mitigation bill, meaning lawmakers must work out differences during conference committee hearings.

Meanwhile, Senate committees amended a House bill to establish a fund to pay the state’s portion of a $4 billion global settlement. If the House disagrees with the amendments, those differences also will have to be worked out in a conference committee including members of both chambers before the session ends May 2….

SB897: Text, Status

HB1001: Text, Status

KITV: $4B Maui wildfires settlement bill moves forward

read … Lawmakers Wrangle HECO Rescue Bills As Session Deadline Looms - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hu Honua Financial Backer Increases Ownership Share of HEI

IM: … Hu Honua`s largest financial backer is Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Resources, Inc (FRI).

Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,722,668 shares of Hawaiian Electric Industry (HEI) stock after purchasing an additional 2,362,863 shares in the third quarter of 2024.

From then to now, the value of each share has dropped nearly $1.

The top ten institutional holders of HEI stock own 47% of the company as of December 31, 2024, with FRI ranking as number 9 at 1.57%….

read … Hu Honua Financial Backer Increases Ownership Share of HEI | Ililani Media

Lawmakers Listen to Usual Excuses from Child Welfare Services after recent deaths

HNN: … Department leaders shared that they face a number of vacancies despite efforts to hire. As of Dec. 1, 2024, there were 237 vacant positions. Of those, only 47 were filled with new hires, officials said….

Department of Human Services director Ryan Yamane and other Child Welfare Services administrators went before lawmakers Wednesday to address changes following a recent audit.

April is National Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, and the recent deaths of Sarai Perez Rivera, 3, Azaeliyah Pili-Ah You, 11, and others were top of mind.

Lawmakers asked about the process of entering children into the system, finding them a new home, and what safeguards are in place.

“I understand you guys have all these policies, but I just never hear, who actually do the intake and interviews for these so-called caregivers, foster parents? Because this is where the problem is. So if Catholic Charities is doing it, you guys need to do a better job at figuring it out, because it is falling through the cracks,” said state Sen. Kurt Fevella, R-Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point.

“We are looking internally, so we are trying to work, again, getting feedback from our staff internally, not only back offices, about how to again better serve our children and our community,” Yamane said.

Administrators were also questioned about long-term care and vetting of prospective foster parents.

“At the end of the line, sometimes children is just money to some people. It’s just a deductible to some people. I’m not saying all, but that’s what the pattern is that I see. So how are we gonna protect the child after adoption?” Fevella asked.

“We are considering, and we’re very close to announcing that pre-adoptive services, counseling, and those, would be mandated rather than currently, which is voluntary. And that is in direct response to not only recent development with cases but internal review of our processing,” Yamane said….

SA: Abuse protections sought for Hawaii’s homeschooled children | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

VIDEO: HHS Informational Briefing 04-09-2025 - YouTube

read … Lawmakers question Child Welfare Services after recent deaths

ACLU Demands Transsexual Access to Maui Prep Students

CB: … Amid ongoing efforts from the federal government to reduce ~~protections for~~ transgender (recruitment and grooming of) students, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaiʻi has demanded that a West Maui school rescind its policies restricting transgender ~~kids’~~ access to (kids in) bathrooms and sports teams.

(TRANSLATION: Trans activists are afraid they will lose access to 1000s of kids statewide as schools dump the transsexual agenda.)

Maui Preparatory Academy, which serves some 300 students in preschool through grade 12, plans to enact new policies next school year requiring ~~transgender~~ students to use bathroom facilities and participate on sports teams matching their birth gender. …

On the mainland, Maine faced a slew of federal investigations and funding freezes after pushing back against Trump’s executive order preventing transgender students in sports.

The letter from the ACLU alleges that Maui Prep currently receives state funding and is violating Hawaiʻi law preventing schools from discriminating against transgender students. The letter does not specify how much Maui Prep receives from state agencies, although a public records request from a parent shows that the school has received roughly $20,000 this year from Preschool Open Doors, a state Department of Human Services program providing tuition subsidies to parents enrolling their children in early learning programs.

“Our question is, did they receive state funding?” said Emily Hills, an ACLU attorney. “And the answer is, yes, therefore the law applies.” …

In its annual giving reports from 2022 to 2024, Maui Prep listed the DOE as a “lifetime contributor” to the school. In 2023 and 2024, the school received between $350,000 and $499,999 from the department, according to the reports. …

The school has until April 21 to respond to the letter.

The Hawaiʻi LGBTQ+ Commission has made similar demands of Maui Prep, asking the school to reconsider its policies and return any funds it received from the state. The commission hasn’t received any formal responses from the school so far but plans on continuing to push for answers, said Vice Chair Michael Golojuch Jr.

Golojuch said he’s worried more schools could follow suit… (GREAT IDEA!)

Big Q: What do you think about anti-transgender policies in schools? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser 54% -- “Agree; one is either male or female, based on birth gender”

MN: ACLU of Hawaiʻi demands Maui Preparatory Academy rescind policy impacting transgender students : Maui Now

SA: ACLU ‘demands’ Maui Prep rescind anti-transgender policy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

PDF: ACLU Demand Letter

FLASHBACK 2006: The transsexual agenda for Hawaii schools

read …Maui Prep Policies For Transgender Students Face Legal Scrutiny - Honolulu Civil Beat

ACLU Hawaiʻi Misinformed On Warrantless Arrests Bill

CB: … What does rattle me is the ACLU’s complete misrepresentation of the facts about HB 128.

Here’s the reality: Officers don’t have free rein to arrest anyone, anytime. The law already requires any arrest — with or without a warrant — be backed by solid evidence. Under Rule 5(a)(2) of the Hawai‘i Rules of Penal Procedure, a sworn affidavit or declaration must describe the facts supporting the charge for arrests without a warrant.

A judge then determines, within 48 hours, whether probable causes exists. That’s the law as it stands and it works.

Justifying Arrests

So why the push for HB 128?

The bill would require officers to further classify the justification for an arrest based on four factors: 1) the risk of non-appearance at trial; 2) an outstanding warrant; 3) the likelihood of future police contact; and 4) the necessity to prevent bodily injury.

Some of these are redundant. Others are better left to the courts….

read … ACLU Hawaiʻi Misinformed On Warrantless Arrests Bill - Honolulu Civil Beat

Safety concerns mount at Oahu’s largest jail with fence lines in need of repair

HNN: … “The storm made it push over, but the storm didn’t make it rot,” said OCCC adult corrections sergeant and United Public Workers spokesperson Paul Kyles. “That’s what it looks like happened on this fence line in question. The bottom rotted out from rust. So you might have three solid poles. One rotten. Two solid poles, one rotten.”

Kyles said prior to the partial collapse, staff had voiced concerns: “I know for a fact I’ve written reports, and others have.”

While Kyles said that particular fence is the most dilapidated, he added it’s one of many in need of repair.

“I’m pretty confident to say 80% of the fence lines need to be addressed,” he said. “There’s some razor wire issues, rust, vine growth or tree growth. Mostly it’s the footings where posts are holding.”

A source inside the jail provided HNN Investigates with a photograph showing a post so weakened by rust that it had broken off at the base, leaving it suspended in mid-air.

Prior to the fence failure, Kyles said, “That’s where the inmates would literally walk.” …

As of November, the jail was down more than 430 adult corrections officers, more than a quarter of the workforce….

read … Safety concerns mount at Oahu’s largest jail with fence lines in need of repair

State police force plan gains traction, but funding, staffing still concerns

HNN: … There are two Senate bills, SB763 and SB1249, that focus on the issue of law enforcement and crime prevention in these areas. Both pieces of legislation are moving through the House and could eventually be combined….

read … State police force plan gains traction, but funding, staffing still concerns

RFP Launches State’s latest Attempt at a Tech Overhaul

SA: … The state’s Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) to support the Enterprise Financial System (EFS) project — a $68 million effort to overhaul the state’s outdated financial system that drives key functions of our government….

read … Column: New technology will improve management of state finances | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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