AG Terminates Lahaina Investigation
Priced out: The growing challenge of teacher pay and housing costs
Bubble: Investors Flood into Hawaii Housing Market
UH Grad Student $6.7M Settlement in 2016 Lab Explosion
Hawaiʻi Wants More Geothermal Power Plants but Dela Cruz Rewards Campaign Contributors Instead
CB: … Today there’s just one geothermal plant in the state producing electricity with heat that originates deep underground. State leaders think more plants like it could be used to produce power.
But they don’t know which parts of the islands, particularly the Big Island, are suitable. The only way to find out is to spend tens of millions of dollars on research and exploration. So far, the state has invested little.
(Instead, Sen Dela Cruz has directed funds towards the purposefully dead-end efforts of Trask/Cabral/IDG/Waika.)
Meanwhile, there are two efforts underway to hear what residents think about geothermal.
(First, the useful one.)
Glick’s office has retained a consultant to reach out to communities where geothermal could be viable and residents may be receptive.
The company Paakai Communications began that work in August 2024 under a $795,000, two-year contract.
It’s important to engage with residents before asking state utility regulators for approval, Glick said. “You want to know there is community acceptance,” he said.
(Now the purposefully useless one.)
That effort is similar to (totally unlike) what the Hawaiʻi Technology and Development Corp. began earlier this year. The HTDC, which is separate from the energy office, is typically focused on the tech industry and economic diversification.
(CLUE: Dela Cruz’ teabagging business partner Dale Wicker is running this contract at HTDC.)
The company Waikā Consulting (headed by convicted Unity House felon Roberta Cabral) is working on an outreach effort targeting the Big Island, funded by a $3 million allocation by lawmakers.
(In reality, they were just lobbying for more money for themselves.)
Glick said he doesn’t believe that work interferes with his office’s work. He made clear that the energy office is spearheading geothermal efforts in Hawaiʻi.
(Translation: Glick has to make nice with Dela Cruz.)
“The statute is quite clear,” he said. “We’re the lead agency on clean energy.”
Wicker, the deputy economic development director who has a hand in overseeing both agencies, said the energy office is searching for potential drilling sites statewide while Waika is working on the Big Island.
(The only relevant info in that paragraph is that Dela Cruz’ partner, Wicker, is in control.)
Waika consultants started hosting town halls in late May. At one of those meetings, some Big Island residents questioned why the meetings were taking place before more research had been done. They appeared to be irked at the lack of a concrete plan or even an idea of where exploratory drilling and testing could take place.
(Waika will never drill anything. They are just getting money for themselves. They’ve been running this scam over and over again for years.)
Wicker said input gathered at those community meetings will be used to narrow down sites where testing can take place once community concerns have been addressed….
(TRANSLATION: Waika personnel made campaign contributions to Dela Cruz.)
A committee of Hawaiian Homes commissioners have been exploring the issue for nearly two years. Committee chair Makai Freitas said the group is still gathering information on where small hole drilling can be conducted on the Big Island.
(Unfortunately, they wasted their money on Waika and got pictures of rocks.)
That would be separate from the energy office’s statewide projects.
The department asked lawmakers for $20 million this year to fund its geothermal efforts. It didn’t get anything.….
REALITY:
Read … Hawaiʻi Wants More Geothermal Power Plants But Doesn't Yet Know Where - Honolulu Civil Beat
Governor Should Sign Mental Illness Treatment Legislation
CB: … Senate Bill 1322 will help pave the way for improved access to direly needed behavioral healthcare….
My perspective has been shaped by 15 years of working with mentally ill persons, both inpatient and in the community, in urban and rural settings alike, in addition to 19 years of serving homeless persons, many with mental illness. The people that outreach providers have encountered on the streets of Honolulu move me to tears.
The degree of deteriorated health in the form of wounds, infections that often become life-threatening or result in amputation of limbs and the heart, kidney and liver failures that ultimately take the lives of an ever-growing number of people is heartbreaking.
SB 1322 continues to pave the way for improved access to behavioral healthcare that is direly needed. It is an effort to establish greater consistency in the statute’s language across chapters of law.
More importantly, it sets the stage for our healthcare system and first responders to be more assertive and responsive to the needs of so many persons afflicted with serious mental illness and substance use disorders.
The bill calls for more concerted evaluation of a person’s appropriateness for court-ordered treatment to mitigate the danger to self or others they pose when brought into emergency rooms. Finally, it streamlines existing paths for people to receive the treatment they deserve to have their dignity and humanity restored.
As a nurse who participated in treating mentally ill and substance addicted persons directed to Hawaii State Hospital by the judicial system for treatment after committing a crime, I witnessed firsthand the power of treatment to help restore a person’s ability to be returned to a productive life in the community….
KHON: Can Hawaiʻi detain you without a crime? A look inside SB1322
HTH: Court orders allegedly abused puppy to be forfeited - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Read … Governor Should Sign Mental Illness Treatment Legislation - Honolulu Civil Beat
Threats to Hawaii Judiciary officials on pace to double
SA: … The Honolulu Police Department notified state and federal court officials after a 911 caller said an unidentified man was going to shoot a judge at a Honolulu courthouse.
Officers opened a miscellaneous public suspicious activity report Wednesday in connection with the threat. No suspects have been identified.
Threats and “inappropriate communications toward judges are on pace to double this year” compared to last year — and are approximately eight times higher than they were five years ago, according to the Hawaii State Judiciary….
Read … Threats to Hawaii Judiciary officials on pace to double | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
‘We want closure’: Oahu family waits for justice more than two years after deadly crash
HNN: … Trial has once again been delayed for the driver accused of a hit-and-run crash that killed an Oahu teenager.
A judge granted a motion Thursday to give Mitchel Miyashiro’s public defender more time to request medical records and investigate potential witnesses.
In February 2023, Miyashiro allegedly struck Sara Yara, 16, in a crosswalk on Kapiolani Boulevard, then sped off.
The McKinley High School student was crossing the street with a friend in a marked crosswalk at the time….
Read … ‘We want closure’: Oahu family waits for justice more than two years after deadly crash
Homeless Camp Burns Under H-1 Freeway (further Californication of Hawaii)
KHON: … Black smoke appeared to be coming from under the viaduct in the N. Nimitz Highway area on June 19. Firefighters received a 911 call minutes before 2 p.m. to extinguish the rubbish fire which was the source of the smoke.
The two units that were initially dispatched to the scene. Firefighters worked for about two more hours, calling more units to help fight the flames.
The rubbish fire was fully extinguished 4:31 p.m. with a total of six units….
Read … Firefighters take out rubbish fire under Nimitz Highway bridge | Local | kitv.com
Mayor Blangiardi signs new laws targeting illegal game rooms
HNN: … Since the creation of the city’s game room task force last year, the Honolulu Police Department says about 50% of Oahu’s gambling dens have been shut down with the most recent bust coming Wednesday night in Kaka’ako.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed into law three bills Thursday meant to turn up the heat even more….
City prosecutor Steve Alm applauds the new legislation.“I gotta tell you these three bills are great,” Alm said. “They are smart. They are innovative. The first one, Bill 11, is going to require the owners to register all these games and if they don’t, HPD is going to be able to seize them.”
Bill 12 increases fines for unpermitted work at these establishments, such as electrical and fire code violations, while Bill 13 helps property owners evict tenants who may be involved in illegal activity.
“We hope that once the owners are informed and they know that the illegal game rooms are now happening inside of their property, they’re more likely to cooperate with us and not let it continue,” said HPD sergeant Leland Kudaishi. “If they allow these types of illegal activities to occur, then we will address them.” …
SA: Mayor Blangiardi signs laws to shutter illegal game rooms
Read … Mayor Blangiardi signs new laws targeting illegal game rooms
Fishing council to ask Trump to lift fishing ban in Papahanaumokuakea
HNN: … The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council which sets fishing policies will ask President Trump to allow commercial fishing in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian islands. It’s the largest marine protected area in the world.
“That ask is to open waters of Papahānaumokuākea to commercial fishing. We may also include recreational fishing and subsistence fishing,” said Kitty Simonds, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, executive director.
Simonds was in the Oval Office when President Trump signed the executive order in April to allow commercial fishing in a different preserve, the Pacific Island Heritage Marine National Monument around Johnston Atoll in the Central Pacific.
“It was very exciting for us,” said Simonds….
Press Release-WP Council Reaffirms NWHI Fisheries Were Sustainable, Urges Policy Shift Aligned with EO 14276 (12 June 2025) - Western Pacific Fishery Council
MN: OHA speaks out against renewed push to open Papahānaumokuākea to commercial fishing : Maui Now
Read … Fishing council to ask Trump to lift fishing ban in Papahanaumokuakea
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