August 29, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Friday, August 29, 2025

August 29, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:10 PM :: 868 Views

Trump HHS tells Hawaii DoE to remove gender ideology from sex ed or lose PREP funding

Navahine Settlement: How Hawai‘i Was Sold Out

Is the Jones Act invincible?

Tourist Arrivals Down 4.4%

Green Names Appointees to BLNR, Stadium Authority

FAIL: Aloha Stadium Teardown will not begin until next year

SA: … The Aloha Stadium Authority has secured the necessary ~~permits from~~ (malasadas for) the City and County of Honolulu to start work on dismantling the old stadium in Halawa, but the stadium board chair said it will likely be “early in the new year” before the public starts to notice large pieces of the old facility being torn down.

(Star-Adv Aug 13, 2025: “Aloha Halawa Development Partners … will begin work on demolishing the old stadium by the end of August.”)

Eric Fujimoto added that the “full process” of tearing down the old stadium so the new one can be built will take about 12 months….

(TRANSLATION: Teardown not complete until early 2027.)

ASD: Timeline pushed back for Aloha Stadium demolition

read … Aloha Stadium teardown expected to take 12 months | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Dropped the ball: Aloha Stadium operations agreement and ground lease still not signed

KHON: … Paperwork regarding the operations agreement and ground lease agreement for the stadium has been finalized. Both documents are key players in reaching the development goal.

The ground lease agreement guarantees the state’s $350 million commitment to the renovations.

The documents were expected to be signed earlier this month but are still undergoing final administrative review. Officials say the signatures should happen in the next couple of weeks.

(TRANSLATION: Still not signed.)

Three different parties are expected to sign: AHDP, the state and the stadium authority.

“We understand all documents have been finalized and are with all parties right now and are under administrative review. We’re focused on that win, that we’ve hit that milestone,” said Stadium Authority Board Chair Eric Fujimoto.

Permits for the demolition have been approved and remain on track. Prep work will start in October. The stadium will begin demolition around the new year.

The swap meet will be relocated on Oct. 1 to the upper Halawa lot, where the space is almost complete to welcome and accommodate vendors and shoppers.

(TRANSLATION: ‘Prep work’ = ‘Move Swapmeet’)

The renovations were hoped to be tackled by August 2028 but are now projected to reach the end zone in March 2029….

read … Dropped the ball: Aloha Stadium renovation plans see delays

HIDOT: Sale of Gasoline Cars to be Banned in 10 years

HPR: … The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation is finalizing a climate roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. About half of the state's total emissions come from the transportation sector.

Part of the department's strategy involves electrifying vehicles. Its plan sets a 2035 benchmark to have all new passenger car sales be EVs….

HDOT is accepting public comments on its climate plan until Aug. 31. They plan to publish their final draft on Oct. 15….

read … Electrifying vehicles is key to the Hawaiʻi DOT's climate roadmap | Hawai'i Public Radio

Global Warmers’ Mauna Loa Observatory lease allowed to expire

ASD: … NOAA lease for MLO support office will expire Sunday, while Hawai‘i delegation introduces resolution pledging continued support for the facility….

read … CONGRESS WATCH: Hawai‘i lawmakers commemorate Mauna Loa Observatory as lease expiration…

Turn HTA into an independent, nonprofit Destination Stewardship Organization?

SA: … Tam said he heard that the new HTA advisory board’s first meeting went well, but that he still is drafting a bill that would turn HTA into an independent, nonprofit Destination Stewardship Organization (referred to as a DSO), which was recommended in a $300,000 third-party governance study, released in July 2024 by Better Destinations LLC, founded by Cathy Ritter.

Tam said, “We brought the HTA closer to the executive branch through Senate Bill 1571, but there are other things that we should be looking at and I just want to have that discussion with the rest of the Legislature next year.”

HTA also got an earful Wednesday evening from the most outspoken of the 50 or so Oahu residents who attended a community session to share their thoughts about what tourism should look like in the future. They told HTA that better management is needed as tourism has resulted in overcrowding, traffic congestion, safety hazards and degradation of resources, and is creating negative experiences for both residents and visitors.

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii published a post on Aug. 19 that opined that instead of tweaking HTA’s governance model, the state should cut the agency loose.

Malia Blom Hill, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii policy director, told the Star-Advertiser on Wednesday that, “We are basically using taxpayer funds to favor and help one specific industry. Yes, it’s an important industry but still is that the proper use of taxpayer money? Shouldn’t these private businesses be able to handle their own promotion?”

Hill added that, “historically, at least according to the State Auditor, they haven’t done a great job of being accountable, responsive and some things like destination management are little more than rhetoric. … You also have on the evidence historically they don’t do a great job of shepherding taxpayer money.”…

Big Q: Are you optimistic about the revamped Hawai‘i Tourism Authority? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser – 65% say “Abolish HTA; don’t see need for it”

SA: Editorial: Tough balancing act for ‘new’ HTA | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

KITV: Hawaii Tourism Authority faces challenge of balancing tourism growth | News | kitv.com

read … New HTA advisory board under pressure to regain public trust | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Why HPD Has A Major Morale Problem, According To Staff

CB: … Civilian employees also want a leader who hears their concerns, said Lakea Tjomsland, a senior emergency dispatcher in the communications division who stressed she was sharing her own opinion and not speaking on behalf of the department.

Low morale has been plaguing the beleaguered communications department for years. While sworn officer vacancies hovered around 20% last month, civilian positions, which include dispatchers as well as records clerks, office assistants and other roles, had a 30% vacancy rate in July.

Three to four times a week, dispatchers are required to stay four hours past their regular shifts because there aren’t enough staffers on the floor, Tjomsland said. Even though workers are earning overtime, the requirement is taking a serious toll on dispatchers’ physical and mental well-being.

“No matter what they give you, it’s not enough to take away my right to go home every single day,” she said.

The high expectations of the job, compounded with the fact that dispatchers are not officially recognized as first responders, is contributing to burnout and low morale, she said. Because dispatchers are categorized as clerks rather than first responders, they don’t receive the same pay and benefits as officers….

An entry-level 911 emergency dispatch operator in Honolulu makes $36,072 to $53,388, while a police officer makes $75,240 to $113,028, according to Civil Beat’s public salary database.

Better pay, a retention bonus for older staffers and first responder recognition would go a long way toward making dispatchers happier with the job, Tjomsland said.

Tjomsland said she wants dispatchers to have a seat at the table during the chief selection process and wants the next leader of HPD to be someone who hears their concerns….

read … Why HPD Has A Major Morale Problem, According To Staff - Honolulu Civil Beat

Lahaina fire survivor is arrested by ICE

SA: … Sergio Haro and his wife and children were among 25 family members living in five different multigenerational homes destroyed during the fires that killed 102 people on Aug. 8, 2023.

“On the morning of August 8, 2025 — the two-year anniversary of the Lahaina wildfire tragedy — ICE agents arrested and detained a Lahaina wildfire survivor, Sergio Haro, in front of his children,” read a note on Haro’s GoFundMe page Opens in a new tab (808ne.ws/4mDqR2Z) from Kara Teng, a friend of the family. “His family has already endured enormous loss. Their homes and businesses were destroyed in the Lahaina fires in 2023, and like so many others, they have spent the last two years rebuilding their lives from the ashes. Even while healing, they continued to pour love into their community — never asking for anything in return.”

Haro, who came to the U.S. as a minor 20 years ago, is being detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after he was arrested Aug. 8 for an alleged administrative violation of immigration law.

Haro’s family and attorney would not say where he was arrested or elaborate on the accusation. He does not have a federal or state of Hawaii criminal record, according to a public records search….

As of June 11, federal agents had made 117 administrative arrests this year in Hawaii, according to the Deportation Data Project. Information on where they were arrested in Hawaii and for what reason has not been made public.

Haro and his business “Clean 2020’s,” a janitorial service in Lahaina wiped out by the fires, joined a class- action lawsuit Aug. 4 seeking damages (2CCV-25-0000791) ….

(CLUE: Computer program scans court filings and cross-references individuals named therein, looking for immigration violations. Four days later, he is arrested.)

Haro’s daughter, Stephanie Haro Sevilla, who was born in Mexico and raised in Lahaina, is a Lahainaluna High School graduate who earned her law degree in 2023 from the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law.

“Stephanie helped create and manage the statewide immigration detention hotline in Hawai‘i that people can call when their loved one has been taken by ICE….”

HPR: Hawaiʻi legislators call for a special session to address immigration enforcement | Hawai'i Public Radio

read … Lahaina fire survivor is arrested by ICE | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Draft ordinance proposes special district for Pahoa town

HTH: … Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz will introduce a draft ordinance that would establish a new Downtown Pahoa Commercial District, with goals to support economic development, preserve cultural heritage, and update land use regulations in the area….

read … Draft ordinance proposes special district for Pahoa town - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Kauaʻi lawmakers consider regulations on e-bikes

HPR: … The Kauaʻi County Council’s Bill 2972 would require minors to wear helmets while using e-bikes, or electric bicycles. It would also effectively ban bike tricks like wheelies, along with riding in a “hazardous manner” — such as driving with more than one person….

It also proposes strict regulations for any “high-speed electric device,” or high-powered e-bike.

Any vehicle — other than cars, mopeds and motorcycles — with a motor over 750 watts or capable of speeds over 28 mph, would be banned on public streets, sidewalks and even bicycle paths.

The state Legislature this year passed a statewide bill to establish safe riding laws for e-bikes, but Gov. Josh Green vetoed it. He said electric vehicles were not exempted in the bill.

The council deferred the measure so technical changes can be made, but it will schedule a hearing for the bill during the next council meeting….

read … Kauaʻi lawmakers consider regulations on e-bikes | Hawai'i Public Radio

Learn more about property tax savings through these open houses

ASD: … The Honolulu Board of Realtors and Honolulu's Department of Budget and Fiscal Services Real Property Assessment Division, or RPAD, have free open houses planned in an effort to help O‘ahu homeowners learn more about home exemptions….

LH: Hawaii Property Taxes 2025-26: Rates, Exemptions & Examples

read … Learn more about property tax savings through these open houses

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