September 30, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

September 30, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:26 PM :: 2998 Views

Green: Army Land Negotiations Advance

Foster Care Abuse leaves trail of mental illness, drug abuse, homelessness and suicide

CB: … In 2024, JR would win a major court verdict for the sexual abuse he suffered over several years at the hands of his foster father and three of the older boys. Teixeira molested JR 100 times, the judge found, and also sexually abused another foster boy. Teixeira shared his bedroom – and the boys believed his bed – with a different foster son….

But the 2024 verdict was not against Teixeira, who had already reached an out-of-court settlement with JR. It was against the state of Hawaiʻi’s child welfare system.

That bureaucracy was on trial in the Honolulu courtroom. And many of the failures revealed by the lawsuit have never been fixed.

Foster boys were isolated from their families. Some later said they rarely or never saw the social workers who were supposed to check up on them in person each month.

When bad things started to happen, there was no one to tell. A few reports of abuse did surface only to be discounted or ignored….

The foster boys who went through the home are now in their 30s and 40s.

…among the almost 60 boys who lived with him are serious criminal histories, mental illness, drug abuse, homelessness and — in at least one case — suicide….

“… they just kept plugging kids into my house,” Teixeira, now 67 and living in a house in rural Mountain View on the Big Island, told Civil Beat during a 15-minute phone call in May….

…One said he only saw his social worker once after being dropped off, another that he might have had one, but if so, he can’t recall any interactions.

James Pitts doesn’t ever remember seeing a social worker….

The story is a microcosm of what was happening to foster children across Hawaiʻi in the 1990s and 2000s — and, evidence suggests, to this day. Lack of oversight. Failure to thoroughly investigate reports of sexual and physical abuse. Shortcomings in providing for the children’s physical and mental health needs….

the federal report found that Hawaiʻi’s foster children were being mistreated at a rate almost double the national standard…

read … 'Lord Of The Flies': How Hawaiʻi's Model Foster Dad Preyed On Boys - Honolulu Civil Beat

AGAIN: YB Grabs for $25M Rate Hike—who will be fooled this time?

KHON: … Young Brothers (claims it) is losing millions of dollars, having lost $14 million last year and expecting losses to top $25 million in 2025 if nothing changes….

(CLUE: Saltchuck is partly regulated—interisland—and partly deregulated—trans-Oceanic. In any mixed business, the role of management is to make the regulated business look as unprofitable as possible in order to justify rate hikes. If Saltchuck management were not cooking the books, they would and should be fired for incompetence. Cooking the books is their #1 job.)

MN: Young Brothers urges approval of rate reset to secure future of interisland shipping : Maui Now

IM: PUC`s Young Brothers Evidentiary Hearing This Week | Ililani Media

HTH: PUC holds public hearings on Young Brothers’ rate hike request - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

SA: Interisland shipping lifeline argues for rate-hike rescue | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

BACKGROUND:

Jan, 2020: Young Brothers Rate Hike Proposal Based on Fraudulent Numbers
May, 2020: Debunked: YB Demands $25M COVID Relief on Top of Rate Hike
July, 2020: Can the current YB management actually control costs?
2021: 46% Rate Hike: Audit Exposes Young Bros Fraudulent Accounting Tricks
2025: Young Bros Wants ANOTHER Massive Rate Hike--Hearings Set

read … Young Brothers warns interisland shipping is at risk

Arbitrator awards police officers their largest pay raise in 17 years

SA: … Police officers in Hawaii secured the largest pay increase “in at least 17 years” after an independent arbitrator issued a decision on a new four-year contract that was lauded by union leadership.

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, in a message to members obtained by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, said the total compensation package will provide most members an increase of more than 27.5%.

That includes base wages, step increases for years of service and a $1,800 retention bonus in July 1, 2026….

Officers will receive a 5% across-the-board, pensionable raise that started July 1 and will happen each year through 2028. From 2011 to 2020, base pay for officers increased about 2.43% each year.

Police officer pay will increase 40% between 2021 and 2028, according to SHOPO….

The union noted that a neutral arbitrator “validated” SHOPO’s view of the retention crisis….

read … Arbitrator awards police officers their largest pay raise in 17 years | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Update law to protect patients from HMSA’s AI Robot

SA: … Many patients in Hawaii are facing serious challenges obtaining health care. The University of Hawaii has documented severe shortages of doctors and nurses, especially for our state’s rural areas and neighbor islands for 15 years. These shortages appear to be getting worse this year.

Further, medical care prescribed by your health care professionals is often denied or delayed because of prior authorization policies by insurance companies. Hawaii does have an external review process where denials of care can be challenged, but very few doctors and patients even know about this system.

Providers in Hawaii currently spent about 20 hours a week trying to deal with the administrative burdens of prior authorization. Too often, medical orders by your health care providers are overruled by insurance agents, who do not know you or your family’s needs….

To make things more challenging, artificial intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used to deny care for patients, without any human oversight….

read … Column: Update law to protect patients’ rights | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Burned out by Bums: Pāʻia Elementary School to remain closed until Oct 13; asynchronous distance learning to begin Wednesday

MN: … Pāʻia Elementary School will remain closed to students and staff through Friday, Oct. 3, as post-fire restoration efforts continue.

Public schools will be on fall break from Oct. 6–10….

While the campus did not sustain direct fire damage, soot continues to impact parts of the campus. The school will remain physically closed through the end of the week as mitigation efforts continue.

Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 1, the school will pivot to asynchronous (self-paced) distance learning. Instructional materials — either physical packets or digital access to those materials — will be provided for students. Details about pick-up times and locations will be shared with families on Tuesday, Sept. 30….

(REMEMBER: Nothing is more important than the sacred right of drug addicted bums to live in dry brush and light fires. If we have to sacrifice our children and our homes, we can do so knowing we are upholding the holy doctrine of ACLU.)

read … Pāʻia Elementary School to remain closed through Friday; asynchronous distance learning to begin Wednesday : Maui Now

Rate Hike Coming: Kauaʻi Water Utility Hawks $1.3B Plan To Overhaul Water System

CB: … Water rates have remained flat on Kauaʻi for the last 12 years. But the department is poised to request a rate increase to cover costs associated with the new water plan. It’s likely to be a significant hike for the utility’s 88,000 customers, Tait said.

(DO THE MATH: $1.3B / 88,000 = $14,773 per customer)

Ratepayers can’t be asked to cover all the expenses associated with infrastructure expansion and improvement, however. That’s why Tait said he’s counting on securing “a tremendous amount of money” from federal grants in the coming years. The utility will also seek out state funding, grants and loans.

The county manages nine independent water systems. The absence of connections between them makes large parts of the island particularly vulnerable to wildfire….

(CLUE: Lahaina fire being exploited to justify unnecessary linking of the 9 systems at cost of $1.3B.)

(SOLUTION: Reject this plan.)

read … Kauaʻi Water Utility Hawks $1.3B Plan To Overhaul Century-Old System - Honolulu Civil Beat

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