December 31, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Wednesday, December 31, 2025

December 31, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 8:50 AM :: 182 Views

Tariffs to transgender athletes: SCOTUS cases to watch in 2026

Hawaii’s Officials Explain Why They Think They Can Overrule the Second Amendment

Two Hilo-Area Men Arrested for Years-Long Operation to Transport and Distribute Illegal Fireworks on Big Island

Seven Dead in Child Welfare Hell Homes: And CWS is Doing Worse

CB: … the declines have occurred even as the state faces scrutiny for deaths of children from abuse and neglect.

In at least five recent cases, children died in homes where they were placed by the state and Family Court and at some point subject to supervision by CWS caseworkers. In two of these, CWS either admits or relatives allege there had been earlier reports of maltreatment.

In two more cases, children died while living with their biological parents after those parents had come to the attention of CWS for alleged abuse or neglect.

The state is a defendant in several lawsuits alleging that it failed to protect vulnerable children, and has already paid out sizable sums for its past actions or inaction, including those related to a home operated for two decades by a man CWS touted as a model foster dad….

…irregular caseworker visits with families, delays in providing or arranging services, and a lack of thorough assessments…

…The Hawaiʻi agency responsible for protecting children is doing a worse job of that than a decade ago in all but two of 18 categories tracked in reports to the federal government.

Compared to just two years ago, in fact, the performance of Child Welfare Services has deteriorated in 20 of 21 measurements, according to the agency’s most recent report.

Among the categories where performance slid in those two years were consistent caseworker visits with children, timely achievement of permanent placements, gauging risks to children and assessing the needs of parents….

In 2026, the state will release the results of a federal review of its performance. The federal reviews, which began in 2004, are done every six or seven years…

Vacant positions declined to a low of about one in seven in 2021, then shot up over the next few years to a new high of almost one in three in 2023, followed by a slight decline in 2024 and 2025….

read … Hawaiʻi Is Doing Worse At Protecting Children, Based On A Sampling Of Cases - Honolulu Civil Beat

Maui Council set for leadership reorganization on Jan. 5

MN: … The Maui County Council will consider a reorganization of its leadership and committee chairs during a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday. New Council Member K. Kauanoe Batangan will be officially sworn into office an hour earlier, at 8 a.m., in a public ceremony in the Council Chambers….

As evident by the proposed resolution, the arrival of Batangan as the Council’s new ninth member will trigger a reshuffling of several standing committees. Batangan is slated to serve as the chair of the Government Relations, Ethics, and Transparency Committee. That committee has been led by Council Member Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins.

Uʻu-Hodgins is proposed to take over the chairmanship of the Housing and Land Use Committee, a position formerly held by Kama. The Housing and Land Use Committee oversees critical legislation related to the county’s affordable housing initiatives and land management.

At 1:30 p.m. Monday, the Housing and Land Use Committee will take up recommendations from a Temporary Investigative Group on policies and procedures for transient vacation rentals after the enactment of Bill 9, which phases out vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts. The committee will consider a proposal to establish new hotel zoning districts for former vacation rental properties and whether to transmit it to the Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi planning commissions….

Members of the public can provide testimony in person at the Kalana O Maui building or via video conference. The meeting will also be broadcast live on Akakū Maui Community Media, cable Channel 53….

read … Maui Council set for leadership reorganization on Jan. 5 : Maui Now

New laws for Honolulu include start of huge increase in sewer fees

SA: … Honolulu’s controversial sewer fee increase is among new city laws starting on New Year’s Day.

The city Department of Environmental Services will implement annual increases to sewer charges from 2026 through 2031.

The new fee schedule will apply to all customers, including residential and commercial users, liquid waste haulers, and new development connections.

Originally adopted in June 2025 as Bill 60, the law — now called Ordinance 27 — will start with a 6% rate hike, followed by annual increases of 7.5%, 8.5%, 9%, 9%, 9%, and 9% over about 6.5 years.

Beginning in 2033, sewer fees would then continue to rise by 3% every year indefinitely.

A household that uses 6,000 gallons a month — deemed 50% of all single-family households in Honolulu — is currently charged $99.77 on average. By year 2031, that average bill would rise to $160.85, a more than 61% increase, ENV data indicates….

read … New laws for Honolulu include start of huge increase in sewer fees | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaiʻi’s Aging Condos Are A Senior Housing Crisis

CB: ... Hawaiʻi is unique in that 40% of its population lives in condominiums, many of which were built decades ago — in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s — and are now reaching the end of their functional life cycles. These buildings were never designed for today’s environmental conditions, the intensity of coastal exposure, or the extended lifespan demanded of them.

As plumbing systems fail, concrete spalling spreads, electrical components corrode, and elevators break down, the cost of catching up on long-deferred maintenance has skyrocketed. Special assessments of $20,000, $50,000, even $100,000 or more are becoming common. For seniors on fixed incomes, these costs are not just burdensome — they are destabilizing and, in many cases, life-altering.

Thousands of kūpuna who expected to age safely in their homes now face selling their units, draining their retirement savings, or taking on debt they cannot realistically repay. Some are forced to choose between paying assessments and paying for medicine. Others move in with relatives or leave the state altogether ….

read … Hawaiʻi’s Aging Condos Are A Senior Housing Crisis - Honolulu Civil Beat

Child Rapist, Shooter pleads guilty to lesser charges – will be out soon

SA: … A man initially charged with attempted murder in the 2024 shooting of a boy, 16, inside a bus in Kalihi, and first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl in 2023 at Sand Island State Recreation Area, pleaded guilty Tuesday to lesser charges.

Johnathan Ten waived his right to trial in First Circuit Court and accepted a plea deal from the state that eliminates the possibility of a life sentence, and will likely receive a concurrent sentence of a maximum 10 years in prison….

Deputy Public Defender Edward Aquino negotiated the plea deal on Ten’s behalf….

Both Deputy Prosecutor Landon Patoc, who handled the shooting case, and Deputy Prosecutor Chase Sakai, who was on the sexual assault case, declined to say why they accepted the plea agreement …

(DO THE MATH: 10yrs with half off for good time = 5 yrs inside. Time served 2026-2024= 2 yrs. 5-2 = 3 years left before he is released.)

read … Man pleads guilty to lesser charges in shooting, sexual assault cases | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Funding lapse ends Hawaii Island street‑medicine outreach

HNN: … “Every day, Nate and I would go down there and just talk to her,” Villaverde said, recalling one patient they worked with for weeks. “At first, she was like, ‘No, get away from me.’ No trust at all. Every day we’d say, ‘Hey, I’m going to come back and check on you.’”

The two shared the story of a kupuna they helped by providing clean clothes, a wheelchair and medical care before connecting her to shelter.

“To see her go from that situation to actually allowing us to help her and get her into shelter was massive,” Hakeem said.

(TRANSLATION: Because the mentally ill are not being FORCED into treatment against their so-called will, it takes two professionals weeks to convince one of them to accept shelter.)

HTH: Homeless Felon, Ex-Con accused of breaking windows of downtown Hilo businesses - Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

read … Funding lapse ends Hawaii Island street‑medicine outreach

Hawaii tow shop owners haul in success after Utah move

HNN: … After 24 years in Hawaii and a pandemic relocation, Derrick and Sacha Logan say Utah’s lower costs helped their towing business rebound….

read … Hawaii tow shop owners haul in success after Utah move

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