January 29, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Thursday, January 29, 2026

January 29, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:52 PM :: 112 Views

Hawaii Leads the U.S. in Average Weekly Grocery Bills

Hawaii Keeps Vaccine Schedule Free of AntiVaxxerism

Hawaii officials admit Department of Education doesn’t use E-Verify

Molester List: DoE Forced to Initiate 'Harm to Students Registry' for Hiring

$1,000 Trump accounts to start July 4

Hawaii School Enrollment to Shrink 33% as Families Flee to Mainland

CB: … Hawaiʻi is expected to see the greatest decline in high school graduates in the nation over the next several years, raising concerns from lawmakers and Department of Education officials about the future of small schools in shrinking communities.

(IDEA: Reduce DoE funding now. Make them fire non-teaching bureaucrats.)

Between 2023 and 2041, Hawaiʻi could see a 33% drop in the number of students graduating from high school, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The nation as a whole is projected to see a 10% drop in graduates, according to the commission’s most recent report, published at the end of 2024.

In 2041, public schools in the state are expected to award diplomas to just over 7,600 students, down from roughly 11,500 in 2023. Private schools are expected to see a similar drop in their graduating senior classes over the same time frame….

(TRANSLATION: Young families are the ones leaving Hawaii.)

Closing schools is a controversial and slow process. The department hasn’t closed a school since 2011, when it received strong pushback from families and community members around its decision to shutter Queen Liliʻuokalani Elementary School in Kaimukī.

Now, some lawmakers want to force the department to take swifter action. One bill introduced last week by Sen. Troy Hashimoto would establish an independent commission to review school facilities and recommend the consolidation, closure or realignment of schools.

(IDEA: Close and bulldoze underutilized schools. Waive environmental and historic review on the sites and gift the land free of charge to build affordable housing restricted to people who have lived in Hawaii at least 18 years. CLUE: It’ll never happen.)

read … Hawaiʻi Could See Nation's Highest Drop In High School Graduates - Honolulu Civil Beat

Household Size Shrinks as Families Flee Hawaii

CB: … Hawaiʻi added 33,000 new households between 2020 and 2024, but the average household size has shrunk, according to new data from the Census Bureau.

Variations in the types of households increased with more couples cohabiting instead of marrying, more householders living alone –– including men with no spouse –– and more solo householders aged 65 and over.

Over the same period, the number of unoccupied housing units across Hawaiʻi fell from 83,250 to 75,443, perhaps indicating the spaces those smaller households are taking up….

HPR: Hawaii’s worker shortage goes NUTS : The Indicator from Planet Money : NPR

read … Fewer Hawaiʻi Homes Are Vacant As Number Of Households Grow - Honolulu Civil Beat

Panicked 8a Corps Hope Ed Case Can Save Them

SA: … On Dec.5, the U.S. Small Business Administration sent letters to all 4,300 8(a) participants informing them an audit requiring them to “produce financial records as part of a comprehensive effort to protect taxpayers and legitimate small businesses by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse,” according to a SBA news release.

Firms that failed to comply by Jan. 5 could lose their eligibility to participate in the 8(a) Program, the Trump administration cautioned.

On Jan. 2, Case formally requested the Inspector General for the U.S. Small Business Association to review “reported abuses in the federal contracting programs for Native Hawaiian companies.”…

The Native Hawaiian Organizations Association (mostly Pelatron Corp) is urging President Donald Trump’s administration to distinguish between “isolated allegations” about the Small Business Administration’s program aimed at developing native-run businesses and its success expanding economic opportunity, as U.S. Rep. Ed Case calls for a formal review….

Pelatron History:

read … SBA programs for native businesses face scrutiny | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Will Maui Council Allow Factory-built housing in Burn Zone?

MN: … The Maui County Council passed a bill on first reading Friday that would allow for factory-built housing in the Lahaina burn zone, a measure intended to accelerate housing recovery for survivors of the August 2023 wildfires.

Bill 15, introduced by West Maui Council Member Tamara Paltin, passed by a 6-3 vote following a debate that weighed the urgent need for shelter against concerns regarding local labor protections, construction warranties, building standards and long-term durability. The state already has used modular housing at Kilohana and Ka La‘i Ola as temporary shelter for Lahaina wildfire survivors.

Council Members Paltin, Alice Lee, Gabe Johnson, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane Sinenci and Nohelani U‘u-Hodgins voted in favor of the measure. Vice-Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura and Council Members Tom Cook and Kauanoe Batangan voted against it.

The bill amends the Maui County Code to establish procedures for the design, manufacture, installation, inspection and transport of factory-built housing specifically within the area devastated by the wildfires. The wildfires destroyed more than 2,000 structures, displaced thousands of residents and claimed at least 102 lives.

Bill proponents argued that traditional “stick-built” construction methods are too slow and expensive…

Testifying on behalf of the Hawaiʻi Regional Council of Carpenters, Mark Clemente told the Council that ~~while~~ the union ~~supports~~ (opposes) the use of factory-built housing to help residents rebuild quickly, (citing as an excuse,) “speed must not come at the expense of consumer protection.”…

Cook, a general contractor, expressed skepticism. “I’m just not a fan,” ….

Paltin said the department “wrote the bill, initially.”

Sugimura said she didn’t understand. “I think we heard from Member Cook (that) Mayor Bissen called him to say that he does not support this bill. Is that what he said?”

Rawlins-Fernandez answered, saying: “So that was Bill 122, not Bill 15. And Bill 15 is what we’re taking up.”

Bill 122 would allow factory-built housing countywide, while Bill 15 would only permit such housing in the Lahaina burn zone as a way to address the housing crisis there….

read … Factory-built housing bill stirs debate: Cost versus durability for wildfire survivor housing : Maui Now

Obstructionism: Crucial Hawaiʻi County Commissions Stymied By Members' No-Shows

CB: … Hawai‘i County’s two planning commissions had to cancel more than a third of their regular meetings last year after failing to have the minimum number of members present, resulting in months-long delays for some projects.

(TRANSLATION: Obstructionists on these boards are obstructing by not showing up.)

Part of the problem is persistent vacancies on the seven-member Windward and Leeward commissions, which altogether had to cancel nine of their monthly meetings in 2025. But the bigger issue has been frequent absences, prompting commissioners to propose stricter attendance rules to improve their chances of having at least four members show up to make quorum so they can conduct business.

(TRANSLATION: Obstructionists on these boards are obstructing by not showing up.)

While some members support efforts to establish consequences for not attending the meetings (others make excuses) .…

(TRANSLATION: Obstructionists on these boards are obstructing by not showing up.)

read … Crucial Hawaiʻi County Commissions Stymied By Members' No-Shows - Honolulu Civil Beat

Lawmakers press teacher education leaders over licensing delays

SA: … 48% of new hires not licensed ….

read … Lawmakers press teacher education leaders over licensing delays | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Lawmakers pretend to seek own investigations into $35K paper bag case

HNN: … Hawaii lawmakers from both chambers filed resolutions calling for their own investigations to identify the elected official connected to federal bribery case.

On the Senate floor, a resolution filed by Sen. Brenton Awa, R-Windward Oahu, was introduced Wednesday. Awa wants an investigative committee to determine if the 2022 incident involving an “influential state legislator” getting $35,000 in a paper bag violated state law, state ethics code or campaign finance provisions.

On the House side, Rep. Kanani Souza, R-Kapolei, Makakilo, filed a similar resolution Wednesday as momentum builds for legislative action. No date on when Souza’s resolution will be introduced on the House floor….

CB: Neal Milner: 6 Reasons Lawmakers Should Investigate One Of Their Own - Honolulu Civil Beat

read … Lawmakers seek own investigations into $35K paper bag case

State leaders want $100M from 'Green Fee' used for their pet projects

KHON: … “What’s important to us looking at this first year of funding is making sure we can identify those high impact, high visibility projects so people know where the money is going,” said Jeff Mikulina, Green Fee Advisory Council Chair.

(TRANSLATION: Buy votes.)

Climate advocate Jeff Mikulina chairs the Green Fee Advisory Council, which will recommend which proposals to fund. But lawmakers will ultimately make the decision….

read … State leaders want $100M from 'Green Fee' used wisely

Hawaii Reaches 120,000 Solar Systems -- Governor Wants 48,000 More by 2030

IM: … Governor Green issued Executive Order No. 25-01 in January 2025, accelerating Hawaiʻi’s transition toward 100 percent renewable energy.

The order noted that more than 118,000 utility customers have installed distributed solar.

"Before 2030, the state shall facilitate the addition of at least 50,000 new distributed renewable energy installations (10,000 installations per year), focused on delivering clean energy benefits to low- and moderate-income residents through the Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority and its programs."

The Executive Order stated that there were more than 118,000 systems in January 2025. HECO reported yesterday that 6,571 solar systems were added in 2025 and that the total is now 120,570. Regardless of the conflict in numbers, it is a lot of systems….

read … Hawaii Reaches 120,000 Solar Systems -- Governor Wants 48,000 More by 2030 | Ililani Media

Lawsuit: Hawaii Hemp Sellers Challenge State’s Regulations, Testing Rules

B: … Hawaii business owners are challenging the state’s definition of what constitutes a legal hemp product and its regulations imposing certain testing requirements, arguing they conflict with federal law.

“Hawaii has enacted and enforces a divergent regulatory scheme that re-criminalizes federally lawful hemp products through alternative testing methodologies and product-form restrictions not found in federal law,” two hemp distributors alleged in a complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii.

Hawaii in 2020 passed a law that changed the state’s definition of hemp to include products with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of up to 0.3% ….

PDF: Complaint

read … Hawaii Hemp Sellers Challenge State’s Regulations, Testing Rules

Gabbard attends FBI search of Georgia election office for 2020 ballots

SA: … Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard visited the site of the search today, Reuters observed, giving her an unusual presence in domestic law enforcement that one former official called unprecedented.

Reuters reported that Gabbard last year formed a group of dozens of officials from across the federal government, including the Justice Department, that was helping to steer Trump’s drive for retribution against his perceived enemies.

The warrant “sought a number of records related to 2020 elections,” the Fulton County government said in a brief statement about the search, the latest in a string of actions by Trump’s administration to use the Justice Department against his perceived enemies or to intervene in cases where he believes he was treated unfairly….

read … Gabbard attends FBI search of Georgia election office for 2020 ballots | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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