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April 2, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 3:51 PM :: 126 Views

HECO: Electric Bills Will Jump 30%

Pacific Air Force: $37M Fraud Scheme Paid 'Godfather'

When Healthcare Feels Like an Ocean Away

Complete List: 2026 High School Graduation Ceremonies

SB3055: Censor Union Opt-Out Efforts

After-the-Storm-The-Hidden-Threat-to-Hawaii’s-Homes

Floods – Just Like Lahaina: Calls to 911 Ignored by Emergency Operations Management

CB: … Almost two weeks after devastating flood waters took Oʻahu’s North Shore by surprise, Honolulu City Council members grilled the city’s top emergency manager on what they said were slow evacuation orders and delayed and unclear updates on storm conditions.

By the time an evacuation order for Waialua and Haleʻiwa came around 5:30 a.m. on March 20, residents had been wading through chest-deep floodwaters. During a council meeting on Wednesday, council members asked city officials what went wrong.

“Why did you wait that long when the week before, at a lower level, the evacuation notice was given?” Council member Val Okimoto asked.

Department of Emergency Management Director Randal Collins said evacuation orders aren’t as simple as looking at the water level of a stream gauge. He also said officials were focused on the water level at the Wahiawā Reservoir, also known as Lake Wilson. They were watching to see if the 120-year-old dam, owned by Dole Food Co. and set to transfer to the state, was on the brink of overflow and possible failure.…

(BINGO! They were so fixated on the dam that they ignored the effect of localized rainfall.)

Council Chair Tommy Waters asked why an evacuation order was not issued at 8:25 p.m. on March 19 when Kaukonahua Stream, which sits next to Otake Camp, surged 2 feet. Collins said officials weren’t watching that gauge because it happened a couple hours before the city’s Emergency Operation Center was activated.

“We had no knowledge of such an event happening at that moment,” Collins said.

His employees were off duty then, he said, and in scenarios like that, a 911 operator can call to update them on ongoing emergencies.

“We never received a call at any time,” he said….

(TRANSLATION: We weren’t paying attention to the calls coming in to 911. JUST LIKE LAHAINA!)

SA: Honolulu leaders face tough questions over response to floods | Honolulu Star-Advertiser -- Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s Managing Director Michael Formby described the Emergency Operations Center as both “extremely structured” and “chaotic,” with more than 100 personnel ‘processing information’ in real time during the storm.

read … Honolulu Council Criticizes Slow City Response To North Shore Flooding - Honolulu Civil Beat

Convention Center Money Spins out of Control

SA: … the center in April 2023 was allocated $64 million for the rooftop, plus $36 million for other capital improvement projects (CIPs). …

HCC leaders say they need a lot more money, with the rooftop terrace deck project alone growing by $23 million to at least $87 million and forcing a diversion of funds from other area repairs. That’s prompted the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), which oversees the center, to urge the Legislature for another $55 million: $34 million in new CIP money plus permission to divert $21 million from the center’s enterprise fund, sourced from hotel room tax and HCC revenues….

But displeased lawmakers have deleted the $55 million request from the state House Finance’s proposed budget….

Sen. Sharon Moriwaki expressed particular concern about an expansive canopy system over the rooftop deck that went from $14 million to $21 million ….

the next phase, HTA said, will include a new performance stage with the 38,000-square-foot canopy for rain and shade protection.

State Rep. Lisa Kitagawa, the House CIP chair, also raised concerns about the canopy and other “extra beautiful things,” such as sound-proofing walls, grills and amenities for caterers….

FLASHBACK: HTA Whistleblower Isaac Choy Illegally Fired by Governor’s Chief of Staff

read … Editorial: No excesses for convention center | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

With ‘Provider Tax’ Scam Ended by OBBBA, what next for Medicaid?

CB: … Medicare providers already have been feeling the pain of reimbursement rates that fail to account for Hawaiʻi’s high cost of living, putting a strain on doctors and hospitals that care for elderly Medicare patients, said Dr. Jack Lewin, administrator of Hawaiʻi’s Health Planning and Development Agency.

The Legislature has pledged funds to raise Medicaid reimbursements, Lewin said. But Congress banned that practice (What Civil Beat isn’t telling you>>>HRS346G and HRS346F taxing medical care to increase costs, thus unlocking more federal funds) when it passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in July. Starting in 2028, Hawaiʻi will have to begin reducing Medicaid reimbursements to match Medicare’s inadequate reimbursements, Lewin said….

REALITY: Medicaid Financing Reform After the OBBBA | Mercatus Center

read … Low-Income Hawaiʻi Patients And Their Doctors Face A Financial Cliff - Honolulu Civil Beat

North Shore Oahu businesses urge visitors to return after storms

PBN: … Businesses on Oahu's North Shore are urging visitors and residents to support local businesses and visit the area, despite misinformation and conflicting messaging circulating online following the back-to-back Kona low storms that hit Hawaii in March.

After a disaster, the economic impact often worsens beyond the immediate damage, the North Shore Chamber of Commerce said. It wants the public to recognize that the business community is “open for business.”

Carol Philips, vice chair of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, said that many local businesses desperately need support to stay open and have already started restricting their hours of operation because of the decline in customers.

“On top of all that, many employees have been victims of the flood themselves, and now they’re losing their jobs because their boss doesn’t have the money to pay them,” she told Pacific Business News. “It’s just heartbreaking. If you want to support the recovery, come in and be part of it [by buying from local businesses]. We also have volunteer opportunities available.” ….

read … North Shore Oahu businesses urge visitors to return after storms - Pacific Business News

SB2761: Teen Social Media Bill Killed

CB: … The addictiveness of social media, especially among teenagers, is a major concern for some Hawaiʻi lawmakers, who had been advancing Senate Bill 2761 that would limit the ability of kids 16 and under to use the online platforms. But Rep. David Tarnas, who is chair of the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, deferred the bill indefinitely Wednesday, putting it on hold because of concerns the proposal could conflict with the public’s right to free speech.

At least 17 states have enacted laws addressing minors’ use of social media, but most of them have been blocked or paused by lawsuits challenging their constitutionality on First Amendment grounds.

Advocates for restricting social media use among minors say two recent jury decisions in California and New Mexico are considered wins. Juries in those states found Meta and Google liable for causing depression and anxiety among young users and failing to warn consumers about the potential harmful effects of their platforms.

The jury decisions, though, will have little effect on the legal challenges to state laws, which federal judges have repeatedly ruled pose unconstitutional limits on free speech, said David Greene, senior counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a national organization focused on digital civil liberties issues. …

read … Teens Are Addicted To Social Media. Hawaiʻi Is Reluctant To Set Limits - Honolulu Civil Beat

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