April 15, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

April 15, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:17 PM :: 455 Views

Complete Debunk: UHERO Tries and Fails to Make the Case Against LNG

AG Releases Hawaii Firearm Registration Numbers

Green: I cannot leave Hawaii with Luke as LG

HNN: … Gov. Josh Green said he is frustrated by the lack of clarity in the state attorney general’s investigation involving Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and hopes for an update around the three-month mark.

“I am frustrated by the lack of clarity that we have on this investigation,” Green said.

He said Monday, April 20, will mark three months since the investigation began and he hopes to know by then whether criminal charges are coming or whether the matter will be handled as a process issue.

“It’s a complicated, complicated question, but after three months, the basic question should be answered,” he said.

Green said it is unfair to voters to head toward elections without answers. “It’s not fair for the people of Hawaii to not have some clarity,” he said, noting the upcoming primary election in which the lieutenant governor is expected to face Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami.

Green to keep decision-making authority: ‘It’s not personal’

Typically, when a governor leaves the state, decision-making authority shifts to the lieutenant governor. Green says, with all the uncertainty surrounding Luke, he won’t do that until the matter is resolved.

CB: The Sunshine Blog: Is The End In Sight For Sylvia Luke Spotlight? - Honolulu Civil Beat “Green told reporters on Hawaii News Now’s ‘Spotlight Now’ program Tuesday that he expects to have an answer about Luke’s role by Monday.”

BACKGROUND: $35K Bribe: AG Runs Down Clock with Another Useless Biweekly Update on 'Investigation'

Read … Spotlight Now: Gov. Green calls for clarity in AG investigation, details storm recovery funding | Hawaii News Now

Cost of Living vs Income: “When you adjust for prices Hawaiʻi is sitting right alongside West Virginia and Mississippi.”

CB: … In February, the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization published a report called “Beyond the price of paradise: Is Hawai‘i being left behind?” The report, written by the UH economist Steven Bond-Smith, was picked up by several local news outlets, including Civil Beat. Yet I’m not sure it has sunk into our consciousness in the way it needs to.

I think it’s worth revisiting some of the major findings. Bond-Smith reminds us that, as my grandparents suggested, the cost of living in Honolulu has been consistently 15% to 25% higher than the U.S. average, for decades and even prior to 1990.

Concerning tourism, he writes that over the last 35 years, we’ve seen explosive growth in visitor numbers. Yet tourist spending has remained essentially flat.

Perhaps most concerning is the data about income levels in Hawaiʻi, which from 1969 to 1990 were some of the highest in the nation. In 1970, for instance, they were about 30% higher than the national average. By 2024, though, they were almost 5% below it.

There’s a lot more, and I encourage you to read it yourself here, but it essentially boils down to this: starting in the early 1990s, Hawaiʻi’s economy began to experience a malaise.

Between 1990 and 2005, our growth rate averaged a measly 0.3%, more than six times slower than the U.S. as a whole. We now suffer from weak productivity and income growth, and limited opportunity.

Perhaps most troubling of all is this: if you look at the situation in terms of purchasing power, Hawaiʻi is beginning to look frighteningly like economically distressed corners of America.

“When you adjust for prices,” Bond-Smith told me, “Hawaiʻi is sitting right alongside West Virginia and Mississippi.” …

WH: Cities With the Most Affordable Rent (Honolulu 130^th)

read … Makana Eyre: What Do We Want Hawaiʻi To Be Like In 20 Years? - Honolulu Civil Beat

Legislators Bicker Over How Much to Raise Taxes

KHON: …The real work begins on Monday when House and Senate leaders sit down to negotiate a final budget compromise, aiming to reach common ground and get a bill to the Governor for final approval….

read … Lawmakers divided on balancing budget and savings

Airports Division Gets Another $7 Billion to Play With

BH: … Hawaii’s poor passenger satisfaction results never felt surprising in our J.D. Power dead-last rankings piece. They simply put numbers on what people are already experiencing in real time….

The state is now talking about nearly $7 billion in airport modernization through the early 2030s. That sounds huge because it is. It also sounds immediate, and that is where the plan starts to break down for travelers….

2013: Airports Division Audit: Mismanagement, Recurring Violations, Delays, Cost Overruns

2024: Naming Names: Airports Division Ran Late-Night Parties Where Hawaii Politicians Raked In Money

2026: FAA Exposes $23M Airports Division Lie: We did not order HDoT to Replace Firefighting Systems

read … Hawaii Airports Failing Travelers For Years: Will $7 Billion Help?

Coconut Island Becomes $20M Boondoggle And Years-Long Plan

BH: … Hilo’s Coconut Island has been closed since November 2025 after a county crew drove an 8,000-pound excavator across its pedestrian bridge and collapsed it. Hawaii County now says even a temporary fix is two years away, and full reconstruction won’t even begin until 2029….

read … Coconut Island Still Closed: $20M Fix And Years-Long Plan

Honolulu City Council to OK $17M COVID-era hazard pay for bus workers

SA: … More than 2,000 city bus drivers and mechanics could receive hazard pay for work during the COVID-19 pandemic under a proposal before the Honolulu City Council that would cost nearly $17 million….

read … Honolulu City Council to OK COVID-era hazard pay for bus workers | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Lawmakers moving to slash city vehicle tax by 75%?

HNN: … Hawaii County charges 1.25 cents per pound. Kauai charges 2 cents. Maui just went up to 3.5 cents. Honolulu’s 7 cents is twice as much….

The bill would cap Honolulu’s weight fee at 1.75 cents, the same as the state’s weight tax.

“I think that’s a fair giveaway and I am requesting that 30% of the weight tax in registration collections go towards repaired maintenance of the roadways,” Kila said.

The reduction would cost Honolulu $135 million a year….

Savings would be major for car owners, cutting the weight tax for a 5,000-pound truck from $350 to $87.50 and for a 3,000-pound sedan from $210 to $52.50.

The state Senate unanimously passed the bill. It now goes into House-Senate negotiations, where lawmakers could back off their threat….

(CLUE: This is part of a conference committee negotiation with the counties.)

HB2022: Text, Status

read … Lawmakers moving to slash city vehicle tax by 75% | Hawaii News Now

State agribusiness agency to vote on acquiring Wahiawā dam and spillway

HPR: … Earlier this month, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources voted to acquire the reservoir. Now, ADC will need to vote to acquire the dam and spillway. ADC is administratively attached to the state Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Rep. Amy Perruso said she’s certain the board will vote to acquire parts of the Wahiawā irrigation system. She visited the dam with a Dole representative last week.

“It really just confirmed for me, while we do have some repairs to make to the spillway, there has been significant investment in maintenance to the dam, and it's not in complete disrepair,” she said. "I think that while we do need to strengthen it, I am not highly anxious about the dam in relationship to Waialua.”

According to the 2023 law, the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity was to originally acquire the Wahiawā dam and spillway. However, that state department doesn't have statutory power to hold title and fee. Therefore, ADC must acquire it.

If the ADC board approves the acquisition in tomorrow’s vote, DAB will start making improvements to the spillway and embankment….

(CLUE: ADC will fail to maintain the dam. This is the track record of ADC.)

CB: Wahiawā Dam Takeover: State Signs Off On Acquisition - Honolulu Civil Beat

read … State agribusiness agency to vote on acquiring Wahiawā dam and spillway | Hawai'i Public Radio

SB2140: Help Carpenters Union Get Tighter Grip on Contractors

PBN: … Senate Bill 2140 would require contractors to disclose wages, benefits and employee status. Counties could revoke permits for violations….

SB2140: Text, Status

read … Hawaii bill targets wage theft in construction industry - Pacific Business News

Hawaiʻi Police Union Officials Got Pay Raises Without Approval

CB: … When Malcolm Lutu took over (as executive director of) the Hawaiʻi police union in January, all union employees received a pay raise, himself included.

Lutu got a 20% boost, from about $87,000 to $104,000. His business agents received a 45% increase, from $60,000 to more than $87,000. And most other employees got 4 to 8% more.

What no one did, according to the union, was ask the union’s board for permission. …

The unauthorized pay increases triggered a dramatic backlash that resulted in Lutu’s resignation after about two months on the job and claims by some current and former union members that the raises amounted to theft of union money. Two county chapter board members reported the incident to the Attorney General’s Office. Toni Schwartz, spokeswoman for the AG’s Office, said the office doesn’t comment on the existence of investigations.

The raises were quickly reversed in an early test of leadership for Don Faumuina, who had been elected president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers in December. …

read … Hawaiʻi Police Union Officials Got Pay Raises Without Approval - Honolulu Civil Beat

Laie woman pleads guilty to assault in adopted daughter’s death—could get ‘time served’

SA: … Sina Pili, a 40-year-old behavioral health specialist, indicted on a charge of manslaughter in the Dec. 22, 2023, death of her 11-year-old adopted daughter, pleaded guilty Tuesday to the lesser charge of first-degree assault.

Police said Azaeliyah Pili-Ah You, who had learning disabilities, was tortured, suffering multiple injuries from child abuse, including extensive deep bruising all over her body, bite marks, two broken ribs, a scalp hemorrhage, evidence of strangulation and multiple abrasions to her face, head, neck, chest back, arms, hands and legs. She also tested positive for COVID-19, flu and pneumonia.

On the day she died at Pili’s Laie home, police said Pili slapped and punched the child multiple times ….

Pili-Ah You was one of five children who died in Hawaii due to child maltreatment in fiscal year 2024, the state Department of Human Services’ 2024 Child Fatality Report said.

If Pili had been convicted of manslaughter, a Class A felony, she would have been facing a maximum 20 years in prison.

Instead she could be facing up to 10 years in prison for the assault, a Class B felony, and a $25,000 fine, or she could be given credit for time served and probation.

Pili has been held without bail in the Oahu Community Correctional Center….

Pili worked as a behavioral health specialist at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, and has a master’s degree in social work. Breiner said she was working on her doctorate, writing a thesis on fetal alcohol syndrome, from which some of her four surviving adopted children suffer.

Her husband, Davis Pili, a bailiff at District Court, called 911 when Pili-Ah You was found unresponsive at their home in Laie….

read … Laie woman pleads guilty to assault in adopted daughter’s death | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii A+ program registration to open with new fees

KHON: … The Hawaii State Department of Education is encouraging families to register their children for the A+ program and the monthly fee will increase from $200 to $240 starting on Aug. 1.

Registration for the upcoming 2026-27 school year is on Wednesday, April 22, at 3 p.m., both online and in person.

The DOE said that both online and in-person registration will be date and time-stamped and processed in the order received….

read … Hawaii A+ program registration to open with new fees

PGA Tour’s 2027 Season to Skip Hawaii?

SBJ: … The 2026 American Express was one of the event’s best editions in years. The tournament, won by Scottie Scheffler, had one of its strongest fields ever and also found success on TV. The AmEx is operated by Sportfive.

It’s still unclear where exactly the tournament will fall on the tour’s 2027 schedule. In prior years, the tour has started its season at The Sentry and Sony Open, both Hawaii tournaments, followed by the AmEx. Though no decisions have been made, industry belief is that the tour would not return to the Plantation Course at Kapalua for the Sentry. Meanwhile, Sony’s longtime sponsorship of the Sony Open expired after the 2026 tournament.

But now with some of the PGA Tour’s planned changes possibly being rolled out over a multiyear period rather than all in 2027, one source suggested Sony could return on a short-term deal. Golf Channel also recently mentioned the possibility of Sony coming back for a year.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp earlier this month announced his eventual intention to start the season at a marquee West Coast venue. Now, the question is when that plan will be in place -- and where….

KITV: Uncertainty about 2 PGA Tour events taking place in Hawaii in 2027 | Sports | kitv.com

read … PGA Tour’s 2027 season to begin in January; American Express dates confirmed

HECO Hiding Solar Failure During Kona Low Storms

IM: … Load shedding or grid stress event logs — did any of the three storms trigger curtailments, emergency generation dispatch, or voltage instability events specifically tied to solar loss?

The storms of March and April 2026 are likely the most significant natural stress test Hawaii's solar-heavy grid has faced to date. Without the disaggregated data, the resilience story remains incomplete — and the policy arguments for distributed generation, paired storage mandates, and grid-edge visibility improvements remain anecdotal rather than evidence-based….

read … The Solar Blind Spot -- Hawaii's Grid During Storms | Ililani Media

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