May 14, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Thursday, May 14, 2026

May 14, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 9:37 AM :: 99 Views

VP Vance: Hawaii has 'not taken Medicaid fraud seriously'

Point-in-Time: More Sister-Isle Homeless on Streets as Fewer Accept Shelter

Hawaii National Guard Closing Hilo Challenge Academy

Lambert: I warned HPD about Fake DUI Arrests

CB: … “I think what officers love about me is that I’m not a hypocrite,” he said. “I will expect them to do what I do. Which means, be polite to people, do your job. The rules matter.”

He noted that he was the one who conducted an internal audit of drunken-driving arrests of drivers who were released and never charged shortly after Hawaiʻi News Now broke a story about a sober driver being falsely arrested at a checkpoint. Lambert said he found “red flags” in the data and wrote a memo to the then-assistant chief warning him sober drivers were being arrested and asking for an investigation.

That investigation never happened, and the American Civil Liberties Union later sued the department on behalf of hundreds of drivers.

“I was pissed because we’re already dealing with public trust — you know what I mean? — investigate these guys,” he said. “It has to be looked at seriously.”

Lambert said as chief he will be committed to transparency and holding everyone to the same standard. He would create a discipline matrix to match misconduct violations with specific punishments. It would be made public so community members could understand why certain discipline is doled out to officers. The department would also be able to point to a consistent disciplinary standard during the arbitration process with the union. He is in the final stages of creating such a matrix for the DLE.

“It’s preset outcomes based on officer behavior, so in other words, there is no ambiguity,” he said. “We set standards that people can see ahead of time.” …

SA: HPD chief finalist Scott Ebner says staffing is top priority | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Read … Honolulu Police Chief Finalists Share Their Visions For The Department - Honolulu Civil Beat

Geothermal to Provide Millions for DHHL?

CB: … While some projects that received funding this year will be able to move forward, the department will need to ask the Legislature for money next year or look to other revenue streams such as geothermal energy to finish more than two dozen projects already in development that represent several thousand housing units….

Geothermal development, he believes, could also be the answer to the agency’s constant budget woes. He estimates that a 30-megawatt plant built on Hawaiian homelands— as has been proposed by other groups in the past in parts of the Big Island — could net the department $26 million annually from energy sales.

Lawmakers gave the State Energy Office $6 million this year to study the potential for geothermal energy across the islands. The Hawaiian homelands agency owns land that could house a geothermal plant, but first it needs to determine if its lands have the right mix of heat and water to power a new plant. The agency doesn’t have any specific sites in mind yet, Watson said.

And before testing happens, the department plans to reach out to its beneficiaries. DHHL is planning a series of statewide briefings on geothermal throughout May and June. Those are set to begin Monday on Molokaʻi….

Read … Luxury Home Tax Pitch To Fund Hawaiian Homes Flopped. Now What? - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii vs. Citizens United - The Atlantic is fooled

TA: … “Corporations are not people. They are granted powers and privileges by the state,” State Senator Jarrett Keohokalole told me this week, explaining the rationale of the bill he sponsored. “How can a creation of the state have inalienable rights? It doesn’t make any sense.” ….

CLUE: "Freedom of association."

REALITY FOR THOSE WHO CAN HANDLE IT: Legislators Vote to Abolish ERS, End Free Speech for Star-Advertiser

Read … Hawaii vs. Citizens United - The Atlantic is fooled

Hamada: Lawmakers saved the tax cuts with a "tax the rich" increase

ASD: … ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada assesses the Legislative session and find just one idea reigning in the Big Square Building. Tax the "rich," even when preserving tax cuts. Do they know who the rich really are? ….

Read … Hamada: Lawmakers saved the tax cuts with a "tax the rich" increase

Agribusiness Development Corp. can use eminent domain for ag under new bill

HPR: … Senate Bill 2169 is awaiting the governor's signature to give ADC that authority and argues that it will provide “a clear mechanism for the State to assemble strategically located agricultural lands and critical infrastructure.”

It said that the lack of such a mechanism has hindered the state's ability to grow food and improve Hawaiʻi's food resilience.

The ADC was established in 1994 to acquire former plantation land and convert them to grow diversified agriculture. About 75,000 acres of land, according to SB 2169, can be transformed for that use.

It also acknowledges that eminent domain is “an extraordinary authority that must be exercised only for a demonstrable public use,” which was a concern for some lawmakers.

In its final reading last week, 11 state representatives voted against the measure.

“I believe this is quite extreme authority to give any entity, let alone the ADC,” Rep. Garner Shimizu told his colleagues prior to the vote. ADC is a semi-autonomous state agency attached to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and is governed by an 11-member board of directors….

Read … Agribusiness Development Corp. can use eminent domain for ag under new bill | Hawai'i Public Radio

Emails show Patel trip included 'VIP snorkel' at Pearl Harbor memorial

AP: … an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. …

Read … Emails show Patel trip included 'VIP snorkel' at Pearl Harbor memorial | AP News

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA:

QUICK HITS: