June 2, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Tuesday, June 2, 2026

June 2, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 8:57 AM :: 314 Views

Election 2026: 405 Candidates Pull Papers to Run--276 File

Hawaii 8th-Worst Economy in USA

Kauaʻi, PMRF, and the Road Ahead

City Celebrating Transsexual Pride Month

Secret Rules: Court Says Hawaiʻi House Violated State Constitution

DHS Fail: Hawaiʻi Is The Only State Not Tracking Abuse In Childcare

CB: … After Cynthia King’s nearly 4-month-old baby died suddenly in a licensed childcare facility in 2014, the grieving mother pushed to overhaul the system.

She worked with lawmakers on bills to address childcare oversight and sat on a working group created by the Legislature to discuss solutions for improving daycare safety. She also advocated for the Department of Human Services to track and publish statistics on its website about incidents in childcare facilities so parents can make more informed decisions when placing their children.

But more than a decade later, some of the most basic improvements she and other advocates pushed for remain unchanged. Hawaiʻi is the only state in the nation not complying with a federal requirement to publicly report serious injuries and child abuse in childcare settings. The state Department of Human Services, which is responsible for regulating and licensing childcare facilities in the state, says it can’t track those statistics because it lacks standardized definitions for “child abuse” and “serious injuries” — even though it published data on those categories in years past. This data was self-reported by childcare facilities. The department still investigates allegations of abuse when they receive complaints from parents or staff members.

A page on the department’s website shows the last time data was published for those two categories was 2016. The page also tracks deaths in childcare facilities and, until recently, that reporting was out of date too, ending in 2022. …

Read … Hawaiʻi Is The Only State Not Tracking Abuse In Childcare - Honolulu Civil Beat

Honolulu mayor threatens budget veto over cut to useless economic revitalization office

HNN: … Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi is threatening to veto the city’s $5 billion budget over a $1.4 million cut to the Office of Economic Revitalization.

“I don’t want it to even be a threat. It’s a a matter of fact, because I am in such strong opposition to this,” Blangiardi said.

The dispute comes after a city audit released in January found after five years, the office met less than 40% of its mission to promote agriculture, technology and small businesses.

Budget chair Val Okimoto proposed a 70% cut to the office in the budget, which would lay off three-quarters of its staff.

“In any other sector, meeting less than 40% of your core mission will result in a reorganization,” Okimoto said.

Office director Amy Asselbaye said the cuts would eliminate 18 filled (make-work) positions….

(IDEA: Dump those positions and make the employees do something useful.)

Read … Honolulu mayor threatens budget veto over cut to economic revitalization office | Hawaii News Now

WARNING: Isles’ green fee is just the beginning – greenies want $560M

SA: … The Care for ‘Aina Now (CAN) coalition was formed around a simple but urgent truth: Hawaii faces an estimated $560 million annual conservation and climate ~~resilience~~ (make-work) funding gap (because many of us aren’t being paid to go hiking or diving. We think half-a-billion of your money will help us buy new cars and trendy condos) .….

Read … Column: Isles’ green fee is just the beginning | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Will Doctors Trade 5 Years In Rural Hawaiʻi For Free Med School?

CB: … state leaders are pushing the effort forward, setting aside $28 million in federal funds for an ambitious medical school tuition payment program.

Attending medical school will be free starting in September for awardees of the Hawaiʻi Outreach for Medical Education in Rural Under-resourced Neighborhoods (HOME RUN) workforce pipeline program.

The perk, funded by a chunk of a $188.9 million federal grant meant to revolutionize rural healthcare in Hawaiʻi, is available to students pursuing any career in healthcare or health information technology. It will cover tuition and fees for healthcare training at a university of the student’s choice. …

Read … Will Doctors Trade 5 Years In Rural Hawaiʻi For Free Med School? - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii Supreme Court to hear case on using sobriety test refusals as evidence

HNN: … State high court will hear arguments Thursday on whether declining voluntary test should count against drivers….

Read … Hawaii Supreme Court to hear case on using sobriety test refusals as evidence

14 Years Later Kauai Deadbeats Weasel out of Foreclosure

MP: … For lenders and servicers, the lesson lands plainly. You can write a foreclosure remedy into a workout, you can insist time is of the essence, and you can still lose the right to use it. When a borrower in breach has paid the debt in all but the last detail, a court sitting in equity can refuse to hand you the keys. Being made nearly whole can be the very thing that takes foreclosure off the table….

Read … Hawaii court blocks lender foreclosure despite borrower nearly fully paying settlement | Mortgage Professional

South Korea Takes a Hard Left Turn Against America

WSJ: … The radicals in charge in Seoul are pushing constitutional revisions to permit their own indefinite rule….

Read … South Korea Takes a Hard Left Turn Against America - WSJ

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