June 20, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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June 20, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 10:09 AM :: 288 Views

$35K Bribe: AG 'interviews more witnesses, uncovers more facts'

Odyssey triggers anti-woke thunderstorm

Waianae Harbor Meth Camp Gets ANOTHER Extension

2027 NDAA Mandates Army Lease Negotiations in Hawaii

Maui Shoreline Development: Supreme Court Hears Case

Another Little Girl Dead: Police investigate death of 8-year-old Hawaii Island girl with severe injuries

HNN: … Police are investigating the death of an 8-year-old Hawaii Island girl who had severe injuries, according to sources.

Kaya Kahalehoe-Adolpho was brought into Hilo Benioff Medical Center on June 10 unresponsive.

She was then airlifted to Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children, where she was later pronounced dead.

The girl’s mother, Amanda Kahalehoe, who lives on Maui, and her aunt, Mandee Kahalehoe, are demanding answers.

“I don’t understand how,” Mandee said. “I just need answers.”

Kaya lived with her father and stepmother on the Big Island.

Police sources say Kaya’s injuries included a fractured skull, bleeding in her brain and a broken collarbone.

Sources say the family members who called 911 said she ‘fell in the shower’….

(CLUE: ECourtKokua shows multiple recent domestic violence cases involving the father on Maui and within the last year on the Big Island.)

Read … Police investigate death of 8-year-old Hawaii Island girl with severe injuries

Inmate’s kill spree prompts review of Hawaii furlough program

KHON: … John Nihipali Sr. was on furlough when prosecutors said he killed his girlfriend in McCully and tried to kill his wife in Kapolei back in March. Corrections officials said despite Nihipali being convicted of trying to kill that same wife in 2004, there were no signs that something like this could happen….

(IQ Test: How loudly do you want to scream?)

One improvement the corrections are hoping for is an active, ankle monitoring system that will give live location data for higher-risk inmates, which will give them any alerts if they break any boundaries. They’re going to ask lawmakers for funding for that next legislative session. The current ankle monitoring system is a passive one that must be monitored by staff.

Of the 1,800 inmates in the state, just 128 are in the furlough program…

Read … Inmate's murder prompts review of Hawaii furlough program

PUC does not outlaw LNG

IM: … The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission issued a major decision this week — Decision and Order No. 42665 — approving Hawaiian Electric Company Request for Proposals to procure new power on Oʻahu and Hawai`i Island. On the surface, it looks like a renewable energy win.

But buried in the fine print is a provision that could let fossil fuel developers — including JERA, the company pushing a controversial LNG plant for Oʻahu — compete in what was supposed to be a clean energy procurement. …

The PUC's own order — citing a recommendation from the Independent Observer, Bates White — now allows bidders for the Oʻahu firm-capacity target to submit pricing assuming their units would run on non-renewable fuels. The PUC adopted this position and confirmed it has been incorporated into the updated draft RFP.

In plain English: developers can now bid into this "renewable" procurement by showing what their project would cost if it burned fossil fuels like LNG….

Read … Did the PUC Quietly Open the Door to LNG -- Life of the Land Seeks Answers | Ililani Media

Honolulu rail board down to the wire on next year’s $1.07B budget

SA: …a HART spokesperson said “the board chair is planning to hold a special meeting, tentatively scheduled for June 29, for the board to formally adopt HART’s FY27 budget.”

On Friday, HART Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Mike O’Keefe told the board’s Finance Committee that the Council-approved $1.07 billion budget was identical to the one the board submitted to the city administration late last year.

“Again, it’s the same exact budget that was adopted by the board in November 2025, subsequently transmitted to the mayor and the Council,” O’Keefe said. “That exact same budget passed third reading and was approved.”

HART’s next budget is about 10.4% higher than its current $968.3 million budget.

The agency’s operating budget increases to nearly $177.6 million, up about $2.8 million, or 1.7%, from the current fiscal year.

Of that amount, $172.6 million, or roughly 97%, will go toward debt service payments.

That includes $135.5 million in principal payments on outstanding general obligation bonds, an increase of $6.5 million over the current year, while projected interest payments decrease by $6.4 million to $33.8 million.

On the capital side, HART is expected to have a $891.4 million spending plan, a 12.3% increase from the current year’s capital budget.

The largest allocation, $550 million, supports work on the City Center Guideway and Stations project extending Skyline from Middle Street to Kakaako. O’Keefe previously said those funds would help cover payments associated with Segment 3’s $1.66 billion contract with Los Angeles-based Tutor Perini Corp.

Another $231.4 million is budgeted for the Pearl Highlands Transit Center and H-2 access ramp project.

HART is also proposing $20 million for a makai entrance at Waipahu Station, the budget indicates.

The rail agency’s Council-level budget approval follows news that HART received a $125 million federal reimbursement connected to last year’s opening of the more than $10-billion Skyline project’s second segment past the airport….

Read …Honolulu rail board still must finalize next year’s $1.07B budget | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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