July 28, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Current Articles | Archives

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

July 28, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:34 AM :: 240 Views

Mafia News: Will Court Ruling Give Miske Pal Free Run at Council Seat? -- Waters to Appeal

DHHL Sued Over Courtyards at Waipouli Evictions

3 years later: Over One Third of Maui Wildfire Victims Still in Temporary Housing

Voter Service Centers Open July 27

Which Bills was Yamane Bribed to Block?

CB: … We examined the legislative record of Hawaiʻi Rep. Ryan Yamane, suspected of bribery, and his ties to a well-connected lobbyist. …

Ryan Yamane, Ty Cullen and Henry Aquino made up a faction called the Three Amigos….

(REALLY OBVIOUS QUESTION: Why wasn’t Aquino getting paid like the others?)

...prosecutors did not mince words. Yamane, they said, is the “most culpable individual” among the recent bribery case defendants….

...Between 2020 and 2022, 18 bills that he introduced became law, dealing with everything from healthcare funding and overhauls to the state health corporations system, to legalizing Native Hawaiian water-cremations.

Committees he chaired, first Water and Land and then the House Health and Human Services Committee that deals with homeless issues, also oversaw dozens of measures that became law.

In 2022 alone, the year prosecutors allege Yamane took action to benefit the kidney foundation, 43 measures that became law passed through his committee first. Those dealt with telehealth initiatives, residency programs at the University of Hawaiʻi’s medical school, state technology standards and funding for homeless programs.

One measure that passed through his committee that eventually became the law established the Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions in the governor’s office. That office ran one of the governor’s signature projects – a tiny homes program Yamane would come to oversee as human services director. The kauhale project is now under intense scrutiny by the state auditor for potential fraud and abuse....

During the bribery era framed in the indictment, Solidum’s client, Liberty Dialysis, had been weighing in on measures in the Legislature to regulate the opening of new dialysis centers.

Early in the 2020 session, company representatives testified on a bill that would have given existing facilities like theirs the right of first refusal in areas where they were already operating. That bill was not introduced by Yamane nor did it move through his committee. It was eventually changed drastically to put the state health director in charge of screening passengers during the Covid pandemic. The bill died.

The following year brought a more direct connection between Solidum, Yamane and action the legislator took on a bill. That year, Yamane introduced House Bill 224, which would deregulate new dialysis centers and open the market.

Liberty Dialysis opposed the bill, and recommended it either be killed or proceed without the section dealing with dialysis centers. It was during that session in mid-April that Solidum is accused of meeting with Yamane to give him money. At the time, Yamane was on the conference committee negotiating the bill with the Senate.

Lawmakers reached an agreement on the bill, but the House later “recommitted” it, a legislative maneuver to kill bills after they’ve already passed.

(CLUE: When legislators make such an inexplicable move, bribery should be assumed to be the cause. This is a roadmap to corruption.)

“As long as its dead we are ok,” Solidum texted Yamane, according to the indictment. “Thanks for all your efforts.”…

During the 2022 session, Yamane’s last, he introduced an emergency appropriations measure that would fund the kidney center’s testing contracts and make Solidum millions of dollars. On Feb. 14, a day before his committee passed the bill, Yamane deposited $1,000 cash into his bank account.

Yamane landed in a bit of controversy over a bill to ban flavored vape products. He inserted amendments into a measure that year that advocates believed would lead to its demise.

Yamane had received $37,000 from the tobacco industry and lobbyists connected to it from 2007 to 2022….

The amounts allegedly given varied from $1,000 to $2,000. Those weren’t campaign donations; Solidum’s last reported donation to Yamane was back in 2015.

“These legislators are cheap,” Foley said. “It’s risking their livelihoods for a few thousand dollars that I find most incomprehensible.”

(CLUE: The State Judiciary and Local Prosecutors ensure that corrupt politicians really aren’t taking much of a risk. At worst they will be finished politically.)

Yamane had no significant debts, according to his recent financial disclosures. During his final years as a lawmaker, he and his wife reported less than $10,000 in debt that has since been paid, according to his disclosure from this year. Property records show they paid off their mortgage in 2018.

(CLUE: Ryan Yamane was allegedly 46 in 2018. This allegedly tells you how much he was allegedly taking.)

In 2020, Yamane also recorded income from a property he jointly owned with others, which sold in 2019 for $998,000.

For his last three sessions in the Legislature, Yamane recorded no outside income or for-profit business interest except for in 2021, when he reported earning less than $1,000 from Hawaiʻi Pacific Health. …

Read … 'Culture Of Corruption'? Records Link Arrested Lawmaker To Lobbyist - Honolulu Civil Beat

Fuchigami on paid leave, Luke still officially Hawaii's LG

KHON: … Transportation officials said Airports Director Ford Fuchigami has been placed on paid, 30-day leave by the department effective Monday. He was indicted along with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke on bribery charges.

(TRANSLATION: Fuchigami is not talking. We here at HDoT are grateful.)

Despite the indictment and bribery allegations, Luke is still officially the state’s Lieutenant Governor….

Although the Governor may be doing all he can with Luke, some said the indictment raises questions about Gov. Green’s knowledge about his appointment – former state rep and former Director of Human Services Ryan Yamane, who was also indicted for bribery.

“Because again, if you look at that indictment, Yamane is one of the most culpable people in this case,” said Camron Hurt, Common Cause Hawaii. “When did the governor know?”

“Sadly, corruption seems to be a way of life in our political system,” said Hart….

Political analysts said with elections just around the corner, they expect everything to remain status quo – with Luke on indefinite leave and state comptroller Keith Regan as acting LG.

Luke and the rest of the defendants are scheduled to make their initial court appearance later this week….

Read … Fuchigami on paid leave, Luke still officially Hawaii's LG

Luke used sheriff deputies to surrender after grand jury indictment

HNN: … HNN Investigates’ camera caught the black Chevy Traverse pulling into the Department of Law Enforcement’s cell block parking lot. A sheriff deputy was driving with another in the passenger seat. Luke was in the back seat.

She was escorted in to be booked on the charges.

After she posted bail, the deputies opened the vehicle door for her and drove her away.

Retired Circuit Court judge Randy Lee said Luke is entitled to the benefits she is receiving.

“She still holds the position as lieutenant governor and she receives the benefits legally,” Lee said. “But from a public perception, it’s a bad look.”

Defense attorney and former deputy city prosecutor Megan Kau said Luke should have handled the surrender differently.

“She should have really just gone with her defense attorney, just like every other defendant, turned herself in in a private car and bailed out,” Kau said….

Read … Luke used sheriff deputies to surrender after grand jury indictment | HNN Investigates | Hawaii News Now

Mafia News: Who is behind Meth Dealer’s Son on Ballot?

MN: … The newly announced slate of Kiakona supporters includes UNITE HERE Local 5, the Hawaiʻi Nurses Association (HNA), Our Revolution Hawaiʻi, and 350 Hawaiʻi. The endorsements add to previously announced support from ILWU Local 142, the Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association (HGEA), and the United Public Workers (UPW) …

Candidates that filed nomination papers before the June 2 deadline include: Republican Rep. Elle Cochran (incumbent), Democrat Kanamu Balinbin of Lahaina, Green Party Pāʻele Kiakona of Lahaina, Democrat Ashley Olson of Lahaina and Democrat Sne Patel of Lahaina….

REALITY: Meet the Meth Gang Behind ‘Lahaina Strong’

Read … Major labor, healthcare, and climate organizations unite behind Pāʻele Kiakona for West Maui : Maui Now

Volunteers vouch for process as first ballots counted

SA: … Volunteer Jamie Detwiler, a Republican who lost to former state Rep. Ryan Yamane, a Democrat, in the 2022 general election for the Waipio-Mililani seat in the House, vouched Monday for how ballots are handled once they arrive at the Capitol after she volunteered for the first time in 2024.

(SUMMARY: Detwiler sees Trumpster election hallucinations everywhere, but she couldn’t find a way to tell anybody that Yamane was a crook. 100% typical HIGOP.)

“I’ve never seen any problems in the counting here,” Detwiler said while waiting for ballots to arrive. “I’ve never seen any issue at the counting center.”

But she continues to question why different counties have different ways of handling ballots before they’re sent to the Capitol for counting. Detwiler also worries about the security of dropoff ballot locations around the state but did not offer any evidence of tampering.

Outside the counting of ballots at the Capitol, she said, “there are no observers watching at the dropboxes. There are areas of improvement in the chain of custody.”

In 2022, Detwiler called for an audit following her loss to Yamane because, she said, the first printout of election results had her 70% ahead but she ultimately lost once all the votes were counted. The audit took months and ultimately validated the election results, which had Yamane winning with 7,340 votes compared to 3,833 for Detwiler.

Yamane, the former director of the state Department of Human Services, was indicted Friday by an Oahu Circuit Court grand jury, along with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and three others, on bribery and conspiracy charges.

Detwiler declined to say whether she supports Trump or his ongoing claims of widespread voter fraud as he pushes Congress to impose tighter restrictions, such as requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote ahead of this year’s November mid-term elections.

“We should have full transparent elections for the United States,” she said. “Citizens should have ID.”

And she and others continue to raise concerns before the state Elections Commission about the need for more in-person voting centers, along with questions about how the U.S. Postal Service tracks Hawaii’s mail-in ballots.

In 2024, she rode in a van delivering ballots to the Capitol and said security remained tight throughout the entire process at the Capitol. But she wants more assurances about how ballots are treated at each county level and through the Postal Service.

Without providing evidence, Detwiler said flatly, “It’s not secure.”…

Read … Volunteers vouch for process as first ballots counted | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Nan Inc. plans 1,000 modular homes near Kona airport

PBN: … “We are in the process of trying to bring modular homes in the three- to four-bedroom range [costing] anywhere [from] $600,000 to $800,000 on fee-simple land,” Shin said. "Those homes are really essential in Kona ... That's going to really help the middle-class workers.”

Modular homes have been a topic of recent debate around Hawaii’s affordable housing crunch due to their low cost to build. Hawaii Legislators introduced bills this past Legislative cycle to encourage more modular homes in Hawaii with the intent of lowering residential construction cost

One Honolulu developer, Ohana Control Systems, is currently attempting to construct a factory that would build modular homes on Oahu. But those plans are still not finalized as Ohana still needs to secure land and permits for the proposal….

Modular housing remains easier to approve on Hawaii Island and Maui than on Oahu….

Read … Nan Inc. plans 1,000 modular homes near Kona airport - Pacific Business News

Hawaiʻi Loves Its Elementary Schools. That Changes With Time

CB: … The School Quality Survey, administered every year, captures the attitudes of parents, students and staff toward their schools. The questions cover topics such as student and teacher well-being and satisfaction, as well as family engagement. …

Response rates varied widely. Nearly 80% of students and 76% of teachers completed the survey last school year, but less than a quarter of parents responded.

Elementary students had the strongest views on campus safety, with only 20% of students saying they were neutral on the topic — far less than their older peers. Roughly 70% of elementary students felt safe at school and 9% felt unsafe on campus. …

Elementary schools also had the highest percentage of families reporting their satisfaction. From elementary to high school, the percentage of families feeling satisfied with their schools dropped by 13 percentage points….

Read … Hawaiʻi Loves Its Elementary Schools. That Changes With Time - Honolulu Civil Beat

ELECTION NEWS:

QUICK HITS: