August 18, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

August 18, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 8:07 AM :: 315 Views

City waives permit fees, streamlines emergency repairs following Tropical Storm Lala

FBI Records Raise New Questions About Murder-For-Hire Plot

CB: … The first calls to the FBI came in just after Christmas Day 2023: Sheri Tanaka was looking for a hitman, an informant said.

At the time, Tanaka, an attorney, was a co-defendant in a high-profile bribery case alongside former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and one of his top campaign contributors, Dennis Mitsunaga, founder of one of the state’s most politically connected engineering firms. The government alleged that Kaneshiro accepted campaign donations from Mitsunaga and his associates in exchange for prosecuting an employee Mitsunaga was having problems with. Tanaka worked for Mitsunaga.

Their trial was set to begin that February but, according to the informant, Tanaka and her uncle, Michael Irish — a prominent businessman known as the King of Kimchi because he owns several brands that produce the fermented food — wanted someone to “get rid of” U.S. District Court Judge Michael Seabright and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Wheat, who was spearheading the prosecution. …

The informant told authorities that Tanaka and Irish also wanted their assassin to “take care of witnesses” and burglarize Tanaka’s offices to steal documents she didn’t want prosecutors to find. Some of those witnesses targeted for intimidation and coercion, according to the informant, included Tanaka’s own co-defendants.

No price was too high, the informant said he was told, and Tanaka and Irish ultimately offered to pay $100,000 to whoever took the job….

In the end, Jury Nullification did what Tanaka's $100K could not:

2024: Defend Hawaii: Miske Lawyer Celebrates Kaneshiro Corruption Victory, Tells Feds to Pack Up and Leave

2024: Interview with Kaneshiro jury foreman Shane Keli’i Kai Paleka

2025: Wheat Retires, Corruption Investigations Over: Its Party Time Again -- Sweet Deal for Former city officials Guilty in police chief payoff conspiracy

PDF: Dkt 36 Warrant Application 24-mj-140 | DocumentCloud

Read … FBI Records Raise New Questions About Murder-For-Hire Plot - Honolulu Civil Beat

Mudflow Cashflow: State, federal funding sought for Lala recovery

ASD: … “We’re going to have to do a lot of public assistance for individuals who are dislocated,” Green went on.

Green promised “significant appropriations” in the coming year for road infrastructure upgrades, and that Ka‘u would receive the lion’s share of that money.

Throughout the storm, Green said he is communication with Markwayne Mullin, director of the Department of Homeland Security, for potential federal aid after damage assessments are complete.

And Sen. Brian Schatz announced Sunday that he has spoken with Sean Duffy, Secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation, who has offered to help with the recovery process. Schatz reportedly requested that Duffy approve a future request by the state for emergency funding for road repairs.

All counties also signed emergency proclamations in advance of the storm, which allow them to access state and federal funds more efficiently.

Specific federal funding requests will be contingent upon damage assessments, which are still being carried out….

HTH: ‘The aftermath of it all shocked me’: Big Isle residents assess damage, prep for a long recovery after Lala - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Read … State, federal funding sought for Lala recovery

Honolulu Bill 53: Fine, Jail Meth Addicts Over Stolen Shopping Carts

CB: … Under Bill 53, those using shopping carts outside the premises of a store can face fines up to $2,000 or up to 30 days in jail, and their carts could be confiscated…. The bill’s introducer, Honolulu Council Chair Tommy Waters, says the measure is needed to curb shopping cart theft and abandonment….

Supporters, including retailers, law enforcement officials and some residents, say the bill would help recover stolen property and address shopping carts that obstruct sidewalks, bus stops, parks and waterways. While shopping carts are often found (piled high) within sidewalk homeless encampments, (and in stream beds where they cause flooding) they’re also sometimes brought home and then ditched by shoppers who don’t want to carry their groceries by hand. As of 2024, Walmart in Kapolei had hired a man offering a shopping cart retrieval service to combat this problem.

The bill passed a first reading on Aug. 12. Members Scott Nishimoto, Val Okimoto, Augie Tulba and Matt Weyer supported Waters’ bill. Radiant Cordero and Esther Kiaʻāina voted aye with reservations. Tyler Dos Santos Tam was absent….

“People just throw shopping carts and trash all into the streams,” Okamoto said. “It clogs our waterways.”

Dave Erdman, interim president & CEO of the Retail Merchants of Hawaiʻi, said shopping carts are valuable business property that can cost hundreds of dollars to replace and should be treated like any other item removed from a store without permission….

“And people wonder why their grocery prices keep going up,” Gary said. “That is one of the reasons.”

“Up to 30 days incarceration essentially means it’s a green light for the police just to pick people off the street and put them somewhere else in broad daylight.”

1980s: Mehau in Majuro – How the US Meth Epidemic Began

Read … Honolulu Considers Fining, Jailing Homeless Over Shopping Carts - Honolulu Civil Beat

HURRICANE LALA:

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