August 23, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Sunday, August 23, 2026

August 23, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:43 AM :: 126 Views

Does FDA Approval Mean End to Anti-Sunscreen Hysteria?

It’s time to fix how Hawaii rebuilds

SD18 Dems Find only one candidate Crooked Enough to Endorse

CB: … As expected, the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi is backing newly appointed Sen. Danielle Bass (Bass worked Under Both Yamane and Asuncion) as its pick to run in a special election Nov. 3 for the Senate District 18 seat recently vacated by longtime Sen. Michelle Kidani…

The Democrats meet Saturday afternoon to anoint Bass. According to a press release, she was the only candidate who was “qualified” (crooked enough) to be placed on the ballot and thus the only one to be voted on at the meeting. Of course, they didn’t say why she was qualified. …

Meanwhile, the Hawaiʻi Republican Party has already chosen tourism executive Kelly Kitashima to be on the ballot. She ran for Honolulu City Council in 2018 and state Senate in 2020 and you can read her Civil Beat Candidate Q&A for that race here.

Political pundits are already predicting that Kitashima will have the edge in the contest….

REALITY: Corruption: Green’s SD18 Appointee Worked Under Both Yamane and Asuncion

Read … The Sunshine Blog: Uh-Oh, Dissing The US Supreme Court Did Not Go Unnoticed - Honolulu Civil Beat

Will USPS deliver mail-in ballots in Hawaii?

G: … The USPS acknowledged in the text of the final rule posted online Friday, which is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register next week, that two injunctions issued by federal courts in California and Massachusetts currently bar it from moving ahead with the changes to comply with a March executive order signed by Donald Trump….

The federal government has sued 30 states and Washington DC for refusing to hand over lists of eligible voters.

Despite the injunctions, the Trump administration is pressing ahead with plans to disrupt votes cast by mail.

According to the text posted online Friday, the USPS is ready to implement the new restrictions on mail-in voting if the court injunctions are lifted.

“If the government obtains timely relief from the injunctions, implementation immediately thereafter will provide election officials as much time as possible before the next election to comply with the rule’s preparation standards for Federal Ballot Mail envelopes, and to prepare to submit data to the Federal Ballot Mail Portal (‘Portal’), before the mail-in and absentee ballots subject to this rule are mailed (which generally occurs in September or thereafter, as determined by state law),” the rule reads. “The Portal will become active (along with the verification process that relies on Portal data) at the time of the publication of the system of records (‘SOR’) governing the Portal.”…

TH: Federal judge reinforces block against Trump mail-in voting restrictions

KHON: USPS announces new mail-in ballot guidelines

TH: US Postal Service issues rule to tighten requirements for mail-in voting despite courts looking to block

R: US Postal Service issues rules to tighten mail-in voting if court gives OK The rule unveiled on Friday would require states to provide to the USPS the names and ⁠barcodes tied to their mail-in ballots for federal elections and require states to provide unique barcodes applied to the outbound and return ballot mail envelopes.

PDF: 2026-17238.pdf

MEANWHILE: Long Lines Suppress Votes on Election Day: Election Officials Plan to do it Again in 2026

Read … US Postal Service rule tightens mail-in voting despite court orders blocking changes

Tax credit program could aid students – if Green Allows it

SA: … For many Hawaii families, a quality education requires an enormous financial sacrifice. Tuition often means parents must work multiple jobs, and families must make difficult financial decisions to afford the educational opportunities they believe are best for their children.

Fortunately, Gov. Josh Green now has an opportunity to help more families access the quality education they seek for their keiki.

The federal Education Freedom Tax Credit allows states like Hawaii to participate in an initiative that encourages private donations to nonprofit scholarship organizations. Those organizations can then provide scholarships that help families access the educational opportunities that best fit their children’s needs — from tuition to tutoring and other qualifying expenses. Students in every learning environment are also eligible to benefit from the law.

This doesn’t require our Legislature to redirect funding away from Hawaii’s budget or reduce the resources available to our public schools. Instead, it allows taxpayers in our own state to invest in our local kids. If Hawaii declines to participate, those donations could serve kids in other states.

At Sacred Hearts Academy, more than 60% of our students receive some form of financial aid. That support helps families make a choice they otherwise might not be able to afford. The Education Freedom Tax Credit could help more students access those opportunities….

Read … Column: Tax credit program will aid students | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hurricane ‘Infrastructure’ Rebuild--Opportunity to Snatch Green Fee Slush Fund Away from Eco Activists

Shapiro: … Todd said the “green fee,” the 0.75% hotel room tax surcharge assessed on tourists to help pay for environmental and climate needs, should focus on getting ahead of future disasters.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda struck a similar note as she toured hurricane damage in Kau, which took the biggest hit from Lala.

Tokuda said Hawaii’s recent disasters, such as Lala, the Kona-low storms, the Maui wildfires and Big Island volcanic eruptions should make us rethink the way we approach disaster recovery.

“We have to be smarter. We have to harden our infrastructure,” Tokuda said. “It’s penny-wise, pound- foolish … to think that we’ll just repair the way it was and we’ll be fine.” …

Read … Volcanic Ash: Action, not talk, is needed to mitigate future disasters | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Maui County pretends to ‘mull’ pricey desalination plans as part of scam to take ag water from Mahi Pono and use it for tourism

MN: … “A path to desalination is a ~~road trip~~ (media circus) and at this stage, I would say we’re kind of still loading up the car (with clowns and jugglers),” said James Jensen, chief engineer with the Maui County Department of Water Supply. “Not knowing when a facility would actually be built, but part of this is to make sure we’re laying that groundwork.” …

Maui’s population is projected to grow by 32% between 2015 and 2035, but water demand is projected to grow by 47% from 33.5 to 48.5 million gallons per day during that time, according to the Maui Island Water Use and Development Plan. ~~South and West Maui~~ (Tourism sacrifice zones) are expected to see the biggest increases in demand in the coming years….

Read … Growing demand for water pushes Maui County to mull pricey desalination plans : Maui Now

FEMA to donate Kīlohana modular units to Maui County; plans call for permanent housing

MN: … Maui County will take ownership of the 167-unit Kīlohana modular housing project, now serving Lahaina wildfire survivors, in a move that could pave the way for the temporary homes to become permanent housing, County Council members learned Wednesday.

Office of Recovery Administrator John Smith told the county’s Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s sales-and-donations program cleared its final approval the same day as Wednesday’s meeting, allowing the units to be transferred to the county through the state.

“The intent is to turn those into permanent housing,” Smith said. “That final end-like configuration, location, all that is not set yet. The current plan is to utilize them in the interim while we still have these bigger multi-families being built.” …

(REALITY: These units are doomed. They will end up empty and forgotten somewhere.)

Read … FEMA to donate Kīlohana modular units to Maui County; plans call for permanent housing : Maui Now

State warns of potential flooding near Wahiawa Dam

KHON: … As of Friday, Aug. 21, the reservoir was at 77.5 feet, and the state said water has been discharged at the maximum safe rate since last week.

The state has set alert triggers at 82, 84 and 86 feet, with 86 feet considered an imminent failure level.

They added the dam can operate up to water levels of 90 feet. Officials stress that flooding in Waialua and Haleiwa can happen from heavy rain, even without a dam incident….

Read … State warns of potential flooding near Wahiawa Dam

6 In 10 Lost Power During Lala. It May Take A State Inquiry To Learn Why

CB: … the company put forward a $190 million plan to strengthen infrastructure — funded in part by federal taxpayers — in 2021. Then the fires on Maui in 2023 forced HECO to shift focus from hurricanes to wildfires.

The utility has made significant strides in increasing surveillance and monitoring in areas at high risk for wildfires. But that’s come at a cost: less money than originally planned for projects such as removing trees that threaten power lines.

More than any other single issue, HECO now blames the Lala outages on invasive trees falling on transmission and distribution lines….

BIN: Frustration grows as 10,000 plus Hawaiian Electric customers reach a week without power, answers : Big Island Now

Read … 6 In 10 Lost Power During Lala. It May Take A State Inquiry To Learn Why - Honolulu Civil Beat

David Ige’s victory over incumbent governor Neil Abercrombie in the 2014 primary was the biggest insurgency in Hawaiʻi’s history

CB: … David Ige’s victory over incumbent governor Neil Abercrombie in the 2014 primary was the biggest insurgency in Hawaiʻi’s history.

Ige was a state senator but really a political nobody. Early polls showed not only that he had little support but that almost no one even knew who he was.

Yet he beat Abercrombie by a historic 37 points.

Abercrombie had all the usual advantages — incumbency, a much bigger campaign war chest, endorsements by powerful people, including President Obama, as well as name recognition.

Plus, this is Hawaiʻi, for goodness sakes. Hawaiʻi’s elections are generally so calm, quiet, and often little more than ritualistic, and with a few exceptions so clear in advance who the winner will be.

What’s most extraordinary is that in such an incumbent-friendly, political business-as-usual state, Democratic voters didn’t just dislike Abercrombie, they changed their typical behavior and actually voted against him. That’s virtually unprecedented.

But, really, mere minutes after the 2014 results were announced, Hawaiʻi politics jumped securely back onto the path of the same old, same old….

REALITY: The Secular Religion That's Eating the Democratic Party

Read … Neal Milner: We Need More Insurgencies In Hawaiʻi Elections - Honolulu Civil Beat

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