September 18, 2026 News Read

Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, September 18, 2026

September 18, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:31 AM :: 414 Views

Lawsuit: Years of ‘customary non-enforcement’ by HPD, DPP, and Liquor Commission behind Waianae ‘Silvadome’ Mass Shooting

COVID Fraud: UH, AmeriCorps Agree to Pay $500K for failing to stop Higa, Aipoalani

Three-quarters of religion-based hate crimes in Hawaii last year targeted Jews, who are less than 1% of the state

Applications open for vendors, participants of Honolulu and Kapolei City Lights

Hawaiian Women in U.S. Have Highest Breast Cancer Incidence

Survey: 64% say Hawaii has become a ‘worse place to live’ over last five years

HB: … We began this section of both surveys with a broad question: Compared to five years ago, is Hawaiʻi a better or worse place to live? Each answer has a score, from 5 to 1, the higher the score, the more positive the respondents’ answers.

Among business leaders, exactly half believe Hawaiʻi is now a worse place to live. Among the general public, almost two-thirds do.

This negative assessment was shared by every demographic group tracked in the surveys: high income, low income and in-between respondents; those with college degrees and without; and all age groups and ethnic groups….

Read … Hawai‘i’s Quality of Life - Hawaii Business Magazine

Hundreds file unemployment claims on Kauai after Lowell

KHON: … Initial unemployment claims on Kauai jumped nearly eightfold after Hurricane Lowell, from 69 during the week of Saturday, Sept. 5 to 510 during the week of Saturday, Sept. 12.

One business casualty is the Stingray Tiki Bar at Lihue’s airport. The bartender said her last day is on Saturday, Sept. 19, but management first tried to close down with less than 24 hours’ notice….

State staff with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations will be on site at two County hurricane resource centers to help with employment-related questions — one site is at the Hanalei Neighborhood Center on Monday, Sept. 21 and Tuesday, Sept. 22, as well as the Koloa Neighborhood Center on Wednesday, Sept. 23 and Thursday, Sept. 24….

Read … Hundreds file unemployment claims on Kauai after Lowell

Resilience Hub Reality Check -- It Takes Way More Than the Latest Buzzword to Save Communities

IM: … the international record shows that hubs can make people less safe if the behavioral side is handled badly….a statewide network in the high hundreds of nodes is a reasonable inference — but it is an inference, not a state plan…. A hub network that ignores that granularity is not a network; it is a list….

The strongest argument for hubs is the documented state of public sheltering. Hawaii’s own guidance plans for roughly 35 percent of the population seeking public hurricane shelter, based on a 2009 statewide survey with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, while allocating only 10 square feet per person — explicitly below the national standard — specifically to squeeze more people into a statewide shortfall of buildings suitable for high wind. The state’s 2018 preparedness report was blunter: there are insufficient hurricane evacuation shelters to meet estimated demand, and those shelters have no supplies.

Eight years later the picture has not improved. Reporting in August 2026 found that 20 of Oahu’s 25 shelter sites were retrofitted to withstand only Category 1 winds; Honolulu County’s roughly 100,000-person shelter capacity is about half what it says a Category 5 storm would require; Kailua went from eight designated shelters to none; a North Shore campus was dropped after inspection placed a building in a flood zone; and Hawaii Island has just two facilities — Hilo High School gym and the Robert N. Herkes gymnasium in Pahala — built for Category 3 winds.

In 2018 a state official estimated it would take roughly three centuries at then-current funding to assess and retrofit the shelters needed statewide….

That is the context in which hubs are being asked to carry weight they were never scoped to carry. It is also the trap: hubs are generally not certified shelters, and blurring the two is how planning documents start promising protection that no engineer signed off on….

Read … The Resilience Hub Reality Check -- It Takes Way More Than the Latest Buzzword to Save Communities | Ililani Media

Recent visitor trends may signal long-term problems for the state’s biggest industry

CB: … Industry insiders say that the (high per-tourist) spending is more of a reflection of inflation than the result of an orchestrated plan, and they caution the shift toward so-called “high-value” travelers does not eliminate the sector’s challenges. A weakening Japanese market, increased competition from other beach destinations, and broader concerns about the impacts of tourism locally all raise questions about what sustainable growth in the industry should look like, and whether Hawaiʻi should be a place only for visitors who can afford to vacation here….

Visitors staying for less time is “kind of disturbing,” said Jennifer Chun, director of research at Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, in part, because it does not distribute money the way longer trips do. With fewer nights, visitors are less likely to leave Oʻahu, impacting neighbor islands. Hotels still collect their nightly rates, she said, but smaller retailers and businesses that depend on tourists sticking around after hitting all the main attractions are the ones that are feeling the brunt.

The average visitor in July spent $296 a day and stayed for 7.59 days, down from 8.83 days the same time last year. Industry insiders caution that the rise in per-person spending is not entirely a sign of wealthier clientele. Much of it, they say, reflects how much more expensive Hawaiʻi has become to visit.

According to the state’s latest Hotel Performance Report, the average daily room rate reached $398 a night, up 3.6% compared to a year earlier. Vacation rentals, which have declined significantly in numbers as the ~~islands’ revolted against overtourism~~ (hotel industry and unions attacked them) have also seen a sharp increase, reaching $543 a night in July, a 14.5% jump compared to a year earlier.

Taxes have climbed as well. Hawaiʻi’s new green fee brought the state’s transient accommodation tax to 11%. Combined with the 3% county transient accommodations tax and 4.5% general excise tax, taxes on lodging can reach nearly 20% of the entire bill….

SA: Honolulu City Council advances sharp increase in fines for unlawful peddling | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Read … Fewer Tourists, But They’re Spending More. Is This What Hawaiʻi Wanted? - Honolulu Civil Beat

Spying on You: Fate Of Proposed Data And Innovation Office In O‘ahu Voters’ Hands

CB: … Every interaction the city has with members of the public creates new data that can be analyzed, including tapping their Holo cards to board TheBus….

“Data sharing, data utilization, data security, data privacy, data accuracy – all those things that are covered with the role of the chief data officer – we should take this opportunity to enshrine it in charter to ensure that this supersedes any change in City Council or mayoral administration,” Lee said in an interview….

Read … Fate Of Proposed Data And Innovation Office In O‘ahu Voters’ Hands - Honolulu Civil Beat

The widespread implications of the demographic cliff for Hawai’i

ASD: … What is the demographic enrollment cliff? It refers to the significant drop in the college-age population that starts this fall in the 2026-27 academic year, and it represents a prolonged period of time — projecting at least fifteen years — when Hawai’i will be producing fewer high school graduates. In fact, Hawai’i is projected to produce 33% fewer high school graduates by the 2041-42 academic year. Signs of this are already being seen as Hawai’i’s Department of Education (DOE), where their enrollments have been dropping for eight consecutive years.

Why is demographic cliff happening? A number of factors contribute to the demographic cliff. Most attribute the demographic cliff to the declining birth rate. Other factors include out-migration and the lack of immigration and in-migration coming to Hawai’i. …

Read … Community Voices: The widespread implications of the demographic cliff for Hawai’i

OHA's Native Hawaiian Trust Fund Has Doubled In Value

CB: … An endowment intended to benefit Native Hawaiians has nearly doubled in the last decade and is now valued at more than $700 million.

The Native Hawaiian Trust Fund, controlled by trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, was valued at about $350 million in 2016. Despite posting net losses in 2020 and 2022, consistent gains from the stock market and changes over time by the office to diversify its investments have boosted the portfolio.

OHA uses the revenues from that trust fund to pay for programs.

Ryan Lee, OHA’s investment director, said at a recent board meeting that 2026 was another strong year for the investment portfolio, which gained more than $92 million during the fiscal year that ended in June.

Including its holdings in Hawaiʻi, like real estate in Iwilei and Kakaʻako, the total value of assets under OHA’s purview stands at about $942 million.

While it’s seen large gains in investments, spending by OHA has risen more slowly, going up about 24% from around $54 million in 2016 to a spending limit last fiscal year of about $67.6 million.

That is due in part to a 5% cap on withdrawals from the Native Hawaiian Trust Fund — a cap based on an average over five years. Last year, that came out to about $21 million annually. The office’s other major funding sources include revenue from the state’s use of public lands, which — after years of fighting for an increase from the Legislature — now sits at around $21.5 million a year. OHA’s real estate brings in about $14 million a year. The office typically gets around $3 million in state general funds….

Read … OHA's Native Hawaiian Trust Fund Has Doubled In Value - Honolulu Civil Beat

Haleakalā Telescopes: Thwarted so far, Usual Suspects ‘Wait Anxiously’ for Next Round of Protests

CB: … Several months after Maui ~~community members~~ (professional protesters) came out in droves to voice opposition to the military’s plan to build up to seven telescopes in a state conservation district atop Haleakalā, ~~some residents~~ (they) are anxiously waiting to see how federal officials respond to their feedback.

“We’re all waiting,” said Hina Kneubuhl, an organizer with Protect Haleakalā, a ‘collective’ of (the usual suspects) …

Read … Maui Residents Anxious About More Military Telescopes Atop Haleakalā - Honolulu Civil Beat

Former Honolulu Mid-Pacific teacher pleads no contest to sexually assaulting 10-year-old student

HNN: … A former Mid-Pacific Institute teacher pleaded no contest Thursday to two counts of third-degree sexual assault involving a student who was 10 years old when the abuse was reported, according to statements made in court.

Casey Link was indicted in June 2025 on four counts of sexual assault of a minor. Under a plea agreement, the most serious count was dropped and Link agreed to plead no contest to two counts of sexual assault in the third degree.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Thalia B.P. Murphy told the court that the alleged abuse occurred between 2022 and 2023, while Link was working as a teacher at Mid-Pacific Institute.

Murphy said Link repeatedly sexually assaulted the student inside the classroom while class was in session….

Read … Former Honolulu Mid-Pacific teacher pleads no contest to sexually assaulting student | Hawaii News Now

Soft-on-Crime: Hawaii man acquitted for property crime; arrested for similar offense 162 minutes later

SA: … A 51-year-old man who was acquitted Wednesday in a 2024 habitual property crime case was arrested later that day on suspicion of habitual property crime.

Andrew Bullock Coles has been arrested at least seven times for felony habitual property crime. Coles was in custody since he was charged Dec. 2, 2024, for habitual property crime after a Nov. 26, 2024, arrest at an ABC Store where he stole less than $250 worth of property.

He was acquitted at 9:37 a.m. on Wednesday and arrested in the 1400 block of Ala Moana Boulevard at 12:19 p.m. on suspicion of habitual property crime.

(DO THE MATH: 12:19 – 9:37 = 2hrs and 42 minutes = 162 minutes)

Habitual property crime is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison. He remains in police custody. Charges are pending with the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.

Coles has 40 prior state convictions, including six prior felony convictions for habitual property crime and one for burglary….

(DO THE MATH: 162 minutes / 40 priors = 4 minutes hesitation per prior.)

Read … Hawaii man acquitted for property crime; arrested for similar offense later in day | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

ELECTION NEWS:

HURRICANE NEWS:

QUICK HITS:

Comments