September 22 2026 News Read

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Tuesday, September 22, 2026

September 22 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 9:56 AM :: 256 Views

Election Integrity? Hawaii Worst in USA

Notice of Anticipated Judicial Vacancy – Maui District Family Judge

Death of Young Crypto Kingpin Leaves Massive Estate in Hands of Hawaii's Notorious Probate System

Yukutake v Lopez: 9th Circuit Upholds Hawaii Gun-Purchase Restrictions

Mitsunaga News: Otani Straw donor trial delayed again amid plea talks

HNN: … The trial for Terri Ann Otani, who is accused of illegally funneling money to political candidates, has been delayed for a fifth time as plea negotiations continue.

Otani and other employees of engineering firm Mitsunaga and Associates were acquitted of bribery conspiracy in federal court in 2024.

But testimony from that trial led the state attorney general’s office to file its own criminal case against the 71-year-old over straw donations….

“During the federal trial, people came and testified. And when they testified, they disclosed that Ms. Otani was subject to further criminal activity,” Kau said….

Among the witnesses who testified, JoAnn Aurello, Otani’s older sister who took the stand in the federal case saying she and her husband never made any political contributions to candidates.

But a search of the campaign spending website showed the couple gave more than $16,500 to various campaigns. Otani is accused of using Aurello’s name to make those donations, commonly called straw donors.

Otani’s niece, Jodee Haugh, also took the stand in the federal case after donations totaling tens of thousands of dollars were made in her name….

Legal experts said the state case does not amount to double jeopardy, even though witness testimony will overlap.

That’s because the federal case was about bribery, while the state case is about funneling campaign money through family members.

Alexander Silvert, a retired federal public defender said all suspected straw donors should be prosecuted because it threatens a fair political system….

Terri Ann Otani Through the Years:

read … Straw donor trial delayed again amid plea talks | Hawaii News Now

Yes on Question 2: Tax Increment Financing

CB: … Tax increment financing is used in some form in every other state except Arizona, said James Merriman, a professor of public policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, although he noted California has dramatically scaled back its use.

It’s important for Hawaiʻi voters to understand what tax increment financing is and isn’t, Merriman said.

“It’s not a tax break,” he said. “It’s just a sequestering of the tax revenue.”

Could Taxpayers Be On The Hook?

Given its extensive use across the continent for decades, tax increment financing has faced widespread scrutiny. The most adamant critics point to failed TIF projects to question the overall policy. Others have taken a more balanced approach, examining failures for lessons on how to better use tax increment financing.

The Hawaiʻi Institute of Public Affairs in August published a study taking a hard look at Hawaiʻi’s proposal.

The study addresses perhaps the biggest red flag: What happens if a project fails?

If the bonds are defined as “general obligation bonds,” county taxpayers as a whole could be on the hook. The institute recommends making sure the bonds are backed by the district, not the county. That would put the district on the hook if the project went south: the bondholders, not county taxpayers, would take a haircut.

Another strategy, Kawano said, is to issue the bonds in phases as development moves along and property values in the district increase. That way the district doesn’t get stuck with a big infrastructure loan that can’t be paid off if property taxes don’t rise.

One of the biggest criticisms – that tax increment financing steers money from local school districts – doesn’t apply to Hawaiʻi, where the statewide school district is funded with state revenue, not property taxes….

read … Should County Pay For Infrastructure Along The Rail? Voters Will Decide - Honolulu Civil Beat

Monthly HECO electricity bills could see a raise

KHON: … Beginning Tuesday, public hearings across the state will be held to discuss HECO’s rebasing proposal, which if approved by the Public Utilities Commission, would increase monthly bills for customers statewide…. If the changes are approved, HECO estimates an average household monthly bill would see an increase between $11 to $15….

Sept 14 2026: PUC Hearings Set: HECO Pushing 5.3% Rate Hike

read … Monthly HECO electricity bills could see a raise

The Cost of Living in Hawaii 185% of US Average

MF … Whether you're paying 85% above the national average in Hawaii or getting a break in the South, here's how much it actually costs to live in every state in 2026….

Hawaii is the state with the highest cost of living, coming in at a mark of 184.8 on the cost of living index. That means Hawaiians are paying 84.8% more for goods than the average American. The state is at a disadvantage because it's a series of islands not connected to the mainland, meaning goods cost more due to transportation expenses. High income and estate taxes also add to local costs.

Hawaii leads all states when it comes to expenses related specifically to groceries, housing, utilities, and transportation. In fact, the state's cost of living index for housing alone is 302.4, well above the national benchmark of 100….

WS247: Let's Be Real. Retirees Who Price Every Hawaiian Island Keep Ending Up on the Same One - 24/7 Wall St.

read … The Cost of Living in Each State for 2026, Mapped

Hawaiʻi Still Has A Physician Shortage

CB: … doctors are still leaving Hawaiʻi. More than 46 physicians left the state during the past year, and 20 to 30 retired. Another 10 physicians passed away within the last year, according to the report. Forty-nine new physicians who completed residency through the state’s loan repayment program remained in Hawaiʻi to practice…

SA: Letter: HMSA trying to solve a problem it helped create | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

PDF: act18-sslh2009_2026_physician-workforce_annual-report_508.pdf

JABSOM: Hawai‘i Physician Workforce Data | John A. Burns School of Medicine

read … Hawaiʻi Has A Physician Shortage – But A Lot Of Dermatologists - Honolulu Civil Beat

Federal Head Start Reforms Could Cut Supports For Welfare Cheats

CB: … fewer families may enroll in programs, since the proposed rules eliminate parents’ ability to self-attest their eligibility for Head Start…The Department of Health and Human Services estimates 8% of currently enrolled children nationwide would no longer qualify for Head Start under this change. …

The public has until early October to comment on the proposed rules. Edward Condon, executive director of the advocacy and assistance group Head Start West, said he expects the federal government will finalize the rules sometime in December and begin implementing them in 2027….

…the proposed rules give providers more flexibility and will allow programs to serve more children at lower costs….

On Oʻahu, parent Skyla Havens said Head Start has helped her with more than just early learning for her two children. Over the past few years, she said, the program has offered her husband resources to study for his GED, encouraged her to seek speech services for her daughter and assessed her children’s motor and communication skills. …

Under the proposed rules, providers would no longer be required to meet specific timelines for screening children for developmental delays or offer certain family engagement activities such as home visits from teachers or parent-teacher conferences. The rules also eliminate programs’ responsibilities to connect families with healthcare and insurance….

Head Start currently mandates that programs maintain small class sizes and a ratio of four infants and toddlers for every staff member. The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed that Head Start centers follow their state childcare licensing guidelines.

In Hawaiʻi, the infant staffing ratio would stay the same, but the toddler ratio could increase to up to eight children for every staff member, depending on the students’ age, according to a report from the Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University….

Schwab of the state’s Head Start Collaboration Office, adding that he doesn’t expect local programs to reduce their hours even if the new rules take effect. Families may also be able to pay for before- or after-school care using state tuition subsidies, he said. …

read … Federal Head Start Reforms Could Cut Supports For Hawai‘i Families - Honolulu Civil Beat

High-Need Foster Kids Now Have An Alternative To Staying In State Offices

CB: … a year after the task force’s formation, Department of Human Services Deputy Director Trista Speer says the new program, called Keiki Now, will serve as a temporary home for kids who have been surrendered by or taken away from their parents or caregivers until they can be placed back with a family.

The department began leasing an 18-bed facility on Oʻahu at the beginning of August staffed around the clock with behavioral health professionals and other clinicians from Pacific Health Alliance, a Hawaiʻi-based healthcare nonprofit. The pilot program will cost about $3.2 million in its first year, though some of that will be reimbursed by medical insurance, including Med-QUEST, the state’s Medicaid program, Speer said.

The last time a child slept in an office was on Aug. 2, according to Karlan Fields, the department’s social services division administrator.

Speer would not say where the facility is located on Oʻahu but said it is also open to kids from other islands. It is designed to handle children with the highest needs, including those with behavioral issues, developmental disabilities and trauma.

Even as the number of youth in the foster care system overall has gone down in recent years, the department has struggled to find enough foster families to care for children with the highest needs.

Between 2023 and 2025, more than 30 children slept in Department of Human Services offices or state-funded hotel rooms for spans ranging from one night to two months. In most of those cases, the children had been given up by foster families who were not equipped to handle their needs, or they were taken from families due to abuse or neglect.

Before the Keiki Now program, there was often nowhere else for these kids to go…

read … High-Need Foster Kids Now Have An Alternative To Staying In State Offices - Honolulu Civil Beat

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