September 27, 2026 News Read

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Sunday, September 27, 2026

September 27, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:10 AM :: 110 Views

The Jones Act Waiver Has Moved More Energy Than Official Numbers Show

Wait, you need a license for that? Hawaii strictly regulates MMA events

Dear Mr. Paxton, Pay Your Taxes

2028 Mayoral Race: Tupola v Weyer

CB: … Matt Weyer, the freshman council member who reps Waikele, Wahiawā, the North Shore and Koʻolauloa, recently set up an official campaign committee to start raising money for the 2028 election. The position is nonpartisan but Weyer lists his party affiliation as Democrat on the state Campaign Spending Commission paperwork. But we knew that, right?

He joins longtime Republican Andria Tupola, also a City Council member from the Westside, who set up her campaign committee for mayor a long time ago and has made no secret of her ambitions for the top city elected gig when Mayor Rick Blangiardi terms out in two years. She’s been out there raising money hand over fist …

read … The Sunshine Blog: Already Thinking About The 2028 Elections? This Guy Is - Honolulu Civil Beat

HD43: Souza Refuses to Participate in Candidate Forums

CB: … When voters in House District 43 get their general election ballots beginning next month, they will be asked to decide on a race that could not be settled in the Aug. 8 Republican primary. But the ballot will also include this label: “Republican Party Voters Only.”…

Associate Justice Todd Eddins and Acting Chief Justice Sabrina McKenna (opposed the label) ….

But the three-member majority disagreed with that, too, noting that voters from other parties and nonpartisans would also still be able to cast votes in a post-election election.

“There is no way to perfectly replicate the August 8, 2026 primary election; it is simply not possible to do so at this point in time,” they wrote….

Both candidates say they are now focused on the campaign and reaching out to voters. But there are no forums scheduled before Nov. 3, as Souza declined invitations from Civil Beat and PBS Hawaiʻi. Ballots will be mailed beginning Oct. 16.

read … Supreme Court Ruling On Disputed Election May Conflict With State Law - Honolulu Civil Beat

SD20 McDermott: ‘Stop Trans-ing our Children’

SA: … In a more than 30-minute phone interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, McDermott said his 5-year-old granddaughter is being taught about sexuality in her public school kindergarten class and came home to announce that she is a boy, McDermott said.…

The Star-Advertiser sent candidates for office an election season questionnaire, and in it asked, “What can the state government do to better support and improve public education in Hawaii?”

McDermott responded, “… for starters, stop trans-ing our children. … This is where 5 year old children, are told by an authority figure, it is possible to be born in the wrong body and their is no cure for it!”…

The Senate District 20 seat “is a test for Republicans and how robust their hold on that seat is,” Moore said. “….

read … Candidates vying for West Oahu Senate seat have sharply different views | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

YES on State Question 2: Ads Urge You To Vote For Better Roads

CB: … RISE Together Hawaiʻi is paying for hundreds of television spots airing throughout the day and night on Hawaiʻi’s major TV networks. Public records on file with the Federal Communications Commission show ad buys totaling about $200,000 for the month of September. And that’s just with the TV networks….

RISE is the acronym for “resilient infrastructure for shelter and equity” bonds, a financing system used in 48 other states but not explicitly authorized in Hawaiʻi and Arizona. The constitutional change would allow counties to set up special tax districts and then sell bonds to be repaid with revenue generated from projects within that new tax district. So existing property taxes would stay the same.

White says this mechanism would allow Hawaiʻi to pay for new infrastructure and fix old infrastructure without having to raise taxes.

The issue moved smoothly through the Legislature this past session with little opposition and a lot of support from the state, counties, planners, public policy experts, developers and the construction industry.

Here’s what voters will see on their ballots:

“Shall the Hawaii State Constitution be amended to direct the legislature to authorize the counties to issue resilient infrastructure for shelter and equity bonds to fund public improvements in designated districts, repaid solely by future growth in property tax revenues within those districts, not by increasing real property tax rates, where such bonds are excluded from the counties’ debt limit and are subject to accountability and oversight requirements as may be provided by law?” ….

SA: Editorial: Voters should enable city-linked ‘RISE bonds’ | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … Slick New Ads Urge You To Vote For Better Roads. Here's Who's Behind Them - Honolulu Civil Beat

On HMSA-HPH plan, assess patients, docs, oversight

SA: … Several findings merit close attention as Hawaii evaluates this proposal.

Patient steering. Shared leadership can create incentives to direct patients toward affiliated hospitals and facilities through lower copays, faster approvals or preferred networks. Healthier or more profitable patients may be steered, while competing hospitals care for more complex or costly cases.

Financial transparency. When an insurer owns the clinics or specialty services it pays, internal transfers can still count as “medical spending,” making it harder for regulators and the public to determine how much funding reaches frontline care.

Independent physicians. Priorities that favor affiliated facilities could lead to tougher contract terms, fewer referral options, and reduced practice autonomy for independent physicians.

Oversight gaps. Insurance, hospitals and physician practices are regulated separately, meaning no agency currently evaluates how a combined entity might affect the entire system. The same would be true in Hawaii unless new oversight mechanisms are created.

Neighbor island impacts. Providers and patients on neighbor islands already face limited resources and fewer alternatives. Any affiliation must account for these vulnerabilities….

SA: The future of healthcare in Hawaii may be too important to leave solely to the healthcare sector itself.

read … Column: On HMSA-HPH plan, assess patients, docs, oversight | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii Government Technology: Last to First in 31 Years

CB: … In 1995, Hawai‘i ranked “dead last” in technology use among all 50 states, receiving a grade of F for technology use. We lagged behind the rest of the nation, stuck in the paper age. The wake-up call prompted government leaders at the time to take action and face the problem head on.

Fast forward to 2022 and Hawai’i ascends into the top quartile among the states, receiving a grade of A- for its overall IT program from the U.S. Center for Digital Government. Two years later, in 2024, Hawai‘i maintains this same grade, a notable achievement.

Just this past week, the Center for Digital Government announced the top-performing digital states based on its 2026 survey and gave Hawai‘i an A, a full step up from the earlier A-….

GT: Digital States 2026: AI Moves From Experiment to Infrastructure

read … When It Comes To Government Transformation, Slow And Steady Wins The Race - Honolulu Civil Beat

Shapiro: Still stuck between a dump and a funky-smelling place

Shapiro: … Put the landfill in the Honolulu Hale plaza to make “government waste” more visually understandable….

Call it an agricultural park and throw in control of the tipping fees and Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz will put it in Wahiawa….

read … David Shapiro: Still stuck between a dump and a funky-smelling place | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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