Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

October 13, 2026 News Read

By Andrew Walden @ 11:38 AM :: 250 Views

UH Survey: 46% of Hawaii Residents Considered Leaving State Last Year

Maui Voter Roll Lawsuit Settled, Kauai Suit Continues

State Supreme Court to Hear Trumpster Election Commission Dispute

Obsessive Bissen Really Blew it by Ousting Chief Just Before Election

HNN: … Experts say an unproven allegation late in a campaign can upend a close race….

“But I will tell you, it’s a felonious crime, and the mayor is the suspect,” Pelletier said at a press conference Friday….

“One thing you can take from this is that this is toxic,” Moore said. “I mean, you can’t have a mayor and police chief who are basically at war with each other in the media.”…

“I’m not the one who picked the timing of this. I’m not the one who did this two weeks before the ballots dropped. That wasn’t me,” Pelletier said….

Moore said he sees the most damage to Bissen among undecided voters….

Many voters will fill out ballots this weekend. Three weeks remain until Election Day….

FLASHBACK 2025: Crackpot Lawsuit is all it takes--Maui Mayor and SHOPO make Complete Fools of Themselves Trying to get rid of Chief Pelletier

FLASHBACK 2025: "I am the mayor. I apologize to no one."

read … Obsessive Bissen Blows it

$45K Stolen Right After Lahana Fire: State AG leading criminal probe into Maui County Mayor

HNN: … The state Attorney General’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division (SIPD) is investigating allegations of fraud against Maui County staffers stemming from a civil whistleblower lawsuit filed earlier this year.

The lawsuit, filed by Leo Caires, former chief of staff for Mayor Richard Bissen, claims the mayor knew about possible fraud inside his administration and ignored it.

The suit points to a suspicious invoice dated Aug. 16, 2023, just after the Maui wildfires. It totaled $45,532.32 from a company named RTFEX Depot.

But Caires said he could not find any such company.

He also describes fake cashier’s checks made out to a fake company, and concerns about how grant money was being moved around. His inquiry included the mayor’s executive assistant and the Office of Economic Development.

The lawsuit says there were about $20,000 in transactions from another questionable vendor….

According to Caires, when he pressed for answers, Bissen ordered him to stop investigating. In 2024, Caires says he was demoted from chief of staff to energy commissioner with a significant pay cut, and later terminated.

Maui County has denied the allegations in court. A civil trial is scheduled for ~~April 2028~~ (shortly after hell freezes over) ….

In a statement, the county says “in 2024, upon learning of allegations involving County staff, Mayor Bissen (was forced to) directed the Department of Finance to investigate.”

Based on those findings, Bissen’s office says he (was forced to) forwarded the case to the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney. That led to the current investigation by the State Attorney General’s Office….

BACKGROUND: Lawsuit: Bissen insiders Stole $45K from County days after Lahaina Fire

read … State public corruption unit leading criminal probe into Maui County | HNN Investigates | Hawaii News Now

Rent Hikes for Maui wildfire survivors for 3rd time this year

SA: … On Oct. 1, Maui County launched its Housing Navigator Program, which will replace the state’s Disaster Case Management Program, to help impacted families develop a housing recovery plan. All households enrolled in the Disaster Case Management Program should expect to be contacted by a housing navigator by Oct. 23, who may be different from their current case manager.

… Maui wildfire survivors living in housing provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency will see their rents increase for the third time this year, with rent prices nearly tripling since March.

The increase, which was announced on Oct. 2, will require survivors of the deadly 2023 wildfires to pay 75% of the fair-market rental rate by the number of bedrooms in the unit.

For example, those in two-bedroom units — where the HUD fair-market rent is $2,656 — must pay $1,992 beginning Dec. 1. That’s a $680 increase from the previous rental rate, which went into effect on Sept. 1. Residents began paying 25% of fair-market rent — or $656 for a two-bedroom — on March 1….

read … FEMA raises rent for Maui wildfire survivors for 3rd time this year | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

3 years later: Enviros First to Rebuild Commercial Space on Front Street Lahaina

HNN: … A blessing ceremony marked the start of construction on the first commercial rebuild along Lahaina’s Front Street since the 2023 wildfire.

Project partners and contractors gathered at 612 Front Street for a blessing led by Kahu Wilmont Kahaialiʻi….

The project will bring back familiar storefronts while closely matching the appearance and original footprints of the buildings lost in the fire.

Plans include a 4,400-square-foot commercial building with four street-level bays and a separate 310-square-foot kiosk.

The new structures will use fire-resistant materials, including metal roofing and cement board siding instead of wood, while preserving the property’s familiar look.

Pacific Whale Foundation, which has been based in Lahaina since 2004, will return as the anchor tenant….

MN: Arita Poulson selected to lead first commercial rebuild on Lahaina’s Front Street : Maui Now

Read … Blessing marks start of first commercial rebuild on Lahaina’s Front Street

Hawaii’s holiday travel outlook not too merry amid high costs

SA: … Hawaii’s crucial holiday travel season is shaping up weaker than expected, with some hotel operators reporting bookings running about 15% behind last year’s pace amid higher airfares and mounting vacation costs.

For Hawaii, where visitors face some of the nation’s highest airfare and lodging costs, industry leaders say softer advance bookings and shorter stays are raising concerns that a weak festive season could dampen demand well into the first quarter of 2027.

The holiday period traditionally delivers some of Hawaii’s strongest hotel occupancy and room rates and helps set the tone for tourism demand in the new year….

Read … Hawaii’s holiday travel outlook not too merry amid high costs | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Star-Adv: It’s time to siphon money from secret caches

SA: … President Donald Trump on Thursday approved the request from Green to cover at least 75% of the estimated $200 million in damage to public buildings and infrastructure. Similar grants were made to cover the Kona-low damage, including about $162 million for 54 public schools…

… Green rightly asserted that this is the time to tap the state emergency budget and reserve (“rainy day”) fund. His proposal is to tap $300 million from the cache that now totals over $1.6 billion. The state Legislature should provide the two-thirds vote to enable money to flow….

Other caches were siphoned, too, redirecting nearly $175 million from myriad state department accounts, with $121 million of that spent on recovery after the Kona-low storms. Lawmakers will need to take stock of which funds are still needed…

Read … Editorial: It’s time to deploy ‘rainy day’ money | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

100,000 in Hawaii use Kalshi prediction markets despite legal bans

KHON: … Casinos are regulated by each individual state, but prediction markets are federally regulated, meaning states don’t receive any type of tax revenue.

“The federal government has recognized for a long time that these peer-to-peer trading models are safer and better when they’re regulated at the nationwide level and much different than state-licensed casinos or gambling operators who really exist just to take user profits,” said Robert Denault, Kalshi Head of Enforcement/Legal Counsel.

“They’re definitely backdooring it,” said DeCoite. “Which is why one of the conversations that we did have is we’re okay to be taxed.”

Kalshi said 4,000 users in Hawaii traded on weather contracts, which they said businesses could use as an insurance policy or hedge during weather disasters.

Kalshi said a business could wager that it will rain, so when it does and the business would have to close, they could at least make some money back.

“For me, honestly, gambling is a tax on people that are bad at math,” said Matayoshi. “I mean, some people get lucky, good for them. But the reasons casinos are so successful is because the house always wins.”

Gambling or not, there are people who could lose money and get out of control on these apps.

Lawmakers said they could use some of the revenue from it to help them and other problems that arise.

“How do we help to then educate people about gaming and the safety measures, precautionaries, and where do you go for help,” said DeCoite. “My whole issue is I cannot help people if I don’t have the revenue to help them or treat them.”

Both DeCoite and Matayoshi said lawmakers will look at laws at both banning and regulating these prediction market apps next session. At least 14 other states are also looking at similar legislation.

Kalshi’s representatives said they are open to a “reasonable tax frameworks” and will be meeting with state lawmakers later this year….

Read … Thousands in Hawaii use Kalshi prediction markets despite legal bans

The Perfect Storm - Five energy fights converging on the opening of the 2027 Hawaiʻi Legislative Session

IM: … When the Legislature convenes on January 20, 2027, five separate energy matters will be reaching decision points at the same moment:

HECO’s rebasing case (Docket 2026-0162), a request for about $170 million a year in new revenue. It is running nearly three months behind its original schedule, so discovery will likely start in January.

HECO’s securitization application (Docket 2026-0235), seeking $531 million in 30-year bonds repaid through a new, unavoidable charge on every bill. HECO is asking for a financing order within ninety days of the last filing.

HECO liability-cap legislation, which the Public Utilities Commission is likely to propose amending.

The JERA / Longboard LNG import terminal off Kalaeloa. Its FERC application is expected in December or January, followed by a state Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice (EISPN) and a federal Notice of Intent (NOI).

A storm-hardening and multi-hazard resilience track, which Life of the Land proposed in the second cycle of Integrated Grid Planning (Docket 2026-0001). The Consumer Advocate and HECO both acknowledge the need for it, though they disagree on where it belongs.

These matters are not separate. Each one changes the arithmetic of the others, and all of them land on the same customers’ bills ….

Read … The Perfect Storm - Five energy fights converging on the opening of the 2027 Hawaiʻi Legislative Session | Ililani Media

University of Hawaii proposes tuition hike after 2-year freeze

SA: … Increases would begin in the 2029-30 academic year and continue in 2030-31.

At UH-Manoa, resident undergraduate tuition would increase 5% in each of the final two years, rising from $11,760 annually to $12,360 in 2029-30 and to $12,984 in 2030-31.

At the UH-Hilo campus and UH-West Oahu, resident undergraduate tuition would increase 3% annually in each of the same years, rising from $7,632 to $7,872 in 2029-30 and to $8,112 in 2030-31.

Community college resident lower-division tuition would increase from $131 to $135 per credit in 2029-30 and to $139 per credit in 2030-31. For a student taking 24 credits a year, the proposed community college increases would amount to an additional $96 in tuition costs in each of the final two years.

At UH-Manoa, the annual increase would amount to $600 in 2029-30 and $624 in 2030-31. At the Hilo and West Oahu campuses, students would see increases of $240 in both years.

UH-Hilo’s Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy is the exception to the two-year freeze, with the proposal calling for a 5% tuition increase annually beginning in the 2027-28 academic year.

Nonresident undergraduate tuition at UH-Manoa would remain unchanged at $33,792 for the first two years before increasing 5% in each of the 2029-30 and 2030-2031 academic years.

Nonresident tuition at the Hilo and West Oahu campuses, now set at $20,592, would increase 3% in each of the final two years….

Read … University of Hawaii proposes tuition hike after 2-year freeze | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Rebukes DOE: Pay $14M To McKinley High Sex Abuse Victim

CB: … In a stunning rebuke of the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, the Attorney General and a lower court judge, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court has upheld a $14.2 million verdict in favor of a developmentally disabled girl who a civil case found had suffered years of sexual abuse at President William McKinley High School….

Amy was 14 years old when the abuse began and 17 when she and her mother filed their lawsuit. She is now 32.

“It’s outrageous,” said the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Eric Ferrer. ”The case should have been over within one or two years after we filed a complaint” in 2013. It was clear by then, he said, who was at fault….

“We knew from depositions, from interrogatories, that liability in this case was clear: multiple teachers and administrators were aware of what happened, and they did nothing about it,” Ferrer said. “Worse still, they didn’t tell mom what was going on with her daughter.”…

Attorney General Anne Lopez and her deputies, Skyler Cruz and Jennifer Crum, had appealed Crabtree’s decision to limit Amy’s depositions to two, 90-minute sessions. The education department and attorney general wanted to keep questioning her even though Crabtree’s court-appointed expert said the two depositions she had already participated in were exacerbating her trauma symptoms….

Amy’s lawyer said the attorney general’s push to continue deposing Amy was one of the most offensive aspects of the state’s litigation strategy. “That was probably the most cruel thing,” Ferrer said. …

Soon after Amy enrolled as a freshman in 2008, reports began surfacing that she was performing oral sex on higher-functioning male classmates, the opinion says. Also during this time, the opinion said, a senior student took Amy to Ala Moana Beach Park where he raped her orally, vaginally and anally in a restroom.

By February 2009, multiple teachers became aware of reports that Amy was engaging in oral sex at school. In 2010, teachers reported that she was caught in a closet with the same senior student.

The next year, her art teacher, who had already been told that Amy had performed oral sex at school, let her and a male classmate go to the bathroom at the same time….

In upholding the verdict, the justice, McKenna, made a point of identifying numerous McKinley High School teachers and administrators who she said failed to protect Amy. Two teachers minimized the reports of abuse, the opinion said, by characterizing Amy as “boy crazy.”…

MEANWHILE: Lahaina man sentenced to consecutive terms totaling 60 years for sexual assault against a child : Maui Now

Read … Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Rebukes DOE: Pay $14M To McKinley High Sex Abuse Victim - Honolulu Civil Beat

Before we subsidize: Mapping Hawaiʻi’s childcare economy

ASD: … how other states have taken comprehensive approaches to early childcare ….

read … Before we subsidize: Mapping Hawaiʻi’s childcare economy

Judge Rules State Must Pay $1.1M In Oʻahu Jail Suicide

CB: … According to Kimura’s decision, Simeona-Agoo never finished high school, and began using methamphetamine at about age 17. Her records show a history of meth-induced psychosis as well as PTSD, hallucinations, paranoia, poor impulse control and “difficulty regulating her mood and conduct.”

She served time at both OCCC and the Women’s Community Correctional Center, and when she died she was awaiting trial on a robbery charge. Records show she underwent multiple evaluations for suicide risk as well as a series of placements on suicide watch while she was in custody, according to the Kimura decision.

She told jail staff on Feb. 7, 2022 she wanted to kill herself and wrapped a sheet around her neck, prompting staff to intervene and place her on suicide watch. She was later released back into general population, but on March 11, 2022 she tried unsuccessfully to hang herself with a sheet tied to a vent in her cell.

On June 15, 2022, Simeona-Agoo was approved for release from the mental health module of the jail, but she was then moved to disciplinary segregation to punish her for a series of misconduct penalties. Those included slapping a slice of bread covered with an “unknown liquid” on a correctional lieutenant’s back, threatening a correctional worker and punching a nurse in the face.

Simeona-Agoo hanged herself with a sheet tied to a vent in her cell shortly before 7:30 p.m. that same day…

read … Judge Rules State Must Pay $1.1M In Oʻahu Jail Suicide - Honolulu Civil Beat

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