Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

October 27, 2026 News Read

By Andrew Walden @ 10:31 AM :: 446 Views

Our Right to Speak

New Poll Finds Tight Maui Mayoral Race as Bissen’s Job Approval Drops Sharply

Freedom in the 50 States--Hawaii Dead Last

115-Year Quarantine Costs Hawaii Ag $800M Yearly

Coddled by State Judiciary, Alleged Shooter Finally Catches a Federal Case

Facing Electoral Doom, Keoni Souza Rants to Himself in Empty Room

CB: … On Monday, the case of the rogue OHA board members ended in a less than spectacular fashion with a slap on the wrist delivered in front of a mostly empty board room. The four bad guys had already walked out of the meeting before Board Vice Chair Keoni Souza could publicly thrash them. Once thrashed, the remaining five members voted to, wait for it, make a letter censuring them public. The Blog is sure they are shaking in their slippahs….

Souza, as board vice chair, filed a complaint against the four trustees alleging that they had violated the board’s code of conduct that requires trustees to support decisions of the board and includes a “duty of loyalty” to OHA.

Souza laid out his arguments on Monday but alas, the only ones left to hear them were a few staff members and a sparsely populated online audience (including The Blog).

Prior to the hearing, Akina said he would refuse to participate in the proceedings, which he painted as a “political exercise” to influence votes just a week out from the election. Two of the minority trustees and three in the majority, including Souza, are facing contested races.

Akina said the trustees can “stage whatever theater suits their political needs. I do not accept the role they assign me in this production.” …

Read … The Sunshine Blog: OHA Board Members Get A Public Spanking. Sort Of - Honolulu Civil Beat

Council narrowly rejects resolutions to rezone condos as hotels for continued transient vacation rental use

MN: … The Maui County Council voted 5-4 on Friday against sending hotel-zoning proposals for four oceanfront condominium complexes in West Maui and Māʻalaea to the Maui Planning Commission, rejecting the last four properties Council Chair Alice Lee had sought to add to the referral process.

Lee introduced both resolutions. Each failed with four ayes and five noes.

Resolution 26-160 applied to Nohonani and Hoyochi Nikko condominiums on Lower Honoapiʻilani Road in Lahaina, and Resolution 26-161 covered the Māʻalaea Kai and Island Sands in Māʻalaea. Each would have sent two bills to the commission: one amending the community plan and one rezoning the properties from apartment to hotel use, which would let owners keep renting units to visitors.

Lee, Vice Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura and Council Members Tom Cook and Kauanoe Batangan voted ayes on Resolutions 26-160 and 26-161. Council Members Gabe Johnson, Tamara Paltin, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane Sinenci and Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins voted no. Although Uʻu-Hodgins usually votes with the Council’s majority members, she broke away for these two votes and joined the Council’s progressive members.

Uʻu-Hodgins, who chairs the Housing and Land Use Committee and introduced Resolution 26-129, said the new resolutions conflict with the criteria she wrote for that measure….

Read … Council narrowly rejects resolutions to rezone condos as hotels for continued transient vacation rental use : Maui Now

Election tiebreaker process critiqued at hearing

SA: … Opponents of a procedure recently used to break Hawaii election ties criticized a plan to adopt the process as a rule for future elections during a public hearing Monday.

About 20 people, including two candidates who lost tiebreaker drawings in Hawaii’s Aug. 8 primary election, expressed concerns about or objected to the state Office of Elections adopting administrative rules to formally establish a procedure for carrying out a state law that requires election ties be broken “by lot.” ….

KITV: Hawaii still has no clear tie-breaking rule with election day a week away | News | kitv.com

Read … Election tiebreaker process critiqued at hearing

DHHL pushes forward with exploration of geothermal energy opportunities

HTH: … At a meeting of the department’s executive board, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, in Hilo on Oct. 19, commissioners voted to approve legislative priorities for 2027. This included a proposed bill to request an appropriation of $3.5 million to DHHL for the “investigation, exploration, and identification of geothermal resources on Hawaiian home lands.”…

DHHL Chair Kali Watson said it could result in lower electricity costs for homesteaders and would also allow the department to generate revenue, which he said would be used to develop the infrastructure needed to provide more homestead leases and shorten the list of Hawaiians waiting for land, which currently stretches nearly 30,000 people long.

“We look at our beneficiaries, we have about 11,000, actually up to 12,000 now, homesteaders, and they pay close to $40 million a year in electricity costs, and that’s a devastating impact on our beneficiaries,” he said in an interview with the Tribune-Herald after the meeting. “So, we’re going to look at solutions, and part of the solutions is using our land, our resources … .”

The Legislature appropriated $500,000 in funding in 2022 for DHHL’s preliminary geothermal investigations. The new proposed bill states that “additional moneys are needed for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to continue its efforts in collecting geothermal resources data.” ….

Specifically, the funding would be used to drill exploratory “slim holes,” collect geophysical data, develop water wells and hire consultants, including an indigenous group in New Zealand that developed and manages a geothermal plant….

Hawaiian Homes Commission East Hawaii representative Mike Kaleikini has been supportive of the project. In addition to his role on the commission, he has worked for nearly 30 years with Puna Geothermal Venture, the only geothermal plant in the state…

“We’re fortunate that the regulations and how we are structured is that all of the revenues from the leased lands for the royalties will stay within the department,” he said. “It will allow the department to pursue further development infrastructure — always underfunded.”…

Read … DHHL pushes forward with exploration of geothermal energy opportunities | Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Construction Of Military Data Center On Maui Excites Usual Suspects

CB: … The controversial telescopes that the military is seeking to build in a state conservation district atop Haleakalā would be remotely operated from a two-story, 56,000-square-foot laboratory and data center that is currently under construction in Kīhei.

Federal officials from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force finalized plans to build the nearly $100 million facility at the Maui Research and Technology Park around the same time that they proposed adding up to seven telescopes to the military’s existing space surveillance complex on the volcano’s summit. But while the telescopes have drawn intense public backlash, the Kīhei project flew under the public’s radar for several years.

(Now the usual activists have noticed that Kihei is a more convenient protest site.)

Read … Construction Of Military Data Center On Maui Alarms Residents - Honolulu Civil Beat

ACLU: Isles must resist surveillance state

SA: … Automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). ALPRs, cameras that automatically capture license plate information, have reignited public debates about privacy and safety. Police have abused ALPRs and their extensive databases for stalking, wrongful stops and detentions, and providing unauthorized access to immigration agents. While official information about ALPRs in Hawaii is limited, crowdsourced maps like DeFlock offer insight. As of Oct. 21, 92 ALPRs have been mapped across Hawaii on DeFlock. Maui has 47; Oahu, 33; Big Island, 11; and Kauai, only one.

Who uses ALPRs in Hawaii and for what purpose are open questions. Hawaii’s Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) uses ALPRs “to support public safety and authorized investigations.” The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) has used ALPRs since 2012. Maui Police Department (MPD) currently uses the majority of ALPRs in its county but claims that it doesn’t use them for surveillance purposes. However, without laws governing the use of ALPRs, there is no guarantee that police won’t use this technology for increasingly intrusive purposes, including selling data about you. Last month, the Maui City Council advanced a bill that, if passed, will establish protections around the sale of ALPR data….

Read … Column: Isles must resist surveillance state | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Will Prediction Markets Change Hawaii Sports Betting Stance?

SBCA: … After recent legislative failures to move forward with Hawaii sports betting, lawmakers in one of the most prohibitive gambling states continue to contemplate the constantly evolving gambling conversation.

A working group created earlier this year continues to examine whether the state should permit Hawaii sports betting, casino gaming, lottery products, or other forms of regulated gambling. At the same time, lawmakers attempted to prohibit prediction market contracts tied to sports and political events, while a Hawaii resident filed a putative class action against Kalshi under state consumer protection and gambling laws.

These overlapping developments leave the state with an increasingly awkward regulatory posture as conventional gambling remains illegal, Hawaii sports betting legislation keeps stalling, and residents still access betting-like event contracts through federally regulated platforms ….

Read … Will Prediction Markets Change Hawaii Sports Betting Stance?

Lahaina Fire: Judge Nails Attys for Overbilling for Hawaii Utility Suit

L360: … ‘Wildly Overinflated’ legal fees reduced by $5M ….

Read … Pomerantz Attys Accused Of Overbilling For Hawaii Utility Suit

Former Moanalua wrestler alleges grooming by ex-coach facing child sex charges

HNN: … Bekah Garcia says former wrestling coach Sean Sakaida did not sexually abuse her, but describes alleged grooming, body shaming and emotional abuse ….

Garcia described late-night, one-on-one practice sessions alone with Sakaida on the Moanalua campus.

“He wanted to do one-on-one practices with me. He really wanted to take me under his wing,” she said. “And he would be my wrestling partner.”

She said he put his hand on her stomach during one practice and commented on her weight.

“My stomach’s a little soft and he would grab it like, oh my god, you need to lose a couple pounds,” she said. “He’d call me fat. He’d call me lazy.”

Garcia, who is openly lesbian, said she was also the target of gay slurs from teammates and that Sakaida dismissed her complaints….

Read … Former Moanalua wrestler alleges grooming by ex-coach facing child sex charges | Hawaii News Now

Recovery is complicated for domestic violence victims

SA: … Nearly 2,000 domestic violence survivors sought help from Child & Family Service by the end of August, as Hawaii’s housing shortage and rising living costs made it harder for victims to leave abusive relationships and rebuild independently.

New Child & Family Service data show the nonprofit served 1,936 survivors through Aug. 31, received 1,536 hotline calls and provided 10,764 emergency shelter nights. Ninety-two percent of participants were living below the poverty line, with an average annual income of $17,223.

The toll is often felt across entire families. Child & Family Service reported that 1,001 children were involved in domestic violence crises through Aug. 31. Advocates say survivors often stay because they fear losing custody of their children or cannot afford to support a family on a single income….

Read … Recovery is complicated for domestic violence victims | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Kaua‘i Shrimp Seeks State Rent Reduction After Hurricane Damage

CB: … The Category 2 storm battered Kaua‘i Shrimp’s ponds and facilities last month, causing nearly $4.8 million in damages and lost shrimp production, according to its parent company Aloun Farms. The farm, which plans to close Saturday, had been operating for nearly 30 years on the Mānā Plain west of Kekaha.

Aloun Farms has asked the state Agribusiness Development Corp. for $1.85 million in waived fees and reduced rent for three years to help it restore the shrimp farm ponds as well as other agricultural acreage. Last Thursday, the agency deferred that request to allow for more discussion. …

Read … Kaua‘i Shrimp Seeks State Bailout After Hurricane Damage - Honolulu Civil Beat

City to pay $2.5M over fatal Salt Lake sidewalk fall

HNN: … Brad Kimura fell before dawn on Oct. 21, 2024, while walking his rescue dog, Maya, on Ala Naupaka Street. He tripped on a crack in the sidewalk that was 3 inches high. Police found him on the sidewalk a few feet past the crack. He was conscious but not moving.

Body camera video shows an officer asking Kimura if he wanted to sit up. Kimura told the officer he could not feel his extremities. Officers then checked his ability to feel touch at several points on his body; he answered no each time.

Kimura was immediately quadriplegic, unable to use his arms or legs. Mike Cruise, the attorney for the Kimura family, said Kimura’s immediate concern after being injured was the care of his parents….

Kimura was unable to breathe deeply enough to clear his lungs. He died nine months later of pneumonia. He was 53….

Read … City to pay $2.5M over fatal Salt Lake sidewalk fall | Hawaii News Now

EB5 Scheme Files for Bankruptcy

TS: … Plans for the new tower presented by developer Johnson Fang were approved by the City and County of Honolulu in 2017, but construction stalled over the years amid mounting debt and lapsed permits, KITV4 reported.

By 2023, foreign investors who had initially backed the project began filing lawsuits over the lack of progress.

Some of these investors claimed they were promised visas in exchange for pumping more than $1 million into the project, KITV4 noted. Yet overgrown weeds, broken fencing, ripped tarp, and general disarray were observed at the site where construction was supposed to begin.

“When these investors invested either half a million or a million dollars into this EB 5 [immigration investment] program, the understanding was that the developer would build the project and they would hire the lawyers,” wrote Andrew Daisuke Stewart, the attorney representing Japanese investor Kiyohito Nishibayashi, according to KITV4….

Read … Group behind 175 Hawaii hotel rooms files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - TheStreet

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