October 2, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Thursday, October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:23 PM :: 201 Views

Green Wants Ultimate Fighting Training Center and Octagon at Aloha Stadium

Hawaii Should Introduce Forced Labor Prevention Legislation Next Session

Hawaii Resilience Fund Activated to Make up for Federal Budget Cuts

Taiwan: Strengthening Pacific Connections Through Culture and Youth Leadership

Corruption: New Acting Chief Justice immediately goes out of her way to Suggest Three Kealoha Convicts May Be Innocent

CB: … The high-profile federal prosecution of three former Honolulu officials on conspiracy charges, which ended in admissions of guilt this year, was based on a faulty premise, according to a court opinion penned by the acting chief justice of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.

(CLUE: Crooked deals like this are how McKenna gets to be permanent Chief Justice.)

The opinion raises the prospect that the alleged co-conspirators may be innocent.

Honolulu’s former top city attorney Donna Leong, managing director Roy Amemiya and Honolulu Police Commission Chair Max Sword – all political appointees of former Mayor Kirk Caldwell – were charged with felonies for arranging a $250,000 retirement payout for then-police chief Louis Kealoha, who was on the brink of being indicted on corruption charges.

Leong and Sword pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges earlier this year, and Amemiya signed a deferred prosecution agreement in which he admitted to participating in a conspiracy but avoided a conviction.

Key to the prosecution, led by San Diego-based prosecutor Michael Wheat, was the idea that the officials needed permission from the Honolulu City Council to make the deal. By evading a council vote, the agreement escaped public scrutiny before it was signed, and the defendants were said to have deprived citizens of their due process rights.

That premise is now being called into question.

In a court opinion published Tuesday, the day before she became acting chief justice, Sabrina McKenna suggests the load-bearing theory of the criminal case is wrong.

“City law did not require City Council approval of Kealoha’s retirement agreement in the first place,” McKenna wrote.

McKenna’s pronouncement is unusual in that it came about through a related but separate legal matter. The question before the court was about whether to restrict Leong’s law license. The parties did not ask the court for an opinion on the City Council question, and the majority opinion made no mention of that topic.

However, McKenna and Associate Justice Todd Eddins took it upon themselves to address the council issue in a concurring opinion. Federal public defender Ali Silvert, who helped crack open the Kealoha corruption case, said that strayed from standard practice.

“It was not an issue before the court at all and should not have been addressed,” Silvert said.

But now with a favorable opinion from two Supreme Court justices in hand, Leong, Sword and Amemiya could attempt to use it to clear their criminal records, Silvert said.

“It now opens the door to Amemiya, Sword and Leong possibly going back to federal court and withdrawing their guilty pleas on the basis of actual innocence,” Silvert said ….

Almost immediately after Leong pleaded guilty in March, the Hawaiʻi Office of Disciplinary Counsel – which investigates misconduct by lawyers and recommends discipline – recommended that Leong be “restrained” from the practice of law. …

(CLUE: By doing so, they put the question before the State Supreme Court.)

Sept, 2025: JSC: "Insufficient Applicants for Chief Justice"

Sept, 2025: LGBTQ Triumph: McKenna to be first Lesbian Supreme Court Chief Justice

PDF: McKenna-Eddins opinion on Donna Leong case | DocumentCloud

read … Convicted Political Trio May Be Innocent, Hawaiʻi Chief Justice Suggests - Honolulu Civil Beat

Young Brothers Money Laundering Scam Exposed

SA: … “That state of crisis is a predictable result of Young Brothers business decisions, at least predictable to everyone other than Young Brothers it seems,” said Edward Knox, an attorney for the state Division of Consumer Advocacy, in this week’s PUC hearing on the rate proposals. “And for every crisis, Young Brothers’ one answer seems to be repeatedly to seek higher and higher rates. That has been the cycle Young Brothers has been stuck in.”

Knox also noted that in good years, Young Brothers sent profits to its Seattle-based parent, transportation conglomerate Saltchuk — leaving the Hawaii shipper habitually cash-strapped and unable to weather downturns without steep rate hikes.

This is unsustainable — for YB, and certainly for Hawaii’s many businesses and consumers who pay the price, literally. Many here already struggle to make ends meet in high-cost Hawaii — and now, expect things to worsen as Hawaii heads into a predicted mild recession.

In 2020, YB received a 46% general rate increase from the PUC, an emergency request due to COVID-19-era financial losses amid plunging activity. While the pandemic surely had much bearing, a 2021 audit into YB — a condition of the rate approval — found disturbing practices, not wholly in Hawaii ratepayers’ interest but favorable to YB’s parent, Saltchuk. Among the independent auditor’s findings:

>> YB’s management had made “minimal effort” to control rising operating expenses, including labor costs that comprised 60% of total costs.

>> Instead of efficiencies, YB repeatedly sought rate increases. And it unfairly split costs between its regulated cargo service (on the backs of Hawaii businesses and consumers) and its unregulated cargo service (interstate and international customers, plus charter services)….

read … Editorial: Cargo rate hike is a bridge too far | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

The Fallout: Life After Aging Out Of An Abusive Foster Home

CB: … addiction and homelessness. Several amassed serious criminal records, including one who was killed by other inmates at an Arizona prison.

And the foster dad who abused them? He … would not have to answer for what happened at his foster home for more than a decade….

read … The Fallout: Life After Aging Out Of An Abusive Foster Home - Honolulu Civil Beat

OHA May Have Found A Way To Build Housing In Kakaʻako Makai

CB: … Kahele said that OHA is considering a range of options for development in Kakaʻako, and that DHHL is one avenue. Developing the area was a key goal for Kahele when he was elected chair of the board last year.

DHHL Chair Kali Watson alluded to a partnership with OHA on a housing project Tuesday morning during a panel on Hawaiian political progress. He later confirmed with Civil Beat that OHA was considering the partnership but that no agreement had been reached yet. Kahele also described the negotiations as preliminary.

Any deal would need approval by both the OHA Board of Trustees, composed of nine elected officials, as well as the nine-member Hawaiian Homes Commission, whose members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate….

How exactly DHHL would come to control the land — through a direct purchase, land swap or another mechanism — still needs to be worked out once a lot is identified, Souza said. The Hawaiian Homes Commission recently stalled another land swap over environmental concerns.

Kahele said that if a partnership with DHHL gets the green light, the goal wouldn’t be to make money for OHA, (it would be to make money for ‘Friends and Family’) ….

Moriwaki would like the state to consider another option: offering OHA land along the rail line that is already designated for high-density, market-rate housing in exchange for giving up the Kakaʻako Makai lands….

BACKGROUND:

read … OHA May Have Found A Way To Build Housing In Kakaʻako Makai - Honolulu Civil Beat

King Kamehameha III Elementary School finds a new home in Lahaina

KITV: … The rebuilt school is a proposed $162 million project which will also be above the tsunami inundation zone. Appropriate cultural and environmental surveys will soon take place for the property….

(IDEA: Don’t rebuild. Student population has dropped sharply. The other two schools are enough.)

MN: State selects Ku‘ia property for new King Kamehameha III Elementary | News, Sports, Jobs - Maui News

read … King Kamehameha III Elementary School finds a new home in Lahaina | News | kitv.com

Energy Department axes hundreds of clean-energy projects, including in Hawaii

SA: … The vast majority of the 321 canceled awards would have gone toward projects in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington, the document showed. Those states all have Democratic governors and senators.

In a news release, the Energy Department said it had determined that the projects “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.” ….

read … Energy Department axes hundreds of clean-energy projects, including in Hawaii | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

DTRIC Insurance to exit Hawaii market, transition to run-off

PBN: … DTRIC Insurance's decision to exit the Hawaii market comes with a detailed timeline for policy changes over the next few years….

read … DTRIC Insurance to exit Hawaii market, transition to run-off - Pacific Business News

Tourism softening prompts job cuts and reduced hours for Hawaii workers

SA: … Reductions in work hours and layoffs have started in Hawaii’s visitor industry following a softer than expected summer and fall.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported Tuesday that there were 806, 776 total visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in August. The 2.6 % decline from August 2024 was the second-worst arrivals drop of the year after July, when visitor arrivals dropped 4.4 %.

Keith Vieira, principal of KV and Associates, Hospitality Consulting said “July and August, which are traditionally our best months of the year for occupancy, ended up being way below expectations. We keep reforecasting. Our advance booking pace is bad and we have the Hawai ‘i Convention Center closure (for repairs ) weighing on us over the next two years. I think we’ll see a small number of layoffs, and I’m especially concerned about the small mom and pops.” …

read … Tourism softening prompts job cuts and reduced hours for Hawaii workers

Elections Commission Wants State Auditor To Examine Hawaiʻi’s 2024 Vote

CB: … Concerns about differences in voting counts between a county and the state in last year’s election prompted the Hawaiʻi Elections Commission on Wednesday to call for statewide audit of the elections.

The commission initially voted 9-0 to ask the Legislature to direct the Hawaiʻi Office of the Auditor to audit only Kauaʻi County’s general election. It was based on a recent investigation of the vote that found the state Office of Elections reported a vote count that was significantly higher than the number of ballots recorded by county officials.

But the commission, at the recommendation of commissioners Lindsay Kamm and Ralph Cushnie, subsequently moved to expand the scope of the audit to the entire state. Commission Chair Mike Curtis and John Sabas, one of two new commissioners, abstained from the vote.

The commission also voted to ask the Legislature to consider returning Hawaiʻi to one-day, in-person voting, and narrowly rejected a proposal to fire the chief election officer, Scott Nago….

read … Elections Commission Wants State Auditor To Examine Hawaiʻi’s 2024 Vote - Honolulu Civil Beat

New Pā‘ia siren expected in late 2026, as recent emergencies show they’re no longer a ‘last resort’

MN: … The siren near Skill Village, which was the closest to the fire, was set off at 2:25 p.m. as emergency responders realized the fire was growing large, moving fast, and heading toward people and critical infrastructure, Davis said. But this was about an hour after the fire was first reported at 1:29 p.m. and about 15 minutes after evacuations were ordered at 2:09 p.m.

Davis said that “while this can appear as a delay, the sequence is deliberate and safety-focused.” All information needs to be confirmed with the incident commander on the ground and aligned across all alert platforms before the siren is activated.

“It’s important to understand that we cannot sound a siren without having messaging prepared to accompany it,” he said. “A siren alone, without supporting information, can create confusion.”…

read … New Pā‘ia siren expected in late 2026, as recent emergencies show they’re no longer a ‘last resort’ : Maui Now

New access route opened to West Oahu

KHON: … The $2 million Paakea Road extension opened to the public on Wednesday and provides west side residents with a critical secondary route between Nanakuli and Mailiili Road in Waianae. Congestion along Farrington Highway is a frequent issue….

“And actually, the State’s going to make sure that we take actions to ensure that this is not being used as a raceway. And we’ll be putting up speed humps in the near future to ensure that we minimize the speed on that route,” Sniffen said.

The Paakea Road extension is open 24/7 and offers a new way to navigate the Waianae Coast from Lualualei Naval Road to Hakimo Road….

read … New access route opened to West Oahu 'Huge for the State'

Council OKs Downtown Business Improvement District

SA: … The City Council on Wednesday voted 8-0, with Andria Tupola absent, to pass Bill 51, which formally renames the existing Fort Street Mall Special Improvement District to the Downtown Honolulu Business Improvement District, or BID…

Prior to the vote, only those in support of Bill 51 — in both oral and written testimony — appeared, including members of the business community and construction industry.

“We stand in strong support of this,” Robby Kelley, with real estate development firm Avalon Group, said. “This is something that we believe is going to be a huge boon for downtown, and we are really excited to see it be put into effect soon.”

Victor Lim, with the Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District, said he welcomed the expanded BID.

“And you can rest assured that we will do what’s right to make this work, and you’ll be very proud of the downtown Business Improvement District,” he said.

In past weeks, however, a major property owner objected to the BID.

Kevin Crummy, chief investment officer of California-based Douglas Emmett Management LLC, previously stated the new special improvement district will do nothing to stop the homelessness and crime that continue to plague downtown.

“A BID alone simply cannot solve these complex social issues,” he wrote previously.

Others, like Chinatown Business & Community Association member Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock, backed the intent of Bill 51, but wanted the downtown BID to extend into Chinatown as well….

read … Council OKs Downtown Business Improvement District

Hawaii Justices Take Up Booking.com’s Discriminatory Tax Case

BL: … Booking.com BV convinced the Hawaii Supreme Court to review whether the state’s $19.7 million tax bill on its online reservation services violates a federal law protecting electronic commerce.

The company asked the justices to overturn a state appeals court opinion dismissing its allegations that a Hawaii Department of Taxation rule violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act and the US Constitution’s commerce and supremacy clauses.

Congress passed ITFA to protect online commerce when the internet was in its infancy, but hasn’t amended the law since electronic businesses began dominating their analog counterparts....

read … Hawaii Justices Take Up Booking.com’s Discriminatory Tax Case

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