October 14, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

October 14, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 1:34 PM :: 301 Views

Direct2UH streamlines admission to UH for Hawaiʻi public high school seniors

Green Signs Energy Deal with Japanese Company

$60K Bonus and 35% Pay Hike for OHA Chief Executive While On Leave?

CB: … Office of Hawaiian Affairs CEO Stacy Ferreira, who was placed on indefinite leave in September, could see her pay jump 35%—to $270,400 — next month under a proposal up for consideration by the office’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday.

(QUESTION: Is this a buyout plan?)

The pay raise has been a long time coming, trustees have said, because she’s gone two years without a pay raise (the horror!) and other top positions at OHA currently ‘earn’ more than her. The proposal would set the base salary for the CEO position going forward. The trustees debated raising the position’s pay earlier this year but deferred the matter.

Ferreira has been out since Sept. 23 when the OHA Board of Trustees voted to put her on paid leave. In a message to staff, she said she was taking personal leave, but follow-up messages from Board Chair Kai Kahele described it as administrative leave. The circumstances surrounding her departure are still unclear; trustees and others have said that Ferreira didn’t give a reason for leaving suddenly and hasn’t indicated when she would come back to the job….

Ferreira ‘earns’ $200,000 a year. Under the new proposal, Ferreira’s pay would first go up to $260,000 retroactive to Nov. 1, 2024 through Oct. 31 of this year.

Then, her pay would go up again to $270,400 on Nov. 1.

The big pay bump would align the salary with those of other top positions at OHA, according to the proposal. The trustees approved pay raises during the office’s latest budget cycle in June. The chief financial officer and real estate manager now ‘earn’ $250,000, while OHA’s investments manager ‘earns’ $300,000….

Sept 2025: More Kai Kahele Chaos: OHA Trustees Remove CEO

read … OHA’s Chief Executive Could See A 35% Pay Bump While On Leave

Keohokalole reports $220,000 raised in first campaign filing

SN: … Since announcing his candidacy on July 29, Keohokalole has picked up key endorsements from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142, the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters Local 745, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 480, the Hawaii Laborers’ Union Local 368, and others in what could be Case’s most significant challenge since taking office in 2019. (Case previously represented District 2 from 2002 to 2007.)

While Case holds significant influence as a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Case has drawn fire from within his own party for voting in support of Republican initiatives, including the censure of Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for disrupting President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on March 4 and the passage of the so-called SAVE Act, which requires documented proof of citizenship to register to vote. Some Democrats have also criticized Case for not always presenting a unified front with the other three members of the Hawaii delegation.

Case still holds a significant fundraising advantage over the field with $504,149 cash on hand as of the previous FEC reporting period….

Last month, state Rep. Della Au Belatti also announced her candidacy for the District 1 seat. Her first FEC filing is pending. The deadline to submit a report is Oct. 15….

read … Keohokalole reports $220,000 raised in first campaign filing

Green’s Affordable Home Plan is Code for Iwilei TOD

CB: … Gov. Josh Green has a big vision for Iwilei, the working-class neighborhood bordering Honolulu’s Chinatown along the rail line.

It would cost an estimated $667 million in state taxpayer money for a massive infrastructure upgrade, Green says. The trade-off: 27,500 new homes and upward of $5 billion in investment into an area Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has targeted for redevelopment.

Green said he’ll include a request for some Iwilei infrastructure money in his housing package for the upcoming session. …

… Hawaiʻi now has 64,000 units in the “affordable housing development pipeline,” Green said. Only about 3,000 of those are included in the 27,500 new homes envisioned for Iwilei.

(DO THE MATH: 27,500 / 64,000 = 43%)

The housing Green speaks of includes 24,000 units on state lands: 7,000 by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, 4,000 by the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp., and 12,000 rentals being redeveloped by the Hawaiʻi Public Housing Authority, which recently came under criticism for the way it was relocating tenants from existing properties slated for redevelopment.

In reality, nearly 31,000 of the 64,000 homes are in their infancy and still must go through the arduous process of obtaining land-use permits and other entitlements that can take years to obtain.

(DO THE MATH: 64,000 – 27,500 – 31,000 = 5,500)

(TRANSLATION: Green’s plan is to take credit for 5,500 that were being built anyway and then push to redevelop Iwilei. The 31,000 do not exist.)

Green also pointed to his tiny home, or kauhale, initiative. It’s led to 23 kauhale being built since 2022 at a cost of $128.3 million. The Legislature last session handed out $88.2 million over the next two years to keep the program on track toward Green’s goal of 30 villages by 2027….

read … Green Says 64,000 New Affordable Homes Are In The Pipeline. Can He Deliver? - Honolulu Civil Beat

New state task force targets Hawaii’s permit backlog

HTH: …The Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development Task Force, or SPEED, was created under Act 133 during the 2025 legislative session. The law directs the task force to develop recommendations that streamline, expedite and coordinate permit approvals across state and county agencies. Areas of focus include building permits, historic preservation compliance and wastewater permitting — all of which have contributed to costly project delays….

“There are two goals for the task force,” Rep. Greggor Ilagan, who chairs the task force and represents House District 4 in lower Puna, told the Tribune-Herald on Monday. “One is to simplify the complex permitting process that we currently have, and second is to enable tracking so we’re able to understand where you are in the process.”

The task force includes representatives from nine state agencies, county planning departments and industry stakeholders. It held its first meeting this fall and is funded with $200,000 over two years for staffing and administrative costs….

read … New state task force targets Hawaii’s permit backlog - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Green Deal: Could Hawaii be Supplied with Canadian LNG from JERA?

IM: … "JERA has access to LNG from British Columbia, Canada, which is among the lowest GHG emission supply chains in the world. On top of its ability to invest, its experience with international utility operations and stated commitment to decarbonization may make it a viable candidate to support Hawai‘i’s energy transition."

The JERA Group Integrated Report 2024 reported on the three Pillar Strategy: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Renewables, and Hydrogen & Ammonia.

JERA is one of the world`s largest buyer of LNG. JERA operates 29 power stations in Japan with a combined 59,000 MW, and has 23 LNG vessels and 11 LNG receiving terminals….

Background: Green Signs Energy Deal with Japanese Company

read … Could Proposed 'Ūkiu Energy Power Plant Be Supplied with LNG From JERA | Ililani Media

Upcountry water meter waitlist: After 12 years, County gets idea to Drill Wells

MN: … According to the department, it halted accepting new applications for water meters for the Upcountry service area on Jan. 1, 2013. Stufflebean said part of the solution involves installing better water filters in Upcountry treatment plants by early 2026 that will increase the county’s capacity to process water.

Another part of the plan includes eventually developing six additional wells and two new reservoirs.

(Wow. Drill more wells to get more water. And it only took 12 years to think of it.)

Stufflebean said two reservoirs near the Kamole Treatment Plant — with a capacity of 72 million gallons and 68 million gallons — are in the design stage….

read … Relief in the works for applicants on Upcountry water meter waitlist | News, Sports, Jobs - Maui News

Honolulu Zoning Appeals Board – Where projects go to die

CB: … The project ran into strong headwinds at a public hearing in December 2022 when neighbors on Kaimalu Place, an adjacent cul-de-sac, first raised concerns that the operation would create problems such as increases in traffic and noise, and additional stormwater runoff into the adjacent Kāneʻohe Bay.

Fast forward nearly three years and Chan still doesn’t have the approval that would enable him to apply for a building permit, and the Kaimalu Place residents are pondering their legal options — including a possible court appeal.

While the two sides have little common ground, they are both dependent on the decisions of the Honolulu Zoning Board of Appeals, a five-person volunteer county board that meets on average once a month and has a backlog of 270 cases — 259 related to short-term rentals, according to the city….

The county zoning appeals board rarely makes the headlines, but its mission is to act as a check to the discretionary authority of the director of the Department of Planning and Permitting — currently Dawn Takeuchi Apuna. Board members are appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council.

Based on available data, the board has rarely upheld an appeal in its recent history.

DPP was unable to provide updated numbers on the number of appeals that had been upheld in the last three years, but the board’s most recent report from 2022 showed none of the 41 appeals it considered in the five years between 2017 and 2021 were upheld.

Six ZBA decisions ended up in court, while 35 were denied, withdrawn or dismissed….

read … Windward Oʻahu Senior Housing Stalls Amid Zoning Appeals Backlog - Honolulu Civil Beat

Surfrider Wants North Shore Erosion Strategy to be Model for Whole USA

SA: … A new national report from the Surfrider Foundation is spotlighting Hawaii’s North Shore as a leading example of how communities can take the lead in confronting ~~climate change~~ (erosion) — and calls for more urgent action as Hawaii’s beaches and shorelines face growing danger from erosion ~~and rising seas~~.

Released Tuesday, the 2025 State of the Beach Report shifts away from grading state policies — its usual format — and instead highlights local, place-based efforts across the nation. At the center of this year’s edition is a case study on Oahu’s North Shore Coastal Resilience Working Group, a coalition of residents, scientists, cultural practitioners and policymakers working together to find solutions to chronic coastal erosion….

read … National report calls for urgent action to protect coastlines | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Honolulu City Council considers fare hikes for public transit

SA: … The Council’s Budget Committee today is scheduled to discuss Bill 54 — a measure formally requested by the city Department of Transportation Services — which calls for a new fare structure for the city’s transit system….

As initially proposed, Bill 54 could increase the annual adult fare from $880 to $990; and fares for monthly adult fare would rise to $90, up from the current charge of $80 — a 12.5% price increase for both.

Other fare changes would include charging $45 for a seven-day pass, up from the current $35 — a 28.5% difference; and $50 for the senior’s annual fare, up from $45, an 11% increase.

The city’s monthly youth fare to TheBus would climb $5, or 12.5% to $45, the bill states.

TheHandi-Van fares would go from $2.25 to $2.50 for a one-way ride — an 11% increase.

Single fares would remain at $3, but riders who pay cash would have to pay 25 cents more.

If adopted, the measure’s fare changes will take effect Jan. 1 ….

read … Honolulu City Council considers fare hikes for public transit | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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