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Monday, October 27, 2025

October 27, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:43 PM :: 373 Views

Brenton Awa to Challenge Tokuda for Congress

Rubber Stamp Legislature Needs More Dissent

Grassroot: Lahaina, Jones Act, and Rail

Speed Cameras for Out-of-Control Drivers

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted October 24, 2025

Maui Council Member Tasha Kama dead at 73

MN: … Maui County Council Member Tasha Kama died at 9:25 p.m. Sunday at Maui Memorial Medical Center, surrounded by her loved ones, according to a family statement posted on the Kahului council member’s Facebook page. She was 73….

At the time of her passing, Kama served as the Council’s presiding officer pro tempore and chaired the Housing and Land Use Committee. Her panel has handled some of the Council’s toughest issues of late….

Those recent “hot button” topics included the Honuaʻula master-planned community project in South Maui and the controversial short-term vacation rental phase-out measure, Bill 9. Kama voted “no” on Bill 9, along with Council Members Yuki Lei Sugimura and Tom Cook.

Kama has been part of the current Council’s five-member majority, including Sugimura, Cook, Council Chair Alice Lee and Council Member Nohelani Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins. Now, the majority-minority split is gone, replaced by four traditional, conservative-leaning members — Lee, Sugimura, Cook and Uʻu-Hodgins — versus progressive Council Members Tamara Paltin, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane Sinenci and Gabe Johnson….

There will not be a special election to fill the remaining 14-plus months of Kama’s term as Kahului council member. That’s because — under Section 3-4 of the Maui County Charter, titled “Vacancy in Office” for council members: “If the unexpired term is less than 15 months, the remaining members of the Council shall appoint a person by resolution adopted by a majority of its remaining members to fill the vacancy for the current unexpired term.”…

However, if the Council fails to fill the vacancy in 30 days, “the mayor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy,” the Charter says ….

read … Deep sadness: Council Member Tasha Kama dies Sunday night : Maui Now

TOTAL FAIL: After Two Decades of Green Energy Initiative--Hawaiʻi Electricity Still 71% Oil

CB: … In July, 24% of Hawaii’s total electricity came from renewables, primarily solar, compared to a national average of about 20%, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows.

Meanwhile, just over 71% of Hawaiʻi’s electricity came from petroleum-fired power plants, the highest of any state. On average, other states produced less than 1% of their electricity by burning oil. …

“The state’s reliance on imported petroleum for generating electricity and its isolated island grids contribute to Hawaii having the highest average electricity price of any state, reaching more than triple the U.S. average price,” the Energy Information Administration reports….

Gov. Josh Green earlier this month unveiled a $2 billion agreement with Tokyo-based JERA Co. to bring natural gas to Hawaiʻi, intended as a lower-cost, low-emission alternative to oil while the state transitions to renewables. But the non-binding agreement lacks details and is strongly opposed by the state’s influential environmental lobby….

read … Hawaiʻi Relies On Oil More Than Any Other State - Honolulu Civil Beat

Government Shutdown To Halt Hawaii Food Stamps Nov 1?

CB: … More than 150,000 Hawaiʻi residents will not receive their food stamps next month, as effects of the budget impasse strike widely into daily life.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has told states “there is not sufficient funding” for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and to “hold off on sending payments” for November, according to Scott Morishige, administrator of the state division that oversees SNAP.

How to cope with that reality is a challenge for people like Monica Williams-Kaapuni, a mother of four from Waipahu, who relies on $1,850 a month in SNAP benefits. …

Even if the government shutdown — now in its 27th day — were to end today, Morishige said the USDA hasn’t said when November benefits would be paid out, though they would later be reimbursed….

This week, the state will announce plans to step up with some support, but it remained unclear how far it would reach. To “avoid mass hunger in the islands,” the Hawaiʻi Food Industry Association in a press release urged the governor to also “deploy a small portion” of the state’s $1.7 billion rainy day fund to keep benefits flowing….

The average monthly benefit in Hawaiʻi is $343 a person, automatically loaded onto debit cards on the third and fifth day of each month.

The program is already targeted for a major overhaul beginning Nov. 1, when work requirements kick into gear. Other changes are on the horizon, written into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, including shifting administrative costs to the state. …

SA: Hawaii jobless claims hint at shutdown fallout | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … Going Hungry In Hawaiʻi? Government Shutdown To Halt Food Stamps - Honolulu Civil Beat

Norwegian Cruise Line Alerts Guests to Hefty New Hawaii Tax—still considering lawsuit

CH: … Norwegian Cruise Line is alerting guests on Hawaii cruises in 2026 and beyond of the new Transient Accommodations Tax that levies an additional 14% on their cruise fare.

While the cruise line is part of the legal challenges to the new tax, it may be some time before any court cases are resolved and in the meantime the tax goes into effect from January 1, 2026….

While individual tax amounts will vary depending on individual cruise fares, guests are noting taxes of $250-500 (USD) and higher for different 7-night Hawaiian sailings….

“We believe that this expansion of the TAT is unconstitutional, and therefore in collaboration with the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), we are actively engaged in a legal review,” the letter explains. “We … remain committed to advocating for a fair and balanced outcome.” …

read … Norwegian Cruise Line Alerts Guests to Hefty New Hawaii Tax

Hawaiʻi County police commissioners to question chief applicants on immigration raids

BIN: … According to the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Human Resources, as of Friday, 17 people have applied for the position before the Oct. 31 deadline…..

After the application deadline, the Department of Human Resources will screen the applications for minimum qualifications, and all applicants who meet the requirements will be sent written questions with 10 days to respond.

Commissioners agreed to continue the anonymized scoring process used during the 2022 selection, in which applicants are assigned numbers and graded on their written responses without their names being disclosed….

The question will ask: “Given Hawaiʻi County’s unique cultural values and its legal obligations under state and federal law, how do you view the appropriate role of Hawaiʻi County Police Department in supporting or declining to participate in federal immigration enforcement activities?”

The commission agreed to include questions regarding the State of Hawaiʻi Organization of Police Officers as well as 21st-century policing to ensure the future police chief has strong technological skills….

HNN: As Hawaii County looks for new police chief, expert points to role’s unique challenges

read … Hawaiʻi County police commissioners discuss hiring procedures for next chief : Big Island Now

Prior Hawai “gag orders” have been struck down as unconstitutional

ILind: … This isn’t the first time such a confidentiality clause has been at issue in Hawaii. Both the State Ethics Commission and the Campaign Spending Commission had the same kind of confidential clause written into law, rather than just as a rule. And violation of those laws carried potential criminal penalties.

Both were successfully challenged in federal court and found to be unconstitutional.

In 1991, a federal lawsuit challenged a state law that prohibited someone who filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission from publicly disclosing information about the complaint (John Roe v. Akamine, et al.). After the complaint was filed, the state agreed the statute was unconstitutional and unenforceable, a finding that was contained in a subsequent order by then-Federal Judge David Ezra.

And in 1992, I was the plaintiff in a federal lawsuit what alleged a similar confidentiality clause governing complaints filed with the Campaign Spending Commission was a clear violation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech….

read … Prior Hawai “gag orders” have been struck down as unconstitutional | i L i n d

Six Years Later, MLP repairs ditch serving ill-fated golf course

SA: … A major Maui landowner entrenched in litigation with private customers over the supply of water made improvements to stream diversion infrastructure after a state commission alleged violations of a nearly 6-year-old order.

Maui Land & Pineapple Co. announced on Oct. 14 that improvement work was expected to be completed by Oct. 17, after receiving a violation notice on Oct. 8 from the state Commission on Water Resource Management.

According to MLP, the work was completed Oct. 17.

The commission, which regulates use of the public trust resource, ordered MLP in November 2019 to improve control and monitoring of water diverted from West Maui’s Honokohau Stream into the company’s irrigation ditch system that largely provides water to Kapalua Resort and Maui County but is required to maintain minimum stream levels.….

Meanwhile: Kapalua Golf’s Plantation Course to reopen on Nov. 10 after two month closure

read … State commission alleges MLP water violations | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Maui Council refers to committee proposal for interim ban on new West Maui swimming pools

MN: … Maui County Council members referred to the Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee on Friday a bill to impose interim restrictions on construction of new private swimming pools in West Maui. Introduced by West Maui Council Member Tamara Paltin, Bill 161 ….

SA: Historic drought strains Upcountry Maui water systems | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … Maui Council refers to committee proposal for interim ban on new West Maui swimming pools : Maui Now

Bill to ban plastic foodware advances

HTH: … A bill targeting disposable plastic and polystyrene foodware in Hawaii County passed the County Council’s Environmental and Natural Resources Management Committee last week with a 7-1 vote. The measure now moves to the full council.

Bill 83, Draft 2, aims to cut down on single-use plastics by prohibiting food providers and county facility users from distributing disposable plastic or polystyrene foodware and serviceware such as cups, lids, plates, bowls, trays or other containers.

(BETTER IDEA: “H-Power”)

read … Bill to ban plastic foodware advances - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Viral Bullying Videos Are Sign Of Bigger Problem In Hawaiʻi Schools

CB: … Social media is amplifying conflicts and normalizing bad behavior as teens film fights and post them online to draw hundreds of views and comments. …

read … Viral Bullying Videos Are Sign Of Bigger Problem In Hawaiʻi Schools - Honolulu Civil Beat

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