November 2, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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November 2, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:36 PM :: 643 Views

Why Are Fewer Young People Identifying as Trans?

TATmas Tree

Halloween is over, but spooky creatures still haunt us

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted November 1, 2025

Sen Karl Rhoads will not seek reelection in 2026

CB: … Sen. Karl Rhoads confirmed the news that he won’t run for reelection to Civil Beat’s Kevin Dayton in an interview last week. The 62-year-old Rhoads told Dayton he’ll have served two decades in the Legislature by the time his current four-year term ends, and “for me personally, it’s enough.”…

(CLUE: New Chief Justice--New Judiciary Chair.)

Rhoads informed his fellow senators and others of his plans early because “I just wanted to give everybody who might be interested in the seat time to put together a good campaign, which in my opinion is a year.”

…his key position as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where virtually all of the accountability bills must go….

He represents an urban Honolulu district that includes Nuʻuanu, Punchbowl, Liliha, Iwilei, Chinatown and downtown….

Rhoads Reads:

read … The Sunshine Blog: This Longtime Hawaiʻi Senator Is Calling It Quits - Honolulu Civil Beat

Eight Hours of Useless Posturing at Elections Commission Meeting

CB: … Cushnie claimed Curtis was unilaterally withholding commission emails from commissioners and asked him, “Under what authority are you withholding those emails sent to and from the commission email?”

Curtis replied, “The Sunshine Law,” explaining that the open meetings law precluded Curtis from communicating with more than one other commissioner at a time “other than at a meeting like this.” Curtis added that “the emails will be coming as appropriate.”

Cushnie wasn’t buying it, arguing that commissioners could not “do their jobs correctly without all the information. Letters are being held and redacted and kept out of the commission’s view.” He also argued that the commission rules by majority vote.

But Curtis overrode Cushnie’s point of order and said he had the discretion to reject any complaint about that from Cushnie. The two continued to bicker, Curtis warned him to stop talking and then, when Cushnie did not, Curtis booted him….

CB: Turnout Is Up. People Like It. But Voting By Mail Is Under Attack In Hawaiʻi - Honolulu Civil Beat (Instead of adding more voting locations for Election Day, we get a useless and impotent call to abolish vote-by-mail.)

MEANWHILE THIS IS IGNORED BY ALL: Long Lines Suppress Republican Votes on Election Day: City Clerk Plans to do it Again (Without abolishing Vote-by-Mail, we need to expand the availability of Election Day polling places.)

read … The Sunshine Blog: This Longtime Hawaiʻi Senator Is Calling It Quits - Honolulu Civil Beat

Council likely to push back implementation of STVR law to July 2026

HTH: … Hawaii County’s law regulating short-term vacation rentals — those lasting fewer than 180 consecutive days — could be pushed back to take effect July 1, 2026, under a proposal the County Council will discuss Tuesday.

The regulations originally were set to begin Dec. 20, 2025, and later expected to start in March 2026, though that date was never finalized.

Councilwoman Heather Kimball, who sponsored the bill, told the Tribune-Herald the delay will give the Finance and Planning departments more time to develop the registration portal required under the law.

“I would rather have them take the time to get it right and have a successful rollout of the registration process than have something that is rushed and may frustrate the public,” Kimball said.

Kimball said the extension also will give property owners additional time to comply with the new rules and allow the County Council to consider further amendments that could clarify the regulations.

She noted that both the Finance and Planning departments are still working out how to integrate their systems — a unique situation that has added complexity to the process.….

read … Council likely to push back implementation of STVR law to July 2026 - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Maui County plans more wells, system upgrades to meet Upcountry’s water issues, growing demand

MN: … As the need for water continues to outpace supply, especially in Upcountry, Maui County is trying to find new sources and solutions that aren’t dependent on rain. They include buying and drilling new wells, upgrading key treatment plants and potentially connecting to the Central Maui system so water can be pumped Upcountry in times of short supply. …

Upcountry residents often bear the brunt of dry conditions because 68% of their supply relies on surface water….

By contrast, the Central Maui system, which serves Central and South Maui, relies on groundwater, while the West Maui system combines groundwater and surface water and Hāna’s system also taps into groundwater….

At peak demand, Upcountry customers use 10.1 million gallons of water per day, exceeding the reliable supply of 9.7 mgd by 4%.

That’s not counting the 1,424 applicants seeking 3,612 water meters Upcountry that would would require an additional 2.16 million gallons per day. The anticipated full buildout of Upcountry under the community plan is expected to need another 4.5 mgd. The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has also requested another 9 mgd from the Upcountry system….

MN: Drought leaves extreme low flows in East Maui streams; debate sparked over emergency easing of stream flow standards : Maui Now

read … Maui County plans more wells, system upgrades to meet Upcountry’s water issues, growing demand : Maui Now

Not enough after-school child care to meet demand, Hawaiʻi report finds

HPR: … In Hawaiʻi, we are second in the nation of after-school participation…. Right now, we have around 44,000 students participating in after-school programs, and the sad news is that another 74,000-plus would like to participate in an after-school program if there was an after-school program available for them….

HAA: More Resources - HAWAIʻI AFTERSCHOOL ALLIANCE

read … Not enough after-school child care to meet demand, Hawaiʻi report finds | Hawai'i Public Radio

State law enforcement cites litigation concerns in $500K handgun switch

HNN: … In July 2020, the gun went off while holstered. The deputy was in the office at Honolulu’s airport. No one was injured, but the deputy’s holster and the office floor were damaged. An investigation provided no answers.

DLE Director Mike Lambert said the department is switching to the Walther PDP Pro.

“The biggest reason why we wanted to go ahead and invest in a new weapon is to mitigate any potential litigation for the state,” Lambert said. “It’ll probably be around a half-million-dollar purchase or so once everything is done. But what we want to remind the community is that if we were to have an accidental shooting that either hit a deputy or a member of the community, it would easily be a seven- or eight-digit payout.”

Philadelphia-based attorney Samuel Haaz represents more than 150 clients who claim they were harmed by the Sig Sauer P320. He has won three jury trials, with verdicts totaling more than $10 million. Those verdicts have been challenged or are in the appeals process….

“Every other striker fire pistol on the market has some sort of trigger safety,” Haaz said. “The P320 does not. And so what that means is the trigger is more susceptible to inadvertent actuation.”…

read … State law enforcement cites litigation concerns in $500K handgun switch

HHFDC Resells 17 Landslide Lots in Kuliouou

SA: … The board of the state’s Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. in July approved spending $500,000 appropriated by the Legislature in 2024 on “Band-Aid” repaving of a dilapidated road fronting 17 vacant lots where the state previously purchased and demolished damaged homes built by a private developer for a predecessor agency as part of a larger subdivision.

The road, Papahehi Place, also still serves about 20 homeowners whose properties weren’t ruined by ground movement that displaced previous neighbors.

Some homeowners on the street appreciate the planned road repair but are also concerned about still-deferred improvements to damaged sewer- and waterlines under the street that remain the responsibility of HHFDC.

There also is some perplexity over how the once-condemned house lots, offering views of the ocean and the Portlock area, were later auctioned off by the state and have been resold for profit and construction of two new homes to date after litigation with the city over building permits….

read … Condemned house lots recycled in Kuliouou | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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