November 12, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

November 12, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 3:48 PM :: 269 Views

Hawaiian Electric monitoring wildfire risk conditions on Hawaii Island

OHA Relaunches Congressional Fellows Program with 8(a) Co-sponsorships

Clarifying misconceptions in Bad Bunny’s ‘Hawaii’

SJS: … In his song “Hawaii,” singer Bad Bunny presents a misleading narrative about the historical relationship between Hawaii and the United States. He also draws a parallel to Puerto Rico, suggesting it should avoid Hawaii’s “fate.” The song claims that the U.S. exploited Puerto Rico’s natural resources and labor, forcing many to emigrate, and urges Puerto Ricans not to abandon their flag. Is this a call for independence?

Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner and Popular Democratic Party President Pablo José Hernández Rivera publicly supported Bad Bunny’s message, stating he “wouldn’t allow Puerto Rico to suffer the same fate as Hawaii.” But what exactly happened to Hawaii?

They seem to have overlooked key historical facts:

In 1903, the Territory of Hawaii formally petitioned Congress to become an incorporated territory, paving the way to statehood.

Today, Hawaii enjoys significant economic progress compared to its pre-statehood days….

read … Clarifying misconceptions in Bad Bunny’s ‘Hawaii’

Solar Scammers Terrified as they Lose Grip on PUC

CB: … Asuncion’s departure comes at a critical time, as the commission has struggled to keep up with a massive workload amid staff departures.

“I have deep concerns about the ability of the PUC to do all of the very important things they need to do in the next several years,” Keohokalole said. “It’s my understanding that they’re in the throes of internal exodus, and now they have no leadership.”

(CLUE: Keohokalole is owned and operated by the solar lobby.)

Asuncion and PUC spokesperson Deborah Kwan did not respond to requests for comment. State offices were closed for the Veterans Day holiday,

Major work pending before the PUC includes a proposed rate increase for Young Brothers, Hawaiʻi’s monopoly interisland shipper, and a raft of dockets related to Hawaiian Electric Co. Those include a plan to overhaul the utility’s grid and a rate reset that could lead to higher electric bills. The PUC also will be in charge of limiting the ability of victims to sue HECO in the event of future wildfires.

On top of this, the PUC could soon need to set up an entirely new regulatory regime related to a new energy source for Hawaiʻi. In October, Green announced a tentative $2 billion deal with Tokyo-based JERA Co. Inc to import natural gas to Hawaiʻi to fuel generators while the state transitions to renewables over the next two decades. The project would include an offshore terminal, new pipelines and generators updated to use liquefied natural gas.

Proponents, including the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office, ~~say~~ (point out the fact that) LNG is a cleaner-burning, less-expensive alternative to oil, which Hawaiʻi uses far more than any other state….

read … Hawaiʻi's Top Utility Regulator Abruptly Steps Down - Honolulu Civil Beat

DPP HNL Build: “Jumping on the grenade”

ASD: … Camp said a poll of AIA member complaints about HNL Build revealed a series of common criticisms that have been passed on to DPP. Some of those, like persistent problems with starting new accounts in HNL Build, should be largely resolved by now, he said.

New account problems had dovetailed with other difficulties with data migration, Camp said. After more than two decades of use, the POSSE system had accumulated innumerable data points, histories of different permits and properties that had been available to users at a click.

This data is no longer so easily accessible, Camp said, which has slowed users’ workflows significantly. While Camp said this is partly the inevitable result of moving to any new system, he added that he spoke with DPP about the system’s historical data functionality and believes they are working on improvements.

Other concerns included a disunity between the interface used by DPP staff and users, leading to confused communications between both sides of the software.

“Where we still see an absolute issue is with jurisdictional reviews,” Camp said, explaining that large projects inevitably require reviews and approval from multiple state agencies, each with their own processes, and an ideal system would allow users to monitor a permit application’s progress through each relevant department.

Of course, Camp added, that wouldn’t necessarily mean permits would be approved faster, either. Some of those agencies — the State Historic Preservation Division, for example, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency — notoriously take a long time to approve anything, and that isn’t likely to change just because permitting software is improved.

At the same time, Camp lamented the frequency of discretionary reviews, additional reviews of aspects of a permit application that he said can become needlessly arbitrary and pedantic.

For example, he said some community development plans specify certain design features such as “warm colors” that can bog down the permitting process with debates over “how red is red.”

But this, too, would not necessarily be fixed as HNL Build improves, Camp said.

Instead, Camp said he hopes the county can follow through with a policy change endorsed by Blangiardi, who, Camp said, wants to change DPP staff’s attitudes from “why can’t it be built” to “how can it be built.”

Whether that policy change comes to pass remains to be seen. But in the meantime, Camp praised DPP Director Dawn Apuna for “jumping on this grenade.” …

read … Architects get involved on HNL Build improvements

Rail ridership numbers average 11,649—counting grand opening free rides

KHON: … Prior to Segment 2’s debut, Skyline saw an average of approximately 3,858 daily riders in October, with ridership peaking on Oct. 15 at 4,869. The lowest point prior to Segment 2’s opening — and for the entire month of October — was on Oct. 5 with 2,101 riders.

After Segment 2 left the station, Skyline serviced an average of approximately 11,649 daily riders — growing more than tenfold….

(DO THE MATH: 11,649 x $1M = $11.6B. We could’ve just given each rider $1M instead of building rail.)

Of course, Skyline ridership post-Segment 2 has some outside factors inflating ridership, such as the Free Fare Weekend on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19. That weekend brought in 19,587 riders on Oct. 18 and 20,070 riders on Oct. 19, thanks to the free rides.

Oct. 19 was the peak attendance after Segment 2’s opening, with the largest paid day of rides being on Oct. 16, Segment 2’s opening day, at 11,922 riders.

The post-Segment 2 day with the least amount of riders was Oct. 25, which saw 8,559 riders. This was the same day as the Aloha to Aloha Stadium concert…

read … Daily rider numbers average Skyline rail train statistics

Honolulu Fire Department Relied On Risky Tactic In Deadly Blaze

CB: … his crew, including 25-year-old rookie Jeff Fiala and two other entry-level firefighters, entered the home. And they did so without a hose — a tactic the Honolulu Fire Department had embraced as an option in 2022 and incorporated into its standard operating guidelines just 18 months before the Young Street fire.

Within minutes, firefighters were scrambling for their lives, and Fiala suffered injuries that ultimately led to his death. …

In the wake of the fire, current and former Honolulu firefighters are questioning the use of these so-called unprotected searches.

Proponents of the strategy argue it’s a useful tool for saving civilian lives. Unprotected searches allow firefighters to look for trapped occupants in a burning building without being slowed down by heavy equipment.

But its critics see it as a reckless practice that gambles with firefighter lives. And national workplace safety investigators determined it was a key contributing factor in Fiala’s death, according to an investigation obtained by Civil Beat that has not been reported on previously.

“The only exception for entering a structure without an operational hose line is when an occupant can be seen or heard within a few feet of the structure entry or the fire area,” said the report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

In the end, it turned out that there had been no occupants in the Young Street fire to save. …

read … Honolulu Fire Department Relied On Risky Tactic In Deadly Blaze - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii Job Corps still alive after Court Order Stays Cancellation

MN: … Earlier this year, the Department of Labor-funded program survived almost being shut down due to decisions made at the federal level. In the wake of that, it now faces entirely separate enrollment problems….

(TRANSLATION: Biden and Trump Admins both tried to shut down Job Corps. The Natl Job Corps Assn sued and won a stay. Therefore the cash is flowing while the case is ongoing.)

…The center recently set an ambitious goal of enrolling 100 students by Christmas, after going seven months without new enrollees due to a US Department of Labor pause on background checks that created a backlog of applicants.

Now reopened, the Maui Job Corps must rebuild its student base and restore the program to pre-pandemic levels to secure its future, staff said on Tuesday.

According to Dr. David Wittenberg, a long-time mental health consultant for the Maui Job Corps Center, about 70 or more enrollees are needed to reach that goal, which was set by Management & Training Corporation (MTC) to sustain the program that has operated on Maui since 1989.

Before the pandemic, he said the center often operated at its full capacity of around 128 students, sometimes with a waiting list….

There is also a Hawai‘i Job Corps Center in Waimānalo, Oʻahu, that offers additional fields such as healthcare, automotive repair, homeland security and renewable energy….

BACKGROUND: National Job Corps Association v. Department of Labor 1:25-cv-04641 (S.D.N.Y.) | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse

BACKGROUND: Following Biden's Lead, Trump Shuts Down Hawaii Job Corps for Second Year in a Row

read … Staff say Maui Job Corps’ urgent enrollment goal is to keep program alive : Maui Now

Criminal Runs Red Light, Gets Killed in Crash: If he was also running from Police, family can cash in

HNN: … On Dec. 20, 2021, Patrick Enos Jr. died in a crash. Hawaii Island police said the 28-year-old was speeding, ran a red light, and hit another driver….

… The family says at least one witness told them police were pursuing Enos. Nearly four years later, multiple investigations are ongoing, but few details have been released to Enos’ family….

Enos had a lengthy criminal record including numerous traffic and other offenses….

His sister said there was a bench warrant for his arrest at the time because (enter excuse here)….

A lawsuit is pending, and Seitz said they’re hoping to move forward soon to determine if (that) police are liable (otherwise no ghetto lottery winnings)….

read … Family questions if police misconduct led to deadly 2021 Big Island crash

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