December 18, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Thursday, December 18, 2025

December 18, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 9:13 AM :: 254 Views

End or reduce capital gains tax on housing to incentivize home sales

150 lbs of Meth: Kauai man second of eleven to be Sentenced

HIDOE issues first statewide permanent bans following alleged assault of school administrator

FAKE SETTLEMENT: Maui wildfire survivors won’t receive settlement payments before year’s end

HNN: … Maui wildfire survivors will not receive payments from the multi-billion-dollar settlement before the end of the year, attorneys confirmed during the final court hearing of 2025.

(REALITY: If the insurers lose their subrogation rights, they will have to sue individual fire victims. Maybe they will start with convicted drug dealers?)

Judge Peter Cahill had pushed to get paychecks to survivors this year, but insurance companies still believe they deserve part of the $4 billion settlement. The Hawaii Supreme Court will hear arguments on this issue next month, and until then, payments remain on hold….

(IQ Test: Are you surprised?)

The Hawaii Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the insurance companies fighting the class-action lawsuit on January 27th.

Checks won’t go out to survivors ~~until~~ (unless) the high court makes a decision (gutting the insurers, and it is not appealed to SCOTUS).

(CLUE: State Supreme Court decisions can only be appealed directly to the US Supreme Court.)

Aug 2, 2024: FAKE: Green Announces $4B Lahaina Settlement -- Without Insurers' Agreement “The agreement is conditional on the resolution of the insurance companies’ claims that have already been paid for property loss and other damages, with no additional payments from the defendants.

Oct 5, 2024: Game Over for Fake Settlement? Lahaina Fire Insurers Find a Way into Federal Court

Dec 6, 2025: Precisely as Predicted: Green’s Bogus Maui Fire Settlement Leads to ‘Thousands of Appeals’

read … Maui wildfire survivors won’t receive settlement payments before year’s end

FAKE LAWSUIT: Maui police chief calls for apology after lawsuit dismissal

KHON: … “Chief Pelletier has been completely vindicated in the civil case filed in California against a slew of famous people, and, which later added, Chief has been dismissed. This is over, and the truth has prevailed,” said Keola Whitaker, Pelletier’s attorney.

When the civil suit was filed, the Chief said he was called into the Mayor’s office.

“He told me he was going to call on the police commission to request that I be suspended. I pleaded with him not to do it,” Pelletier explained.

“I asked for 60 minutes. I asked for one hour, and I said, ‘I will get the proof that you need to prove that this did not happen.’ I said, ‘I will go and get my phone records, which we have that has our GPS location.’ I have more than enough evidence to show that this was completely fictitious. He said, No. I said, when this is all done and the police commission doesn’t take the action that you want and it’s proven to be false, are you going to publicly apologize? He said, ‘I am the mayor. I apologize to no one.'”…

Mayor Bissen did go on to ask the Maui Police Commission to place Chief Pelletier on leave pending investigation.

The Maui Police Commission rejected that request after Chief Pelletier denied all the allegations contained in the civil suit and provided the commission with receipts and photos he said proved he was nowhere near the scene where the alleged incidents occurred.

Police Commission Chair Stacey Moniz said in a statement that “the dismissal of the case without ever being served on Chief Pelletier shows once and for all that he had no part in any of this made-up story.”

“This is exactly why our laws promise due process, because we can never take back what has been said about and done to the Chief and his ‘ohana,” Moniz added….

MN: ‘You hurt my family’: Maui police chief scolds ‘those who sensationalized lawsuit’s lies’ | News, Sports, Jobs - Maui News

HNN: ‘Completely vindicated’: Sex crimes lawsuit naming Maui police chief dismissed

read … Maui police chief calls for apology after lawsuit dismissal

FAKE BILL 9: ILWU Hotel Union Endorses Bissen after Bissen Signs Bill Gutting Hotel Competitors

MN: … reward for signing Bill 9 from the hotel union ….

read … ILWU Local 142 announces endorsement of Richard Bissen for 2026 re-election : Maui Now

Hawaiʻi Building Fires Are On The Rise; Safety Inspections Aren't Keeping Up

CB: … Regular inspections of hotels and other accommodations required by the state are being inconsistently carried out by most county fire departments.

Three people died in two structure fires in Hilo on Hawaiʻi island in October and November in a downtown hotel and in a factory illegally converted to rentals, neither of which had ever been inspected, according to the county. Those buildings fall into the category for which state law calls for fire inspections at least every five years, with corrective actions issued where necessary.

In reality, staffing and resource limitations mean that all of the state’s county fire prevention bureaus only inspect a fraction of the state’s accommodations, leaving visitors and residents at risk. Hawaiʻi County, for example, has three inspectors to oversee fire safety standards of an estimated 14,600 rental rooms spread out over 4,000 square miles.

Annual inspections are mandatory in some other states, including California and Missouri. But with no statutory requirement for annual inspections of Hawaiʻi’s 1,700 registered hotels, motels or lodging houses, only one county — Maui — says it has been doing so since 2023.….

County records show that the most recent permitted work at the 114-year-old Wild Ginger Inn at 100 Puʻueo St. was completed in July 1990, and the most recent permitted work at 245-D Kekūanāoʻa St. at the old Puʻueo Poi Factory was completed in July 1998. …

the state currently doesn’t have any of its own fire inspectors.

Booth’s office is currently budgeted for $2.2 million for fiscal year 2026 and 2027. According to a November 2024 report by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, that level of funding would only fund one fire prevention officer and two fire inspectors.

If fully funded, at between $4.3 million and $6.4 million-a-year, the fire marshal’s office would bump up to four fire prevention officers and eight fire inspectors.

Booth’s future goals “will rely heavily on the ability to gain the budgetary support and approval at all levels,” McClellan said, “to recruit, train, and retain qualified individuals to maintain a proactive, forward-leaning Fire Prevention program.” ….

read … Hawaiʻi Building Fires Are On The Rise; Safety Inspections Aren't Keeping Up - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hilo Park Designed to Get Rid of Bikini Islanders

SA: … Residents who oppose new development near their homes often suggest the government (i.e., taxpayers) buy and preserve that property. If environmentally sensitive, that could be justified; otherwise, it’s a taxpayer-funded handout to nearby NIMBYs.

The latest proposition applies to a 283-acre parcel in Hilo — but with a twist: It’s owned by a group of Bikini islanders and descendants who lost their homes when the U.S. exploded an atomic bomb there in 1946. Some contemplate relocation to Hawaii island.

“There’s a lot of community angst about development,” state Rep. Matthias Kusch said. He’s proposing the state pay up for the acreage and convert it to “clean, quiet open space” instead….

HTH: A new state park for Hilo? Kusch schedules meeting on proposal - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

read … Off the news: Hilo park proposal has A-bomb test twist | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Lawmakers consider bills to streamline construction projects' lengthy historic preservation review

HPR: … Out of the 1,300 projects submitted for review last year, the State Historic Preservation Division completed reviews on a little over half.

House Rep. Tyson Miyake led the permitted interaction group to evaluate ways to improve the process. He told lawmakers and other stakeholders about a bill that would standardize a timeline for the review process….

read … Lawmakers consider bills to streamline construction projects' lengthy historic preservation review | Hawai'i Public Radio

Lawsuits Seek to Block DHHL Plan for Mass Evictions

CB: … Residents of an apartment complex on Kaua‘i who are being displaced by a Hawaiian homesteads project are having a tough time finding rentals on the small island with a lack of housing units.

The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands bought the 82-unit Courtyards at Waipouli complex in October for $44 million to offer rental options for its beneficiaries on Kaua‘i who are at least 50% Native Hawaiian.

The first units are expected to become available in May. But that means hundreds of residents who aren’t Hawaiian or don’t meet the blood quantum requirement will need to move….

At least three residents have sued the department and are asking the courts to halt evictions until comparable housing units are identified. Prior relocation plans for tenants at the Waipouli condos listed rentals on Oʻahu and the Big Island….

(TRANSLATION: “Get off the island.”)

read … Kauaʻi Renters Are Fighting A Hawaiian Homesteads Condo Project - Honolulu Civil Beat

Housing stipend among the proposals to address HPD vacancies

HNN: … The task force recommended a housing stipend of $500 per month. It would be added to the paychecks for all officers and civilians. “Housing is a huge cost for officers here,” said SHOPO’s Jonathan Frye.

The stipend would cost nearly $13 million from taxpayers.

A referral bonus was also pitched for those who help bring in new employees.

Along with a parking stipend of $200 per month for civilians who pay to park, which would cost the city about $480,000 annually.

For senior employees, the task force recommended a retention bonus of $5,000 per year for five years. That is to encourage those eligible to retire to stay until they hit 30 years with the department.….

read … Housing stipend among the proposals to address HPD vacancies

50% of Hawaii County Police calls are homeless-related

ASD: … Inaba said he was concerned about multiple awards going to the same organizations and said he wanted clearer data to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.

“I did have concerns regarding the double-dipping across awards to the same non-profit. I did take the time last week to meet with housing,” Inaba said during Wednesday’s meeting. “I have not been able to see for myself the numbers.”

Housing Administrator Kehaulani Costa said she was hesitant to release more detailed information at this stage.

“I’m a little uncomfortable about publishing that level of detail as a communication to the council right now,” Costa said. “I don’t think it’s consistent with the level of detail that’s asked from other grant programs.”

Kierkiewicz questioned the scale of funding allocated to homelessness compared with other county programs.

“There is no other county program that receives the scale of funding as the homeless and housing fund,” she said, noting that awards totaled $7.5 million in fiscal year 2022, $9.7 million the following fiscal year, $10.1 million in fiscal year 2024 and $6 million in the current resolution.

Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder said he was concerned the county may be following a path like California’s approach to homelessness.

“My underlying concerns when I drive through Hilo and I’m listening to our police force describe that more than 50% of their calls are homeless related, I feel like we’re moving towards becoming California,” he said….

read … Hawaiʻi County Council approves $6M in grants for housing, homelessness programs

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