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Wednesday, March 25, 2026

March 25, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:57 PM :: 181 Views

FEMA says shutdown not affecting response to Hawaii

Hawaii 3rd-Worst Taxpayer ROI

Red Flag Legislation on the Move

Maryland high court rejects localities’ plea for climate change damages

Feds Seize 44 Guns in Kalihi Raid

Senate Approves 'Racially Inferior' Gluck for ICA Judgeship

Green Requests Presidential Disaster Declaration

Will Next Generation of Miske Crime Family Keep Drug Money?

CB: … Federal prosecutors say Miske killed himself in prison to prevent the government from seizing his $20 million estate. The trust’s lawyer is pushing back on that….

ILind: More of Mike Miske’s family history (Multiple generations of criminal Miskes.)

read … Feds Trying To Bilk Miske Granddaughter Out Of Inheritance, Lawyer Says - Honolulu Civil Beat

LNG? Solar industry wants its competition to be dirty and expensive

CB: … JERA Co. Ltd. last week announced a proposal for a $2 billion, 500-megawatt, natural gas power plant that would establish the company as a major player in Hawaiʻi, competing with HECO as a power generator. The announcement came five months after Green announced a strategic partnership with JERA in October.

Hawaiʻi law requires all electricity sold in the state be produced by renewable resources by 2045, and generators using renewable fuels to provide steady power are expected to be part of the mix. JERA’s proposed project and a smaller, $847 million upgrade HECO is planning for its Waiau power plant both would be able to switch to 100% biodiesel or another renewable such as hydrogen by 2045.

In the meantime, HECO is expected to use a mix of oil and biodiesel at Waiau and 100% oil at its Kahe power plant in Waiʻanae, while JERA would use less costly natural gas. JERA says its fuel savings could be passed on to customers. But political opponents of natural gas ~~point to the Hawai~~ʻ~~i State Energy Office’s 2025 study to question whether the savings would be real~~ (are flacks for the solar industry and want its competition to be dirty and expensive to make solar look better)….

Even with the war in Iran shutting down a key shipping route for oil and LNG, Montague said, LNG remains less expensive than oil, its price pegged to global oil prices or U.S. natural gas prices.

While global oil prices have skyrocketed, the U.S. natural gas price has remained remarkably stable during the crisis.

The result, Montague said, is that using natural gas to fuel generators would cost 23% less than oil. Compared with (orangutan-killing) biodiesel (produced by raping the rainforest), using LNG would produce a 50% savings for the cost of fuel ….

SA: Column: Revealing LNG errors just shows truth | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … Competing Energy Proposals Debate Which Will Limit Costs For Consumers - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii bill seeks to restrict downzoning amid housing shortage

PBN: … SB2192 would restrict downzoning, a practice that often forces developers to abandon or significantly modify development plans.

Downzoning reduces the number of housing units allowed in a given area. Under SB2192, counties could only downzone if they offset the reduction by increasing allowable units elsewhere, preserving overall residential capacity….

read … Hawaii bill seeks to restrict downzoning amid housing shortage - Pacific Business News

Honolulu Traffic Cams May Soon Ticket For Registration, Safety Checks

CB: … The automated traffic enforcement camera systems that now issue tickets for speeding and running red lights may soon be used to crack down on Hawaiʻi motorists with expired safety checks and expired vehicle registrations.

The state House earlier this month gave tentative approval to those expanded uses of the cameras as part of House Bill 2033, a sweeping, eight-part transportation measure that would also authorize placing additional cameras at any “high-risk” intersections on county or state roadways.

The high-tech cameras have already been deployed at 10 downtown Honolulu intersections, and those camera systems have been issuing citations for speeding and red-light violations since Nov. 1….

HB 2033 would also authorize cameras on school buses to document violations when motorists overtake buses that are stopped with their lights flashing to allow children to board or disembark….

Kila has also backed a separate bill — Senate Bill 2697 — that would authorize police to impound vehicles when the registration has been expired for more than three years….

read … Honolulu Traffic Cams May Soon Ticket For Registration, Safety Checks - Honolulu Civil Beat

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