April 18, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Saturday, April 18, 2026

April 18, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:53 PM :: 205 Views

SNAP -- Buy Hot Food with EBT Card for One Month Only

Guam and CNMI: Super Typhoon Sinlaku--Relief Flights Begin

Skyline Fakes the Math as Daily Ridership Drops for 3^rd Month in a Row

KHON: … After a stormy month, Skyline ridership saw a significant ~~increase~~ (decrease) in March, with over 13,000 additional users (spread over 31 days, not 28).

In March, Skyline recorded a total of 294,067 riders, resulting in a daily average of 10,867 riders. (CLUE: Bad math.) This represents an increase compared to the 280,935 riders in February.

DO THE GOOD MATH:

280,935 / 28 = 10,033 per day February

294,067 / 31 = 9,486 per day March

The highest ridership month in 2026 so far was January, with nearly 300,000 riders for the month, averaging 11,323 daily….

(ERROR: 31 x 11,323 = 351,013)

FLASHBACK: Remember 313,000? A look at HART's shifty ridership projections

Read … Skyline soars with 13K ridership increase for March

What's still alive at the state Legislature?

ASD: … Here’s what made the cut and what died after the state Legislature passed another major deadline this week.

Thursday marked the Legislature’s Second Crossover deadline, one of the last deadlines for a bill before it gets sent to the governor’s desk….

Gov. Josh Green’s mulligan on his previously announced tax cuts, SB 3125, passed the House despite opposition by the entire House Republican contingent.

The bill follows an announcement Green made at the start of the year that, in the face of a loss of federal funds, a series of tax cuts announced in 2024 — which would raise the standard tax deduction from $4,400 to $24,000 by the end of 2030 — will be suspended after this year. SB 3125, which implements that announcement, will face conference committees following disagreements raised by the House.

The current version of the bill does not include a long section slashing various tax credits in 2029 that was included in previous versions.

Rep. Diamond Garcia (R-‘Ewa) introduced on Tuesday a floor amendment to the measure that would have reverted the bill to a previous form that still retained some of the tax cuts for people with taxable incomes below $350,000. However, that amendment was defeated in a voice vote….

The Senate failed to pass HB 2413 on Tuesday. The bill was one that would require people charged and held for certain non-violent offenses to be released at the defendant’s arraignment, as an effort to reduce the number of pre-trial defendants in Hawai‘i jails.

Sen. Kurt Fevella (R-‘Ewa Beach) spoke in opposition of the bill, warning that people charged with property damage, custodial interference and unlawful imprisonment would be released under the bill. Sixteen senators voted against the bill….

Meanwhile, other measures Aloha State Daily has reported on through the Legislative session have died along the way, including:

— HB 2593, extending Mauna Kea observatory leases for up to 10 more years (Read more here….

Read … What's still alive at the state Legislature?

Censorship: State AG Attempts to Block 'Renovation Aloha’ video of Lava Tube Burial Discovery

CB: … In the latest episode of HGTV’s “Renovation Aloha,” husband and wife home flippers Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama happen upon an unexpected discovery on Hawaiʻi island: human bones. …

Previews for the episode shown on social media so alarmed Hawaiʻi officials this week that they made a last-minute effort on Tuesday to block its dissemination. The Hawaiʻi Attorney General’s Office sought – and won – a restraining order from a state judge to get the content taken down. The order did not keep HGTV from airing the episode and legal experts say the court’s action may have been a violation of the First Amendment.

On Friday, HGTV issued an apology and said it would issue a re-edited version of the episode for “all future network airings and platforms.”…

Given HGTV’s apology and efforts to remedy the situation, it appears unlikely the Kalamas or HGTV will challenge the restraining order in court. However, there could be grounds for them to do so, according to legal experts specializing in the First Amendment.

Eugene Volokh, a law professor and Stanford University fellow, said the Hawaiʻi court’s order is “pretty clearly unconstitutional.”

He pointed to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps, in which justices said homophobic speech against a dead Marine at his funeral was protected under the First Amendment. He said the Supreme Court also allowed news outlets to publish the Pentagon Papers despite the Nixon administration’s claim that national security was at risk.

“It seems especially clear then that you can’t punish publication because it may cause emotional harm to some community,” Volokh said.

Volokh also criticized the court’s quick injunction preventing further publication of the footage without first reaching out to the production team for a response.

“On top of the fact that this just substantively violates the First Amendment,” Volokh said, “I think it’s also procedurally unsound.”

Paul Alston, a local attorney with experience in First Amendment matters, said it’s a stretch for the state to claim that the Kalamas violated the law by broadcasting footage from the lava tube. Assuming that the hosts genuinely stumbled upon the bones by accident, he said, it’s fair game to broadcast that day’s content.

“That’s where you run into a real First Amendment problem,” he said.

Alston said the state’s claim would be stronger if it comes out that the Kalamas entered the lava tube planning to record footage of the bones.

“If they went into the cave knowing the bones were there and then pretending to discover them … creating a phony story about it,” he said, “that’s a problem for them.”

Even in those circumstances, in Volokh’s opinion, the show’s content would be protected speech under the U.S. Constitution….

HNN: HGTV’s ‘Renovation Aloha’ accused of broadcasting human remains illegally | Hawaii News Now

Read … 'Renovation Aloha’ Sued For Filming Native Hawaiian Bones - Honolulu Civil Beat

Retaliation: Lawmakers reject Molokai principal’s appointment to HTSB after she rejects Senator’s Crony for Job

SA: … DeCoite pointed to a hiring decision at the school (bingo!) that she said contradicted Soares’ stated support for “grow your own” local workforce initiatives. A qualified Molokai candidate (my crony) was passed over in favor of a newer resident, she said, raising questions about ~~consistency in leadership~~ (fealty) ….

Read … Lawmakers reject Molokai principal’s appointment to HTSB | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

No Surprise: City Landfill Plan—Expand Waimanalo Gulch

KHON: … City officials identified Makaiwa Hills — right next to the existing Waimanalo Gulch Landfill — as the only viable option for Oahu’s next landfill. The selection is not sitting well with many on the Waianae Coast.

“The hardest thing is that from day one, we have been told if there was another landfill, it’ll never be on the west side,” said Honolulu City Councilmember Andria Tupola. “Why was that told to the community?” ….

A neighborhood board meeting in Kapolei is planned for Wednesday, April 22, with a presentation from Honolulu’s Environmental Services Department on the agenda.

Landowner James Campbell Company said Makaiwa Hills has always been intended to supply additional housing on the west side.

“We’ve been working with James Campbell Company for over two decades to actually ensure there are places for local people to live, and now we’re told that this is going to be garbage instead of the houses,” said Kapolei Neighborhood Board chair Anthony Makana Paris.

City officials said Makaiwa Hills is the only possible location for Oahu’s next landfill unless State restrictions are eased. Lawmakers said they need to see a comprehensive plan for what needs to change before statutes are adjusted….

2010: Nanakuli Park: Hannemann pounds Hanabusa in proxy fight between Waimanalo Gulch and PVT landfill

Read … Makaiwa Hills landfill plan sparks community backlash

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA:

QUICK HITS: