May 27, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

May 27, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 9:24 AM :: 272 Views

Choi: Pay to Play is Issue in Lt Gov Race

Catch and Release: 0.2% of HPD Misdemeanor Arrests held after 72 hours

DPP Average Delay on Affordable Housing Projects -- 661 Days

Hawaii Transsexual Activists Get a Grip on 800 Children—offer ‘real connection with adult’

HNN: … (LGBTQ) ‘Spill the Tea Café’ serves nearly 800 kids and ‘families’, including children as young as 6. The organization recently moved to a larger space on Waimanu Street and offers nonclinical groups — including activities like Dungeons & Dragons — as well as access to clinicians.

(CLUE: Spill the Tea also has a ‘Trans Resource Hub’ to help boys become girls: “MTF | My Site”)

“Kids are not just going to have a referral, come to therapy and be better. We understand that if we’re sending them back to that same environment, that’s not realistic,” Dennison said.

(VIDEO: Check out all the adult male gays hanging out at Spill The Tea. LINK)

“The care coordination or team mentor, they plug into every aspect of their life, (Yes. They really did say this.) so whether it’s school where they’re having issues, or maybe it’s resume building. Maybe it’s independent living skills,” Dennison said. “All these things our MSW (Master of Social Work) interns are trained very rigorously to make sure that the kids are not falling through the cracks. It doesn’t only take therapy, it takes a whole team and a real connection with an adult.” (Yes. They really did say this.) …

How to find 800 kiddies to trans-form:

HNN: Spotlight Now: Haylin Dennison, Spill the Tea Cafe

Read … Spotlight Now: What’s next for Oahu’s street mental health crisis response | Hawaii News Now

Gays Frustrated over Choice for Democratic Party Chair

TGI: … The Stonewall Caucus is the official Hawai‘i Democratic Party Caucus representing the LGBTQ+ community.

They sent both candidates running for election to be Democratic Party Chair, a “Pledge to Protect and Respect Every Member of Our Community.”

The pledge affirms support for LGBTQ+ equality, transgender rights, marriage equality, diversity, inclusion and the dignity of every member of our community.

Only one candidate signed that pledge.

That candidate is Tina Marie Even.

The other candidate, Makai Freitas, is unwilling to sign this pledge, AND did not participate in a “candidate forum” co-hosted by all the party caucuses: Stonewall, Education, Kupuna, Labor, Veterans, Women’s, Environmental, and Hawaiian Affairs Caucuses and the Young Democrats of Hawai‘i….

It is my understanding that Mr. Freitas has also been selected by Gov. Josh Green to serve on the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents….

The Democratic Party of Hawai‘i meets May 29 and 30 at the Hilton Hawaiian Hotel Village — to choose a new Party Chair….

VIDEO: She's Running for State Party Chair — And Politics Was Never the Plan

Read … HOOSER: Hawai‘i Democrats: Tell me it ain’t true - The Garden Island

Just as County begins Forcibly Removing Lunatics from Streets, Legislature Eliminates Funding for Place to Put Them

HNN: … After the state Legislature cut $8 million in funding for medical respite centers serving homeless patients, local leaders say they are searching for money to keep the facilities open.

The funding runs out at the end of June, and without it, leaders say dozens of medically fragile homeless people could end up back on the streets.

Dr. Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services, said the city is looking for funding to maintain current operations, but the cuts could halt any expansion plans….

Dr. Scott Miscovich, who runs Aala Respite on N. King Street, said he estimates Oahu could use hundreds more respite beds.

“When we’re gonna start bringing the severely mentally ill and drug addicted off the streets, they need a place to go, to get treated, so we need a big expansion of this if we’re really going to make a difference,” Miscovich said.

Under a new law that took effect this year, crisis teams will be able to remove mentally ill homeless individuals from the streets and provide medication. Ireland said that program — known as MH-3 — is only effective if teams have places to take people for care.

“There’s been a few individuals that we’ve done three MH-3s on, there’s a few of them, and it’s because they were deemed okay by whoever was accessing them, in the places they go, and they weren’t okay, and they went back to the streets, and they ran through the streets naked or ate out of a garbage can or threatened someone else,” Ireland said. “Residents and visitors deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods.”…

Read … Spotlight Now: What’s next for Oahu’s street mental health crisis response | Hawaii News Now

LNG is best viable clean energy option

SA: … Oahu depends on oil for 68% of its electricity, plus 17% from customer-sited solar, 8% from utility solar farms, and 7% from other sources. The Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation Commission’s projection for the next 20 years excludes floating windmills (no doubt due to strong community pushback) and biofuel (at least doubly costly)….

Additional windmill projects on Oahu will be highly unlikely due to strong community pushback, geothermal on Oahu is unproven, and hydrogen will be too costly. The only renewable that’s left to replace oil is solar.

Residential rooftop solar is at 50% penetration, but provides only 17% of total demand. An increase beyond 25% is unlikely. The next possibility for a whopping 60% of our power: utility solar farms. Sixty percent of the commission’s 2045 demand projection amounts to 7,200 gigawatt hours per year, meaning an additional 24,000 acres for solar farms. Our view is that this would be imprudent, given competing land-use needs for housing and sustainable agriculture.

LNG opponents claim the $2 billion cost to transition to natural gas will be prohibitive, but avoid mention of the cost to make solar farm electricity reliable. Hawaiian Electric’s utility solar farms provide only four hours of battery backup, nowhere near enough to assure reliability from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. plus a reserve for overcast days. Thus the need for utility battery farms. The first such farm at Kapolei cost some $220 million but provides less than 3% of Oahu’s daily demand. Sixty percent of one day’s islandwide demand would take 20 such farms at a cost exceeding $4 billion.

Importantly, batteries will have to be completely replaced every 15 to 20 years, versus a 30- to 40-year life of LNG infrastructure. Multiply the $4 billion by two for a full life-cycle comparison — a staggering $8 billion, versus $2 billion for LNG infrastructure….

Read … Column: LNG is best viable clean energy option | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Low response to questionnaire plagues Hawaii fuel spill registry

SAS: … The registry was created to track the long-term effects of the 2021 fuel spill that contaminated the Navy’s drinking water system serving military housing around and on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The registry has pre-enrolled more than 2,600 participants since late 2024, but only 423 have completed the expanded questionnaires that are part of the complete process, the registry said in a news release Tuesday.

Roughly 93,000 water consumers were affected when JP-5 jet fuel spilled from the underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The Navy is in the process of permanently closing the World War II-era facility….

Read … Low response to questionnaire plagues Hawaii fuel spill registry | Stars and Stripes

State Farm ending hurricane coverage for single-wall rental homes

HNN: … The grooved redwood slats were cheaper to ship and temperature control and insulation, installed between outside and inside walls in wood-frame houses, was not necessary, so tens of thousands of homes were built that way until about the 1980s. The homes are more vulnerable to fire and wind and now cost more to insure.

“So when insurance for rental units goes up, our entire economy is going to feel it,” Matayoshi said.

One landlord showed Hawaii News Now their old State Farm premium of just above $1,700 for both property and hurricane coverage. The new quote from a company called Centauri Specialty Insurance was over $2,300 just for hurricane coverage. The cost to insure the rental home went up more than $100 per month.

State Insurance Commissioner Scott Saiki said State Farms move was predictable.

“Those kinds of homes are at higher risk of sustaining damage,” Saiki said. “And that’s a concern also for insurance companies.”

State Farm was over-exposed to that risk. It insured most of the homes that burned in Lahaina and a majority of the market statewide. By withdrawing hurricane insurance from the limited pool of single-wall rental homes, the company said the decision “helps State Farm manage the risks associated with this type of construction, which is more susceptible to damage from multiple perils including hurricanes.

“State Farm must manage risk responsibly so we can remain financially strong and continue serving customers over the long term,” the company said….

Regulators are watching how easily State Farm hurricane insurance customers can find coverage. If it gets too hard to find or expensive, the state’s hurricane relief fund can be activated for the single-wall rental market.

Read … State Farm ending hurricane coverage for single-wall rental homes

Department of Education new cell phone policy

ASD: … Starting in the fall semester, all HIDOE schools will be required to meet minimum standards restricting the use of cell phones by students following a February decision by the state Board of Education.

At minimum, elementary school, middle school and intermediate school students will be prohibited from any cell phone use during school hours. High school students can be allowed to use cell phones during break periods, but schools can choose to implement stricter policies at their own discretion.

Teri Ushijima, HIDOE Assistant Superintendent, told Aloha State Daily that most HIDOE schools already have their own cell phone rules in place, but the new policy standardizes the department’s guidance on the matter….

READ … Department of Education gears up for new cell phone policy

Hawaii AG snubs Vance's White House anti-fraud roundtable

CNBC: … Democratic state attorneys general (including Hawaii) declined an invitation to Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud initiatives roundtable at the White House on Tuesday, citing the fact that they were only invited on Friday, days after their Republican counterparts were asked to attend.

“While we would appreciate the opportunity to engage in serious discussions, the invitation was provided with less than one business day’s notice with no agenda,” the 24 attorneys general wrote Vance in a letter dated Tuesday, after the Memorial Day holiday….

CNS: Democratic AGs skip Vance’s ‘political stunt’ fraud roundtable over belated invites | Courthouse News Service

SA: Hawaii AG joins others pushing back against Vance’s Medicaid allegations | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Read … Democratic AGs snub Vance's White House anti-fraud roundtable

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