July 30, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Thursday, July 30, 2026

July 30, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 10:00 AM :: 160 Views

Kauai Charter School not the First to Remove Wife of OHA Trustee

Maui Fire: Lawyers grab for 25% of settlement

HNN: … Hawaii law allowed attorneys to receive up to 25% of the awards.

But last month, Maui Judge Peter Cahill set an 8% limit on attorney fees for cases filed before the settlement was announced and a 3% limit for clients who came in after the settlement was announced.

In the “unprecedented ruling,” Cahill also ordered that $222 million be set aside for attorneys who did the most work on the cases.

Law firms Ranken & Shnider, PacLaw Group, Montegna & Thickstun are appealing the ruling, arguing the process is unfair.

The firm said attorneys should be paid based on their contracts their clients agreed to.

“If we prevail, the $222 million carve-out from settlement funds created by Judge Cahill that he intends to give to a small group of lawyers of his choosing and in amounts he chooses, and who our clients don’t know, never met, and never hired to represent them, will be eliminated,” Samuel P. Shnider of Ranken & Shnider wrote in an email to Hawaii News Now.

If Shnider wins his argument, attorneys would also go back to receiving the percentage listed in their contracts with their clients – up to 25% of the awards.

“... as they have in every case in Hawaiʻi’s history,” Shnider wrote in his email….

Read … Law firm fights judge’s ruling on attorney fees in Maui wildfire settlement

Ex-Social Worker sentenced to 10 years in connection to death of 11-year-old adopted daughter

KITV: … A Laie woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for assault, tied the cruel death of her 11-year-old adopted daughter in Dec. 2023.

Sina Pili was convicted on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in connection to the death of her adoptive daughter Azaeliyah Pili-Ah You in Laie on Dec. 22, 2023. Pili was sentenced to 10 years in prison for first-degree assault, and will serve one year each concurrently for second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and persistent nonsupport.

Pili was sentenced to 10 years instead of 20 years because she took a plea deal for assault instead of the manslaughter charge she was originally facing. She was found guilty of beating, choking and denying the child medical care….

The Honolulu Police Department (HPD), firefighters and EMS responded to a call to report that Pili-Ah You fell in the shower. When first responders arrived at the home, Pili-Ah You was found lying unconscious with bruises to various parts of her body including her face.

Medical examiners later ruled the death as a homicide after an autopsy. Prosecutors and HPD said that this incident was at the hands of abuse….

Just minutes after her sentencing, a heated argument broke out where someone pushed Pili's husband right outside of the courtroom. They were yelling that the child's death had happened under their roof….

2025: Social Worker Arrested in Torture Death of Foster Girl

CB: Ex-Social Worker Gets 10 Years In Prison For Daughter's Death - Honolulu Civil Beat

HNN: Clash erupts after Laie woman sentenced for beating adopted daughter to death | Hawaii News Now

Read … Laie woman sentenced to 10 years in connection to death of 11-year-old adopted daughter | News | kitv.com

Peter Boy Kema case nears possible settlement

KHON: … A settlement conference is scheduled for July 30, despite a recent change in judge…. The original judge stepped aside after disclosing a conflict because he previously ruled on the family’s appeal….

If no agreement is reached, hearings on motions for partial summary judgment are set for Aug. 19, with trial scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 5….

Read … Peter Boy Kema case nears possible settlement

Uncertainty, confusion surround East Oahu’s City Council race

SA: … As of Wednesday, Council Chair Tommy Waters had yet to file his promised appeal of a judge’s ruling that he was ineligible to seek a third consecutive term….

“Because the matter remains in its early stages and the relevant facts, research and investigative findings are still being reviewed, it would be premature to comment further at this time,” the campaign said in a written statement….

The ruling leaves many unanswered questions about how the state Office of Elections will handle ballots already cast for Waters.

State Chief Election Officer Scott Nago previously said that if a candidate is disqualified after ballots have been printed, election officials would issue a notice informing voters the candidate has been disqualified and that votes cast for that candidate would not be counted.

Acting Honolulu City Clerk Chadd Kadota said Monday the Elections Division is reviewing the ruling with legal counsel to determine its effect on the election and would provide additional information when available.

As of Wednesday, however, election officials could not say how many District 4 voters had already returned ballots or what contingency plans were being prepared should the ruling remain in effect through the Aug. 8 primary.

Honolulu Elections Administrator Rex Quidilla also declined to comment specifically on the District 4 race, in part due to Ozawa’s lawsuit. “I can’t comment on pending litigation,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of a future special election, Quidilla said: “Yeah, that goes back to I have no comment on that front.”

Under the Honolulu City Charter, a special election is reserved to fill an unexpected midterm vacancy when one year or more remains in the term. A special election, however, does not occur because a candidate is ruled ineligible during an election, the charter says.

According to Ozawa’s complaint, the court-ordered April 2019 special election between Waters and Ozawa was a rerun of the invalidated 2018 District 4 election for the same four-year term, not an election to fill a vacancy or partial term, and therefore should count toward the Charter’s two-term limit….

Read … Uncertainty, confusion surround East Oahu’s City Council race | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

69,388 mail-in ballots had been returned by Oahu voters

SA: … Quidilla said the city’s Elections Division expects additional ballots to be returned as more registered voters cast their ballots. Citing state data, he said that as of Tuesday, 69,388 mail-in ballots had been returned by Oahu voters.

“The total registered voter count (for Oahu) is 546,021,” Quidilla added. “Just note that voter registration is still ongoing. You can still register to vote and receive a ballot in the mail … or at a (voter) service center, so those numbers will change.”

In Honolulu’s 2024 primary election, there were 548,261 registered voters, down from the 562,630 registered voters in the 2022 primary, he said….

Read … Uncertainty, confusion surround East Oahu’s City Council race | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

OHA trustees have duty to speak up, ensure accountability

SA: … Public trust does not survive because people remain silent. It survives because those entrusted with public responsibility are willing to speak when they believe something is wrong. Such is the case with myself and trustees Keli‘i Akina, Luana Alapa and Kalei Akaka…..

As an elected trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, I took an oath to faithfully carry out my fiduciary responsibilities to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. That oath requires more than attending meetings and casting votes. It requires honesty, independence, and the courage to act according to conscience, even when doing so is unpopular or at odds with other members.

Over the past year, serious questions have been raised regarding governance at OHA. Those questions are now reflected in public court filings that describe allegations involving the biennium budget process, board governance, whistleblower protections, executive-session actions and compliance with Hawaii law. These matters are now before the courts, where they should ultimately be resolved according to law.

My decision, together with three fellow trustees, to file our own answer in that litigation was not an act of disloyalty to OHA. It was an affirmation of our duty to tell the truth as we understand it and to ensure that the court has an accurate record of events. In that filing, we acknowledged numerous factual allegations concerning alleged misconduct, requests for protection from retaliation, and the September 2025 executive-session actions because we believed they reflected what occurred.

A trustee’s highest duty is not to protect the reputation of those in positions of authority. Our duty is to protect the integrity of the institution and the trust placed in it by the Hawaiian people….

Read … Column: OHA trustees have duty to speak up, ensure accountability | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

A High Bar: Why Prosecuting Sylvia Luke for bribery will be an uphill battle

ILind: … convicting Luke is likely to be an uphill slog for prosecutors. The Supreme Court has consistently held that the right of citizens and political candidates to give and accept campaign contributions falls under the protections of free speech and association provided by the First Amendment. To breach those protections and prove illegal bribery, prosecutors must prove the existence of an explicit, mutual “quid pro quo” agreement between the donor and the recipient….

Read … A High Bar: Why Prosecuting Sylvia Luke for bribery will be an uphill battle | i L i n d

After 18 years of Green Energy Initiative, High Oil Prices Still Hammer HECO Customers Because Solar IS Diesel

CB: … Unlike other major U.S. utilities, HECO primarily uses oil to power its generators. When oil prices go up, so do electric bills, making life even harder for residents struggling to get by in a state with the nation’s highest cost of living, including electricity rates that are the nation’s highest — and nearly three times the national average.

Oil is trading at close to $90 per barrel these days thanks to the Iran war compared to $65 to $70 a year ago. As a result, the average monthly residential bill rose 27% from June 2025 to this year on Maui and 30% on Oʻahu. Lānaʻi has it worst, up 55%, an average increase of more than $100 a month….

(TRANSLATION: Solar is diesel.)

Read … High Oil Prices Hammer HECO Customers. Here's Why - Honolulu Civil Beat

As Flood Aid Trickles Out For North Shore, The Few Actual Farmers Are Left Behind

CB: … Phet Souksamly has settled into a new daily routine at Mahiko Farms. Most nights, friends and neighbors gather under his tent-like pavilion to sip lukewarm Heineken and grill what’s on hand, after which the 68-year-old climbs into the trunk of his silver Nissan to sleep.

On other nights, after working his three acres of farmland, the Laotian-born farmer leaves his cluttered living space to bathe in the ocean’s cool saltwater, soothing his calloused hands after long days of toiling under the sun.

This has been his reality for the past four months, after the first floor of his rental home in Otake Camp was inundated by floodwaters of March’s Kona low storms. The settlement, next to Kaukonahua Stream, became emblematic of the disaster. His home became unlivable and his farm, two miles away, was no better off.

The day the weather cleared, he returned to find that all of his crops – cilantro, bitter melon, eggplants, peanuts among them – drowned, pressed into the mud and completely unsalvageable. ..

Read … As Flood Aid Trickles Out For North Shore, Southeast Asian Farmers Are Left Behind - Honolulu Civil Beat

It Takes Seven Months to Find 64 Homeless Willing to Accept Shelter at Maui’s first homeless Kauhale

MN: … Seven months into operations, (the 64-unit) Kīpūola Kauhale, Maui’s first kauhale project in Kahului, reached full capacity in June, using what developer HomeAid Hawaiʻi describes as a “deeply affordable” model that relies on value engineering, emergency proclamations and public-private partnerships to cut construction costs. Housing applications started in December….

(CLUE: Homelessness can only be solved by force.)

Read … Maui’s first Kauhale reaches full capacity in Kahului; project viewed as possible template for future affordable housing : Maui Now

Hybrid Septic/Sewer System to Replace Cesspools?

CB: … Puakō For Reefs, the volunteer-run nonprofit behind the effort, has drawn up plans to put in what’s called a low-pressure liquid-only sewer system, the only viable alternative to the cesspools and septic systems in low-lying coastal places. And they have been working with Hawaiʻi County on a plan to fund and build it, in hopes of creating a model that can extend far beyond Puakō….

Most sewer systems use gravity to move waste through a series of very large underground pipes — up to 60 inches wide — to a centralized water treatment plant. Those large pipes are impractical in many areas of the Big Island because of how deep they would need to be buried in rocky places, and how costly it is to dig into lava.

The alternative, low pressure system on the table in Puakō would pulverize the waste with a grinder, allow the liquid to rise to the top, and move it through a relatively small, 6-inch pipe. Because of its size, the pipe can be buried much closer to the surface and costs much less to install.

The bulk of the waste can travel through the pipe, and the remaining waste will be held in a small tank that will need to be pumped out every five to eight years, much like a septic tank….

They compared a low-pressure system to a gravity-fed system, and not only would the traditional gravity-fed not work, but it was 10 times more expensive than the low pressure system — $120 million versus $12 million,” said Karen Anderson, president of Puakō For Reefs….

Low-pressure systems have existed since the 1980s, but Puakō would be an early adopter in Hawaiʻi. The developers behind Kohanaiki, a high-end development surrounding a golf course on the Kona coast, installed a low-pressure system for its 400 planned homes. And members of Puakō For Reefs — and Punihaole’s new spinoff group, Kahaluʻu For Reefs — also met with planners from Vero Beach, a community on the east coast of Florida that installed such a system in 2015. …

The Puakō sewer system, which will serve around 200 homes, has a planned route and a destination for the wastewater: the American Water Plant in the neighboring Mauna Lani resort….

it will cost an estimated $40,000 to connect each home with a cesspool to the sewer system in Puakō. Those with septic systems will pay less because connecting to the sewer will require a smaller modification to their existing systems.

The community group has applied to become a designated Community Facilities District, which would involve having the county create a bond that provides seed funding for the sewer and then pays it back through a special tax paid by the property owners over several decades….

Read … A Viable Cesspool Alternative Emerges On Hawaiʻi's Coasts - Honolulu Civil Beat

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