August 5, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Current Articles | Archives

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

August 5, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 10:37 AM :: 163 Views

Hawaii Sues to Protect Welfare Cheats

Tariffs Again: Hawaii AG Joins Another anti-Trump Lawsuit

City burns $9 million from 'Climate Resiliency Fund'

Kona Hospital Verifies Level III Trauma Certification

How Legislative Bribe-taker Ensured that Latest Round of Corruption Defendants Could Only Lose Half Their Pensions

CB: … Proposals had been floated and killed for years, but the Kealoha scandal finally spurred the Legislature into action in 2021.

However, the version that passed was largely watered down from the original draft, which was introduced by former state Rep. Mark Nakashima, who died in 2024. The original bill would have allowed a judge to order forfeiture of up to the entire amount of a person’s pension. The law that passed allows forfeiture of up to just half.

The law only applies to crimes that occurred after June 24, 2021. That’s thanks in part to then-Senate Maj. Leader J. Kalani English (a former cocaine dealer) who served on one of the committees that amended the bill. That effective date preserved English’s own pension.

English, who was a member of the Ways and Means Committee at the time, was then being investigated for bribery, unbeknownst to many of his colleagues. He ultimately pleaded guilty to accepting more than $15,000 in bribes from Milton Choy, a Hawaiʻi wastewater company owner, to influence legislation favorable to Choy’s business. The investigation was not made public until he was charged in February 2022, but court documents show the FBI was investigating him from at least January 2021.

English, who was released from federal prison in 2024, did not return a call seeking comment. Richard Sing, the lawyer who represented him in 2022, also did not respond to requests for comment. Sing is now representing Luke. …

(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)

Under the law, an official convicted of bribery COULD have part of their pension forfeited IF a judge orders it. But the penalties range. A judge, for example, COULD decide to order forfeiture of half of the interest that has accrued on an employee’s account or half of only the employer’s contributions.

The highest penalty would be cutting the person’s entire pension in half. …

2022: Former Hawaii Senate Majority Leader and Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison
2021: Sen J Kalani 'Powdernose' English Resigns--Ige to Appoint Replacement
2018: Senate Majority Leader (and convicted cocaine dealer) J. Kalani ‘Powdernose’ English of Maui had eight absences this year. He racked up 12 absences last year…
2017: Hawaii Lawmaker Accepted Junket From Turkish Opposition Group
2016: Former Cocaine Dealer seeks Marijuana License: Unwarranted advantages, self-dealing, favoritism, and undue influence
2010: Former cocaine dealer J Kalani English: Bought and paid for by Hawaii Air Ambulance
2005: English lied to Maui Council about Drug Dealing
1996: Jamie "Kalani" English, now 30, was indicted by an Oahu grand jury on April 20, 1988, on a charge of promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree. He was arrested on the charge May 4, 1988, according to court records.

Read … Corruption Defendants, If Convicted, Could Lose Half Their Pensions - Honolulu Civil Beat

160,000 ballots cast for the primary election so far

KHON: … more than 400 volunteers across the state watching over and helping with the counting process. As of Tuesday morning, election officials said they’ve received close to 160,000 ballots for the primary election – about 22%....

The elections office said so far, about 1,400 ballots have been ruled invalid.

“Those are missing signatures, or the signature doesn’t match,” said Scott Nago, Hawaii Chief Elections Officer. “We do notify the voters, and they do have five days to cure that.”

Officials remind voters that your ballot needs to be turned in before 7 p.m. Saturday to be counted. The mail-in deadline passed. So you need to use one of the drop boxes across the state….

Read … Hawaii election volunteers say ballot count is safe

Hawaiian Homes Commission lawsuit continues after evictions averted

ASD: … David Kalahiki and Linda Twitchell sued the Hawaiian Homes Commission last month after they were served eviction notices ordering them to vacate their apartments at the Kapa‘a Courtyards at Waipouli apartment complex earlier this year.

The evictions were based around the DHHL’s 2024 purchase of the complex for more than $44 million. DHHL intended to offer the complex’s 82 housing units to Hawaiians on the department’s housing waitlist, which required people who did not possess at least a 50% Native Hawaiian blood quantum to vacate.

The public interest law firm Pacific Legal Foundation filed a suit against Hawaiian Homes Commission chair Kali Watson in U.S. District Court.

On Friday — the day Twitchell was required to leave her apartment — the plaintiffs’ and the state’s attorneys agreed to withdraw the eviction notices.

According to the agreement, Hawaiian Homes Commission chair Kali Watson will not order Kalahiki or Twitchell to vacate their apartments until either the end of the case or June 1, 2027, whichever is earlier. But if the case remains pending by mid-April 2027, the parties will reconsider the June 1 deadline, the agreement states….

BACKGROUND: DHHL Sued Over Courtyards at Waipouli Evictions

Read … Hawaiian Homes Commission lawsuit continues after evictions averted

HART will soon be forced to admit Cost Of Honolulu Rail Line Climbing Again

CB: … A consultant for the Federal Transit Administration is conducting a “thorough review” of rail’s costs and schedule after a Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation analysis identified risks with the Honolulu Skyline project that could cause the cost to escalate again.

If that new risk analysis is accurate, it suggests the grand total for the 18.9-mile elevated rail line and stations, including financing, may turn out to be $10.19 billion, or $111 million more than the current financial plan for rail.

Lori Kahikina, CEO of HART, said in a written statement Monday the official budget for rail is still $10.079 billion, and the higher estimate cited in recent reports by HART and the FTA consultant reflects risks rather than firm costs. That estimate will be “adjusted up and down as risks are realized, retired or mitigated over the course of the project,” she wrote.

When a risk estimate exceeds the project budget as this one has, that typically triggers a detailed review of issues such as project cost, schedule and potential mitigation measures, Kahikina said in her statement. That review is underway by FTA consultant Hill International Inc. “to determine if any changes are required to HART’s estimates.” ….

Read … Cost Of Honolulu Rail Line At Risk Of Climbing Again - Honolulu Civil Beat

Tommy Waters Lawyers Bumble Appeal as Clock Ticks

SA: … His notice of appeal was filed Friday with the state but his attorneys filed it in 1st Circuit Court instead of directly with the Intermediate Court of Appeals, according to the Hawaii State Judiciary….

“Mr. Waters’ counsel initially erroneously filed an appeal in Circuit Court,” a Judiciary spokesperson said Tuesday. “It has now been correctly filed with the (ICA) and a case number has been assigned.”

Court records indicate Waters intends to file an application asking the Hawaii Supreme Court to transfer the appeal from the ICA.

“When that will happen is dependent on when the attorney files the application,” the spokesperson said, adding that other court documents are required as well. “The ICA cannot decide the appeal until after it receives the record from the Circuit Court, and the parties have filed their written briefs.”

“Given the Aug. 8 primary election deadline, we are evaluating whether to request expedited review, a stay, or other appropriate relief,” Waters, a lawyer, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “Whether the (ICA) can act before the election is ultimately a decision for the court.”

He noted if the appeal is not resolved before the primary, election materials and ballots should be preserved until the courts determine the appropriate remedy.

“It would be premature to prescribe that remedy before the appellate court acts, but no lawful option, including a special election, should be ruled out if one becomes necessary to provide District 4 voters with a meaningful election,” he said….

Read … Tommy Waters faces uphill battle with appeal, attorney says | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Lahaina’s slow rebuild: 3 years later

AAN: … earlier this year, the Bayudan family moved back into their rebuilt home in the Wahikuli neighborhood, more than two years after the fire moved through. They were the second on their street to return….

Recovery has been a long and painful process for Lahaina. With the third anniversary of the fire approaching, AsAmNews obtained more than 3,000 building permits from Aug. 8, 2023, through July 15, 2026, through a public records request, and analyzed nearly 1,000 disaster recovery permits.

The analysis found that about 25% of the single family homes destroyed in the fire have been rebuilt, largely in inland neighborhoods like Wahikuli. Homes closer to the ocean are even less likely to have been completed, in part because of additional environmental and erosion concerns….

Details on multi-family projects became available on July 31, after Maui County revised its method of calculating residential rebuilding in response to questions from AsAmNews. The county’s recovery dashboard now includes apartments, townhomes and condominiums along with single-family homes being rebuilt….

The new numbers show that 38% of multi-family construction permits have been completed, with 313 individual housing units built since the fire. Of those, however, 200 units are in one long-planned development, Kaiāulu O Kūkuʻia, which broke ground before the fire but is considered a “new build,” according to Maui County officials.

Even as work continues, Lahaina may not be fully rebuilt for another four years…

Read … Lahaina’s slow rebuild: 3 years later – AsAmNews

3 years after Lahaina fire, condo owners search for money to rebuild

HNN: … Like many buildings in Lahaina, Aina Nalu’s fire insurance coverage was not adequate for a total loss. The owners association’s coverage was structured around partial damage scenarios, not a complete destruction of the project.

Soon after the fire, Jim Blaha, president of the Aina Nalu HOA, said the association had been in the process of improving its coverage when the fire struck.

“We were in discussions with our insurance agent to improve our insurance coverages. Unfortunately, our timing was really bad,” Blaha said.

Aina Nalu had approximately 20 percent of the coverage needed for rebuilding costs estimated at more than $200 million….

A block away, the Spinnaker condominium — home to many long-term owners — was somewhat better insured. HOA President Sne Patel said the desire to return home has remained strong among owners.

“But initially right after fires and majority of our owners even today is like, we want to get back home. We want to rebuild and we want to make sure we can make that happen,” Patel said.

Spinnaker’s owners plan to rebuild on the same footprint with upgrades and more modern features. Patel said cost clarity is expected as design work progresses.

“As the design gets further along, we’ll get firmer construction pricing. And I think we’ll have a much cleaner picture of the total project costs and where and how much that gap in funding will be exactly,” Patel said….

Read … 3 years after Lahaina fire, condo owners search for money to rebuild | Hawaii News Now

The cure for corruption is shrinking the prize, not rewriting the rules.

ASD: … corruption is a market. It has buyers, sellers, and a prize. Reforms that rearrange the buyers and sellers leave the prize sitting on the table….

Read … David Shapiro hits a triple bogey

Slick Lawyer Helps Social Worker Get off Easy after Killing Girl

SA: … Sina Pili’s attorney, Myles Breiner, negotiated a plea deal with the state for the lesser charge of first-degree assault, rather than the original charge of manslaughter, which carries a 20-year sentence, but is now asking the judge for probation with 18 months in jail and credit for time served….

… Breiner asked in Tuesday’s motion that if the judge denies the reduced sentence request, that she amend the judgment to read “indeterminate 10-year term of imprisonment” and not “imprisonment term of 10 years.” An indeterminate number of years means the parole board could reduce the sentence based on good behavior….

Read … Mother seeks leniency in death of adopted daughter | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Meth: 19 time loser finally gets a Federal Case

SA: … A 58-year-old man with 19 state convictions is facing federal criminal charges after he was allegedly caught with a gun selling methamphetamine out of a shipping container in Mountain View.

Raymond John Adrian Jr., aka “Rayboy,” was charged July 28 with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. A detention hearing in the case is scheduled for today.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion Thursday to detain Adrian without bail until trial.

“The (government) anticipates that the pretrial services report will reflect a long and serious criminal history, including prior drug- and gun-related convictions, robbery convictions, and escape convictions,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib. “His criminal history is also expected to reflect prior violations of bail and parole conditions and failure to appear at court proceedings.”

Adrian’s 19 state convictions include domestic violence, robbery, drugs and guns. His most recent felony conviction was on April 12, 2019, for promoting a dangerous drug, methamphetamine. He was sentenced to five years in state prison.

On July 22, the Hawaii Police Department officers and Homeland Security Investigations agents investigating drug dealing searched a property in the 22-2000 block of Ohialani Road in Mountain View. Police and federal agents found Adrian asleep in a shipping container on top of a bag containing about 2 ounces of methamphetamine, prosecutors said.

Adrian was allegedly armed with a loaded .45 caliber handgun….

Read … Hawaii island man with 19 convictions faces drug, gun charges | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Bus driver shortage causing delays, cancellations

KHON: … “There is an acute driver shortage. Currently we’re short about 88 drivers out of 1,000—that’s 8% to 9% of our driver spots that we need to fill,” said Department of Transportation Services (DTS) Director Roger Morton. “Our job is to just recruit as many people as we can and train them.”

Morton said the one (Kalihi/Kahala) and the two (School/Waikiki/Kahala) are the busiest routes, and the first to be impacted by a lack of bus drivers.

Instead of cancelling smaller routes altogether, bus drivers are typically pulled from busier routes like these. This can mean that in peak rush periods, buses may come every 10 minutes rather than every five minutes, causing an overload situation….

Read … Bus driver shortage causing delays, cancellations

Pay to go Hiking: Kupu awarded $1.75M in AmeriCorps funding for Hawai‘i

MN: … Kupu, Hawai‘i’s leading conservation and youth education organization, announced today that it received a grant of $1.75M from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism.

The grant will support Kupu’s Conservation Leadership Development Program (CLDP), which has 36 host sites throughout Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, Guam, and Saipan, which has been providing hands-on service training for recent high school graduates, college graduates and early professionals looking to establish a career in conservation since 2012.

(TRANSLATION: Pay to go hiking.)

“This funding will help more young people across Hawai‘i and the Pacific explore careers in conservation,” said Sen. Brian Schatz….

2021: Embezzlement, Bribery: Hawaii Non-Profit Executive Sentenced to 46 Months of Imprisonment

2022: COVID Fraud: Stacy Higa Sentenced to 46 Months in Federal Prison

2025: Hype? Hawaii Trump Cuts only $95M – Mostly at UH

2025: Following Biden's Lead, Trump Shuts Down Hawaii Job Corps for Second Year in a Row

Read … Kupu awarded $1.75M in AmeriCorps funding for Hawai‘i : Maui Now

Landfill: How Annual Kabuki Show Will Lead Right Back to Waimanalo Gulch

CB: … Mayor Rick Blangiardi is in an impossible position.

With the island’s only municipal landfill ordered to close by 2031, he needs to find a new place to put the island’s trash. But his first three suggestions have been shouted down by communities who refuse to play host to a dump.

His latest choice — at Kapaʻa Quarry in Kailua — is getting a similar reception.

Windward residents are not keen to host a landfill, and state law prohibits him from placing a landfill there because it’s too close to the surrounding community. Blangiardi is now asking state lawmakers to help him out and repeal the law they passed in 2020 because nowhere else on the island will work.

“We need the Legislature to realize we are out of options,” he said…

SA: Editorial: Find compromise on new landfill | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Read … ‘Out Of Options’: Siting Oʻahu’s New Landfill Is A Political Nightmare - Honolulu Civil Beat

ELECTION NEWS:

QUICK HITS: