August 7, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Friday, August 7, 2026

August 7, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 7:54 AM :: 137 Views

Judge Shakes Up OHA CEO's Lawsuit

Hawaii AG Conspired to Sue Trump Seven Days After He was Reelected

HECO: 'We did not ask PUC to Approve 500MW Plant'

Does The "Aloha Spirit" Violate The Establishment Clause?

Purposeful Slow-Walking: Waters lawyers Still Haven’t Filed Appeal with ICA

SA: … Waters’ notice of appeal was initially filed on July 31 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.

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

“Right now, (the ICA) is waiting for the attorneys to file,” a Judiciary spokesperson said Thursday, adding the appellate court can’t decide Waters’ appeal until after it receives the record from the Circuit Court, and the parties have filed their written briefs. “So it’s still pending.”

(QUESTION: How does Waters obtain an advantage by slow-walking this?)

In a written statement on Thursday, Waters said, “We’re hopeful the courts will affirm my eligibility in time for the Nov. 3, 2026, General Election.

(TRANSLATION: Ozawa wins Primary with 50% +1 but Court rules there will be a General with 2^nd-place finisher Waters on the ballot against Ozawa.)

(CLUE: Waters’ lawyers, the ICA, and the Supreme Court will suddenly become very efficient after the primary is over.)

Read … Mayor Blangiardi defers to courts in Waters’ election dispute | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Carpenters Union Spends Big on Maui Candidates

CB: … For A Better Tomorrow, a super PAC with ties to the carpenters union, spent more than $974,000 to support candidates across all four counties, most of which was spent on neighbor islands. More than half of the money – about $565,522 – went to support candidates on Maui.

Other carpenter-related PACs spent roughly $20,000, mostly on candidates in the council race on Oʻahu. Those two groups, Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters Political Action Fund and the Hawaii Carpenters Market Recovery Program Fund PAC, collectively spent about $5,300 on neighbor islands.

The next biggest spender this election cycle was HiVISION2020, a super PAC with connections to the plumbers and pipefitters union. The group has put more than $167,000 toward ads in support of candidates in mayoral races on Maui and Kauaʻi, backing Yuki Lei Sugimura and Mel Rapozo, respectively.

Other labor groups also spent a significant chunk of the money backing candidates in neighbor island races, with ILWU Hawaii Political Action Committee, the Plumbers & Pipefitters Political Action Committee and Operating Engineers Local Union 3 Hawaii District 17 PAC each putting more than $20,000 behind neighbor island candidates.

Big money is also playing a role in the Upcountry race in the Pukalani-Kula-Ulupalakua district. Derrick Cabiles has received more than $105,000 in support from super PACs and PACs – roughly 23 times that of his strongest competition, well-known farmer Bobby Pahia, who received just $4,500 in support from PACs and super PACs.….

Read … Maui Candidates Are Benefitting Big From PACs - Honolulu Civil Beat

DoC Bumbles Latest OCCC Escape: “the Department of Corrections did not respond for hours”

KHON: … Honolulu Police said officials at the Department of Corrections did not respond for hours, on whether they needed help to let the public know about the man who escaped from Oahu Community Correctional Center on Wednesday….

Joseph Tauilemua was eventually caught in the evening near Hickam. He was scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Wednesday morning when he somehow escaped. The incident gave HPD a chance to use its new drones on the first day of the program….

Honolulu Police said they got the call 911 call from the public about someone changing out of what looked like an OCCC uniform around 9:45. Officers started searching from that time. But there was no official alert from any of the agencies involved until 4 hours later.

State sheriffs and military police also helped in the search, but since Tauilemua was in custody of the Corrections department, it is (spozed to be) the lead agency for this incident….

According to HPD, their communications team reached out to the Corrections Department Director and their communications team starting at 1045, asking if they needed any help in getting any information out to the public. HPD said they never heard back til 2:00. But by that time, HPD had already issued its own news release….

KITV: Inmate escape points to problems plaguing Hawaii prisons | News | kitv.com

Read … HPD uses new drones to find escaped OCCC inmate

Hawaii Nonprofit Sues to Block HHS Organ Donor Competition Rule

BL: … A Hawaii organ procurement organization is suing the Trump administration over a policy change that threatens it with competition with much larger groups and potential decertification.

Honolulu-based nonprofit Legacy of Life Hawaii filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday, alleging that the agency’s move to begin enforcing a requirement that OPOs “compete against each other to take over a designated service area” contravenes the intentions of the National Organ Transplant Act.

Organ procurement organizations are nonprofit groups certified by the federal government to manage the organ donation and recovery process....

Read … Hawaii Nonprofit Sues to Block HHS Organ Donor Competition Rule

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