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Wednesday, August 26, 2026

August 26, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 9:51 AM :: 108 Views

Hawaii high court considers ballot eligibility for Honolulu City Council seat--will rule by Friday

Trump Approves Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Lala

Alleged Repeat Child Sexual Predator Arrested for Sexual Exploitation of a Child in Hawaii

Hawaii Part of $17B Facebook/Instagram Settlement

It’s True: Power Outages Happening More Often In Hawai‘i

CB: … On Oʻahu, the average resident experienced about twice as many outages in 2024 as they did the year before the Maui fires, according to a Civil Beat analysis of federal data, although preliminary 2025 numbers show a slight improvement.

The federal government requires utility companies like Hawaiian Electric Co. to report a variety of data each year that measure the grid’s reliability, including the average number of times consumers lost power and for how long.

That data shows that even excluding major outlier events such as extreme weather, a failure at a power plant or a car hitting an electrical pole, the power is still going out more frequently across the state – and staying out for longer. …

On Oʻahu, HECO customers had gotten used to losing power less than once a year on average since 2019. No longer. Consumers on the island lost power about twice as often – an average of 1.7 times in 2024.

Hawaiʻi island residents lost power the most. The typical Big Island resident had their lights go dark 3.8 times on average in 2024. That’s more than any year since at least 2014.

Statewide, HECO’s customers lost power an average of 2.6 times – a significant increase from five years ago when the average household or business lost power 1.5 times.

In Maui County, the number of outages that don’t involve a major incident or storm reached a six-year peak in 2024. Consumers lost power an average of 2.2 times in 2024, the highest since 2018 when the number reached 2.5 times. That number seems to be trending downward, according to preliminary data from last year, though it remains higher than it was before the 2023 fires.

Colton Ching, HECO’s senior vice president of planning and technology, said the increased outages are, at least in part, by design. Following the Lahaina fire, which was traced back to a fallen power line, the company implemented a number of changes to its electrical grid intended to prevent its equipment from sparking another fire. That includes shutting down larger chunks of the grid if a problem is detected. On several occasions the company has preemptively shut off power on Maui and the Big Island. HECO also now doesn’t turn the power back on until someone can go check the line – contributing to longer outages. …

When storms and other extreme events are included, Kauaʻi’s utility cooperative also saw an increase in the average number of outages compared to the last several years. Consumers served by Kauaʻi’s utility provider experienced an average of 4.4 outages in 2024 – higher than any year since 2019 when the average number of outages in a year soared to 7.1, driven, at least in part, by a cable failure that caused an island-wide outage….

IM: When the Storm Ends, the Record Goes Dark -- Kona Lows, Outages, and How the PUC Handles Them | Ililani Media

Read … It’s True: Power Outages Happening More Often In Hawai‘i - Honolulu Civil Beat

Wildfire Mitigation -- Measuring Progress From a Baseline That Does Not Exist

IM: … HECO’s own discovery responses:

HECO “has not historically tracked ignitions and is unable to provide any historical ignition probability.”

HECO’s subject matter experts, who assist the utility in various capacities “were not consulted on historical fire data.”

HECO does not define “significant wildfire,” while stating it is “only aware of one significant wildfire in the past 20 years (namely, the August 8, 2023, Lahaina fire), where the official cause was determined to be Hawaiian Electric equipment.”

Asked how fast wildfires can spread — distance over time — HECO replied that “it`s not possible to provide a generalized response.”

On asset data quality, HECO randomly sampled 46 detailed asset inspections: 15 acceptable, five that should be corrected, nine corrected before the QA/QC inspection, and 17 under further review. A 33 percent success rate.

An undefined event category, no ignition history, no ignition probability, experts not consulted on the fire record, no generalized spread rate, and a one-in-three pass rate on the inspection records themselves. That is the foundation on which trend lines are supposed to be built.

IM: Four Tracks, One Wildfire Docket -- Where HECO’s Mitigation Plan Review Stands | Ililani Media

Read … Wildfire Mitigation -- Measuring Progress From a Baseline That Does Not Exist | Ililani Media

Ige wasn’t an insurgent. He was next in line.

ASD: … Neal Milner called it “the biggest political insurgency in Hawaiʻi since statehood.” He meant the 2014 governor’s race. That year, a little-known state senator named David Ige beat a sitting governor in the primary by 36 points….

David Ige was not an upstart. He was the establishment, waiting.

By 2014, Ige had spent nearly 30 years in the legislature. He chaired the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which is a dull sounding but powerful position. Money bills pass through Ways and Means or they don’t pass at all.

Ige’s wife had built her career as a teacher and public school administrator. That made her a member of the two largest public sector unions: the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association and the Hawai‘i Government Employees Association. These unions and their retired members made up the core of the Democratic primary electorate. When Ige entered that race, he wasn’t kicking down a door. He already had a key….

Read … Ige wasn’t an insurgent. He was next in line.

Judge allows DUI suspect accused in a deadly crash to move to Florida

HNN: … Court records show he initially left the state without formal permission from the court….

Read … Judge allows DUI suspect accused in a deadly crash to move to Florida

Lawsuit Alleges Hawaiʻi Prison Staff Enabled Gang Attack

CB: … A lawsuit filed by the family of a Hawaiʻi ~~prisoner~~ (wife beater drug pusher and rapist) who was severely beaten at Hālawa Correctional Facility early this year alleges prison staff allowed gang members to pass through security checkpoints to attack a protective custody inmate who was housed in another part of the facility.

Aaron Ka’ehu was placed in protective custody at Hālawa after a prison gang called Murder Inc. “ordered a hit” on him, according to the lawsuit, but “that protection was an illusion,” according to the lawsuit. It added that the beating on Jan. 3 caused bleeding in Ka’ehu’s brain that led to permanent brain damage as well as broken facial bones and broken ribs.

Staff at the prison failed to make mandatory security checks after the attack, leaving Ka’ehu unattended and choking on his blood in his cell for hours, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of Ka’ehu’s mother, Cheryl Ka’ehu-Anderson. Ka’ehua allegedly remained on the floor of his cell long enough for the blood to dry on his mouth before he received medical attention….

Ka’ehu-Anderson said her son has now been hospitalized for eight months, and still cannot walk, talk or write….

Read … Lawsuit Alleges Hawaiʻi Prison Staff Enabled Gang Attack - Honolulu Civil Beat

Settlement allows Hawaii Job Corps center to reopen after COVID, Biden, and Trump shut it

SA: … Job Corps programs in Waimanalo and Makawao are celebrating an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that reverses the department’s 2025 decision to shut down 99 Job Corps centers around the country.

Utah-based Management &Training Corp., which operates Hawaii’s Job Corps centers and 14 on the mainland through an agreement with the Labor Department, did not respond to specific questions about how the Labor Department’s initial threat to Job Corps in May 2025 had affected attendance, enrollment and the futures of the Waimanalo and Makawao programs.

Spokesperson Emily Lawhead wrote in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser only that “Enrollment dropped in May 2025, and many people believe the program is closed, so we’re trying to get the word out that Job Corps is still open so more students can apply. MTC is working hard to increase enrollment and we’re looking to welcome as many students as we can to each campus!”…

REALITY: Following Biden's Lead, Trump Shuts Down Hawaii Job Corps for Second Year in a Row > Hawaii Free Press

PC: Trump Administration, in Response to Students’ Lawsuit, Agrees to Abandon Attempt to Shut Job Corps Centers - Public Citizen

Read … Settlement spares Hawaii Job Corps center closures | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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