August 27, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Thursday, August 27, 2026

August 27, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:08 AM :: 251 Views

Trask: OHA Trustee Souza 'threatened me with physical violence'

Hawaii AG Joins Democrats suing Postal Service over rule on mail-in ballots

Will SCOTUS Hear Hawaii Voter Roll Case?

UH Chickens Out on Building Occupation Protest Ban

DLE’s fake CEO Travels World, secretly grabs 1/3 of DLE Budget

CB: … The state Department of Law Enforcement has sent (DLE’s notthe CEO) Brandon Asuka to more law enforcement conferences in the last two years than most state workers will go to in a lifetime.

A homeland security meeting in Washington, D.C. A counter-terrorism conference in Dublin, Ireland. The World Police Summit in Dubai.

Department directors sent the high-level official to conferences, site visits and presentations all over the world on the taxpayer’s dime in an effort, they say, to set up the agency with the most advanced law enforcement technology available.

(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)

These trips, in turn, have translated into multimillion-dollar contracts for tech companies — one of which has ‘hired’ Asuka as a product developer, even as he continues to work for the state as a contractor.

(CLUE: “Bribery.”)

Over the course of 21 out-of-state trips from 2024 to 2026, taxpayers spent nearly $80,000 for Asuka’s hotels, meals and flights. As a result, the state signed at least 10 contracts worth nearly $30 million with contractors Asuka ‘connected’ (LOL! It that the word now?) with during his travels. All were procured through an interstate cooperative purchasing program that sidesteps the traditional bidding process. …

(IQ Test for State and County employees: Are you taking notes on how he did this so you can do it yourself?)

The total value of the contracts, some of which span multiple years, represents nearly a third of the department’s $100 million annual operating budget….

(IQ Test: How hard are you laughing?)

Asuka’s official title with the Department of Law Enforcement was program officer, but records show he often referred to himself as the chief executive officer, or CEO, a title that doesn’t actually exist in the agency.

Department Director Mike Lambert said he and the previous director, Jordan Lowe, also referred to Asuka as an executive officer and saw him as a chief of staff figure, someone who reported to them about the latest public safety tech solutions. …

Jordan Lowe, who was the department’s first director, resigned in 2025. Lambert is stepping down in September and will be replaced by Deputy Director Jared Redulla. The department will have had three directors in less than three years….

Lambert said other department officials travel frequently as well. Dorothy Booth, the state’s fire marshal who was hired in July 2025 has been to eight out-of-state conferences since she started, according to a document provided by Booth. The trips cost a total of around $17,000 and put her out of the state for 46 days. During the same time period, Asuka took five out-of-state trips, taking up a total of 23 days and costing about $16,000. …

The California-based AI company Cloudwick wrote glowingly about its partnership with Asuka and the Department of Law Enforcement on its website in 2024, even quoting Asuka praising the company.

“There’s no amount of dollar savings that can replace trust in an organization,” Asuka said, according to the company, “and Cloudwick continues to deliver time and time again on all of our use cases. So it’s definitely a partnership we’re going to continue.”

That year, the company entered into a $3 million contract with the Department of Law Enforcement. This summer, they offered Asuka a job.

Asuka said he had already decided to step down from his procurement role with the department before Cloudwick approached him about a position. He announced his plans to step down in June, shortly after Civil Beat began inquiring about his travel expenses….

(TRANSLATION: Two years of paid travel, followed by exit ramp.)

Some of Asuka’s first out-of-state trips for the agency were to Miami, Florida, in March 2024, to meet with executives of the emergency communications company, SaferWatch, and to Tallahassee to see how that department used the system. The company later got a $7 million contract to supply elected officials with panic buttons, place them in schools and host statewide tip lines where residents can report illegal firearms and fireworks activity.

The project, though, came under scrutiny because of a yearslong delay launching the technology in schools and a federal corruption investigation. The company’s CEO, Geno Roefaro, is charged with bribing a former commanding officer of the New York City Police Department’s School Safety Division to steer contracts toward his company.

(Bribery? Did someone say ‘bribery’?)

Lambert said a human resources officer spoke with a staff attorney at the Hawaiʻi Ethics Commission who advised Asuka could continue working for the Department of Law Enforcement as long as his role had nothing to do with Cloudwick or its contracts with the state. Lambert said he would provide written documentation of that ethics guidance but did not share it with Civil Beat as of Wednesday….

2025: Lawsuit: Hawaii Sheriff Deputies Arrested on Charges Trumped-up by own Department—Top Brass infighting led to suicide of Deputy

Read … World-Traveling Hawaiʻi Bureaucrat Arranged $30M In Tech Contracts - Honolulu Civil Beat

Wahiawa Dam: Honolulu And Dole Sued By Residents Over Negligence In Kona Low Floods

CB: … Twenty North Shore residents on Wednesday sued the City and County of Honolulu and the previous owners of Lake Wilson and the Wahiawā Dam for negligence over flood damage to their homes during the Kona lows in March.

The residents, all of whom are homeowners or renters on Haona Street, were forced to flee in the middle of the night earlier this year as the nearby Kaukonahua Stream swelled and overflowed from an enormous amount of rain during the historic storm. They say the city was negligent in its maintenance of the stream.

The city owns a section of the stream that had been clogged for years before the floods, despite pleas from residents to clear mud, silt, debris and large trees. Honolulu had considered dredging the stream over the years, spending more than $450,000 on stream studies, (which would have been enough to dig out the silt) but those projects were never pursued. The stream was only cleared after the floods in March….

Parts of the North Shore had already begun flooding by the time water from Lake Wilson shot over the spillway, but the lawsuit alleges that the discharge added to an already swollen stream and contributed to flooding in their homes.

The lawsuit says Dole and Sustainable Hawaiʻi failed to maintain the dam and that its drainage system was not adequate to safely discharge water that had collected from back-to-back storms….

PDF: COMPLAINT

Read … Honolulu And Dole Sued By Residents Over Negligence In Kona Low Floods - Honolulu Civil Beat

Disarray after taking Control of Wahiawa Dam: Dela Cruz Ousts another ADC Chief

CB: … Gady submitted her resignation on Aug. 12, two days after board chair Jayson Watts celebrated the “historic strides” made by the corporation in a press release. However, he and three other board members were already planning to recommend the board fire Gady during her annual performance evaluation on Aug. 17.

(CLUE: DelaCruz controls ADC. Gady apparently displeased DelaCruz.)

An interim director is expected to be chosen at the board’s meeting Thursday, when the board will also take up Gady’s performance evaluation….

Watts, who works for Maui’s largest agribusiness Mahi Pono, was not the only board member to recommend Gady’s dismissal. He was joined by Maui native Ciara Kahahane, deputy director of the state Commission on Water Resource Management; (DelaCruz’ tea-bagging partner) Dane Wicker, deputy director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; and Dave Hinazumi, senior vice president of Grove Farm, one of Kaua‘i’s biggest and oldest ag companies..

Big Island macadamia nut farmer Nathan Trump was Gady’s only supporter on the evaluation committee. He said in testimony that she “exemplifies strong leadership and portrays the ADC in a positive light despite significant internal and external challenges.”…

… Gady joined an organization in disarray, taking over from longtime director James Nakatani who died in 2023. The corporation had been castigated in a 2021 state audit because it had failed to keep records or develop concrete plans, and had “done little — if anything — toward achieving its statutory purpose” of reinvigorating Hawaiʻi’s agricultural economy.

Under Gady’s leadership, the state-owned corporation opened up more than 1,000 acres in its portfolio to farmers, increased the agency’s landholdings and acquired the problematic Wahiawā Dam and Spillway on behalf of the state. The dam, long owned by Dole Food Co., had threatened to overflow during the Kona low storms in March, putting 2,500 lives at risk on O‘ahu’s North Shore.

Gady also led the $39 million acquisition of more than 1,000 acres of land from Grove Farm on Kauaʻi, alongside former board chair Lyle Tabata, and helped direct almost $11 million into restoring irrigation for agriculture in Kekaha…

The corporation has long been an engine for projects in Wahiawā, largely driven by Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, who chairs the Senate money committee. Lawmakers allocated $111 million to the corporation this year for infrastructure projects, predominantly centered on Kauaʻi and Central Oʻahu.

Those projects include the ongoing construction of the Central Oʻahu Agriculture and Food Hub in Whitmore Village, which has been criticized by the local community for being pursued in obscurity by Gady’s predecessor….

Read … Hawaiʻi Ag Leaders Planned To Oust Official Despite Public Praise - Honolulu Civil Beat

Extent of Red Hill fuel cleanup still undetermined

SA: … With the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Facility on track to close in 2028, the Navy is shifting its focus toward environmental cleanup and remediation — though it still does not know exactly how much fuel it will have to clean up.

In a House Special Committee on Red Hill informational briefing Tuesday, the Navy Closure Task Force-Red Hill shared its progress in retiring the facility where a jet-fuel spill contaminated drinking water for about 93,000 Oahu residents in 2021.

Adm. Lester Ortiz, deputy commander for the task force, said 12 of 20 tanks have been degassed, six have been fully emptied and 99% of the 10-mile pipeline has been cleaned. The Navy is in the process of cutting and removing the pipeline before shipping it to the mainland to be recycled….

Read … Extent of Red Hill fuel cleanup still undetermined | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Sea Level Rise is Excuse to Un-steal 26 more Kihei condotel projects

CB: … The two resolutions currently before the Housing and Land Use Committee were introduced by council members Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins, who chairs the committee, and Tom Cook, who represents South Maui. They’re in addition to amendments proposed by Cook, Yuki Lei Sugimura and council chair Alice Lee, and state that specific properties near the shoreline in South and West Maui are better suited for short-term uses because they lie within the county’s sea level rise exposure area.

The properties being discussed have been predicted to experience negative effects from rising sea levels by the year 2100, Uʻu-Hodgins said at the start of a meeting on Aug. 5. Council members are now considering whether it makes more sense to allow short-term rentals than to encourage residential uses in units that “may be no longer viable in a few decades,” she said.

The properties being considered for rezoning are: Island Sands, Māʻalaea Kai, Kīhei Bay Surf, Kīhei Bay Vista, Lokelani, Hale Ono Loa, Pikake, Hale Kai I, 10 Walaka Street in Kīhei, Makai Sunset Inn, Makani A Kai, Māʻalaea Banyans, Kamaole One, Kahana Reef, Nohonani, Makani Sands, Hoyochi Nikko, Noelani, Puunoa Beach Estates, Kīhei Resort, Waiohuli Beach Hale, Shores of Maui, Polynesian Shores, Lahaina Roads, Kīhei Parkshore and Kaleialoha.

Thursday’s meeting will be a continuation of two meetings earlier this month, during which council members heard hours of public testimony from divided community members. …

Read … Maui May Allow Even More Condos To Stay Vacation Rentals - Honolulu Civil Beat

Staff at long-term wing in Honoka‘a Hospital dealing with COVID-19 outbreak of nearly half its patients

BIN: … "No one is incredibly sick," said Denise Mackey, Honoka‘a Hospital's administrator. "People have some symptoms just like you would have with any cold or flu. But everybody seems to be doing well as far as patients and staff at this point."…

Read … Staff at long-term wing in Honoka‘a Hospital dealing with COVID-19 outbreak of nearly half its patients : Big Island Now

Carvalho withdraws from Kauaʻi mayoral debate against Rapozo

KN: … Last week, the organizations announced the debate, saying it was an opportunity for Kaua’i voters to hear directly from mayoral candidates Rapozo, currently chair of the Kauaʻi County Council, and Carvalho, currently a member of the County Council and a former mayor of Kauaʻi.

It would have been the island’s first mayoral debate since the Aug. 8 primary election, in which Rapozo was the top vote getter in the six-person nonpartisan field with 7,618 votes (40.6%), followed by Carvalho with 5,744 votes (30.6%). Current County Council member Felicia Cowden came in third with 17% of the vote and none of the other three candidates garnered more than 2.7%.

Organizers announced on Tuesday that the debate will proceed as scheduled in a modified format with only Rapozo….

HNN: Carvalho withdraws from Kauai mayoral debate | Hawaii News Now

Read … Carvalho withdraws from Kauaʻi mayoral debate against Rapozo : Kauai Now

New HPD chief says he favors a new police district for Waianae

HNN: … “I turning 60 and in all my years, no chief of police ever came out to the Waianae moku to meet with the Waianae people, so I want to thank you and your staff,” one resident told Lazar during the “talk story” session Wednesday evening at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center….

For years, residents have been concerned about violent crime, especially three years ago, when HPD said homicides were up 80 percent.

“Although our homicides have gone down, from the 80 percent from the shooting homicides, we need more presence on the west side,” said Makaha resident Austin Salcedo….

Lazar also … credited Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong for mentoring him in Hawaiian language and culture.

Read … New HPD chief says he favors a new police district for Waianae

Hawaiʻi doesn't have a condo crisis, it has a missing law

ASD: … Tens of thousands of people in Hawai‘i live in apartment towers that are now a half-century old, or older. Owners face sometimes ruinously expensive assessments to repair or replace aging building systems. Under Hawai‘i law they're stuck. There's no provision for owners to take the radical step of collectively selling their units and handing the building off to someone else to redevelop. Other places have such laws, here's how they work….

Read … Hawaiʻi doesn't have a condo crisis, it has a missing law

Schofield Army sergeant fights ‘tooth and nail’ to return after Trump’s trans military ban

HPR: … U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda has filed a congressional inquiry on behalf of an Army sergeant from Schofield Barracks.

Her name is Clara Davis, and she believes she was the first soldier to be involuntarily discharged from the military because of President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops.

Sgt. Davis enlisted in 2019 and was deployed during the Afghanistan withdrawal and provided security for refugees in Bahrain. She was stationed at Schofield Barracks as a military police investigator and patrol supervisor until last October.

Davis’ supervisors cited Executive Order 14183 as reason for her dismissal. The order, which was issued by Trump in early 2025, states that the government’s policy of establishing “high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity” is “inconsistent” with the “constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria.” …

Read … Schofield Army sergeant fights ‘tooth and nail’ to return after Trump’s trans military ban | Hawai'i Public Radio

HOVE Druggie found with two underage boys

KITV: … When officers with the Area II Juvenile Aid Section and Vice West got to home on Thursday, Aug. 20, the suspect repeatedly yelled at the runaway and a 12-year-old male on the property to “run.” Both of the boys fled the area and officers located them shortly after…

Read … Ocean View man faces charges in connection with Oahu teen runaway, marijuana operation | Crime & Courts | kitv.com

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