September 21, 2026 News Read

Hawaii Daily News Read

Current Articles | Archives | Search

Monday, September 21, 2026

September 21, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 8:02 AM :: 241 Views

Hawaii tied for the worst access to mental health treatment facilities in the country in 2025

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted September 18 2026

VIDEO: Recktenwald Addresses Senate Briefing on 'Rule of Law'

Retaliation at HTA: Green’s Chief of Staff on Trial after protecting CNHA contracts

SA: … Choy, HTA’s former vice president of finance and interim chief administrative officer, alleges state officials retaliated against him for raising concerns about procurement practices, contracts and spending. He is suing the HTA, Gov. Josh Green’s chief of staff Brooke Wilson, and Caroline Anderson, HTA’s interim president and CEO and director of planning.

The trial began Sept. 10 and is expected to continue through at least Wednesday. Judge Taryn Tomasa will decide Choy’s claims that HTA violated the State Whistleblower Protection Act and wrongfully terminated him in violation of public policy, while a jury will determine whether Anderson and Wilson are liable for damages….

The workplace investigation that resulted in Choy’s termination began after allegations that Choy referred to representatives of HTA contractor Hawaiian Council’s Kilohana as “dumb Hawaiians”…

Hawaiian Council CEO Kuhio Lewis suggested delayed payments to Kilohana might reflect prejudice against Native Hawaiians….

(TRANSLATION: Choy was fired for digging in to CNHA/Hawaiian Council dirty HTA contracts. Fun read: After FBI Raid, CNHA Demands Hawai'i Free Press 'Cease Operations')

Former HTA board member David Arakawa testified that he advised Choy to seek whistleblower protection after Choy began examining issues that could “upset and embarrass a lot of people.”

“I knew some people were not going to like it and would want to get rid of him,” Arakawa testified. “No more Isaac, no more problem.” …

Choy contends he was targeted because he raised concerns about procurement, contracting and spending practices, including matters involving former HTA Board Chair Mufi Hannemann, who had close relationships with some of the complainants.

Hannemann resigned as HTA board chair in March 2025 to “end distractions” after allegations arose during discussions of a state financial audit that identified procedural deficiencies allowing free food and event space at the Hawai‘i Convention Center….

In a May 15, 2025, letter to Anderson, Choy wrote that he had reported numerous alleged violations of state law, administrative rules and contracts and argued that his unpaid leave violated whistleblower protections.

“Your placing me on administrative leave without pay is a plain per se violation of the whistleblower statute,” he wrote.

Choy sued the state on June 12, 2025, and amended the complaint after his termination.…

SA: On July 21, 2025, Tokioka wrote that Finance and Procurement employees were being harassed and needed to speak with Choy.

CHOY TERMINATION BACKGROUND:

CNHA/Hawaiian Council BACKGROUND:

read … Misconduct or retaliation? Fired HTA executive’s suit goes to court | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

TMT reportedly rejects Spanish bid to build on Canary Islands

ASD: … According to Spanish news outlets, sources within Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities confirmed that the TMT International Observatory has rejected a bid by the Spanish government to have the long-planned telescope built on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands.

The news comes little more than a month after TMT itself announced that Spain had proposed a “financial framework” to build the observatory on La Palma, a proposal involving multiple Spanish government agencies and the European Investment Bank. That proposed framework could have mobilized up to €1 billion (about $1.1 billion) for the project.

According to Spanish news site El Diario, the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities announced the rejection on Friday, but the reasons for that rejection were not publicly disclosed….

read … TMT reportedly rejects Spanish bid to build on Canary Islands

YES on Question 2: Hawaii voters to decide on measure facilitating housing growth

SA: … Hawaii voters in the Nov. 3 general election will decide whether to unshackle an ineffective 1985 state law aimed at financing infrastructure for real estate development using new future county property tax revenue.

The state Legislature in May passed a bill that proposes amending Hawaii’s Constitution via a ballot question to allow counties to issue bonds for developers to finance infrastructure needed to produce more housing for residents especially around transit hubs.

Under the proposal put forth by Senate Bill 3219, such bonds would be exempted from a county’s debt limit, yet repaid with new property tax revenue derived from homes and other real property improvements resulting from the financed infrastructure.

If voters approve the amendment, Hawaii would join 48 other states that use the tool, which is commonly known as tax increment financing but has been given a catchy name, RISE Bonds, under the bill.

“The legislature finds that Hawaii faces a severe and ongoing shortage of housing for local residents and that this crisis cannot be solved without large, sustained investments in the infrastructure needed to produce new homes,” the bill states.

But passing a constitutional amendment, or ConAm, in Hawaii can be tough. That’s because voters who don’t vote for or against the amendment have blank answer counted as “no” votes.

“It’s a very high bar,” said Colin Moore, a University of Hawaii political scientist. “It’s hardly a radical proposal, but it’s got to pass this threshold.” ….

read … Hawaii voters to decide on measure facilitating housing growth | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Skyline statistics reveal a costly, ineffective system

SA: … it is a bit disingenuous to claim that the ridership per day is 14,000. The actual statistic being measured is rides, which is not the same thing.

Assuming that most people use Skyline for a round trip, the actual number of riders is probably closer to 7,000 a day. This number still falls well short of the relatively modest goal of 25,000 riders per day that the city targeted last year. Factoring the current $10 billion-plus cost of the system, the taxpayer is paying about $1.4 million per rider.

Additionally, the Skyline is not appreciably changing the number of vehicles or congestion on Oahu’s highways ….

read … Letter: Skyline statistics reveal a costly, ineffective system | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Price Shock At Waikīkī Co-op Highlights Vulnerability To Housing Fees

CB: … A one-time special assessment of $3,770 would be applied to each unit and there would also be a 152% hike in maintenance fees for the rest of the year, the letter from the Hawaiiana Management Company said. …That meant the monthly bill for each property jumped from $1,216 to $1,844. With the assessment, the couple’s first bill would total $11,234 for their two units. …

Now the Campagnas and other shareholders say they are still trying to get a full accounting from Hawaiiana about how the housing cooperative’s finances fell so far behind, so fast. …

the scenario of the fee hike and special assessment is familiar to Hawaiʻi residents, over 42% of whom pay a monthly housing association fee of some kind in amounts that are among the highest in the nation.

And a legislative task force that met over the last three years and wrapped up in June heard testimony that owners still face obstacles accessing relevant information from boards and management companies to inform financial decisions.

The problem is serious enough that three of the task force’s 10 recommendations address the problem, including one requesting that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs levy a more robust series of minimum monetary fines and sanctions on “repeat offenders” that decline owner requests for documents. …

Some homeowner associations are getting ahead of the issue by posting governance documents in password-protected online platforms for HOAs such as TownSq, she said.

Any changes to condo legislation will be of little help at the Hawaiian Prince because the building is a housing cooperative –– an ownership structure that puts its governance outside the oversight of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the laws governing condos.

Lila Mower, vice chair on the legislative task force, said there was some preliminary discussion about the potential for some of the recommendations to also be applied to co-ops at some point. The requirements for document production should also be applied to management companies, she said….

read … Price Shock At Waikīkī Co-op Highlights Vulnerability To Housing Fees - Honolulu Civil Beat

Even Lowell can’t pierce Niihau’s veil of secrecy

SA: … The Robinsons allow the island’s residents — mostly Native Hawaiians — to live rent-free, as long as they agree not to speak with outsiders about the island and obey strict rules on behavior. It’s unclear how many people live on the island, but census data from 2020 reported 84 residents.

Keith Robinson did not respond to a request for comment on the storm’s impacts to the island and its residents. But state and county officials say that the Robinsons have told them all residents are safe, uninjured and accounted for….

State officials had told the Star-Advertiser that the Robinsons initially declined offers from state and county officials for assistance after the storm. But Kanoho said they have made “limited requests to help them out with some logistics items, and we are looking into that now.”

In particular, he said they are looking for siding, roofing and some other materials.

“We’re not purchasing it for them, we’re just trying to see what’s available for them, and then they will go ahead and secure the items,” Kanoho said.

Some community groups took in donations for Niihau residents in the immediate aftermath. Myrah Ann Kanahele-Gerardo, a Niihau descendent and current resident of Kauai, had been asking for donations to help people on the island.

But reached Friday, Kanahele-Gerardo said that the situation on Niihau had improved and that she was now focused on relief efforts on Kauai, and declined to discuss conditions on Niihau….

read … Even Lowell can’t pierce Niihau’s veil of secrecy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Honolulu Spilled 27M Gallons Of Sewage during Recent Storms

CB: … Two and a half weeks after Tropical Storm Lala dumped more than a trillion gallons of rain on the islands, Honolulu issued a press release with another startling number: A sewage spill during the storm had leaked roughly 26 million gallons of bacteria-laden effluent mixed with stormwater into Honolulu Harbor.

It may be one of the worst spills since 2006, when nearly 50 million gallons of sewage were released into the Ala Wai Canal as a result of heavy rains. …

read … Honolulu Spilled 27M Gallons Of Sewage In A New System Failure - Honolulu Civil Beat

All Roads lead back to Waimanalo Gulch: Kapaa Quarry Road unsuitable for landfill, Kailua board says, unsurprisingly

SA: … The city is (pretending to) consider~~ing~~ both the north and south sites of the HC&D-operated quarry to replace the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei, which is scheduled to close in 2028.

Given that this would take at least seven years and requires amending existing state law, Honolulu ENV Director Roger Babcock said at the Sept. 3 neighborhood board meeting the city would pursue an extension of the Waimanalo Gulch deadline.

The existing landfill has three more years of additional space permitted by the state Land Use Commission, he said, if the deadline to close it is extended beyond March 2, 2028, and into the spring of 2031.

(CLUE: The purpose of this kabuki show it to obtain that extension.)

Because Wahiawa is no longer a viable site, being above an aquifer, the city looked at potential sites within a quarter-mile instead of a half-mile from schools, homes, and hospitals, and zeroed in on Kapaa Quarry.

“Evaluation of north and south quarries is not new,” Babcock said. “It has been on lists for 20 years and at some points identified as one of the best sites. Same as the Makaiwa Hills site.”

The Makaiwa Hills site is off the table, Babcock said, and is slated for residential development….

Kailua Neighborhood Board Chair Bill Hicks said ~~from a scientific, engineering, and environmental perspective, there are better places on the island for a~~ (no) landfill ~~than~~ (at) Kapaa Quarry ….

read … Kapaa Quarry Road unsuitable for landfill, Kailua board says | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

QUICK HITS:

Comments