Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, October 2, 2026

October 2, 2026 News Read

By Andrew Walden @ 1:20 PM :: 150 Views

Monday: Supreme Court climate case could impact Hawaii lawsuits

The Difference Between a Good Cause and a Good Investment

PUC to Hear Testimony on HECO Storm Response

Green’s Chief of Staff Still on the Job after being found personally liable for retaliation and wrongful termination of whistleblower

SA: … The state plans to appeal a jury verdict awarding former Hawai‘i Tourism Authority executive Isaac Choy more than $500,000 after jurors found he was retaliated against for whistleblowing and wrongfully terminated.

(Why is the state paying to represent Wilson, a political appointee, when she has been found personally liable but not liable in her official capacity?)

“We plan to appeal the decision and believe we have a strong case,” Gov. Josh Green’s chief of staff, Brooke Wilson, said Wednesday.

(Has anybody asked Green whether Wilson will be fired after being found civilly liable for illegal retaliation on a whistleblower? No. Of course not. This is Hawaii media you silly rabbit. Has anybody considered Green’s role? Shhhh!)

Wilson fired Choy from his posts as HTA vice president of finance and interim chief administrative officer effective Sept. 15, 2025…

Wilson defended her actions, saying she was “asked to make a difficult personnel decision involving serious workplace allegations following an independent investigation” and acted “in my official capacity, with the responsibility to protect employees and do what I believed was right.”

~~“There is no place for racism or discrimination in any workplace, including our own government,” she said~~ (and screamed ‘raaaacism’ because that works so well in college.)

Choy’s attorney, Bruce Voss, argued at trial that Choy became a target after raising concerns about HTA procurement, contracting and ethics practices, including allegations of mismanagement of millions of dollars. Voss pointed to text messages from Wilson referencing a “whistleblower situation” and argued Choy’s protected activity played a role in the decisions to place him on unpaid leave and later terminate him.

Jurors awarded Choy $454,011.66 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages against Wilson, finding she violated the state Whistleblower Protection Act and wrongfully terminated him in violation of public policy. They also found she acted outside the scope of her authority, making her personally liable.

Jurors separately found Anderson violated the Whistleblower Protection Act by placing Choy on unpaid leave, but concluded she acted within the scope of her duties and without malice, shielding her from personal liability. Anderson declined to comment.

Jury foreman Kevin Floyd told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Tuesday following the verdict that jurors were troubled by inconsistent policies at HTA and questions about whether Choy’s whistleblower allegations were adequately investigated. Although the verdict was unanimous, Floyd emphasized he was speaking only for himself.

Floyd said jurors found some support for the misconduct allegations against Choy but questioned the timing of his leave and termination. While Wilson testified that Choy’s whistleblower complaints had been referred to the Attorney General’s Office, Floyd said jurors saw no evidence of a resulting investigation or report….

CHOY TERMINATION BACKGROUND:

CNHA/Hawaiian Council BACKGROUND:

read … State set to appeal $500,000 award to ex-HTA exec Isaac Choy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Rapacious greed has $422M Limit: Hawaii Supreme Court upholds Maui wildfire attorney fee caps

SA: … Samuel Shnider, a Maui lawyer who represented the three attorneys and one fire victim who appealed Cahill’s fee order at the Sept. 15 hearing, was not available Thursday to comment.

The appeal was filed by Anthony Ranken with Wailuku law firm Ranken &Shnider, Alex Edrenkin with Honolulu’s PacLaw Group, John Thickstun with Wailuku firm Montegna &Thickstun, and Michael Adrian Kahaleala Bates, who lost a home in Lahaina in the fire.

Appellants argued that contracts between fire victims and their lawyers, along with state law capping attorneys fees at no more than 25% in such litigation, should dictate how much attorneys receive from the settlement as a portion of each client’s claim award.

Under the statutory cap, attorneys could have received up to $1 billion, though Shnider said during the hearing that attorneys likely would provide significant discounts.

Cahill decided on a general fee ranging from 3% to 10%, with 3% applying to most attorneys retained after the settlement was reached Aug. 19, 2024, and up to 8.33% for most attorneys retained before then. A handful of attorneys whose “bellwether” cases were heading to trial before the settlement are eligible for up to 10%.

In extraordinary circumstances, attorneys may seek a little more under Cahill’s ruling, but no higher than 12.5%, at Cahill’s discretion and subject to a hearing.

The fee percentage applies to each plaintiff’s settlement amount and is roughly estimated to total $200 million, or 5% of $4 billion.

An additional $222 million was set aside by Cahill for allocation among attorneys who did work that benefited all plaintiffs….

read … Hawaii Supreme Court upholds Maui wildfire attorney fee caps | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

HMSA's Medicare Changes Could Increase Costs For Thousands

CB: … HMSA sent a letter to 16,000 kūpuna saying they will no longer have access to their current insurance plan….

The Hawaii Medical Service Association is ending two of its existing plans for Medicare patients — Akamai Advantage Complete Plus and Akamai Advantage Standard Plus — and creating three others, which could increase monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs for patients….

The cheapest plan available before the change, the Akamai Advantage Complete PPO, charged a monthly premium of $20 and had a maximum out-of-pocket cost of $7,700 for in-network services.

Of the new options, the cheapest PPO has a $55 monthly premium and maximum out-of-pocket cost of $8,200 in network.

A new cheaper option called Select Plus offers a $45 premium with a maximum spend of $5,200 in network, but it’s an HMO, which requires patients to get referrals to specialists, and out-of-network care can cost more. …

read … HMSA's Medicare Changes Could Increase Costs For Thousands - Honolulu Civil Beat

Makiki building will house homeless teens, young adults

SA: … A two-story, seven-apartment building on Birch Street in Makiki will be home to teens and young adults aging out of Hawaii’s foster care system once $500,000 in renovations are completed, currently scheduled by Christmas Day….

Carla Houser, executive director of the nonprofit RYSE, or Residential Youth Services and Employment organization, has devoted her career to serving and housing a homeless population that gets little attention but can reset their futures as young adults to prevent them from becoming homeless, where life on the street for a teen or young adult offers little hope but high risk of abuse.

The building — with an estimated value of over $2 million — was donated by state Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto (D, Ala Moana- Kakaako-Downtown) and needs about $500,000 in repairs and renovations in order to house homeless teenagers and young adults by Christmas Day — a goal that Houser called “a gift.”…

Iwamoto serves on RYSE’s advisory council and did not immediately respond to a request for comment….Nor did (he) appear at (his) former property on Birch Street at a check presentation ceremony of $100,000 from Nareit Hawaii to RYSE to help with the ongoing repairs and renovations.

Before joining RYSE, Houser ran YO! — or Waikiki’s Youth Outreach Drop In Center…

read … Makiki building will house homeless teens, young adults | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Kauaʻi bill could help keep a few locals from paying high property taxes for a little while

HPR: … Measure 3008 would create a new property tax program called an ʻĀina Kūpuna dedication that would let Hawaiʻi families who can trace their land back to being continuously owned before statehood in 1959 pay a fixed property tax for 10 years.

It was introduced by Councilmember Fern Holland, who worked on the bill for almost two years. She said this is a small step in the right direction toward keeping local families at home and protecting generational land ownership….

The County Council advanced the bill and it will be heard at the next public hearing on Oct. 28….

read … Kauaʻi bill could help keep kūpuna home on their land | Hawai'i Public Radio

South Maui ‘Plan’: So-Called Progressives Stall Until After Election

CB: … For the first time in more than a quarter of a century, Maui County lawmakers earlier this month appeared to be on the cusp of finalizing a new legal blueprint for the long-term growth and development of South Maui.

But after nearly a month of public meetings dedicated to the latest draft of the South Maui Community Plan, it’s become clear that the final plan is unlikely to be approved by the current Maui County Council, according to council member Tamara Paltin, who chairs the committee responsible for reviewing it.

(As always, mindful of their property appreciation,) Residents from Kīhei, Wailea, Mākena and Māʻalaea — several dozens of whom have submitted testimony or ‘raised concerns’ (LOL!) at a series of public meetings — have recently argued that the current draft is too developer-friendly and encourages rapid population growth without addressing concerns about (boosting our property values by restricting supply) chronic flooding, water availability, affordability and insufficient emergency evacuation routes.

Many are calling for changes that would require developers to (pretend to) build affordable housing and (really) limit construction until ~~new evacuation routes are established, and existing infrastructure is upgraded to support long-range growth~~ (hell freezes over)….

(And after the election, they will have the majority. The anti-growth force is back only 3 years after the fire. The Lahaina Fire was enough only to cause a momentary loss of majority via a single election cycle. That is instructive.)

read … South Maui Growth Plan: More Delays Expected - Honolulu Civil Beat

Mindless Hysteria: Data centers debate continues at county level

HTH: … A bill aimed at prohibiting artificial intelligence data centers in Hawaii County through the creation of a new definition in the county code is undergoing review by the county’s two planning commissions before it is voted on by the County Council.

The Windward Planning Commission discussed the bill at its meeting on Thursday after previously deferring it from Sept. 3 ….

Introduced by Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball, Bill 170 (purports to) distinguishes between “data processing facilities” — which are defined as places where records and other digital information are stored and are currently a permitted use under the county code in certain zoning districts — and “data centers,” which refer to the large-scale facilities being built to house the infrastructure needed to power AI (none of which are proposed or are likely to ever be proposed for Hawaii County).

These centers, which use significant amounts of energy (yes), water (not really) and other resources (yes, political hot air), have drawn ~~concern and pushback~~ (quivering mindless hysteria) from communities across the country where they have been built or proposed….

read … Data centers debate continues at county level - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Molokai Power to be out 8 hours per day

CB: … The utility plans to cut power for eight hours a day over much of the next week to upgrade its grid….

read … HECO Blackout: Half Of Molokaʻi May Lose A Summer's Fish And Game - Honolulu Civil Beat

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