Hawaii Daily News Read

Thursday, October 15, 2026

October 15, 2026 News Read

By Andrew Walden @ 10:27 AM :: 187 Views

UHERO: Waikiki is 6% of Hawaii's Economic Output

Hawaii Tax Pyramid: Rental Cars Shouldn’t Face Another Layer of Tax

Honolulu Inflation Rate 5.2%--Energy up 20.9%

Bissen Shows up for Forum Sponsored by Drug Gang, Promises to Buy Their Water System

HNN: … Lahaina Strong (aka friends and family of convicted 20-lbs-a-month meth dealer Moses Kiakona) said Bissen’s challenger, Yuki Lei Sugimura, did not respond to its invitation to speak…. (Good for her!)

… Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, who is up for reelection, answered questions about the county purchasing three water systems in the region, along with a tentative deal to buy the Honokohau Water System, (which serves the home of Moses Kiakona and about 14 other customers) ….

Lahaina Strong: “Folks who have not responded yet: Yuki Lei Sugimura for Mayor of Maui County; Tom Cook, Jon Yokouchi, Kamalu Carroll for Maui County Council” (GOOD FOR THEM who didn’t want to be associated with meth dealers.)

VIDEO: Lahāinā Strong Candidate Forum: General Election | 2026

PDF: ETHICS Kiakona Unfit to Serve Testimony---May-14-2025---Agenda-Item-4bv

REALITY: Meet the Meth Gang Behind ‘Lahaina Strong’

read … Water takes center stage at West Maui candidate forum | Hawaii News Now

Maui Land & Pineapple ‘Racketeering’

SA: … A year-old legal battle over water between two Maui companies with billionaire owners has branched into federal court, where a lawsuit making racketeering allegations was filed Wednesday.

TY Management, the owner of two Kapalua Resort golf courses where water constraints led to closures last year, filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Honolulu contending that its irrigation water supplier, Maui Land &Pineapple Co., fraudulently inflated the price for water amid supply cutbacks that also led to the cancellation of a PGA Tour event worth $50 million to Maui’s economy.

The complaint alleges that MLP officials took “repair, replacement, or capital improvement” expenses for its Honokohau Ditch water system, which can’t be passed on to TY under water delivery agreements, and relabeled them as “maintenance” expenses that can be passed on ….

read … Water fight deepens on Maui, expands to federal court | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaiʻi's 1990s Meth Tide Swept Up These 4 People. Only 2 Survived

CB: … Over four decades, the losses piled up — prison, homelessness, illness, children taken by the state — and eventually, death. But the survivors would find sobriety…

BACKGROUND: Mehau in Majuro – How the US Meth Epidemic Began

read … Hawaiʻi's 1990s Meth Tide Swept Up These 4 People. Only 2 Survived - Honolulu Civil Beat

Honolulu’s Homeless CORE Picks Up a Few Meth Users from Chinatown Streets

HBM: … Near the intersection of Hotel Street and Nuʻuanu Avenue, several team members are working with two homeless people, both agitated. One is a 38-year-old man, shirtless, in grey nylon pants. He’s tugging at the stretchy fabric and making jerking motions, (CLUE: ‘Methamphetamines’) while June Sua, a CORE field supervisor, talks with him. Soon they’re chuckling together, though his speech is hard to comprehend.

Across the street, another 38-year-old homeless person, a woman, is shouting and gesturing wildly. She’s clearly unwell, though it’s less clear from what. She has no identification and isn’t known to the group, but some of the CORE members ~~think~~ (know) methamphetamine use ~~could be~~ (is) driving her erratic behavior. The highly addictive drug is prevalent on the streets, says James Ireland, the director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department and a medical doctor.

Ireland writes up an MH-3 form that allows them to transport her for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation. The CORE team assures her that she isn’t in trouble, but she’s also not free to go. She’ll be sent to the state Department of Health’s Behavioral Health Crisis Center on Iwilei Road, a new facility that opened in 2024 as part of a coordinated state and city effort to get unsheltered people the help they need, and to relieve pressure on the psychiatric units at The Queen’s Medical Center and Adventist Health Castle….

(FIRST RULE OF BUREAUCRACY: “Maintain the problem.” Never solve homelessness by picking them all up. Always pick up a few to make it look like you deserve more funding.)

MN: Work underway on un-Safe Parking ‘temporary’ site to address urgent concerns with Pūlehu meth encampment fires : Maui Now

read … Honolulu’s Homeless Crisis May Be at a Tipping Point - Hawaii Business Magazine

Soft-on-Crime: Dude with 36 convictions gets six months for #37

SA: … A 42-year-old (homeless meth head) who was arrested eight times over the past month for an array of misdemeanors was sentenced to six months in prison Tuesday for burning city surveillance cameras in Waikiki with a cigarette.

Stanford N.K. Nihoa, who has 36 prior misdemeanor and felony state convictions, was arrested Oct. 8 and charged with two counts of arson in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor. In addition to six months in prison, Nihoa was ordered to stay away from the pavilion where he damaged the cameras operated by the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Oct. 8 arson arrest was the eighth arrest for Nihoa since Sept. 9….

Nihoa was arrested for disorderly conduct on Sept. 9, Sept. 13 and spent two days in jail before being arrested again for disorderly conduct on Sept. 22. After he was released on Sept. 23, Nihoa was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor theft and later released.

The next day, on Sept. 24, he was arrested on suspicion of robbery but released pending investigation and not charged.

Four days later, on Sept. 28, Nihoa was arrested on suspicion of theft, did two days in jail and was given a six-month geographic restriction preventing him from being in Waikiki. Six days later, on Oct. 4, Nihoa was arrested for trespassing and spent another two days in jail.

Three days after he got out of jail, Nihoa was arrested on suspicion of theft and jailed for two more days….

HNN: String of moped thefts take place on UH Manoa campus | Hawaii News Now

read … Man with 36 convictions sentenced in Waikiki arson | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Question 2: Who will benefit?

SA: … Under the proposed model, governments could finance infrastructure up-front and use revenue generated by new development to repay the bonds over time. The officials said the approach would avoid imposing an additional property tax on residents outside designated development areas.

However, Austin Martin, chair of the Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi, argued that the proposal would allow counties to borrow against future property tax revenue while circumventing existing debt limits. He said taxpayers would ultimately bear the cost of repaying the bonds.

“They’re not raising your property taxes right now. They’re giving themselves the ability to borrow against future paid property taxes and even future property tax increases,” Martin said. He argued that the measure would create a constitutional exemption allowing counties to take on additional debt rather than address what he sees as the underlying causes of Hawaii’s housing crisis.

Martin said restrictive zoning laws and lengthy permitting processes are the primary barriers to building more housing, arguing that the state should make it easier for property owners to develop land instead of expanding government borrowing. He pointed to agricultural land restrictions and the cost of obtaining permits as examples of regulations that can prevent housing projects from moving forward.

“The problem is the government making it illegal for us to own and use our own property,” Martin said, arguing that loosening zoning restrictions and reducing regulatory hurdles would allow private property owners and developers to build more homes without relying on additional public financing.

Martin also questioned who would benefit from the proposal, saying construction unions and real estate interests stood to gain from increased infrastructure spending. He urged voters to reject Question 2, arguing that the state should focus on removing barriers to development rather than borrowing against future tax revenue….

Read … Hawaii lawmakers push for bonds to fund infrastructure | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Here's How Much Hawaiʻi Seniors Need To Cover Basic Monthly Costs

CB: … Hawaiʻi coupes who rent and are over the age of 65 need an average of $4,585 per month to cover basic needs without public or private help — and that’s if they’re healthy. That is roughly $670 more than the national average, according to a preliminary analysis from the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization, or UHERO.

The author, economist James Mak, used the 2025 Elder Economic Security Standard Index developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. It estimates the minimum income older adults living independently need to afford housing, healthcare, transportation, food and other essentials. The budget is bare bones in that it leaves out restaurant meals, vacations, savings, gifts and entertainment.

Mak’s report reveals that for elderly homeowners who have paid off their mortgage, the cost of basic needs is barely above the national average. Housing is what makes the cost high in Hawaiʻi.

In 2024, 21.5% of Hawai‘i residents were 65 or older. By 2035, the number is expected to grow to one in four….

read … Here's How Much Hawaiʻi Seniors Need To Cover Basic Monthly Costs - Honolulu Civil Beat

HMSA-HPH merger will add to Medicare woes

SA: … HMSA sent certified letters to Medicare Advantage customers telling them that certain plans will not be offered in 2027. It leaves members hanging. Enrollment begins today, but members have not received further details, including what drugs will be covered.

The final nail in the coffin is in sight: the approval of the integration of HMSA and Hawaii Pacific Health. Both companies are acting as if it is a done deal. This merger must be stopped. If approved, it will reduce competition, raise costs and narrow competition to care for all in Hawaii, as has happened repeatedly on the mainland….

Read … Letter: HMSA-HPH merger will add to Medicare woes | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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