October 26, 2026 News Read

By Andrew Walden @ 8:50 AM :: 125 Views

Jones Act waiver data shows law restricts domestic trade

Breaking down Hawaii’s 2026 state and county ballot questions

PRP Pours $3.4M into Election

CB: … In just the past month — since late September and through Friday — super PACs have reported spending $3.8 million on electioneering communications to support or oppose about three dozen candidates. Under state law, anyone who spends more than $2,000 on a candidate and is spending money 60 days before the general has to disclose that right away, so the filings are fast and furious these days. This does not apply to candidates or candidate committees but it does apply to everyone else including PACs.

Much of that money has been dropped by (no surprise here) For A Better Tomorrow, the super PAC affiliated with Pacific Resource Partnership, a consortium of the Hawaiʻi Regional Council of Carpenters and the 250 contractors who employ them. The carpenters have accounted for $3.4 million of the total electioneering reports filed in the past month or so.

The big winner is Yuki Lei Sugimura, the Maui mayoral candidate, who has benefited from more than $1.7 million of For A Better Tomorrow’s assistance with TV and social media spots and mailers. The Blog says “more than” because that’s just the total dollars reported on filings naming Sugimura alone. She is also included in For A Better Tomorrow reports listing multiple candidates on each document that add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars more but aren’t accounted for separately.

The Plumbers and Pipefitters PAC — called HIVision 2020 — is also supporting Sugimura with about $19,000 in independent expenditures.

Sugimura, a Maui County Council member, is in a close race with incumbent Mayor Richard Bissen who bested her in the primary by a decisive 46% to 33%.

For A Better Tomorrow released a new poll Oct. 14 (grain of salt time) showing Sugimura ahead 45% to 44% with 11% undecided. The poll was conducted Oct. 6-10, which was right when Maui Police Chief John Pelletier let loose with the bombshell that Bissen was under criminal investigation. The poll suggests that had at least a little something to do with people turning negative about the mayor….

Read … The Sunshine Blog: Super PAC Avalanche Of Cash Continues - Honolulu Civil Beat

Kalaeloa Desal—Another Boondoggle in the Making: Rate Hikes and Cost Overruns

SA: … BWS manager and chief engineer Ernest Lau said the plant will be expensive to operate, but emphasized ratepayers won’t see a fee hike over what is already planned through 2029. Beyond that, BWS will adjust operating costs to fit adopted utility rates. That promise must stick. (But we know it won’t.)

Building the Kalaeloa facility is also expected to be a costly venture, and the department needs to ensure that contract overruns are at a minimum…. (But we know they won’t.)

(CLUE: Hawaii has no water shortage and never will. The mountains are big bags of water. If we need more water, we should just drill a well. Kalaeloa desal is just an expensive scam to sop up ‘curtailed’ solar power.)

Read … Editorial: Desalination plant fortifies isle water | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Resident support for tourism falls near record low

SA: … The Spring 2026 Resident Sentiment Survey found that 53% of Hawaii residents believe tourism “has brought more benefits than problems,” down from 58% a year earlier and among the lowest readings recorded since the survey began nearly four decades ago. The all-time low was 49% in 2021….

PDF: 2026-spring-resident-sentiment.pdf

Read … Resident support for tourism falls near record low | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

After two decades of Green Energy Initiative, HECO reliability being ‘explored’ by commission

SA: … The state Public Utilities Commission is considering a possible special proceeding to examine and improve service reliability of Hawaii’s largest power company, Hawaiian Electric.

(CLUE: Useless ‘intermittent’ wind and solar power destabilizes the grid, causing blackouts—especially at the ends of transmission lines on partly cloudy days in rooftop-solar-heavy Hawaii Kai.)

The quasi-judicial commission is initially holding informational meetings across the state at which Hawaiian Electric officials have been presenting information focused on weather‑related service impacts earlier this year.

Ratepayers may share concerns and feedback about reliability at the meetings, and also are encouraged to submit written comments to the PUC as well as to the Division of Consumer Advocacy at the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Read … HECO reliability being explored by commission | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

“Green” Tour boat operators benefit from Green Fee Money

CB: … the state’s investment of $500,000 in “green fee” funding for Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor, along with $500,000 for Lahaina Small Boat Harbor, is meaningful. These are not abstract environmental investments. They are investments in essential community infrastructure.

Harbor users have faced serious safety, security and maintenance challenges. Vessels have been burglarized, causing tens of thousands of dollars in losses and damage. Fishermen and crews have experienced harassment and threatening encounters. Better lighting and security are urgently needed.

Basic infrastructure also requires attention. Waste pump-out stations, electricity and water systems frequently need repair. Inadequate dredging limits access to the boat ramp, while aging pylons and fixed finger piers leave vessels vulnerable during extreme tides and ocean surges.

These conditions require Pacific Whale Foundation to spend resources protecting vessels, equipment and employees — resources that could otherwise support our mission….

(TRANSLATION: Project the ‘right’ eco-image and you can get money too. Money is green.)

Read … Making The Green Fee Work For Maui Communities - Honolulu Civil Beat

13 years of ‘plans’: Derelict Mōʻiliʻili Property, Home To Squatters, Plagues Neighborhood

CB: … MJF Development Corp., founded by Franco Mola and based in California, first presented their Ohana Hale plan to the Mōʻiliʻili Neighborhood Board in 2013.

Mola’s company has built other affordable housing developments on Oʻahu, including recently in Kakaʻako at 803 Waimanu St., which the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported last year struggled to sell its units.

The Mōʻiliʻili development was intended to include a 13-story residential tower directly over an eight-story parking structure. It would have provided a mix of mostly studios and one-bedrooms, along with a few two-bedroom units. Most of the units would have been built as affordable, which in today’s dollars means some of the units would be within reach for an individual earning $107,800 per year and others for an individual earning $129,360.

The neighborhood board, which is advisory, voted 10-1 in favor of the project, with one abstention.

But chaos embroiled the developers. Starting in late 2019, one of the partners had a disagreement with the others about finances, leading to drawn out litigation that still has yet to be resolved.

“That is why the property’s been at a standstill,” MJF assistant manager Harita said in an interview. …

“There was always weird, strange activity across the street,” she said. “Whether it be a whole homeless camp being there or people living inside the units and creeping out of them at like 6 a.m.”

A string of sketchy activities started occurring involving people living in and visiting the otherwise vacant apartment complex. She said she watched police raids across the street. One man masturbated right outside her front window in the middle of the day and regularly defecated in front of her shop.

“It was horrible,” she said. “And that lasted for months.”

The next year, she said, her shop got robbed the week before Christmas….

Read … Derelict Mōʻiliʻili Property, Home To Squatters, Plagues Neighborhood - Honolulu Civil Beat

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