Email from Hawaii Free Press

Weekly News Read

February 8 2026

Aloha readers, sorry we missed you last week. www.HawaiiFreePress.com is back online after a server outage, so this email is a double edition. Enjoy!

Census Bureau: Hawaii Population Decline 2nd-Fastest in USA

... Hawaii School Enrollment to Shrink 33% as Families Flee to Mainland ....

UHERO: Adjusted for local prices, Hawaiʻi’s economy among worst in nation

... Hawaiʻi’s wages and productivity have lagged the rest of the country for more than three decades, placing the state among the most economically distressed in the U.S. ....

Green Lied: Tax Hikes will take Thousands from Middle Class

… A single person earning $75,000 a year would miss out on $3,855 in estimated tax savings over the next five years ….

Trump’s Newly Appointed Federal ‘Fraud Czar’ Knows all about Hawaii Corruption, Helped Convict Kealohas

… McDonald helped convict Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, his city-prosecutor wife Katherine Kealoha and two police officers in a complex scandal involving the powerful defendants framing an innocent man to cover up their own crimes ….

“Potential criminality” of top Rail Contractor

… HART suing, says a criminal organization built rail ….

After burning $10B, rail is roughly equal to a single bus line

… and the Private Sector construction unions who built it, want state taxpayers to pay them for their days off ….

Honolulu’s economic revitalization office has revitalized very little

... Despite evidence to the contrary, politicians continue to believe they can boost the economy through spending programs ....

$100M -- Idle Land and Natural Resource Funds

... $30M here, $40M there ....

State Wastes $82.8M on Long-Vacant ‘positions’

… 485 civil service positions unfilled for over four years as of Nov. 1 ….

Hawaiʻi Mayors Scrap GE Tax Hike Pitch – will try again after Election

… Hawaii’s Income Tax Cut U-Turn Muddles Relief for Working Class ….

House Urges Attorney General to Prioritize and Expedite State Bribery Investigation

... with unanimous support ....

AG, House leader accused of talking of 'mystery lawmaker'

… Hawaii lawmakers question timeline for bribery investigation completion ….

Kaneshiro-Mitsunaga Conspiracy: Judge Allows Lawsuit to Proceed

... Federal prosecutors couldn't make criminal bribery charges stick for a former Honolulu prosecutor and engineering firm executives, but civil versions of the claims may live to see another trial ....

Senator Kidani Still in Office, claims she is not senile

"She now has a helper who guides her around the Capitol and accompanies her to hearings"

Election 2026: 94 Candidates Pull Papers to Run

... For Legislative seats, 19 Democrats and 25 Republicans have pulled papers ....

Hawaii Legislative Games Begin with 90 ‘Short-Form’ Bills Introduced

… moving thru the system waiting for a Committee Chair to ‘scoop’ something into them ….

Hawai‘i’s proposed anti-ICE laws mimic Minneapolis in the worst ways

… the laws they’re proposing would recreate the very conditions that fostered a battleground in Minneapolis ….

Hawaii court blocks state’s satire censorship law

... Babylon Bee, Hawaii resident, prevail against state law banning political memes ....

Offshore Wind Project Still Planned Near Ka’iwi Channel

… an offshore wind energy project located offshore of windward Oahu is currently under development that will be operational in 2035 ….

Ethics: DoH Employee Responsible for Regulation of Ambulance Services was Employed by One of Them

..."Around April 2019, Respondent acquired employment with AMR, while continuing to work in his state capacity at the EMS Branch"....

Antivaxxer School at Center of Chickenpox outbreak on Kauai

... All five cases were not vaccinated against chickenpox ....

Molester List: DoE Forced to Initiate 'Harm to Students Registry' for Hiring

...Participating entities include public schools, public charter schools, private schools, and early learning educational programs....

HB1875: Juvenile Sex Change Operations on the Move in House

...the bill raises significant concerns about parental rights, informed consent, and the long-term health and well-being of children....

Money Laundering: Keanu Sai Flunky Gets Nine Years in Federal Penitentiary

... more sovereignty scammers heading for the Big House ....

Hawaii Baseball Coach at Center of MLB Gambling Scandal

... Donny Kadokawa is one of the key witnesses in Yasiel Puig's trial over charges the former MLB star lied to federal agents about his dealings with an illegal bookmaker ....

FULL TEXT: Green State of the State Speech

... video and full text as prepared for delivery ....

The kind of playbook Hawaii lawmakers need

...Grassroot’s new “Hawaii housing policy playbook” outlines 10 policies that research has shown could encourage more homebuilding, which would make housing in our state more abundant and affordable....

Grassroot: 10 bold reforms to ease Hawaii’s housing crisis

... The “housing policy playbook” is intended to help state and county lawmakers remove or reform the many regulatory barriers that stifle Hawaii homebuilding ....

Stop Taxing Food — Support Families and Food Security

... Hawai‘i is one of only four states that still taxes groceries at the full rate ....

Hawaii Leads the U.S. in Average Weekly Grocery Bills

... In Hawaii, households spend $157 per week on groceries, up 9.6% from the prior year ....

FTC settles with prescription drug middleman giant to lower pricing

... The agreement orders Express Scripts to offer plan members the lowest available cost for medicine like insulin rather than artificially inflated prices ....

Police Commission appoints Rudy Tai as Kaua‘i Police Chief

... Born and raised on O‘ahu, Chief Tai brings more than 35 years of law-enforcement experience with the San Diego Police Department ....

Police Commission Selects Reed Mahuna for Hawai'i Co Police Chief

... Mahuna, who has served as interim Police Chief since September, is a nearly 28-year veteran of the Hawaiʻi Police Department ....

With Supreme Court Ruling Coming, Hawaii Democrats Push More Carry Restrictions

... anti-gun lawmakers in the Aloha State are already scheming to continue infringing the Second Amendment ....

2026 Hawaii Legislative Session – Firearms Bills Tracker

... every bill that could impact firearm ownership, carry, storage, penalties, and related rights here in Hawaiʻi ....

Tax Versus Judiciary

...There are two Hawaii Supreme Court cases pending that involve fights over the extent to which courts can get involved in taxation at all....

Hawaii officials admit Department of Education doesn’t use E-Verify

... the processes used to screen candidates, review credentials and monitor conduct ....

Paid family leave program could drive up costs, harm employees

... California’s Paid Family Leave Act did not help narrow the pay gap, and was instead associated with reduced employment and earnings for first-time mothers ....

Two-and-a-half years later, Maui County has Some House Rebuild Designs, but no actual rebuild project

"Should the required environmental clearance not be obtained or if HUD declines to authorize...no contract will be awarded"

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