Latest news with #JoshGreen
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poll shows Green's approval rating at 63%
Gov. Josh Green has a 63 % approval rating among Hawaii's registered Democratic, Republican and independent voters, placing him in a tie for the fifth most-popular governor in the nation, according to the results of a voter survey released Wednesday by Morning Consult Pro. Green's approval rating among Hawaii voters has increased ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election, in which no clear challenger with household name recognition has yet to emerge. Green has told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he intends to seek reelection to a second, and final, four-year term in 2026 but will make a formal announcement during the campaign season. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Green's disapproval rating has fallen from 37 % to now 27 %, according to Morning Consult Pro. Among Hawaii Democrats, Green has a 77 % approval rating, followed by 57 % from independents and a 46 % approval rating among Republicans. Among Republicans, Green has a disapproval rating of 51 %. The survey was conducted from April through June. 'I am extremely grateful to have so much support from our people, and will continue to focus on housing, affordability and keeping our people safe, ' Green wrote in a text to the Star-Advertiser. 'Our team is working as hard as we can to get results for Hawaii.' Morning Consult Pro did not release data on approval ratings of U.S. House members, but U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz ranks the third most-popular among America's senators, with a 63 % approval rating. U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, with a 59 % approval rating, was tied among four senators as the ninth most-popular U.S. senator with a 59 % approval rating. In 2022, Green won his first term as governor in a landslide following a Democratic Party primary where he first defeated U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele and former first lady Vicky Cayetano, which paved the way for a general election showdown with three-time Republican candidate James 'Duke ' Aiona to become only Hawaii's ninth governor since statehood. The general election wasn't close. Green and his lieutenant governor running mate, Sylvia Luke—outgoing chair of the House Finance Committee—more than doubled the votes cast for Aiona and his Republican running mate, Seaula 'Junior ' Tupa 'i Jr., a Hilo pastor and first-time candidate for state office. Following his electoral victory in 2022, Green told the Star-Advertiser : 'Every day for the next four years, I will work to heal old wounds, unite the people of Hawaii as one ohana and lead us forward to fulfill our commitments to each other, to our islands and to future generations. I'm incredibly grateful for all of this support from across our state, but I don't take it for granted and I'm going to work hard every day to earn it. Whether people cast a vote for me or not, I am going to work just as hard for them and their family.' The biggest challenge of Green's first year in office came in the aftermath of the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires, which killed 102 people, nearly obliterated Lahaina and caused $13 billion in damage. Many controversial decisions had to be made in response to the fires, notably Green's signing of a bill this month—one month before the second anniversary of the wildfires—to approve the state's $807.5 million share of a $4.037 billion settlement that avoids protracted litigation and will resolve an estimated 17, 000 claims. The other parties to the settlement are Hawaiian Electric, Kamehameha Schools, Spectrum Oceanic LLC and Hawaiian Telcom. A Hawaiian Electric power line that blew down in high winds was determined to have ignited the fire on dry, overgrown land owned by Kamehameha Schools, then raced makai to the heart of Lahaina. Hawaiian Electric provided the largest share of the settlement, at $1.99 billion. Green, America's only sitting governor who is also a medical doctor, has testified against the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become Health and Human Services secretary while privately meeting with President Donald Trump and members of Trump's administration to protect federal funding and support for Hawaii.
Associated Press
08-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Is HECO's monopoly over? New law could change power market
Hawaiian Electric Co.'s century-long hold on Hawaiʻi's electricity market soon will change in a major way, creating a potential path to lower rates for businesses and residents. Starting in 2027, HECO will be required to let independent electricity producers use its grid to deliver electricity directly to customers for a fee, potentially ending the utility's standing as the sole choice for most electric consumers in the state. Under the current system, producers must sell electricity at a wholesale price to HECO, which pools it to sell to customers at a higher rate. Gov. Josh Green signed the groundbreaking bill on Thursday, despite having previously signaled his intent to veto the measure. It remains to be seen to what extent the new system will lead to significant savings for residential customers. A previously passed law allowing renters to buy power from community solar farms, for instance , has gone nowhere, hampered by what critics say are untenable rules. But even critics of the new law have said it could generate savings for some customers. State Sen. Glenn Wakai, who chairs the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and sponsored the bill, said the measure was meant to introduce competition in Hawaiʻi's electricity market and reduce costs in a state where customers pay the nation's highest costs for electricity — more than three times the national average. 'We have for more than 100 years been at the mercy of HECO for our electricity needs, and we've seen in recent times that the delivery of that electricity has been very unreliable and very, very expensive,' Wakai said. 'In the next two years, come 2027, all HECO's customers will have an option of buying from someone other than HECO.' 'I think this is a game changer to benefit the consumers,' Wakai said. Green's office also expressed optimism. 'We believe that the provisions contained within the bill will allow for greater energy choice and hopefully a reduction in costs for Hawai'i's consumers,' Green's spokeswoman, Makana McClellan, said in a written statement. HECO spokesman Jim Kelly declined an interview request. Law Could 'Really Open Up Our Grid' The law includes several provisions to break HECO's hold on Hawaiʻi's electricity market, but the most important involves what energy experts call wheeling. Under the current system, developers build big wind and solar farms and sell the power to HECO under long-term contracts. HECO pays as little as 8 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity from these independent power producers, said Jeff Mikulina, a renewable energy consultant who was an architect of the law requiring Hawaiʻi to produce all of the electricity sold in the state from renewable resources by 2045. Meanwhile, HECO charges residential customers on Oʻahu almost 43 cents per kilowatt hour. Big Island residents pay 48 cents. Wakai said a goal of the law is to enable customers to pay closer to what the renewable electricity costs HECO to buy and to encourage smaller players to get in the game. The wheeling provision does this by letting independent electricity producers pay a set fee to use HECO's grid to deliver power to customers. Although wheeling has long been allowed on the mainland, it's been prohibited by law in Hawaiʻi. The PUC had been investigating a proposal to allow wheeling between government entities only, and Green's intent-to-veto statement pointed to that as a reason to veto the broader bill. Green decided to sign the broad bill after the PUC said it would cancel the intra-governmental wheeling inquiry, McClellan said. Hawaiʻi's previous prohibition against wheeling has played out on the ground at places like Green Homes Hanalei, a cluster of seven homes in west Oʻahu built in 2017 around the idea of using solar and storage to make the subdivision as energy self-sufficient as possible. Developer R.J. Martin powered each home with photovoltaic solar cells combined with two Tesla Powerwall batteries. Each home had garages with chargers for electric vehicles. Martin wanted to go further and link the homes with a small power grid that would let homeowners share surplus power with each other. But he quickly learned that would be illegal. Homeowners would have to become regulated utilities to share surplus electricity with their neighbors. 'No one in their right mind is going to go through that exercise,' Wakai said. 'So now, it just simplifies what has been all these walls and impediments put up by the government as well as by HECO.' Martin hopes the new law will enable him to do something more innovative in the near future: use renewables and perhaps a microgrid to power a larger, workforce housing subdivision he's planning for West Oʻahu. But much will depend on how the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission implements the law, Mikulina said. 'If the PUC does it right, it can really open up our grid to some innovative renewable solutions,' Mikulina said. 'This could catalyze renewable growth and really help folks who need access to this.' Critics Say Some Could Be Left Out Critics point to potential unintended consequences. A major issue involves equity. The concern is that HECO customers with the money and wherewithal to partner with an independent power producer will defect from HECO, leaving those less well-off to still deal with higher rates. Testifying against the bill, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260, which works on utility infrastructure, argued the long-term technical effects of wheeling on HECO's grid are unknown. 'Further,' the union wrote, 'the fixed-cost of operating and maintaining the system will remain unchanged and passed on to those left in the system, essentially increasing the cost of electricity to those who can least afford it.' Given this risk, it will be key to make sure lower-income residential customers can benefit as the commission creates rules governing the program, said Michael Colón, director of energy for the Ulupono Initiative, which supports the use of renewable energy. To address such concerns, Wakai said, the law limits the size of a wind or solar farm allowed to use the wheeling provision to two megawatts, the size needed to power about 3,000 homes. 'We're not talking about, you know, large 50- to 60-megawatt plants going and selling to all the Waikīkī hotels,' Wakai said. 'That's not going to be possible under this scenario.' 'What is possible under this scenario,' he said, 'is, if you have let's say 10 acres of land that can create two megawatts of power, you are free to go and sell to the nearby residents or wheel it across the island to someone who's willing to take it.' That's promising news to people like Steve Mazur, director of commercial business development for RevoluSun, one of Hawaiʻi's largest solar companies. Mazur said he's encountered business owners with energy hogging cold storage systems but small rooftops located near businesses with huge rooftops but little electricity needs. If implemented well by the PUC, Mazur said, the new law could make way for solar panels on the large roof to power the neighboring business. 'These rooftops are sitting there empty,' he said. 'There has to be something to entice them.' ___ This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Maili wildfire prompts mass evacuation on Leeward Coast
RELATED PHOTO GALLERY Honolulu firefighters had a 95-acre wildfire in Maili 75 % contained Sunday night after it led to the mass evacuation of Leeward Coast residents, resulted in a 94-year-old woman being treated for smoke inhalation and burned two homes. City officials Sunday night told people who evacuated to remain out of the evacuation area until further notice. Those who stayed should remain in place, the city said. Some Maili residents, including Council member Andria Tupola, said they never received any notice to evacuate. 'I live pretty close to the fire and I did not get an evacuation order, ' Tupola said. 'I heard there was a radio announcement and some people got texts. But it mostly spread on social media.' If she had not been contacted by state Rep. Darius Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili ) or Gov. Josh Green, Tupola said, 'I don't think I would have known about the fire.' But Kevin Miller, 58, was awakened by his cellphone with an alert to evacuate at 3 :37 p.m. He was napping inside a house on Kulaaupuni Street, which began filling with smoke. A Honolulu Police Department officer then arrived and told everyone to leave. 'So I got out of there, ' Miller later said Sunday night at the Waianae Intermediate School cafeteria that had been pressed into service as an emergency evacuation center, while vehicles continued to pour out of the Leeward Coast along Farrington Highway and Paakea Road. Miller was one of about 20 evacuees at Waianae Intermediate School, including Abdallah Mwamakatwe, 53, who also said he had received no evacuation order. He lives on the grounds of the Samoan Methodist Church on Paakea Road with an extended family that began to smell—and then see—smoke in the home about 3 p.m. Three cousins—ages 9, 12 and 17—tried to escape by climbing over the backyard fence, which neighbors had to break down to give them an escape route. 'I never yelled that loud for help in my life, ' Laina Tuinavave, 17, said at the evacuation center. The cousins said they were still shocked and traumatized Sunday night and had not had time to cry. Mwamakatwe, 53, was the last to flee the home and drove his Ford Bronco to reunite with his family at Maili Beach Park with only his cellphone. 'I'm glad we're all alive, ' he said. 'I didn't take anything. I'm just happy we came alive.' Kila said that two Maili homes may have burned, and Council member Tupola said that she understood that at least 'one family had lost everything.' The city said only that 'some structure damage ' had been reported Sunday night. Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said it treated a 94-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation and transported her in critical condition to an emergency room. Kila—one of many city, state and Neighborhood Board members who continue to advocate for another major route out of the Leeward Coast during an emergency—said Sunday's evacuation under the direction of HPD went orderly and the military remained on standby to open its Kolekole Pass as another evacuation route, if necessary. Kila said it appeared that state, city and military officials were coordinating efforts. 'I've been thoroughly impressed with the quick activation, ' he said. The order to evacuate was appropriate, Kila said, especially given the dry conditions as the Leeward Coast continues to dry out this summer, along with the leeward sides of all islands. 'I'd rather be safe than sorry, ' he said. 'I would rather us exercise safety than not.' Hawaiian Electric turned off power to 30 Maili homes in the fire area at the request of the Honolulu Fire Department, Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Darren Pai said. Sunday's fire represented the latest response to Hawaii wildfires following the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires that killed 102 people and caused an estimated $13 billion in damage. The Maui wildfires were ignited when high winds knocked over a Hawaiian Electric utility pole overloaded with technology equipment that toppled over and ignited overgrown brush mauka of Lahaina town. Maui County firefighters thought they had extinguished the initial blaze, then left to respond to a different incident, only to discover that the smoldering fire broke out and raced down to Lahaina town, where fleeing residents' escape routes were blocked by other downed utility poles knocked over by high winds. Survivors complained that no tsunami warning alarms went off and Maui police did not broadcast evacuation orders from their patrol cars. The evacuation along Farrington Highway and Paakea Road on Sunday night appeared orderly as Honolulu police officers regulated traffic, Kila said. State Rep. Diamond Garcia (R, Ewa-Kapolei ) said that HPD officers Sunday night warned people over their patrol vehicles' loud speakers to evacuate. 'HPD has done a phenomenal job with their loud speakers, ' Garcia said. The state Department of Education announced Sunday night that the wildfire forced it to pause its free summer meals program during shelter use and Maili Elementary's summer meal service will be closed today because of road closures. For alternative meal sites, visit. Also Sunday night, Hawaiian Electric said that power would remain off for approximately 330 customers in Upcountry Maui until 'hazardous conditions improve.' Hawaiian Electric shut off power Sunday as part of its Public Safety Power Shutoff program following high winds and dry conditions. The utility said that power lines and other utility equipment must be inspected and any damage must be repaired before restoring power. The work could involve ground crews and aerial inspections using helicopters and drones, Hawaiian Electric said Sunday night. 'We sincerely apologize and ask for our customers' continued patience, ' Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer, said in a statement. 'The safety of the public and our crews is our top priority. We will work as quickly as possible to ensure power can be restored safely without creating any additional hazards.' Hawaiian Electric said it may shut off power in communities with 'high exposure to wildfire risk during severe weather conditions. Customers in these areas are urged to implement their own emergency plans and prepare for the possibility of extended power outages.'
01-07-2025
Hawaii's governor signs bills cracking down on illegal fireworks
HONOLULU -- Hawaii's governor on Monday signed five bills cracking down on the rampant use of illegal fireworks in the islands after a massive explosion at a New Year's party killed six people and severely burned more than a dozen others. The new laws take effect immediately. Police will be authorized to issue $300 tickets to those who shoot off fireworks, while repeat offenders and those whose actions cause serious injury or death could get prison time for felony crimes. 'If (a) firework goes off and you have it illegally and you blow somebody up, honestly, you're gonna go to jail for 20 years,' Gov. Josh Green said at a bill signing ceremony. 'No joke. So don't do it.' State and county officials have long struggled to contain illegal fireworks in Hawaii, where it's become common for people to launch professional-grade aerial explosives from the streets in front of their homes. The reforms aim to allow police to quickly address minor infractions and focus their investigations on higher-level cases. 'We have to, once and for all, stop this for the safety of our children and the people we love,' Green said. He urged people to enjoy public fireworks shows instead. Another measure appropriates $2 million to the state Department of Law Enforcement for an explosives and firearms laboratory and $500,000 for undercover fireworks sting operations. Over New Year's, crates of illegal fireworks ignited and set off a chain of explosions during a party in a Honolulu residential neighborhood. The injured filled the state's lone burn care unit, forcing the transport of some victims to Arizona for treatment. Authorities seized 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of unused fireworks from the scene. Police have so far arrested 10 people in connection with the explosion. Authorities accused them of reckless endangering, endangering the welfare of a minor and multiple fireworks offenses. The Honolulu prosecutor's office said its investigation into the allegations is ongoing.
San Francisco Chronicle
01-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hawaii's governor signs bills cracking down on illegal fireworks after deadly New Year's explosion
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's governor on Monday signed five bills cracking down on the rampant use of illegal fireworks in the islands after a massive explosion at a New Year's party killed six people and severely burned more than a dozen others. The new laws take effect immediately. Police will be authorized to issue $300 tickets to those who shoot off fireworks, while repeat offenders and those whose actions cause serious injury or death could get prison time for felony crimes. 'If (a) firework goes off and you have it illegally and you blow somebody up, honestly, you're gonna go to jail for 20 years,' Gov. Josh Green said at a bill signing ceremony. 'No joke. So don't do it.' State and county officials have long struggled to contain illegal fireworks in Hawaii, where it's become common for people to launch professional-grade aerial explosives from the streets in front of their homes. The reforms aim to allow police to quickly address minor infractions and focus their investigations on higher-level cases. 'We have to, once and for all, stop this for the safety of our children and the people we love,' Green said. He urged people to enjoy public fireworks shows instead. Another measure appropriates $2 million to the state Department of Law Enforcement for an explosives and firearms laboratory and $500,000 for undercover fireworks sting operations. The injured filled the state's lone burn care unit, forcing the transport of some victims to Arizona for treatment. Authorities seized 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of unused fireworks from the scene. Police have so far arrested 10 people in connection with the explosion. Authorities accused them of reckless endangering, endangering the welfare of a minor and multiple fireworks offenses.
