At the end of the day out here in Puna, where we just get the ends, "the means" feel downright mean sometimes when there is corruption or incompetence involved. Hawaii sure seems to have plenty of both. Folks tend to agree that we have a real counting, accounting, and accountability crisis in this state.
Again and again opacity rules the day. It can be downright comical watching people defend their chosen fiefdoms and friends passionately to the end, even though the incompetence and/or corruption are common knowledge and total transparency is rarely on the menu.
Three very recent articles, below, do a good job of framing this. Two of them are CIVIL BEAT articles by Neal Milner.
The third article is a Hawaii News Now article by David Huff and, full transparency, it hits close to home. It involves someone who I came to know and befriend, over a quarter of a century ago, across multiple islands. Since all the way back in the Waipunalei days, he has never ever, even remotely, appeared to be incompetent or corrupt. Quite the contrary, even in those younger years he was advising US Senators and creating beautiful paintings of his neighbors on Jardin Road. Still yet, I can easily envision prolific posting Punawebbers, who are either anti-LNG or avid proponents of geothermal or other renewable energy sources, calling him "willfully ignorant", "vile", "nefarious", "nonnative" "nincompoop", "corrupt", and worse. Are they all conspiracy theorists? Pikachus? Can it be something other than incompetence or corruption? Was it simply unintentional or an unavoidable dearth of transparency? Is it really just "desktop analysis" meant to spark discussion and not for the promotion of policy? I sure hope so. Plenty kālā involved. While he and I are not 100% aligned by any means on politics or policy, I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for him. My instincts make me want to defend him. Is that pono?
Sylvia Luke made a career out of literally shredding those who came before her without their books in order. Guess what? It appears that at a minimum, her books are not in order. Some think it's much worse. Pikachus? Conspiracy theorists? Can it be something other than incompetence or corruption? Maybe. Is she nefarious? Is she vile? Hypocrite? In the absence of transparency will everyone form the same opinion? Are we bad people if we don't? Plenty of folks are standing by her. Are their motivations righteous or is it because it is in their interest to do so?
Are these public servants who stumble before us all complete fools or Ty Cullen & Kalani English types? Maybe not, but when it all trickles down to Puna, it feels pretty much the same as we go around the roundabout.
They say that liars can figure but figures don't lie. The reality is that here in Hawaii, we see that very often the data, the interpretation, the methodology, honest mistakes, and more, can make a liar out of some very good people. Leave it to the experts? Sometimes what we see is just bad faith loudly proclaiming to be something else while desperately refusing us an opportunity to verify and clear the air. Trust the process?
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono
https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/03/neal-m...ous-thing/
https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/03/neal-m...ompetence/
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/04/03...r-mistake/