BREAKING NEWS!

Posted 9/24/2026

Word from the Court

Aloha,

1. Word from the Court

You may recall that Judge Stephanie R.S. Char asked the attorneys for FOM to prepare an Order for the Court to sign directing the Planning Commission to prepare a written Decision that explains why they denied FOM and Save Koloa their Petition to Intervene before Serpa’s development permits were granted. On September 21, 2026, the Judge Ordered that the Planning Commission’s written Decision be received by the Court no later than October 5, 2026. In her last Order, the Judge stated that she would then Rule on our Appeal of the Planning Commission’s  grant of Serpa’s development permits. Meanwhile, the Judge’s earlier Order stopping any construction of the 148 units (condos/apartments) Serpa plans to build on his 9.4 acre parcel, remains in effect.

2. Community Updates

A. Video of Mayoral Candidates on Hawaii News Now September 17, 2026

The following link will allow you to view the first debate between our two mayoral candidates. You may recall that there was an earlier debate scheduled which Bernard Carvalho, at the last minute, decided to withdraw from. At the end of the following there is a political analyst from Hawaii News Now who critiques the debate. He calls the debate in favor of Mel and explains why.

Recent Mayoral Debate Televised on HawaiiNewsNow

B. KKCR Radio Hour with Mayoral Candidates September 22, 2026

The following link will allow you to listen to KKCR where both mayoral candidates were invited to be part of their afternoon show “Out of the Box”. Bernard Carvalho failed to call in and participate. FOM took advantage of the opportunity and called in. Listen to the questions we asked Mel about many of our concerns. He was direct and very responsive. We put a lot on the table for him to respond to. He took issue with the proposed new development for Koloa Town, describing his recent visit and opinion that Koloa was already over congested.

KKCR Radio Hour with Mayoral Candidates September 22, 2026

C. Kauai Candidate Forum and Mayoral Debate Tomorrow 3:00 pm at KCC

We will have another opportunity to meet the 14 County Council Candidates tomorrow at the Performing Arts Center Kauai Community College beginning at 3:00 pm. The Candidates have all been offered an opportunity to set up tables to answer questions voters may have before ballots arrive mid October. At 4:30 pm, a Mayoral Debate will commence, sponsored by Civil Beat. This will be a live event where you can see the Mayoral Candidates in person as they respond to questions.

Friday September 25, 2026

Civil Beat’s KAUAI MAYORAL DEBATE

Fri September 25 @ 3:00 pm HST

Kaua‘i Community College – Performing Arts Center 3-1901 Kaumuali‘i Highway, Lihue, HI, United States

The event is FREE! Keep a good thought for our effort to preserve Koloa from over development. Keep us in mind for your end of year giving. Your donation means everything to the success of our work. All donations receive a charitable contribution acknowledgment for your tax records with our Tax ID number.

Please don’t hesitate to share this email. See you at the debate tomorrow.

Mahalo nui,

Bridget Hammerquist, President
Friends of Maha`ulepu, a 501(c)(3)
Kia`i Wai o Wai`ale`ale, Co-founder
PO Box 1654
Koloa, HI 96756
Donate
friendsofmahaulepu.org
friendsofmahaulepu@hawaiiantel.net
(808) 346-1973 cell

Posted 9/18/2026

Infrastructure before Development

Aloha,

Despite Lowell’s Impact the County is determined to build even in the absence of critical infrastructure

Nothing highlighted the need for infrastructure to precede development more clearly than Hurricane Lowell. Our Chief Engineer at Kauai Department of Water, Joe Tait, recently testified to the County Council about the need for water service to be upgraded and in place island wide before building out areas that are already water compromised. 

While reviewing a Bill currently proceeding through the County Council Committee process, a Bill that puts in place mandatory and discretionary fire mitigation measures for all new construction, Mr Tait testified that the Bill needs work because it doesn’t address communities around the island that have inadequate fire flow, residential areas that are lacking hundreds of fire hydrants that are either missing all together or incapable of water transmission to stop community residential fires. 

He explained that the Water Department has been underfunded for over 20 years. Mayor Kawasaki recently cancelled the facility reserve charge paid by developers and home owners that are adding new structures, a revenue source that helps relieve some of the underfunding. The estimated cost to developers and home owners for the new mitigation mandatory measures is $6,000 per structure. In order to help builders and developers offset the increased cost for the mandatory fire mitigation measures on new structures, Mayor Kawakami removed the Facility Reserve Charge (FRC) for new meters, a long standing charge of the Department of Water used to relieve deferred maintenance and transmission lines that were in need of urgent repair/replacement. Chair Rapozzo commented that if the increased cost to builders and developers is an average of $6,000 per structure, it doesn’t make sense to cancel the FRC, further undermining the funding of the Water Department. 

We were fortunate that Lowell didn’t deprive more of the island of its access to fresh water. Kudos to the Department of Water for doing all that they could to keep the water running to the majority of our island population.