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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0354.018 2024-2026p CKOG C.!6q COUNTY CLERK COUNTY OF HAWAl July 7, 2025 2925 JUL -7 PM 12: 05 TO: County Council Members - County of Hawaii RE: Comm. 354 - Hawaii County Council CRCOC July 8, 2025 Meeting FR: Jim Makaala, Moku o Keawe Waika Consulting LLC, of the parent company - Innovations Development Group (IDG) Hawaii, has been dispersing misinformation, provided vague responses to community concerns and questions, and has failed to fully disclose the adverse impacts of geothermal in their community presentations. In addition, Waika Consulting LLC is promoting a native -to -native model for business development that references four aspects; 1) Culturally Appropriate, 2) Environmentally Sustainable, 3) Socially Responsible, and 4) Economically Sensible. Here are a few questions that County Council members should pose to representatives of this consulting firm. Questions: What areas or communities on Hawaii Island has Waika Consulting LLC conducted preliminary studies for a potential geothermal power plant? When and how will community members be notified if geothermal exploratory drilling and testing sites are being considered in their community? How and when will the final selection of a geothermal power plant site be determined? Waika Consulting LLC has failed to disclose who will determine if a geothermal project is considered culturally appropriate? In fact, one of their cultural advisors publicly stated that Waika Consulting LLC should be the one to determine this matter. Question: Who will determine if a geothermal project is considered culturally appropriate in a particular community? Geothermal may be a firm type of energy, but NOT a "clean" energy as asserted by Waika Consulting LLC. Air and water pollution are two leading environmental issues associated with geothermal energy technologies. Air pollution: Hazardous gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide can be released during extraction and processing. Steam vented at the surface may contain hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide. Comm. Ref. To:PIP— Ref. Dat._L - 8 2025 1 of 3 These issues have been clearly demonstrated by the operations of the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV), owned by Ormat Technologies, with the documented noise pollution and toxic gas discharges. This plant raised local concerns as a result of occasional toxic emissions. In 1991, well KS-8 suffered a blowout, causing the state to suspend the permits for the plant. In 2016, the plant's owners were found to be in violation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards regarding hydrogen sulfide releases and was fined $76,500 for two incidents in 2013. Water pollution: Geothermal fluids can contain dissolved minerals and gases, which may pose risks if not properly managed during disposal or reinjection. Dissolved solids discharged from geothermal systems include sulfur, chlorides, silica compounds, vanadium, arsenic, mercury, nickel and other toxic heavy metals. Furthermore, the proposed reinjection of these hazardous fluids have the potential of contaminating significant water aquifers on Hawaii Island. Waika Consulting LLC has been asserting that there are "new technologies" to prevent environmental issues associated with geothermal. Yet, they have failed to present any detailed evidence of such "new technologies" as these geothermal technologies are basically the same that is presently being used by PGV in Puna. Any new industry technologies for geothermal have been primarily in the turbines used for power production. In addition, Ormat Technologies would likely be one of the leading companies bidding on any new proposed geothermal projects due to their existing operations and personnel on Hawaii Island. If awarded such contracts, they would be utilizing the same or very similar geothermal technologies with extraction and reinjection wells. In addition to air and water pollution, other known issues associated with geothermal include impact on water resources, land disturbance, land subsidence, and induced seismicity. Land disturbance: Geothermal development can involve construction of power plants, pipelines, and access roads, leading to surface disturbance and habitat loss. Subsidence: Withdrawal of geothermal fluids can cause land subsidence (sinking) in some cases, especially in areas with weak subsurface geology. 2 of 3 Induced seismicity: Geothermal operations, particularly fluid injection and extraction, can potentially trigger earthquakes. Questions: What type of environmental and other issues might be anticipated with any new geothermal development on Hawaii Island? How would the issues experienced at the Puna Geothermal Venture power plant be different at a new plant if Ormat Technologies is selected? What type of specific "new" geothermal technologies would be utilized on Hawaii Island? Waika Consulting LLC has touted a native -to -native approach. However, that business approach did NOT really work for the native Maori trust, Kawerau A8D Ahu Whenua Trust, in which IDG Hawaii was the consultant resulting in litigation for them and failed consultant expectations. In addition, IDG was involved in the failed geothermal proiect with OHA in 2015 that was proposed at Pohoiki. Despite all this, Waika Consulting LLC, through its parent company IDG, has received several multi -million dollar contracts for community engagement, but has failed to provide any specific data or information as to specific areas that geothermal development or exploratory wells have been identified and what type of geothermal power plant would be proposed. Furthermore, they have failed to provide a cost estimate of what a geothermal venture would cost taxpayers. Questions: Based upon Waika Consulting LLC's work and contracts with other geothermal projects, what are the estimated costs for geothermal exploratory wells at Humu`ula, Kawaihae, or Ka`u? Likewise, what are the estimated costs for a geothermal power plant if built in these areas? 3 of 3 Saturday, July 5, 2025 Ha ai""i wvvFree Press Front Page About HFP HFP Archives News Read Archive Get HFP by Email HFP Twitter HFP FaceBook RSS Feed Hawaii Free Press Links Current Articles I Archives Join our Mailing tit] Friday, March '1 , 2025 TEXT "follow 'We Were Scammed:' NZ Lawsuits Expose fraudulent Hawaii Geothermal Developer HawaiiFreePress" to 40404 By Andrew Walden @ 9:07 PM:: 6992 Views:: Hawaii CountyEnergy, Ethics, OHA Register to Vote IDG New Zealand Geothermal Scheme Devolves into a Decade of Litigation 2aHawaii by Andrew Walden Aloha Pregnancy Care Testifying, recently before the Hawaii Legislature in support of a geothermal development bill, Center S81269, Innovations Development Group (IDG) founder, convicted Unity House fraudster Roberta Cabral, aka Inmate #87755-022, gives the usual pitch: AntiPlanner "...We went to Aotearoa at the invitation of the Maori Queen to develop the Antonio Gramsci Reading, geothermal resources of the Maori Trusts. The model we developed with the guidance LlSt of Mililani Trask... was one that respects Maori culture and ensures that they benefit long term from the prosperity that their geothermal resources create. Our native -to A Place for Women in Waip!o native model put indigenous people at the table, making decisions about the resource that they own in Aotearoa. We will adapt and replicate that model here. We have seen it work...." Ballotpedia Hawaii That's not what the Maoris say. Broken Trust Maori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu died in 2006—less than two years after Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii Cabral was released from Federal Bureau of Prisons custody. Beginning in 2010, Maori Trustees who say they were "scamrned" by IDG spent nearly a decade telling their story in Maori Land Court proceedings. The New Zealand 'Te Ahi O Maui' geothermal project IDG Cliff Slater's Second claims to have 'developed' as a model descended into lawsuits between trustees of the Opinion 'Kawerau a8d' geothermal site. But it was very profitable for Cabral. DVids Hawaii Native to Native? FIRE Court testimony shows that NZ law firm Russell McVeagh signed on to represent 'Kawerau a8d', a Maori land trust with about 100 members owning 287 hectares on the North Island of Fix Oahu! New Zealand. McVeagh then brought in IDG. IDG took a $2M payoff to bring in Eastland Group, an actual geothermal developer. McVeagh soaked 'Kawerau a8d' for $600K in 'legal Frontline: The Fixers fees'. Meanwhile, one of its' Trustees billed 'Kawerau a8d' for $336,000 for 'consulting'. Genetic Literacy Project Akamai readers may remember that IDG's partner, Eastland, walked away from its Big Island Hawaii geothermal partnership with IDG and OHA in 2015, three years after writing off its Grassroot Institute Hawaii 'investment' in IDG as a total loss, Habele.org, The collapse of the Hawaii project also meant that the 'Kawerau a8d' Trust lost out. According to New Zealand Court records, IDG's so-called 'native to native protocol' meant the Hawaii Aquarium Fish equity that IDG received in the Trust's real New Zealand geothermal development was traded Report for an interest in IDG's fake Hawaiian development. (LINK: See Paragraph 178.) Hawaii Aviation Hawai'i Free Press asked Cabral for comment. She did not respond. Preservation Society Hawaii Catholic TV According to an Eastland news release dated November, 2018, the Te Ahi O Maui plant "New Hawaii Christian Coalition Zealand's largest geothermal plant was synchronized to the country's national grid in October. The project took just more than three years to complete." Hawaii Cigar Association Court transcripts show that, before McVeagh, IDG, and Eastland got involved, 'Kawerau a8d' Hawaii ConCon Info already owned a geothermal bore with sufficient pressure and temperature to operate a geothermal plant. One trustee described it as "the Crown jewel of the Kawerau geothermal Hawaii Debt Clock field." But instead of signing a straightforward deal for rent or royalties with a geothermal developer, 'Kawerau a8d' got "scammed"—in the words of one trustee --by IDG. Hawaii Defense Foundation The litigation begins in 2010, with 'Kawerau a8d' Trustee Kani Hunia, suing. the other two Hawaii Family Forum trustees, Colleen Skerrit-White and Tomairangi Fox, in Maori Land Court. Hawaii Farmers and The Court heard evidence that Trustee White had racked up 'consulting fees' in excess of Ranchers United $336,000 NZ dollars, via her'Taumanu' consulting firm, and IDG had collected $2M US dollars from Eastland while the Trust itself was being paid only $21,000 NZ dollars per year Hawaii Farmer's Daughter in rent. As a result, Judge LR Harvey placed 'Kawerau a8d' in receivership, appointing. independent outside Trustee Andrew Kusabs to investigate and control its finances. Hawaii Federation of Republican Women Kusabs then audited the 2008 books of 'Kawerau a8d' and, in 2011, reported back to the Court: Hawaii History Blog, [9] Mr Kusabs presented a detailed report on the administration and management of the Hawaii ]ihadi Trial trust. Amongst other things, he noted that the audit of the 2008 accounts for the trust had been completed but was heavily qualified. He also noted that it would take further time to Hawaii Legal News audit the 2009-2011 books and that the setting down of the hearing would inevitably be affected by the timing and the availability of those reports. Mr Kusabs pointed out that Hawaii Legal Short -Term several important documents including deeds of assignment had not been signed by Mr Fox Rental Alliance despite requests that he do so. Hawaii Matters [10] In response Mr Fox indicated that he had no intention of signing the documents principally because they gave, he asserted, exclusive control over cultural matters to the Hawaii Military History geothermal project's Hawaiian partners. Mr Fox also intimated that if the trustees would take the issue for discussion with the owners and the latter agreed then he would sign the Hawaii's Partnership for documents. Alternatively, Mr Fox stated that should the trustees act by majority to execute Appropriate & the documents, then he would likely seek an injunction to prevent them from doing so which Compassionate Care would mean further delay in the overall implementation of the project.... Hawaii Public Charter School Network [17] Based on the evidence before the Court at the present time, questions remain as to the conduct of the trustees both individually and as a group. Without the benefit of further evidence and submissions, it seems unusual that the trustees would take steps, inadvertently Hawaii Rifle Association or otherwise, to incur significant liabilities and thereby make the trust technically insolvent. In this context I note Ms Skerrett-White's evidence that legal costs in excess of $600,000.00 Hawaii Shippers Council had been incurred by the trustees even though, she claims, the trustees had notified those firms of lawyers that they should not continue with work for the trust given its tentative Hawaii Together financial position. HiFiCo [18] Ms Skerrett-White's evidence was that the trust income at the relevant time was approximately $21,000.00 yet she says the trustees knowingly incurred debts to two legal Hiram Fong Papers firms exceeding $600,000,00. While she says these costs were disputed, in one case at least it appears that no steps were taken to have those bills subject to cost revision. Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii [19] In addition, there is Ms Skerrett-White's own claim for $336,000.00 for work undertaken on behalf of the trust. Once again in the absence of further evidence and submissions, it Honolulu Navy League seems surprising that the other two responsible trustees would have permitted such expenditure without a guarantee as to where the money was to come from to meet those Honolulu Traffic debts to say nothing of whether or not proper processes of tendering and the observance of conflict of interest rules had been followed. House Minority. og, [20] Added to this is Ms Skerrett-White's evidence that the Hawaiian partners involved in the Imua TMT trust's geothermal venture had been paid in excess of $2 million by the third party participant, Eastland Energy Limited, while the trust is only to receive rental income of Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992 approximately $200,000.00 per annum. Ms Skerrett-White stated that, even though the Inside the Nature trustees had advisers, they were also under pressure and to paraphrase her statements in Conservancy. Court "we folded." At first blush this does not seem the conduct of prudent and responsible trustees. Inverse Condemnation In 2016, Kusabs presented the Court an audit of the 2009-2011 books of 'Kawerau a8d'. July 4 in Hawaii This is what he reported: Land and Power in Hawaii [1] In 2003 the Crown and Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau initialled a deed of settlement in respect of that group's historical claims which eventually became enshrined in legislation. As part of Lessons in Firearm that agreement, ownership of the geothermal well ("KA22") located on Kawerau A8D was Education returned to its beneficial owners.... Lingle Years [10] According to the affidavit of Ms Skerrett-White, since 2005 the day to day administration of the trust had been undertaken by Taumanu Associates ("Taumanu"), a Managed Care Matters -- consultancy business where the partners were Stan Knuth and herself. Later in 2005 the Hawaii trust entered into an agreement with Norske Skog Tasman which provided that the company would pay an annual fee of $21,935.00 for access to the block. That same year, following the MentalIllnessPolicy. org settlement of the Ngati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) and the return of KA22, the trustees began investigating options for a geothermal development. Missile Defense Advocacy, (EDITOR'S NOTE: The Ngati Tuwharetoa/Bay of Plenty settlement gave Maori rights to MIS Veterans Hawaii geothermal resources under their trust lands.) NAMI Hawaii [11] In 2007 the trustees entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ormat, a geothermal development company, and as a result established Otuwhetu Power Ltd. That Natatorium.org, MOU ended in 2007, following which the trust sought expressions of interest for geothermal development from a range of other companies. National Parents Or Hawaii [12] Following the receipt of expressions of interest, the trustees engaged Russell McVeagh, NFIB Hawaii solicitors of Auckland, to assist in advising them on the proposals that had been received. According to Ms Skerrett-White, the trustees and Russell McVeagh entered into an agreement NRA-ILA Hawaii whereby the legal fees incurred would be paid from the proceeds of the geothermal development project. She would later claim that the solicitors' fees had been capped. A Obookiah similar arrangement is said to have been agreed between the trustees and Taumanu. OHA Lies (EDITOR'S NOTE: White had previously revealed that McVeagh 'brought us IDG'. See how this works?) Opt Out Today [13] In January 2008 the trustees entered into a MOU with Innovations Development Group Patients Rights Council Hawaii ("IDG"), a Hawaiian based company, for the development of KA22. The agreement provided that the trust and IDG would commit to work together for a period of 12 months, during which IDG would identify possible strategic partners for a joint venture project to develop the Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii geothermal resource. [14] As part of the MOU it was agreed that IDG would pay to the trust an exclusivity fee of Pritchett Cartoons $360,000.00 and upon signing the Development Agreement, the joint venture partnership would pay the trust a $300,000.00 commitment fee, a $100,000.00 administration fee and a Pro-GMO Hawaii $20,000.00 scholarship fee. There was also provision for negotiating the reimbursement of costs incurred by the trust for scientific studies and the like. Additionally, it was envisaged RailRipoff.com that the joint venture partnership would reimburse the trust for consenting costs incurred.... Rental by Owner Awareness Assn [18] ... on 17 December 2008 the MOU with IDG was varied, whereby it was agreed that IDG would pay the exclusivity fee of $360,000.00 and the commitment fee of $300,000.00. All other references to fees were deleted. According to Ms Skerrett White, since 2008 the Research Institute for Hawaii USA trustees and IDG have entered into negotiations with Iceland America Energy Ltd, Ormat, Mighty River Power, Contact Energy, Horizon Energy and others. Rick Hamada Show [19] On 14 August 2010 the trustees and IDG entered into a joint venture partnership ("JV") with Eastland Group Limited ("EGL"), under which EGL agreed to provide funds to the JV RJ Rummel including rental in advance for the lease of the land to develop KA22. The JV partnership is known as Te Ahi Maui Power Limited. school Choice in Hawaii [142] The following lengthy exchange with the Bench on this point is apposite: [65] Court: When you say the trust had gotten to so much debt, what do you mean by that? C Skerrett-White: It was mostly in terms of our legal counsel, because we had problems with all of them, with Russell McVeagh in the beginning, because they had overcommitted. They had asked us when we were in Wellington, how much did we want to spend. We said $100,000 max. Because we did not have any funding, we had $21,000 year income. But they had already spent $300,000. Court: Can we back up there then, the trust's income is $21,000 and the trustees have said spend five years worth of our income on legal costs. Why would you say that? C Skerrett-White: Because we had a bore sitting there that wasn't used. Court: But you are pledging credit, based on hypothetical income, you are a trustee, you are not a company director. C Skerrett-White: That was the legal advice we had that we could do that, and that we would find a partner, a developer. Court: And when Russell McVeagh's bill started coming in, and they started adding up to $300,000 when did the trustees decide, this is a bit much? C Skerrett-White: Russell McVeagh actually brought us IDG Hawaii. Court: Alright, so let me understand this, the trust has income of $21,000. It incurs debts of $300,000 with one law firm, goes to another law firm, gets more debts of $200,000 and those are the debts that are sitting on the trust now, making it insolvent technically? C Skerrett-White: Technically, yes. Which is why we instructed IDG to go and find us a million dollars to support the other costs. Court: Yes. C Skerrett-White: Because they were well aware that we had those costs. Court: So there is that pile of money, then there are the invoices that Taumanu provided for about $330,000 so we are up to $800,000 plus. In the meantime the Hawaiians your indigenous partners, walk away with over $2 million, and the owners are getting about $200,000 a year, the bulk of which is going to be swallowed up in all these debts the trustees have incurred. C Skerrett-White: (acknowledges Court) Because that is what we asked them to get, get us costs.... [175] However, in response to my questions concerning the actions of all trustees in negotiating the geothermal development agreements, Mr Kahukiwa conceded that there was some merit in the argument that, given the substantial amount of funds spent on legal fees, the deal ultimately secured in relation to the project development agreement appeared to favour IDG more than the owners. ... SenatorFong.com Talking Tax Tax Foundation of Hawaii The Real Hanabusa Time Out Honolulu Trustee Akina KWO columns Waagey.org. West Maui Taxpayers Association Whole Life Hawaii a I positive [177] Ms Skerrett-White gave evidence that the trustees also received advice from a number of geothermal experts, following which they took expressions of interest for development, eventually signing a MOU with IDG. A joint venture partner for the development of the geothermal bore was then sought by IDG who subsequently engaged with EGL. It was agreed that IDG could complete negotiations of the project development agreement in Hawaii, given they had no funding to return to New Zealand. However, she says that IDG was to bring the matter back to New Zealand for the last round of negotiations. Ms Skerrett- White noted that the trustees had some reservations regarding the agreement but relied on the advice of their lawyer and signed the agreement "in principle" based on an assurance that IDG would come to New Zealand and they would sit down with EGL to make sure the agreement was workable. This however did not occur. [178] Ms Skerrett-White argued that what was agreed with IDG was not reflected in the project development agreement, in terms of IDG obtaining an exclusive right to develop the geothermal bore as opposed to a joint right. Ms Skerrett-White also noted that in terms of the "native to native" protocol, the equity that IDG received in the trust's development was to be reciprocated by the trust receiving a corresponding interest in IDG's Hawaiian development. However, they subsequently learned that IDG had taken on another partner for their proposed development. [179] Ms Skerrett-White further asserted that the relationship between the trustees and IDG broke down during final negotiations, when Mr Hunia sent to IDG confidential minutes of the trust's discussions with their lawyer regarding their concerns over the project development agreement. IDG subsequently cut communication with the respondents and they were unable to further negotiate the agreement.... [181] ...the trustees, by their conduct, have inexplicably enabled, unwittingly or otherwise, their )V partner IDG to receive potentially more of a benefit from the development than the owners - again hardly the conduct of prudent trustees. [182] Equally inexplicable is how the benefit to IDG bears, on the available evidence, little relationship to their actual "contribution" to the project. Indeed, a cynical eye might even suggest that the trustees had been taken advantage of by their "partners". Questions must then surely arise as to the extent of the due diligence and the ethics of how IDG appear to have conducted themselves throughout this negotiation, based on the evidence of the trustees. [183] Disturbingly, given the cost and quality of advice that the trustees say they were receiving, Ms Skerrett-White eventually acknowledged that the trustees had been taken advantage of by their Hawaiian partners, even though they had ample legal advice: 77 C Skerrett:... One of the problems that has come out of this process is that we have been cut off by IDG and have been unable to discuss these things with them. Court: When you say cut off, what do you mean? C Skerrett: They cut us off. Yes, our Hawaiian partners. Court: I see. C Skerrett: ... they were advised by legal counsel that she was not to discuss anything with us, which made it very difficult for us to finish off what needed to be done with the PDA. One of the things that has happened is that we totally believed in the kaupapa that was developed with IDG Hawaii, in terms of the native to native protocols. Unfortunately in the PDA they have gone a little bit further than just being protocols. Their mapping in the PDA actually states that they have cultural control. That is something that we never ever agreed to. The cultural control is ours. We are the tangata whenua, it is our land and it is our resource. So those things have to be addressed. There is some issue with costs. Our costs were not addressed in that PDA but the costs of our partners were. They got $1.25 million for that. [184] And further: [78] Court: Yes, now the Hawaiian people what do they get? C Skerrett-White: They walked away with US$1.25 [million] costs. Court: For what purpose, what did they get that for? C Skerrett-White: For costs, and plus they got 10 per cent equity and co developers as well. Court: So they got in a lump sum more money than the owners are getting? C Skerrett-White: Yes Court: 10 per cent of the equity and they are the co -developer? C Skerrett-White: Yes [185] Curiously, Mr Hunia also confirmed that the trustees were happy with the arrangements prior to signing the agreement. Subsequently however, it appeared that the agreement did not align with what they understood the arrangements were to be: [79] The Court: ... The arrangement with the IDG, were the trustees happy with it in the end? K Hunia: Yes. I mean was [sic] the trustees were all happy. The Court: Yes. So the input with the Hawaiian partners, all the trustees were happy with that outcome? K Hunia: Yes, that is why we signed, all happy. The Court: After the agreement had been signed and the trustees discovered that it wasn't exactly what you thought it was going to be, were the trustees still happy? K Hunia: No. The Court: They weren't? K Hunia: No. The Court: And did the trustees subsequently discover that in fact, the deal that they did sign up to was not really what they understand [sic] it to be in the first place? In that the Hawaiian partners were walking away with a big share for very little input? K Hunia: That is right. The Court: And this has soured the relationship with the Hawaiian partners since? K Hunia: Oh I think that relationship is really sour at the moment. The Court: And the part I struggle with is that how can it be that the trustees signed up to a deal that they subsequently discover is not really what it should have been when they spent $500,000 on lawyers. K Hunia: Well I can't understand. [186] As foreshadowed, it is unfathomable on any reasonable basis why the "deal" that was eventually secured by the trustees was one that appeared to favour the interests of IDG over those of the trust's beneficiaries, particularly when such large amounts were spent on legal advice. To then discover that, having the benefit of such advice, IDG were still able to secure substantial benefits which do not appear at first blush to fairly reflect what they contributed to the development, is startling. Additionally, it appears that the trustees were either not fully apprised or simply failed to properly comprehend the true effect of the agreement, with the result that arrangements in terms of the cultural matters and the reciprocal interest in the IDG development were not properly secured for the owners. [187] Ms Skerrett-White conceded that the actions of the trustees contributed to the situation with the Hawaiian partners: [80] Court: So the IDG people, if the project is to proceed, they are still involved? C Skerrett-White: Yes. Court: They are the co -developers, is that right? C Skerrett-White: They are the Co -developers. What it did was disempowering us in terms of how all cultural matters were dealt with, within the project, because we are not the co -developers. It is disempowering and it is heartbreaking. Court: But isn't it the case and I say this with no disrespect, the disempowerrnent is as a consequence of the trustees' actions? C Skerrett-White: Yes. We dropped the ball! [188] Mr Fox, at an earlier hearing was even more candid in his assessment of the deal. From his perspective the entire project was in disarray due to the conduct of IDG: [81] T Fox: I cannot see how IDG can be a partner. As far as I am concerned I do not want to be part of them. Court: Okay. Now Mr Fox does that mean, if I understand you correctly the entire project is now at risk? To Fox: Yes, as far as I am concerned. It is just the way they have written it down on PDA. It is more for them, to me, this is myself and I will say it quite clearly, it is a scam. [190] ... it appears that because of the trustees they are to receive less of the benefit of the project in favour of IDG who it seems contributed less than might be expected for the eventual equity stake that they received. [191] In my assessment the trustees have failed to act prudently and their misconduct may have resulted in a serious loss to the trust of equity in the project - a loss that was likely to have been preventable and therefore quite unnecessary. For this serious breach of trust the trustees must be held to account. ---30--- IDG BACKGROUND: 2025: The Unity House Scandal Never Really Ended — decades later, it might bankrupt Hawaiian Electric 2025: SB1269: Mililani Trask's Geothermal Scam Comes Back for More Millions ■ 2023: Dead Bodies, Convicted Felons and Kakaako Makai: Meet the new Gang at OHA 2023: Hawaii's New Deputy Economy Chief Has A Powerful Business Partner In The Senate - Honolulu Civil Beat 2016: UH cancels Hualalai geothermal projects - Hawaii Tribune -Herald 2015: Geothermal: New Zealand Company Abandons Partnership with OHA 2014: IDG Geothermal Scammers Could Score $0.195 per Kwh Sandwich Profits 2014: Solomon Pushes for Approval of Mililani Trask's Overpriced Geothermal Contract 2013: After Receiving Campaign Cash, OHA Trustees Give $1.25M to Insolvent Geothermal Company_ 2013: More on geothermal developer Innovations Development Grou--Ian Lind 2013: Geothermal: Hundreds Denounce Mililani Trask 2013: RFP: HELCO Seeks Proposals for 50MW Geothermal 2013: "Damned Sellout" Mililani Trask Defends PLDC 2013: Supreme Court Asked: Who Owns Geothermal Rights in Hawaii? 2013: ICA Hears Case Challenging State Ownership of Mineral, Geothermal Rights 2011: Profitable Rhetoric: Mililani Trask signs Geothermal Deal 2007: Malama Solomon's meth connection 2002: Unity House Fraud: Roberta Cabral Pleads Guilty_ O Hawaii Free Press - All Rights Reserved Terms Of Use Privacy Statement Login Sunday, July 6, 2025 Hawai*'i* Free Front Page About HFP HFP Archives News Read Archive Get HFP by Email HFP Twitter HFP FaceBook RSS Feed Hawaii Free Press Links Current Articles I Archives Mn�r Mailing tiai Wednesday, February 11. 2015 TEXT "follow Geothermal: New Zealand Company Abandons Partnership with OHA HawaiiFreePress" to 40404 By Selected News Articles @ 4:16 AM:: 7642 Vews :: Energy, OHA Register to Vote Hawaii plan canned 2aHawaii Gisbourne Herald, Wednesday, February 11, 2015 (excerpts) Aloha Pregnancy Care GISBORNE (New Zealand) -based energy and logistics company Eastland Group Ltd has pulled Center the plug on a potential $10 million investment in a project to build a geothermal power plant in Hawaii. Anti Planner More than two years after the idea was first mooted, Eastland Group chief executive Matt Todd Antonio Gramsci Reading, yesterday confirmed the company decided last month not to take the process any further. List While disappointing, it was very much "business as normal" for the company. A Place for women in Waipio "On the balance of probabilities we felt that further participation was unlikely to yield an economic project in the near future and so Eastland Group has fully exited its involvement in Ballotpedia Hawaii the Special Purpose Vehicle," said Mr Todd.... Broken Trust Eastland Group's investment in building a 25MW plant on Hawaii's Big Island would have been as a 20 percent partner, costing $5m-$10m, with Innovations Development Group (IDG) and Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Eastland Group had an investment option in the project through its relationship with Hawaii- Cliff Slaters second based IDG in geothermal projects in eastern Bay of Plenty (NZ). In 2012, it wrote -off a $1.25m Opinion loan to IDG associated with this option. DVids Hawaii Eastland Generation Ltd's subsidiary company Eastland Hawaii Inc first made a bid to Hawaiian Electric Company (HELCO) to build the plant in 2013, with a decision expected to be made in FIRE September of that year. Fix Oahu! Mr Todd said all costs associated with the work done in Hawaii were part of the company's business development budget. Expenses, including the $1.25M loan to IDG, would not be Frontline: The Fixers recovered.... Genetic Literacy Project The decision to pull out of the Hawaii deal will not affect plans for a second power plant at Kawerau, (NZ) or the company's relationship with IDG, said Mr Todd. Grassroot Institute Last year the company received consent for Eastland Generation's Te AN O Maui (NZ) Habele.org, geothermal project to go ahead, with plans to build a 15MW to 20MW plant. Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report Mr Todd said that project was still a partnership between Eastland Generation, Kawerau A8D Ahu Whenua Trust and IDG.... Hawaii Aviation read ... The rest of the article Preservation Society Hawaii Catholic TV Geothermal moves could reshape district's key business Hawaii Christian coalition by Jeremy Muir, Gisborne Herald, February 14, 2015 (excerpts) Hawaii Cigar Association Eastland Group Ltd's next moves in the geothermal sector, after the disappointment of Hawaii ConCon Info withdrawing from a bid to build a power plant in Hawaii, could shape the future of this now 100 percent community -owned business.... Hawaii Debt clock The big question is how it would fund such developments. It has already sought to raise outside Hawaii Defense Foundation capital to fund expansion two years ago, a process that did not reach a satisfactory conclusion.... Hawaii Family Forum EGL chief executive Matt Todd says they will hopefully be in a position to make a positive final Hawaii Farmers and investment decision for Te Ahi O Maui later this year. "How the project is funded will be a key Ranchers United piece of any recommendation to proceed, but there are a myriad of different ways that this could be structured, both on and off balance sheet, each with different pricing and risk Hawaii Farmer's Daughter implications." Hawaii Federation of Mr Todd also clarified that the $2m loan to Hawaiian -based partner IDG was converted to Republican Women equity and used to fund business development activities in Hawaii. (Translation: All gone bye bye.) "All costs have now been expensed and as such there will be no assets or liabilities on the Hawaii History Blog, Eastland Group balance sheet associated with Hawaii moving forward." Hawaii ]ihadi Trial Hawaii Legal News Prefer to see EGL dividend myself Hawaii Legal Short -Term Your tail piece to an insightful investigative analysis of a failed venture by the Eastland Group in Rental Alliance Hawaii deserves its own analysis. You say: "While wishing to try to quantify community -owned EGL's losses on this project, it is worth noting that it can only fund this because it runs its core Hawaii Matters areas of business well. It is also to be congratulated for cutting its losses when it judged the tide had turned." Hawaii Military History, Your statement tells us, and the Eastland Group, why the story has been given editorial Hawaii's Partnership for prominence — the public has a right to know what is going on with its community assets. Appropriate & Compassionate Care The fact remains that the true cost will never be made public because the Eastland Group and the Eastland Community Trust run their tandem operations in secret. The estimate of $3.5m to Hawaii Public Charter $4m may well be on the light side if it does not include the interest lost on that money had it School Network been paid to ECT for the benefit of the Gisborne community. Hawaii Rifle Association You say "the company runs its core businesses well". The core businesses are monopolies — a port and electricity distribution, the customers of which are the mums and dads in this district Hawaii Shippers Council who contribute to its success every time they turn on a light switch. As one of them I would prefer that my contribution to that success came back to me (as cash or the equivalent in Hawaii Together value) during my lifetime and is not used for adventures in other countries. HiFICo As for "cutting its losses", what preliminary investigation was made about the politics of Hawaii concerning geothermal development and why was repayment of the $2 million "loan" to Hiram Fong Papers Hawaiian -based IDG not secured? Homeschool Legal Defense Winston Moreton Hawaii * * * * * I Honolulu Navy League Seeing as Matt Todd won't listen to me maybe he will listen to a higher authority heh Honolulu Traffic heh. House Minority Blog Proverbs 1:26-33 Imua TMT "O children, how long will you love childishness, and fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge? Turn ye at my reproof: behold I will utter my Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992 spirit to you, and will show you my words. Because I called, and you refused: I stretched out Inside the Nature my hand, and there was none that regarded. You have despised all my counsel, and have Conservancy neglected my warnings. I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared. When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a Inverse Condemnation tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come upon you: Then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear: they shall rise in the morning and shall not find me: Because July 4 in Hawaii they have hated instruction and received not the fear of the Lord, Nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof. Land and Power in Hawaii Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and shall be filled with their own devices. Lessons in Firearm The turning away of the simple shall kill them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. Education But he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance, without fear of evils.° Lingle Years Peter Jones Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii IM: HELCO Geothermal Decision Due Feb 17 M enta I II I ness Pol icy. org, RELATED: Missile Defense Advocacy. . 2014: IDG Geothermal Scammers Could Score $0.195 per Kwh Sandwich Profits . 2014: Solomon Pushes for Approval of Mililani Trask's Overpriced Geothermal Contract MIS Veterans Hawaii 2013: After Receiving Campaign Cash, OHA Trustees Give $1.25M to Insolvent Geothermal Company_ NAMI Hawaii . 2013: Geothermal: Hundreds Denounce Mililani Trask . 2013: RFP: HELCO Seeks Proposals for 50MW Geothermal Natatorium.org, . 2013: "Damned Sellout" Mililani Trask Defends PLDC . 2011: Profitable Rhetoric: Mililani Trask signs Geothermal Deal National Parents Org Hawaii NFIB Hawaii NRA-ILA Hawaii Obookiah OHA Lies Opt Out Today_ Patients Rights Council Hawaii Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii Pritchett Cartoons Pro-GMO Hawaii AILIpo ff. com Rental by Owner Awareness Assn Research Institute for Hawaii USA Rick Hamada Show RI Rummel School Choice in Hawaii SenatorFong.com Talking Tax Tax Foundation of Hawaii The Real Hanabusa Time Out Honolulu Trustee Akina KWO Columns Waagey.org, West Maui Taxpayers Association Whole Life Hawaii a I"'p-OSi5 ift/e © Hawaii Free Press -All Rights Reserved Terms Of Use Privacy Statement Login Saturday, July 5, 2025 v v Hawai*'i* Free Press Front Page About HFP HFP Archives News Read Archive Get HFP by Email HFP Twitter HFP FaceBook RSS Feed Hawaii Free Press Links Current Articles I Archives lain our A1eiliog List TEXT "follow The Unity House Scandal Never Really Ended — decades later, it might bankrupt Hawaiian HawaiiFreePress° to 40404 Electric By Andrew Walden @ 1:39 AM :: 7421 Views:: Energy, Ethics, Higher Education, OHA, Cost of Living Register to Vote The Unity House Scandal Never Really Ended — decades later, it might bankrupt 2aHawaii Hawaiian Electric Aloha Pregnancy Care UPDATE: We Were Scammed: NZ Lawsuits Expose Fraudulent Hawaii Geothermal Developer Center by Andrew Walden Anti Planner The 1990s Unity House scandal never really ended. Decades later, it's one of the reasons Antonio Gramsci Reading, Hawaii's electricity is so dirty and expensive -contributing to the high cost of living that has List now driven the majority of native Hawaiians out of Hawaii. A Place for Women in Here's the story. waipio According to the US Department of Justice, June 17, 2002, Roberta LK Cabral, 44: Ballotpedia Hawaii Broken Trust "entered pleas of guilty a before visiting Senior District Court Judge Manuel L. Real to a total of four counts, including two counts of federal income tax evasion for the tax Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii years 1992 and 1993, one count of willful failure to file an income tax return for the tax year 1994, and one count of participating in a wire fraud scheme to defraud Unity Cliff Slater's Second House, Inc.... " opinion "Cabral... further admitted in the plea agreement that she created HONUA Group, LLC, DVids Hawaii through an unindicted nominee and opened a bank account on November 14, 1997, FIRE using her brother's social security number, in order to hide income she received, and in a willful attempt to evade over $118,657.00 in taxes she owed for the calendar years Fix Oahu! 1992 and 1993,... " Frontline: The Fixers Despite Cabral's guilty plea, conviction, and 10-month prison sentence, she never closed out Genetic Literacy Project the corporate vehicle illegally created for these criminal acts. Twenty-eight years later, Cabral's Honua Group is still registered with DCCA. Honua Group is the 'consent name' Grassroot Institute grantor for Cabral's Innovations Development Group (IDG). IDG co -owns Waika Consulting. LLC. Habele.org, The Pacific Ring of Fire is on a geothermal construction boom. Geothermal schemes and Hawaii Aquarium Fish writing useless reports on the taxpayer dime has been IDG's specialty since 2008. Scams Report run by IDG/Waika are the reason volcanic Hawaii still has only one plant producing cheap, clean geothermal electricity. Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society Over the years, Cabral, aka Inmate #87755-022, and her geriatric sisters -in -crime, ex-OHA Trustee Mililani Trask and ex -Senator Malama Solomon, have been paid by OHA, DHHL, and Hawaii Catholic TV now UH/DBEDT/HTDC for geothermal reports which merely plagiarize research done by Hawaii Christian Coalition others. Their reports are written without doing any of the test -well drilling needed to identify the location of Hawaii's geothermal resources. The result: No progress in identifying any Hawaii Cigar Association Hawaii geothermal resource sites outside the self-evident Kilauea rift zone locations. Hawaii ConCon Info Hawai'i Free Press asked Cabral if she believes her criminal background boosts her credibility as a state contractor. She did not respond. Hawaii Debt clock Hawaii's only geothermal plant --Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) on the Big Island --was built Hawaii Defense Foundation before IDG/Waika began its long geothermal money grift. Meanwhile, Hawaii's only statewide geothermal resource assessments were done by UH, in 1985 and 2017, not by Hawaii Family Forum IDG/Waika. Today the only geothermal drilling rig in Hawaii is owned by UH, not IDG/Waika. Hawaii Farmers and HECO's annual savings from total geothermal conversion could be $476M Ranchers United When the PGV plant re -started after the recent Kilauea lava flows, it was under a new Hawaii Farmer's Daughter (lower) pricing structure. HNN, January 4, 2020 reported: Hawaii Federation of "Under the new rate agreement, HECO said the bill for a typical Hawaii Island Republican Women customer, now paying $182 a month, will drop by about $7.50 in 2022 and about $13 Hawaii History Blog, a month in 2023. Hawaiian Electric said the rate it will pay PGV will no longer be tied to the price of power produced by fossil fuels. HECO said it will be paying PGV between Hawaii Jihadi Trial i 1 and 13 cents per kilowatt hour. The current cost of power generated by burning oil Hawaii Legal News is 18 cents." Hawaii Legal Short -Term Do the math: Rental Alliance According to Hawaii Electric's website, HECO produced 6.8 TwH from fossil fuel sources in Hawaii Matters 2023. 1 TwH = 1 Billion KwH. 0.18 per KwH x 1B = $180M per TwH x 6.8 TwH = $1.224B cost of production for fossil fuel electricity. If all of that electricity were instead produced by Hawaii Military History geothermal, at 0.11 per KwH, the cost of production would be $110M x 6.8 = $748M. HECO's annual savings from total geothermal conversion would be $476M. Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & In a little over two years, geothermal savings would cover the entirety of HECO's $1B Compassionate Care contribution to the Lahaina Fire Settlement. The geothermal dividend could even allow HECO to contribute more, thus making the 'subrogation' insurers whole and reducing insurance costs statewide. Hawaii Public Charter School Network So geothermal has the potential to: Hawaii Rifle Association 1. save Hawaiian Electric from bankruptcy Hawaii Shippers Council 2. reduce electric rates by as much as 39% Hawaii Together 3. reduce Hawaii insurance costs 4. and thereby reduce the cost of goods sold by local businesses, water bills which could be HiFiCo as much as 40% electricity, and the cost of government. Hiram Fong Papers Illegal Lobbying on Taxpayers' Dime Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii The IDG/Waika contract with UH follows a twisted path. IDG/Waika is currently being paid $2.76M by UH via HTDC for 'community outreach' on Honolulu Navy League behalf of geothermal energy under an HRS 103D-102 no -bid sub -contract with no purchase order number dated October 24, 2024. The IDG/Waika sub -contract, #MA2123, is funded by Honolulu Traffic a line -item from the 2024 State Supplemental Budget inserted in Conference Committee as a compromise after a $6M geothermal allocation bill was killed. House Minority Slog Neither IDG, nor Waika, nor their representatives are state -registered lobbyists. According IMLIa TMT to the Hawaii State Ethics Commission, failure to register can be fined up to $5,000 per violation under HRS 97-7. Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992 Cabral's signature dated October 31, 2024, appears on a `FDP Cost Reimbursement Inside the Nature Subaward' document reading: Conservancy Inverse Condemnation "Certification Regarding Lobbying (2 CFR 200.450)--By signing this Subaward, the Subrecipient Authorized Official certifies to the best of his/her knowledge and belief July 1-in Hawaii that no Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of Land and Power in Hawaii the Subrecipient, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency_.... Lessons in Firearm Education 31 U.S.C. 1352 (c)_(1). provides the following penalties: "Any person who makes an expenditure prohibited by subsection (a) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of Lingle Years not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such expenditure." Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii Waika's community outreach' boils down to their state lobbying effort for passage of S61269. Waika's November and December, 2024, 'Project Status Reports' obtained from UH by Hawai'i Free Press via a UIPA request include these nuggets: MentallllnessPolicy.org • "Geothermal development" - "Nil" Missile Defense Advocacy. • "Geosciences Programme Support Services" - "Nil" • "Funding Applications" - "Initiated Waika legislature support in this sub task is first priority MIS Veterans Hawaii for November, December, January" • "Meeting with DBEDT Deputy Director" NAMI Hawaii • "Commenced legislature funding application for 25/26 & 26/27 Phases." Natatorium.org Instead of 'taxing the tax' legislators are subsidizing the subsidy' --paying IDG/Waika to lobby for more taxpayer money. National Parents Org Hawaii DHHL followed a different process to funnel money to IDG/Waika. NFIB Hawaii An Hawai'i Free Press UIPA request obtained the $500K DHHL-Waika contract #71388 NRA-ILA Hawaii awarded June 7, 2023. Documents show a competitive bidding process in which the DHHL 'Selection Committee' bizarrely gave Waika a near -perfect score on: Obookiah 1. Experience and Professional Qualifications OHA Lies 2. Past Performance Opt Out Today 3. Capacity of the Firm and Relevant Organizational staff Patients Rights Council Hawaii Despite the Waika team including no engineers, the `Selection Committee' assigned lower scores to five local engineering firms which employ actual engineers: Dudek, EKNA Services Inc, EnviroServices & Training Center LLC, G70, and Tetra Tech. Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii For $500K, IDG/Waika produced a 43 page geothermal report featuring a rehash of research done by others and 30 pages of useless full -color photos of rocks found on the surface of Pritchett Cartoons DHHL properties. That's $16,666.66 per rock. Pro-GMO Hawaii 2019: Learning the DHHL Contract Award System agkl poff.com Akamai readers will remember Lyon Associates getting DHHL contracts in exchange for a $240,000 kickback. Mililani Trask certainly noticed. As HNN, January 30, 2019, reported: Rental by Owner Awareness Assn ... lim Lyon, owner of the Honolulu -based company Lyon Associates, pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy charges in the alleged bribery scheme. Multiple sources say Research Institute for the bribe helped land a $2.5 million DHHL engineering contract on Kauai. Hawaii USA "It's a system -wide problem, and it's government graft and corruption," said Mililani Rick Hamada Show Trask, a native Hawaiian attorney and cultural activist. "It's $240,000 for this incident, but how much was paid for other incidents?" RJ Rummel Apparently Trask learned the DHHL system very well. school Choice in Hawaii Felon, Sellout, Meth Importer's Friend Trask admits other Hawaiians recognize her to be 'a damned sellout' -she is now off the OHA Board of Trustees. Malama Solomon hasn't been in the Senate for years. She is a Larry_ Mehau associate who once appeared in Court to demand leniency for a Kamuela methamphetamines importer. Roberta Cabral is an ex -con and convicted felon. All three are far beyond their 'best used by' date. One might expect the IDG/Waika operation to just fade away. But, no. The $500K from DHHL and $2.7M from HTDC are just a warm-up for what may be their biggest haul ever —a cut of $20M from bills before the Hawaii Legislature. How? Sen. Donovan Delacruz. Cabral is a $4000 donor to Dela Cruz (Dates: $2000 on San 13, 2023 and another $2000 on Feb 7, 2023). After signing the DHHL contract on behalf of IDG/Waika, IDG `manager' Charish Correa, suddenly became a $2000 donor to Dela Cruz (Date: Aug 7, 2023). Cabral is also a $3,300 donor to Sen WAM member Michelle Kidani (Dates: 2018-2022). The University of Hawaii is the pass -through entity on the $2.76M HTDC-Waika contract. DBEDT oversees HTDC. The Deputy Director of DBEDT is Dela Cruz' Mamaki tea -bagging business partner, Dane Wicker. This should help readers to understand what is actually going on when Senators Dela Cruz and Mercado Kim stage their annual dressing-down of UH administrators. Hawaii Free Press asked UH Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis Syrmos if he believes such contracts are the 'cost of doing business' with the Legislature? He did not respond. 2016: Learning the Dela Cruz Contract Award System The IDG crowd wasn't always aligned with Dela Cruz. A 2016 ethics complaint co-authored by Mililani Trask alleged DTL—"a group made up of previous OHA employees" part -owned by Dela Cruz - was part of a consortium paying kickbacks to OHA insiders who steered useless Kakaako Makai design contracts. Trask's interest in OHA corruption came only after Trustees declined to double down on the $1.25M of OHA money given to IDG for useless geothermal work in 2013. Having figured out Dela Cruz' modus operandi, IDG personnel then became Dela Cruz campaign contributors. $20M on the Line As of the February 28, 2025, `First Decking' deadline, two geothermal bills survive: HB1307 - Amended as HD2, approved by House, crossed over to Senate. "Appropriates funds to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for water well development for geophysical investigation, exploration, and identification of geothermal resources on Hawaiian home lands. Effective 7/1/3000." (Report: Will appropriate $20M.) S61269 - Amended as SD1, approved by Senate, crossed over to House, "Appropriates funds to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism for continued exploration and identification of geothermal resources and commercial viability for utility - scale geothermal production in counties with a population of less than 300,000. Effective 7/1/2050." IDG's unregistered lobbyists are openly lobbying, for SB1269 and against HB1307. After crossover a game of chicken has been set up. SB1269 has a difficult triple referral in the House. HB1307 has a double referral, including Dela Cruz' WAM. SenatorFong.com Talking Tax Tax Foundation of Hawaii The Real Hanabusa Time Out Honolulu Trustee Akina KWo columns Waagey.org. West Maui Taxpayers Association Whole Life Hawaii pcysitive Both bills' effective' dates are 'defective', meaning the real bill will be written in conference committee (if it gets that far) and then rushed down to the floor for a vote before anybody can figure out what is really going on. The Green Administration has moved Heaven and Earth to arrange a Lahaina Settlement designed to keep Hawaiian Electric out of bankruptcy. Will legislators turn around and unwittingly sacrifice HECO to Mainland vulture capitalists because they are too busy rewarding small-time Dela Cruz cronies? ---30--- IDG SCHEMERS BACKGROUND: 2025: SB1269: Mililani Trask's Geothermal Scam Comes Back for More Millions 2023: Dead Bodies, Convicted Felons and Kakaako Makai: Meet the new Gang at OHA 2023: Hawaii's New Deputy Economy Chief Has A Powerful Business Partner In The Senate - Honolulu Civil Beat 2016: UH cancels Hualalai geothermal projects - Hawaii Tribune -Herald 2015: Geothermal: New Zealand Company Abandons Partnership with OHA 2014: IDG Geothermal Scammers Could Score $0.195 per Kwh Sandwich Profits 2014: Solomon Pushes for Approval of Mililani Trask's Overpriced Geothermal Contract 2013: After Receiving Campaign Cash, OHA Trustees Give $1.25M to Insolvent Geothermal Company_ 2013: More on geothermal developer Innovations Development Grou--Ian Lind 2013: Geothermal: Hundreds Denounce Mililani Trask 2013: RFP: HELCO Seeks Proposals for 50MW Geothermal 2013: "Damned Sellout" Mililani Trask Defends PLDC 2013: Supreme Court Asked: Who Owns Geothermal Rights in Hawaii? 2013: ICA Hears Case Challenging State Ownership of Mineral, Geothermal Rights 2011: Profitable Rhetoric: Mililani Trask signs Geothermal Deal 2007: Malama Solomon's meth connection 2002: Unity House Fraud: Roberta Cabral Pleads Guilty_ © Hawaii Free Press -All Rights Reserved Terms Of Use Privacy Statement Login Saturday, July 5, 2025 V T -0--gh "10-ft Hawai'i Free Press Front Page About HFP HFP Archives News Read Archive Get HFP by Email HFP Twitter HFP FaceBook RSS Feed Hawaii Daily News Read Links Current Articles � Archives Mn our MailingList TEXT "follow June 20, 2025 News Read HawaiiFreePress" to 40404 By Andrew Walden @ 3:27 PM :: 869 Views Register to Vote AG Terminates Lahaina Investigation 2aHawaii Priced out: The growing challenge of teacher, pay and housing costs Aloha Pregnancy Care Bubble: Investors Flood into Hawaii Housing Market Center UH Grad Student $6.7M Settlement in 2016 Lab Explosion Anti Planner Hawaii Wants More Geothermal Power Plants but Delia Cruz Rewards Campaign Antonio Gramsci Reading, LISt Contributors Instead CB:.,. Today there's just one geothermal plant in the state producing electricity with heat A Place for Women in that originates deep underground. State leaders think more plants like it could be used to waip!o produce power. Ballotpedia Hawaii But they don't know which parts of the islands, particularly the Big Island, are suitable. The only way to find out is to spend tens of millions of dollars on research and exploration. 5o far, Broken Trust the state has invested little. Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii (Instead, Sen Dela Cruz has directed funds towards the purposefully dead-end efforts of Trask/Cabral/I DG/Wai ka. ) Cliff Slater's Second Meanwhile, there are two efforts underway to hear what residents think about geothermal. Opinion (First, the useful one.) DVids Hawaii Glick's office has retained a consultant to reach out to communities where geothermal could FIRE be viable and residents may be receptive. Fix Oahu! The company Paakai Communications began that work in August 2024 under a $795,000, two-year contract. Frontline: The Fixers It's important to engage with residents before asking state utility regulators for approval, Genetic Literacy Project Glick said. "You want to know there is community acceptance," he said. Grassroot Institute (Now the purposefully useless one.) Habele.org, That effort is siHgilai- to (totally unlike) what the Hawaii Technology and Development Corp. began earlier this year. The HTDC, which is separate from the energy office, is typically Hawaii Aquarium Fish focused on the tech industry and economic diversification. Report (CLUE: Dela Cruz' teabagging business partner Dale Wicker is running this contract at Hawaii Aviation HTDC.) Preservation Society Hawaii Catholic TV The company Waika Consulting, (headed by convicted Unity House felon Roberta Cabral) is Hawaii Christian Coalition working on an outreach effort targeting the Big Island, funded by a $3 million allocation by lawmakers. Hawaii Cigar Association (In reality, they were just lobbying for more money for themselves.) Hawaii ConCon Info Glick said he doesn't believe that work interferes with his office's work. He made clear that Hawaii Debt Clock the energy office is spearheading geothermal efforts in Hawaii. Hawaii Defense Foundation (Translation: Glick has to make nice with Dela Cruz.) Hawaii Family Forum "The statute is quite clear;" he said. "We're the lead agency on clean energy." Hawaii Farmers and Wicker, the deputy economic development director who has a hand in overseeing both Ranchers United agencies, said the energy office is searching for potential drilling sites statewide while Waika Is Working on the Big Island. Hawaii Farmer's Daughter (The only relevant info in that paragraph is that Dela Cruz' partner, Wicker, is in control.) Hawaii Federation of Republican Women Waika consultants started hosting town halls in late May. At one of those meetings, some Big Island residents questioned why the meetings were taking place before more research had Hawaii History. Blog. been done. They appeared to be irked at the lack of a concrete plan or even an idea of where exploratory drilling and testing could take place. Hawaii ]ihadi Trial (Waika will never drill anything. They are just getting money for themselves. They've been Hawaii Legal News running this scam over and over again for years.) Hawaii Legal Short -Term Wicker said input gathered at those community meetings will be used to narrow down sites Rental Alliance where testing can take place once community concerns have been addressed.... Hawaii Matters (TRANSLATION: Waika personnel made campaign contributions to Dela Cruz.) Hawaii Military History A committee of Hawaiian Homes commissioners have been exploring the issue for nearly two years. Committee chair Makai Freitas said the group is still gathering information on where Hawaii's Partnership for small hole drilling can be conducted on the Big Island. Appropriate & Compassionate Care (Unfortunately, they wasted their money on Waika and got pictures of rocks.) Hawaii Public Charter School Network That would be separate from the energy office's statewide projects. The department asked lawmakers for $20 million this year to fund its geothermal efforts. It Hawaii Rifle Association didn't get anything..... Hawaii Shippers Council REALITY: Hawaii Together . VIDEO: $4000 Dela Cruz Campaign Contribution buys Shouting Match in Hilo > Hawaii HiFCo Free Press . 2025: 'We Were Scammed:' NZ Lawsuits Expose fraudulent Hawaii Geothermal Developer Hiram Fong Papers . 2025: The Unity House Scandal Never Really Ended — decades later, it might bankrupt Hawaiian Electric . 2025: SB1269: Mililani Trask's Geothermal Scam Comes Back for More Millions Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii . 2023: Dead Bodies, Convicted Felons and Kakaako Makai: Meet the new Gang at OHA . 2023: Hawaii's New Deputy Economy Chief Has A Powerful Business Partner In The Senate - Honolulu Civil Beat Honolulu Navy League . 2016: UH cancels Hualalai geothermal projects - Hawaii Tribune -Herald . 2015: Geothermal: New Zealand Company Abandons Partnership with OHA Honolulu Traffic . 2014: IDG Geothermal Stammers Could Score $0.195 per Kwh Sandwich Profits . 2014: Solomon Pushes for Approval of Mililani Trask's Overpriced Geothermal Contract House Minority Blog . 2013: After Receiving Campaign Cash, OHA Trustees Give $1.25M to Insolvent Geothermal Company- Imua TMT . 2013: More on geothermal developer Innovations Development Grou--Ian Lind Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992 . 2013: Geothermal: Hundreds Denounce Mililani Trask Inside the Nature . 2013: RFP: HELCO Seeks Proposals for 50MW Geothermal Conservancy . 2013: "Damned Sellout" Mililani Trask Defends PLDC . 2013: Supreme Court Asked: Who Owns Geothermal Rights in Hawaii? Inverse Condemnation . 2013: ICA Hears Case Challenging State Ownership of Mineral, Geothermal Rights . 2011: Profitable Rhetoric: Mililani Trask signs Geothermal Deal July 4 in Hawaii . 2007: Malama Solomon's meth connection . 2002: Unity House Fraud: Roberta Cabral Pleads Guilty Land and Power in Hawaii Read ... Hawai'i Wants More Geothermal Power Plants But Doesn't Yet Know Where - Honolulu Lessons in Firearm Education Civil Beat Governor Should Sign Mental Illness Treatment Legislation Lingle Years CB:... Senate Bill 1322 will help pave the way for improved access to direly needed Managed Care Matters -- behavioral healthcare.... Hawaii M perspective has been shaped b 15 ears of working with mental) IIIpersons, both YP P P Y Y g Y� MentalIllnessPolicy. org inpatient and in the community, in urban and rural settings alike, in addition to 19 years of serving homeless persons, many with mental illness. The people that outreach providers Missile Defense Advocacy, have encountered on the streets of Honolulu move me to tears. MIS Veterans Hawaii The degree of deteriorated health in the form of wounds, infections that often become life - threatening or result in amputation of limbs and the heart, kidney and liver failures that NAMI Hawaii ultimately take the lives of an ever-growing number of people is heartbreaking. Natatorium.org, SB 1322 continues to pave the way for improved access to behavioral healthcare that is direly needed. It is an effort to establish greater consistency in the statute's language across National Parents Org Hawaii chapters of law. NFIB Hawaii More importantly, it sets the stage for our healthcare system and first responders to be more assertive and responsive to the needs of so many persons afflicted with serious mental NRA-ILA Hawaii illness and substance use disorders. Obookiah The bill calls for more concerted evaluation of a person's appropriateness for court -ordered treatment to mitigate the danger to self or others they pose when brought into emergency OHA Lies rooms. Finally, it streamlines existing paths for people to receive the treatment they deserve to have their dignity and humanity restored. opto�troaay As a nurse who participated in treating mentally ill and substance addicted persons directed Patients Rights Council to Hawaii State Hospital by the judicial system for treatment after committing a crime, I Hawaii witnessed firsthand the power of treatment to help restore a person's ability to be returned to a productive life in the community.... Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii KHON: Can Hawaii detain you without a crime? A look inside SB1322 Pritchett Cartoons HTH: Court orders allegedly abused puppy to be forfeited - Hawaii Tribune -Herald Pro-GMO Hawaii Read ... Governor Should Sign Mental Illness Treatment Legislation - Honolulu Civil Beat RailRipoff.com Threats to Hawaii Judiciary officials on pace to double Rental by Owner Awareness Assn SA: ... The Honolulu Police Department notified state and federal court officials after a 911 caller said an unidentified man was going to shoot a judge at a Honolulu courthouse. Research Institute for Hawaii USA Officers opened a miscellaneous public suspicious activity report Wednesday in connection with the threat. No suspects have been identified. Rick Hamada Show Threats and "inappropriate communications toward judges are on pace to double this year" compared to last year — and are approximately eight times higher than they were five years RI Rummel ago, according to the Hawaii State Judiciary.... School Choice in Hawaii Sunday, July 6, 2025 Ha&­%wai i F-i"-'-hee Press Front Page About HFP HFP Archives News Read Archive Get HFP by Email HFP Twitter HFP FaceBook RSS Feed Hawaii Free Press Links Current Articles I Archives Jain our Mailing List �y yy�^� .�mq� q ¢ ,�y S:aw r da Y, Mae �i x TEXT "follow Geothermal: Hundreds Denounce Mililani Trask HawakFreePress" to 40404 By News Release @ 3:03 PM:: 9277 Views:: Energy. Register to Vote Hawaii Citizens Urge Governor and EPA to Clean Up Geothermal Energy Plant Before Allowing More. 2aHawaii News Release from Geothermal Hawaii May 10, 2013 Aloha Pregnancy Care Center 272 Big Island residents have sent a letter to Hawaii's Governor Abercrombie and the EPA asking them to begin a more comprehensive analysis of geothermal pollution before allowing Anti Planner more plants to be installed in the State of Hawaii. Antonio Gramsci Reading, Despite well -publicized claims that Hawaii's geothermal energy resources are clean and safe, a List pattern of hazardous releases has inspired two hundred and seventy-two Big Island residents to send a letter to Governor Abercrombie and the EPA asking them to place a moratorium on A Place for Women in further geothermal development until authorities take a closer look at Hawaii's geothermal Waiplo practices, regulations and enforcement. While Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) seeks to expand geothermal operations on both east and west sides of the Big Island, local residents Ballotpedia Hawaii have become increasingly alarmed to learn about the lack of air and groundwater monitoring for heavy metals and proprietary chemicals used in geothermal injection wells. State and local Broken Trust government sources say there are more plans for developing this heavy industry but there are no plans on the table to further safeguard the public and the environment. Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii Geothermal advocates often claim there is little opposition to building more plants in Puna, Hawaii, but recently, 900 people came out to sign a last minute petition opposing an IDG Cliff Slater's Second geothermal development in Pohoiki, home to many residents, farms and schools and a very Opinion popular recreational area known for its access to pristine coastal waters. Local petitioners were surprised by the large turnout considering that Puna is generally a very quiet and rural place DVids Hawaii and they only had five days to gather signatures. FIRE Many residents say they are being ignored for the sake of corporate profits. Some express dismay that their current mayor, Billy Kenoi and lobbyists like Mililani Trask, claim to speak for Fix Oahu! them, or treat their concerns as nothing more than a "speed bump." They also worry that they are being set up for the same regulatory scenario that caused the horrible fertilizer disaster in Frontline: The Fixers West Texas. With plans in the works to expand geothermal energy to West Hawaii, Maui and Oahu, many Hawaii residents consider that the lack of oversight in Puna may be a template for Genetic Literacy Project what will happen in other parts of Hawaii. Grassroot Institute On March 13, 2013, an accidental release of hydrogen sulfide at Puna Geothermal Ventures (PGV), spurred many local citizens into action when they witnessed that Hawaii County Civil Habele.org, Defense emergency response teams reported levels of hydrogen sulfide nearly a hundred times higher than levels reported by monitors at PGV. This disparity has many residents worried that Hawaii Aquarium Fish the Department of Health's policy of relying on PGV to self -monitor is a reckless conflict of Report interests that is putting their families in danger. Local residents say they are beginning to suspect that the popular claim of Hawaii's geothermal energy being "clean and safe," may Hawaii Aviation ultimately rely on a lack of independent monitoring and reporting. Preservation Society For more information contact Geothermal Hawaii at: info geothermalhawaii.org, Hawaii Catholic TV Online version of letter is available at: http.L[geothermalhawaii.org/citizens-letter/ Further information is available at www.geothermalhawaii.org. Related: "Damned Sellout" Mililani Trask Defends PLDC Hawaii Christian Coalition Hawaii Cigar Association Hawaii ConCon Info Hawaii Debt Clock Hawaii Defense Foundation Hawaii Family Forum Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United Hawaii Farmer's Daughter Hawaii Federation of Republican Women Hawaii History BIog, Hawaii Jihadi Trial Hawaii Legal News Hawaii Legal Short -Term Rental Alliance Hawaii Matters Hawaii Military History. Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care Hawaii Public Charter School Network Hawaii Rifle Association Hawaii Shippers Council Hawaii Together HiFiCo Hiram Fong Papers Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii Honolulu Navy League Honolulu Traffic House Minority Blog Imua TMT Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992 Inside the Nature Conservancy, Inverse Condemnation July 4 in Hawaii Land and Power in Hawaii Lessons in Firearm Education Lingle Years Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii Mental II InessPol icy, org Missile Defense Advocacy, MIS Veterans Hawaii NAMI Hawaii Natatorium.org, National Parents Org Hawaii NFIB Hawaii NRA-ILA Hawaii Obookiah OHA Lies Opt Out Today. Patients Rights Council Hawaii Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii Pritchett Cartoons Pro-GMO Hawaii aaapoff.com Rental by Owner Awareness Assn Research Institute for Hawaii USA Rick Hamada Show RI Rummel School Choice in Hawaii SenatorFong.com Talking Tax Tax Foundation of Hawaii The Real Hanabusa Time Out Honolulu Trustee Akina KWO Columns Waagey.org. West Maui Taxpayers Association Whole Life Hawaii fi I dd4YYA`Y� ■Y' pasitive O Hawaii Free Press -All Rights Reserved Terms Of Use Privacy Statement Login WAIKA Project Tracking Im "n- "'W Pei Project Budget: I Payments To Date: � Remaining Budget: $23460,000 1 Next Invoice: Contract Payment #2: -$135,000.00 MA2123 Contract Deliverables & On -going Activities: Task 1. Program & Project Management • Sub -task 1.1. Define &Monitor a Project Management Program for Geothermal. • Sub -task 1.2. Provide Geothermal Development Expertise Task 2. Community & Stakeholder Engagement &Outreach • Sub -task 2.1. Create Community Stakeholder Engagement Plan for Hawaii Geothermal • Sub -task 2.2. Define Cultural Sensitivity & Respectful Approach for Development • Sub -task 2.3. Develop Clear & Consistent Messaging for Engagement & Outreach • Sub -task 2.4. Forge Community Partnerships. • Sub -task 2.5. Employ Multi -channel Approach • Sub -task 2.6. Develop & Execute on Community Outreach Plan for Geothermal Development. Task 3. Long -Term Development Plan, Strategic Advisory & Commercial Activities • Sub -task 3.1. Develop High -Level Geothermal Power Station Development Program • Sub -task 3.2. Funding Applications Development &Strategic Advisory • Sub -task 3.3. Commerical Activities Oversight &Advisory. • Sub -task 3.4. Identifying, Documenting &Storing Key Development Assets • Sub -task 3.5. Geosciences Program Support Services (if needed) WAIKA Deliverables &Activities MA 2123 ContraO.. T*i el*ine Community & stakeholder Engagement I outreach Long Term Development Plan I Additional Funding Project & Program Management other. Task 1. Prog-ram--&-P—rpjgf L-M-�-n29-emp-n—t • Project Management Program for Hawaii Geothermal Exploration. • Quarterly Update Report to DBEDT/HTDC & UH. • Geothermal development expertise in support of UH activities as requested. Task 2. Communi )� & Stakeholder Engagement & Outreach • Develop and Implement Statewide Hawaii Geothermal Outreach Awareness Campaign &Timeline. • Third Party Community Engagement &Surveys. • Develop Strategic Priorities &Goals for Geothermal Development in Hawaii. Task 3.Long-Term Deyelo ment Flan, Strategic Advisory& Commercial Activities • High Level Long Term Geothermal Power Station Development Program with Pro Forma economic model. • Completed and submitted funding applications. • Additional Funding Options Report. This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. `,, _.�d� Home Hawaiian Kingdom Rising Puna Culture LERZ Puna Cultural studys More Contact Us Q search... Aloha Activism; Aloha Ola O Ka Pono Aloha Activism Daily Happenings What's it all about ? LERZ Puna News Blog More wearepuna Jun 25 • 9 min read The 55-Year Geothermal Fight on Hawaii Island: A Battle to Protect Madame Pele and Native Hawaiian Sovereignty For over half a century, Native Hawaiians and residents of Hawaii Island have stood united in a fierce struggle against geothermal development, a practice many consider a profound desecration of Tutu Pole, the revered Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire. Pole, known as "She who shapes the sacred land," is not merely a mythological figure but a living, sacred force who embodies the mana (spiritual power) of Kilauea and the volcanic landscapes of Hawaii. Drilling into her domain is seen as a violation of cultural and spiritual laws, or kanawai, that govern respect for this sacred 'Ain . (land). Despite decades of opposition, recent geothermal agendas, driven by entities like Waika Consulting and supported by state initiatives, threaten to escalate this conflict, raising questions about cultural respect, environmental justice, and foreign profiteering. This blog delves into the history of this fight, the current push for geothermal expansion, the role of Waika Consulting, and the ongoing resistance by Native Hawaiians to protect their sacred lands. A 55-Year Struggle to Protect Pole The geothermal fight on Hawai'i Island began in the 1970s when the state first drilled exploratory wells in Puna, near Klauea's East Rift Zone, to harness volcanic heat for electricity. From the outset, Native Hawaiians opposed these efforts, citing the spiritual significance of Pele's domain. Volcanic lands, marked by steam, sulfur, and seismic activity, are kapu (sacred) and protected under traditional Hawaiian law. Drilling, as articulated by cultural practitioners, trespasses on Pele's kanawai, constituting a desecration akin to violating a sacred temple. (https://www,frontiersin.org/journals/sustainability/articles/1 0.3389/frsus,2024.1443407/f u I I ) In the 1980s and 1990s, opposition intensified as projects like the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) emerged. The 1990 protest at Wao Kele o Puna, a sdcred lowland rainforest and Pele's forest, saw over 1,000 people march against drilling, with kupuna (elders) arrested for defending the 'aina. My ohana was there, I was a toddler. Community concerns back then, and still to this day in 2025, extended beyond cultural desecration to environmental and health risks, including hydrogen sulfide (HZS) leaks from PGV, which caused respiratory issues, nausea, and other health problems in Puna, A 1991 well blowout lasting 31 hours underscored the dangers, leading to evacuations and fines from the Environmental Protection Agency (yet nothing was ever corrected by pgv and they continue to harn the community and land daily. https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/geothermals-second- This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started .,. ,1 .-. - .. . . Despite these setbacks, the state and private developers persisted, often ignoring Native Hawaiian cultural concerns. Palikapu Dedman, president of the Pele Defense Fund, has criticized environmental studies for neglecting Native Hawaiian practices, focusing instead an 'birds, bees, and bugs.' The fight has continued through legal battles, protests, and community advocacy, with Native Hawaiians asserting that geothermal development violates their spiritual beliefs and ancestral rights to the land. (https://www, c iviI beat.org/2025/06/hawai%25CA%25B Bi-wants-more-geothermal-power-plants-b ut-doesnt-yet-know-where/) Current Geothermal Agendas: A New Push for Expansion In 2025, geothermal development is once again at the forefront of HawaiTs energy agenda, driven by the state's goal to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2035 for the Neighbor Islands, The Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) are spearheading efforts to identify new geothermal sites, with plans to drill test wells and expand production beyond Puna. (https://www,westhawaiitoday.com/2025/04/14/hawai i-news/geothermal-power-exploration-bui lding-u p-steam/) The HSEO, backed by $5 million in federal funds, is collaborating with the University of Hawai'i Groundwater and Geothermal Resource Center to locate a test well site on Hawaii Island outside Puna by early 2026. The agency has requested an additional $33 million over two years to explore sites on Maui, Oahu, and other areas of Hawaii Island. Meanwhile, DHHL is exploring geothermal on its lands in Humu'ula (near Mauna Kea) and Kawaihae (Kohala Mountains), aiming to generate revenue to address a backlog of over 28,000 Native Hawaiian homestead applicants. (https://www,westhawai itoday. com/2025/04/14/hawai i-news/geothermal-power-exploration-bu ildi ng-up-steams[] (https://www.c iviI beat.org/2025/06/hawai%25CA%25B Bi-wants-more-geothermal-power-pl ants-but-doesnt-yet-know-where/)[] (https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2023/08/21/hawaiian-homes-report-eyes-geothermal-on-maunakea-kohala/) Legislative efforts, such as Senate Bill 1269, propose $6 million to identify four to eight potential sites, conduct community outreach, and drill test wells. However, these plans face significant opposition due to their perceived insensitivity to Native Hawaiian cultural concerns and the rushed nature of their implementation. Critics argue that the state's focus on 'commercial viability' prioritizes profit over cultural and environmental stewardship. Its also important to note that these bills have not one supporter from the actual community , its all big company's who gain from these agendas. This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started February It, 2025 To: Members of the House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee Fr: Owana Ka'ohelelani Salazar Head of the Royal House of Hawai'i Royal Order of the Crown of Hawai'i, Grand Master Re: HB1307 OPPOSED Honorable Members: Whereas, • It widely known that the Hawaiian Kingdom was never extinquished, and • The so-called annexation of Hawai'i was a worldwide hoax of magnanimous proportion, resulting in one hundred and thirty-two years of illegal and illegitimate widespread acts throughout all Hawaii and beyond. • At the time of the passage of the 1921 Hawaiian Homestead Act, all lands selected to be known as Hawaiian Homelands were derived from Crown Lands, as created by H.M_ King Kamehameha III during the Mahele in the 1840's. Therefore, • The ownership and stewardship of ALL Crown Lands throughout the Hawaiian Islands belong to and is the business of the Crown of Hawaii. • Any and all appropriations of funds / moneys to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands must be specifically allocated to the Office of the Crown of Hawai'i, who will work towards providing homes for the Hawaiian people. Moreover, • Any and all Hawaii State legislation of Bills, Resolutions, Acts, etc. relating to hawaiian homelands, department of hawaiian homelands, and agencies having to do with hawaiian homelands must be halted until all Crown Lands are rightfully returned to the Crown of Hawai'i. HB1307 received testimony from the existing royal house of the Hawaiian Kingdom, along with hundreds of Native Hawaiians, opposing geothermal energy. However, this was all disregarded before the creation of S131269. [I (https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2O25/04/14/hawaii-news/geothermal-power-exp loration-bui ldi ng-up-steam/)[] (https://www, c iviI beat.org/2025/06/hawai%25CA%25B Bi-wants-more-geothermal-power-plants-but-doesnt-yet-know-wh ere/) Waika Consulting: A Controversial Player At the heart of the current geothermal push is Waika Consulting, a firm led by principals including Roberta "Robbie" Cabral and her girlfriend This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started presents herself in these community meetings to the people as Waika. Waika consulting meeting geothermal the community , hawaii community college. Trask is left, Cabral is right side. This whole meeting the entire Native community was mocked told to shut up cursed at and belittled by mililani Trask. Waika consulting is a agenda created entity as a blanket co, since the Puna Geothermal Venture Injunction has been filed against geothermal operations exposing decades of lies to the Hawaiians and the government by Israeli ormat agendas (mililani trask herself was flipped 180 by them back in the early 90's . Its why its super hard to hear her lie to the people as if she is not for ormat as she has worked for them all these years and paved the way to our cultiral erasure). It was created to then be played off as some native friendly entity, contracted by the state and DHHL, to facilitate geothermal development, including community outreach and project planning, Howeve, their involvement has s rpa ked outrage among Native Hawaiians, who accuse the firm of fronting Native Hawaiian faces to legi i mize a profit -driven agenda that benefits foreign investors.[](https://www.hawaiitribune-heraid.com/2023/10/15/opinion/hawaiians-and-geothermal-power/) Waika'; history includes ties to Huena Power, a failed geothermal project from 2013, and partnerships with NewZealand's Maori communities for geothermal development. Proponents, including Waika'3 Ryan Matsumoto, argue that their model ensures culturally appropriate development and economic benefits for Native Hawaiians, citing Maori successes. Yet, many Native Hawaiians view this as a facade, alleging that Waika's true aim is to secure contracts for exploratory drilling and pave the way for foreign companies like Ormat Technologies, which operates PGV, to exploit Hawaii'; resources. They have lied to the Hawaiian People at every single meeting . [] (https://www.westhawai itoday. com/2025/04/14/hawai i-news/geothermal-power-exploration-b ui Id ing-u p-steams[] (https://www.b igislandvideonews,com/2023/08/21 /hawaiian-homes-report-eyes-geothermal-on-maunakea-kohala/)[] (https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2023/08/21 /hawaiian-homes-report-eyes-geothermal-on-maunakea-kohala/) This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started June 14th NaniMau Gardens waika meeting with the people , they paid cy bridges, malama solomon and a fee other bought and paid for "cultural practitioners " to try to explain to us why its ok that they destroy our lands and continue to desecrate aina . Extremely PILAU. Super AUWE #AOLECYBRIDGES #AOLEMALAMASOLOMON #BARF #EN DTH ED ESEC RATION Community members attending Waika's town halls, which began in May 2025, report hostile treatment (see videos in this blog post and on KahuPuna Aloha Activism YouTube channel) , including being cursed at, yelled at, and told their opinions are irrelevant. These meetings, which Waika has accepted 2.7 million dollars to interact with us the people in, are intended to gather input, but have instead totally and completelt alienated residents, who feel their concerns about Pale's desecration and environmental risks are dismissed, and actually harmed many more with immense trauma because these meetings are exactly luke any ormat israeli geothermal meeting we've had in the past 40 years : full of gaslighting and the concealment of any truths. This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started Super super sad V how these top respected activists such as trask have been bought and paid for completely. This was the first waika power for the people hawaii meeting. At hawaii community college. Waika's insistence on moving forward desWe-Qppcsition has fueled accusations of cultural insensitivity. and l2rofiteering, with critics arguing - that the firm's Native Hawaiian leadership is being used to mask an agenda that prioritizes foreigdprofit over local sovereign ! [] (https://www.civi I beat.org/2025/06/hawai %25CA%25BBi-wants-more-geothermal-power-p lants-b ut-doesnt-yet-know-wheren The Desecration of Pele: A Cultural and Spiritual Crisis For Native Hawaiians, -geothermal drilling is not ust an environmental or economic issue but a profound piritual violation. Pele, as the creator of the Hawaiian Islands, is a living deity whose domain includes all volcanic activity. Chants and kanawai emphasize the kapu nature of her lands, prohibiting activities that disrupt her sacred spaces. Drilling into the earth is seen as a physical and spiritual assault, akin to 'raping' the `aina, as Palikapu Dedman has described. (https://www.frontiers!n.org/journals/sustai nabiIity/articles/10.3389/frsus, 2024.1443407/fuI1)(](https://www• hawaiibusiness.com/geothermal-is-a- red-hot-topic/) The cultural significance of Pele cannot be overstated. She is not a distant myth but a tangible presence, revered as Tutu (grandmother) and honored through offerings, chants, and rituals. Many Native Hawaiians believe that past geothermal mishaps, such as the 1991 PGV blowout and the 2018 Kilauea eruption that covered PGV wells with lava, were Pale's response to human disrespect. To continue drilling in the face of such signs is seen as reckless and sacrilegious This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started Uncle Palikapu dedman , Lineage of Madame Pele Hawaiian Volcano Goddess , demanding stufy and the end of the r$pe of his ohana Pele. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete %28deity%29)[j,(https //renewrebuildhawaii.com/blogL2023/history-of-geo-thermal-in-hawaii-part-iArom- ancient-times-to-the-present), The active 2024 Hawaii Geothermal Injunction and Allegations of Criminality As the state and Waika advocate for new geothermal projects, Native Hawaiians and lifelong residents persist in their struggle, engaging in a groundbreaking legal case climbing appeals court, and currently in intermediate court of hawaii, poised to transform Hawaii's energy landscape and its narratives permanently. The current unprecedented injunction against PGV, backed by groups like the Pele Defense Fund and over a dozen community members, Pele lineage, and volcano scientists, aims to halt geothermal expansion. This action reveals what activists claim are decades of deception and mismanagement. The injunction accuses the state and developers of misrepresenting the safety_ and cultural and environmental impacts of geothermal energy, diamgaLdjng commun yjj3PJd, and hastily advancing -projects without sufficient environmental or cultural evaluations. .[](https:llwww,westhawaiitoday.coml2025/04/14/hawaii-news/geothermal-power-exploration-building-up-steamo C?C Ci"'KEEP/NM/NDANY GEOTHERMAL ARTICLE IN MAUNSTRE4M MEDIA OR NEWSPAPERS , IS BOUGHT AND PAID FOR . THEY ONLYPRINT PRO GEO STORIES all these links in here are to show you how you the world is being lied too. Its all propaganda— KahuPuna "'C) C7 The native Hawaiians and Geothermal communities point to a history of regulatory failures, including the repeal of county oversight through Act 97, which stripped local communities of their right to approve or deny geothermal projects. The rapid pace of current plan,clesitp a 55 "years of Qp osition, raises suspicions of criminal intent, with some alleging that state officials and consultants are colluding with foreign investors to -%xploit Hawai`i's resources for Rr9fit. The lack of transparency in WWWF operations and dhe state'; funding requests further fuels these concerns. (nttps:l/www. hawaiibusiness.com/geothermal-is-a-red-hot-topic ) This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. CGiStarted Despite Waika's claims of Native Hawaiian support, theme ri of Kanaka Maoli remain steadfastly gpposed to geothermal development. Organizations such as the Pele Defense Fund, led by Palikapu Dedman, and individuals like Terri Napeahi, along with the We Are Puna movement spearheaded by Sara Steiner —the Pro Se filer of the historic Hawaii Geothermal Injunction —and her Facebook group A'OLE PGV, as well as myself, her daughter Jasmine Steiner, and my Hawaiian Kingdom community organization KahuPuna, are all dedicated to Tutu Pele and her impact in Puna, Hawaii._(1, the writer of this bW and website owner, am the on/y_nerson born at the base of Hawaii's sole geothermal p/ant in 1986 and have lived within its vicinity, experiencing its effects throughout my life up to 2025 No matter how much they lie to ygu the world as if they have done any health studies or water studies, i am here to assure you they NEVER HAVE and do not g/an to ever do this , as it will shut them down . ) Together with thousands of Native Hawaiians, we will persist in advocating for Pele's protection, issuing Kahea calls, and warning of potential litigation and further protests if drilling continues. Please connect with us on social media. One things for certain: community testimonies before legislative committees absolutely emphasize the need for culturally sensitive alternatives and greater respect for Native Hawaiian rights, and we will not allow them to continue to erase us all as they have been doingthe past 5 decades in this agenda.[](https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2025/04/14/hawaii-news/geothermal-power-exploration-building-up-steams The opposition is not anti -progress but rooted in a vision of sustainable, culturally appropriate energy solutions. Native Hawaiians argue that solar, wind, and other renewables, when implemented with community input, can meet HawaiTs energy goals without violating sacred lands, especially since we already can without geothermal energy which only supplies our island with 13 actual percebt energy. This island turns on its lightbulbs due to hamakua wind and solar already as it is. "The state's failure to prioritize these alternatives while rushing geothermal development is seen as a betrayal of aloha `ding (love for the land)." - Jasmine Steiner KahuPuna Conclusion: A Call to Honor Pele The 55-year geothermal fight on Hawai'i Island is a testament to the resilience of Native Hawaiians , locals , those born in these lands, and all in between, in defending their cultural and spiritual heritage. As Waika Consulting and state agencies push for new drilling, the desecration of Pele remains a central issue,_§ymbgM0g a broader struggle for sovereign and environmental justice. The hostile treatment of community members, allegations of foreign profiteering, and the ongoing injunction expose a troubling disconnect between developers and the people they claim to serve. This website was built on Wix, Create yours today, " GtStaftd '_~~ 808-313-2702 WIX I This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. CGit Started To honor Pole is to listen to the voices of Native Hawaiians, who have fought for decades to protect her sacred domain. It is to prioritize culturally appropriate, community -driven solutions that respect the mana of the `aina. As the fight continues, Native Hawaiians and their allies stand firm, chanting Pele's name not just in protest but in devotion, determined to safeguard their goddess and their homeland for future generations. Call to Action: Support the A'OLE PGV fb group for daily legal updates , and attend these waika made for media community meetings to amplify Native Hawaiian voices. Demand transparency from Waika Consulting and the state, and advocate for renewable energy solutions that honor Hawai`i's cultural and environmental heritage. "'Note": This article reflects the perspectives of Native Hawaiian opponents to geothermal development and allegations against Waika Consulting based on available information and community sentiments. Mililani Trask has publicly denied being a consultant for Waika, though her past involvement in geothermal advocacy and her presence for waika proves otherwise in videos in this article alone. For further details on legislative bills or DHHL plans, visit official state websites or KahuPuna Tik Tok and Instagram for advocacy resources. Aloha and Mahalo for caring about Hawaii. Subscribe to this blog for more. Jasmine Steiner June 25 2025 KahuPuna Aloha Activism #wearepuna #ENDGEOTHERMAL #KUKIAIPELE #KahuPuna This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started Home Hawaiian Kingdom Rising Puna Culture LERZ Puna Cultural studys More Contact Us Q search... Aloha Activism; Aloha Ola O Ka Pono Aloha Activism Daily Happenings What's it all about ? LERZ Puna News Blog More wearepuna Dec 27, 2024 • 5 min read Unveiling the Myth of Geothermal Propaganda: Pele's Cultural Significance and the Fight for Truth in Aloha Activism Updated: Dec 30, 2024 In the breathtaking landscapes of Hawaii, few figures are as significant as Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanoes. Revered as a source of creation, Pele embodies both the nurturing and destructive forces of nature. Beyond myth and spirituality, she stands at the center of Aloha activism, particularly amidst current conflicts surrounding geothermal energy developments. As the 2024 Hawaii Geothermal injunction reaches the Supreme Court, the stakes are incredibly high, Understanding Pele's cultural importance amidst the swirl of geothermal propaganda reveals profound implications for Hawaiian sovereignty and community well-being. Pele: The Heartbeat of Hawaiian Culture Pele's narrative is deeply woven into Hawaiian lore and identity. Beyond being a goddess, she symbolizes the land itself. According to tradition, she creates new land through volcanic activity, while also holding the power to destroy. This duality reflects the essence of life in Hawaii, where creation cycles and destruction are crucial for growth. Her influence is not merely a story; it's a living cultural legacy. Practitioners of Hawaiian spirituality often call upon Pele during ceremonies, seeking her blessings. For example, the annual Makahiki festival —celebrating the harvest and honoring deities —often includes ceremonies invoking Pele's spirit. This connection emphasizes the community's respect for nature's delicate balance. Locals from diverse backgrounds, including farmers, fishers, and environmentalists, align their efforts with Pele, advocating for sustainable practices that honor their land and culture. Aloha activism draws strength from Madame Pele—not just as a goddess but as a symbol of resilience against environmental threats and cultural marginalization. Geothermal Energy: A Destructive Force Dressed as a Solution As geothermal energy gains support as a clean energy alternative, concerns about its environmental impacts are frequently minimized. Advocates argue that tapping into Earth's heat is vital for Hawaii's energy future; however, research suggests a different narrative. In a 2021 study, residents living near geothermal plants reported that 67% experienced health issues they directly linked to the operations of these facilities, including respiratory problems and headaches. Despite consistent community complaints about air and water quality, these concerns often go unheard, drowned out bpush for profit under the guise of sustainability. This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Git Started In Puna, Hawaii, native residents have lived for generations near an unregulated and corrupt volcano fracking facility, suffering various symptoms for almost 40 years, yet they are being utterly ignored and silenced. They are currently hoping for assistance from the Hawaii Supreme Court through the unprecedented 2024 Hawaii geothermal injunction. The Hawaiian community's historical relationship with the land underscores the urgency of these issues. For many locals, the land is not just property; it is a living entity demanding respect. This raises critical questions: When will society recognize the wisdom inherent in this relationship? When will community health be prioritized over corporate interests? The Impact of 2024 Hawaii Geothermal Injunction on Community Advocacy As the community awaits news with Sara Steiner's appeals to Supreme Court, we ponder the 2024 Hawaii Geothermal injunction, advocacy groups and concerned residents are uniting to amplify their voices. The stakes extend beyond legal arguments; they underscore the fight for Hawaiian culture and rights. Opponents of geothermal exploitation often draw parallels to historical colonization, where native voices were silenced for profit. This current struggle speaks to the core of how native communities can protect their sacred places and traditions from modern encroachments. For example, the successful opposition to a geothermal project on the Big Island in 2019 showcased the power of community mobilization. "All the people need now is as much support in Puna, where Pele is being fracked open and injected with billions of gallons of cancer a year for over 40 years, completely unregulated, as they -gave Hualalai. During the active Injunction, we need the huli corning together as one - for Pele, and we clean house for tutu" - Aloha Activism The #AOLEPGV campaign to raise awareness about geothermal's impacts highlights not just environmental repercussions but also the p,SychLkgical toll on the community Advocacy groups are tirelessly working to educate others about the reality of geothermal energy, demanding thorough studies and consideration of health implications for those living nearby. This movement embodies the spirit of Aloha activism, aiming to heal the land and the relationship people have with it. Aloha Activism is inspired by Pele, channeling her passionate spirit to confront powerful lobbying entities and government agencies intent on pushing geothermal initiatives, as well as the closer to home issues we have within our own streets such as local representatives and business owners, and community associations, local media and all Hawaii journalists. Misinformation and Propaganda: The War for Hearts and Minds In discussions surrounding energy solutions, misinformation about geothermal energy is rampant. Many narrattves--often funded by powerful interests —claim geothermal energy is completely clean and a key to a greener future. Without challenge, this rhetoric can lead to environmental compromise and cultural erasure. One major hurdle for activists is countering misinformation with facts. The absence of comprehensive health and environmental studies creates a void that allows narratives skewed toward corporate interests to thrive. For example, reports indicate that areas near geothermal plants see an increase in air pollutants, which is linked to a 30% rise in respiratory illnesses among local residents. This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get Started To ensure their voices are heard, community advocates can utilize platforms to amplify the truth amid propaganda. Engaging diverse communities through various mediums —particularly art, storytelling, and social gatherings —can be powerful tools. These methods not only foster connection but also spread awareness about the cultural significance of Pele in geothermal debates. Finding Common Ground: A Call for Balance and Respect The pursuit of a sustainable future in Hawaii must balance energy needs with the preservation of cultural and environmental integrity. Community -based approaches should prioritize the voices of those directly impacted, valuing their insights and experiences in decision - making. To cultivate a harmonious relationship with the land —akin to the essence of Pele—Hawaii could pioneer energy solutions that prioritize community health and environmental sustainability. This approach could integrate modern technology with ancient wisdom, ensuring that local communities benefit from energy initiatives. Understanding Pele's cultural significance offers a lens to re-examine Hawaiian energy policies. Her teachings advocate for respect towards the land and its life-giving properties, urging a steadfast commitment to preserving Hawaiian culture against exploitation. Awakening to the Call of Aloha As the conversation about geothermal energy in Hawaii intensifies, it is essential to uplift the narratives of those seeking justice regarding its impacts. Recognizing Pele—not as mere folklore but as a 1bdag_Qfis@pgff—can enrich and bolster the ongoing fight for health, justice, and cultural identity. #malamatutupele #stopfrackingpele The battle against geothermal propaganda isn't simply an environmental issue; it concerns a community's heritage, well-being, and future To comprehend the realities of geothermal energy, society must first listen to the voices of those closely connected to the land. In this critical moment, the dedication to protecting sacred spaces serves as a symbol of life and strength within Aloha activism. As the case heads to the Supreme Court, advocates face the significant task of remembering and honoring Pele's legacy while striving for a just and sustainable future. Let the spirit of Pele guide this journey, igniting renewed awareness about the richness of Hawaiian culture and the vibrant stories passed down by generations committed to safeguarding their home. aloha always, hope you all have a wonderful new year. please dent forget tutu and the fight to free her currently as we head into 2025, Lets malama madame Pele. You can help this mission by donating to KahuPuna , any little bit counts towards my missions for Puna and Pele. (Its on the home page of the website, link below) xo Jazzy KahuPuna Aloha Activism u.nornn�,no �.nvei+n nnm/n lnhn nn+i�rinm W IX I This website was built on Wix. Create yours today. Get sta tea other really important KahuPuna articles from blog: https: earepuna wixsite.com/aloha-activism/post/the-dark-side-of-social-media-censorship-concealing-emergencies-and-activism https: w re p-una.wixsite.com/aloha-activism/post/recording-the-email-kahupuna-lust-sent-to-all-hawaii-journalists-november-19-2024- weareouna-kukiai https: wearepuna,wixsite.com/aloha-activism/post/the-silent-emergency-the-unseen-ecocide-and-health-crisis-uncovered-at-puna-geothermal- venture https://wearepuna.wixsite.com/aloha-activism/postlunvei ling-the-myth-of-geothermal-propaganda-pele-s-cu ltural-sig nificance-and-the-fig ht-for- truth-in https:Hwear puna.wixsite.com/aloha-activism poswh -it s-vital-you-help-usingyour-own-social-platforms-to-raise-awareness-about-your-