Hawaii
UH Regents Hold Secret Interviews To Pick New University President
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents on Wednesday went behind closed doors to interview the finalists applying for UH’s top job, despite calls from the public to keep the process open. A decision on the selection is expected to be announced when the regents board meeting resumes on Thursday.
Board of Regents Chairman Gabe Lee defended the decision to hold the final interviews in private, saying that Hawaii’s Sunshine Law allows such closed door meetings when personnel privacy issues are involved.
Lee noted that both candidates – City University of New York Provost Wendy Hensel and Western Michigan University Provost Julian Vasquez Heilig – have spoken at multiple public forums, where they answered questions from the public.
Critics called the move contrary to Hawaii law and the spirit of transparency.
Among those testifying against the regents’ unanimous decision to go behind closed doors was Ben Creps, a staff attorney with the Public First Law Center, which promotes government transparency. Creps testified that the Hawaii Supreme Court has made clear that public bodies can’t invoke an exemption to the Sunshine Law’s open meetings requirement simply because a personnel matter is being discussed.
“The UH community and general public have a legitimate interest in understanding why a particular candidate for UH President is selected,” Creps testified. “Given the clarity of the law and keen public interest, there is no good reason to hold these important discussions behind closed doors.”
Momi Bachiller, a student activist who also serves as a senator for the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, said the decision to conduct interviews in private exemplifies a pattern of Native Hawaiian students “having outsiders imposed on us.”
“This decision exhibits a gross disregard for transparency,” she said.
The private interviews come after a flurry of reports about Hensel and her conflict with Tanya Washington, a Black law professor at Georgia State University, where Hensel was university provost before going to CUNY. A Civil Beat story on the allegations of discrimination and retaliation by Hensel against Washington prompted UH to change its original policy of prohibiting candidates from talking to the media and make the candidates available for media interviews.
Hensel insisted Washington’s complaints had only involved Georgia State’s interim law school dean, Leslie Wolf, and not Hensel. But Washington and her lawyer eventually came forward to say Hensel was lying and that Hensel had in fact been a subject of Washington’s complaints.
Testimony Shows No Consensus On Candidates
Whether all that will have any effect on the regents’ decision isn’t clear. Written testimony showed no clear consensus on either candidate.
Among those opposed to Hensel was UH’s Black Student Association. On Wednesday, it issued a “statement of non-support” for Hensel, citing the news reports about Hensel and expressing support for Washington.
“We stand with, believe, and support every Black woman in academia who has been forced to silence themselves for the sake of their survival at institutions of higher education,” the association said.
Others, like Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, said they supported Hensel despite the reported conflict with Washington.
The important thing is for the regents to pick one of these two candidates and not drag out the process, said Rep. Amy Perruso. Both candidates are “accomplished leaders” who “have gone through a thorough vetting process,” Perruso said in written testimony.
“I urge you to conclude this process with a selection of one of these two fine candidates and allow the mechanisms that were put in place to function as intended,” she wrote.
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The demolition of Aloha Stadium on Oahu took a big step forward Thursday with the first section of seating pulled down from the steel structure.
Half of the elevated deck-level seating on the stadium’s makai side was severed and toppled backward as part of demolition work that began in February.
The other half of the upper makai-side seating is slated to come down Tuesday, followed by similar sections on the mauka side and both end zones, though the concrete foundations for lower-level end-zone seating are being preserved for a new, smaller stadium to rise on the same site.
A private partnership, Aloha Halawa District Partners, led by local developer Stanford Carr, is replacing the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, which opened in 1975 and was shuttered in 2020, with a new stadium featuring up to 31,000 seats.
AHDP is using $350 million of state funding toward the cost of the new stadium, which could be $475 million or more, and will operate and maintain the facility on state land for 30 years with a land lease.
The development team also is to redevelop much of the 98-acre stadium property dominated by parking lots with a new mixed-use community that includes at least 4,100 residences, two hotels, an office tower, retail, entertainment attractions and open spaces expected to be delivered in phases over 25 years and costing close to or more than $5 billion or $6 billion.
Earlier parts of stadium demolition work led by Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. included removing four covered multistory spiral walkways leading to the upper level from the ground, and concourse bridges.
Demolishing the stadium is projected to be done by August, according to Carr.
Building the new facility is expected to be finished in 2029.
Hawaii
This Airbnb Tiny Home Sits on a Lava Field in Hawaii With Unbeatable Night Sky Views—and It’s a Guest Favorite
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/tal-airbnb-one-off-tout-1465b3bde0864117b43761b0d1dd346e.jpg?ssl=1 "This Airbnb Tiny Home Sits on a Lava Field in Hawaii With Unbeatable Night Sky Views—and It’s a Guest Favorite")
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The team behind a popular Hawaii-based home renovation show is now facing legal troubles after airing content that shouldn’t have been released, according to the state.
Hawaii’s Attorney General is now involved after HGTV’s ‘Renovation Aloha’ showed uncensored images of apparent ancient skeletal remains that were discovered at a Hilo property.
In a now-deleted clip on social media, Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama, along with the production team, discovered a cave beneath a Hilo property where they found the remains deep inside.
Video documented their shock when it was found, with the hosts saying, “There’s bones back here. I got to get out of here. Are you fricken serious? I’m serious dude. Is that a skull?”
Tristyn was seen standing further back, saying “This is terrifying. I’m at my stopping point” before leaving.
Hawaii News Now is not showing the bones, but confirmed with HGTV the episode was filmed in December 2025.
Video didn’t show them touching or moving the remains, and HGTV said authorities were notified after the discovery, the property was not developed, and the site was later blessed.
At the time, police said no crime was committed, and the state AG obtained a TRO to prevent the broadcast of the images in accordance with state law.
However this week, uncensored video of the bones was posted online by the Kalamas and HGTV, and included in the episode, triggering a quick rebuke from the community.
“We don’t kaula’i iwi. We do not lay our bones out in the sun to expose him in this manner,” former Oahu Island Burial Council Chair Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu said.
She also said the release of the images was “extremely disappointing,” saying the damage was already done.
“It is irrelevant that bones were not moved. It is irrelevant that they were not disturbed, per se, because somebody didn’t touch them — but you went into their space and that space becomes kapu space once they have transitioned over to po. And when you do that, we honor that. We don’t disturb them,” Wong-Kalu added.
The AG said they took immediate legal action to prevent the unlawful broadcast of images, pointing to a TRO issued prior to the episode’s release. They also said, “We are aware that the segment aired notwithstanding the court’s order, and we take this matter very seriously. The Department will pursue additional action as necessary.”
Court Documents revealed the Kalamas and producers of the show are now facing four counts for allegedly breaking Iwi Kupuna protection rules.
“If that were our grandparent, would we want them, after they have physically transitioned to po, would we want to share our family in this manner? I don’t think so,” Wong-Kalu added.
HGTV said in a statement, “We take the concerns raised by the community very seriously and are committed to ensuring our programming is respectful and appropriate. We apologize to anyone who found any part of the episode offensive, that was not HGTV’s intention.”
They also confirmed the original episode was removed, and re-edited without the bones included.
Through our communication with the HGTV spokesperson, Hawaii News Now offered the Kalamas a chance to respond directly, but they did not. They did however take to Instagram to address the episode, saying they followed the protocols they knew, and never intended to build there. They stressed their respect for Hawaiian culture and practices.
The investigation remains active.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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