Facts about Manu Powers News Interview and Saving Keauhou Bay From a Bungalow Resort Development
Please Vote Before Deadline Aug. 8th.
Manu Powers — a Kamehameha Schools tenant whose Sea Quest business operates in Keauhou Bay, and whose two children attend Kamehameha Schools — was interviewed for a June 14th Big Island Now article about the Keauhou Bay court case. She is running for Hawaiʻi County Council District 7, the very district where Keauhou Bay sits, yet as far as I can tell, she never mentioned the facts about the court case she was being interviewed for. She never contacted me, and I'm the only Pro Se petitioner who filed the court case about the allegations in Kamehameha Schools FEIS, that it violates Hawaiʻi's environmental laws, instead of focusing on that, she praised Kamehameha Schools for their communication skills.
In that article, she called the bungalow plan "still very speculative" and said understanding it is "just about loving and protecting that place." Nowhere did she mention the actual reason this case is in court: that our First Amended Petition alleges specific evidence that the FEIS violates Hawaiʻi's environmental laws.
Manu Powers also never mentioned in the interview the more than 7,470 community voices who signed the petition opposing this development. She talked about loving the bay. She never mentioned whether Kamehameha Shools' FEIS was lawfully prepared, or the scale of the community pushing back on it. Shouldn't that be bigger than any opinion about "speculative, and loving"? The legal question is the reason a judge is reviewing this case at all.
Manu Powers words sounded great for an interview, and in my opinion, it seemed she didn't mention any real facts about this case that she was interviewed for in the Big Island Now news article, or (in my opinion) shared anything that might have brought real light to Kamehameha Schools FEIS.
Will she listen to the community, especially where Kamehameha Schools is concerned, given how entwined her life is with the school? I tried contacting her for years about Kamehameha Schools project in Keauhou Bay, and she never once replied to my messages or calls, even after letter her know that thousands of voices who signed the petition to oppose the bungalow resort in Keauhou Bay.
Will she take time to learn the facts before speaking publicly, once in office? Because in my opinion, that's not what she did before this interview she made about the Keauhou Bay court case, or maybe she learned the facts and just didn't mention them, I really don't know.
Please learn the facts about these canadates, and please Vote before deadline Aug. 8th. Make up your own minds on who would be best for Distric 7. I'll be voting for Eddie O Ombac District 7. https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9261f3a7058c4d98b13d6dad59b342b1/page/2026-Primary-Election?views=Place-of-Deposits
Read the Big Island Now interview with Manu Powers and learn what she says for yourself: https://bigislandnow.com/2026/06/14/lawsuit-trying-to-stop-kamehameha-schools-keauhou-bay-plan-to-have-hearing-about-consultants-role/
Petitions I mentioned:
🔹 Save Keauhou Bay — opposing the proposed bungalow resort development, signed by more than 7,470 people:
https://www.change.org/p/save-keauhou-bay-from-becoming-a-big-crowded-resort?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=92a53560-1e91-11e5-b4ef-b94e90cedbdd
🔹 Protect Hawaiʻi Island's Future — urging Hawaiʻi Island leaders to prioritize protecting natural resources and infrastructure, signed by more than 730 people. This petition also links to published news articles discussing concerns about increasing demands on the island's resources and infrastructure:
https://www.change.org/p/protect-hawai%CA%BBi-island-s-future-stop-unsafe-overdevelopment
My site where you can read the court filings about the Keauhou Bay court case. I am the only pro se petitioner for this case because I can't find a lawyer who will help me: https://bigislandsupport.com/savekbay/
Mahalo for voting wisely,
Rebecca Melendez