Hawaii’s failed wildfire rebuild should not be a model for California
Case: Boosting Long-term U.S. Engagement in the Pacific
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted January 24, 2025
HIDOE releases after-action report on Maui wildfire response and recovery efforts
Tulsi Gabbard will be rejected by Intelligence Committee on Jan 30th
TH: … Republicans are cautioning that Tulsi Gabbard’s path to confirmation to lead the U.S. intelligence apparatus is narrowing as she seemingly has trouble winning over key GOP senators.
Gabbard, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel, are set for their high-stakes confirmation hearings this week as senators face some of President Trump’s most controversial nominees.
But it’s Gabbard who appears to have the most tenuous path to confirmation as she struggles to assuage Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which will determine her fate, ahead of Thursday’s hearing.
“I think it remains to be seen,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an Intelligence Committee member, when asked if Gabbard can win support of the panel. “I think the jury’s still out.”
A second Senate Republican agreed, telling The Hill that Gabbard “has a path [that] continues to narrow.”
Gabbard can’t afford to lose a single vote on the Intelligence Committee, which has a 9-8 party split and features two GOP members who are considered swing votes: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), who last week voted against another Trump nominee on the floor, and Todd Young (Ind.)….
(TRANSLATION: Gabbard loses by AT LEAST a 7-10 vote on Jan 30th. Maybe worse. You have been informed.)
“There are several questions I want to follow up on in the hearing,” Collins said, adding that she didn’t want to preview them all “because I want to hear her unpracticed responses” even though she expects Gabbard will be well prepared.
(TRANSLATION: Collins wants the public to see Gabbard in full air-head mode.)
Hegseth’s issues were largely centered on personal matters, including allegations of sexual improprieties and drunkenness.
Gabbard’s are almost all policy-focused, which have been harder for some members to overcome.
She also doesn’t have the communications chops of Hegseth, or the backup from conservative media, which rushed to his side when his nomination was flatlining in early December.
“[He] has conservative credentials and Fox friends to rely on to buoy support,” the Senate GOP aide said. “She’s a Democrat. … She is not one of us, still. There’s not like this built up goodwill of, like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to dig her out of a hole.’”
Even if she were to get through the committee, there are other members signaling they will oppose Gabbard. The Senate GOP aide noted Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is making it clear to members of the GOP conference that he is “adamantly” opposed to her. …
read … Tulsi Gabbard path through Intelligence Committee narrows ahead of key hearing
Prosecutors agree Miske indictments must be set aside
ILind: … In a pair of court filings last week, federal prosecutors argued that legal precedent requires the criminal case against former Honolulu business owner Michael J. Miske, Jr., to be vacated, legally erased, all the way back to the his original indictment in mid-2019.
However, they argued a newly filed civil forfeiture complaint sidesteps a move by Miske’s attorneys to force return of more than $20 million of property and assets seized by the government….
The government spelled out its legal position in reply to an earlier motion to vacate the proceedings filed by Miske’s defense attorneys.
Under the legal principle of abatement ab initio, the charges must be vacated because Miske’s sudden death meant that he did not have the opportunity to exercise his legal right to challenge the conviction through the process of appeals to higher courts….
Miske’s defense has a February 7 deadline to file a reply to the government’s position. Federal Judge Derrick Watson, who has handled this case from the beginning, will then decide whether a hearing is necessary before issuing a ruling…
ILind: Latest Miske Documents: US response to motion to vacate, and forfeiture complaint | i L i n d
read … Prosecutors agree Miske indictments must be set aside
SB6: How much power should the Maunakea Authority have?
HTH: … State lawmakers will battle it out this session with competing bills dictating the powers of the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority.
Hilo Sen. Lorraine Inouye has reintroduced this year a measure she acknowledged would neuter the power of the state authority — which will fully take over management of the Maunakea Science Reserve from the University of Hawaii in 2028 — by making it subservient to the state Board of Natural Resources.
That measure, Senate Bill 6, follows up on a similar one she introduced in 2023 which failed to pass. The 2023 bill would have added minimal language to state laws clarifying that all powers and jurisdiction over state conservation district land — which includes all of the science reserve — will remain with the BLNR.
While SB 6 goes into more detail than the 2023 bill, it serves a similar purpose. It states that the MKSOA will be “the principal authority for the management of state-managed lands within the Maunakea lands; provided that the natural resource management enforcement and emergency response over these lands shall remain the responsibility of … the Department of Land and Natural Resources.” …
read … How much power should the Maunakea Authority have?
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees In Line To Get Big Pay Raises
CB: … Trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, who for years have been the lowest-paid elected officials in the state despite having vast financial responsibilities, may soon be some of the highest-paid.
The OHA Salary Commission is considering a proposal to boost trustee pay to just over $91,000, a 62% increase over their current $56,000 annual salaries. The chair would make about $100,000 a year, a 50% increase.
If the plan is approved at the commission’s meeting on Wednesday, trustees would get their first raise since 2016, making them better paid than state legislators….
Five of the nine current trustees have other jobs, some earning upward of $100,000 in their outside work, according to financial disclosure forms….
The highest-paid OHA trustee, the board chair, currently earns more than $66,000….
MEANWHILE: OHA Trustees Never Approved $705K Hush Money Payment
read … Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees In Line To Get Big Pay Raises
Absolute Secrecy Thwarts Understanding And Reform Of Child Welfare Services
CB: … Many states have open dependency hearings and allow the public more ability to understand why decisions are made about vulnerable children and families….
truly transformative change requires departing from old ideas that are not working — such as excessive secrecy around CWS supervision.
In 2023, in the wake of Ariel Seller’s disappearance and presumed death, the Legislature created the Mālama ‘Ohana Working Group to gather the voices of the parents, children and others who have been involved with child welfare services. The group reported that “CWS is seen as a closed, secretive, and inconsistent agency.”
Community listening session participants “loudly and consistently emphasized the imperative of accountability and transparency in the child welfare system overall, and especially in the child welfare services agency.” The community wants “a transparent, accountable system that earns and maintains public trust. They envision independent oversight, effective complaint resolution processes, and regular public reporting on system performance. They want to see careful review and learning from critical incidents, with meaningful community engagement in system monitoring and improvement.”…
read … Absolute Secrecy Thwarts Understanding And Reform Of Child Welfare Services
Housing pressures increase on Maui as assistance ends
SA: … Sumithra Balraj is moving back to her fire-ravaged Lahaina condominium before completing reconstruction after getting a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency seeking $2,300 in monthly rent for a unit that was once free since she was displaced from her housing by the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires.
“What FEMA is going to start charging for a 600- square-foot unit is more than my mortgage, which I already am struggling to pay because of the downturn, and that’s on top of my HOA (homeowners association) fees rising another $252 to $700,” said Balraj, who worked three jobs before the fire but, as a result of Maui’s economic downturn, is now down to just one as a caregiver for her partner….
Maui community housing consultant Skye Razon-Olds said she is aware of some 300 households that successfully have appealed to FEMA, including a single father with three children whose FEMA-subsidized rent was dropped to $300 from $2,300 ….
read … Housing pressures increase on Maui as assistance ends
AIG, Gas Company Lock Horns in Hawaii Climate Change Dispute
B: … An American International Group Inc. unit owes legal defense costs for climate change-related litigation against a Sunoco LP subsidiary because there’s at least a chance the claims are covered, the energy company told a Hawaii federal court.
The parties filed competing briefs on Jan. 24 in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii on unresolved motions concerning the insurer’s duty to defend Aloha Petroleum Ltd.
The filings mark the latest development in a landmark dispute over coverage for suits against Aloha alleging greenhouse gas emissions from its fossil fuel products caused climate change-related damages….
Hawaii federal district court hearing set for Feb. 21….
read … AIG, Gas Company Lock Horns in Hawaii Climate Change Dispute
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