Lahaina Rebuild Obstruction May Cause Fire Victims to Reject Green’s ‘Settlement’
COFA Migrants win Second Amendment Rights in Hawaii Suit
56% Pay Raises for Legislators, 61% for Governor
CB: … The seven-member commission moved closer Monday to recommending hefty pay raises for the governor, lieutenant governor, state department heads and legislators — several hundred top-tier government employees in all.
No votes were taken and Commission Chair Colleen Hanabusa stressed the numbers the commission was considering are not final. The panel’s recommendations for pay hikes that would be spread out over six years are expected sometime this legislative session.
The first-year raises are the biggies — including a proposed 35% pay hike for Gov. Josh Green and 40% for state legislators….
Some of those first-year raises would automatically kick in with the new fiscal year July 1 unless the House and Senate pass a resolution explicitly rejecting them. The lawmakers themselves are the exception — they cannot receive any raises recommended by the commission until after the next election in 2026….
On Monday, they appeared comfortable with a proposal to raise the governorʻs pay by 35% on July 1, from $189,480 to $255,798. That would be followed by a 4% raise the following year and a 10% pay increase the year after that. Those raises would then be followed by three years of 4% increases.
Skip the compounding: 35+4+10+4+4+4=61% pay hike
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Lukeʻs pay could increase 18% July 1, from $188,400 to $222,312. That would be followed in subsequent years by increases of 4% and 7.5%, then three years of 4% increases.
Skip the compounding: 18+4+7.5+4+4+4=41.5% pay hike
The commission also appeared inclined to award raises of 20% for state department heads effective July 1, followed by 4% raises the year after and 7.5% raises the year after that. Those pay increases also would be followed by 4% raises for three years.
Skip the compounding: 20+4+7.5+4+4+4=39.5% pay hike
As for legislators, several commission members said they regard the jobs of representatives and senators as essentially full-time positions, and the panel is considering sizable raises for them as well. The House speaker and Senate president are currently paid $83,052 per year; other lawmakers are paid $74,160.
Most of the commission members appeared agreeable to awarding a raise of 40% to lawmakers (that would make it $116,272 for the leaders and $103,824 for everyone else) on Jan. 1, 2027, followed by an 8% raise a year later. Those would be followed by 4% raises in each of the next two years….
Skip the compounding: 40+8+4+4=56% pay hike
read … The Sunshine Blog: Looks Like Big Pay Raises Are Coming For State Leaders - Honolulu Civil Beat
Insiders Looted Kamalani Academy Before State Opted To Shut It Down
CB: … Missing financial statements, undeposited checks, school funds spent on first-class plane tickets for trips with no clear educational benefit and dwindling enrollment contributed to the state’s decision to close Kamalani Academy last week.
But the Wahiawā public charter school may have been doomed by school officials’ inability to answer a basic question from the state: Why was the school spending more than half its state funding on rent?
The school had missed multiple rent payments and was locked in an argument with the nonprofit foundation that held its lease over what exactly it was paying for.
“Pay your rent, that’s all they tell us,” Kamalani Academy staff member Annie Tangonan said of the Kamalani Academy Foundation, whose sole stated mission is to support the school.….
A 2023 audit of the charter, completed shortly before its board was reconstituted, emphasized the need for more financial oversight, citing unjustified purchases using school credit cards and the overpayment of one staff member. A year later, a second audit raised the same concerns, emphasizing that Kamalani needed more processes in place to ensure that all expenses and financial statements received the approval of school leaders.
The need for more oversight was also underscored in a summer 2023 board meeting, where members said Kamalani administrators failed to deposit over $15,000 in checks and cash into its bank accounts, and $8,000 was stolen from the school. Honolulu Police Department spokesperson Michelle Yu said a second-degree theft case was reported at the time, but no arrests were made….
read … Kamalani Academy Was Struggling Long Before State Opted To Shut It Down
UH likely to take big hit from federal grant funding halt
ILind: … Just days after the University of Hawaii’s top research officer warned of the potential effects of rumored halts or delays in federal research spending, President Trump has ordered an immediate freeze on all grant and loan payments by federal agencies.
The University of Hawaii brought in $615.7 million in total outside grant funding in 2024, most likely from federal sources. It was the third consecutive year grant-funded research has topped a half-billion dollars, according to a memo circulated last week by the office of Vassilis Syrmos, UH vice-president for research and innovation.
Syrmos’ memo, sent out on January 23, reported “informal communications” from federal agencies reporting “the possible issuance of ‘stop work orders’ and cancellations of advisory council meetings on certain federall funded research and education programs.
“Unfortunately, there is considerable uncertainty at this time surrounding the federal budget and its potential impact on research funding at UH and other institutions,” Srymos wrote….
Syrmos referred researchers and staff to a website created to provide updated news about the “ever-evolving situation,” which includes new memos from several federal agencies but nothing yet on the potential impact of the funding halt on overall UH research efforts….
UH News: President Hensel: UH monitoring federal policy changes | University of Hawaiʻi System News
read … UH likely to take big hit from federal grant funding halt
Enviros sue governor over water commission appointee
SA: … Environmental law firm Earthjustice filed the lawsuit Monday in state court on behalf of community group Hui Kanawai ‘Oia‘i‘o, contending that Green violated state law by appointing V.R. Hinano Rodrigues to fill a seat on the commission reserved for a traditional Native Hawaiian water management expert.
Green picked Rodrigues in October from a list of three candidates recommended by a nominating committee after a prior committee had recommended a different slate of four candidates in February….
read … Group sues governor over water commission appointee | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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