PHOTOS: Lahaina Strong Leaders Show Off Luxe European and Asian Vacations
Honolulu Rate Commission seeks input on recommended fare hikes
Legislature Votes on Abortion, Vaccines and Marijuana
GE Tax Imposed on 119% of State Personal Income
Poll: Trump Favorability 28% in Hawaii—2nd lowest in USA
NW: … Trump's lowest favorability rating is in Vermont, where just 26% of registered voters view him in a positive light, compared to 71% who hold an unfavorable opinion. Hawaii follows closely, with 28% expressing a favorable view and 69% unfavorable. Despite being solidly Democratic states, Vermont experienced a 3-point shift toward Republicans in 2024, while Hawaii moved 4 points….
LINK: Civiqs | Donald Trump: Hawaii 2nd-Lowest Favorable Rating
read … Map Reveals Donald Trump's Favorability Rating by State
HB959: 50% Hike in GE Tax
CB: … Their proposal is radical. They want to eliminate the state income taxes for all residents who earn up to $100,000 and offset the revenue loss by increasing the state excise tax from 4% to 6% on most goods and services sold in Hawaiʻi….
(CLUE: On net, this is a massive tax hike.)
The bill would also exempt food and non-prescription drug purchases from the excise tax and boost the state tax credit for low-income renters from $50 to $500 per year.
House Bill 959 will have its first public hearing Friday morning before the House Economic Development & Technology Committee, and another hearing on the Senate version of the bill is scheduled for Monday before the Senate Health and Human Services and Labor and Technology committees….
Kila introduced the bill at the request of T. George Paris, executive director of the Hawai‘i Ironworkers Stabilization Fund and the primary architect of the tax proposals. The bill is also backed by the Hawaiʻi Building & Construction Trades Council, which is made up of 18 construction trade unions….
(CLUE: GE Tax pays for rail.)
read … No Income Tax For Working Class? Unions Float Radical Proposal - Honolulu Civil Beat
Supreme Court Hears Case for Robbing Insurers to Save Hawaii Political Insiders from HECO Bankruptcy
CN: … Adam Romney, representing the insurance companies, said that the companies do not oppose the settlement. Rather, the companies are taking issue with the plaintiffs settling the insurers’ claims as a part of their settlement deal.
“We’re not trying to block any settlement,” Romney said, before adding that subrogating insurers don’t have rights that can be dismissed or negotiated away by other people or parties.
“That’s sort of a basic fundamental premise of fairness,” Romney said, before adding, “Ultimately, we did not start the fires.”
The Supreme Court took the matter under submission and promised a speedy ruling….
SA: State high court probes conditions of Maui wildfires settlement | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
NW: Hawaii Wildfire Case Could Have Huge Implications for Homeowners - Newsweek
read … Hawaii Supreme Court tackles insurer issues stalling $4 billion Lahaina fire settlement
Lahaina seaside owners want accelerated rebuilding process
MN: … Native Hawaiian Warren Freeland wants to see his family’s historic Pioneer Inn rebuilt as it was before the 2023 wildfire that destroyed a large portion of Lahaina, and he hopes government officials will find a way of accelerating the permitting process in the face of rising construction costs.
“We hope what existed before the fire can be rebuilt as it was before,” said Freeland, whose building was listed as a historic structure in the Lahaina National Landmark Historic District. “The big risk on the horizon is the county’s ability to process the permits.”
Along the mile-long stretch of Front Street, owners of coastal properties are facing the prospect of going through a Maui County coastal zone permit process that sometimes takes years. Gov. Josh Green issued a proclamation exempting a large portion of residential and multifamily residences in Lahaina from building permits if the same structures are rebuilt as before.
However, issued Dec. 7, Green’s proclamation only applies to single-family and multifamily structures generally mauka of Front Street, while leaving the county in charge of determining rules for special management areas along the coast, including more than 70 businesses and scores of residences in Lahaina.
In the case of structures in the Lahaina Historic District, the proclamation applies to structures with less than 3,500 square feet….
RELATED: Lahaina Rebuild: Green's Latest Emergency Order Gives SMA Exemptions Mauka of Front Street
read … Lahaina seaside owners want accelerated rebuilding process | News, Sports, Jobs - Maui News
UH Cancer Center: Tax Hikes and Another Mercado Kim Shakedown
SA: … UH officials and health and cancer organizations support Senate Bill 1528 and the latest version of House Bill 441, which would increase the cigarette — or “little cigar” — tax to 18 cents from 16 cents….
The latest version of HB 441 has been scheduled for a House Education Committee this afternoon at the Manoa campus with the UH Board of Regents.
SB 1528 has been referred to different Senate committees but has yet to be scheduled for hearings.
UH officials Thursday continued to push back against the latest effort by state Sen. Donna Kim — who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee — to merge the Cancer Center with UH’s John A. Burns School of Medicine and have the center’s director report directly to the medical school dean.
A similar bill Kim introduced in 2020 was opposed by then-UH President David Lassner.
In his testimony at the time, Lassner said Kim’s bill usurped the authority of the UH Board of Regents while placing the UH Cancer Center’s accreditation from the National Cancer Institute at risk….
Hensel asked Kim to “respectfully … withdraw the bill” to give UH time to research the issue and make a recommendation on how to proceed for the 2026 legislative session.
Kim, clearly exasperated, said she has been asking for years for a plan and recommendation from UH over what to do about the Cancer Center.
But Kim agreed to defer her bill — in yet another sign of the honeymoon period Hensel continues to enjoy with key senators after years of them expressing unhappiness and open frustration toward Lassner and his top administrators.
“Your frustration is certainly justified,” Hensel told Kim. “We will get it done.”
Before Thursday’s Higher Education hearing, Bruno and Cancer Center Director Naoto Ueno wrote in testimony supporting increasing the cigarette tax that Cancer Center funding has fallen as statewide smoking cessation efforts have succeeded….
read … UH Cancer Center backs bills to boost cigarette tax 2 cents
Family of fallen Maui firefighter demands $14M
HNN: … The family of fallen Maui firefighter Tre’ Evans-Dumaran spent the two-year anniversary of his death chanting outside the county building….
Evans Enos offered to settle her lawsuit if the county creates a memorial for fallen first responders, conducts an external audit of the Maui Fire Department, and pays $14 million dollars – nearly all of which would go to a non-profit set up in Tre’s honor....
In December, a judge dismissed her complaints stating workers’ compensation is the only recourse for employees who die on the job.
Tre’ did not qualify workers’ compensation because he had no dependents….
read … Family of fallen Maui firefighter demands changes
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