"Diversified ag" rhetoric doesn't match reality
The Unseen Stopper Committees
REPORT: Hawaii Math Instruction 'Unacceptable'
Grassroot: Democratic Congressional Staffers focus on Jones Act
Maui Council approves tax-rate hikes
More Electric Rate Hikes Coming
SA: … In a May 30 filing to the state Public Utilities Commission, the utility said it intends to make progress through wildfire risk mitigation focused on Maui, where the risk is greatest, but throughout its installations on Oahu and Hawaii island as well. …
the proposed rise in rates that would help pay for the upgrades, according to the filing before the PUC. The monthly increases would … cost: $1.05 more for Oahu ratepayers, $2.86 more on Hawaii island, and $5.41 more for Maui….
Hawaiian Electric has indicated that the rate increases can be moderated if the company can use a financing scheme the Legislature authorized in Senate Bill 897, passed April 30.
The key purpose of that measure, which Gov. Josh Green should sign into law, is authorizing “securitization” for electric utilities. In this case, that allows Hawaiian Electric to take out low-interest bonds for infrastructure upgrades, backed by the new fee on customers’ electricity bills. The savings in this kind of financing should enable the utility to keep the increases lower as well.
One of the more controversial aspects of SB 897 involves setting limits on aggregate liability for future fires. The PUC would only be able to set such a limit for any utility over a given time frame after reviewing and approving a wildfire mitigation plan….
CB: Jarrett Keohokalole Talks About HECO 'Sell-Out' And Condo Insurance Rescue - Honolulu Civil Beat
read … Editorial: Tightly craft energy rate hikes, fire safety | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Council Leadership Shakeup After Sewer Fee Vote
CB: … A very interesting resolution dropped Friday that would shake up long-standing Democratic alliances (yes, The Blog knows these council folks are nonpartisan, cough-cough) and have the council chair in cahoots with known Republicans.
The resolution, introduced by Scott Nishimoto and Val Okimoto, would upend the current leadership structure that has Waters as chair, Matt Weyer as vice chair and Radiant Cordero as floor leader.
The new leadership team would be Waters as chair, Andria Tupola as vice chair and Esther Kiaʻāina as floor leader. Okimoto and Nishimoto make five, the majority needed on the nine-member council to put the new power structure in place.
Weyer and Cordero were both backed in their elections to the council by Democratic powers that be. And of course Waters, Kiaʻāina and Nishimoto are well-known Democrats.
Tupola and Okimoto are from across the aisle — strong Republicans….
Speculation is Waters was not pleased after the recent hard-fought council vote that increased sewer rates where he ended up on the losing side. Oops. Weyer and Cordero both went against Waters’ position, as did Augie Tulba (a, wink-wink, Republican) and Tyler Dos Santos-Tam (a solid D) and, interestingly for the new alliance, Okimoto.
Tupola, who ran for governor on the Republican ticket in 2018, has made no secret of her ambition to be council chair. Waters is a savvy politician and has no doubt included that in his political calculations….
HNN: Council shake-up follows close vote on sewer rate increase
read … The Sunshine Blog: Palace Intrigue At Honolulu Hale - Honolulu Civil Beat
Will Police Commission Pick Next Chief?
Shapiro: … The mayor is pushing to install Big Island police Chief Ben Moszkowicz to replace Logan, first on an interim basis and then permanently.
Blindsided police commissioners, appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council, haven’t had a full discussion yet, but members have rightly indicated they’ll open applications for both the interim and permanent jobs to all interested candidates.
Moszkowicz, a former HPD major and one of four finalists for the job when Logan was hired in 2022, is a highly qualified candidate, but others also should get fair consideration if HPD is to have the best possible leadership.
If Moszkowicz is asked to quit his Big Island job for the interim position in Honolulu, he’ll appear greased…
read … Dave Shapiro: Mayor Blangiardi’s power grab shakes HPD independence | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Officials expect federal funding to continue for Honolulu rail project
SA: … Since 2017, the FTA had withheld $744 million in rail funding following years of construction delays and skyrocketing budgets.
The federal financial spigot finally turned on in 2024 after the route was cut by two stations, rail service began in 2023 and the state Legislature allowed each county to charge a new 3% hotel room tax, which Oahu now uses, in part, to ensure a flow of city funds for its Skyline rail project.
After the first payment of $125 million arrived in April 2024, HART received an additional $250 million Aug. 15 by awarding the construction contract on the final planned half-mile, overhead rail segment and City Center station in Kakaako, said Lori Kahikina, HART’s CEO and executive director.
“At this time there are no concerns regarding the remaining federal funding committed through the amended Full Funding Grant Agreement,” Kahikina said in a written statement. “HART continues to have strong relationships with our Hawaii congressional delegation and the Federal Transit Administration, and will continue to work closely with them on matters pertaining to the rail project.”
She expects another $125 million by completing the rail station and guideway at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, followed by another $125 million after completing HART’s utility relocation project for the City Center station and guideway, followed by an additional $119 million in fiscal year 2027….
read … Officials expect federal funding to continue for Honolulu rail project | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Price of Wokeism: DAGS takes on convention center project despite ‘aggressive’ timetable
SA: … The state Department of Accounting and General Services has pledged to help the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through a leadership change that put $100 million worth of Hawai‘i Convention Center repairs at risk.
But it’s unclear if DAGS will be able to meet the planned two-year timeline and avert millions of dollars in lost group business. While state Comptroller Keith Regan told the HTA board May 28 that DAGS would take on the project, he advised that the timetable was “very aggressive.”
Teri Orton, general manager of the Hawai‘i Convention Center, expressed concern that the center’s repair timeline previously was extended from 2026 to 2027, and that DAGS already is anticipating that delays could extend beyond the center’s modified two-year closure.
“We cannot delay this project and relocate or lose more business,” she said. “There needs to be a sense of urgency.”
Orton told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Wednesday that she has been in contact with HTA and DAGS, and “it’s too premature currently to comment on where our rooftop project is going to end up. It currently is with HTA and we are talking about having DAGS manage this for us, but they are very busy with the Aloha Stadium and other projects.”
Orton said the center’s worries about the construction timetable materialized after Isaac Choy, HTA vice president of finance and acting chief administrative officer, who had been running point on the project, was placed on unpaid leave in May amid allegations he made racist and sexist remarks on the job….
KITV: DAGS steps in to help with Hawai'i Convention Center repairs | News | kitv.com
FLASHBACK: CNHA-Connected Governor calls Hawaii Tourism Authority ‘hot mess,’ promises reform--What Could Go Wrong?
read … DAGS takes on convention center project despite ‘aggressive’ timetable | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
'NCIS Hawaii' Studio Empty, Overgrown by Weeds
TVL: … A longstanding hub of Hawai’i TV and film production shows heartbreaking signs of disuse, as the 50th state is confronted with the first time in more than 20 years that it has not hosted a TV series.
NCIS: Hawai’i vet Jason Antoon, who played the three-season CBS drama’s Ernie, recently shared a drive-by video of the Hawaii Film Studio in Honolulu, a 7.5-acre lot at the foot of Diamond Head crater that most recently was home to the NCIS spinoff and CBS’ Magnum P.I. reboot.
In decades prior, the lot was home base for nearly a dozen other TV shows — including CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot, Shawn Ryan’s Last Resort and, of course, Lost — plus feature films such as Fifty First Dates and Blue Crush….
read … 'NCIS Hawaii' Studio Empty, Overgrown Weeds Amid TV Production Crisis
Beth Fukumoto: Holding Billions Of Dollars, These State Funds Need Scrutiny
CB: … According to my review, the departments held about $3.7 billion in special funds at the end of their last audit. Roughly one-third of that total was held by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which manages 20 separate special funds. Another 30% was in the Department of Budget and Finance, which includes the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund and the Mass Transit Special Fund.
On the revolving fund side, the departments held about $972 million. More than 60% of that was in the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The Rental Housing Revolving Fund alone had over $360 million at the time of its last review.
State law requires departments to submit annual reports on every non-general fund. Under Section 37-47 of the Hawaiʻi Revised Statues each report must include the fund’s purpose, the program it supports and key financial data. These reports are meant to help lawmakers understand how funds are being used and whether they still serve their intended purpose.
But compliance has been inconsistent. According to the most recent auditor’s reports since 2019, at least 12 special funds and three revolving funds — holding a combined total of more than $763 million — were not properly reported….
From 2019 to 2025, the auditor found more than $250 million sitting in special and revolving funds that did not meet statutory requirements. Some funds had lost their purpose. Others were no longer financially self-sustaining or had no clear link between the source of revenue and the program they supported. But in 2025, lawmakers repealed just two of them. At the same time, the Legislature continues to pass new special and revolving funds, even when the auditor finds they don’t meet the criteria….
read … Beth Fukumoto: Holding Billions Of Dollars, These State Funds Need Scrutiny - Honolulu Civil Beat
Maui Council approves staff pay raises after contentious debate on transparency
MN: … After a tense 90-minute debate, the Maui County Council voted 6-3 on Friday to give its staff a 15% pay increase, plus an additional 5% for experience- and performance-based “step” increases.
The raises, passed on first reading in Bill 49, were a compromise from an initial 30% proposal that drew criticism from other county employees. Council Chair Alice Lee explained the up-and-down path to Friday’s vote, noting the proposal was dropped to 10%, raised to 20%, and finally settled at 15% for about 30 staff members.
“Facing reality, I don’t believe we have the votes for 20%,” Lee said, calling the final version a move made “in the spirit of compromise.” The cumulative annual cost of the pay adjustments is estimated at $737,646, or 11.7% lower than the earlier cost of $835,000 for the initial 30% raise.
The final vote came after a contentious amendment passed 5-4 to strip the Office of Council Services director of the discretion to grant salary adjustments, instead requiring full Council approval in public….
read … Maui Council approves staff pay raises after contentious debate on transparency
Samoa US Nationals Illegal Voting in Alaska, Oregon, Hawaii
KHON: … Whittier also is the unlikely crossroads of two major currents in American politics: fighting over what it means to be born on U.S. soil and false claims by President Donald Trump and others that noncitizen voter fraud is widespread.
In what experts describe as an unprecedented case, Alaska prosecutors are pursuing felony charges against 11 residents of Whittier, most of them related to one another, saying they falsely claimed U.S. citizenship when registering or trying to vote….
In Oregon, officials inadvertently registered nearly 200 American Samoan residents to vote when they got their driver’s licenses under the state’s motor-voter law. Of those, 10 cast ballots in an election, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office. Officials there determined the residents had not intended to break the law and no crime was committed.
In Hawaii, one resident who was born in American Samoa, Sai Timoteo, ran for the state Legislature in 2018 before learning she wasn’t allowed to hold public office or vote. She had always considered it her civic duty to vote, and the form on the voting materials had one box to check: “U.S. Citizen/U.S. National.”…
She also avoided charges, and Hawaii subsequently changed its form to make it more clear….
many in American Samoa eventually soured on the idea, fearing that extending birthright citizenship would jeopardize its customs — including the territory’s communal land laws.
Island residents could be dispossessed by land privatization, not unlike what happened in Hawaii, said Siniva Bennett, board chair of the Samoa Pacific Development Corporation, a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit.
“We’ve been able to maintain our culture, and we haven’t been divested from our land like a lot of other indigenous people in the U.S.,” Bennett said.
In 2021, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to extend automatic citizenship to those born in American Samoa, saying it would be wrong to force citizenship on those who don’t want it. The Supreme Court declined to review the decision….
RELATED:
2018: HD43 Goes Automatic Democrat as Republican born in American Samoa told she's ineligible to run
2018: American Samoa Citizenship Question Not So Simple
2015: AMERICAN SAMOA: LONE HOLDOUT AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE
read … A US territory’s colonial history emerges in state disputes over voting and citizenship | KHON2
Teachers at Hilo public charter school put on administrative leave after raising concerns about contract breaches
BIN: … Last week, representatives from the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, the statewide teachers’ union, traveled to Hawaiʻi Island from Oʻahu on multiple days to address what they say are repeated violations of the collective bargaining agreement by the administration at Connections ….
…teachers were immediately, without reason or proper notification, placed on administrative leave despite having only a day and a half left of the school year, according to Tiffany Dela Cruz, director of the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association’s Hilo Chapter.
But Connections principal Damon Murphy cited Article XXVIII in the HSTA contract and stated that the teachers and HSTA staff violated their own agreement by authorizing, instigating or engaging in a strike, sit down, slowdown or picket against the employer….
read … Teachers at Hilo public charter school put on administrative leave after raising concerns about contract breaches : Big Island Now
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