Lahaina: Hotel Unions, HSTA Join with Meth Gang to Demand Seizure of Vacation Rentals
Hawai‘i children hit hard by high cost of housing
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted June 6, 2025
In Hawaii Only Military Water Systems are Fluoridated
DEI Is Alive and Well in Hawai‘i
HB: … Do you really want to live in a world where we’re all the same? .…
read … DEI Is Alive and Well in Hawai‘i - Hawaii Business Magazine
Legislature: “Not factions, they’re prison gangs.”
CB: … in the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives, Iwamoto said the control exerted by leadership is so extreme that the various alliances within the chamber are “not factions, they’re prison gangs.”
“They’re prison gangs because of this feeling that you’re going to get shanked in the yard unless you have protectors, right?”
Going forward, Iwamoto said she takes heart from two factors. One is that leadership already considers her (him) a problem child so “I don’t need to worry because I know the cards are stacked against me .…
“…wait that long in sub-servitude….”
read … The Sunshine Blog: Legislative Factions Or 'Prison Gangs' At The Big House? - Honolulu Civil Beat
Maui Council gears up for pivotal vacation rental phase-out bill hearing
MN: … The Maui County Council anticipates a large turnout of public testimony on the highly controversial vacation rental phase-out bill. Already, the Council has received many written testimonies, then posted on mauicounty.legistar.com as of late Sunday.
Bill 9 will be heard beginning at 10 a.m. Monday in the eighth-floor Council Chambers before the Housing and Land Use Committee, chaired by Council Member Tasha Kama. According to a news release from Kama, the hearing will end “promptly” at 4:30 p.m.
And, at that point, anyone who already signed up to testify in person but had not been called yet will be able to testify first when the committee’s recessed meeting reconvenes at 9 a.m. June 18, also in the Council Chambers….
Monday’s Council meeting will be televised live beginning at 10 a.m. on Akakū Maui Community Media, cable Channel 53. It also can be viewed online via Teams at http://tinyurl.com/HLU-Committee....
read … Maui Council gears up for pivotal vacation rental phase-out bill hearing; Kama asks for ‘aloha’
Green: Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill a 'Grave Violation Of Privacy'
MM: … Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) has signaled his intent to veto a controversial marijuana bill that would have allowed patients to enroll in the state’s medical cannabis program for any health condition their doctor sees fit—but which critics warned also raised serious privacy concerns.
Initially intended to expand access to medical marijuana, HB 302 would allow patients to receive recommend medical cannabis recommendations through telehealth visits rather than having to establish an in-person relationship with a provider.
But lawmakers on a conference committee revised the plan, inserting a provision to allow the state Department of Health to access medical marijuana patient records held by doctors for any reason whatsoever—what Green called “a grave violation of privacy.”
read … Hawaii Governor Signals Veto Of Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill, Calling One Provision A 'Grave Violation Of Privacy' - Marijuana Moment
Hawaiʻi To Settle Teacher’s Claim He Was Fired Over False Abuse Allegation
CB: … Hawaiʻi is set to pay $140,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former Big Island teacher who claims the state education department defamed and wrongfully fired him in 2019 after he was accused of child abuse.
The settlement is one of 38 claims costing taxpayers more than $8.4 million, all approved through an appropriation bill passed last month and signed by Gov. Josh Green. Claims against the Department of Education make up $2.6 million of that, the most of any state agency.
In the lawsuit, former teacher Leonard Ramboyon claims that the ex-husband of the woman he was dating at the time called Ramboyon’s school in 2018 and accused him of child abuse. Ramboyon claims in the suit that the ex-husband did that to “punish and humiliate” him.
The education department fired Ramboyon from Waiākea Intermediate School in 2019 after determining he was unfit to work with children. That decision was based on the child abuse allegation and a 30-year-old assault conviction, according to the lawsuit….
read … Hawaiʻi To Settle Teacher's Claim He Was Fired Over False Abuse Allegation
Hawaii’s ombudsman facing chronic issues
ILind: … even when the office investigates and sustains a complaint, it lacks the “teeth” to force state and county departments to admit the error and follow the ombudsman’s recommendations to correct the situation….
read … Hawaii’s ombudsman facing chronic issues | i L i n d
Ridding state Capitol of water leaks will not be complete by 2027
SA: … “None of the other 49 states have a Capitol like this,” Gordon Wood, public works administrator for the state Department of Accounting and General Services, said during a Tuesday tour of the site….
Earlier, DAGS had a goal to finish the entire project in time for the January 2027 inauguration of Hawaii’s next governor. But Wood said that now looks too ambitious. However, Wood anticipates that one side of the pool conversion should be ready by then and could serve as a backdrop for the event….
read … Ridding state Capitol of water leaks nears completion
More Bogus Sunscreen: Fears and Lies
CB: … Popular sunscreen brands responded to the 2021 ban by labeling bottles that appear on store shelves across the island state and abroad as “reef-friendly” and sometimes “Hawaiʻi compliant” as well, giving the impression that they won’t harm the environment if worn while swimming in the ocean.
However, a lawsuit filed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney in California state court last week alleges Edgewell Personal Care, the parent company of Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat sunscreens, engaged in false advertising by calling some of its products reef safe.
The company removed oxybenzone and octinoxate from those sunscreens as required, the suit states, but it kept other ingredients such as avobenzone and octocrylene that have been found to harm coral reefs and their inhabitants. It also noted the “Hawaii compliant” labels were inaccurate since Maui and the Big Island had prohibited chemical sunscreens altogether.
“An environmental catchphrase may be profitable to the company’s bottom line,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. …
REALITY:
read … New Lawsuit Raises Concerns Over Labeling Of 'Reef-Safe' Sunscreens
Waianae Traffic enforcement “dissuaded criminal activity, and resulted in several notable arrests”
CB: … Police said the increase in citations was part of their strategy, and it worked. “The surge did its job showing people we’re here,” Honolulu police Cpl. Roland Pagan said.
Traffic enforcement “dissuaded criminal activity, and resulted in several notable arrests,” Maj. Gail Beckley, who oversees District 8, told Civil Beat in a written statement. “While citations alone constitute a limited crime reduction measure, traffic stops have facilitated the recovery of illicit firearms and narcotics and the apprehension of wanted individuals.” ….
read … Police Set Out To Curb Violence On West Oʻahu. Traffic Citations Soared
TRUMP NEWS:
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA:
QUICK HITS: