Constitutional Expenditure Controls
Grassroot views on housing reform going mainstream
Case, Moylan: Stop Rebuilding Jones Act Ships in China
Armed Felon Indicted After Barricading Himself in Home with Over Ten Pounds of Methamphetamine and Illegal Firearms
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted August 1, 2025
Honolulu police, city, SHOPO try to tackle record vacancies
SA: … HPD had 1,712 officers as of July 1 with 2,177 uniformed officer positions funded by the budget, about a 22% deficit….
… The “Great Resignation” that occurred nationwide after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted careers in law enforcement, retail and other people-serving sectors of the workforce.
HPD is seeing officers retire as soon as they reach 25 years of service, a trend they hope to reverse through the exploration of retention bonuses.
Pay is important, Bode said. It “shows people how much they are valued.”
So far this year, 18 officers have retired, 16 resigned, two were fired and four others were discharged as of July 1.
Last year, 74 police officers, one reserve officer and 18 civilian employees retired. In 2023, 68 officers and 10 civilian employees retired; in 2022, 68 officers, three reserve officers and 20 civilian workers retired.
Those numbers were down from the COVID-19 period that saw 93 officers and 36 civilian employees retire in 2021, and 81 officers, one reserve officer and 11 civilian employees retire in 2020.
In 2019, 83 officers, five reserve officers and 15 civilian employees retired….
CLUE: 2019 Kealoha Convicted
Read … Honolulu police, city, SHOPO try to tackle record vacancies | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Hawaii film industry collapsing
SFG: … The decision to film elsewhere highlights a deepening crisis in Hawaii’s film industry, which has come to a sudden and screeching halt.
“Best I can tell, this is the first time there’s been no meaningful work either now or on the horizon in Hawaii’s long and storied 100-plus year film history,” Noah Evslin, a TV writer and producer who is from Kauai, told SFGATE. He worked on past shows like “Hawaii Five-0,” “NCIS: Hawaii” and “Rescue: HI-Surf,” which was canceled by the network in May. He said work on “Rescue: HI-Surf” ended a year ago.
“There hasn’t really been a major Hollywood production since then,” Evslin said, who’s now working on projects not set in Hawaii. He explained that Hawaii’s issues are partly due to an overall nationwide slowdown …
2020: Miske Mob Were All Union Drivers on Set of Hawaii 5-0
Read … One of Hawaii's most famous industries is collapsing
Hope for Hawaii, Army on land leases
SA: … Over the last year, discussions around the Army’s proposed land retention efforts on both Hawaii island and Oahu have sparked passionate debate. That debate is valid and necessary. Public trust lands are precious. Cultural and environmental resources must be protected. Native Hawaiian voices must be heard and respected. But as someone who has watched these issues closely for decades, I believe it’s time to take a step back and look at what is truly at stake.
The Army is not a temporary guest in Hawaii. It is part of the community. More than 90,000 people — active-duty personnel, civilians, contractors and their families — make up the Army ohana here.
They aren’t strangers; they are our neighbors. The economic impact of the Army alone exceeds $3 billion annually. These jobs, contracts and local spending ripple through the entire state economy.
If the Army is forced to scale back significantly because we cannot come to agreement on retaining the lands needed for training, it will not only affect military readiness in the Pacific, it will affect Hawaii’s economic health in profound and lasting ways.
The Army has already shown its willingness to adapt. On Oahu, the footprint requested for retention has been reduced dramatically, from over 6,000 acres to just 450.
This wasn’t done under pressure. It was a deliberate move in response to community input, mission analysis and a commitment to being a better neighbor. That kind of responsiveness should be acknowledged and met with equal willingness to collaborate….
Read … Column: Hope for Hawaii, Army on land leases | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
‘Last minute cop out’: Parents push back against carpool app amid bus driver shortage
HNN: … The service, called GoKid, was launched by the Hawaii state Department of Education and allows parents to arrange carpools to get their kids to and from school.
“I feel like when they tell us that we need to do a ride share app, almost feels like they want to just get an Uber for our kids,” said Kaapuni Aiwohi, whose daughter is in the seventh grade at Kalama Intermediate School on Maui.
Aiwohi said his daughter could not get a spot on a bus because there are not enough drivers, but he is not confident that GoKid is a safe alternative.
“It’s going to be with random parents that we don’t know. Doesn’t make parents feel very safe to join an app that anyone can just sign up,” Aiwohi added. “Now, if it’s statewide, people know that you can start driving around kids, which does not make parents feel any better.”
Aiwohi said other parents agree with him.
“There were over 10 parents that I personally knew that are in this exact same situation. No one at all is satisfied with this answer,” Aiwohi said.
There are nine routes that have been suspended on Maui and Hawaii Island….
Read … ‘Last minute cop out’: Parents push back against carpool app amid bus driver shortage
Waikiki dealer gets 10 years for selling fentanyl in Marine’s fatal overdose
SA: … U.S. District Judge Shanlyn A.S. Park sentenced Justin Wu, 23, on Thursday for distributing pills containing fentanyl and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Wu’s prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney General’s office in Hawaii.
According to court records, Wu provided five small blue pills containing fentanyl to an 18-year-old Marine on Nov. 9, 2021. Investigators later determined that the young Marine died from fentanyl toxicity a day after Wu sold him the pills….
SA: Man sentenced in Marine’s death started drug dealing at age 15 | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Read … Waikiki dealer gets 10 years for selling fentanyl in Marine’s fatal overdose | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Hawaiʻi County reviving program to give victims of minor crimes a louder voice, reduce backlog of cases
BIN: … In 2024, Andrew Church was preparing to face charges from a domestic incident, but instead of going through the courts, his family decided to pursue a different route that allowed for discussion and problem solving.
Church was able to have his charges dropped when he completed this alternate route through the Restorative Justice program, which gives the victims of minor crimes the opportunity to be at the center of the justice they receive.
“I’m forever grateful we went through the program, because it made me realize my bad patterns and now my family and I are stronger than ever before,” Church said….
Read … Hawaiʻi County reviving program to give victims of minor crimes a louder voice, reduce backlog of cases : Big Island Now
Hawaiʻi Elections Commission Targets Drop Boxes
CB: … No prominent member or elected official from the Democratic Party participated in the commission meeting. But one former GOP legislator, Bob McDermott, and two current Republican House representatives — Diamond Garcia and Garner Shimizu — tuned in.
Shimizu, who was elected in a close race in 2024 after having lost several prior elections, testified that it was critical the commission do its best to be transparent and accountable in its work.
“Keep striving for truth and justice,” he said.
Rep. Garner Shimizu encouraged the Elections Commission to continue to dig for the truth in ballot counts. (Screenshot/2025)
Other testifiers wanted the commission to also examine the counting of ballots in Maui County and the City and County of Honolulu.
The commission’s work is getting the attention of nonpartisans. Judith Mills Wong of the League of Women Voters of Hawaiʻi testified that she appreciated “the professional and constructive way the process was carried out” by the Kauaʻi investigative group.
“The league will commit to supporting legislation that incorporates the recommended reforms and will call for an appropriation to implement these changes,” Wong said. “The League believes that voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed.”
Curtis, the chair, dismissed Deputy Attorney General Jordan Ching’s advice that other commissioners not be allowed to comment on the Kauaʻi report and instead wait until the Aug. 27 meeting in order to comply with the Sunshine Law.
Judith Mills Wong of the League of Women Voters Hawaiʻi is taking seriously the work of the Elections Commission in investigating ballot discrepancies. (Screenshot/2025)
That allowed Cushnie to finally speak. Compared to past meetings, he kept his remarks relatively brief.
He said that “the cover-up is worse than the crime, and I hope that people start stepping forward to tell the truth as the Office of Elections narrative unravels.” He also called, as he has before, for Nago and Curtis to resign, as well as for “an audit of all county records with the assistance of the FBI.”
Curtis ended the meeting by reading a statement in which he argued that an increase in voting complaints appeared tied to the Legislature’s decision to implement statewide mail-in balloting in 2020. Initially, it was to be a pilot program on Kauaʻi.
“Since then, we’ve transitioned from same day in person precinct voting to an all mail in voting system,” he said. “This marked the first phase of what many consider an experiment new for voters, officials and the system as a whole.”
Curtis said the process can be refined to enhance transparency and public trust.
The “main source” of chain-of-custody concerns “seems to be the use of ballot drop boxes,” said Curtis. He added that this has introduced “an additional layer that some voters consider unnecessary. Eliminating them would ensure that only registered, designated, trusted agents handle ballots throughout the process. There are many more post offices than there are drop boxes. Drop boxes are redundant.”
He concluded: “While there are other important issues to address, removing drop boxes would directly resolve the most vocal concern, chain of custody.”
“If we are stuck with mail-in balloting, drop boxes are a weak spot,” Curtis told Civil Beat on Friday….
PDF: 2025-07-30-EC-Supplemental-Meeting-Packet.pdf
Read … Hawaiʻi Elections Officials Tackle Big Island Ballot Discrepancies - Honolulu Civil Beat
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