Bill 60: “Have we not learned our lesson over the many years of Rail?”
Do we really want a "rubber stamp" Legislature?
The Deduction for State and Local Tax
Big Brother is Watching: State giving away 1,000 dashcams
COVID Money, Accounting Tricks Reduce Hawaii's Debt
Housing, Taxes, Rail: On the Agenda before County Councils
Petition: Close Holomua Homeless Camp, Protect Paia from Fires
Green Says he is not Running for President—Wants RFK’s Job?
CB: … The governor has been open about his intent to get deeply in the middle of national affairs, traveling to Washington, D.C., frequently — sometimes on the taxpayers’ dime, more recently mostly on his own or paid for by foundations — to advocate for both Hawaiʻi’s interests and the country’s. The two are not mutually exclusive and, as it turns out, both are fueling his vision of playing a bigger role in American governance once he’s out of office in Hawaiʻi.
He’s not talking about running for president. That news item from a few weeks ago was, he says, just an offhand remark after a conference, taken out of context by a reporter.
Instead, he says he’s working to build relationships with people at all levels of government and in civic organizations throughout the country, first and foremost to help Hawaiʻi, including to stave off pain from a White House bent on demolishing democratic norms….
(TRANSLATION: Green is prepping to run for Hirono’s seat if she retires in 2030 and/or he is angling for an HHS appointment if Dems retake the White House in 2028.)
(REALLY OBVIOUS QUESTION: If reelected, would Josh Green commit himself to serving the full four-year term as Governor?)
read … 'There Can Be Peace': Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green Wants To Heal The Country - Honolulu Civil Beat
Choy Illegally fired while suing Hawai‘i Tourism Authority for retaliation
SA: … Isaac Choy, a former state tax director and state legislator, was terminated from his job at the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority effective Sept. 15, according to a motion to file an amended complaint in his whistle-blower lawsuit.
Choy was placed on unpaid leave May 9 from his job as HTA’s vice president of finance and acting chief administrative officer at the direction of the state Department of the Attorney General and the Department of Human Resources pending the outcome of an investigation, which followed allegations he made racist and sexist remarks on the job (challenged CHNA’s cash-flow).
The state investigation followed a May 1 request by state Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach) to state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez to investigate complaints that Choy allegedly had referred to Kilohana, an HTA contractor, as “dumb Hawaiians” and also was alleged to have “demeaned and belittled” female HTA board members.
(CLUE: Per DCCA BREG, ‘Kilohana’ is CNHA.)
Fevella held a couple of sign-waving demonstrations and news conferences at the state Capitol, where he urged Green to seek resignations from Choy and from Tokioka, whom he alleged had “participated in efforts to sweep this matter under the rug.”
While Choy has denied all allegations against him, Tokioka previously told the Star- Advertiser in a May 2 email that in 2024 he had issued Choy a written warning for using derogatory language.
The incident stemmed from a complaint made by Tyler Gomes, Kilohana administrator, who alleged that Choy called Gomes and the rest of the team of the Hawaiian Council, formerly known as the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, “dumb Hawaiians” during an August 2023 meeting and afterward embarked on a pattern of behavior that was “race-based in its inequity.”…
UPDATE: HTA Whistleblower Isaac Choy Illegally Fired by Governor’s Chief of Staff > Hawaii Free Press
KITV: Embattled Isaac Choy terminated from the Hawaii Tourism Authority | Local | kitv.com
REALITY:
read … Choy fired while suing Hawai‘i Tourism Authority for retaliation | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
AG, county reach agreement over Hawaii County PD internal records
HTH: … Deputy Corporation Counsel Cody Frenz told Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota on Friday that the investigation by the AG’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division is focused on “two target officers and two witness officers in this particular case.”
Frenz said the witness officers have agreed that their statements in the internal affairs probe can be provided to the AG with “appropriate redactions, if any are required.”
“I won’t be indicating any case numbers or anything for confidentiality purposes,” she said.
Frenz added that the AG has agreed that the “compelled statements” by the target officers in the case will not have to be turned over by police.
None of the four officers were identified either in the Friday’s proceedings or publicly available court documents.
According to evidence presented in court, HPD also conducted a criminal investigation into the officers’ alleged activities and forwarded their findings to county Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen, whose office deferred prosecution, citing a conflict of interest, and forwarded HPD’s criminal investigation to Attorney General Anne Lopez.
Frenz, representing the police department, filed a motion in July to quash a subpoena by the AG seeking the internal investigation statements in its probe “focusing on offenses including perjury and tampering with physical evidence.”
Kubota heard arguments by Frenz and Deputy Attorney General Ben Rose in a hearing last month, and Kubota was scheduled to rule on the motion to quash had the parties not negotiated an agreement.
Frenz told the judge in that hearing that statements made by officers in internal affairs probes are privileged and cannot be used in subsequent criminal proceedings. In her motion to quash, she argued the statements are protected by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the state Constitution and the collective bargaining agreement between HPD and the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, as well as the 1967 case Garrity v. New Jersey, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that public employees cannot be forced to choose between self-incrimination and job loss.
Rose countered in last month’s hearing that promises made to officers during collective bargaining “do not supersede the state’s ability to investigate criminal matters” and HPD’s “interest in maintaining a promise that they could never keep does not override the statutorily imposed duty on the attorney general.”…
read … AG, county reach agreement over HPD internal records - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
AG: Hawaii’s litigation against feds pays dividends
SA: … In 2025, the Legislature appropriated, and Gov. Josh Green signed into law, a total of $4 million to my department for additional litigation expenses over the next two years. This money is not simply for litigation against the federal administration, and to date, my department has expended only a fraction of that. Our litigation has been handled by a team of salaried attorneys in my department who are performing this work in addition to their other duties. The collaborative actions of the attorneys general allow our offices to balance our workloads and share costs. And the financial fruits of this litigation dwarf the $4 million appropriation by the Legislature.
On Jan. 27, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget ceased all activities related to the obligation to disburse all federal financial assistance throughout the United States. Approximately $16 million in lawfully appropriated federal funds flows through Hawaii on any given day. These funds became available again in large part because Hawaii obtained a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in court.
Beginning on March 12, more than $500 million lawfully owed to Hawaii by the Federal Emergency Management Agency was frozen, including $21 million for Hawaii’s Disaster Case Management Program, which provides assistance to victims of the 2023 Maui wildfires. Hawaii obtained an order against FEMA’s freeze, and the funds began to flow again.
Additionally, we have obtained preliminary injunctions to keep more than $365 million in transportation funds flowing to the state without illegal conditions, and to reinstate $89 million in illegally terminated grants to the Hawaii Department of Health. Access to approximately $33 million in funds was also restored to the Hawaii Department of Education after we filed a lawsuit. And these are just some examples….
read … Column: Hawaii’s litigation against feds pays dividends | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Polynesian Cultural Center to lay off 10% of employees amid tourism decline
KITV: … Employment of 10% of the 183 full-time employees at PCC are expected to end on Sept. 30, 2025, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter from the end of July. The tourist attraction featuring live shows and tours spanning six Pacific cultures is located on the North Shore of Oahu.
Loss of business for PCC from a downturn in tourism and reduced attendance is affecting 15 to 25 employees….
read … Polynesian Cultural Center to lay off 10% of employees amid tourism decline | News | kitv.com
Single-user E-Cars to be Kicked out of HOV Lanes
HNN: … The state Transportation Department is warning drivers on Oahu that traffic will likely be worse starting Wednesday.
That’s when a federal code [23 USC 166(B)(4)] expires, and states are no longer allowed to let single-occupant electric vehicles use the carpool lane.
There are 26,400 EVs on Oahu, and many of those will now be forced into the already congested regular lanes….
(SOLUTION: Eliminate HOV lanes.)
read … More gridlock expected next week as changes to HOV lane rules kick in
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