What the New “Family Structure Index” Reveals About Hawai‘i

How building new homes benefits everyone

Storm Damage Not a Valid Excuse for Tax Hikes

Change Energy Policy to Improve Hawaii's Economy

Conveyance Tax Fright

Lawsuit Coming over Long Lines on Election Day?

CB: … Voters may be forced to wait in line this election season after the death of legislation that would have funded more county voter service centers….

Three of the four chief clerks — representing Maui and Hawaiʻi counties and the City and County of Honolulu— managed to convince House and Senate committees this session that it would be a waste of resources (not) to fund more centers, it would be difficult to staff them and it would likely not make it easier to vote (because they want to suppress Republican votes).  Kauaʻi County stayed neutral, although it did offer comments on the bill….

Camron Hurt, state director for Common Cause Hawaiʻi, is not pleased with the counties’ resistance to voter service centers. Giving voters more access was a priority for Hurt’s good-government group before the 2026 session began, and now it’s not going to happen, barring a last-minute funding intervention from the Legislature.

“I think that it is a failure of county government if they cannot accommodate day-of voting for their population,” he said.

In Hurt’s view, the lack of more centers amounts to disenfranchisement that may lead to lawsuits over civil rights violations. He gave the example of the burden for someone on Oʻahu’s North Shore driving over an hour to vote in Kapolei, having to wait in line and then driving home.

“What you are guaranteed is the right to the ballot on Election Day,” Hurt said. “I have the right to vote on Election Day. You should make it accessible to me.”

That’s a point that Rep. Diamond Garcia made during a hearing on one of the voter service center measures in February, House Bill 1525. When Honolulu City Clerk Glen Takahashi told lawmakers that his office had encouraged voters to not wait until the last day to vote, Garcia responded forcefully.

“Regardless, that is their right to vote on Election Day,” he told Takahashi. “I get it. It might be your preference to have them go vote early or vote by mail, but the preferences are besides the point. They have a right to go walk in in person on Election Day, and our resources, paid for by taxpayer dollars, should give ample time and resources to allow them to cast that vote in person.” …

As Explained: Long Lines Suppress Votes on Election Day:  Election Officials Plan to do it Again in 2026

read … Will Hawaiʻi Voters Once Again See Long Lines On Election Day? - Honolulu Civil Beat

Schatz Ranks #6 for political f-bombs

Shapiro: … Who knew Hawaii U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono was a trendsetter during the first Trump administration when she started conducting political discourse in vulgar language that almost got her mouth washed out with soap?

She caused a stir during a 2018 National Public Radio interview when she said of her critics, “F—- them.” She would find other occasions to use the word. Hirono took to saying “bulls—-” so often a blog started keeping a count….

Democratic politicians now follow Hirono’s lead in fighting f-bombs with f-bombs to such an extent that Hirono’s salty comments that drew so much attention in 2018 would just be more background noise today.

Use of the f-word on social media by Democratic lawmakers has become so pervasive the New York Times started a tally. Hirono didn’t make the Times’ list of top congressional f-bombers on X, but Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz checked in at No. 6.

Which points up another difference from 2018. When Hirono said it then, it still had shock value and came across as a real, gut-level expression of her feelings. With Schatz, it seems more like a nerdy guy trying to sound like the cool kids….

read … Volcanic Ash: Voters running for cover as the political f-bombs fly | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

SB3028: Legislators ‘Affordable’ Housing Idea—A Tax on Housing

SA: … Under this proposed measure, tax increases would be massive. Property owners who don’t qualify for homeowner exemptions may have to pay conveyance taxes that are up to six times more than under the current system.

The bill is structured in a way that affects local homeowners far more than might be intended. Under the proposed legislation, many homeowners may see a tax cut if their home is sold for under $2 million, while those whose homes are sold for above $2 million would see sharp increases. That sounds like a very expensive piece of real estate, but if you’ve shopped for a home in Hawaii, you know it doesn’t go that far. The median home prices here are the highest in the nation — 16% more than in California. That means the higher tax would impact more everyday residents, including those with generationally owned local properties and those living in multigenerational households….

Equally problematic is that the money raised would be allocated to permanent, dedicated, ‘special funds’…. 

SB3028:  Text, Status

read … Column: Higher conveyance tax would be unfair | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

HB1769:  Boost Overcrowding of Hawaii’s prisons to Bring Federal Intervention

SA: … House Bill 1769, introduced in January by 13 House members led by Rep. Jeanne Kapela (D, Volcano-Hawaiian Ocean View), proposed having DCR cut the number of prisoners at private facilities outside the state by 25% before July 1, 2029, and then another 50% by July 1, 2031.

DCR Director Tommy Johnson has described the bill as unreasonable and unworkable given that the agency, which operates one medium-security correctional facility filled far beyond its intended capacity, has no control over the volume of convicted felons entering the prison system….

Johnson also reiterated that an unpredictable volume of convicted felons sent to DCR in the future for incarceration makes the need for a new medium-­security prison in Hawaii a requirement for ceasing to house inmates on the mainland. A forced repatriation without adequate facility capacity, he added, could result in inmates living in inhumane conditions, leading to federal Department of Justice intervention ….

SA: Column: Evidence supports bail reform, not fear | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … ‘Exile’ of Hawaii’s prison population targeted for reduction or end | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Ready for Storms? The unctuous sheen of make-good publicity for city and state leaders

Cataluna: … The recent weather woes in Hawaiʻi exposed many things, one big one being that there wasn’t widespread just-in-case thinking. There was some, for sure. Preppers gonna prep, and lots of people who had the means to help their neighbors showed up as true heroes in the flood waters and morning-after mud. They had thought ahead. But not everyone was in that habit, particularly those in government agencies.

Things were different this time around though, huh? Everybody got on TV before there were even clouds in the sky and bragged about how ready they were going to be. Some of the storm prep this week had that unctuous sheen of make-good publicity for city and state leaders who should have been doing all that worst-case scenario thinking during the first rounds of rainstorms. …

read … Lee Cataluna: Being Ready for Storms Should Be More Than Political - Honolulu Civil Beat

16 Years Later: Reps Belatti and Souza Still Pretending to Try to ‘Abolish Corporate Personhood’

CB: … The Supreme Court decided in Citizens United that corporations have a constitutional right to spend in elections …. 

A bill moving in the Hawaiʻi Legislature right now — Senate Bill 2471 — takes a completely different approach (is more posturing to the idiot Dem base).  It’s not a workaround. It’s not a protest resolution. It’s a genuine legal solution (an illusion), built on tools that have been sitting in our state law for decades, waiting to be used (pure wind) ….

“Nothing about how corporations do business in Hawai‘i changes. Corporations can still lobby. They can still testify before committees, publish white papers, run advertising about their products. They can do everything a business legitimately needs to do. They just can’t pour money into our politics.”

(CLUE: Every word of that paragraph is a lie. LINK)

SB2471: Text, Status

REALITY: Legislators-Vote-to-Abolish-ERS-End-Free-Speech-for-Star-Advertiser 

read … Hawai‘i Might Just Slay Citizens United — And You Can Help - Honolulu Civil Beat

Green Names Two to UH Board of Regents

CB: … Gov. Josh Green has nominated Marie Laderta and Keith Amemiya to serve as trustees for the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents. He selected the two from a list of five, showing that the requirement to publicly disclose financial information is not a deterrent to public service.

Laderta has served in state government for 23 years and is currently a board member on the Labor and Industrial Relations Board. Amemiya, an insurance executive, is perhaps best known for his work as executive director of the Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association.

Confirmation hearings before the Senate Education Committee are set for Friday. If confirmed by the full Senate, Laderta and Amemiya would serve until June 30, 2031.

A bill to expand the scope of persons who are subject to public financial disclosure requirement awaits consideration by state lawmakers next week. …

read … The Sunshine Blog: No Rain Check For State Lawmakers - Honolulu Civil Beat

BETA reaches deal for electric aircraft in Hawaii

WCAX: … Beta Technologies (FY25 Net loss of $745.9M) has reached a deal with Surf Air in California to purchase 25 of Beta’s Alia aircraft, with an option to buy 75 more, bringing electric air travel to the skies starting in Hawaii….

(PREDICTION:  Aircraft will never be delivered.  BETA will go BK.  But first they will hit up the Hawaii Legislature for some money.)

PDF: BETA Technologies, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results :: BETA Technologies, Inc. (BETA)

read … BETA reaches deal for electric aircraft in Hawaii

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA:

1. Senate halts effort to restore dedicated tourism funding | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

2. $7 a gallon: Hawai‘i gas prices continue ‘unprecedented’ climb amid war in Iran - Hawaii Journalism Initiative

3. Waikoloa May Day: Workers Over Billionaires (Hawai’i Island) | Indivisible

4. Election Notification Cards Mailed To Hawaiʻi Island Voters

5. Will Caron: Ethical Relativity - Honolulu Civil Beat

6. Editorial: Hike transfer tax on pricey homes | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

FLOOD NEWS:

1. City on ‘high alert’ as another storm puts Hawaii back on flood watch | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

2. 4/11/26 – MOST STATE PARKS, TRAILS AND CAMPING AREAS ON OʻAHU OPEN, SOME REMAIN CLOSED | Department of Land and Natural Resources

3. Holding Space: Navigating Recovery in Hawaiʻi

4. Storm damage and slow traffic challenge North Shore businesses

5. UPDATE: Wastewater spill at Waimea treatment plant reaches about 140,000 gallons : Kauai Now

6. Canada issues urgent travel advisory update for Hawaii | Daily Hive | National

7. Hawaii Storms Leave Visitors With A New Problem

8. Molokai residents face challenges in flood recovery | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

9. North Shore traffic facing lengthy delays | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

10. Relief efforts continue for Kona-low storm victims | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

QUICK HITS:

1. ‘Lāhainā Rising’ to Screen During UNPFII 2026, Highlighting 2023 Maui Wildfires and Their Aftermath

2. Computerized Cadavers: Hawaiʻi Students With Medical Ambitions Get Hands On - Honolulu Civil Beat

3. Public Alert | Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Alerts

4. Second CRB detection on Molokaʻi : Maui Now

5. Break-in reported at Maui Rapid Response community space : Maui Now