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June 21, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:25 PM :: 371 Views

Leaked Emails: Cult Guru Directs Tulsi Gabbard in Congress, on Syria, and into Trump's Arms

Sen Kidani retires—could Republican win SD18 Special Election?

The Art of the Tax Deal

Did Lawmakers Help or Hurt Taxpayers in 2026?

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted June 19, 2026

Sierra Club Plan for More Rail: “A fever dream” that would cost “insane amounts”

CB: … A long-awaited report on possible next steps for the $10 billion Honolulu rail line outlines a bundle of options that are already drawing fire, including subways and streetcars in the urban core as potential extensions of the elevated Skyline system.

The “Minority Report of the ‘Ala Moana and Beyond’ Interaction Group,” also includes cost estimates totaling billions of dollars for various alternatives for extending the reach of the rail line to destinations including Waikīkī, the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, Ko ‘Olina, and even Central Oʻahu.

Rail critics who reviewed the report were quick to dismiss the concepts it raises as wildly cost prohibitive and unnecessary. One called it “a transit planner’s hallucination,” another said it was “a fever dream” that would cost “insane amounts.”

The document is largely the work of Anthony Aalto, a member of the board of directors of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation and a former chair of the O‘ahu Group of the Sierra Club. The HART board voted unanimously in 2022 and 2023 to appoint Aalto chair of a HART panel to study future options for rail.

But the document he produced is now called the “minority report” because two other members of the panel — HART Board Chair Kika Bukoski and board member Roger Morton — refused to endorse Aalto’s draft. They said it went beyond what the Honolulu City Council approved for the rail project nearly 20 years ago.

Instead, the HART board voted Friday to formulate an entirely new panel to consider future rail extensions….

The HART board is planning to have a more detailed discussion of the minority report at its July 24 meeting….

Bukoski said Friday the new panel needs to finish its work quickly so the board can present “some specific asks and deliverables” to state lawmakers before the next legislative session begins. The new panel will be led by HART board member John Katahira, and is supposed to report back to the board by Oct. 2.

“Given the timing and the time frame, this next session is going to be critical for seeking additional funding options, if any, from the state,” Bukoski said.

That urgency is driven in large part by a looming deadline. The Oʻahu excise tax surcharge, which currently generates about $350 million a year for the rail project, is scheduled to expire at the end of 2030. Extending that tax surcharge to keep the money flowing would be key to any future rail extensions….

Read … The Future Of Honolulu Rail: Report Details Pricey Possibilities - Honolulu Civil Beat

Rhoads: Stop Corporate personhood Bill Headed for US Supreme Court

SA: … Rhoads disclosed in November that he would not seek reelection this year….

“…we have enough money to be comfortable….”

This year, Rhoads was the lead introducer of a bill that became law aimed at barring campaign spending activity in Hawaii by companies, labor unions and other organizations starting on July 1, 2027.

Earlier this month, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii filed a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate Act 11.

“It’s probably the most important bill that I’ve worked on since I’ve been here because it has national implications,” Rhoads said. “I would be a little surprised if it doesn’t end up going to the U.S. Supreme Court, and I’d also be quite surprised if other states don’t try to emulate us.” …

Major disappointments include a bill Rhoads introduced last year to ban assault rifles, assault shotguns and .50-caliber firearms in Hawaii. The bill was killed on the Senate floor by a 13-12 vote. Rhoads said he got death threats over the measure and for a time wore an emergency transmitter provided by the state Department of Law Enforcement….

FUN READ: Federal Court Ruling: Sen. Karl Rhoads participated in Honolulu County Council Kickback scheme

Read … Key lawmaker’s exit creates power void in Hawaii Legislature | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Debates: Karma to Consider

Shapiro: … Debates have seldom been as decisive in elections as candidates declare; those like Keohokalole and Belatti often get more political mileage out of demanding debates than they would get from an actual debate.

In the end, if all you’ve got is complaints about debates, you’re unlikely to become much of a compelling candidate.

I can’t recall a decisive moment in a local debate like Joe Biden’s unraveling in his debate against Donald Trump, one of the few political debates ever to significantly move an election.

Still, there’s the matter of karma to consider.

If Kawakami had to run as the underdog against Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke before she pulled out in a corruption scandal, he’d be the one screaming from the rooftops for debates.

And the taunts Case is hearing from Keohokalole about being chicken are the same tactics Case used to get a debate in his unsuccessful underdog race against U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka in 2006.

Case comes across as disingenuous when he accuses Keohokalole of attention seeking and playing up the issues where they disagree. That’s what political opponents do, right? Case similarly accused former opponents Akaka and Mike Gabbard of negative campaigning.

With political forums on podcasts and a bazillion online streaming platforms, candidate debates on broadcast TV simply aren’t the central source of election information they used to be….

Read … David Shapiro: I’ll call your debate gambit —and raise you 2 attack ads | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

City Prepares to Burn Another $1M on Trashed Biki Bike System

SA: … Biki, once ranked the sixth most used bikeshare in the U.S., is now in an apparent downward spiral, so much so that some reviewers are calling it the “worst bikeshare company ever” and warning users to stay away from it.

Additionally the number of available bikes in the system has dropped dramatically by half, at only 595 compared to the 1,288 that the program offered in its heyday after launching in June 2017. Many Biki stations in Honolulu are not working and appear to be empty.

Financial records for the bikeshare show net income losses going back at least five years, with the biggest hit — a loss of $614,437 — during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Roger Morton, director of the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services that assumed oversight of the bikeshare in 2024, acknowledged the system is on life support, with numerous issues. The city, however, is prepared to invest $1 million from the Climate Resiliency Fund into bringing 600 bikes back into circulation, and to put additional funds into fixing the stations.

(CLUE: Typical public sector thinking. Take over and do nothing for 3 years, then suddenly waste $1M.)

“Please extend my own personal apology to all of the Biki users,” he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “It’s been a tough struggle for us, but we are working to try to make it better.”

City officials said the system has suffered from extreme vandalism and theft, which has left it with bikes out of circulation….

Read … Honolulu’s bikeshare program on life support after years of losses | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

NextEra Energy: Ghost Candidates, Ghost Deals, and a $150 Million Bill

IM: … A Graveyard of Failed Deals -- NextEra's history of failed acquisitions is not a footnote. It is a pattern….

Read … NextEra Energy: Ghost Candidates, Ghost Deals, and a $150 Million Bill | Ililani Media

3 resource officers to join Nanakuli High in fall

HNN: … Three Honolulu Police Department School Resource Officers (SROs) will be at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School at the start of the Fall 2026 school year….

Last year, Tupola introduced Resolution 25-30, which urged the establishment of SROs at West Oahu public high schools. The City Council later adopted the measure.

HPD’s Staffing and Recruitment Task Force later emphasized the importance of school-based programs to address gaps in responses due to officer shortages.

Since January, three retired and re-sworn Honolulu police officers have been at Kaimuki, Kapolei and Waianae High Schools. The three schools have since reported positive improvements across student and campus life….

Read … 3 resource officers to join Nanakuli High in fall

Proposed protest limits at University of Hawaii trigger concerns

SA: … University of Hawaii President Wendy Hensel in the fall plans to release proposed changes that would impose new limits on speech and protests across all 10 UH campuses.

Hensel’s announcement of her intentions in November 2025 to update UH’s “time, place and manner” rules received immediate blowback from some students and faculty on the flagship Manoa campus, which has served as ground zero for student and faculty unrest going back at least seven decades to the 1960s….

Read … Proposed protest limits at University of Hawaii trigger concerns | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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