SD19 Corruption: Senator Lamosao tied to Cullen, Yamane
Dear Editor, Aug 11, 2026
Aloha!
Thank you for bringing transparent and honest news. However, I wonder why Rachele Lamosao Senate District 19 have not made the news yet. She is the one who took $2000 donation from Ty Cullen after he was convicted of bribery. She was office manager for Sylvia Luke. Usually office manager are directly or indirectly are involved with Politics.
She was endorsed by Henry Aquino who resigned suddenly. Aquino, Bryan Yamane and Ty Cullen were three Amigos. Henry Aquino and his uncle Ben Aquino have been campaigning for Lamosao.
May I ask you to please look into it. We don’t need tainted or corrupt politicians anymore.
Respectfully,
Dr. Inam Rahman
Waipahu, Oahu
Dec 4 2025: Green Appoints Rep who took money from Ty Cullen to Senate Seat Abandoned by Corporate Lobbyist
* * * * *
Building Permits: Maui County doesn’t seem to want to solve the problem
Dear Editor, Aug 11, 2026
I read consistently articles about the delay in building permits for Lahaina, but no one seems to want to solve the problem.
There are many software programs such as 2build.ai available that will process permits and I don't understand why the County doesn't look into one, instead of complaining about the work load.
The software noted above is available and can analyze plan sets in a matter of minutes. Maybe if you look at it, they would look at it and we could get construction underway.
Ev Flanders
Kahului, Maui
* * * * *
Maui: Congressional Candidate Should Have Used a Hammer
Dear Editor
Aloha, Aug 5, 2026
That guy who allegedly threatened people and then got knocked out on the beach in Kihei on August 1 sure blew it in front of witnesses and on video. Now he’s been charged with terroristic threatening and is sitting in jail, with bail set at a cool $1 million.
Everyone on Maui knows that if you have a beef with someone you should just lie in wait and whack them in the head with a hammer from behind instead. That way, you won’t get charged and will be back on the beach before the blood dries. Mere threats are for losers. Attempted murder comes with impunity.
At least, that’s the message Maui officialdom is sending with the heavy hand here contrasted with the inexplicable failure to prosecute for the vicious hammer attack outside a bar in Wailuku on June 10, also witnessed and caught on video.
The Kihei guy might actually have a decent insanity defense, and it’s really not clear from the video who threw the first punch, since the scrap was well underway before the guy swung a beach chair and got put to sleep. And the other guy then called him “haole boy,” which might give the defense some ammunition.
So remember, kids: Always lie in wait, use a hammer, strike from behind, and go right for the head. Everyone knows that’s very likely to cause death and is clearly therefore attempted murder. But you’re sure to skate, even with a long history of priors, and you’ll be pounding beers again at the same fine establishment in no time. And perhaps driving home with a suspended license, expired registration, and no insurance.
Oh, but be sure not to annoy a seal and get assaulted, because then you’ll really get in big trouble and also be publicly denounced by Maui politicians.
Cheers!
Anonymous
Maui
* * * * *
Are we ready to really address aging in Hawaii?
AN OPEN LETTER TO DR. GOVERNOR GREEN, AND OTHER LEADERS OF HAWAII
Over 25 years ago, having served as Chair of the House Committee on Health, I earned a doctorate focusing on aging.
The title of the dissertation was The Politics of Community Based Partnerships in The Development of Alternative Elder Wellness Networks and Service Delivery Systems.
Even more than 25 years ago it was obvious that our health and insurance systems could not or would not respond to or accommodate our growing senior population. Among our challenges were:
1. Our senior living facilities were expensive and unable to accommodate even the wealthier seniors.
2. Even those with insurance or government pensions were unable to easily access urgent, nonbureaucratic affordable care.
3. So many older adults were living in isolation or
alone in apartments and condos disconnected with even annual health exams or custodial care.
9. Options to “choose” one’s own specialists in fee for service insurance (HMSA) were beyond the average patients’ knowledge, and often with significant delays. Other systems like Kaiser also offered options.
10. Shortages in some caregiver professions further delayed some treatments.
11. The open doors, friendly, community based health centers were challenged to accommodate specific community needs.
12. University expertise in health policy were spotty, dependent on individual faculty, and sometimes unwilling to dive into actual service delivery agreements.
Today we, The Governor, SHPDA, and others are confronted with a proposal to essentially merge the already very popular and powerful HMSA with Hawaii Pacific Health, which intends to strike a lucrative administrative alliance with other fee for service entities based on the mainland: so theoretically less tied to and engaged with the needs of certain more vulnerable patient groups in our Islands.
What we may be missing are the daily easy to access urgent needs of the poor, the frail, the disabled, and the suddenly ill, many of who are aging well above the age of 70.
Major questions to The State Health Planning and Development Agency, which apparently has the power to approve or deny the merger is this: Will the new arrangement accommodate these seniors at all, or better that we as a state have actually done in the past?
Will HMSA and whatever partners it will have, even under a nonprofit, make a concerted effort to open up urgent care affordable clinics?
The politically well connected to the large and influential HMSA seem to have major leverage without committing to a different aging friendly structure.
To be specific, for so many that are living in isolation this is a list identified by seniors surveyed for the dissertation:
1. Physical crisis;
2. Impaired eyesight;
3. Impaired hearing;
4. Confusion over papers and documents;
5. Impaired speech;
6. Confusion over taking medications;
7. Buddy system for daily check-ins;
8. Controlling diet;
9. Remembering when to take medications;
10. Paying for medications;
11. Outside mobility, to Dr., shopping;
12. Household cleaning;
13. Inner household mobility;
14. Personal bathing;
15. Personal grooming;
16. Laundry;
17. Depression;
18. Need to talk about feelings;
19. Household crime prevention;
20. Household fire safety;
21. Companionships during holidays;
22. Outside mobility for recreation;
23. Skill in cooking;
24. Skill in shopping for food;
25. Household weather damage;
This proposed “merger” is an opportunity to reassess our aging friendly systems. We need to rethink what may not have been ready for this tidal wave of boomer seniors who are living often disconnected from support system.
Whatever leverage our Governor or other leaders or policy influencers may have, we need to use it to craft a renewed and more innovative community based service delivery system.
Jim Shon, PhD
Honolulu, Oahu