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Green to Fire Half of Cabinet
CB: … Matthew Dvonch, who has worked as a deputy attorney general for the past nine years, will be appointed to be Hawaiʻi’s next attorney general….
“There’s going to be change at the Cabinet level, and it’s going to be my responsibility to bring fresh energy to it,” Green said Monday morning. “About half of the Cabinet will turn over, and that’s natural. What you will see is there’s a very clear pattern that’s emerging for me and my executive team, which is that a lot of deputies earn their stripes” and then graduate to the top job.
The appointments include Dvonch, who previously served as special counsel to the prosecuting attorney at the City and County of Honolulu. Another is Ryan Kanaka‘ole, who will continue to lead the Department of Land and Natural Resources. A former deputy to the DLNR chair and a deputy attorney general, Kanaka‘ole took over the top DLNR post after Dawn Chang went on medical leave in late December.
The governor also plans to retain his chief of staff, Brooke Wilson, his communications director, Makana McClellan and senior adviser Will Kane.
In other Cabinet news, Joe Campos will stay on as director of the Department of Human Services, where he previously served as deputy since 2020….
Green will also keep Ed Sniffen, director of the Department of Transportation, and Jade Butay, director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations….
Another new Cabinet member will be the director of the Department of Health. Green said he would soon announce a replacement for Dr. Kenneth Fink, who Green said planned to move into the private sector.
The governor declined to identify the new DOH boss except to say the person is “a terrific, well-known” person, “someone that’s kind of cut from my cloth. That’ll be a clue, okay?”
Keith Regan, the state comptroller, will return full time to his day job, now that Derek Kawakami has been elected lieutenant governor. Regan has been acting LG since Luke went on unpaid leave in April. That’s when Luke was identified as a target in the bribery scandal.
And Jimmy Tokioka, one of the more high-profile Cabinet members — director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism — will stay in his post….
Still to be announced is the status of the directors of the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Department of Budget and Finance, the Department of Taxation, the Department of Human Resources Development, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Department of Defense.
The Cabinet posts require Senate confirmation. Green will be sworn in Dec. 7 and the Legislature will convene beginning Jan. 20….
RELATED: DOTAX Insanity: Tax Delinquencies up 15%--Will Josh Green Reappoint Director?
Read … Green Picks AG To Replace Lopez, Makes Other Cabinet Changes - Honolulu Civil Beat
Hawaiian Electric seeks more rate hikes
HTH: … The Hawaiian Electric Company is seeking to raise its base rates across the state over the next few years. The most significant increase will be on Hawaii Island, where residential customers will pay an estimated $15 more per month by 2028. ($180/yr).
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission held a series of public hearings around the islands on the matter over the past few months. At one of these hearings in Hilo last week, PUC Chair Jon Itomura provided an overview of the proposed changes, which would be implemented in two phases, and the impacts on HECO’s budget.
“The first phase would increase consolidated annual revenues by approximately $125 million, effective January 1, 2027,” he said. “The second phase would increase consolidated annual revenues by an additional approximately $45 million, effective January 1, 2028.”
Overall, the changes would result in a 5.3% increase in revenue for the company, or a total of approximately $170 million.
On Hawaii Island, monthly base rates for typical residential customers would increase by $12 on Jan. 1, 2027, and an additional $3 on Jan, 1 2028. Over the same period, customers on Oahu, Molokai and Lanai would see their electricity bills go up by a total of $11 a month, while those on Maui would pay an additional $14….
Read … Hawaiian Electric seeks rate hikes | Hawaii Tribune-Herald
State Sen. Brenton Awa resigns from Hawaii Republican Party
HNN: … State Sen. Brenton Awa is no longer a member of the Hawaii Republican Party.
He submitted his resignation in an email to the party chair on Friday, Nov. 6….
With Awa’s departure, Republicans will have two members in the 25-seat chamber: Samantha DeCorte and Bob McDermott.
Sen. DeCorte was recently selected as the new minority leader of the State Senate….
Awa did not confirm or deny a future run for governor or mayor.
He has served as Senate minority leader since 2022….
Read … State Sen. Brenton Awa resigns from Hawaii Republican Party | Hawaii News Now
Honolulu Council Sued Over Secret Zippy’s Meeting
CB: … Kaimukī businessman Tim Garry, a frequent council meeting attendee and two-time mayoral candidate, is calling foul and has hired a lawyer. A complaint filed in state court is seeking to void the leadership vote, ban the offending members from leadership positions for four years and force them to undergo training in the public meetings law.
“No one is above the law,” the complaint states. “The public has a right to participate and to hear all of the Council’s discussions, deliberations and actions taken in a properly noticed meeting.” …
The Hawaiʻi Sunshine Law states “every meeting of all boards shall be open to the public and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting unless otherwise provided in the state constitution” or elsewhere in the law.
Claire Wong Black, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, said in an interview Monday evening that the Sunshine Law covers discussions and deliberations, not just explicit votes.
“Saying that no one voted is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” she said.
In a letter last month, Honolulu’s Corporation Counsel’s office said the council members understand their off-books meeting of five members — a quorum — “may appear to be contrary to the spirit of the Sunshine Law.”
However, the Zippy’s meeting was “an impromptu gathering” that was “not pre-arranged,” the Corporation Counsel’s office said, and members who attended “did not decide” who would fill which leadership positions. Therefore, the city legal department said, the meeting was legal.
Garry disagrees. It is simply not believable that five council members, representing districts as far apart as Windward Oʻahu to Mililani, would each “randomly and spontaneously decide to go to Zippy’s Waipahu at the same time on the same day,” his lawsuit states. And a lack of decision-making does not excuse the council members from the open meetings law, the complaint says.
At last week’s council meeting, Tupola and Okimoto took their colleagues to task.
“I was saddened to see my colleagues justify their actions instead of taking accountability,” Tupola said in an interview on Monday.
At the council meeting, members Kiaʻāina and Cordero defended their participation in the Zippy’s chat by saying they were speaking “bilaterally” — meaning no more than three people were talking to others to “come to the conclusion of who might have the necessary votes to be chair,” as Kiaʻāina put it. …
PDF: Tim Garry vs. Honolulu City Council complaint | DocumentCloud
Read … Honolulu Council Sued Over Secret Zippy’s Meeting - Honolulu Civil Beat
Lawsuit: Fewer blank bills, more transparency
SA: … LWV is asking the high court to hear its appeal of the case after the state Circuit Court ruled against it on July 20. The case involved Senate Bill 935, a measure passed into law by the 2025 Legislature.
SB 935 emerged that session before Jan. 23, 2025, the deadline for bill introduction, titled “Relating to Government,” stating only that the purpose of the bill was “to effectuate the title of this act.”
In other words, it had no content that would have caught public attention. A few weeks later, the measure was filled with a draft of 35 pages. The bill now called for retirement payments for new judges, higher retirement compensation for sheriffs and deputies, and a reduced number of years required for certain public workers to qualify for retirement benefits.
All of these are issues that impose costs on the public purse and certainly were of interest to various affected state employees.
Once the actual proposals were added and SB 935 came up for its first hearing — more than a month after it was introduced as a blank bill — the only testimony came from various affected state agencies and public-employee unions, decidedly self-interested parties. Comments from a few professional organizations and individuals trickled in at the following hearings in March.
The greatest concern to taxpayers: the ease in which these proposed laws can fly below the radar.
The League of Women Voters has rightly argued in its appeal that the lack of detail in short-form bill titles is a real problem because almost anything could fit beneath “Relating to Government,” as was used for SB 935. Under the state Constitution, every law passed “shall embrace but one subject, which shall be expressed in its title.”
The Legislature introduced at least 124 short-form bills in 2025 and at least 201 earlier this year, many of them with similar titles or other broad topics such as “Relating to the State Budget.”
The state’s high court may or may not take up the bill on appeal. In the Circuit Court proceeding, the state Department of the Attorney General argued that mandating the degree of specificity in a bill would intrude on the Legislature’s authority….
June 2025: Green Adds SB935 to 'Intent-to-Veto' List
July 2025: What Did Green Veto?
Sept 2025: Hawaii Legislature sued over "blank" bills
Nov 2026: Will Supreme Court Ban Short-Form ‘Shell Bills’?
Read … Editorial: Fewer blank bills, more transparency | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Deadline nears for 3,100 flagged Hawaii mail-in ballots
HNN: … In the past six days, about 3,100 voters statewide were notified that their mail-in ballots were remain unopened.
Since then, only 264 have cured, or fixed, the issue. Most of those are from Maui County, with 162….
One of the tightest races was on Maui, in House District 14. Green Party candidate Paele Kiakona beat Sne Patel by 107 votes. So far, about 30 people have cured ballots in that district, but 115 remain invalid….
The elections office said the flagged ballots will not be counted unless they can be verified.
Voters have until Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to fix the issue. In some cases, it can be done online or in person. The certified results is expected to be released Tuesday night….
Read … Deadline nears for nearly 3,000 flagged Hawaii mail-in ballots | Hawaii News Now
Ikaika Anderson welcomed to OHA as trustees prepare to select new CEO
HNN: … The new board of trustees’ first meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8. On Dec. 10, trustees are expected to select a new CEO.
“I’m going to look at all three candidates, and I will be meeting with Kumabe, the search firm, later on this week, and I look forward to asking my questions and receiving answers,” Anderson said….
KHON: New OHA trustee elect Ikaika Anderson returns to politics
Read … Ikaika Anderson welcomed to OHA as trustees prepare to select new CEO | Hawaii News Now
Kauai County acquires 155 acres in Lihue for affordable housing
HNN: … The county’s Housing Agency purchased the property from Grove Farm Properties for $3.7 million.
Officials said preliminary assessments indicate the land could accommodate approximately 400 to 500 homes.
Once developed, the project would become the county’s fourth master-planned affordable housing subdivision, aimed at providing permanently affordable homeownership opportunities for local families….
A timeline for planning and construction has not yet been determined.
For updates and information about future community meetings, visit kauai.gov/housing….
Read … Kauai County acquires 155 acres in Lihue for affordable housing | Hawaii News Now
Elephant rights go to Hawai‘i Supreme Court
ASD: … Hundreds in attendance in case over whether Honolulu Zoo elephants Mari and Vaigai are entitled to human rights ….
CB: Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Weighs Who Is Worthy Of Freedom From Captivity - Honolulu Civil Beat
HNN: Hawaii justices bring up octopuses, aliens in debate over elephant rights - YouTube
KHON: Hawaii Supreme Court hears arguments for elephant rights
KHON: The question to consider: are elephants legally people?
SA: Hawaii Supreme Court hears animal rights case at Punahou | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
UKI: Elephants have the right to ‘liberty’ group argues in quest to free animals from Hawaii zoo | The Independent
NYT: Zoo Elephants Have a Right to Liberty, Group Tells Hawaii’s Top Court - The New York Times
Read … Elephant rights go to Hawai‘i Supreme Court
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