Entries for February 2025

1. Debt: Honolulu 4th Worst 'Sinkhole City'
2. Another CWS Hell House: Four Children Tortured, One Girl Starved to Death
3. SB281: Outlaw Child Torture
4. The Cost Of A New Aloha Stadium Is Now Up To $650 Million
5. Survey: Crime and safety, affordable housing, cost of living among top concerns for Hawaii residents
6. 1981-82: Hawaii No. 1 home-price yo-yo
7. HEI is selling Hamakua Energy
8. Hawaii May Get Four New Waste-to-Energy Facilities

1. VICTORY! SB1150 Child Sex-Change Kidnap Bill Deferred
2. Grassroot: State's school impact fees earn 'F'
3. SB933: Shell Bill with Blank Dollars to Make up for Federal Funding Freeze
4. Jury in ‘Moana’ copyright trial gets primer on Polynesian, Hawaiian culture on day 1
5. Comments Sought on Judicial Nominees for Maui County, Hawaii County
6. Affordable Home subsidy purchase program gives $10M to lawyers, activists
7. Critic of High Costs of Tiny House Villages Quits Top Homelessness Post
8. Trial set in affordable housing credits scam
9. Government workers who don't do much—is it worth the cost to fire them?
10. Oʻahu Public Housing Tenants Promised Relocation Help Hit Dead-Ends
11. Hawaii 20% SNAP Food Program Overpayment Rate
12. HECO Electricity not 60 cycles per second--Making Clocks Run Fast
13. Hawaiian Homes Commission Greenlights New Hilo Diesel Power Plant to charge Batteries—calls it ‘bio’
14. Homeowners in Aliamanu fireworks explosion case released pending investigation
15. Group of jewelry scammers being kicked out of the country
16. Movie to feature the war for control of Hawaii organized crime in the ’60s and ’70s

1. Leaving Hawaii: Over Half Immediately Able to buy Home on Mainland
2. Hawaii Gun Bills: Decision Making Hearings Scheduled
3. Defamation: UH Law School Dean Sues Ken Lawson
4. 2025 Wildfire Summit: 'Exploring our Wildfire Future'
5. Extradition to Hawaii ordered in 1977 murder case
6. Instant Results: Gabbard fires over 100 perverts from Intelligence Agencies
7. The NSA’s Secret Sex Chats
8. Smaller providers stepping in to ease Hawaii insurance crisis?
9. HNN Investigates uncovers apparent geographic oversight in national kidney allocation policy
10. California ‘body brokers’ offer to fly homeless zombies out of Hawaii
11. Defend Hawaii: Mainland Drug Dealer Comes to Hawaii—busted in only FIVE DAYS
12. Hawaiʻi Cost Of Living Is Creating A Mental Health Crisis For Workers
13. 150 laid off as DLIR Cuts off MEO, CNHA--Blames ‘Federal funding Issues’
14. Legislators Reject $20M ‘Green’ Subsidy for Oil Refiner
15. Rail Construction Damaged Honolulu Freshwater Springs
16. $275,000 For Heart Attack Caused By False Missile Alert 
17. Major Fireworks Seizure At Honolulu Port Points To Federal Failure

1. Jones Act Keeps Hawaii Energy Expensive
2. Hawaii Can Auction Off Your Car Without Ever Convicting You
3. UH Trump Watch: New website on federal policy updates
4. Kōloa Rum Company challenges Jones Act in court
5. Proposed tax on foreign ships could increase costs in Hawaii
6. HB1308: Contentious Hawaii Sports Betting Bill Reaches House Floor
7. TRO filed against Honolulu Fire Battalion Chief in rape case
8. Testifiers sound off on Hawaiʻi measure to ban non-medical vaccine exemptions in schools
9. Few Property Sales, High Prices in Lahaina As Victims Try To Recoup Losses
10. After DLNR Wrecks Banyan Drive, HCDA to Take Over?
11. People Have Been Waiting Most Of A Decade To Use This Bathroom

1. Study Identifies the Cities Where Residents Live Most Beyond Their Means--Honolulu 6th
2. HECO Plan: Collect $1 Billion From Customers
3. 18 Months Later: Electricity Still not Restored in Lahaina Burn Zone
4. Lahaina Harbor is fixed, why hasn’t it reopened?
5. Census Bureau Says Hawaii Population Increasing: Economist Skeptical
6. Hawaii fireworks injuries have risen over past decade
7. Half of Hawaiʻi Inmates Choose to Leave Prison Without The IDs They Need to Start Over

1. Political problems not the same as true emergencies
2. Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted February 22, 2025
3. TAT Is Not Duct Tape
4. Hawaii Family Forum Legislative Week in Review Feb 21 2025
5. Rail Line to Terminate at Iwilei Station?  Hanabusa squabbles with engineers
6. Trump policies threaten University of Hawaii ethnic studies programs
7. Hawaii Undermines anti-Trump ‘Resistance’
8. Miske death certificate filed in court while sentencing of his associates continues
9. Jones Act Keeps Hawaii Energy Expensive
10. 240 Vacancies at Lunatic Asylum: State hospital employee says horrific conditions are putting everyone at risk
11. The Legislature’s Schedule Works Only For The Most Powerful Committees
12. Dead Or Alive? With A Week To Go, Some Sunshine Bills Are Teetering
13. Many Proposed Constitutional Amendments Dead
14. “Backend software” issue hides legislators’ connections to lobbyists
15. Hawai‘i Convention Center seeking $55M to reward contractors for campaign contributions
16. Apparent settlement reached in Honokohau Harbor sewage lawsuit

1. Liquor Comm. Insider Bails out as Federal Oversight Commences
2. Hawaii Among Worst States to Start a Business
3. Honolulu Next? U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy Announces Review of California High-Speed Rail Project
4. Trump’s Federal Budget Cuts May Save Hawaii from Rail Tax Extension
5. HART board member challenges closed-door meeting policy
6. Fire burns Hawaiian Electric Industries with $1.4B loss
7. Wahiawā Charter School Accepts Permanent Closure
8. Maui Man Released After 30 Years In Prison For A Murder He Says He Didn't Commit

1. SB433: Hawaii Knife Ban Bill Stopped
2. Fire debris cleared from final commercial property in Lahaina
3. Island Flex Open Enrollment Period: March 1 through April 30, 2025
4. Hawaii-AG-Backs-Suit-Against-Closure-of-Consumer-Financial-Protection-Bureau
5. Three Bills Could Speed Up Rebuilding Of Lahaina's Front Street
6. Cochran absent from House Floor 80% so far this session
7. More Miske associates sentenced
8. Proposed pay hikes for state ‘leaders’ spark outrage
9. SB1553: A Pre-Fab Factory to Get More Native Hawaiians Into DHHL Homes
10. Mindless DPP Bureaucracy Makes 'Renovation Aloha' Illegal
11. Maui Council’s $300,000 vacation rental phase-out study strays off course
12. ‘Sustainable’ Aviation Fuel: $80M Subsidy to Refinery, Airlines
13. Hawaii Tax Revenues for January Down $171M From Last January
14. Lawsuit over Rail’s ‘Foul Miasma’ -- HART ‘flooded with sewage’
15. Police union approves COVID hazard pay settlement

1. Case and Ward ask Trump Admin to Ban Windfarms from Kaiwi Channel
2. Court ruling makes Miske indictments and convictions disappear
3. Gas Attack: Former associate of late crime boss Mike Miske sentenced
4. HB1307: Big Island’s Next Geothermal plant to be on DHHL Land next to Pohakuloa?
5. Investment Houses Salivate over Chance to Milk Passive Investors as Hawaii automatic retirement savings scam bills move forward
6. County vows to install cameras, lights after slew of thefts in Lahaina burn zone
7. Did Maui’s Vacation Rental Crackdown Hit A Wall?
8. Deadline Tomorrow: Candidate Registration for Neighborhood Board Elections
9. Honolulu Fire Battalion Chief released pending investigation in sexual assault case
10. Pentagon chief orders big cuts, but Indo-Pacific Command among exemptions
11. Trump order halts ‘community benefits plans’
12. To Rescue The Cliffs Below Diamond Head, This Group Went Rogue

1. 'Malicious Prosecution' Kaneshiro Tries to Beat Back Civil Suit
2. Indictment: Alleged Embezzler Busted at Hawaii Eco Group
3. Green Executive Order to Speed State Hiring?
4. UH: TRO Protecting DEI from Trump Executive Orders
5. Double the Fraud: SB184 100% fee hike for beverage container recycling
6. Consumers Sacrifice To Pay Hawaiʻi’s Record Electric Bills
7. $42.5M: UH students are on hook for COVID pay to employees
8. Leaks And Mold: Hensel Phelps’ 4-Year-Old State Hospital Needs New Roof
9. Hawai‘i Condo Owners Could Benefit From State Plan To Prop Up Insurance Market
10. Sanctuary County? Council members challenge Hawaii County PD cooperation with ICE, DHS, FBI
11. Auckland Airport cocaine bust: 100kg in bags smuggled on Hawaiian Airlines flight

1. Rising Costs on the Horizon: How Increased Tariffs on China Will Impact Hawaiʻi
2. City announces two more town hall meetings on proposed sewer fee increases
3. Abolish Salary Commissions?
4. Corruption:  First test of AG’s “Special Investigation and Prosecution Division” – How will she throw JL Capital case?
5. The Hawaiʻi State Capitol Could Be Closed For Years As Contractors Milk $100M Allocated To Fix Aging Systems
6. Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles Arrive in Waikiki, City will soon be stripped of all Coconut Palms
7. ​Transsexual files Lawsuit filed over 2020 COVID mask incident
8. Kauai, Island of Retaliation: Sex Harassment Claim Against Judge Could Cost Taxpayers $90K

Abolish Salary Commissions?

1. Amended SB1150 Still Legalizes Kidnap of Children for Sex-Change
2. House Report: 60 Chinese espionage cases in three years
3. Hawaii GOP hopes era of cooperation leads to new laws
4. This Luxury Kauaʻi Hotel Is Housing Foreign Workers In Container Homes
5. High Cost of Living Means Being A Mom In Hawaiʻi Isn't Easy.
6. What happens to Miske’s Portlock luxury home and other assets?
7. DLNR Demands Money for Lahaina harbor rebuild

1. Candy Crush
2. LIST: Dozens of Bills That Could Affect Cost of Living
3. Policies that could help turn the tide of people leaving Hawaii
4. If we're not careful, nearly everything will become "historic"
5. California wildfire recovery lessons from Lahaina
6. This Week in Hawai'i: Freedom to Read, Gender Affirming Health Care, Marijuana & Gambling
7. Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted February 14, 2025
8. SB492: 20 More Years of The Honolulu Rail Tax Being ‘Temporary’?
9. Let LNG flow for cheap, clean energy
10. Ethics Complaints up 552%
11. No Legislator Admits to Lobbyist Relationships, Given Extension to Correct their Lies
12. Prison Designer Hosts Indiana Fundraiser for Green
13. Those who lost loved ones in the Lahaina fire could receive some funds next month
14. Miske’s criminal case enters its final stage
15. Hawaii County Police discipline: Sex Offender Gets Job Back, Armed Robber and Bribe Taker Next
16. Maneuver: House ‘Recommits’ Marijuana Legalization Bill Forcing Senate to Take Lead
17. Federal job losses could be local government gains

1. Case, Moylan Introduce Jones Act Reform Bill
2. Honolulu Neighborhood Board Candidate Registration Ends Feb 21
3. 18 Months Later: Maui Council Begins to Loosen Rebuild Restrictions
4. Frustrations, ironies of ‘Princeville Market saga’
5. Report urges changes to cut review delays at State Historic Preservation Division
6. Releasing Mosquitoes to Help Kauai Forest Birds
7. Busted on Guam: Federal Juror Took Bribe from Dirty ex-Cop
8. How Zoning Ruined the Housing Market in Blue-State America
9. SB27 and SB28 advance to end county council obstructionism of state-funded housing projects
10. County bill advances to allow nonconforming structures in Lahaina to be rebuilt as they were before the wildfires
11. ‘I knew the truth.’ Red Hill whistleblower responds after inspector general report clears leaders
12. Game Room Enforcer with 50 Priors Gets Probation Again and Again
13. Death of neighbor sparks kauhale health concerns

1. Navatek ex-CEO Gets 87 Months for Fraud
2. Hawaii AG Sues to Stop Musk
3. Hawaii AG Wins Injunction Against Trump's 'Birthright Citizenship' Order
4. How to Maintain DEI Programs: Hawaii AG 'Guidance' for State Contractors
5. $550M Short, Stanford Carr might be forced to walk away from Aloha Stadium project
6. Another CWS Hell House: Three Babykillers Get Probation
7. SB897 to Facilitate Clean, Cheap Natural Gas for Hawaii?
8. HB982 Raise Rates Now to Pay HECO for its NEXT Disaster
9. Family Ties Could DQ Judge From Hawaii Wildfire Litigation
10. Hawaii lawmakers put end to casino gambling bill
11. SB1432: Dissolve Hawaii’s 5^th County--or make Molokai its own County?
12. Congresswoman demands answers after HNN investigation exposes one-sided kidney trade
13. Delayed teacher paychecks discussed at Hawaii Board of Education meeting (again)
14. Toxic Work Environment Concerns Derail Honolulu EMS Director Reappointment
15. Why can’t Hawaii taxpayers use IRS Direct File?

1. McConnell: 'Unworthy' Gabbard an 'Unnecessary Risk' to America
2. Honolulu 4th Highest Inflation in USA
3. Honolulu Bankruptcy Courthouse: Oral Argument at Ninth Circuit Against SEC’s Illegal Gag Rule
4. “You cannot run from the facts” Miske half-brother gets 20 years
5. Lahaina FEMA Housing: Rent to be collected starting March 1
6. Feds Release Red Hill Health Study
7. Hawai‘i’s Housing Crisis Was Decades in the Making
8. Testimony over transsexual child kidnapping bill gets heated
9. ‘Harm Reduction Ripoff?’ -- Kauhale Cost $103K per bum per year
10. Maui’s Vacation Rental War: A Crackdown or Engineered Uproar?
11. More than 600 Lahaina structures can be rebuilt faster with new permitting policy
12. Police to vote on $20K each COVID hazard pay settlement
13. SB1588: Nuclear power exploration legislation gains steam
14. HB661: Save Boat Tours from Eco Activist Obstructionism
15. Hawai`i State Legislature`s Third Attempt at Carbon Sequestration Scam
16. Hawaiʻi Algae Feed Project At Risk Amid Federal Funding Freeze
17. Trump executive order impedes funding for Native Hawaiian-led ‘climate’ work
18. Hawaii Couple's Energy Tax Credit Suit Gets Review by High Court

1. Feds Begin to Pull 'Project Labor Agreements'
2. Russian Bot In Charge of all US Intelligence Agencies: Gabbard Confirmed by Senate 52-48
3. SB1201: HECO Wants Rate Hikes to Cover Maui wildfire settlement
4. $5B Tax Hike: A 15-Year Extension Of Honolulu Rail Tax Advances In The Senate
5. Maui Fire ruling is a “lose-lose” for Hawaii residents—secret mediation underway
6. Half-brother of late crime boss sentenced as part of ‘Miske enterprise’
7. Sewage plant prompts emergency proclamation
8. Hawaii 'Stand your ground' laws could expand after killing
9. High risk, low pay: Dangers faced by Hawaii’s private security guards often underestimated, experts say
10. Acasio, 7 others sue state House
11. Return to Sender: Bills would deport bums back to Mainland

1. FULL TEXT: State Supreme Court Ruling Goes Against Maui Wildfire Insurers
2. Hawaii Supreme Court gives green light to $4 billion Maui fire settlement
3. Hawaii Anti-Gun Bills Scheduled for Public Hearings on Wednesday
4. What Lingle v Chevron Missed: Eminent Domain Pretext
5. Indictment: Developer Behind False-Name Contributions to Amemiya, Pine
6. Hawaii AG Joins Suit Against Trump administration for ‘indiscriminate’ public health research funding cuts
7. Hawaiian Electric claims to be 36% 'renewable'
8. ‘Russian Bot’ to be Director of National Intelligence: Senate tees up final vote on Tulsi Gabbard nomination
9. State officials could see big pay raises soon
10. Lahaina Disaster Still A 'Relentless Presence' In Fire Survivors' Lives

1. Federal Court Upholds Hawaiʻi’s firearm age restriction laws
2. Racism Is Common In Hawaiʻi Schools — And Often Goes Unaddressed
3. ACLU Cites 'Pattern Of Violence' After Murder At Oʻahu Jail--demands mass release of criminals so they can inflict the ‘pattern of violence’ on us
4. With massive flooding in Kīhei wreaking havoc every winter, community wonders: When will things change?
5. Suspected meth found at Guam AG's office
6. Congressional Delegation (again) Pretending to Reunite Filipino WW2 Veterans’ Families

1. Don't tax me, bro!
2. Dedicated Funding?!
3. ACLU, Judiciary Plot to Release Hundreds of Criminals onto the Streets
4. Feds Collect $1.7M in Hawaii Forfeitures
5. Hawaiʻi Water Safety Plan to address drowning crisis
6. Hawaii Congressional Delegation--How they Voted February 7, 2025
7. The Hawaii Contradiction: Is Sustainability Just A Price Hike?
8. Bananas prove slippery for former city officials
9. Hawaiʻi Foster Care Numbers Are Down. But Not Down Enough
10. Rep Gene Ward Missing from Legislature
11. What’s next now that the eviction moratorium has ended?
12. HB606: Hawaiian Home Lands seeks public support for a bill to increase, extend deadline on $600M spending plan
13. Fifty Years of Hawaii Lobbying Reform

1. SB1150 Would Legalize Child Kidnapping for Sex Change
2. Monday: Salary Commission to Hear Testimony on Salary Increases
3. Legislature Votes on Abortion, Vaccines and Marijuana--Sex Change Next
4. ‘Enough is enough’ says Case regarding Jones Act and Hawaii
5. First Christian Good News Clubs in Hawaii Schools after Court Victory
6. SB893: Casinos at New Aloha Stadium and Convention Center
7. Samoan tragedy kept in forefront of Kennedy fight
8. Bill Could Allow Maunakea Authority To Side Step Sunshine Law

1. PHOTOS: Lahaina Strong Leaders Show Off Luxe European and Asian Vacations
2. Honolulu Rate Commission seeks input on recommended fare hikes
3. Legislature Votes on Abortion, Vaccines and Marijuana
4. GE Tax Imposed on 119% of State Personal Income
5. Poll: Trump Favorability 28% in Hawaii—2^nd lowest in USA
6. HB959: 50% Hike in GE Tax
7. Supreme Court Hears Case for Robbing Insurers to Save Hawaii Political Insiders from HECO Bankruptcy
8. Lahaina seaside owners want accelerated rebuilding process
9. UH Cancer Center: Tax Hikes and Another Mercado Kim Shakedown
10. Family of fallen Maui firefighter demands $14M

1. California Home Insurance Crisis Provides Another Example of the Pitfalls of Government Intervention
2. Hawaii Attorney General Pledges to Continue Sex-Change Operations on Children
3. Proof of Concept Study Completed for New Oahu Jail
4. Lahaina Rebuild: Green's Latest Emergency Order Gives SMA Exemptions Mauka of Front Street
5. Maui Wildfire Settlement – Jack up Electric and Insurance Rates to Save HECO -- now before Supreme Court
6. How High Will Hawaii’s 18% Hotel Tax Go With Latest Proposal?
7. SB1124: A Per-Box Delivery Tax
8. What will Happen to Pacific Island nations as Trump Deports Criminals?
9. Hawaiʻi recycling program headed by 911 trooother says accounts frozen by Trump's executive orders
10. Red Hill community group says Trump memo is impacting talks with the Navy
11. HB1118: Eliminate Antivaxxers’ Religious Exemptions
12. SB1542: Parental Control Over Online Apps
13. HB371: Bill To Close Pay-To-Play Loophole In Hawaiʻi Moves To Full House

1. Honolulu Charges the Highest Tourist Tax in the World
2. Here’s the Salary a Single Person Needs to Live Comfortably in Hawaii
3. Do you think the city spends your money responsibly?
4. Senate bill passes to waive SMA permits for rebuilding parts of historic Lahaina town
5. Governor questions Trump picks’ experience, tells loyalists: ‘You have been tricked’
6. Victim: Red Hill advocates wrong to mix with RFK antivaxxerism
7. OHA Kakaako Makai housing bill advances
8. First climate tax hike bills pass initial hearing
9. Hawaii Legislature Considering Geothermal and Nuclear Power
10. Marijuana Legalization Gets Initial Approval From 2 House Committees
11. Bill would create statewide policy for police car chases
12. State stops 24/7 enforcement of Waianae Small Boat Harbor

1. VIDEO: Tulsi's New Age Guru and the Source of Her Mysterious Wealth
2. Greatness
3. Hawaii Gun Ban Bills Scheduled for Public Hearings this Thursday
4. 2024 Homeless Report showed many underutilized housing programs
5. Wheat Retires, Corruption Investigations Over:  Its Party Time Again -- Sweet Deal for Former city officials Guilty in police chief payoff conspiracy
6. Senate panel advances Tulsi Gabbard nomination for DNI after Trump, Musk Flip Votes
7. SB534:  OHA’s Crooked Kakaako Deal
8. Council members question effectiveness of homeless-related grants
9. As Usual, Penalty Reduced in Arbitration For HPD Officers
10. Ethics Bills on the Move (for now)
11. Multifaceted writer Cliff Slater dies at 91

1. Legislature: Grassroot Institute sifts through onslaught of bills
2. 2024: Tourist Count Up--Spending Down
3. Honolulu Egg Prices up 52%
4. Hawaii AG Claims Victory--Sued to Overturn Trump Funding Freeze
5. City touts 'bold initiative' to expand affordable housing
6. SB1618 'Patently Unconstitutional'
7. Small business struggles highlighted in new UHERO report
8. SB1618: Donna Mercado Kim bill would Abolish Freedom of the Press
9. SB311: State Constitutional amendment would Abolish Freedom of the Press
10. Legislature ‘mulls’ multiple insurance bills
11. Intervention Window Opens for Reviewing HECO`s Wildfire Mitigation Plan
12. Maui's Historic Restaurants Get Help From National Trust
13. 24,000 in Hawaiʻi Call Federal Government Their Boss

1. Hold On to Our Gains!
2. Proposed "green fee" a reason for red flag
3. Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted January 31, 2025
4. ‘Snowed-in’ -- Trump Rattled by Gabbard’s Poor Performance at Hearing
5. Pay Hikes:  Legislators make bank as their electorate suffers
6. Hawaiʻi Lawmakers At Work Year Round? Nightmare Scenario That's Becoming A Real Possibility
7. OHA CEO, Chair tied to Sen Dela Cruz
8. Hawaii Supreme Court considers fate of $4B wildfire settlement
9. House bill advances to speed up historic preservation reviews of development projects
10. More Delays for Front Street: State official says ‘community’ needs time to ‘decide future’ of Lahaina’s Historic District
11. KSBE Can Get Away With Anything: Kahala Hotel beach access lawsuit
12. Don’t raise hotel tax while Hawaii tourism still struggles
13. Vague Laws, Big Consequences: As Intended, Uncertainty Chokes Maui Vacation Rentals
14. HART board discusses next evaluation for CEO Kahikina
15. DoT Wants 187 Speeding Cameras to ticket drivers

1. HB900: Lawyers for Abused Foster Kids?
2. 'Severe Housing Problems' Drag Down Hawaii Health Rankings
3. DoE Tries to Spin Latest Batch of Failing Test Scores
4. What happens When UH Hires a Disbarred Ex-Con as Law Professor?
5. Trump Executive Order Mandates School Choice for Military Families
6. Taxpayers Buy State Rep Poepoe an Oceanfront 300ac
7. Mitsunaga Money Laundering Convict Wesley Segawa confirmed 6-3 as director of Hawaiʻi County’s Department of Environmental Management – immediately identifies ‘contract’ opportunities
8. Lahaina housing: Former tenants eager to return, daunted by four-year wait
9. ‘Resident preference’ housing bill unanimously OK’d
10. HB1308: Online sports betting in Hawaii moves ahead in state House
11. HB790/SB589: Reach in Your Pocket to Pay More Solar Subsidies
12. Easy Pander: Honolulu Council opposes landfills over Oahu’s aquifer
13. Grim memories resurface after DNA advances lead to arrest of suspect in Hawaii teen’s 1977 murder
14. Federal prosecutors sue to get Miske’s $25M in assets after criminal case upended by his death