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Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi’s Ties To A Convicted Businessman
… Kouchi attended at least one party around 2015 at one of the lavish Mirage villas, where Choy would arrange stacks of gambling chips for his guests and have a chef cook lobster and steaks ….
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Defendant In Honolulu Corruption Case Gave Politicians Thousands In Illegal Straw Donations, Niece Says
… it has been 20 years since anybody in Hawaii has been prosecuted for false-name contributions ….
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Psychologist who got ‘unusual’ plea deal admitted to abusing other young victims, filings reveal
… Records say Kona psychologist Reuben Lelah provided the Hawaii County Prosecutor’s Office with a written confession last fall in which he essentially admitted he’s a serial sex offender. ….
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$5B Income Tax Cut
… The take-home pay for a family of four earning $88,000 would rise by about $3,600 as their tax bill drops to about $1,500 from about $5,100 ….
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How Did it Happen? Legislature passes historic bills on taxation, housing and healthcare
… Get inside scoop at upcoming events on how good bills managed to prevail ….
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SB1035: Legislature Passes Bill to Exempt Medical Care from GE Tax
… exempts hospitals, infirmaries, medical clinics, health care facilities, pharmacies, and medical and dental providers from General Excise Tax (GET) on goods or services that are reimbursed through Medicaid, Medicare, or TRICARE ….
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Legislature comes through big time
… The best news to come out of it was that our lawmakers passed a major income tax-relief bill, HB2404, which Gov. Josh Green is almost certain to sign because it was part of his much-touted “Green Affordability Plan.” ….
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Shimabukuro Resigns Early from Senate
… DeCorte almost beat me in 2022. By resigning, I give Green a chance to appoint a Democrat to give him a better chance for this seat in 2024 ….
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Dems: Income Tax Cut Tops off ‘Productive’ Legislative Session
“… ALICE families will experience firsthand one of the biggest tax cuts in the State’s history ….”
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Maui County to (attempt to) Outlaw ‘Minatoya List’ Condotels
… “Too bad Maui didn’t learn from the City getting spanked for unconstitutionally attempting to legislatively phase out vested property rights to STRs” ….
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Green Signs SB2919: Pretending to Allow Counties to Seize TVRs
… The bill clarifies the counties’ authority to control the time, place, manner, and duration of land uses, particularly transient accommodations including short-term rentals ….
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FBI Raids? No problem–Dawson Begins Construction of Lahaina Housing
… Because USACE is involved, 8a companies such as Dawson score no-bid contracts. Hopefully the FBI investigation and any future indictments and arrests won’t interfere with construction. It also helps that Robin Danner scored a gig in the Governor’s office ….
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After Refusing FEMA Trailers, State to pay $56M monthly hotel bill
… The state and FEMA disagree about how many of the remaining 725 households are eligible for FEMA assistance. FEMA has the number at about 135, while the state believes it should be about 400 ….
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Lahaina fire AG report reveals communication gap between MFD & MPD during evacuation
… None of the communication failures are detailed by the Maui Police Department in its own Lahaina Fire after action draft report, nor the obstruction to evacuation routes. Instead, a report by KITV on road closures was listed in the report’s appendix under “misinformation,” next to false reports of space lasers ….
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A judge is forcing Hawaii AG to give wildfire investigation documents to lawyers handling lawsuits
… David Minkin, an attorney representing Maui County, suggested to the judge that the investigative process was tainted ….
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Governor: A&B will direct me to call Special Session to Soak HECO Ratepayers
… Green said he’s forming what he calls a Climate Advisory Team, headed by former Alexander and Baldwin CEO Chris Benjamin, to analyze the risk and (your) cost to mitigate it ….
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Green ‘Climate Team’ Headed by A&B Exec to Lead Maui ‘Recovery’
… Three Words: ‘Conflict Of Interest’ ….
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Green Signs SB582: $385M for Maui Relief — mostly for ‘FEMA Ineligible Persons’
… $297 million has been designated to aid non-FEMA eligible families ….
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Tokuda: Make Lahaina Federally Controlled ‘National Heritage Area’
… In establishing a new NHA, Congress designates a local coordinating entity—usually nonfederal—to coordinate and oversee administration of the area ….
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Maui County’s new Recovery Permitting Center Opens in Kahului
… to assist residents with the process of applying for Disaster Recovery Building Permits for alterations, repairs, reconstruction and new construction of structures in areas affected by the August 2023 Maui wildfires ….
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Nine Months Later: State Finally Begins Building Housing for Lahaina Survivors
… 450 temporary studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom housing units across 54 acres ….
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OHA Back to Arguing it is Above the Law
… Rowena Akana, a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee, violated the state code of ethics for accepting $21,000 in illegal gifts so attorneys for OHA led by former Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Robert Klein questioned whether the Ethics Commission actually has authority over OHA trustees ….
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OHA Above the Law? One Trustee Says ‘No’
“I am concerned that the amicus brief will be perceived as an attempt by OHA to evade accountability to state ethics laws and oversight. Courts have ruled that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is a state agency whose leadership and employees are subject to the standards of conduct and behavior expected of all state personnel.” — OHA Trustee Keli’i Akina
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Unclaimed: Over $15 million in Tax Credits for Low Income Households
… over one third—or $15.3 million—went unclaimed ….
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The Also-Rans
… “Good riddance!” ….
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Open Letter: Republican Delegates Should Reject Rule Changes
… The proposed change to a winner-take-all caucus would violate RNC rules and therefore risk losing half the Party’s delegation ….
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260 Candidates Pull Papers Statewide
… Candidate filing begins on February 1, 2024, and goes through June 4, 2024 ….
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SB2845: No Right to Keep and Bear Ammunition under Age 21
… Senate and House chambers passed Senate Bill 2845 that prohibits individuals under the age of 21 from purchasing or possessing ammunition ….
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Hawaii AG releases firearm registration statistics
… 2.2% were denied due to one or more disqualifying factors ….
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Hawaii Worst State for Nurses
… Hawaii ranks 47th in health care facilities per capita ….
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Hawaii Least Drug Problem in USA
… but Hawaii has the 5th-highest proportion of teenagers offered drugs on school grounds ….
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Bill 85: Update Maui’s ‘circuit breaker’ property tax credit
… Maui’s circuit breaker offers relief to people who own and live in their homes and have filed for property tax homeowner exemptions ….
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HB2298 Coffee Labeling Bill Pushes Back on Blenders
… any coffee labeled or advertised with a Hawaiʻi geographic origin must consist of at least fifty-one percent coffee by weight from that geographic region ….
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