VIDEO: $4000 Dela Cruz Campaign Contribution buys Shouting Match in Hilo
Will Hawaiʻi's Supreme Court Curb Governor's Power To Suspend Laws?
CB: … Gov. Josh Green has issued more than 90 emergency proclamations during less than three years in office. Now the Hawaii Supreme Court may soon define the scope of the governor’s power to issue such executive orders and suspend laws with the stroke of a pen.
The ability of citizens to challenge statewide emergency orders in court is also under review.
The emergency proclamation at issue relates to housing development, and whether Hawaiʻi’s decades-old housing shortage represents the sort of disaster that triggers Green’s ability to declare a state of emergency and suspend laws in response.
Green’s administration said the state’s emergency management law gives the governor broad power to decide what constitutes an emergency and when the emergency ends. But a group of Maui residents said that interpretation goes too far and a housing shortage going back nearly a century isn’t the sort of acute emergency envisioned by the emergency powers law.
The case, which was argued before the Supreme Court earlier this month, involves questions about the role of the Legislature to set policy by passing laws and when governors can suspend those laws to achieve policy goals.
David Henkin, a lawyer with Earthjustice who has filed a brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of Native Hawaiian and civil rights groups, likened Green’s use of emergency proclamations to President Donald Trump’s widespread use of executive orders to suspend laws.
“It’s a scary world,” Henkin said, “when the governor, like the president, is saying, ‘I am the law.’” …
RELATED: Hawaii governor defends emergency housing powers at state Supreme Court
read … Will Hawaiʻi's Supreme Court Curb Governor's Power To Suspend Laws? - Honolulu Civil Beat
In 2026 Kauai Council will Lose Four Incumbents
CB: … Bernard Carvalho, the longest-serving mayor in Kauaʻi history, and Mel Rapozo, a retired Kauaʻi police officer, announced their intent to run within days of each other. They’re vying to replace Mayor Derek Kawakami, 47, who will step down at the end of next year due to term limits, which prevent mayors from serving more than two consecutive, four-year terms.
Both candidates sit on the County Council and represent Kauaʻi’s more conservative old guard, leaving room for a fresh face or a more progressive candidate to enter the race, which is nonpartisan. Candidate filing begins in February and ends in June….
“Mayor Carvalho is always out in the community smiling and laughing, shaking hands,” former legislator and Kauaʻi council member Gary Hooser said. “And Mel Rapozo is a former policeman who can speak to issues in a populist kind of way. He’s very driven in reaching the community and getting them fired up, whereas Carvalho is more of a huggable kind of guy.”…
“It’s nothing new,” Rapozo told Civil Beat in an interview. “But there’s a lot of priorities I have that I don’t have the power to execute as a councilor.”
Carvalho did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
With Carvalho and Rapozo vying for mayor, the council is expected to have four open seats in the 2026 election. Council members KipuKai Kualiʻi and (Putin dupe) Felicia Cowden can’t run again because of term limits.
It’s been decades since the council has had so few incumbents seeking reelection, according to Hooser….
read … The 2026 Kauaʻi Mayor's Race Is Off To An Early Start - Honolulu Civil Beat
Two Years Later: Sagging HECO Power Poles Still Pose Fire Risk
CB: … As wildfire season looms over Hawaiʻi, West Oʻahu has called on the state’s utilities to remove and repair derelict infrastructure residents fear will ignite the overgrowth they have watched burn countless times in the past.
Driving the Farrington Highway corridor it’s easy to see why they are worried. Leaning power poles line the community’s single escape route, propping up sagging utility lines that cut through overhanging vegetation and occasionally bunch like bird nests.
And though Hawaiian Electric Co. has said it’s keeping up to date on its maintenance and wildfire mitigation schedule, locals aren’t convinced — and Nānākuli Rep. Darius Kila says the lines are primed to start a wildfire, just as they did on Maui in 2023….
MN: Hawaiian Electric using drones as a wildfire safety tool : Maui Now
read … After Fumbling Fire Priorities Last Year, Hawaiʻi Lawmakers Make Amends - Honolulu Civil Beat
Zombie News: Meth Camp Returns to Amala Place Four Years after Fentanyl
MN: … When government crews and police officers cleared out the extensive homeless (meth addict) community along Amala Place in 2021, it didn’t take long for some people (tweekers) to return.
“I never left,” said one man (tweeker), who declined to give his name. “I just went deeper in the bushes.”
(QUESTION: When will the rest of the media acknowledge that homelessness is 100% about drugs?)
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Now, a community of people (zombies) once again are living in decrepit vehicles, tents and makeshift shelters along Amala Place — though on a smaller scale (and with fentanyl).
And once again, Maui County is forced to decide how to handle what is deemed by government and many residents as a public health and safety hazard along the busy road, which leads to popular Kanahā Beach Park, and is near the Kanahā Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary and a wastewater treatment plant.
Four years ago, the Amala Place sweep landed Maui County in hot water for what the Hawai‘i Supreme Court deemed a violation of residents’ constitutional rights.
But as recently as last month, videos showed public works crews and police officers clearing out rubbish with the help of a dump truck and bulldozer. County officials say this time is different. They’re getting consent from individuals (tweekers) to remove trash and keep the area clean.
“I can’t comment to what happened in 2021, but what I would think would be perceivably different is that this is a consensual removal of something that the owners (zombies) are deeming as rubbish,” said Laksmi Abraham, county communications director. “And it’s being respectfully removed from the area as a courtesy to the camper or the individual (addicts) .”…
read … Homeless community is back 4 years after clearing of Amala Place. What will Maui County do this time? : Maui Now
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