Lawsuit: Hawaii AG Accuses Trump of 'Distributing Machine Guns'
How Maui Bill 9 Would Destroy TVRs – and still not Create any New Housing for Local Residents
SA: … Owners and managers of some Maui vacation rentals predicted that Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposal to convert 6,100 units into long-term housing will not work and could have unintended consequences.
Some argued at Monday’s hearing of the Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee that most Valley Isle residents cannot afford the $4,000 and more they need in monthly rent to keep up with mortgages, taxes, association fees and other expenses.
Several said the value on their units ever since Bissen proposed Bill 9 last year has plummeted and they have received no offers — either from local residents or out-of-state investors frightened away because they might not be able to use them as short-term rentals.
As a result, they said, renters and buyers who can afford the rent or sales costs might move in from the mainland, meaning Bill 9 would not attain its goal of affordable housing for residents.
One woman said she listed one of her two Kihei rental units for sale for $900,000 last year, then dropped the price to $600,000 and still received no offers, which she said proves the cost of her unit remains out of reach for local residents….
Bill 9 also has been forecast to lead to a 33% drop in tourists, which would give Maui a ratio of 1 visitor for every 3.3 residents, putting it more in line with other island counties….
opponents for the bill repeatedly cited a University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization study in April that predicted losses of jobs, property taxes and visitors among other negative economic impacts of Bill 9….
The proposal has drawn “passionate discussion” that has included bullying and threats, Committee Chair Tasha Kama said. People on both sides of Bill 9 told the committee they have been harassed, and one said he was threatened in person that his house should be burned….
(IQ Test: Do you think the meth gang might have something to do with that?)
read … Maui vacation rental bill draws support, opposition at heated hearing | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Case splits from Democrat vote on shipping bill
ASD: … One Hawai‘i representative broke with the rest of the Democratic party Monday to vote against a bill he says would exacerbate the impacts of the Jones Act on the state.
Rep. Ed Case, who represents urban Honolulu, was one of only two Democrats to vote against the “American Cargo for American Ships” Act on Monday.
The Democrat-authored bill requires that any equipment or material purchased or financed by the Department of Transportation to be shipped on commercial vessels flying a U.S. flag.
Currently, the law requires only a minimum percentage of such cargo to use U.S.-flagged vessels; typically that percentage is 50%....
read … CONGRESS WATCH: Case splits from Democrat vote on shipping bill
State Republican lawmakers meet with the White House, federal officials
HNN: … Hawaii state senators Brenton Awa and Samantha DeCorte, and state Rep. Diamond Garcia spoke to officials from the federal departments of the interior and defense to find ways to reduce the Native Hawaiian housing list.
“Some of the issues that matter is Hawaiian homelands issues, making sure that the waitlist is addressed, and getting federal partners to work with us to complete the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,” Rep. Garcia said.
He added that the meeting with the Department of the Interior (DOI) was “successful” and invited Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to Hawaii….
HPR: Hawaiʻi businesses, government officials are in D.C. to share ideas (and food) | Hawai'i Public Radio
read … State Republican lawmakers meet with the White House, federal officials
Hawaiʻi County Council seeks more oversight with passage of vacation rental bill
HPR: … Council member Rebecca Villegas expressed concern that the bill would “put the cart before the horse” because it would establish rules on short-term rentals that aren’t even defined in the county’s zoning code. In turn, it could possibly influence legislation down the road and prematurely allow more short-term rental units in areas where they aren’t allowed, she said….
RELATED: Bill 47: Hawaii County Developers to Build TVR Subdivisions
read … Hawaiʻi County Council seeks more oversight with passage of vacation rental bill | Hawai'i Public Radio
Hurricane insurance is getting more expensive, harder to find in Hawaii
HNN: … Sharilyn Tanaka, Atlas Insurance Agency senior vice president, estimates hurricane insurance rates have gone up about 50% in the past year.
“This is across all islands and it’s affecting all homeowners, and this would be for single-family homes, even for condominiums,” she said….
The Maui wildfires added to that, and some insurance companies have left the state all together, making it harder to get insured.
Tanaka said the number of insurance carriers in Hawaii has gone down.
“We’ve had some carriers withdraw from our market,” she said. “I’ve never been in a time, in all my years of doing this, which has been over 20 years, of being the agent to tell someone I’m not able to find you insurance.”
If you live in a condo, there’s a good chance the building is not fully insured. A recent study showed 400 Honolulu condos are underinsured for the replacement value of the building, which likely means maintenance fees will go up significantly.
And if you’re trying to buy or sell your home, it’s an especially troubling situation.
Realtor Pam Maeda with Marcus Realty said, “It’s a struggle for everyone, and anyone that thinks it’s not affecting them is just not looking. It affects every single person.” ….
read … Hurricane insurance is getting more expensive, harder to find in Hawaii
Hawaiʻi Agriculture Dep’t Moves To Broaden Allowed Agricultural Uses
CB: … The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture plans to overhaul its rules this summer to allow more than just agricultural production on 25,000 acres under a new agricultural enterprise lands program. Education is among the permitted activities under consideration, along with tourism, food hubs, farmers markets, livestock feed mills and slaughterhouses. The public will have the opportunity to weigh in during public hearings starting early next month.
Weidenbach, who owns Hawaiʻi Fish Co., is among those expressing cautious optimism, hoping that people won’t take advantage of the expansion. Their concerns are heightened by past rural land conflicts over building zipline towers in the name of agriculture or holding drag racing events, which happened last year on land owned by the state-owned Agribusiness Development Corp.
In the words of the documentation the agriculture department has put together, the key is defining who is a “bonafide operator.”
“How do you put it into words so farmers – legitimate farmers – can do those accessory activities,” Weidenbach said, “but someone that’s not a legitimate farmer can’t slip through and ruin it for everyone?”….
The department lobbied the Legislature to create a new program in 2022 that would allow for a broader range of activities. It had by then taken over the Kamuela Vacuum Cooling Plant on the Big Island and a slaughter facility on Oʻahu, among others, which fell outside the department’s own lease program terms. …
read … What Is Farming? Hawaiʻi Moves To Broaden Allowed Agricultural Uses - Honolulu Civil Beat
SB935: Dela Cruz Cuts Judges’ Pension Benefits
CB: … Senate Bill 935 would effectively reduce overall retirement payments by about a third for state judges who are confirmed after July 1, 2031, even as the state judiciary warns it is increasingly difficult to recruit top lawyers for judgeships.
The decision prompted calls for Gov. Josh Green to veto the measure, but he didn’t include it on his list of intended vetoes, meaning it will almost certainly stand ….
On the same day the commission finalized that new salary schedule, the state Senate voted unanimously for a draft of SB 935 that would have reduced pensions for all judges appointed after June 30 by about 30%.
The proposal would have reduced the multiplier applied to judges’ highest-paid years of service from 3% to 1.75% for purposes of calculating their pensions. Judges also receive annuity payments upon retirement that are not affected, so the bill reduces the total retirement benefit for affected judges including annuities by about 30%.
That proposal advanced to conference committee at the end of session, where Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Donovan Dela Cruz continued to push for it, according to Rep. David Tarnas.
Dela Cruz “wanted to include that for reasons I do not know, and I would not accept that for the current year,” said Tarnas, chair of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
Tarnas said he accepted the language reducing future judges pensions “reluctantly” after Dela Cruz agreed to a compromise that delayed the effective date of the pension so that it only would only apply to judges appointed after June 30, 2031.
That’s the same year the next salary commission will make new pay recommendations. Tarnas said delaying the pension reduction until then will give that new commission an opportunity to consider the entire compensation package including both salary and retirement benefits….
read … Will Cuts To Pension Benefits Hurt Efforts to Recruit New Hawaiʻi Judges? - Honolulu Civil Beat
Report shows use of Hawaiian language growing at home
MN: … The number of people speaking ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, or the Hawaiian language, at home was 18,400 in 2016 and 27,338 in a 2024 report, according to the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
A U.S. Census survey in 2024 reported that Hawaiian was the most common non-English language spoken among school-aged children in the state.
A survey also said 32,730 people spoke Hawaiian at home in the United States. According to the state Department of Education, enrollment in Hawaiian language classes climbed by 62% from 2,404 students in 2014-15 to 3,884 students in the 2024-25 school year….
read … Report shows use of Hawaiian language growing at home | News, Sports, Jobs - Maui News
Girl Scouts, Teachers Union Headline Kauai Gay Pride Parade
TGI: … The Girl Scouts of Hawaii distribute pride cookies during the Kauai Pride Parade and Festival on Rice Street on Saturday, June 7, 2025. …. A parade participant with the Hawaii State Teachers Association waves the colors of pride during the Kauai Pride Parade ….
read … Hundreds come out to the 7th Annual Kauai Pride Parade and Festival - The Garden Island
Twice-deported immigrant faces prison sentence
SA: … An immigrant who was deported twice but allegedly managed to live in the U.S. illegally for more than 20 years faces federal prison time after she was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations agents in Honolulu on May 23.
Maria Aldana Rincon, 51, a citizen of Mexico, also known as “Marisela Martinez De Cabrales” and “Veronica Castaneda Rosales,” allegedly entered the U.S using a fake name through California in September 2002, federal authorities say.
Federal agents executing a search warrant at a Kaimuki home arrested Rincon for suspicion of illegal reentry. She was in possession of identification showing her “true name,” and her fingerprints were later matched to the two aliases she used to remain in the U.S., authorities allege ….
read … Twice-deported immigrant faces prison sentence | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Drones Deliver Millions Of Mosquitos to Prevent Bird Extinctions In Hawai‘i
F: … This effort is the first known instance of specially-designed mosquito pods being dropped by drones. One of several pod design challenges that had to be met before the drone delivery service could be launched was the pods needed to maintain a controlled temperature. Unlike other insect species that have been released directly from drones in other parts of the world, these male mosquitoes are fragile and require containment in temperature-controlled pods.
“It’s extremely exciting to have reached this project milestone,” Mr Knox remarked in email. “The first drone deployments took place in April 2025. It took a lot of hard work and reliance on strong partnerships to reach the point where we could successfully demonstrate the utility and potential of drone aircraft as a tool for this important work, especially in one of the more challenging environments in the world.”
The mosquito deliveries occur over thousands of acres of remote, mountainous terrain that have significant elevational changes, strong winds, and frequent rain. The drones and their release systems had to be tested in these demanding conditions to validate their ability to carry out the basic components of the mission….
read … Drones Deliver Millions Of Mosquitos to Prevent Bird Extinctions In Hawai‘i
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