Trump: US Attacks Three Iran Nuke Sites
Let Moszkowicz Go
Dam Special Fund
How Hawaii Democrats Escape Accountability Thanks to Useless Hawaii Republicans
Shapiro: … Swing voters may have doubts about what Donald Trump does and how he does it, but they credit the Republican for at least getting things done.
Hawaii Democrats have been spared accountability for poor results because of weak opposition from the local GOP, with its oligarchic history and more recent toxic infighting.
But examples of miserable governance by Hawaii Democrats abound, and the GOP is slowly fielding more formidable candidates.
Honolulu rail has been a running symbol of Democratic bungling for nearly 20 years.
They promised a line from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center for $5 billion, to be finished five years ago. Now it’s two stations shorter, half-finished and costing $10 billion, with six more years and many pitfalls to go before completion.
Lawmakers promised a new Aloha Stadium would be finished three years ago for $350 million. Today, the old condemned stadium still stands, with no final plan to replace it and cost projections of $650 million floated.
Promises of tens of thousands of new affordable homes by the last three Democratic administrations are unrealized, leaving people still struggling to afford a life in the place they were born.
It’s not only the big failures that threaten the party’s credibility; the little things nettle, too.
The Waikiki Natatorium was condemned 46 years ago, but remains an embarrassing eyesore in the heart of Oahu’s tourism center as mayoral administrations go back-and-forth between restoring it or tearing it down.
It’s taken nearly a quarter century to resolve the fate of the Falls of Clyde as it sat an ugly wreck in prime space at Honolulu Harbor.
We thought a decision had finally been made in the endless dispute over whether to remove the Haiku Stairs, but yet another lawsuit was filed last week.
There are several unhealthy dynamics at play, led by pay-to-play politics.
Rail and the stadium ran into trouble because they were designed with an eye more toward commercial development around the projects — and the campaign donations development brings — than the actual projects….
Read … David Shapiro: It’s not message but delivery as Dems seek to claw back | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
$77M HI-5 Fund--Mismanaged For 20 Years
CB: … Hawaiʻi’s Deposit Beverage Container Fund holds an impressive balance of more than $77 million.
(IDEA: Stop charging deposits on plastic bottles. They are just being sent to H-Power to be burned.)
Equally impressive, but in a bad way, is that the department overseeing the fund and the program that produces it has failed for 20 years to properly account for all that money, according to state audits.
Last month the State Auditor’s office released its 10th audit of the Deposit Beverage Container Program. As with previous biennial audits dating back to 2005, the conclusions were blunt: After two decades, the Department of Health still hasn’t put basic internal controls in place.
“We’ve done I don’t know how many of these audits, and every year it’s the same finding,” said State Auditor Les Kondo. “There’s really no program. It’s really completely self-reported by both the distributor as well as the redemption center.”…
BACKGROUND:
Read … Beth Fukumoto: Fund That Rakes In Millions Has Been Mismanaged For 20 Years - Honolulu Civil Beat
Senator Dela Cruz Didn't Disclose Possible Conflict of Interest Before Voting
CB: … Donovan Dela Cruz voted four times in favor of passing a bill designed to protect māmaki tea, even though he owns a māmaki tea business. …
Other senators say they were well aware of his likely conflict but were reluctant to speak out because of the senator’s power over legislation and appropriations. Only one lawmaker, state Sen. Glenn Wakai, voted against HB 496….
Questions over conflict of interest come as the māmaki tea bill is under veto consideration by Gov. Josh Green.
In a June 6 press release, the administration said the bill “imposes overly strict labeling requirements” that could hurt small businesses and māmaki producers “who responsibly blend leaves from multiple sources.”…
Not only did Dela Cruz not publicly ask for a ruling on a conflict during floor session, no other senator did, either. That’s according to the 2025 Senate Journal.
But at least 10 times during public floor sessions House members asked for and received a ruling on conflicts of interest from House leadership, according to the 2025 House Journal….
Read … Hawaiʻi Senator Didn't Disclose Possible Conflict Of Interest Before Voting - Honolulu Civil Beat
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority board in limbo as lawmakers call for briefing
SA: … The state legislators in charge of tourism are holding a post-session informational briefing Monday on the beleaguered Hawai‘i Tourism Authority that could play out more like an exit interview.
Gov. Josh Green’s office said in an email Wednesday that he plans on asking for courtesy resignations from the entire HTA board before the beginning of the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.
Green’s stance is related to the passage of Senate Bill 1571, which changed HTA’s governance model when he signed it May 29. “Because the responsibilities of the board have changed to an advisory role, he feels it best to start with a clean slate,” the email said. “The HTA board as it was previously established no longer exists, so it makes sense to look at the composition of the new board.”
State Rep. Adrian Tam (D, Waikiki), chair of the House Committee on Tourism, and state Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D, East Maui-Upcountry-Molokai-Lanai-Kahoolawe), chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism, are holding the joint informational briefing at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Room 329 of the state Capitol. …….
Read … Hawai‘i Tourism Authority board in limbo as lawmakers call for briefing | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Make Fire Victims Pay $4,500/mo for a 1br? Say Anything to Kill TVRs
SA: … Matt Jachowski, one of Bissen’s executive assistants, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “Many of our households already spend that range of money on housing.”
(CLUE: Mortgage, Accociation Dues and other expenses = $4500/mo for a 1br.)
Some “27% of all renters in the county are already cost-burdened,” Jachowski said. “So it’s obtainable.”…
(TRANSLATION: It will be just as bad as it is now, but the hotel unions and the Lahaina Strong meth gang will be happy.)
Read … Owners claim Maui residents can’t afford converted vacation rentals, UH study says otherwise
White House Doctors Gabbard Video
CB: … The tension arose in no small part because of a dramatic short video that Gabbard posted on social media June 10 after visiting Hiroshima. In it she warns that the “political elite and warmongers” are “carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers” — and that the world is “on the brink of nuclear annihilation.”
“Trump saw the unauthorized video and became incensed, complaining to associates at the White House that she had spoken out of turn, according to three people familiar with the episode,” Politico reported.
The Blog can only assume Trump missed the part in her DNI job interview where she likely reminded him she has has long condemned “interventionist regime change wars,” as she often put it.
All this comes as the war between Iran and Israel shows no sign of abating and Trump on Saturday sent U.S. war planes to bomb Iranian nuclear sites despite telling the whole world he would decide in two weeks wther to get the U.S. directly involved.
Meanwhile, the White House has now posted the video of Gabbard testifying before Congress, according to Mediaite, but it was edited to make it look as if she warned that Iran was close to getting nukes. As The New Republic reported, it leaves out the part where she said Iran is not building a bomb….
Read … The Sunshine Blog: July 4 Is Almost Here But New Fireworks Laws Are In Limbo - Honolulu Civil Beat
Former Honolulu attorney indicted in alleged $1.5 million probate fraud
ILind: … Robert Earl Chapman, a former managing partner at one of Hawaii’s largest law firms, has been indicted on 22 counts including forgery, theft, and identity theft in connection with an alleged scheme to seize control of more than $1 million from a deceased Honolulu resident’s estate.
Chapman, a graduate of the University of Maryland law school, was licensed to practice law in Hawaii in 1980. He became a named partner in the firm, then known as Stanton, Clay, Tom & Chapman, Attorneys At Law, in 1987, and later served as managing director of the firm, then known as Clay Chapman Iwamura Pulice & Nervell. He resigned from the practice of law in lieu of discipline in 2022.
The grand jury indictment was filed in Honolulu’s First Circuit Court on Friday morning, June 20. It was based on an investigation by the attorney general’s office. The Grand Jury Bench Warrant sets bail at $1 million….
The charges against Chapman appear to mirror those detailed in the 2022 case brought by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which ended Chapman’s legal career. In that case, which did not involve criminal charges, Chapman admitted to the misconduct.
ODC launched its investigation after receiving a complaint alleging Chapman had “wrongfully attempted to lay claim to approximately $2,000,000.00 in abandoned property held by the Hawai’i Department of Budget and Finance….”
The abandoned property belonged to a former client whose company he had represented in the 1980s. …
Read … Former Honolulu attorney indicted in alleged $1.5 million probate fraud | i L i n d
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