January 4, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Sunday, January 4, 2026

January 4, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:38 PM :: 1330 Views

Three simple resolutions for the Legislature in 2026

“Raging dumpster fire”-- What The Future of Hawaiʻi’s Republican Party Looks Like

CB: … “never mind the raging dumpster fire in the corner that I was responsible for.” …

… the Hawaiʻi Republican Party suffered from various leaders and personalities who were tone-deaf on important issues and who allowed personal demons to color their actions in the name of the party. We make no excuses for this; they were wrong, what happened in the past was not our finest hour….

We acknowledge our past shortcomings, failures and oversights….

…a journey that requires us to make corrections, evaluate decisions and place the responsibility for all change on ourselves…

…break from the past….

read … What The Future of Hawaiʻi’s Republican Party Looks Like - Honolulu Civil Beat

Will Fireworks Bust Lead to More Indictments?

ILind: … The arrests are the result of a multi-agency investigation involving the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office, Special Investigation and Prosecution Division, and the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement, according to the news release.

I couldn’t help but note that the Honolulu and Big Island police departments are not listed among those cooperating in the investigation, although joint local-federal investigative task forces are common.

The charges were brought via a “criminal complaint” rather than a federal grand jury indictment. This typically signals that the defendants are cooperating, so that prosecutors did not have to seek an indictment. In addition, the government did not seek to detain either defendant, and they were both released on unsecured $50,000 bonds without opposition by prosecutors.

The affidavit of an IRS criminal investigator filed in support of the criminal charges provides further details of the case. There’s some interesting stuff here….

However, no charges appear to have been filed against others who facilitated the illegal shipments….

During an interview with law enforcement on August 13, 2025, GOO stated that his fireworks sales season ran from October through December. GOO had a network of people who helped him sell fireworks and were paid between $20 and $50 per piece sold. GOO passed out inventory lists on paper and text. Customers texted GOO what they wanted, and GOO would deliver the fireworks to them. GOO used burner cellphones to communicate with his distributors and customers….

PDF: Criminal Complaint for illegal fireworks shipments to Hawaii | DocumentCloud

read … Mainland fireworks companies or their employees appear to have facilitated illegal shipments to Hawaii | i L i n d

With FEMA housing deadline for Lahaina fire survivors 39 days away, state officials hope for an extension

HJI: … it has been stressful for the Rogers and 1,475 other fire survivors still in FEMA-funded housing on Maui. They are still waiting to hear from FEMA if the State of Hawaiʻi’s request to extend the benefits for a year will be accepted, or if they will have to find other housing in a tight housing market with high rents.

Feb. 10 is now just 39 days away….

read … With FEMA housing deadline for Lahaina fire survivors 39 days away, state officials hope for an extension - Hawaii Journalism Initiative

Star-Adv: $18 Minimum Wage Not Enough

SA: … Workers in Hawaii who are earning the minimum wage got a pay bump on New Year’s Day, from $14 to $16 an hour. Crediting Hawaii’s Legislature for the increase, Gov. Josh Green’s announcement on the wage hike states that it’s “designed to support working families and foster economic stability.”

In 2028, Hawaii’s minimum wage will rise to $18 per hour, completing the phased schedule mandated by 2022 legislation that brought it up from a base of $10.10 back then. That legislation was welcome — but in hindsight, inadequate, particularly with today’s revelation that too many lower-income households are living at or below the poverty line. …

read … Editorial: Hawaii’s minimum wage needs revisiting | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaiʻi's Transparency Problem Isn't Just About Secrecy

CB: … the public cannot follow influence in real time.

Practical solutions are within reach:

Add plain-language summaries to lobbying reports so residents understand what lobbyists are advocating for.
Link lobbying filings directly to the Legislature’s bill pages, the way Montana and Colorado already do, eliminating the need to search multiple databases.
Publish searchable, sortable data rather than static forms.
Offer compliance tools for nonprofits and community groups so public participation is not limited to insiders.

Secrecy doesn’t always look like withholding information; sometimes it looks like releasing information in ways the public cannot realistically use. If Hawai’i wants to rebuild trust in a changing political landscape, transparency must move beyond availability and toward genuine understanding….

read … Hawaiʻi's Transparency Problem Isn't Just About Secrecy - Honolulu Civil Beat

An early look at ConCons

CB: … Every 10 years Hawaiʻi voters are asked if they’d like to hold a constitutional convention, and the next chance doesn’t come until 2028.

But that’s not stopping PBS Hawaiʻi from shining a light on the process now. It plans to rebroadcast programs the station produced about the 1968 and 1978 ConCons in the weeks leading up to a new production Jan. 29, “Is It Time For a Constitutional Convention?”

Chuck Parker at PBS tells The Blog they are still working on the lineup of guests for the live roundtable discussion.

Here’s the schedule:

“Hawaiʻi Report: 1968 Constitutional Convention, Part 1,” Thursday, Jan. 8, 10 p.m.
“Hawaiʻi Report: 1968 Constitutional Convention, Part 2,” Thursday, Jan. 15, 8 p.m.
“ConCon78,” Thursday, Jan. 22, 10 p.m.
“Is It Time For a Constitutional Convention?”, Thursday, Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m.

All the shows will become available at pbshawaii.org and on the PBS Hawaiʻi YouTube page the night of the scheduled broadcasts and will stay there going forward.

ConCons allow citizens to go over the head of the often-stagnant Legislature by electing delegates who can propose their own constitutional amendments to voters….

In 2018, voters rejected the idea of holding another ConCon after being barraged with a well-financed campaign of scare tactics by defenders of Hawaiʻi’s political status quo….

read … The Sunshine Blog: An Ethics Complaint Against An Ethics Board - Honolulu Civil Beat

After 50 Years: Richard Borreca’s final column

SA: … don’t look to Hawaii to be home to many Republicans. The state has elected just one Republican U.S. senator, Hiram Fong, who served from 1959 to 1977, and two Republican U.S. House members.

The rest have been Democrats. Only two Republicans have been elected governor of this state — and Linda Lingle was the only one to be reelected, in 2006.

I covered Hawaii’s longest-serving mayor, Frank Fasi, and longest-serving governor, George Ariyoshi.

Now after 50 years of reporting on governors John Burns, George Ariyoshi, John Waihee, Ben Cayetano, Linda Lingle, Neil Abercrombie, David Ige, and current governor, Josh Green, thanks to this column, I’m signing off.

There’s nothing wrong with me or the paper, I just think 50 years of mulling over Hawaii politics is enough….

read … Richard Borreca’s final column reflects on Hawaii’s major politicos — and promises made | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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