January 25, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Sunday, January 25, 2026

January 25, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 11:59 AM :: 202 Views

Hegseth 'Taking Sledgehammer' to 8a Military Contractors

New Year, New Variance

Looking forward to the 2026 legislative session

Hawaii RNC members pay their way to represent state: ‘It’s not a cheap hobby’

$35K Bribe: AG Knows Who Took the Money

CB: …The AG now knows exactly who this individual is. As no further investigation is required to answer this one limited and narrow question, any further delay seems highly inappropriate given these circumstances and the necessity of knowing if this individual is a current member of the Legislature. Moreover, the answer must be made public now through an official source, i.e. the AG, not through rumor or gossip….

It goes without saying that this question must be answered as the 2026 legislative session gets underway. It would be highly inappropriate for this individual to take part in pending legislation involving campaign finance reforms and/or changes to the bribery and campaign spending statute of limitations for criminal offenses. All these measures may have a direct bearing on the legality or ethics of their actions….

Second, would disclosing whether the individual is a current member of the Legislature interfere with the now ongoing state investigation? The answer is a resounding “No.” Common sense tells you that answering this limited and narrow question cannot possibly affect any criminal investigation the AG may conduct.

(CLUE: It is the AGs refusal to name that allows the bribe taker to continually interfere with the various investigations by exercising his political power.)

Third, what if the individual who took the $35,000 is currently a member of the executive branch of government? This is a distinct possibility as several former legislators work for the governor. If the person is a member of the executive branch, then the AG may need to recuse her office and appoint independent counsel to investigate and prosecute this matter as it presents a possible conflict of interest. Only the AG knows the answer to this question….

read … Alexander Silvert: 'Our Work Is Not Done Yet' - Honolulu Civil Beat

$35K Bribe: “Identify the legislator”

Shapiro: … Now it’s on them to either identify the legislator and bring him or her to justice, or credibly explain why taking $35,000 under such suspicious circumstances from a favor-seeker isn’t illegal.

The U.S. attorney has agreed to share evidence with the AG, so the legislator who took the $35,000 is on tape and should be easily identified….

read … Volcanic Ash: Corrupt pols can’t easily hide if citizenry won’t stand for it | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Open the Files: Did Local Attorney Hire Hitman to Kill Judge, Prosecutor?

CB: … One of the more bizarre stories in recent times surfaced during the 2024 bribery trial of former Honolulu County Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and a raft of other defendants, including local businessman Dennis Mitsunaga…

one of the defendants, an attorney named Sheri Tanaka, was alleged to have hired a hitman to knock off U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright, who originally had the case, and the main federal prosecutor, Michael Wheat….

For a few weeks, the legal paperwork over this startling turn of events was flying. Unfortunately for The Sunshine Blog and everyone else waiting to see what would happen, pretty much everything was filed under seal and any hearings, including one before a grand jury, were conducted in secret. Fortunately for us all, someone tipped off Hawaii News Now which did the story and, as Burgess would later say in deciding to finally hold an open hearing in the case, “You know, cat’s out of the bag at this point as far (as) the fact there is another investigation.”…

now, the Public First Law Center has filed a motion in the original case against Kaneshiro and Mitsunaga et al to unseal about two dozen motions and other court filings pertaining to the hitman allegations. …

U.S. District Court Judge Shanlyn Park has given anyone who wants to object to the request to unseal 30 days to do so….

read … The Sunshine Blog: The Tale Of The Hitman, The Judge And The Prosecutor - Honolulu Civil Beat

Navahine: Hawaii poised to dictate costly transportation future

SA: … Just what Hawaii’s beleaguered residents need: a state transportation plan that will be hugely costly, damaging to Hawaii’s economy, and lessens transportation choices — all in the name of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Here’s the background.

In 2018 and 2023, the Legislature passed laws setting targets to achieve “net zero” CO2 emissions from ground, air and sea transportation in Hawaii by 2045. There was no plan, no cost estimates nor determination of feasibility.

(Actually there was a plan. Each subsequent step is part of the plan to boil frogs.)

In 2022, Oregon-based and Hawaii-based lawfare entities filed a lawsuit (“Navahine vs. HDOT”) on behalf of 13 Hawaii youth, alleging that the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) was making insufficient progress on the net zero target. …

In 2024, the state entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement with the entities. It turns out that Our Children’s Trust has filed similar suits in all 50 states; Hawaii is the only state to have caved in….

In 2025 and as mandated, HDOT somehow developed a plan strangely titled, “Hawaii Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan.” The plan is 258 pages long, essentially drawing emission reduction line graphs for each transportation sector, making sweeping assumptions/mandates. Remarkably, the plan doesn’t quantify the economic costs.

The plan calls for the sale of new cars and trucks to reach 80% electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 and 100% by 2035….

For air transportation, the plan calls for converting from Jet-A to costly “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF) for fueling both interisland and outbound airliners; fuel would be derived from plants, most likely grown in South America or Indonesia. By 2035, 50% of jet fuel uploads must be SAF, and 100% by 2045. By HDOT’s own admission, SAF currently costs three to five times more than Jet-A….

A draft of the plan called for reducing cruise ship calls to Hawaii by 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2035; the final projects a 95% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2045, apparently achieved in large part by a de facto ban on cruise ships not powered by liquefied natural gas….

So where does all of this leave us? In a pickle. Before spending taxpayer dollars for such things as $300 million for bikeways, the Legislature should hit pause, investigate and hold hearings. The plan states, “For the emission reduction strategy to be supported by the public, approved, and actually implemented, they must not be so economically extreme that they make Hawaii unaffordable for its residents.” We believe many residents are already there, and implementation of this plan will only worsen the problem….

read … Column: Hawaii poised to dictate costly transportation future | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Usual Suspects Push for Massive Tax Increase

SA: … According to Will White, executive director of Hawaii Appleseed, the state’s tax system is “upside down,” meaning lower-income households pay a higher share in taxes than wealthier households….

(IDEA: Cut income taxes on lower income brackets.)

Many attribute this imbalance largely to Hawaii’s heavy reliance on flat, regressive taxes like the General Excise Tax, which they say takes a proportionally larger bite from low-income households than from those at the top.

(TRANSLATION: This is an old story being ginned up to justify new tax hikes.)

Yamachika said his organization focuses on analyzing tax and public finance proposals with the goal of balancing the state budget without raising taxes, and has instead pointed to unused or underused funds already within the system. He said he has recently examined administrative funds within the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture, questioning why some accounts carry large unencumbered balances at a time when the state faces urgent funding needs, and arguing that lawmakers should explore using existing resources before turning to tax increases….

Leake argues that Hawaii’s tax structure worsens these outcomes by placing a disproportionate burden on those with the least ability to pay, particularly through the general excise tax on food and income taxes on the lowest earners….

(So cut their taxes, duh. But …)

Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian of the Chamber of Sustainable Commerce said a fair tax system is critical to the success of local businesses, because it supports the basic conditions they rely on — from a stable, healthy workforce to consistent customers and well-maintained public infrastructure.

(TRANSLATION: They will do NOTHING to reduce taxes on the poor. Instead they want more money to waste on their own salaries and contracts.)

MEANWHILE: Here’s $23M the State doesn’t have to spend>>>FAA Exposes $23M Airports Division Lie: We did not order HDoT to Replace Firefighting Systems

read … Hawaii coalition calls for tax fairness for local needs | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii lawmaker puts politics over women

SA: … U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda’s revisionist history of Title IX suggests the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink intended it also apply to transgender groups. Title IX addressed sex and related immutable characteristics, not gender, a social construct….Tokuda’s self-serving zeal to earn favor with an activist group motivates her to ignore the truth of all female students in Hawaii. She is no champion for women….

read … Hawaii lawmaker puts politics over women

Council to hold hearing on Lahaina building heights bill

MN: … Council members will hear testimony on Bill 183 (2025). The proposed measure would amend the West Maui Community Plan to adjust height regulations, allowing buildings 35 feet high, instead of the current limit of 30 feet.

The measure would allow an additional 10 feet for rooftop amenities like chimneys, cell towers, antennae and equipment used for small-scale energy systems. Public and quasi-public structures that were greater than 35 feet in height before the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires may be rebuilt to their previously allowed height.

The proposal by the Department of Planning responds to challenges that have surfaced in the rebuilding of Lahaina. The department pointed out that height limits been a barrier for projects like the state-sponsored Front Street Apartments. That workforce housing project proposed 32-foot-tall buildings to accommodate up to 200 units affordable to residents earning up to 140% of area median income. Strictly following the current 30-foot height limit would mean losing housing opportunities for Lahaina families….

read … Council to hold hearing on Lahaina building heights bill : Maui Now

Focus on Traffic Scofflaws

Cataluna: … The strategy to cut down on traffic deaths should focus on bad drivers, not the ones trying to follow the law. Bad drivers are easy to spot. Theyʻre the ones flying down the freeway cutting back and forth between lanes like theyʻre playing a video game and making the rest of us fear for our lives. And a lot of them donʻt have a valid driverʻs license. Or current safety stickers. Or insurance….

read … Lee Cataluna: This Is Not The Way To Deal With Bad Drivers - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii slows speed camera expansion after warning period

SA: … Shelly Kunishige, a DOT spokesperson, said Friday that 11 citations for speeding were issued from Dec. 5 to Jan. 18.

The low number of citations compares with more than 500,000 written warnings sent to registered owners of speeding vehicles during a test phase of the system from March 14 to Oct. 31.

During the test phase, warnings were triggered by vehicles exceeding a posted speed limit by 11 mph or more even though the 2024 state law created by the Legislature to authorize the program allows tickets for going as little as 5 mph over the limit. Ticketing, however, is being done only for vehicles going a certain undisclosed amount beyond 11 mph over the limit ….

For both the existing camera system and future expansion, DOT pays a monthly flat fee to a vendor with no tie to citation volume.

The fine for a red-light violation is $97, and fines for speeding range from $167 to $317 depending on vehicle speed. It’s possible to receive one or two tickets for speeding up in an effort to beat a red light.

In budgetary materials DOT submitted to the Ways and Means Committee, the agency indicated it is paying an affiliate of Arizona-based Verra Mobility $297,500 a month, which equates to $3.57 million a year, for the speed enforcement program and another $74,184 a month, or $890,208 a year, for the red-light enforcement program.

To develop and operate the speed enforcement program, the Legislature appropriated $4.7 million to DOT for use from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026….

read … Hawaii slows speed camera expansion after warning period | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

DOD Claims These Chinese Missiles Could Reach Hawaii

SG: … It's not new that the People's Republic of China and its People's Liberation Army (PLA) has the capability to launch conventional intercontinental ballistic missiles that have enough range to strike targets in North America or Western Europe. The Dongfeng DF-31 is an intercontinental ballistic missile has been in service since at least the early 2000s, and has a range of upwards of 7,270 miles. It's capable of being deployed via a mobile truck-based system.

Now, according to the Department of Defense's report from the end of last year, a new missile has showed up in China's arsenal, the Dongfeng DF-27. It has a range of 4,970 miles, which puts it past Hawaii, if launched from China's eastern borders. As opposed to previous ICBMs, the DF-27 can do double duty as an anti-ship missile, which puts it at the bleeding edge of current missile technology. Additionally, it's a hypersonic weapon system, which means it can travel at least five times the speed of sound (3,836 mph at sea level)….

read … DOD Claims These Chinese Missiles Could Reach Hawaii

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