February 6, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, February 6, 2026

February 6, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 1:48 PM :: 77 Views

Grassroot: 10 bold reforms to ease Hawaii’s housing crisis

Hawaiʻi Mayors Scrap GE Tax Hike Pitch – will try again after Election

CB: … Hawaiʻi’s four county mayors have had second thoughts about their plan to ask lawmakers this year to wade into the controversial issue of extending the half-percent general excise tax surcharge that funds the Honolulu rail project.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in December that the mayors planned to ask the Legislature this session to extend the lucrative excise surcharge by 20 years. But the mayors didn’t follow through last month by submitting a bill to lawmakers to actually extend the tax.

Honolulu City Managing Director Mike Formby said in a statement this week that “the Mayors agreed to postpone a request for a GET extension until 2027 as the counties, particularly Honolulu as it relates to rail, required additional time to complete their financial due diligence on estimated years needed for an extension.”

(TRANSLATION: Bissen needs to get reelected.)

He added: “The counties are not dropping their plan for a GET extension, they are making sure they provide the Legislature the information it needs to fully vet the proposal.” …

(TRANSLATION: Legislators need to get reelected first.)

read … Hawaii-mayors-scrap-controversial-tax-pitch-in-election-year

Hawaii’s Income Tax Cut U-Turn Muddles Relief for Working Class

BT: … Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) last week unveiled a proposal for the Hawaii Legislature to “pause” his much-ballyhooed 2024 tax cuts. But the new plan eliminates future scheduled tax cuts entirely, which could undermine past efforts to provide tax relief for lower-income households….

read … Hawaiis-income-tax-cut-u-turn-muddles-relief-for-working-class

Performance audit requested for housing, homelessness programs funded by Hawaiʻi County

BIN: … The Hawai‘i County Council passed a resolution at its Wednesday meeting requesting a performance audit of the use and effectiveness of real property tax revenues being used for housing and homelessness.

The Office of Housing and Community Development has facilitated the fund and selected grant award winners by following a strategic road map set when the program began in 2022.

Due to concerns regarding the effectiveness of the Housing and Homelessness Fund, the County Council is seeking a detailed understanding before considering extending the program, which is set to end in 2027….

read … Performance-audit-requested-for-housing-homelessness-programs

House Advances Another Tax Increase on Housing

L360: … Hawaii would impose a conveyance tax on the transfer of entity interest if that entity had an interest in real property under a bill passed by a House committee….

HB1918: Text, Status

read … House Advances Another Tax Increase on Housing

Liquor tax hike advances, despite brewers' concerns

ASD: … A proposal to increase liquor taxes in the state has brewers and barkeeps concerned.

There are a handful of bills this legislative session that propose various increases to the state liquor tax. One of those bills, House Bill 1991, appears to be moving forward, with the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection voting Tuesday to give the bill a favorable recommendation, despite concerns by liquor producers.

As written, the bill deletes the current state law definitions of “liquor,” “beer,” “distilled spirits,” “wine” and the like. Instead, alcohol would be taxed based on alcohol-by-volume quantities, setting higher tax rates for beverages with higher alcohol content.

At the same time, the tax rates for various alcohol categories would still increase. Currently, the state liquor tax for non-draft beer is 93 cents per gallon; for draft beer, it is 54 cents per gallon. Under HB 1991, the tax for beverages with 9.9% ABV or lower — which includes many, although not all, beers — would be $1 per gallon, a nearly 50% increase for draft beers.

Other tiers would follow suit. Drinks between 10% and 15% ABV would be taxed at $1.75 per gallon, drinks between 16% and 40% at $6 per gallon and any higher ABV beverages at $6.50 per gallon. …

read … Liquor-tax-hike-advances-despite-brewers-concerns

$5.3M in Legal Weed Sales Every Month

SA: … According to the analysis, Hawaii’s regulated medical cannabis program generates about $5.3 million in monthly sales and captures roughly 86% to 87% of all cannabis spending by registered patients. Survey-based estimates of patient spending closely matched BioTrack seed-to-sale system data, which recorded $5,336,700 in monthly dispensary sales…

PDF: HawaiiReportDesigned_1.20.pdf

read … Report shows strong use of Hawaii medical cannabis program | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

SHOPO seats new leadership following 27.5% pay increase

SA: … “It’s an honor to lead SHOPO during this time of immense challenges and opportunities,” said Don Faumuina, SHOPO State President and a 25-year veteran of HPD. “We have the right team to do the job. Our new board is comprised of dedicated professionals, with a diverse background and range of experiences, who bring a solution-oriented approach to the challenges facing our officers and communities today.”

In addition to Faumuina:

>> Jonathan Frye, an HPD sergeant with 15 years of experience, was elected vice president. Zelda “Z” Cabudol, a 35-year veteran of HPD, was elected state board secretary.

>> Jason “Jay” Boquer-Wintjen, an HPD sergeant with 22 years on the job, was elected to serve as treasurer.

>> James “Jimmy” Maloney, an HPD patrol officer with seven years of service, was elected the Honolulu Chapter Chair.

>> Cacique “CC” Melendez, a Hawaii Police Department detective with almost two decades with the department, was elected Hawaii Chapter Chair.

>> Kenneth “Kenny” Carroll, a Maui Police Department sergeant with 21 years of service, was elected Maui Chapter Chair.

>> Brian Silva, a sergeant with 24 years of service with the Kauai Police Department, was elected Kauai Chapter Chair.

>> Lovinna Cayabyab, who worked 17 years for HPD after two years with KPD, was elected State Board Director-at-Large

>> Enoka Lucas, an HPD sergeant with 14 years of service, was elected State Board Director-at-Large

>> Oscar “OJ” Willis, an HPDx veteran of 21 years, was also elected State Board Director-at-Large…

read … SHOPO-seats-new-leadership-following-27.5%-pay-increase

Honolulu police officers arrested in separate incidents

SA: … A 31-year-old Honolulu Police Department officer in the midst of a prolonged divorce was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of domestic violence for the second time since Jan. 22.

That arrest came two days after a 42-year-old officer was arrested in a separate case for allegedly crashing his car into a guardrail while driving drunk. No one was injured ….

HNN: HPD strips-authority-officer-arrested-twice-abuse-allegations

KHON: 2 HPD officers arrested, dozens disciplined in 2025

read … HPD officers-arrested-in-separate-incidents

HPD Officers Fired For Burglary, Assault And Fraud Could Be Rehired

CB: … A former Honolulu police officer is facing first-degree burglary charges for allegedly breaking into a woman’s residence, taking away her cellphone so she couldn’t report him, using his work computer to obtain her personal information, and using his police vehicle to cruise her residence.

Metro officer Drae Moon is also accused of failing to immediately surrender his police firearms and ammunition after a no-contact order was issued by the courts.

Moon was fired by the Honolulu Police Department last year, but has filed grievance proceedings over his termination that, if successful, could see him reinstated.

He is one of 23 HPD officers who had disciplinary proceedings initiated against them last year, and one of 10 fired for misconduct in 2025, according to the department’s annual report to the Legislature. That’s two more officers than the department discharged the previous year….

Besides Moon, six other officers are contesting their terminations, a process that can take years to play out. In three other cases, officers who were to be dismissed retired or resigned before they were officially fired.

In all, 19 criminal conduct investigations were initiated in 2025 against the 10 fired cops including allegations of insurance fraud, abuse of household members, theft, tampering with a government record, false reporting, negligent injury and violation of protection orders. …

PDF: Honolulu-Police-Department-2025-Legislative-Disciplinary-Report.pdf

read … HPD officers-fired-for-burglary-assault-and-fraud-could-be-rehired

Burglar Trying to Regain his Hawaii County PD Badge

HTH: … Two Hawaii Police Department officers were fired in 2025, although neither dismissal is final, and an officer fired in 2023 for burglary and assault is seeking to return to the force after a deferred plea acceptance resulted in his conviction being expunged from the record.

Meanwhile, an officer fired in 2024 for allegedly providing confidential information to a civilian regarding an active vice investigation regained his badge, and his discipline was reduced to a 12-day suspension….

Officer Troyson Reilly was discharged for allegedly committing an unspecified criminal act in 2024. Prosecutors were notified in his case, although court records don’t indicate he was charged with a criminal offense. A grievance is pending in his case….

BIN: 19 Hawai‘i Island police officers disciplined in 2025, latest legislative report shows : Big Island Now

PDF: 2025-Annual-Misconduct-Report.pdf

read … Officers-misconduct-detailed

Red Hill Victims Dealt A Blow In Their Fight Against The Navy

CB: … could have meant more money for his clients ….

read … Red Hill-victims-dealt-blow-fight-against-navy

Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard’s office obtained and tested voting machines in Puerto Rico

CNN: … The Office of the Director of National Intelligence obtained voting machines from Puerto Rico and probed them for security vulnerabilities, the office said in a statement to CNN Wednesday.

The extraordinary move comes amid Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s broader search for voter fraud at the behest of President Donald Trump, who has falsely claimed that the 2020 election was rigged despite numerous court rulings and audits debunking the claim. Gabbard was present as FBI agents executed a search warrant in Fulton County, Georgia, last week related to the 2020 election.

The ODNI claimed in its statement to have found “extremely concerning” cybersecurity and operational deployment practices with the voting machines in Puerto Rico but did not provide detailed evidence.

The US attorney in Puerto Rico, Homeland Security Investigations agents and an FBI supervisory special agent “facilitated the voluntary turnover of electronic voting hardware and software to ODNI for analysis,” an ODNI spokesperson said. It’s unclear exactly when the agency received and studied the voting machines….

SA: Trump offers fourth version of Gabbard’s role in Georgia raid | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … Gabbard-office-obtained-voting-machines in Puerto Rico

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