April 10, 2026 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, April 10, 2026

April 10, 2026 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:58 PM :: 155 Views

Progressives in Washington, California, and Hawaii want to squeeze the wealthy

Military families argue injuries from Hawaii jet fuel water crisis weren't service-related

Senate Approves Nominees for Three District Judgeships

City Council raises run amok

SA: … In a new recommendation, the Honolulu Salary Commission is poised to endorse a pay increase of 4.7% for City Council members for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1. We call shibai, on behalf of Oahu’s taxpayers and on account of the City Council’s beyond-the-pale 64% base pay hike in 2023….

City Charter changes guiding Council salary increases, sold to voters as “restraint” on the November 2024 ballot, in fact practically guarantee automatic annual raises. No one in city government now holds authority to override or re-examine Salary Commission decisions on Council member pay…

On July 1, 2025, a 4% raise took effect, raising Council salaries to $122,064 ($132,048 for Waters as chairman). This soars far above wages for the state’s officially part-time legislators, currently $74,160 — though on Jan. 1, a 32% increase kicks in.

Now City Council members are looking at another 4.75% boost come July…

the Honolulu Salary Commission meets next, at 9 a.m. April 22 in the City Council multipurpose room….

read … Editorial: Rein in run-amok City Council raises | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Legislators to Increase Taxes on Housing?

CB: … The House in March had approved a stack of proposals to increase taxes on everything from car sales to concert tickets, but almost all of those bills died in recent weeks without a hearing in the Senate.

…one tax increase both the House and Senate appear to still be seriously considering is a bill to boost the state conveyance tax, an idea supporters expect could raise as much as $170 million a year….

The House Finance Committee last month floated a plan to continue the tax cuts for most lower- and middle income families while pausing them for higher-income taxpayers.

Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Donovan Dela Cruz offered his own plan to preserve the bulk of the tax cuts, one he said would continue the promised tax relief for households earning less than $350,000 for joint filers, $262,500 for head of household filers and $175,000 for individual filers.

Will Kane, senior advisor to the governor, warned the House Finance Committee Tuesday that Dela Cruz’s proposal in Senate Bill 3125 “while well-intentioned, I think, doesn’t quite get us where we need to get to.” …

read … The Hawaiʻi State Senate Becomes A Tax Bill Graveyard - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii ‘Green Fee’ Case to Test Limits of Federal Involvement

BL: … A challenge to a Hawaii cruise ship fee will allow the Ninth Circuit to consider whether the federal government can participate in a case involving state taxing powers.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear oral arguments April 13 on the cruise industry’s federal statutory and constitutional claims against the fee, enacted to offset the environmental impacts of the ships’ visits to Hawaii.

But what makes the case unusual is the federal government’s decision to intervene—especially where one of the attorneys representing the cruise lines is the brother of Pam Bondi, who was attorney general when ....

read … Hawaii ‘Green Fee’ Case to Test Limits of Federal Involvement

SR111: Working Group to Help Eco-Shysters Rack up Big Fees Suing Big Oil

IB: … Hawaii's senate adopted a resolution directing state agencies to explore recovering climate-driven insurance losses from major fossil fuel companies.

The Hawaii State Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 111, as amended (S.D. 1), on April 6, 2026. The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, Sen. Stanley Chang, Sen. Brandon Elefante, Sen. Angus McKelvey, Sen. Karl Rhoads, Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, and Sen. Glenn Wakai, all Democrats. It urges the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Department of the Attorney General to convene a working group to identify feasible options and mechanisms to protect the state and its residents against the ‘effects of climate change’ on insurance availability and affordability….

… The working group is tasked with three objectives: assessing the state's and residents' insurance exposure to extreme weather events and natural disasters ‘that may be impacted by climate change’; identifying existing mechanisms available to the state and residents for recovery; and identifying and analyzing the legal means available to the state, including the Attorney General, to seek recovery from responsible parties, including large oil and gas companies, to address insurance exposures identified by the working group ….

SR111: Text, Status

read … Hawaii targets fossil fuel companies to recover climate-driven insurance losses | Insurance Business

California Greenies Drive Profit for Par Pacific Refinery

I: … Goldman Sachs upgraded Par Pacific Holdings (NYSE:PARR) to Buy from Neutral on Thursday with a price target of $77.00. The target aligns closely with undervalued at its current price of $59.46.

The firm expects strong positive consensus estimate revisions for the refiner, largely driven by tightening PADD 5 dynamics. (TRANSLATION: Greenies forcing closure of multiple California refineries.) According to InvestingPro Tips, four analysts have already revised their earnings upwards for the upcoming period. Goldman Sachs sees long-term strength in Hawaii earnings and believes the mainland refiners’ earnings contributions are underappreciated by the market. The stock has delivered a remarkable 336% return over the last year, trading at a P/E ratio of just 8.34.

The firm is constructive on long-term upside from small refinery exemptions and the Hawaii Renewables project, which drives RIN insulation and potential for further upside to its base case….

SA: PADD 5 Refining Capacity Contraction | Stratas Advisors

read … Goldman Sachs upgrades Par Pacific stock rating on Hawaii strength By Investing.com

PGA Tour restructuring threatens pro golf events in Hawaii

PBN: … In what has been a tradition for more than 25 years, the PGA Tour opened its season with back-to-back tournaments in January — the tournament of champions on Maui and the Sony Open in Honolulu. This year, however, The Sentry was canceled because of drought, and the Sony Open may have played its last round at Waialae Country Club.

Hawaiiʻs PGA Tour presence has steadily declined over the past 30 years, dropping from 13 tournaments statewide to just four. …

PBN: Hawaii tourism shifts focus to luxury market amid visitor stall - Pacific Business News

read … PGA Tour restructuring threatens pro golf events in Hawaii - Pacific Business News

HB1618: Zombie Bill To Help Hawaiʻi Convert Cesspools?

CB: … A trio of Senate committees took up House Bill 1618 again and approved it, reviving the main proposal in this year’s session to address one of Hawaiʻi’s biggest and most vexing environmental problems.

“That bill,” Honolulu-based Wai Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations Executive Director Stuart Coleman said, “seemed to be resurrected from the dead.”…

read … A Last-Minute Miracle For A Bill To Help Hawaiʻi Convert Cesspools - Honolulu Civil Beat

COVID-19 fraud case is possibly resolved

SA: … On Jan. 23, 2025, a federal grand jury returned a 12-count indictment charging Trinh with nine counts of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft in connection with “fraudulent claims for unemployment insurance and pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA).”

Trinh is accused by federal prosecutors of fraudulently obtaining at least $36,265 in unemployment insurance and PUA unemployment benefits to which she was not entitled.

The indictment details nine transactions between $1,029 and $5,145 of money paid to Trinh’s accounts from claims she submitted online to the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations from May 19, 2020, through Oct. 20, 2020 for unemployment insurance benefits.

Trinh also submitted a claim to DLIR for benefits on behalf of someone whose name and social security number she had allegedly stolen, directing benefit payments that were intended for the individual to her own bank account….

read … COVID-19 fraud case is possibly resolved | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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