Green Signs Massive Tax Hike Into Law--Immediately Spends it to Boost Welfare Payments

TikTok attempts to duck Hawaii child safety lawsuit

Price-Rigging: Feds Bust Chinese Shipping Container Manufacturers

Tulsi Gabbard resigns from Trump Cabinet

FOX: … Tulsi Gabbard is resigning from her post as Director of National Intelligence …

Gabbard notified President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office Friday. Her last day at ODNI is expected to be June 30.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained her formal resignation letter, in which Gabbard says she is "deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half." ….

CLUE: Gabbard’s role has always been to advance Chris Butler’s efforts to seek recognition from the real Hindus in India.  Butler advanced his goal with the long list of signers on this letter:

Jan 14, 2026: Chris Butler Blames Opposition on 'Pedophile and Paranoid Murderer'

Ironically, a Trump Family partnership with India’s enemy Pakistan was announced on the same date:

Jan 14, 2026: Exclusive: Pakistan to partner with affiliate of Trump family's World Liberty Financial on USD1 stablecoin

It’s all been downhill from there.  More recently, Trump’s Pakistani partners have been pretend-mediating the Iran crisis.  Quite a few people are dead, but at least Chris Butler got the recognition he craved.

Read … Tulsi Gabbard resigns as DNI over husband's rare bone cancer diagnosis | Fox News

Gabbard Obviously Quitting Because of Iran War

AP: … There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after the president’s decision to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the war.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars. This put her in an awkward position when the U.S. joined Israel in launching attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

During a congressional hearing in March, her measured comments were notable for their careful non-endorsement of Trump’s decision to strike Iran. She repeatedly dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned of potential fallout from the conflict, including Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Gabbard said in written remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee that there had been no effort by Iran to rebuild its nuclear capability after U.S. attacks last year “obliterated” its nuclear program. That statement contradicted Trump, who has repeatedly asserted that the war was necessary to head off an imminent threat from the Islamic Republic.

This created several awkward exchanges with lawmakers who asked Gabbard for her opinion on the threat posed by Iran as the nation’s top intelligence official. She repeatedly said it was Trump’s decision to strike, not hers….

REUTERS: Tulsi Gabbard forced out by Whaite House

read … Tulsi Gabbard Resigns As Director Of National Intelligence

Soft-on Crime Crowd Lying About OCCC Replacement

SA: … Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice, the contention that the Oahu Community Correctional Center site can be renovated is based on information that is outdated or untrue (“Consider merits of jail renovation,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, May 10).

The writers of the recent column state that there have been no engineering studies regarding possible renovation, but studies were conducted and shared with appropriate government agencies and the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.

Further, no funds have been spent on advertising or marketing. Funds are only committed to community outreach and building public awareness through an informational website, and working with the media to ensure accurate and timely information is communicated.,,,

We encourage the public to visit newoahujail.hawaii.gov  for the most current information about the project….

Read … Letter: Getting the facts straight on OCCC replacement | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Legislators Give HSTA Pay Raises Without Trading for Any Reforms to Crumbling DoE

CB: … lawmakers’ key questions around leadership in the education department and school facilities management remain unaddressed.

The session was particularly fruitful for teachers, who emerged with legislation providing stronger protections against harassment and automatic annual salary raises. Another successful bill increases the amount of time unlicensed teachers can work in schools….

But state leaders punted other decisions involving campus facilities and school leadership to later sessions. While some senators repeatedly claimed the education department was failing to serve students, bills to create sweeping reforms of the education department were watered down and eventually died. 

The longtime debate over which state agency should repair and construct new schools also remains unresolved. On some campuses across the state, students are learning in crumbling buildings with leaking pipes and electrical outages, raising the frustration of lawmakers and parents. Some classrooms at Kalāheo High School, for instance, went without power for months, and the campus has been infested with millipedes.

A handful of bills sought to place major construction projects and a facilities database under the School Facilities Authority, which is currently responsible for building new campuses and preschool classrooms. But most of the bills that would increase the authority’s responsibility died in the final days of session as the education department pushed to maintain the status quo….

Read … Hawaiʻi Teachers Win Raises, But Some Schools Are Still Crumbling - Honolulu Civil Beat

COR Sees Near-Term Boost in Hawaiʻi Tax Collections

CB: … It may sound counterintuitive, but the war in the Middle East seems to be boosting state tax collections, at least in the very short term. As for the longer term outlook: Not so much.

A state panel of economists and other experts known as the Council on Revenues on Thursday adjusted their estimate of general fund tax collections upward by about $200 million to a total of about $9.72 billion for the fiscal year that ends June 30.

The council then trimmed its projection for tax collections for the fiscal year that begins July 1 by about $100 million in a nod to the uncertainty created by the war, and its potential impact on Hawaiʻi’s all-important tourism industry. The new projection for tax collections next fiscal year is about $9.82 billion.

Those estimates do not include the impact from Gov. Josh Green’s signing of Senate Bill 3125, which makes adjustments in state income tax cuts approved by lawmakers and Green in 2024. News of that bill signing was released by the governor’s office during the Council on Revenues meeting Thursday….

DBEDT: NEWS RELEASE: Hawai’i April Unemployment Rate at 2.5 Percent | Governor Josh Green, M.D.

SA: Outlook on state finances improves | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Read … Experts See A Near-Term Boost In Hawaiʻi Tax Collections - Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii Co Council holds public meeting on proposed property tax rates

HTH: … Rate hikes for the next fiscal year would mostly affect nonowner-occupied homes. Properties worth $2 million and above — known as the “tier two” residential rate — would see the largest increase in property taxes, rising from $13.60 to $15 per $1,000 of taxable value….

The “tier one” residential tax rate, applying to properties worth less than $2 million, would also increase, but less dramatically — from $11.10 to $12.10 per $1,000 of taxable value.

A new “tier three” residential tax rate will be rolled out for the upcoming fiscal year, applying to high-value second homes and investment properties worth more than $4 million. The council established this “luxury” rate with its passage of Bill 128 on March 4 with a 5-1 vote in favor.

The tier three rate is slated to be $17 per $1,000 of taxable value. Revenue generated from this novel tier will be directed toward local affordable housing and homelessness programs, according to the bill’s text.

Another new property class created this year would be “long-term rental,” set at a rate of $7.75 per $1,000 of taxable value, which council members have justified as an incentive to encourage second-home-owners to rent their properties to residents at reasonable rates….

CB: Hawaiʻi County Is Taxing Homes Of The Rich, But Others Get A Break - Honolulu Civil Beat

Read … Council holds public meeting on proposed property rates - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Hawai’i’s Working Families Need LNG for Lower Electric Bills

CB: … The oil-fired Waiau Power Plant has produced electricity on Oahu for more than 86 years and abuts Pearl Harbor. Proponents argue liquefied natural gas is cleaner and more affordable than oil. …

April 15, 2026: Complete Debunk: UHERO Tries and Fails to Make the Case Against LNG

Read … Hawai’i’s Working Families Can’t Wait - Honolulu Civil Beat

Developer wading into regulatory waters for proposed Oahu LNG power plant

SA: … Longboard TerminalCo LLC, the JERA affiliate, has requested that the FERC authorize the company to establish an LNG import terminal by June 2028.

“The purpose of the project is to provide a near- term supply of natural gas to support Oahu’s energy transition goals, including affordability, reliability, and emissions reduction,” stated the filing submitted May 15 by three attorneys at the New York law firm Orrick Herrington &Sutcliffe LLP representing Longboard.

Longboard, which anticipates filing a formal application by December, wants approval to station a chartered floating LNG storage and regasification terminal in state waters off Kalaeloa.

This moored storage facility would be supplied with LNG by ships arriving every three to four weeks, and deliver gas to a 2-acre receiving facility at Campbell Industrial Park via a 3-mile-long, 16-inch- diameter subsea pipeline.

Longboard’s filing said it anticipates receiving about 1 million metric tons of LNG per year, of which about 600,000 metric tons would be for power generation and gas distribution while the balance would be for marine fuel bunkering operations where uses could include fueling ships powered by LNG.

The company said in its filing that it anticipates hosting public community meetings to discuss its plan in June and July.

Periodic updates about the project are slated to be posted online at jerahawaii.com.

April 15, 2026: Complete Debunk: UHERO Tries and Fails to Make the Case Against LNG

Read … Developer wading into regulatory waters for proposed Oahu LNG power plant | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Kalapapa Patient Dies, Only Two Left

CB: … On Monday, former leprosy patient Meli Watanuki died at age 92. Her company Kalaupapa Saints Tours, working in partnership with Seawind Tours, is the only outfit permitted to offer commercial tours of Kalaupapa National Historical Park. Whether tours will be allowed to continue in Watanuki’s absence is unclear.

“This is the first time they don’t have a patient alive who’s managing tours,” said John McBride, who co-owned a Kalaupapa tour company with Watanuki before the pandemic shuttered public visits to the park. “No one really knows what happens next.”

The National Park Service does not facilitate its own park tours. Federal law and NPS policy require commercial tour companies on the peninsula to be owned by former leprosy patients who live there. The NPS is required to offer this business opportunity to patient-residents until no more are interested.