Ethics

... Sunlight and openness are essential to keeping our lawmakers and administrative officials honest and accountable to citizens .... 

...Was it really necessary to suspend those laws to help fight the coronavirus? What can be done to restore government transparency and accountability in Hawaii?....

...suit against the Board of Education for holding a secret, closed door meeting last February, that resulted in denying her petition for rulemaking, violating the state Sunshine Law....

...Mayor will decline pay raises for City officials....

...In February, Oshima became the senior executive advisor of Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO) after serving five years as its president and chief executive officer....

...In the meantime, if any of you are aware of specific instances in which you believe a State board or commission has acted unreasonably under the current circumstances, please provide the details for me to consider....

...As recently as several months ago, the governor was enjoined by the First Circuit Court from using his emergency powers to infringe upon the constitutionally protected traditional and customary practices of Native Hawaiian practitioners at Mauna Kea....

...while you are locked down with COVID, this is what some politicians are doing....

...Common Cause Hawaii sent a letter today to Gov. David Ige and the state's four county mayors, signed by more than 40 groups and individuals, imploring them to restore open government in Hawaii....

...Dr. Mary J. Ruwart, a well-known research scientist and ethicist discusses how the federal government has handled its response to the Coronavirus....

...We strongly urge government branches and agencies to recommit to, and not retrench from, their duty to include the public in the policy-making process....

...As part of his supplemental emergency proclamation, Ige suspended the state’s Sunshine Law, which allows public access to the meetings of government bodies. He also suspended the state’s open records law — the Uniform Information Practices Act — which governs access to public records....

...time was spent communicating with her former co-workers at the Health Information Management department....

...Ige’s Health Emergency Declaration waves many of the state laws ensuring public participation, transparency, and accountability.    

The implicit understanding is that elected officials will utilize these extraordinary powers only to combat the Corona Virus pandemic in Hawaii.

It only took two days to find out....

...alleged Meth Dealer to be removed from Committees by Reso set for approval at March 25 meeting....

...Ige, by Supplemental Emergency Proclamation dated March 16, 2020, waived many laws pertaining to transparency and accountability, specifically Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92 dealing with open meetings, and Chapter 91 dealing with rulemaking....

...State of Hawaii’s “Digital Currency Innovation Lab” seeks applicants for first pilot program....

...the Rules of the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi provides that a “[r]esignation in lieu of discipline is a disbarment for all purposes under these rules, including reinstatement.” RSCH Rule 2.14(d)....

...Sunshine doesn't cure Corona Virus -- but Corona Virus cures Sunshine....

"...The attorney general’s office has refused to publicly release documents related to its inquiry, although it has shared its final investigative reports with certain state legislators...."

...The EB-5 program offers alien investors a family-sized set of green cards if they invest....

...Sitting Kauai County Councilmember and Eleven Others Charged with Participation in a Drug Trafficking Organization....

... OHA Needs a Watchdog to Fight for Hawaiians and Hawai‘i ....

...a perception that the organization and its management "are ineffective, poorly managed, or corrupt" and "do not help or represent the Hawaiian people effectively."....

...The Hawaii County Ethics Board is planning an investigation into non-enforcement of the law at the Mauna Kea Access Road....

...to keep those lucrative 'continuing education' courses under the Association's control....

...fined $10,000 by Hawaii State Ethics Commission....

...If government benefits were available, Nathan Lum made sure that he was going to receive some of them....

...A female answering the phone did not seem to understand a reporter requesting to speak to Chris Woo.  She kept asking, “You want masagee?”....

...We reviewed 99 House and Senate bills proposing 63 special and revolving funds during the 2020 legislative session. None satisfied the criteria....

...The Judicial Council is seeking applicants to fill one upcoming vacancy on the Hawaii State Ethics Commission. The term will run from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2024....

... will Sen Taniguchi block this bill as he did last session? ....

...the equivalent of a 16% property tax hike on the residential rate....

...What's alive after first lateral?....

...“If OHA has nothing to hide, it should be willing to open its records to the state auditor”. -- Trustee Keli'i Akina ....

...provide greater clarity to various provisions of the State Ethics Code, HRS chapter 84 (including but not limited to the gifts law, gifts reporting law, fair treatment law, and conflicts of interests law); and various provisions of the Lobbyists law, HRS chapter 97 (including but not limited to reporting and registration requirements for lobbyists)....

...Hui Chen is a member of the Complex Litigation, Fraud, and Compliance Unit, and will be tasked with investigating, reviewing, and consulting on compliance issues within state government....

...concealed from Koyo the fact that one of its upper level managers was an owner of the sham pass-through companies....

...These are the kind of people who make Hawaii what it is today....

...Your recycling was shipped to Asia and then they dumped it into the ocean because recycling is and always has been a fraud.  Now it is washing up on our beaches and enviro lawyers are using it as an excuse to enhance their power....

...The Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs is set to hear SB42 SD1 today at 1:19pm....

...UPDATE: Its Navatek...

...FAA bosses twice denied him travel authorizations to visit the helicopter company, making it next to impossible to perform adequate FAA oversight....

...The way OHA has responded to recent events has affected its credibility in the eyes of Hawai’i’s lawmakers and OHA’s own Hawaiian beneficiaries....

...Winslett further admitted that he accepted $723,333.33 in kickbacks from a local subcontractor....

...Nathan Lum was the former division director of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142, Longshore Division (ILWU)....

...What does a drunk rave promoter know about aviation fuel anyway?....

...The State’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget for FY2019 was $2.02 billion....

... Occupational Health Branch Manager for HIOSH takes new hires shopping for used cars ....

...This deserves an answer....