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<title>Daily Smile: Monday, May 11, 2026</title>

Daily Smile: Monday, May 11, 2026

 Rabbit keeps taking breaks while being chased because the dog is a fatso...

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Government & Politics

Columnists

The rhetoric on Friday when the Legislature passed SB2471, was 

. All but one of the legislators voted for this attempt to nullify the Citizen’s United decision for Hawai‘i, and did so with bold claims. We’re standing up for Hawai‘i! We’re standing against dark money! We’re making history! We’re protecting democracy!

These people are acting like they personally threw Sauron’s ring into Mauna Kea and are just waiting for the eagles to carry them away now that Hawai‘i is free of Corporate Mordor’s dark money.

[{"type":"text","text":"But now, consider these names:"}]

Bain Capital. The United Arab Emirates. Walmart. Citigroup. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Chan Zuckerberg. Bill & Melinda Gates. Service Employees International Union. Mitsubishi. Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.

Tens of millions of dollars in donations from corporate interests, from foreign entities, from Silicon Valley, from Wall Street, from billionaires and their foundations, from the biggest unions in America.

Am I talking about the sources of dark money that ruined America’s democracy, drowning out the voices of everyday citizens in a flood of corporate spending?

No. I’m talking some of the many donors, over the years, who have funded the Center for American Progress, according to 

The same Center for American Progress that was credited again and again by Hawai‘i state legislators as they passed SB2471 on Friday. The same Center for American Progress mentioned directly to me by lawmakers I interviewed.

“We’re the little state that could,” said Rep. Della Au Belatti on Friday as she urged the Legislature to pass the bill. She described CAP’s Tom Moore as “the legal mastermind behind this effort” and said “this state shouldn’t turn away the experts like CAP.”

This isn’t some disinterested, academic public policy institute. 

, the White House chief of Staff for Pres. Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2001, 

This is an organization described, sometimes admiringly, as Bill Clinton’s post-defeat shadow government, as Hillary Clinton’s government-in-waiting, as the brains of the Obama administration, as the adults actually in charge of the Biden administration while the 

 through his duties. Its staff and board of directors are, and always have been, a revolving door of people in and out various 21st-century Democrat administrations.

CAP, on its website, currently conceals its list of top donors, claiming this is to protect them from retribution by the Trump administration but in fact, as the 

 reported in 2015, the organization has a long and controversial history of hiding the names of its supporters.

At that time in 2015, as the Washington Post reported, Podesta was “set to run [Hillary] Clinton’s presidential campaign,” and the group’s then president 

 was “a longtime Clinton confidante and adviser.”

Just a reminder, folks: The group Citizens United won its Supreme Court case in pursuit of showing a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton. CAP has been avenging this insult to her honor ever since.

That’s the Center for American Progress. Capital Research Center calls it, “

Oh, and it has a fundraising arm, as well, the Center for American Progress Action Fund. In 2024, it donated $147,332 directly to leftwing candidates and causes, from Kamala Harris to 

With all that in mind,  think of the power plays being made here. Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole and Rep. Della Au Belatti stood out as fervent champions of this bill. And are both 

This move burnishes their credentials with the DC power players. This bill doesn’t move the needle on corruption in Hawai‘i but it does a lot for for these two. When Belatti praises CAP, she’s reminding them she did them a favor.

So now SB2471 awaits the signature of Gov. Josh Green. Do you think the heavyweights who back CAP are white-knuckled in fear that their influence will be silenced?

As far as I know, the only Legislator sounding a cautionary note on Friday was Rep. Scot Matayoshi who, while praising it, also said, “We spent an inordinate amount of time trying to pass this bill in a responsible way, in a way that would ensure that Hawai‘i interests are not harmed at the expense of Mainland interests coming in to spend money here. … My fear is that bill will work a little too well.”

You see, SB2471 restricts Hawai‘i-based corporations and other entities from spending on elections, either locally or on the Mainland. But it also says that corporations based in other states are bound by the same restrictions if they do business here. That, he says, it likely to get challenged and he seems to believe it’s a challenge we’re likely to lose.

So the bill contains what Matayoshi calls a fail-safe. Others might call it a poison pill. If a single court anywhere decides a case against any part of SB2471, its fail-safe language says that all of SB2471 self-destructs. It will be null and void, in its entirety.

Maybe that’s what will happen, if Green signs this into law and it takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. There are  other reasons it could be challenged that I 

The legislators pushing this clearly believe, for some reason, that this bill will not put them out of office or harm their ability to gain financial support. They seem pretty self-assured that they’ll remain in power after this passes, maybe win their runs for bigger and better offices. Now why might that be? 

Maybe, at heart, this bill isn’t revolutionary at all. Maybe it just preserves the status quo.

When you get right down it, SB2471 doesn’t change anything about the influence of money on politics in Hawai‘i. Note the bill’s emphasis: Electioneering. It seeks to remove a corporation’s ability to spend money in any way, for or against candidates running for office, or for or against initiatives put on ballots.

It does not otherwise remove any ability to spend money on 

Big money groups can still spend millions all year long on high-priced lobbyists who meet with legislators. They just can’t spend any money to speak directly to voters.

Big money groups, including Mainland interests, could still do what CAP has done here and simply write legislation for Hawai‘i lawmakers and hand it over to them to introduce.

 in front of politicians, promising a cushy life after office. None of that changes.

On Friday, Sen. Karl Rhoads, who introduced the bill, described the growth of so-called “dark money” spending in elections, from mere millions before Citizens United to tens of billions in the last presidential election.

 last week that bills like this do nothing to stop billionaires who simply spend their money on elections as individuals, rather than as corporations.

Hawai‘i legislators have said they needed to pass this legislation to “restore people’s trust in elections.”

But is corporate spending really the reason people in Hawai‘i don’t trust elections and 

, with no meaningful check on voter IDs, no default to the privacy and safety of the ballot booth. Legislators could fix this any time but won’t, in fact, they’re the ones who instituted this weak imitation of true elections. This session, they further weakened election integrity by passing a law that automatically opts-in to voter registration anyone who gets a Hawai‘i driver’s license.

3. Their poor results once in office. This very bill being a case in point. Think of all the time spent on this Mainland crusade — an “inordinate amount of time,” Matayoshi said —  when it could have been spent solving Hawai‘i real problems.

[{"type":"text","text":"When the session ended, we still didn’t know who took the $35,000."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Passing SB2471 didn’t change that one bit."}]

A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

pulling strings I Stock 1401030941

<title>Pipikaula Corner: How the Clinton White House just bamboozled Hawai‘i</title>

The Legislature was jubilant as it passed SB2471 on Friday, seeking to overturn the effects of the Citizens United decision in Hawai‘i and get big money and outside influences out of our elections. The irony is, Mainland power players were pulling our strings the whole time.

Pipikaula Corner: How the Clinton White House just bamboozled Hawai‘i

AKINA portrait 2

Keliʻi Akina

Viewpoints

It was only two years ago that, to much fanfare and celebration, our lawmakers boldly passed history-making income tax cuts to provide struggling Hawai‘i families with much-needed relief from the state’s crippling cost of living.

Those sweeping cuts were scheduled to phase in through 2031, which seems to have given state officials time to reconsider them. And indeed, Gov. Josh Green kicked off the 2026 legislative session by asking the Legislature to do just that in response to emerging budget concerns.

House and Senate lawmakers considered the governor’s proposal to press pause on the tax cuts and instead 

 to amend them. After a lot of back and forth, we finally know what path forward the chambers agreed on.

The good news — worth a hearty cheer — is that under the measure approved by the Legislature Friday, most Hawai‘i residents will get to keep all of their tax cuts.

 now heads to the governor’s desk for his approval, and if he goes along with it, the income tax reductions he signed into law in 2024 will continue to phase in as planned for incomes below $175,000 for single filers and below $350,000 for joint filers. In other words, those cuts were completely saved.

Almost everyone earning more income than those levels will still see their state tax bills reduced compared to what they were paying before the 2024 changes took effect, but not by as much as originally promised.

Seeing the proposed changes go from cutting everyone’s income taxes to walking back only a small amount is a huge victory, and I am proud of the role my colleagues at the Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i played in helping make that happen.

I am concerned, however, that lawmakers also agreed to hike taxes on single filers who earn more than $750,000 and joint filers making more than $1.5 million. This move reflects a persistent and worrisome belief that the answer to any budget problem is to increase taxes on the wealthy.

Across the country, such efforts have been resulting in those higher-income earners relocating to lower-tax states. When they leave, they take their businesses and the jobs they have created with them. The economies of the states left behind suffer, and their budget problems worsen.

Hawai‘i simply cannot afford such a doom spiral. The state’s ongoing exodus of residents who can no longer simply make ends meet here has been damaging enough to our fragile economy without pushing away higher-income residents as well.

So while I am pleased that most of the 2024 tax cuts have been saved, and commend the individual legislators who stood firm to make that possible, I hope our lawmakers in general will finally realize that smarter budgeting and reductions in our cost of living are what we truly need for our state to flourish.

Reprinted with permission from the May 9, 2026, newsletter of 

Tax cut i Stock 184940317

<title>Community Voices: Historic 2024 tax cuts rescued for majority of Hawai‘i residents</title>

Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i played a part in convincing the Legislature to preserve nearly all of the promised tax cuts that had been poised for repeal at the start of the session.

Community Voices: Historic 2024 tax cuts rescued for majority of Hawai‘i residents

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

The No. 2 University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball team exacted revenge on its rival, defeating No. 3 Long Beach State 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22 on Saturday in the NCAA national semifinals at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. 

The Rainbow Warriors improved to 29-5 overall, while Long Beach State's 2026 season ends at 25-5. Hawai‘i advances to the national championship match, where it will face UC Irvine. In the first national semifinal, the Anteaters defeated No. 4 Ball State in four sets. 

Hawai‘i's victory over Long Beach State on Saturday was its third win over The Beach in 2026. After a 

, the 'Bows fell to LBSU in five sets in the Big West Conference championship match on April 25, failing to convert on five match point opportunities in the fourth set. 

After running away with the first set, the UH had little trouble closing out the third and fourth sets, advancing to its first national championship match since 2023.

"We're always playing in these really meaningful matches, whether it's in the league championship or the national championship tournament, and even our league games are always two top-ranked teams and high drama, really important matches," Wade said of the rivalry between UH and LBSU after Saturday's match. "Hats off to them, and thrilled to advance to the final."

In the previous matchup between Hawai‘i and Long Beach State in the Big West championship match, Long Beach opposite 

Wojciech Gajek flashed a pair of upside down shakas

 to UH's fan section when a kill gave The Beach a definitive 10-4 lead in the fifth set, much to the chagrin of the Rainbow Warriors and their supporters across the state. 

On Saturday, after UH opposite Kristian Titriyski hammered the match-sealing kill, the Rainbow Warriors stormed the court, then seemingly every player held a pair of double shakas directed to Long Beach State, as well as the Hawai‘i fan section that made its way to Los Angeles. 

"The shaka at the end, I think everyone took it a little personally. So, that's a little way to send it back," said UH All-American outside hitter Louis Sakanoko, who finished with 12 kills. 

As the Rainbow Warriors turn their attention to the Anteaters, the 'Bows will play a team they're 2-0 against in 2026 and a program they've won five straight matches against overall. UC Irvine is 4-0 in national championship matches, winning it all in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2013. Monday's match will be the first time the two teams have met in the national title match. 

First serve for Monday's national championship match is set for 1 p.m. HST. The match will be televised live on ESPN2, as well as on ESPN Honolulu. 

"We're thrilled to be back into the Final Four and now advancing to the final again, something that we'll never take for granted," Wade said. "We know how difficult it is to achieve this, and the fan support that we get is unlike anything anywhere on the planet. We're fortunate that we live in a community that volleyball is a big deal. Men's volleyball, women's volleyball, volleyball has just been such a big part of the community in Hawai‘i, not just in Honolulu and on O‘ahu, but throughout the state. We know that we're playing for an entire state when we get out there and compete, and it's a big deal not only to us, but to all the fans."

UH mens volleyball 051026

<title>Shakas up: Hawai‘i men's volleyball advances to national championship with victory over…</title>

The Rainbow Warriors will take on UC Irvine in Monday's national championship match at 1 p.m. HST.

Shakas up: Hawai‘i men's volleyball advances to national championship with victory over rival Long Beach State

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Major bills impacting interisland shipping, immigration enforcement and more have made it to the governor’s desk in the final days of the 2026 legislative session.

The Senate and House finally closed out the legislative session Friday by voting dozens more bills through final reading hours before the final deadline.

Joining the more than 100 measures already awaiting Gov. Josh Green’s decision are:

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"No pay, no permit"}]

 allows the counties to revoke or deny a building permit application if a contractor involved in that permit is found to have violated labor laws.

Any contractor found to have violated state laws relating to wages, benefits, work hours or employment status can have their permits pulled, under the bill. Contractors are therefore required to disclose information regarding employee wages, benefits, hours and employment status to the county.

Upon pulling a permit, the county must then inform the property owner within five business days and offer the owner a chance to select a replacement contractor, and process the replacement contractor’s application within another five business days.

The measure received significant support from unions — in particular the Pacific Resource Partnership, a partnership between the Hawai‘i Regional Council of Carpenters and hundreds of other contractors — which praised the measure’s potential to prevent bad actors from undercutting local labor.

The Carpenters Union referenced a contentious construction project in Waikīkī: the renovation of the former Maile Sky Court, a $25 million project that was plagued with labor violations such as unpaid back wages and overtime and failing to provide prepaid health care to employees.

“Similar situations occur across the state, and when violations are allowed to continue, it sends a message that cutting corners is tolerated while law abiding contractors are put at a disadvantage,” read a letter by the Carpenters Union.

However, the bill also drew some opposition, significantly from the Maui Chamber of Commerce, which found the bill redundant to existing laws and worried that it will take even longer than it already does to get permits granted.

Only four lawmakers voted against the measure Wednesday: Representatives Elle Cochran, Joe Gedeon, Elijah Pierick and Garner Shimizu, all Republicans, voted against it.

[{"type":"text","text":"The measure will take effect immediately should Green sign it."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rate increases for Young Brothers OK’d"}]

Interisland shippers — which effectively means Young Brothers LLC — would have automatic cost adjustments applied by the Public Utilities Commission annually under 

While Young Brothers currently requires PUC approval for any rate changes, SB 2694 streamlines the process, allowing the PUC to develop a “water carrier inflationary cost index automatic adjustment mechanism” to be applied to transport companies’ fees.

While the automatic adjustments would be limited to no more than 5% each year, they would be applied almost every year from this July through 2033.

Several major organizations — including multiple county chambers of commerce, the Maui Brewing Co., ABC Stores, and the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau — have opposed the measure on the grounds that it cuts out a public process for applying additional transportation fees that impact residents throughout the state.

 a 25.75% rate increase for Young Brothers that took effect in January.

Fifteen representatives voted against the bill Wednesday, including Diamond Garcia, Sue Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Nicole Lowen, Cochran, Gedeon, Pierick and Shimizu. No senators voted against it.

If signed by Green, the first automatic cost adjustment would be imposed July 1.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Some anti-ICE bills survived, many didn’t"}]

 to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement Activity in the state, three have made it to the end.

, which prohibits law enforcement agencies in the state from entering into an agreement that allows state or county law enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement.

Local officers would be prohibited from inquiring about a person’s citizenship, providing a person’s citizenship information to federal immigration authorities, allowing ICE to interview individuals while in police custody, and more. There are exceptions — cops could ask about a person’s immigration status during a criminal investigation, ICE could interview a person in custody if the person consents or if permitted by a court order — but the measure largely delineates immigration inquiries as outside the duties of local law enforcement.

, meanwhile, requires state and county police agencies to inform people in their custody of their rights before any interview with ICE and requires all records of such an interview be maintained as public records.

 requires state and county agencies to establish policies concerning “protected community locations” where immigration enforcement is not authorized. Under the bill, by next year, all agencies that operate such locations must have developed policies identifying those locations, establishing procedures for how police warrants are verified, and training staff for how to assist people in those locations.

All three bills received votes in opposition largely from each chamber’s Republican contingent, including representatives Garcia, Lauren Matsumoto, Chris Muraoka and David Alcos, and senators Brenton Awa, Kurt Fevella and Samantha DeCorte. However, House Democrat Sam Kong also voted against all three measures.

HB 1870 would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, if signed by Green. The other two would take effect immediately.

State capitol 022725

<title>Young Brothers rate hikes, anti-ICE bills cross finish line</title>

The 2026 legislative session finally ended Friday, with more bills passing at the eleventh hour.

Young Brothers rate hikes, anti-ICE bills cross finish line

Crime & Courts

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen’s former chief of staff has sued the county over alleged corruption claims that implicate the mayor himself.

According to a lawsuit filed Friday in Maui’s Second Circuit Court, Leo Caires — Bissen’s chief of staff between 2022 and 2024 — has accused the county of forcing him out of his job in December 2024 because he had discovered fraudulent activity within the county Office of Economic Development.

While the suit does not name Bissen as a defendant — the defendants include the county and several unspecified “John Doe” individuals and organizations — the text of the suit suggests that Bissen had attempted to halt investigations by Caires into cases of fraud by county staff, and had Caires fired when that failed.

The suit claims that, beginning in March 2024, Caires was informed by the county’s Corporation Counsel of a series of suspicious transactions connected to a grant awarded by the OED. Within those transactions, Caires found an invoice for more than $45,000 from a company called “RTFEX Depot,” along with a series of unverifiable transactions between Bissen’s executive assistant.

The suit identifies that assistant only through the initials MA and the nickname “Pono.” In 2024, a Pono Asano was Bissen’s executive assistant.

According to the suit, Caires could find no evidence that RTFEX Depot was a real company, and, despite the business supposedly being based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Arizona Corporation Commission told him no such business was registered in that state.

Consequently, Caires concluded that the assistant “Pono” and the recipient of the grant — identified in the suit only as “AVS” — submitted false cashiers’ checks made out to a false company to defraud the OED.

But when Caires reported the incident to Bissen, the plot thickened. After Caires issued a notice to Bissen on March 19, 2024, that he wished to interview “Pono” for an internal investigation, the lawsuit claims that Bissen “indicated that he did not want anything to do with the Notice and appeared agitated by it.”

A month later, Caires — now strongly suspicious that “Pono” and other staff in the Mayor’s Office had conspired to embezzle more than $45,000 from the county — reiterated to Bissen that an investigation should be made.

According to the suit, “Mayor Bissen got upset at Mr. Caires and ordered him to stop the investigation.”

Bissen allegedly did not fire “Pono” but reassigned him to a position in the OED, which “baffled” Caires. Only after Caires raised objections did “Pono” resign from the county.

During this time, Caires claims his duties as chief of staff were being reduced: he claims he was removed from major meetings and events, and his communications with Bissen dwindled from daily conversations to “infrequent check-ins.”

In May, Bissen told Caires the chief of staff position would be eliminated altogether for budgetary reasons, and Caires would be reassigned as the county’s Energy Commissioner, the suit states. However, the suit also claims that, after Caires was demoted to Energy Commissioner in October, Bissen then promoted “CL” to take his place, having evidently not eliminated the chief of staff position after all.

But during the “Pono” investigation, Caires also grew suspicious of the OED’s director at the time — Luana Mahi, although the lawsuit only identifies her with the initials “LM.”

Caires believed Mahi was using her position to award grants to family members, after reportedly finding a grant awarded to a business with clear ties to her husband, son and her own prior employment history.

But despite again raising these concerns with Bissen, the mayor did not share his concerns, and eventually directed Caires to sign off on the suspicious grant. The suit claims that Caires “felt intimidated” by this, and that Bissen responded, “There is nothing wrong with this.”

The county Board of Ethics later found a conflict of interest between Mahi and at least one OED grant, leading her to be placed on paid leave in August 2024.

Caires’ own county career ended shortly afterward. In September 2024, Caires’ began taking intermittent medical leave “due to conditions he developed stemming from the retaliatory acts from the County and Mayor Bissen,” the suit claims.

Upon returning from leave around Dec. 23, 2024, Caires found a termination letter from Bissen on his desk, dated Dec. 18, 2024. The letter allegedly read, in part, “You have served as Energy Commissioner since May 2024, but I have not observed the level of expertise, management skills, attention to detail, or enthusiasm for energy efficiency required to ensure the success of these initiatives."

Consequently, the suit accuses Bissen’s office of violating the Hawai‘i Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and of wrongful termination. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory, punitive and other damages.

Caires’ attorney Joe Rosenbaum said the suit has not yet been served to the county and other defendants. However, last year the Maui County Council approved 

 — the firm Marr Jones and Wang LLLP — for pre-litigation responses to Caires' claims, to the tune of $350,000.

“I think [the suit] proves there are employees within county governments who are willing to stand up to corruption even if it costs them their jobs,” Rosenbaum told Aloha State Daily.

[{"type":"text","text":"A statement from Bissen's office called Caires' allegations inaccurate."}]

The concerns he raises were identified by others at the time, and we reject any attempt to revise history," the statement read. 

“I made significant efforts to support his success, including mentorship, training, and an opportunity to continue serving as Energy Commissioner based on his prior experience,” read Bissen's statement. “Lahaina’s recovery placed extraordinary demands on everyone in public service. Ultimately, it came down to an inability to meet the expectations required. As Mayor, I have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure our team delivers for the people of Maui County. That responsibility requires making difficult decisions. I stand firmly behind the decision that was made, and I am confident it was the right one for our community. I am disappointed it has come to this.”

Mayor Bissen Getty Images 1595220331 16x9

<title>Former Maui chief of staff sues county over alleged corruption</title>

Leo Caires, Mayor Richard Bissen's former chief of staff, has accused the county of firing him unjustly after investigating multiple fraud cases within the county government.

Daily Smile: Monday, May 11, 2026

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Daily Smile: Monday, May 11, 2026

Authors

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