Our political system is filled with monsters. There are mindless politicians who wander the island like zombies and never genuinely listen, undead establishment figures who spring from the dirt to cling to power, wicked sycophants who patch together and enable abominations, and witch-donors who manipulate the voodoo dolls of elected officials. Like the monsters that […]
Campaign Spending Commission
Quizunderstood: What do you know about false rumors concerning the Maui Marketplace?
1. On Mar. 8, Pacific Business News reported that a Maui restaurant just signed a deal with Fransmart to expand to the continental U.S. Which Maui restaurant did this? A. Amigo’s B. Coconut’s C. Farmacy D. Fork & Salad E. Stewart’s Burgers 2. On Mar. 11, The Maui News debunked a local rumor about a […]
Quizunderstood: Do you know what film festival award ‘Kuleana’ just won?
1. On Oct. 6, Hawaii News Now reported that the Campaign Spending Commission filed a complaint against Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa, saying his campaign misrepresented donations to about 40 nonprofit organizations (a charge Arakawa calls “vindictive” and “frivolous”). According to the HNN story, what’s the total value of the contributions in question? A. $10,000 […]
Maui County Councilmember Elle Cochran officially announces Mayoral campaign
And it’s official: Maui County Councilmember Elle Cochran is running for Mayor. Her new campaign website, Elle4mayor.com, went live Wednesday night. “I became involved in government because I realized that the leaders in office at the time were not representing my voice or the will of the people,” Cochran says on the website. “I went […]
Quizunderstood: How well do you know marine debris in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands?
1. From April 12 to May 13, a team of NOAA scientists removed 12 tons of marine debris from the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. According to a May 20 NOAA news release, how many plastic beverage bottles were in that haul? A. 692 B. 834 C. 1,033 D. 1,295 E. […]
Quizunderstood: Can you afford to go to House Speaker Joe Souki’s upcoming campaign fundraiser?
1. On Apr. 17, Maui book publisher Arnie Kotler announced that he was selling his Maui-based Koa Books (all 12 of its titles will remain in print, he says). When did Kotler found Koa Books? A. 1995 B. 2000 C. 2005 D. 2010 E. 2015 2. The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced […]
West Maui Rep. Angus McKelvey in hot water over 2014 campaign contributions
State Representative Angus McKelvey, D-West Maui, is in hot water over irregularities with his 2014 campaign spending, according to complaint filed last week by the state Attorney General’s office and numerous media reports. The AG’s office filed the complaint on Oct. 13 in District Court in Honolulu; Hawaii News Now broke the story three […]
Keith Regan holding fundraiser at Maui County Corp Counsel Pat Wong’s house
We have more than a year to go before the 2016 elections get here, but County of Maui Managing Director Keith Regan isn’t wasting any time. Regan, who’s running for the Maui County Council seat currently held by Mike Victorino (who’s prevented from running again in 2016 because of term limits), recently filed papers announcing […]
Who wants to volunteer for the Hawaii Ethics and Campaign Spending Commissions?
Quiz time! Do you enjoy inspecting the minutia of modern political campaigns without actually taking part in them? Do you love reading through stacks of campaign spending reports that are, at best, incomplete and at worst illegible? Do you like weighing potential conflicts of interests for public officials? Would you put your reputation on the […]
Damn, Hawaii Carpenters STILL Hate Maui Councilmember Elle Cochran
We finally got some new numbers out of the state Campaign Spending Commission this week–the first time since the Primary Election, in fact. Because really, during the final two and a half months of an election, do voters really need to see what various candidates and Political Action Committees (PACs) are spending and collecting? Anyway, […]
Maui County Councilman Riki Hokama To Hold Big Money Fundraiser In Honolulu
State Campaign Spending Commission (CSC) records show that Maui County Councilman Riki Hokama has held one fundraiser in the last two years. It was a modest $50/head deal at the Maui Beach Hotel on June 26, 2013. This isn’t surprising considering that the councilman who represents Lanai rarely has to campaign for office (he’s unopposed […]
SHOPO Endorses Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa For Reelection
That’s right, folks: Tenari Ma’afala, the head of the all-powerful state police union who has worked long hours to make sure Hawaii residents aren’t able to see the disciplinary records of active duty cops and who loathes our state’s new law legalizing same-sex marriage so much that he testified before the state Legislature last year that […]
An Early Look At The Money In Maui County’s 2014 Election
“In a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.” -Matt Taibbi, Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America With that bit of optimism, here’s my first look at the influence of money in the Maui County’s 2014 election. The first real campaign finance […]
Today Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie Raises Money At Larry Ellison’s House
As I write these words, people–okay, Democrats–are gathering at 2850 Broadway in San Francisco, to donate large sums of money to Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, who faces a tougher than expected reelection fight this year. The house, which sold for $3.9 million back in 1998, is owned by billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who also […]
Super Unique MauiTime News Quiz!
1. On Mar. 25, former Maui County Mayor James “Kimo” Apana officially filed papers with the state Campaign Spending Commission to run for office. Which district is the Democrat Apana running in? A. 6th Senate B. 8th House C. 9th House D. 12th House E. 13th House 2. There were 188,774 visitor arrivals to […]
This Friday, Feb. 28: Party With Maui Mayor Arakawa At The Grand Wailea
He’s still looking like a shoe-in for reelection, but Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa is taking no chances. In fact, he’s pulling out most of the stops for a big fundraiser this Friday night at the Grand Wailea. For just $75, you too can hobnob with the mayor at the Grand’s Haleakala Ballroom. The whole thing […]