Aloha and welcome to Hawaiʻi Public Radio’s coverage of the legislative session.
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Hawaiʻi's Child & Family Service has received over $1 million from two sources of funding recently. This comes after the organization lost that same amount in federal funding earlier this year.
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The preferred location for the hub is a privately owned plot of land directly north of the Puna Kai shopping center, off of Pāhoa Village Road and Kahakai Boulevard.
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Hawaiʻi Foodbank is set to receive $5.5 million from the state Legislature. The funding comes from Act 310 – the Legislature's grant program that allocates $50 million in relief to nonprofits impacted by federal funding cuts.
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Monica Toguchi Ryan, the third-generation owner of Highway Inn, spoke to HPR's Bill Dorman about the challenges of running a small business in Hawaiʻi and filing a lawsuit against the state over a tax issue.
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Some members of Hawaiʻi’s Elections Commission are trying to ban mail-in voting, claiming that there were miscounted ballots in last year’s elections. But several organizations and state lawmakers say mail-in voting is here to stay.
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In a public meeting with state legislators on Wednesday, University of Hawaiʻi officials said the school will ask for $5 million from the state to pay potential students to play at the university.
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The state Campaign Spending Commission is working on a public funding bill this year to incentivize more candidates to request funding.
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Former federal public defender Ali Silvert spoke to The Conversation’s Catherine Cruz about starting a petition to pressure lawmakers to help clear the air about allegations in an FBI bribery probe.
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The youth-led Climate Future Forum returned to Hawaiʻi for the fourth year, inviting younger generations to work with state lawmakers and environmental specialists to discuss policies and actions surrounding climate change.
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Retired federal public defender Alexander "Ali" Silvert calls on the state Legislature to investigate an unnamed lawmaker who allegedly took a $35,000 bribe; Former Miss Hawaiʻi Cheryl Bartlett holds a rally in support of her husband Rogerio Araujo, a Brazilian citizen who has been detained by ICE agents