#Elle Cochran

The Hawaiʻi Government Employees Association (HGEA), AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO, has endorsed Green Party candidate Pāʻele Kiakona for Hawaiʻi State House District 14.

Two Maui County Council members are headed back to office without a fight, along with Central Maui Sen. Troy Hashimoto and Kahului Rep. Justin Woodson who’re also uncontested for re-election.

Community organizer and Green Party candidate Pāʻele Kiakona officially filed his nomination papers for the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives District 14 seat on Thursday morning. His campaign priorities focus on housing sovereignty, living wages, environmental stewardship, and genuine, community-led disaster recovery.

Maui Health also got funding in the budget as the legislative session closed last week, but lawmakers think it won’t be enough for repairs to the storm-damaged Kula Hospital.

State Rep. Elle Cochran of West Maui missed 20% of floor sessions so far this year, the highest absence rate among all House members, according to House of Representatives’ Daily Session Attendance sheets. The records show Cochran was absent for 11 out of 55 session days.

Residents say more a new flood control project and better stormwater management is sorely needed.

West Maui state Rep. Elle Cochran missed 51 of 60 House floor sessions — an 85% absence rate — during the 2025 legislative session while collecting $22,725 in per diem payments intended to cover off-island living expenses, according to House records. Her near-total absence from legislative proceedings in Honolulu, coupled with her acceptance of these taxpayer-funded […]

Without explanation, Upcountry Rep. Kyle Yamashita has been stripped of his powerful position as House Finance Committee chairman.

A bill aimed at shielding vehicle owners from liability after they legally transfer ownership to a buyer passed out of the House Committee on Transportation with a recommendation for approval Thursday morning.

The House Committee on Transportation recommended approval of two bills requiring the use of helmets — one for minors while using a skateboard and one, for anyone of any age, while using a moped.

Democratic West Maui Rep. Elle Cochran has the second-highest rate of full-day absences so far this year at 80%, second-only to Republican Rep. Gene Ward, who has been absent every day through the 20th day of this year’s lawmaking session.

The Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives has returned to committee a bill aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 and older, a move likely to kill the measure this session in the House, disappointing advocates and sparking ongoing debate.

By a 5-2 vote, the House Committee on Housing passed a bill Friday aimed at removing lengthy historic property reviews from delaying housing developments.

Former residents of the Lahaina Surf and Front Street Apartments — destroyed in the August 2023 wildfires — cheered when they were reassured that both affordable housing complexes would be rebuilt and that they, as residents at the time of the fires, would be given priority to return to redeveloped homes.

The House Committee on Housing, vice chaired by Central Maui Rep. Tyson Miyake, recommended passage Wednesday of House Bill 739, which would establish a Kamaʻāina Homes Program.

The West Maui Taxpayers’ Association released its endorsements for the Nov. 5 general election.

By virtue of being uncontested, Maui County Council Members Shane Sinenci of East Maui and Gabe Johnson of Lāna‘i will be re-elected to their respective seats this year. Central Maui Sen. Troy Hashimoto is also uncontested for his 5th District Senate seat, and District 9 Rep. Justin Woodson has no opponent to stand in the way of his return to the state House of Representatives.

With a June 4 deadline just a week away, there’s been a flurry of activity in the past three weeks by candidates seeking Maui County political offices, with several checking out and/or filing their official nomination papers.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources estimates it will cost approximately $30 million to repair and rebuild fire-ravaged Lahaina Small Boat Harbor. Meanwhile, a bill to provide state funding for maintenance dredging at small boat harbors statewide has advanced to the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives.

The dedication and blessing of the temporary campus for Kamehameha III Elementary School, makai of Kapalua Airport, was a milestone for the community of Lahaina on Monday as residents took another step in recovering from the August wildfires.