A quiet election with some big shifts – tidbits from the results

The 2024 General Election may have seemed like a typical, low-key local affair, but it delivered a few surprises that weren’t exactly on anyone’s radar before November 5. While we saw Trump making some unexpected strides in the suburbs, county council races revealed a lot of voters opting for "none of the above"—by just skipping those races entirely. It wasn’t a dramatic election, but there were some intriguing moments. Let’s ...

Financial Strain in Hawaiʻi : The SMS Update and Key Lessons for Local Businesses on Navigating Procurement Challenges

SMS LogoPC: PC: SMS Page at https://linktr.ee/smshawaii.com On October 29th, Boris Yankovitch, the lawyer representing Seamless Funding – the firm that loaned SMS money in August – filed for a motion of default judgment against Timothy Carson and entities related to SMS. The motion asks that the court approve the recovery of $30,146.55 to Seamless from SMS - $29,437.50 for the base amount and $254.05 interest, calculated at 9%, plus ...

From Coast to Coast: How America Is Prepping for November 5

With mere days left before the nation, and the world find out who the next president of the United States is, it is no mystery that the choice, even at this late stage, is hard to determine. With polling between Donald Trump, the Republican, and Kamala Harris, Democrat, so close that it's all within the margin of error, it will come down to the final announcement made after November 5, ...

Hirono’s 2024 commercial: featuring local roots and national advocacy

In a local election cycle with few competitive general election races, it's not surprising that there have been very few campaign commercials on the airwaves. So far, this blogger has only encountered commercials for the Hawaii County Mayoral race, featuring incumbent Mitch Roth and challenger Dr. Kimo Alameda, as well as one for Incumbent Senator Mazie Hirono. Senator Mazie Hirono, in her element that she has promoted through her most ...

DBEDT, HHFDC navigate a smooth transition following SMS collapse

The State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) and the Hawai‘i Housing Finance & Development Corporation (HHFDC) have recently confirmed that the state contracts previously held by SMS Research & Marketing Services, which recently shut down operations, have been transferred to other entities. Upon breaking the news that SMS Research had shut down operations in late September and early October, Politics Hawai‘i has been reaching out to various ...