Paid family leave: Earlier this year The Blog reported that Maui Rep. Elle Cochran had a poor attendance record at the Capitol because she was caring for a family member.

Her absence pretty much continued throughout the session, which ended May 2, but Cochran still got paid the $225 per diem enjoyed by neighbor island lawmakers. She for sure missed 51 of the 60 floor session days, which totals up to $11,475 of per diem payments. It’s unknown exactly how many of the other days she missed.

Yup it’s legal. Hawaiʻi Revised Statue 24-2 requires non-Oʻahu representatives to get an allowance for every day from the start of the session to the last day, including weekends and holidays. It’s to be used for boarding, lodging and incidental expenses but not travel expenses

House Communications Director Cathy Lee told The Blog on Friday, “All non-Oʻahu members receive per diem in accordance with HRS 24-2, regardless of whether they are on Oʻahu on a given day. We have not seen any instances of members returning the per diem.”

The Blog called Cochran on Friday to ask about her absence and whether she might consider returning some of the money to taxpayers. But the representative interrupted quickly to ask, “Don’t you have anything better to investigate?”

Then she hung up.

Cochran’s absence did not go unnoticed by her colleagues this session, who grumbled that she was not able to participate in Lahaina- and Maui wildfire-related legislation.

That crazy Diddy Combs lawsuit: The case of the California woman who filed a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs and a bunch of other people including our very own Maui Police Chief John Pelletier continues to be a weird yet strangely fun read.

The amended complaint that seemingly out of the blue roped in Pelletier as, allegedly, some sort of enforcer for Combs (no evidence of that and of course a very strong denial from the chief) was filed in March in California federal court and created quite the stir on this side of the Pacific. The 87-page complaint told a lurid tale of gang rape, kidnapping and other X-rated accusations that occurred in 2018 when Pelletier was still on the Las Vegas police department.

To recap: Maui Mayor Richard Bissen insisted Pelletier be placed on leave by the Maui Police Commission, his police powers suspended, while the case was proceeding. Pelletier produced documentation showing that he was in Las Vegas when the alleged incident took place. He’s also said he has never met Combs and has no idea why he was suddenly dragged into this mess. The commission refused to put the chief on leave.

Moreover, two of the plaintiffs were only identified as John and Jane Doe, and the federal judge decreed it wrong for plaintiffs to not identify themselves. She ordered them to show why they should be allowed to remain anonymous or the case would be tossed. The judge gave them until June 7 to file their response; they haven’t done that yet and the case went quiet.

Until Friday, when one of the higher-profile defendants in the case filed a motion for sanctions against the plaintiff, Ashley Parham, and her lawyers who have been involved in a number of the Combs lawsuits.

Drew Desbordes, who some of you may better recognize as the comedian named Druski, contends he, too, had nothing to do with anything alleged in the lawsuit and has over the past few months provided the plaintiff and her attorneys plenty of documentation to show he wasn’t. And yet, they still have not let him off the hook.

Druski says that in 2018 he was living in Georgia with his mom and working as a waiter at an Outback Steakhouse. He was not yet a famous entertainer. Employment records, photos, phone bills and other documents bear this out.

An affidavit filed by Druski’s attorney says it has cost the comedian more than $50,000 in legal bills so far. The sanctions, Druski and his lawyers suggest, should include repaying him his attorney fees.

“This lawsuit is entirely lacking in merit. Its allegations are fantastical,” Druski says. (The Blog, having read the whole thing, agrees. It’s like a bad screenplay.)

“The Court should issue the most severe sanctions possible against Plaintiffs’ counsel,” the motion continues. “There is absolutely no credible explanation for Ariel Mitchell and Sean Perez’s (the two plaintiffs’ attorneys) conduct in this lawsuit. They filed a false lawsuit against Mr. Desbordes, they were advised that their claims were fabricated and were contradicted by irrefutable evidence, and they steadfastly refused to withdraw these false claims. Severe sanctions, including dismissal and the cost of the fees incurred in bringing this motion, must be awarded to deter Plaintiffs and counsels’ misconduct.”

Pelletier, who was not accused of sexual assault, has also provided his evidence to the plaintiffs’ attorneys and also hasn’t been removed from the case.

“From the beginning, we have maintained that the allegations against Chief Pelletier in this civil case are frivolous,” Pelletier’s attorney, Keola Whittaker, said in an email on Saturday. “Based on the evidence filed with the court by Mr. Desbordes, it appears that the allegations against him are also frivolous.

“Chief Pelletier provided a mountain of evidence proving that he was nowhere near the alleged incidents, including documentation placing him hundreds of miles away on the dates in question. Despite this evidence, the lawyers for the plaintiffs have failed to dismiss the Chief from the case. I hope Mr. Desbordes’ filing causes those lawyers to take a closer look at the evidence and to dismiss Chief from the case. If not, we will pursue all legal remedies to vindicate Chief, including seeking sanctions as Mr. Desbordes’ has done, for the harm that has been done to Chief, his family and our community.”

Pelletier tells The Blog the case has been tough on him and his family. “I cannot understand why anyone would so recklessly attack and try to ruin another person,” he said in an email. “I’m deeply grateful for the outpouring of support that my family and I have received from our community.”

You can read Druski’s latest filing here but be forewarned this is XX-rated and lengthy if you read the emails and text messages between Ashley Parham and another defendant that resulted in him obtaining a TRO against her.

Show us the money: Speaking of police chiefs, Hawaii News Now has a good little scoop about convicted former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha finally getting out of prison. He’s back in town although finishing out his seven-year sentence under home monitoring, HNN investigative reporter Lynn Kawano reports. His official release date is set for May 18, 2026.

The story quotes Honolulu attorney Eric Seitz as saying the Kealohas (that would include Louis’ ex-wife Katherine, a former deputy prosecutor) as still owing her uncle, Gerard Puana, more than $500,000 for trying to frame him as a felonious mailbox thief. Yes, that is the whole SMH situation that took down the chief, his wife and at least five other Honolulu cops in a federal corruption case that has gone down many paths.

But The Blog wants to know what’s up with the $250,000 in taxpayer money that the Honolulu Police Commission decided to give the chief as a bonus of retiring rather than firing him. He was supposed to pay that back if he was ever convicted of a felony, which of course he was. The city went to court to try to get it and a judge ruled he had to pay it.

The status of that reimbursement is murky.

Off and running: It’s only May 2025, but interest in the August and November 2026 elections is already underway.

Mel Rapozo, a member of the Kauaʻi County Council, told The Blog on Friday that he’s thinking seriously of running to replace Derek Kawakami, who is expected to run for the state Senate next year after serving eight years as mayor.

“There are rumors that I am not running, but as of today, I am running,” Rapozo said.

Rapozo has run twice for mayor unsuccessfully, but he’s now in his 17th year on the council. The Kauaʻi County Charter allows candidates for both mayor and council to run again as long as they take a break after serving consecutive terms — two four-year terms as mayor or four two-year terms on the council.

The buzz on the Garden Island is that another council member, Bernard Carvalho Jr., will soon announce that he too is running for mayor next year, a post he last held in 2018.

Let the donations begin: Now that the 2025 Legislature is pau, state and county officials are free to hold political fundraisers. Two state House members have already made plans: Sam Kong and Jackson Sayama, who will ask for contributions at the Old Spaghetti Factory at Aloha Tower on May 20.

As you may recall, a 2022 law restricted fundraising so that lawmakers could not hold organized fundraisers when the Legislature meets, roughly between mid January and early May. And a 2023 law says registered lobbyists — that is, people who are paid to influence policymaking — can’t donate during session at all to elected officials and candidates, as well as five days before session and five days after.

There is still some confusion about the newish laws, however, which were passed in the wake of two former state lawmakers pleading guilty to accepting bribes in order to influence legislation. The Blog received a tip that Honolulu County Councilman Tyler Dos Santos-Tam may have violated the 2022 law because he sent out an email April 28 inviting folks to attend a May 13 fundraiser at Fête Honolulu.

The Blog checked with Dos Santos-Tam, who said he ran the event by the Campaign Spending Commission.

“I asked about the law to make sure I could invite people to the event, which is clearly after session, and they said it was fine,” he said Friday. “But you should check with the CSC.”

The Blog checked with the CSC, and what the councilman said checks out — but with a little twist.

Associate director Tony Baldomero said that, while it’s OK to send out a fundraiser invite, it would be a violation of the law for a lobbyist to promise to donate — or for an official to accept the donation — during the restricted period.

Legislation from the commission this year to ban state and county elected officials from soliciting and accepting campaign contributions during session passed the state House but was never heard by the Senate.

Grade inflation?: What grade would you give the Hawaiʻi Legislature for its just-completed session? Senate President Ron Kouchi gave it an “I” for “incomplete” because more work will likely be needed during a special session later year this to deal with the fallout from upcoming federal budget cuts.

Kouchi appeared on Hawaiʻi News Now’s “Spotlight Now” on Tuesday with House Speaker Nadine Nakamura, who generously suggested her chamber deserved an “A” for performing so well with 11 new members and six new committee chairs.

The Blog has to wonder, though, if the speaker felt that good about how the session unfolded, why did one of the other key House leaders, Rep. Kyle Yamashita, get forced out of his position as Finance Committee chair the very next day?

Kouchi and Nakamura chatted for 45 minutes with “Spotlight Now” host Yungi de Nies, who surprisingly never brought up the Legislator’s spectacular failure to approve major government reform measures.

After the leaders departed during a commercial break, UH political scientist Colin Moore appeared and took care of that omission.

Moore gave the Legislature a “B-plus” for acting on issues such as the green fee, housing and insurance stabilization, but a “D” for its rejection of government reform bills.