Enough already: They say the wheels of justice turn slowly, and no one has been saying that louder these days than Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez. She has been insisting that the state investigation into the mysterious legislator at the center of an FBI corruption probe and any involvement Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke might have needs to take as long as it takes, people need to be tracked down and interviewed, subpoenas need to be issued, thousands of pages of documents need to be reviewed. Blah blah blah.

But Lopez’ boss — that would be Gov. Josh Green — says he and We The People are tired of waiting. Green told reporters on Hawaii News Now’s “Spotlight Now” program Tuesday that he expects to have an answer about Luke’s role by Monday. That will be three months since the AG investigation began, he says, and that’s plenty long enough given that they have an FBI recording of the whole exchange of $35,000 and, really, what more do you need.

“I am frustrated by the lack of clarity that we have on this investigation,” Green said on the show. “I think it’s simply not fair to have this drag out any longer.”

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Green pointed out that not only is it not fair to Luke to be under suspicion for so long, it’s not fair to the public and it’s not fair to the voters who may be asked to vote to reelect her in the August primary which is rapidly approaching. And that means, Green said, it’s also not fair to her declared political rival, Derek Kawakami, the outgoing Kauaʻi mayor who has announced he’ll run for LG in the primary.

Green didn’t exactly promise that his AG would be revealing the answer to the hottest political question of the year next week. Instead he couched it as hoping and expecting that there would be some clarity and “at least give us a demarcation of where this investigation is in the next week.” He also swears he’s not meddling.

The question that shouldn’t be so hard to answer is whether there are going to be criminal charges or whether it’s more a “process question” that can be handled by the state Campaign Spending Commission, Green says. In February, Luke acknowledged she took $10,000 from lobbyist Tobi Solidum and his stepdaughter at a dinner in 2022 that also included former Rep. Ty Cullen but didn’t report it to the spending commission until recently, after Civil Beat had asked her about it. Luke says she gave the money back not too long after she’d received it and when news broke Cullen had been busted by the feds for accepting bribes. She said she was not the “influential legislator” who took $35,000, which ostensibly was handed over in a paper bag.

“After three months the basic question should be answered,” Green says.

Green has been sticking close to home for the past few months, saying publicly he doesn’t feel comfortable leaving the state in Luke’s hands while there is doubt about her behavior. He dodged a question from Spotlight’s Yunji de Nies about whether he had confidence in Luke “at this very moment.”

Green says he may leave Hawaiʻi for short periods — to attend to his aging and ailing parents, for instance — but that he will maintain decision-making authority every day, including conducting business virtually.

But he wants this to be over: “The AG has to give us clarity and they have to do it now.”

Lopez has said her next regularly scheduled update won’t be until the end of next week, but maybe she’s made some progress that Green is privy to. The Blog isn’t breaking out the popcorn just yet.

Just say whoa: Tuesday was a long day of floor votes on hundreds of bills in both the House and Senate and, as usual, there were few surprises.

But one big shock came in the Senate when, in a rare move, senators voted against the wishes of a committee chair and blocked a gubernatorial appointment. The mutiny was particularly astonishing because it was a huge dis to Sen. Donna Kim, chair of the Senate Education Committee and one of the most powerful people at the State Capitol.

The Senate voted 23-2 to reject reappointing Katina Soares to a two-year term on the Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board, which helps set high teacher licensing and credentialing standards. This, even though Soares, the principal of Molokaʻi High School, was approved 3-0 by Kim’s committee just two weeks ago.

Tuesday’s vote was a major embarrassment to Kim, who saw all four of her Education Committee members go against her: Vice Chair Michelle Kidani and Sens. Troy Hashimoto, Carol Fukunaga and Samantha DeCorte. Hashimoto and DeCorte had previously voted to advise and consent Soares’ nomination.

In committee, there was also no recorded opposition to Soares. The only person to testify was Keith Hayashi, the superintendent of education, who said that the Department of Education believed that she had the “experience, leadership, and dedication to education make her well-qualified for this nomination, and we are confident she will be a valuable asset in this role.”

Sen. Lynn DeCoite, a graduate of Molokaʻi High who also represents the island, led the floor revolt.

DeCoite said in her floor remarks that she had spoken directly with parents, teachers, students and alumni and learned that the morale at the school “is low and that communication is a consistent challenge.

“Academically, Molokaʻi High School ranks near the bottom statewide. That is not a reflection of our students’ potential, because we know our students can succeed, but it does raise important questions about leadership support and the overall environment be created for learning.”

Hashimoto spoke out about what he described as “serious concerns” involving the Kaiapuni Hawaiian language immersion program under the leadership of Soares. Hashimoto said Soares had ignored stakeholder concerns raised in a working group report late last year about the program.

“This raises a fundamental question: Why convene Indigenous education experts if their voices are ultimately disregarded?” said Hashimoto.

Kim seemed taken aback by the vote. She said she was aware of some concerns but also reminded her colleagues that her committee had approved the nomination.

Full House: Tuesday was the first day in weeks that the House had a full 51 members. Michael Covenant “Cov” Ratcliffe was sworn in by Hawaiʻi Associate Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins to fill the District 28 seat (it includes Sand Island, Iwilei and Chinatown).

Ratcliffe, a labor law attorney who serves on the Kalihi-Pālama Neighborhood Board, was selected by Gov. Josh Green Monday to fill the vacated seat of Daniel Holt, a Democrat who resigned earlier this year to take a job with the administration. Ratcliffe will serve as rep through the remainder of the term, which expires in November 2026.

The Blog ran into the new rep after the House wrapped up its nearly daylong floor debate. He was smiling but clearly exhausted, and understandably so: New reps are not often sworn in just in tine for second crossover and marathon voting.

Serving the people: For only $10, lunch-goers on the fifth floor lanai of the State Capitol enjoyed a bowl of chili and rice and a cookie as part of the State Employees’ Food Drive on Monday. (It cost an additional $2 for a hot dog to be thrown into the mix.)

First Lady Jaime Green helped with the serving and a bake sale. All proceeds supported the Hawaiʻi Foodbank. KHON2 reported the event raised more than $5,300.