Not so fast: As recently as July 1, Gov. Josh Green was predicting that the Hawaiʻi Legislature would not have to reconvene later this year in special session to deal with cutbacks in Medicaid and other programs at the federal level. That’s because the U.S. Senate delayed the cuts until the end of 2026 and approved a $50 billion special rural health care fund that Green said would help Hawaiʻi.

It may have been wishful thinking.

A special session might still be needed, depending on what happens with the Trump administration’s negotiations with Congress this month, House Speaker Nadine Nakamura told a Honolulu town hall audience last week.

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The Sunshine Blog hates to be the one to tell you but that is not going well so far. The threat of a government shutdown is growing, especially after Trump proposed during the recent congressional recess to cut $5 billion in funding already approved by Congress.

The Legislature this year set aside a $200 million fund that can be tapped should Washington cut federal dollars to the state (along with a $50 million fund to aid nonprofits that depend on federal money), and Nakamura said legislative leaders are closely monitoring what’s going on in D.C.

It’s possible the Legislature could go into special session in mid-November and wrap by Thanksgiving, Nakamura said Tuesday night. If it waits until January to address budget shortfalls, the 2026 session is set to begin Jan. 21, and the governor would submit his budget requests in late December.

Ultimately, it’ll be the governor’s call.

One audience member at the “Lawmakers Listen” town hall at Washington Middle School told Nakamura that she’s worried about potential waste, fraud and abuse in D.C., and suggested Democrats should work with the president. Nakamura brushed off that notion, stating that the health and safety of families and the broader community remain local priorities.

Both sides now: The Honolulu City Council last week approved paying the law firm McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon up to $50,000 to serve as special counsel in a lawsuit filed by Laurel Mau in June 2024 against the city and Keith Kaneshiro, the former Honolulu prosecutor.

Kaneshiro and employees of Mitsunaga & Associates were part of a federal criminal case alleging they had wrongly accused Mau, a former employee with the architectural engineering firm, of theft in exchange for campaign donations. Kaneshiro, Dennis Mitsunaga and others were found not guilty.

According to the resolution approved by the council, the city’s corporation counsel is disqualified from representing Kaneshiro, a former city employee. The resolution says that McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon “possesses the specialized legal knowledge and expertise” to handle the case instead.

Which The Blog finds kind of weird, because it was Bill McCorriston (a co-founder of the firm) who represented Kaneshiro back in 2019 when he was under scrutiny by federal prosecutors in the Katherine and Louis Kealoha saga. Would that not represent its own conflict of interest?

Apparently not, according to the office of Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

“After conducting a conflict analysis, there does not appear to be a conflict that would prevent the firm from representing Mr. Kaneshiro in that matter,” Scott Humber, the mayor’s communications director, wrote in an email Friday. “Having received Council approval, the City is working on the contract.”

Lost in the mail?: Perhaps the city pay that legal tab with the $50,000 former city managing director Roy Amemiya gave to the feds months ago as restitution for his role in a $250,000 payoff to former Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha who left HPD shortly before he was convicted on federal corruption charges.

An order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi directs the federal court clerk to send a check for $50k to the city immediately. It seems Amemiya gave the money to the feds in March as soon as he cut a deal to sidestep an actual criminal conviction by accepting a deferred prosecution and agreeing to kick in $50,000 to the pot along with co-defendants Donna Leong and Max Sword (who do have actual guilty pleas on their permanent records).

But for some reason, the money is just now being transferred to the city. No reason given for the six-month delay.

When in Rome: Last week Gov. Josh Green and First Lady Jaime Green met with Pope Leo XIV while the Greens were visiting the Vatican. Green’s office says the governor invited the Pope to come to Hawaiʻi and visit Kalaupapa, the former Hansen’s Disease settlement on Molokaʻi where two Catholic saints, Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope, worked with people suffering from leprosy.

The Blog hopes His Holiness makes it over here before the Trump administration shuts Kalaupapa down for good as part of its budget-cutting efforts. It’s been closed since the pandemic anyway and it’s unclear when the site will re-open.

The gov is expected back in Hawaiʻi on Sunday and sent some nice photos, meanwhile.

The government online: Hawaiʻi government officials seem to be taking more steps toward citizen engagement. Various agencies last week announced various new websites and other ways for people to have a voice via the internet.

Gov. Josh Green’s administration has launched Engage.Hawaii.gov to “promote government transparency and encourage civic engagement on some of the most pressing issues facing the state,” according to a press release. Visitors to the new website are asked to weigh in with their views on U.S. Army land leases in Hawaiʻi, a topic Civil Beat has reported on extensively.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has proclaimed September “Digital Aloha Month” to promote “safer, kinder online spaces,” her office says. Throughout the month the state’s broadband initiative, Connect Kākou, will feature anti-cyberbullying resources such as printable materials for classrooms and social media assets and a confidential tool for reporting bullying incidents in schools.

And the Honolulu City Council has upgraded its HNL Docs website with what it touts as improved access to council measures, communications and meeting agendas. The site includes a Trending Measures Tab, intended to be a quick reference to the most-discussed bills and resolutions.