Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi was for years among the closet allies of Milton Choy, the recently convicted businessman with deep political connections. No evidence has emerged that Kouchi benefited financially from the association, however.

Dennis Mitsunaga, a high-profile architect and prolific contributor to political campaigns, is on trial for bribery in a case that also involves former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro and several others. A federal judge recently ordered the 82-year-old Mitsunaga locked up for the the duration of the trial for alleged witness tampering.

A loophole in Hawaii’s campaign finance laws have allowed government contractors to pour millions of dollars into politicians’ campaign bank accounts. A lot of money has changed hands at lavish parties over the years.

The Hawaii Legislature is advancing a bill that could lead to higher utility bills to pay for Hawaiian Electric Co.’s wildfire mitigation efforts. Many ratepayers are not cool with that.

The Democratic Party is trying to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the ballot in many states, including Hawaii, worried that he will take votes away from Joe Biden in November.

Gov. Josh Green has named a former state lawmaker to lead the Board of Education. If confirmed by the state Senate, the nominee will be the BOE’s fourth chair in two years.

A bill that could have dramatically cut state spending on public arts programs — even King Kamehameha Day celebrations — was killed this week after testifiers overwhelming rejected Maui Rep. Kyle Yamashita’s proposal.

Two state senators have introduced a bill to turn over rebuilding of Lahaina and much of West Maui to the same state agency that brought Honolulu luxury high-rises to Kakaako.

House lawmakers want to scuttle the $400 million rebuild of Aloha Stadium — a priority of Sen. Glenn Wakai — in favor of a stadium at UH Manoa for half the cost. But some $25 million has already been spent on the controversial Halawa site plan.

A Hawaii State Senate committee voted unanimously to reject the nomination of Alapaki Nahale-a to another term on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents. A full Senate vote will come Tuesday.