In the news

As the April 18 federal income tax filing deadline approaches, federal officials warned of tax-related scams, including con artist callers pretending to be Internal Revenue Service agents and fraudulent tax return preparers. "Scam artists and predators are clever in their attempts to swindle taxpayers out of their refunds," said Hawaii Sen. Mazie...

Sen. Mazie K. Hirono hailed an agreement reached this week between the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office on behalf of the US Department of Homeland Security and Taiwan to facilitate its membership in US Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry Program. The agreement will allow...

Kevin McAleenan, deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, visited Hawaii to talk about the possibility of establishing a pre-clearance facility at Japan’s Narita International Airport in Tokyo. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii. met with McAleenan and officials from Narita here in...

With the federal tax filing deadline less than three weeks away, advocates joined U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono Saturday at a caregiving conference at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii to urge seniors to be aware of tax-related scams, such as con artists pretending to be Internal Revenue Service agents by phone. The IRS has seen a surge of phone...

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the U.S. domestic maritime industry, today recognized U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) with its 2016 Champion of Maritime Award. Senator Hirono was honored for her long-standing support and commitment to the men and women of  the American maritime industry in her work on the Senate Armed...

In response to the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, the two leading GOP presidential candidates are again calling to ban Muslims from entering the United States and to “patrol and secure” predominantly Muslim neighborhoods in our own country. Clearly we need other voices in our national conversation on homeland security and Hawaii...

Lawmakers in Congress have introduced a bill aimed at easing the effects of Medicare reimbursement cuts on Neighbor Island and other nonurban communities in the United States. Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono co-sponsored the bipartisan Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act with 14 other senators. The bill, introduced in the Senate on Thursday...

To help preserve coral reefs, two members of Hawaii’s delegation in Washington, D.C., have introduced a bill they say would jumpstart research related to conservation. Sen. Mazie Hirono and Rep. Mark Takai, both Democrats, have introduced the Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovation Act. The bill is described as...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Rep. Mark Takai (D-HI) have introduced the Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovation Act, legislation that would jumpstart research related to coral reef conservation. “In the past two years, Hawaii’s coral reefs have experienced two serious coral bleaching events, and with...

Hawaii’s U.S. senators voted Wednesday against a bill that would block states from requiring food labels to note the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono cast “nay” votes in the 48-49 defeat of S.2609, which would have amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. The bill...

Senate Republicans have publicly vowed to block any nominee from President Barack Obama to fill the current vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. They won’t hold a hearing. They won’t hold a vote. They won’t even meet with the president’s nominee. In defending their decision, Republicans claim they are waiting until after the...

Top U.S. Senate Republicans say they will not hold a hearing on any nomination to the Supreme Court until President Barack Obama leaves office. But Democrats, including Hawaii’s two U.S. senators, are fighting back, demanding that their GOP colleagues consider a replacement for the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. As National Law...

HONOLULU — Aloha Petroleum Ltd. hosted Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) at its Aloha Island Mart Kahala store from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 19. The event was held in partnership with NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, as part of its NACS In Store program. To date, more than 30 NACS In Store events...

Tax season is here, and with the federal deadline just over two months away, one Hawaii legislator wants to make sure you’re getting the most out of your tax return. U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono helped put the word out about a partnership between AARP, the IRS and Catholic Charities Hawaii to offer free tax prep services to local...

KALAHEO — Mark Perriello, president of the Kauai Chamber of Commerce, is no stranger to Washington, D.C. He lived and worked there before moving to Kauai last year. “D.C. is lacking in aloha spirit,” Perriello said Wednesday. “People there are always looking to learn about aloha, and the aloha spirit.” They’ll...

On Monday morning, United States Senator Mazie Hirono was presented with the Teach For America Congressional Champion Award. Senator Hirono received the award in her office, presented by Teach For America-Hawai’i Executive Director Jill Baldemor and members of Teach for America’s Native Alliance Initiative. “Teach For...

Senators from Wisconsin to Hawaii have started a campaign in Congress to give college affordability the attention they believe it deserves so more young adults can have a shot at a higher education. It’s the question many student face when going off to college. How am I going to pay for this? For students at Drake University in...

Three Maui students are among a list of 46 across the state nominated to US military service academies by US Senator Mazie Hirono for the Class of 2020. Maui nominations include: Benjamin Maurice Wuthrich to the US Naval Academy, US Military Academy and US Merchant Marine Academy; Dean Kazuyuki Omura to the US Air Force Academy; and Aleksander...

Federal law language may soon be devoid of outdated racial terms like “Oriental,” thanks to a unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. Offensive racial terms would be replaced with others such as “Asian American,” according to a statement from the U.S. Congress. The provision, written by Hawaii Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, was...

State Sen. Gil Kahele, a longtime public servant on the Big Island before taking on a statewide office in 2011, has died at 73. The Hilo native was appointed by then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie in 2011 to represent the Big Island's District 1 in the state Legislature. He subsequently won re-election in 2012. Kahele most recently...