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Vote GOP: Donald Trump is the first candidate to register for the Hawaii Republican Caucuses.

The outcome of the March 12 voting will determine the proportional delegate allocation among the competing candidates.

Currently, are in the running. That number will almost certainly drop when other caucuses and primaries begin early next year.

Voting is open to Hawaii voters with a photo ID who sign a GOP membership card at the polling place.

Trump won Hawaii’s 2016 GOP caucus, but the 2020 caucus was canceled, as Trump was at that time president and unopposed for reelection within his party.

Just say no to propaganda: State Rep. Gene Ward is steamed that China Daily, a Chinese Community Party paper, is still being delivered to Hawaii State Capitol offices.

Ward, a Republican, this week complained that his concern has a new urgency given the recent news reports about China using disinformation to purport that the Maui wildfires were caused by the U.S.

“If the CCP can convince some of our residents in Hawaii that it was the U.S. government’s weather services that created the Maui wildfires, there is no telling what disinformation may be coming out of or about the State Legislature as long as our members are receiving the CCP-owned newspaper delivered to the Capitol offices on a weekly basis,” Ward said.

Look for the union label:  leaders met recently with Maui hospitality and health care industries.

Financial Secretary-Treasurer Cade Watanabe said Tuesday that more than 300 of its members work with Kaiser Permanente or in West Maui hotels.

“There’s a real concern about what’s going to happen in two weeks, four weeks when the federal government just leaves and is no longer staying in some of our hotels, and what does the recovery look like?” Watanabe said.

Watanabe said the union, which has some 10,000 members, is talking with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which also represents hotel workers.

Earlier this year Watanabe took over leadership of the union from longtime leader Eric Gill, who is now senior vice president.

Spending their allowance: Here are a few items from the latest round of legislative allowances from the Hawaii House of Representatives.

We previously reported how Rep. charged $1,345 for the 2023 National Conference of State Legislatures summit in Indianapolis thus summer. He has now returned $240, thanks to a price reduction in airfare.

Rep. spent $1,834 for travel and lodging for the 2023 National Caucus of Environmental Legislators National Forum, lodging for the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators annual meeting, lodging for the National Conference of State Legislatures Health Innovations Task Force and lodging for 2023 NCSL Legislative Summit — all of it during August, and all of it in Indianapolis.

Rep. used $838 from his allowance to attend the 2023 Convention, Sports, and Entertainment Facilities Conference in San Diego.

Rep. spent $504 for airfare, lodging and meals for the House Water and Land Committee to visit Hawaii island, specifically to visit with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the Na Ala Hele Trails Program.

And Rose Martinez $977 to both the NCSL Legislative Summit noted above and the APEC Women and the Economy Forum in Seattle.

More legislative allowances, which are taxpayer dollars, in the next Sunshine Blog. There’s really quite a lot.