August 11, 2022
August 2022 Newsletter
July 22, 2022
Ewa Beach Virtual Town Hall Meeting
Here is a recording of my Virtual Town Hall on June 15, 2022.
May 27, 2022
May 2022 Wrap-Up Session Newsletter
March 11, 2022
March Newsletter
Please see attached newsletter link: here
November 18, 2021
Virtual Town Hall Video
Here is a recording of my Virtual Town Hall on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
October 25, 2021
October Newsletter
October 7, 2021
There were brief addresses by a variety of international and Hawaii based advocates of nonviolence including
Representative Matt LoPresti who presented a joint legislative certificate honoring the "16th Annual
Celebration of Mahatma Gandhi Day and the International Day of Non-Violence".
September 8, 2021
September Newsletter
August 11, 2021
August Newsletter
June 16, 2021
June 2021 Newsletter
May 13, 2021
May 2021 Newsletter
April 6, 2021
April 2021 Newsletter
April 1, 2021
Pay Raises For Lawmakers Over The Next Year Are Raising Eyebrows
Lawmakers are positioned to receive two pay raises during the year ahead, a
move critics described as “unconscionable” at a time of high unemployment
and economic desperation in much of the community.
Read full story...
March 9, 2021
March 2021 Newsletter
March 3, 2021
In Hawaii, The Death Of A Prisoner Is Often A Closely Held Secret
"For too long, we haven’t known about those kinds of things, and people haven't wanted
to talk about those kinds of things, and it has led to, I think, a culture of looking
the other way," LoPresti said. "I don’t think that’s the right moral response."
Hawaii corrections officials refuse to publicly release the names of inmates who die
in the state's network of prisons and jails, and in most cases never even publicly
announce when there has been a death.
In a debate that has dragged on for years, officials with the state Department of
Public Safety insist they have no choice because federal law prohibits disclosure of
inmate deaths.
Legal experts and justice advocates flatly disagree, and critics of the state policy say
that keeping prisoner deaths secret prevents lawmakers and the public from learning if
Hawaii jails and prisons are being operated safely or humanely.
Full story...
February 22, 2021
Rep. Matt LoPresti Shares Insights on the Work of Ai Weiwei at the Hawaii Contemporary Art Summit '21
Highlights from the Hawaii Art Summit
At the recent Hawaii Contemporary Art Summit '21, Representative Matt LoPresti of Ewa District 41 took a moment
to recognize internationally acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei for his contribution to the upcoming Hawai'i Triennial
2022. Rep. LoPresti taught philosophy at the university level before assuming elected office, and we share a
clip of his insights on Ai Weiwei's work from his speech at the Summit.
Link to Hawaii Public Radio's The Conversation audio (Segment starts at the 24:38 mark):
https://cpa.ds.npr.org/khpr/audio/2021/02/af_lopresti_f.mp3
February 16, 2021
Hawaii lawmakers again seek disclosure about inmate deaths
Hawaii lawmakers are once again trying to bring greater transparency to incidents of inmates
dying in Hawaii's jails and prisons after a past effort to force Hawaii’s Department of Public
Safety to release such information largely failed.
Two years ago, the state passed Act 234 requiring the Public Safety director to provide the
governor and Legislature with reports on inmate deaths. The reports are required to include the
name of the inmate, their gender, age, where they died and whether there is any indication that
a sexual assault was associated with the incident. Follow-up reports are required when the
official cause of death is determined.
But the Department of Public Safety has routinely withheld much of this information from both
lawmakers and the public since the law was enacted, arguing that federal law forbids its release
even though other states routinely make it public.
Full story...
February 9, 2021
February 2021 Newsletter
January 27, 2021
Progressive Legislative Caucus Launched
The caucus, a House of Representatives press release explained on Jan. 12,
"will focus on the key issues of equality and justice and will work to
develop and empower public leaders who will improve the economic and social
conditions" in the state.
In that short time Caucus Chair Matt LoPresti says the hui has grown from
16 members to 18 - all of them Democrats: Reps. LoPresti, Sonny Ganaden,
Cedric Asuega Gates, Greggor Ilagan, Jeanne Kapela, Bertrand Kobayashi,
Nicole Lowen, Lisa Marten, Takashi Ohno, Amy Perruso, Jackson Sayama,
Adrian Tam, Tina Wildberger and Chris Todd; and Sens. Stanley Chang,
Jarrett Keohokalole, Joy San Buenaventura and Laura Acasio.
LoPresti, who is on his second stint in the House, describes the caucus
as a resource for encouraging members to "build up one another, have real
policy discussions and debates, and find ways to empower progressive
legislative voices and ideas that most Americans in general and Hawaii
state residents in particular support."
"We want to build a more just society," LoPresti told me.
For him, that means introducing legislation to raise the minimum wage
from $10.10 to $17. Another issue is paid family leave. Both issues
were considered in the 2020 session before the coronavirus invaded
our state last spring and snuffed out all but the most essential legislation.
Read more...
January 27, 2021
January 2021 Newsletter
