Well, this is a bummer
Federal ruling blocks Hawaii’s climate change tourist tax on cruise ships
A federal appeals court ruling on New Year’s Eve blocked Hawaii from enforcing a climate change tourist tax on cruise ships passengers, a levy that was set to go into effect at the start of 2026.
Cruise Lines International Association challenged the tax in a lawsuit, arguing that the new law violates the U.S. Constitution by taxing cruise ships for entering Hawaii ports. They also argued it would make cruises more expensive. The lawsuit notes the law authorizes counties to collect an additional 3% surcharge, bringing the total to 14% of prorated fares.
The levy increases rates on hotel room and vacation rental stays but also imposes a new 11% tax on the gross fares paid by a cruise ship’s passenger, prorated for the number of days the vessels are in Hawaii ports. The lawsuit notes the law authorizes counties to collect an additional 3% surcharge, bringing the total to 14% of prorated fares. (snip)
U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake last week upheld the law and the plaintiffs appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. government intervened in the case and also appealed Otake’s ruling.
The order by two 9th Circuit judges granted both requests for an injunction pending the appeals.
As I wrote back on December 26th in regards to Judge Jill’s ruling in upholding Hawaii’s law: Look, Hawaiians voted for the people who put this tax in place. Every experiment needs an experimental group, right. Let’s see what happens to the economy of Hawaii, see if the peasants enjoy the fallout. And, anyhow, if the doomsday cultists in Hawaii hate fossil fuels, why not ban cruise ships, gas powered boats, airplanes, and helicopters?
Read: Bummer: Federal Court Blocks Hawaii’s Climate (scam) Tourist Tax »
We got 5.8 inches of snow officially at MSP Airport Sunday, putting an end to a nearly two-week winter hiatus. That in itself is nothing to write home about. We get snowfalls of that nature frequently, but this was an Alberta Clipper on a potent form of steroids. The steroid? You guessed it: climate change.
Major New Year’s Eve events around the world have been canceled for security reasons amid rising terror threats.
A powerful swarm of earthquakes in January suggested one of Iceland’s giant “ice volcanoes” may be awakening after a decade of slumber. In the months that followed, more earthquakes have rocked the ground.
Tuesday on MS NOW’s “All In,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said if he became governor in California, he would charge ICE agents and take away their driver’s licenses if they commit crimes.
Many of us have a way of taking the oceans for granted. A place to surf, perhaps, or to enjoy other water sports, or simply admire while sitting on the beach. Those who make their livings in far harsher ocean conditions would feel rather differently, however, and so do climate scientists, who warn that the Atlantic Ocean could reach a critical point from which it’s going to be impossibly difficult to recover. Though we often think of the ocean as separate and distinct from life on land, the thing to remember is that about 71% of the planet is covered in water, the vast majority of which is ocean water. The Atlantic Ocean, the second largest on Earth, covers 41.1 million square miles, about one-fifth of the surface of the planet. This is why 
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked plans by the Trump administration to end temporary protections from deportation that had been granted to hundreds of South Sudanese nationals living in the United States.
