News media in Utah are kicking up a fuss about legislators planning on attending the upcoming annual conference of the Council of State Governments-West at the Sheraton Waikiki beginning July 30.

The headline for a story in the Daily Herald (Provo) read: “Taxpayers may be on the hook for lawmakers’ trip to Hawaii.”

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Although much of the Council of State Governments-West Conference will be spent in forums on topics such as health care policy, state budgeting and energy development, the schedule also has time for sightseeing and socializing.

On two of the four days, meetings wrap up at lunchtime so lawmakers can tour the Pearl Harbor memorial and downtown Honolulu. There are receptions and hospitality suites at the hotel on the Waikiki beach, a luau and Polynesian revue on the closing night, and visits to the fish market during the day.

An exact tally of the cost isn’t available, but registration for the event costs $350, hotel rooms are going for $160 a night, and flights to Hawaii are currently going for between about $600 to $950 — meaning the event could cost as much as $2,000 per person.

ABC-4 reported:

While some may still back out, and others may eventually not use public funds, the fact that any taxpayer money may be used for the trip is causing some real aloha anger.

The story included one of those “people just come to Hawaii to sit under palm trees on the beach” stereotypes that must give the HTA heartburn.

All this has some at Utah’s “Bad Ass (Donkey) Company of Hawaii” boiling mad.

Bob Hackworth, a coffee customer, talked to ABC 4 and he seemed, well, hacked off,

“We keep hearing about how the economy is down and we’re having a hard time finding jobs and the construction industry has a 30 percent unemployment rate or something and these guys are using our money to go sit under palm trees. I have a problem with that.”

The San Francisco Chronicle ran a column on island libations, “Aloha spirits: Hawaii’s hottest local liquors.”

And Hawaii backed into a Los Angeles Times report about a federal audit of the city of Montebello, about 10 miles from L.A.

Housing and Urban Development officials have accused struggling Montebello of numerous violations, including giving affordable housing grants directly to individuals rather than through approved entities and failing to determine whether those who got the grants were truly needy.

One homeowner who applied for funds meant to allow low-income households to fix up their homes admitted owning four pieces of property in Hawaii. But the city did not take those assets into account when determining the applicant’s eligibility.

I wasted some time this morning trying to identify someone from Montebello who owns four properties in Hawaii, but didn’t succeed.