Nearly two weeks after President Donald Trump ordered a controversial travel ban against seven Muslim-majority countries, three Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges on Thursday upheld a federal judge’s temporary nationwide block of the ban.

Embedded in this global immigration/legal/political drama is a local connection: One of those judges is Honolulu-based Richard R. Clifton, who was a partner in prominent law firm Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright before being appointed to the federal bench by George W. Bush. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, Clifton also was an adjunct professor for a time at the University of Hawaii law school.

Trump is vowing to appeal the appellate trio’s unanimous decision. All eyes are turning to the U.S. Supreme Court, where 4-4 might not be far-fetched — and in that case, the appellate ruling would rule. Wow.

Wakai lets HTA keep its secrets after all

State Sen. Glenn Wakai started out driving a hard bargain with the Hawaii Tourism Authority — but then he softened.

Wakai chairs the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Technology Committee. He had penned a bill that would have eliminated the HTA’s exemptions from the state open-meetings law, compelling disclosure of financial data. But now he’s been promised that lawmakers would receive full minutes from closed meetings where proprietary information comes up, so the private sessions will be allowed.

The general public, however, is still left in the dark. No sunshine there.