Congresswoman Mazie Hirono and her husband, Leighton Oshima, were among the dozens of people who flew on a University of Hawai'i charter jet to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

UH officials yesterday released the full list of more than 580 people in the official Sugar Bowl travel party.

The full list included the names of at least 45 people that the university previously blacked out due to concerns raised by the public-employees union, the Hawai'i Government Employees Association.

The university also revealed the names of 30 other participants — including Associate Athletic Director Carl Clapp and five members of his family — who were previously left off the list because they reimbursed the school for the travel. The university had earlier promised participants that their names would not be released publicly if they reimbursed the school.

"They should have disclosed this (list) from day one," said UH Regent Kitty Lagareta. "I don't see why it was so top secret."

The Advertiser sued the university on May 23, seeking the full list of the official UH Sugar Bowl travel party, which cost state taxpayers an estimated $2 million.

The university released a redacted version of the list minutes after the lawsuit was filed and more than two months after the newspaper made its initial request for the names.

Mark Platte, senior vice president and editor of The Advertiser, welcomed the disclosure by the university but said the newspaper's review of the matter is not done.

"The Advertiser is pleased that the University of Hawai'i finally agrees with us that the official UH travel list for the Sugar Bowl is the public's business," Platte said.

"Now we can get down to investigating in what official capacity each travel guest represented the university at taxpayer expense."

UH spokesman Gregg Takayama said the school released the entire list after receiving an opinion last week from the Office of Information Practices that the university could not withhold names of people who were on the Sugar Bowl travel list.

Takayama added that university officials took some time to redact the names of children who attended the event because they felt their privacy rights should be protected.

Complicating matters, many of the vendors that provided flight and hotel accommodations did not sent their bills to the university until March, he said. As a result, the exact costs for the university and members of the travel party was not available until then.

Gerald Kato, a University of Hawai'i journalism professor, called the controversy an unnecessary public relations nightmare. The names should have been disclosed early on because the trip involved state funds and the list was public record, he said.

"I'm surprised that the university dragged its feet in releasing the information," said Kato. "The worst part of this delay in releasing the information is that it makes it seem like they have something to hide."

Hirono, in a statement issued by her spokesman Marvin Buenconsejo, said she flew on the UH charter with her husband with the understanding that they would pay for the roundtrip flights later. The flights cost about $1,300 per person.

According to Takayama, Hirono and Oshima paid for the trip after the costs were calculated in March.

"I attended the event on the clear understanding that I would use my personal funds to fully pay for all of my and my husband's expenses, which I did," said Hirono in the statement.

"It was an honor to join the University of Hawai'i administration and athletic department in attending the biggest game in Hawai'i Warrior football history."

Hirono was the only political figure who flew on the UH charter. Other elected officials who attended the Sugar Bowl such as Gov. Linda Lingle and Mayor Mufi Hannemann flew to New Orleans on their own, paid for their own flights and hotel accommodations and were not part of the official travel group.

Clapp, the UH associate athletic director, also traveled to the Sugar Bowl with family members. According to records release yesterday, five members of the Clapp family were among the members of the UH party.

Clapp said earlier he paid the university for the travel of his family members but declined to disclose the costs.

According to Takayama, Clapp's reimbursement presumably occurred after March since the costs for the airfare and other travel costs were not available until then.

The issue of who was included in the Sugar Bowl guest list is now the subject of a review by the state Ethics Commission.

Dan Mollway, the commission's executive director, declined comment on his agency's inquiries since the matter is pending.

But in comments on Thursday, Mollway noted that his office is looking into whether state employees received "unwarranted advantages or special treatments" when they received free travel and hotel accommodations to attend the New Year's day bowl game.

Violations of ethics laws could result in fines of up to $500 for each offense.

"From my perspective, disclosing the names is just part of the equation," added state Rep. Mark Takai, D-34th (Newtown, Waiau, Pearl City).

"The question that still needs to be asked is how was the $2 million spent."