Project Announcement: Honolulu Rail May Be Coming To A Neighborhood Near You
Hurricane Maria spurs criticism of shipping laws
Survey: Military Families Overwhelmingly Favor School Choice
DLNR Hearing: Should Maui Windfarm be Allowed to Kill More Nene and Bats?
Navy Pacific Fleet at Breaking Point?
CNN: …It was a once-in-a-decade display of American firepower.
Three US Navy aircraft carriers -- the largest, most sophisticated warships in history -- assembled off the Korean Peninsula, in a move timed to coincide with US President Donald Trump's first official visit to the region.
But behind the dramatic show of force, questions are emerging as to whether the US Navy is up to the challenges it faces in the Pacific -- from both a nuclear-armed North Korea and a strengthening China -- at a time when its top leaders acknowledge it lacks the money, manpower and weapons to ensure success. And when a massive corruption scandal threatens the ranks of dozens of its top officers.
The three-carrier exercise, conducted in early November with South Korean and Japanese warships, was just one of about 160 multilateral and bilateral exercises performed this year in the area of operations overseen by the Navy's 7th Fleet, a Navy spokesperson told CNN. That's about one exercise every two days.
And the tempo of operations isn't slowing….
the 7th Fleet has clocked up five major non-combat incidents in 2017 involving ships and an additional two involving aircraft, including Wednesday's crash in the Philippine Sea of a plane taking personnel to the Reagan….
"To get Carl Vinson, Nimitz and Theodore Roosevelt ready to deploy in January, June and October of this year, and equip their embarked air wings with the required number of mission capable jets, 94 strike fighters had to be transferred, to and from the maintenance depots, or between F-18 squadrons on both coasts," said Shoemaker…..
SA: Business boon seen with arrival of 7,500 Navy sailors in Hawaii this weekend
read … Can the world's mightiest naval fleet survive the perfect storm?
Billionaire Stupidly Attempts to Enter Molokai Without Paying Walter Ritte
HNN: …A billionaire was blocked on Molokai on Friday after he tried to visit with his multimillion dollar yacht.
A group of residents and activists told the vessel's crew they would receive no aloha from the Friendly Isle.
“All I saw was a possible threat (treat),” said Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte.
"We want to protect (rent) this space," Loretta Ritte said.
The $195 million yacht is owned by billionaire tech investor Yuri Milner….
"We're a small community. Anyone with that kind of money to buy such a cruise ship could come here and take (put me in) control of the whole island,” Walter said....
MN: Molokai residents send message to billionaire Russian boater: Go away
HPR: Milner Pops up in 'Paradise Papers' Leak
read … Billionaire and his super yacht blocked from visiting Molokai
HGEA Perreira Caught Lying Again
MN: Randy Perreira, head of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, wrote in a Nov. 2 letter to The Maui News that, “In an Oct. 19 letter to The Maui News, a man representing Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (Aaron Lief) was wrong to claim that ‘Hawaii’s county public employees in Hawaii make some of the highest wages in the nation.’ “
Mr. Perreira said the average salary for the HGEA’s largest bargaining unit is $37,600 per year. However, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that the average annual salary for county workers in Hawaii is $61,365, which ranks among the highest wages in the nation, even when adjusted for Hawaii’s high cost of living.
Most of the average is inflated by police and fire workers, who on Maui make an average of $72,670 and $72,252, respectively, not including benefits, according to data obtained from the Maui County Department of Finance. A large portion of their extra monies come from overtime, which has been shown to double the salaries of some Maui police and fire workers.
If police and fire wages are taken out of the data, the average salary for Maui County workers is $46,759.
All of the data sources are available on our website at: PublicEmployeeData
read … Lying Again
Teachers: DoE Fails to Fill 1,000 Positions
SA: The retention rate for new teachers in Hawaii’s public schools improved this year, but the staffing shortage remains severe, with more than 1,000 of 13,000 positions filled by teachers who aren’t fully qualified.
The retention rate measures how many teachers remain on the job five years after joining the Department of Education. That figure rose to 54 percent in this school year, up from 52 percent last year, and a step toward the state’s 2020 goal of 60 percent. Out of 985 new teachers hired in the 2012-13 school year, 533 are still teaching….
Statewide, there are 12,309 teachers on the job this year who have completed state-approved teacher education programs, out of a total of 13,320 positions, according to data released this week. That figure, 92 percent, represents a slip from 93 percent last year….
The rate is worse among special-education teachers. Statewide, 86 percent of special-education teachers now on the job had completed state-approved education programs, the same as last year….
HTH: Teacher vacancy rates for Big Island slightly down
read … Retention of new teachers improves as shortage persists
New teachers need 22 years to amass home down payment
SA: A recent study found that starting teachers in Hawaii would need to save for more than 22 years before they could afford the standard 20 percent down payment on a median-priced home here….
That is the third longest in the nation, behind only the San Francisco Unified School District (nearly 30 years) and the Capistrano (Calif.) Unified School District (25-1/2 years), according to the analysis by the National Council on Teacher Quality.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, it would take just about 2-1/2 years for a teacher to afford a down payment on a home in the Detroit Public Schools Community District and three years in the San Antonio Independent School District…..
Let’s be real. A study could have been done on any profession in Hawaii and resulted in similar findings. It’s a struggle to buy a home in high-priced Hawaii, regardless of occupation….
SFC: SF School to be Converted to Teacher Housing
read … 22 Years
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