How Christmas Came to Hawaii
$1 billion tax hike ahead?
‘We are going through one of the worst financial crises the state has ever faced’
The best Christmas gift? Freedom
Rate Hikes Coming: PUC Approves New Battery Incentive Scheme for HECO
DHHL Casino: Beneficiary Consultations Scheduled
Federal corruption probe targets DPP staffers
HNN: … A wide-ranging federal public corruption investigation is targeting staffers at the Department of Planning and Permitting, Hawaii News Now has learned. (Doing the job the State and County refuses to do.)
The DPP said it has placed one staffers on paid leave after the feds identified the employee as a target. The DPP said it only found out about federal probe after Hawaii News Now asked for comment earlier this month.
“Based on your email on Dec. 14, the Department of Planning and Permitting did make inquires, and discovered that at least one employee has been informed that (they are) the target of a criminal investigation,” a department spokesman said.
We asked Mayor Kirk Caldwell about the investigation today.
“Our public information officer gave a statement yesterday. What he gave you is as much as I know. I know nothing further than that,” said Caldwell.
Sources tell us the criminal investigation centers on allegations that builders received preferential treatment in exchange for payments.
They said that at least two staffers are being investigated for allegedly receiving money from several builders.
There have long been suspicions about payoffs for permits at the city but prosecutions are extremely rare….
The DPP said it’s conducting its own investigation….
Feb 7, 2020: Free Golf, Methamphetamines, and Building Permits
read … Federal corruption probe targets DPP staffers
Renewed push for disclosure of final sealed record in Miske-related case
CB: … Federal Judge Leslie Kobayashi has been asked to publicly release the remaining secret document filed in a 2018 lawsuit by Hawaii Partners, LLC, which claimed ownership of the 37-foot Boston Whaler “Painkiller,” seized by the FBI in August 2017. The government alleges the boat was used in the kidnapping and murder of 21-year old Jonathan Fraser in July 2016….
read … Civil Beat Law Center renews push for disclosure of final sealed record in Miske-related case
Panel defers 2% pay hike for Maui mayor, council
MN: … Pointing to economic uncertainty triggered by the pandemic, the Maui County Salary Commission postponed a 2 percent pay hike scheduled to take effect Friday for the mayor, council chair and council members.
The commission, which is charged with determining compensation for county leaders, voted 5-0 on Dec. 18, with three absent, to defer the cost-of-living increase until Dec. 1, 2021, or until further action is taken. …
read … Panel defers 2% pay hike for mayor, council
Hawaii DOH gives vaccine distribution update
KHON: … the Hawai‘i Department of Health says it continues to receive and distribute shipments of COVID-19 vaccine as quickly and efficiently as possible. Here are the latest figures.
11,700 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were ordered on Thursday. Delivery is expected early next week.
21,450 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been previously delivered.
10,900 doses of the Moderna vaccine were ordered on Thursday. Delivery is expected early next week.
12,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been previously delivered.
5,400 Moderna doses previously delivered to CVS & Walgreens for use in long-term care facilities
The state expects to receive a combined total of 61,450 vaccine doses by the end of the year. This represents a delay in shipment of 24% of the 81,825 doses the state anticipated receiving by December 31. …
CB: The state now expects it will receive a reduced total of 61,450 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna by year’s end.
SA: 20,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses will not arrive in Hawaii by year’s end due to production delay
read … Hawaii DOH gives vaccine distribution update
About 20% of Honolulu’s first responders received the Moderna coronavirus vaccination shot
SA: … About 20% of the city’s 4,500 first responders received the Moderna vaccination shot against COVID-19 during the first two days it was offered, city officials said Thursday, and they are urging others to step up and do the same….Hiro Toiya, the city’s emergency management director, said that of the 936 first responders who received their shots Tuesday and Wednesday, 649 were Honolulu Police Department officers, 173 were firefighters with the Honolulu Fire Department and 114 paramedics, emergency medical technicians and lifeguards with the Department of Emergency Services….
read … About 20% of Honolulu’s first responders received the Moderna coronavirus vaccination shot
Hawaii nursing homes experience falling COVID-19 deaths and cases
SA: … COVID-19 deaths and cases in Hawaii nursing homes has fallen below the national average, according to the latest update of the AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, but they continue to suffer from personal protective equipment and staff shortages.
Between Oct. 19 and Dec. 6, Hawaii was the only state that saw a decrease in COVID-19 deaths and cases in nursing homes, according to AARP, a nonprofit that represents Americans older than 50 years.
In September, Hawaii was experiencing a high of 0.91 coronavirus deaths per 100 nursing home residents, but that has steadily dropped to zero deaths during over a course of three weeks ending on Dec. 6….
read … Hawaii nursing homes experience falling COVID-19 deaths and cases
Corona Virus News:
QUICK HITS: