VIDEO: Panel Discussion Mauna Kea-Defining Sacred
Unaffordable Housing--a condition created by OHA and KSBE--Drives Native Hawaiians out of Hawaii
CB: … For Native Hawaiians, the 2020 census may mark a historic major milestone. The last census in 2010 counted 527,077 Native Hawaiians living in the United States, with 237,107 — nearly half of them — living on the continent, while 289,970 live in Hawaii.
It begs the question: Will more Native Hawaiians be counted living outside of Hawaii in the 2020 U.S. Census? …
The migration of Polynesians moving away from their home islands isn’t isolated to Native Hawaiians either. For instance, in the 2010 census, the number of Samoans living on the U.S. continent was nearly four times more than the number living in American Samoa.
Rising seas are also forcing some Pacific Islanders to relocate, such as in the Solomon and Marshall Islands.
(IQ Test: Do you believe this?)
Other (ie realistic) explanations for leaving point to similar reasons other non-Native Hawaiian residents decide to leave Hawaii: more opportunity, more resources, lower cost of living and higher salaries.
“Our question at Kamehameha Schools, and I think a lot of others share it, is what happens if Hawaii is no longer a place where Native Hawaiians can have a quality of life and afford to live here?” says Shawn Kanaiaupuni, executive strategy consultant for Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu.
(Ironic: KSBE and A&B promote the restrictive land use polices which are at the root of high cost of housing.)
Two months ago, the schools’ strategy and innovation group set out to uncover why Native Hawaiians are leaving in a qualitative study. The hope is to use the findings to determine if there should be policy or strategy changes that may help Native Hawaiians choose to stay and thrive in the islands where they feel a cultural connection.
“I’m hypothesizing that for many Hawaiians the affordability of housing is an issue if they’re not on a homestead,” says Kanaiaupuni. “Let’s say, lower-middle-class Native Hawaiians, who are in a gap group who can’t qualify for federal aid or even college financial aid that you would use for your children, you might find that you have to leave to find a more comfortable life in another place.”…
read … The 2020 Census Is Important For Native Hawaiians
18 More Arrests As Oahu Wind Farm Protest Enters Second Month
CB: … Ku’ulei Gante was still lying in the road as a convoy carrying wind turbine parts passed just feet behind her and a group of Honolulu police officers Sunday night.
Gante was one of at least 17 people who were either arrested or cited Sunday night after remaining in a roadway in Kalaeloa to block the delivery of parts for the Na Pua Makani wind farm in Kahuku. The arrests bring the total to more than 160 since protests against the wind farm began a month ago….
“We gave them a tough run tonight,” Kaukaohu Wahilani, one of the leaders of the protest movement on the Leeward Coast, told a weary crowd that stayed to the end. “We gave them a run.”…
On Sunday, it took police more than four hours to clear the road enough for trucks to squeeze through. That’s almost twice as long as they’ve typically taken to clear the roads. Barricades were set up earlier in the day Sunday in an effort to deter the activists from entering the road.
That backfired when the protesters, who call themselves the kiai, or protectors, learned that they can hamper HPD’s efforts by taping their arms through holes in the barricades. Police spent over an hour cutting through the barricade to remove just one demonstrator….
read … More Arrests As Oahu Wind Farm Protest Enters Second Month
TMT supporters question sacredness of Mauna Kea, opponents disagree
HNN: … The panel included several Hawaiian TMT supporters: former state lawmaker and Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Peter Apo, attorney and cultural practitioner Kimo Stone and Hawaiian navigator Kalepa Baybayan….
“I chose not to characterize Mauna Kea as sacred. Instead, I chose to characterize Mauna Kea as being a spiritual environment," said Baybayan….
read … TMT supporters question sacredness of Mauna Kea, opponents disagree
Obamacare: Small Business to be Hit by 7.5% Rate Hike
SA: … Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (“Obama- care”) is in full swing now, and Hawaii residents signing up as individuals will see a rate cut, both from Hawaii Medical Services Association and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, down 3.3% and 5.4%, respectively.
The respective rate changes for small-business enrollees, however, will go up by 2.5% and 7.5%, come Jan. 1.
PBN: HMSA reports increase in net operating gain in Q3
PBN: Survey: Hawaii remains in top 10 states with high-rated health plans
read … Obamacare
Bus Ridership at 25-Year Low
CB: … The system’s numbers have been in steady decline since 2015. This past fiscal year, TheBus logged its second-lowest ridership of the past quarter century, at 62.3 million rides.
The only time ridership was lower during that era? That would be fiscal year 2004 — when Honolulu had a 49-day bus workers strike.
The drop reflects a national trend and there’s plenty of blame to go around. Uber and Lyft are peeling off rides. Local transit officials also point to a decline in tourists using TheBus as they opt to rent more cars. …
ridership is currently at some of the lowest levels seen in the past 25 years….
we’ve lost 15 million annual bus rides compared to a decade ago….
ILind: Do Honolulu’s transit planners actually ride TheBus?
(All of this puts ridership projections for Rail in question.)
read … Honolulu Traffic Is Terrible. So Why Aren’t More People Riding TheBus?
Nobody Wants Solar Without the Massive NEM Ratepayer Subsidy
IM: Hawai`i Legislators enacted Net Energy Metering (NEM) in 2001 enabling electric utility customers to install solar on their roofs; to offset electricity imported and exported from the electric grid.
The beginning of the end for Net Energy Metering occurred in 2008. “The parties agree that NEM will be replaced with an appropriate feed-in tariff.”
… As of the end of the third quarter of 2019, there were 169 Feed-in Tariff installations representing a mere 0.2% of all interconnections…..
Community-Based Renewable Energy (CBRE) is another program touted by the utility. It could enable all customers to participate in the solar revolution….As of today, no systems that have been built, and all but one currently under consideration have only corporate customers as potential benefactors….
read … HECO Companies` Feed-in Tariff Program is a Failure
NYC Homeless Flown to Hawaii: Josh Green Covers for Bill De Blasio
SA: … In his Friday phone call with de Blasio’s staff, Green said he was “very direct” about his concerns, but did not seek further details about the family, such as the number of people and whether they had Hawaii connections….
A New York City program sent a homeless family to Hawaii that had one-year’s worth of prepaid rent, prearranged housing and prearranged employment, and Lt. Gov. Josh Green is “satisfied” with the arrangements following an hourlong telephone conversation Friday with three New York City officials….
(NOTE: None of this is new info. All of these claims were included in the original NY Post story.)
Green spoke on the phone Friday morning with de Blasio’s senior adviser on homelessness, one of his deputy chiefs of staff and the city’s social services coordinator. Green said he came away with a pledge for New York to host a meeting of 10 to 12 representatives from around the country, including Hawaii, to talk “best practices” to reducing homelessness sometime around March 22 and 23….
read … Cover for each other
‘Kauhale’ homeless concept generating offers of donations
SA: … More construction- related companies, architects and two private landowners have stepped forward to help create a new, communal “kauhale” concept to build permanent, tiny homes for Oahu’s chronically homeless adults….
SA: ‘Kauhale’ housing clusters hold promise
read … ‘Kauhale’ homeless concept generating offers of donations
Hawaii Republicans: Trump Should Come Here and Save Us
CB: … Local reelection campaign should get the president to visit Hawaii and speak to what he can do about the crisis in the islands….
“President Trump has lifted the prospect of voters across Hawaii, overseeing a 16,532 decline of Hawaii residents on food stamps.”…
when a Republican presidential candidate courts Virginia they talk about building a bigger Navy to curry favor with voters who stand to benefit from the shipbuilding industry, or, when one visits Florida, promises are made by candidates to beef up the space program, and so on.
But in Hawaii, Republican presidential candidates and campaigns more often than not deploy national, broad-brush talking points, and almost never make specific promises that address Hawaii issues….
changes in the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) under the new tax law actually makes Trump tax cuts a tax hike for local residents….
“If Trump promises to drain the swamp in Hawaii, he could probably swing a lot of votes here.” — Alan Yim, former state House candidate…
Perhaps the only thing that could get people in Hawaii to vote for Trump is if he passed a Jones Act exemption…
the White House needs to do more to help Hawaii in costs of living, local infrastructure, and education….
read … Save Yourself!
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