June 19, 2024 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

June 19, 2024 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:55 PM :: 1196 Views

The Political Machine has decreed that there will be no Mayoral Forum in Oahu.

Finances of accused Hawaii crime boss examined during racketeering trial

Top Lobbyists Steer ‘Initiatives’ inside Green Administration

CB: … Blake Oshiro, who serves as senior advisor to Gov. Josh Green, is expected to leave his post sometime this fall to return to his work as a lobbyist with Capitol Consultants, a major Hawaii lobbyist with deep ties to government and politics. …Oshiro is a former House majority leader….

Oshiro is expected to be replaced by Will Kane, a senior vice president with Strategies 360, a public affairs and communications firm with offices in Washington, D.C., but also in many western states including Hawaii.

One of Strategies 360’s top executives is Andy Winer, a former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and political advisor for Green’s gubernatorial campaign. Winer has also been a steady presence in the Green administration, continuing to lend a hand with numerous Green initiatives….

2023: CNHA Inside Track: Robin Danner Snags Gig in Governor's Office

read … The Sunshine Blog: Election Challenges Dismissed As Fundraisers Ramp Up

Kahikina Sets up Hanabusa to take Fall when Bids Come in High for Next Section of Rail

HNN: … More risk means higher bids, Kahikina said.

“So if they know you’re going to be dealing with a difficult owner, one, either you won’t bid or two, you’re going to put an astronomical amount in for risk,” she said.

Among Kahikina’s supporters are the two contractors working to clear utilities along the route to Kakaako. Nan, Inc Vice President Wyeth Matsubara pointed out that when Kahikina forced them to rebid for work after Middle Street, they beat their competitors with a much lower bid.

“Knowing that Lori’s there ... we feel a lot more comfortable, confident that we can get this done,” he said. “And I think it’s going to pay forward to pay forward to the to the next city center bid.”

Bids for the city center segment, the final phase of the project, are due this summer.

Kahikina said HART’s poor reputation affected costs in the past.

“For us, in the past, the bidders, would always put in what they call a ‘HART factor,’ because if we’re difficult owners, we’re difficult agencies they’re hurt just as much as we’re hurt,” Kahikina said….

read … Supporters of embattled rail CEO say her ongoing contract woes could cost taxpayers

CRI is not voice of the people in Red Hill fiasco

SA: … Kudos to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Amy Miller for standing up to the bullying of some on the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative. There are some good people seated; however, their voices have been drowned out by others who just yell and scream for attention to promote their own nonprofit business agenda.

I’m sure we can find people willing to serve without the drama and threats. There are boards and associations surrounding Red Hill that should have been the voice of the people, not CRI. Victims of the water crisis should not be on this board and be called on only as witnesses, similar to court where a victim cannot be on the jury.

Navy bashing needs to stop — the military is a part of us. Their wrongs should be addressed financially and with corrective action. We then move forward by assuring oversight in the future….

SA: Editorial: Don’t disband Red Hill community panel

read … Letter: CRI is not voice of the people in Red Hill fiasco

Hawaii hotel occupancy fell in May as softness continued

SA: … Summer isn’t coming in hot for Hawaii hoteliers, who saw hotel occupancy drop to its lowest level of the year in May and are expecting a continued slowdown.

Statewide hotel occupancy for Hawaii in May dropped to 71.2%, a 1.3% loss from May 2023, according to a report from STR, a company that supplies data and analytics to the hospitality industry worldwide.

The average daily rate paid for a Hawaii hotel room in May fell 1% year over year to $342, according to STR. Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, considered one of the better measures of performance because it measures the revenue generated by each available room at a hotel, decreased 2.3% year over year to $243….

Vieira said, “Hawaii has had an incredible history of rebounding after airline strikes, after 9/11, after hurricanes, but that’s because we immediately got a message out that, ‘Hey it looks great. You are welcome. Please come.’”

Hawaii began struggling with its welcome messaging when visitor arrivals topped 10 million in 2019, inspiring anti-tourism pushback even before the pandemic. Conflicting sentiments during the pandemic and then after the Maui wildfires exacerbated the situation and played a role in dampening tourism marketing.

“As a result, we are going to have a tougher time to bring back more workers and drive tax revenue,” Vieira said. “But you can understand why the situation is the way it is. We just need leaders to be brave and go out and market and drive business.” ….

BH: Why Hawaii Visitor Decline Persists

MN: May 2024 Hawai‘i Hotel Performance Report shows continued impact of August wildfires on Maui

read … Hawaii hotel occupancy fell in May as softness continued

Deputy sheriff arrested on Racial harassment charges

HNN: … A deputy sheriff was arrested Tuesday amid a harassment investigation and was placed on paid administrative leave.

Authorities said Alvin Turla, 47 was arrested at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Hawaii News Now has learned the incident with the recruit allegedly happened between last December and March of this year.

Turla is assigned to the Central Patrol Division….

KITV: State Deputy Sheriff arrested for racial harassment

read … Deputy sheriff arrested on harassment charges (hawaiinewsnow.com)

Do Hackers Have Your Holo Card Data?

HNN: … This is the second breach of Oahu Transit Services in three years and the FBI and HPD are investigating. Meanwhile, the city Department of Transportation Services said the breach started at 1 a.m. Saturday.

“Our phones went down, our OTS system went down and it became pretty obvious that it was an outside intrusion into the system,,” said Roger Morton, director of the city Department of Transportation Services.

“What OTS did was immediately severed all the connections to other systems that they have,” he added.

TheBus and TheHandi-Van are still running their routes. But the city says websites, GPS and the Holo card have been intentionally shut down to protect people’s data.

It could be too late, though.

Falcon Feeds, an India-based cybersecurity firm that monitors “threat actors,” posted a screenshot on its X social media account that claims “Oahu Transit Services Falls Victim to DragonForce Ransomware.”…

Falcon Feeds shared screen shots of that data showing names, addresses, and bus or Handi-Van card ID types….

SA: Kokua Line: Did cyberattack affect Holo cards? -- Morton said that it is standard cybersecurity protocol to immediately disconnect otherwise unaffected systems to isolate the problem. “We don’t have a concern over” the Holo card system, he said Tuesday at an impromptu news conference.

SA: Honolulu public transit system grapples with cyberattack

read … Rider data apparently compromised in alleged ransomware attack on TheBus, Handi-Van

Hawaii Lowest Paid Nurses in USA

BHR: … Nevada has the highest hourly mean wage for nurse practitioners, adjusted for cost of living, and Hawaii has the lowest, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Below are the mean hourly wages for nurse practitioners in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., adjusted for cost of living. Becker's calculated these figures using May 2023 salary data from BLS and 2024 cost of living index data from the World Population Review….

read … NP pay for all 50 states adjusted by cost of living | 2024

Unlicensed Care Homes Dodge Increased Enforcement In 'Cat And Mouse Game'

CB: … The Office of Health Care Assurance has issued cease-and-desist orders to an average of six homes per year since 2018. But dozens of these unlicensed facilities, mainly for elderly adults, continue to operate around the state….

read … Unlicensed Care Homes Dodge Increased Enforcement In 'Cat And Mouse Game'

Four Candidate Residency Challenges Dismissed

CB: … This year there were no less than four claims that 2024 candidates do not actually live in the district they wish to represent, but all four challenges were denied by the state Office of Elections.

They included a challenge to Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Luana Alapa’s nomination paperwork. The issue was was brought by one of her opponents on Molokai. Honolulu property records show that Alapa is a lessee on Hawaiian homelands in the Kalawahine neighborhood near Papakolea, and has had that lease since the early 2000s.

Alapa said she has lived on Molokai since 2019 on a 5-acre lot shared by her family. She said her daughter now lives in the Kalawahine home, where Alapa also stays while she attends OHA meetings on Oahu.

“I save OHA money when I opt not to take a hotel or rental car and stay with my daughter,” she said.

Hawaii Chief Election Officer Scott Nago also ruled this week that Hawaii County Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy is eligible to run for the state House District 2 seat vacated when Hilo Rep. Richard Onishi decided not to run for a seventh term.

The two other challenges were against Republican Sheila Medeiros, who is running for House District 43 (Kapolei, Makakilo) against GOP incumbent Kanani Souza, and Shelby Pikachu Billionaire, who is running for the U.S. Senate as a We The People candidate. The deadline to object to a nomination paper was June 12….

read … The Sunshine Blog: Election Challenges Dismissed As Fundraisers Ramp Up

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