Solution to Waianae Violence? Flood the Zone with Cops
Micronesia and Am Samoa Among World's Fastest-Shrinking Countries
Hawaii Spent Millions Responding To The Maui Wildfires. Here’s Who Got Paid
CB: … State government agencies in Hawaii have spent more than $410 million in the aftermath of the wildfires on Maui, with the majority of those funds paying for hotel and lodging for wildfire survivors through a contract with the American Red Cross.
Law firms contracted to represent the state and advise it on an array of legal issues as well as companies hired to build kauhale-style tiny homes were also among the top recipients of state funds in the aftermath of the inferno that destroyed Lahaina.
The single largest vendor for the state has been the American Red Cross, which was paid $350 million through June 30. It has provided congregate shelter in Maui hotels for wildfire survivors at an estimated cost of $1 million per day….
The documents HIEMA provided give a high-level breakdown of costs paid to a variety of hotels in West Maui. It appears the Red Cross also sheltered individuals in other areas of the island, including the Andaz in Wailea, one of Maui’s most luxurious and expensive resorts.
The documents provide just snapshots of the costs for sheltering survivors. For example, one invoice shows that the Aston Kaanapali Shores was paid $4.8 million for 6,837 room nights at the West Maui hotel….
read … Hawaii Spent Millions Responding To The Maui Wildfires. Here’s Who Got Paid
Surprising Issues Could Break Alaska/Hawaiian Deal
BH: … We are set to know the results of whether DOJ will permit this merger or not by Monday at 6 pm Hawaii time. That is unless there is another extension. It’s anyone’s guess at this point what comes next….
The DOJ has extended its review period multiple times, with the latest extension pushing the deadline yet again. This continued delay suggests that there are significant concerns that need to be addressed for the government to approve the merger, which at least in part seem to surround certain markets.
Speculation is rife that the DOJ’s focus might have shifted towards the interisland market, which could more significantly impacted by the merger than thought.
The fear is that post-merger, Alaska Airlines, which has no prior experience in operating a Hawaii interisland network of this scale, might not maintain the same level of commitment to these routes. This would have the potential at least to lead to reduced flight frequencies, higher prices, and ultimately, a decline in service quality….
According to recent discussions on aviation forums, there is growing speculation that the DOJ might impose conditions on the merger, such as a commitment to maintain current seat capacities and flight frequencies on interisland routes for a certain period, possibly for up to a decade. This would ensure that Alaska Airlines does not reduce service levels, which could lead to increased pricing and diminished accessibility for Hawaii’s residents….
Moreover, some also believe that the DOJ could require Alaska to relinquish some of its control over key airports like Honolulu (HNL) and Seattle (SEA) to prevent anti-competitive behavior. …
VW: Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Merger: DOJ’s Ruling Expected Today – Potential Concessions Revealed - View from the Wing
SA: Off the news: Hawaiian-Alaska airlines merger delayed
read ... Surprising Issues Could Break Alaska/Hawaiian Deal
Hawaiian homestead spending plans still in flux
SA: … plans for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to use $600 million primarily for developing homestead lots for beneficiaries, the agency’s plan is still very much in flux.
DHHL has recently shuffled projected spending for development of certain projects as it also pursues use of more money to buy land that is suited for quicker development but might need extra future funding to produce homestead lots.
Kali Watson, the agency’s director, on Thursday briefed a state House of Representatives panel about DHHL’s plan to spend the historic amount of money appropriated by the Legislature in 2022 through Act 279.
“This is an ongoing process,” he told the panel. “It’s an evolving process.”…
The deadline was intended to be June 30, 2025, but a flaw in the 2022 act resulted in the deadline being June 30, 2024. Lawmakers passed a new bill in May to extend the deadline to June 30, 2026, and the bill became law June 28, giving DHHL four years instead of three to encumber all of the historic appropriation.
read ... Hawaiian homestead spending plans still in flux
Eco-Lawyers Aim to Destroy Hawaii’s Last Dairy
HTH: … The suit alleges that every time Hawi receives a half-inch or more rain, two manure storage lagoons at Cloverleaf overflow, causing a discharge of pollutants into the ocean. Other allegations include improper disposal of dead dairy cattle at Cloverleaf, located in Hawai, and that Meadow Gold transports waste milk from its Hilo processing plant to Cloverleaf to dump it, instead of disposing it through the county’s sewage treatment system….
read … Nonprofit accuses Meadow Gold, Cloverleaf of violating Clean Water Act
Blue Planet Foundation Closing
CB: … The Honolulu-based clean energy nonprofit Blue Planet Foundation is being phased out after some 17 years of pushing for renewable energy reforms in Hawaii, according to its founder and chairman, Henk Rogers.
In its place, Rogers says he intends to relocate his similar but more internationally focused New York-based venture, Blue Planet Alliance, to Honolulu by October.
Blue Planet Foundation played a key role in setting Hawaii on an ambitious path to fully ditch fossil fuel energy sources for wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2045. At the time, that energy goal was the most ambitious in the nation, and it helped pave the way for larger and more populous states such as California to follow suit….
Blue Planet Foundation’s last executive director, Melissa Miyashiro, left the group in February and now serves as president and CEO of the Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations.
Since then, the rest of the group’s employees have gradually left, Rogers said Tuesday.
The plan to replace Blue Planet Foundation with Blue Planet Alliance in Hawaii still has to clear legal hurdles, Rogers said, but he aims for the process to be done before the next cohort of islands meets in October….
read … Hawaii Clean Energy Think Tank Blue Planet Foundation Closes As Part Of Restructuring
Case Against Hawaii Attorney Exposes Inner Workings Of Illicit Marshallese Adoption Business
CB: … A state investigation alleges Laurie Loomis used an account she failed to disclose to the state bar to collect adoption fees and make payments to birth mothers, a facilitator and herself….
2019: This Honolulu Lawyer Has Run A Marshallese Baby Business With Impunity
read … Case Against Hawaii Attorney Exposes Inner Workings Of Illicit Marshallese Adoption Business
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