Which College Majors Pay the Most in Hawaiʻi?
Save the Bees -- Stop Bill 64
Reject empty homes tax, focus on policies that work
Hawaii has been ranked the worst U.S. state overall for poor driving behavior
Josh Green Surrounded by Anti-Semites during DNC Roll Call
CB: … All of us who were watching — including The Blog, who was actually there — saw Gov. Josh Green boast about how Hawaii was first in the nation to legalize abortion, to ratify an Equal Rights Amendment, to enact universal prepaid health care and to set a goal of 100% clean energy by 2045.
“And we cast six votes present and 23 votes for Kamala Harris,” the governor declared. Cue rapturous applause!
What may have been lost to viewers is that, as Green spoke, several of those “six votes present” a.k.a. uncommitted Hawaii delegates had elbowed their way into the frame. They held small signs that showed the names of people killed by the Israel Defense Forces.
The protesters include uncommitted delegate Inga Gibson, an animal rights lobbyist who complained afterward that she felt disrespected by her own party.
Just before the roll call, Gibson gave party chair Derek Turbin a heads up. Turbin, however, told The Blog that the main message from Hawaii Democrats would be the recitation of historic firsts. State Rep. Adrian Tam, who filled in for a while earlier this year as party chair, also pointed out that the party had to adhere to guidelines on unsanctioned signs. So, alas, the signs got little prominence as the cameras rolled and clicked.
One news organization that did get a shot of them was Reuters. Check out the Reuters photo of the vote: It appears that at least one of the signs was upside down.
Then check out the very same photo that went out Thursday via email from Green’s campaign: It has been cropped to cut out the signs.
It all reminded The Blog of the Hawaii delegate who raised a middle finger during the 2016 DNC that nominated Hillary Clinton for president. In the photo spread around the world, the distinct digit of Chelsea Lyons Kent can be seen sprouting just behind the heads of U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, who were apparently oblivious to what was happening.
The top demand of advocates for Gaza at the DNC (besides a U.S. arms embargo of Israel, of course) was that Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassa, an American physician who volunteered at a Gaza Strip hospital during the conflict, be given an evening speaking slot (to spout Muslim propaganda about dead babies.) That did not happen.
The Blog hears that the news set off a half-dozen uncommitted members of Hawaii’s delegates to the DNC, especially after Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, had a prominent slot Wednesday night. Their son was wounded and abducted by Hamas from the music festival massacre Oct. 7, and many in the audience were moved by their plight.
In a show of protest, two of those uncommitteds, Eric Schrager and Jonathan Simonds, then decided to camp outside of the United Center’s Gate 2 after the program concluded. That’s the main entrance to the arena, and as of Thursday they were still there….
SA: Backing of Israel costs Harris support from Hawaii delegates -- In all, 23 Hawaii delegates voted to nominate Harris during Tuesday’s roll call vote announced by Gov. Josh Green, six remained uncommitted in protest over Gaza and two failed to meet the deadline to register their votes online ahead of the convention.
read … The Sunshine Blog: We've Been Babysitting The DNC. Thankfully, It's Pau
BoE Prepares to Evaluate Superintendent
CB: … Board members will conduct their own review of Hayashi’s performance in the 2023-24 school year next month. The BOE holds the power to hire and regularly evaluate superintendents, and Hayashi’s current contract lasts until the end of June 2025 and sets his annual salary at $240,000 ….
read … Superintendent Says He's Managing School Facilities Better — But Should That Even Be His Job?
Honolulu police sergeant’s son sentenced 15 years for 2022 fatal shooting
SA: … Circuit Judge Shanlyn Park denied the state’s motion for extended sentencing, which would have meant life without the possibility of parole.
She ordered a minimum sentence of 15 years for the murder charge, to run concurrently with the 20-year sentence for two Class A felony firearms charges, first-degree robbery, 10 years for a Class B felony firearms charge and five years for first-degree terroristic threatening.
Blake Kolona, the victim’s father, shouted out after the judge sentenced Damon, “Fifteen years?” he asked her. “I’m not happy with that, I respectfully tell you, judge.”
He alleged the court is corrupt, and that the judge failed to extend the sentence because Damon’s mother is a police sergeant….
read … Honolulu police sergeant’s son sentenced to life for 2022 fatal shooting | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
Saguaro Safer than Most Prisons: ACLU Targets it Anyway
CB: … “Given the pattern of 20-plus years of this occurring, there should be an external investigation of this,” Shirota said in an interview. She said the ACLU plans to approach Hawaii’s congressional delegation first to ask them to help convince the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an inquiry at Saguaro.
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Director Tommy Johnson said in an interview that “in any prison setting, you’re going to unfortunately have assaults, death, and people trying to smuggle drugs into the facility, and when you have that, you’re going to have overdoses.”
“So I don’t think we can paint Saguaro with a broad brush because I think when you look at Saguaro compared to other facilities — including our own — their rates of assault and serious incidents is far less than what we have in this state, and I think less than most state institutions across the country,” he said….
(TRANSLATION: ACLU just using dead criminals as weapon to limit Hawaii to using only Hawaii prisons so hundreds of criminals will have to be released onto our streets.)
read … ACLU Wants Federal Authorities To Probe Recent Murder, Violence At Arizona Prison
Homeless Drug Addicts take over abandoned houses, burn them again and again
CB: … It looked to be the final chapter in a long saga involving multiple fires, an ever-growing mountain of trash and several requests from the neighborhood board for the city to take action.
But the house is far from the only derelict property to trigger concerns. Neighborhood boards across Oahu are fielding complaints about homeless people using abandoned properties. Some say the city should act faster to address these sites before they become a blight.
City officials, meanwhile, say their hands are pretty much tied beyond issuing fines and placing liens on the properties. Their legislative attempts to speed up the foreclosure process have stalled. Right now the only option is to seize abandoned properties in court, which takes a lot of time and taxpayer money, said Honolulu Managing Director Michael Formby….
KHON: Derelict Oahu property demolished, City negotiating payment to owner (khon2.com)
read … Honolulu Struggles To Find A Remedy For Abandoned Homes Taken Over By Squatters - Honolulu Civil Beat
State grants Honolulu more time to pretend to find new landfill
SA: … The state Land Use Commission on Thursday officially granted Honolulu’s request to find Oahu’s next municipal landfill by the end of this year.
The LUC’s vote, which adopted formal documents related to the city’s December 2022 petition to modify the state special-use permit and extend a deadline by two years, gives the city time to find an alternate site for the 35-year-old Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei.
The prior deadline of Dec. 31, 2022, to locate the island’s next dump is now extended to Dec. 31 — just over four months away.
Closure of the existing 200-acre landfill near Ko Olina is scheduled for 2028, though the city says its dump won’t reach full capacity until 2036.
LUC’s approval, in part, requires the city to provide quarterly, in-person reports to the Honolulu Planning Commission over its ongoing search for a new landfill as well as submit quarterly written updates to the LUC on that same search effort.
That information is supposed to include timelines and milestones, a list of potential sites and any obstacles to the city’s ability to choose a site as well as “reporting on the investigation of alternative technologies” for the landfill, among others….
read … State grants Honolulu more time to find new landfill
Election News:
Lahaina Fire News:
QUICK HITS: