Hawaii residents most likely to live paycheck to paycheck
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Legislative Changes to Ensure Brokerage Compliance?
Help Wanted: Deputy Solicitor General State of Hawaii
Legislative Changes to Ensure Brokerage Compliance?
City purchases undeveloped Kahuku Golf Course oceanfront lands
Hawaii Gun Owners ‘Rap Back’ Fact Sheet
Caldwell: Don’t Do Anything About Corruption in HPD
KHON: Caldwell said Monday, “I think we need to let the process play itself out. We know that the federal government is doing an investigation. The search warrants are part of that investigation. We’ll have to see if anything is found out through that investigation.”
The Kealohas have not been charged with any crime.
Earlier this month, Chief Louis Kealoha agreed to take an early retirement after receiving a target letter from the FBI.
He’s set to meet with the police commission Wednesday to finalize his retirement agreement.
read … Save the Crooks
Will President Trump Save Hawaii from Rail?
HNN: …"(The city) has botched this so badly thus far," said University of Hawaii Law Professor and rail critic Randy Roth. "Already, we're projected to have the highest cost overrun in the history of rail projects in the United States of America."
Construction costs for the beleaguered rail project have soared nearly 83 percent, from $5.2 billion to over $9.5 billion.
And those rising costs, Roth said, are prompting members of the Trump team to take a close look at Honolulu's project.
The cost overruns exceed the next costliest system, which is in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where costs overruns were about 78 percent.
"I would be surprised if the new Federal Transit Administration does not take a very long, hard look at our rail project," Roth said. "I will be surprised if the Congressional Committee on Transportation doesn't take a hard look at this." ….
Hawaii's two senators have been highly critical of Trump, potentially inviting payback.
"I think it would be tough for the federal government to remove funding, but I think they could become much more critical of what's gone on with the rail project. There could be another cost benefit analysis," said University of Hawaii Political Science Professor Colin Moore.
read … President Donald J Trump Can Save us
Children can be eligible to use medicated marijuana
SA: Question: Can minors get a medical-marijuana card in Hawaii?
Answer: Yes, people under 18 can register to use medical marijuana, as long as the minor (patient), the patient’s caregiver and the patient’s physician meet certain requirements, which we’ll explain below. This information comes from the state Department of Health, which administers Hawaii’s Medical Marijuana Registry Program….
read … Keep the People Doped up
Maui Anti-GMO Councilmembers Get Tired of their own Circus
MN: …The titles, membership and duties of each committee were finally decided at 9:30 p.m. Monday after the Maui County Council unanimously approved a proposal to create four committees with seven voting members and four with nine voting members.
The proposal, drawn up by Council Member Riki Hokama, was approved with amendments — mainly to the parks committee — after lengthy discussion over Council Member Kelly King’s alternate proposal.
More than 40 people testified at the public hearing and special meeting Monday afternoon, which some council members called after many testifiers at a Jan. 2-3 meeting expressed concerns that the committees were “stacked” unfairly.
Hokama and King both offered alternative proposals, but after several of King’s suggestions were voted down, King held off on the rest of her proposal.
“I think I’m going to rest my case there,” she said. “It’s obvious there’s no appetite for compromise.”
read … Circus Over for Now
Do Condo Owners Need Some Help From Hawaii’s Legislature?
CB: Condo owner John White Sr. wasn’t planning to get involved on the board of Pearl Ridge Gardens and Tower. But when maintenance fees jumped nearly 50 percent in late 2015, he wanted to know why.
It was the beginning of a yearlong campaign to get answers about his condo association that ended in residents voting out the leadership last fall. Now White is the board president and is working to get a handle on all of the financials.
White said the process would have been less frustrating if condo owners had someplace to turn when they need help, other than paying for mediation or hiring an attorney….
White supports a proposal to create a new condo ombudsman office, similar to one in Nevada. Hawaii lawmakers are planning to take up the issue this year, along with a myriad of other ideas aimed at improving condo governance.
Condo owners need “somebody out there who is kind of like a referee for justice,” White says.
But getting that bill passed might not be easy. Richard Emery, a lobbyist who works for the property management company Associa, says an ombudsman’s office is unnecessary.
The state used to have a condo court but it only heard about 19 cases, Emery said. Mediation is already an option, and an ombudsman office would be costly, he said.
“Are we going to spend huge amounts of money for a governmental staff to deal with just a small number of complaints by a small number of people?” Emery says. “It doesn’t make economic sense.”
Instead, Emery is backing bills aimed at clarifying the condo law that Maui Sen. Rosalyn Baker, who leads the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health Committee, plans to introduce.
Still, lawmakers like Sen. Maile Shimabukuro from Waianae believe there’s a need for additional regulation to protect the rights of condo owners.
“These associations are like mini-governments,” Shimabukuro says. “It’s in all of our interests to make sure that they don’t abuse their power and money.”
read … Do Condo Owners Need Some Help From Hawaii’s Legislature?
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