Hawaii GE Tax Highest Sales Tax in USA on Per Capita Basis
Council yanks ‘forensic’ from rail audit
Am Samoa: Feds Settle with StarKist
Harassed by Attorney General, Parents of Autistic Child Flee State
SA: …The appeals court ruled for J.B. on several issues. It determined that:
>> He was entitled to transition services to ease his adjustment to a new school.
>> His individual educational plan should have specified that he receive “applied behavioral analysis” as a teaching method, since it was integral to his education.
>> It should have specified the “least restrictive environment” for services during the school breaks as well as the school year.
>> The plan should have specified whether he would be mainstreamed for science and social studies, rather than leaving it up to his teachers.
The judges sided with the state on one issue, agreeing that J.B.’s educational plan did not need to specify the qualifications of his one-on-one aide.
The Department of Education paid for J.B.’s tuition at PAC from 2012 to 2015 while the case was pending, until his father decided to move the family to Massachusetts.
“He got fed up and moved to Massachusetts, one state that optimizes special education services instead of just giving the basic access,” Peck said….
read … State fell short in school plan for autistic child, court rules
Honolulu Rail 3x More Expensive than Mainland Systems
RNZ: …"We should have put aside monies which is really trivial given the overall scope and a couple of million dollars at most would have done it for a national forensic expert on transit systems to come and look at what is really happening here and how come our transit system is two to three times more expensive than other comparable US systems," Panos Prevedouros said….
CB: Ideas for Better Rail Propaganda
read … Academic critical of overblown budget on Hawaii rail project
Four Months and Still no State Tax Refund
SA: …Question: I filed my tax in late March this year and still have not received my refund. Could you let me know what is the normal processing time for a state tax refund and what phone number should I call for the status of my refund?
Answer: Kokua Line has received several complaints about tardy state income tax refunds, but your wait takes the cake.
The state Department of Taxation advises taxpayers to call about the status of their refund if it’s been more than 10 weeks since they filed their return, or 12 weeks if they opted for a refund by paper check (as opposed to electronic deposit). It’s been at least 23 weeks since you filed, by your account.
read … Free Money for the State
Will Police Commission Hearings be Opened by Judge?
SA: …The particular argument being made correctly asserts that the public should have access to proceedings before the Honolulu Police Commission — in this case, hearings to decide officers’ requests for the city to pay their attorney’s fees. The larger point is that government agencies holding quasi-judicial proceedings, such as the commission’s, should conduct their business as openly as possible.
The court challenge was filed to keep open proceedings involving Honolulu Police Department officers seeking the fees. According to the complaint, officers Ming-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen and Daniel Sellers were among those involved in a conspiracy to wrongly arrest and prosecute a relative of Katherine Kealoha, the wife of retired HPD Chief Louis Kealoha.
If the court finds in favor of the media companies, and it should, then the police commission and others conducting quasi-judicial hearings would be held to a higher standard of review before closing the hearings to the public….
read … Open hearings should be norm
Is Hawaii’s government corrupt?
ILind: Do you think Hawaii is more corrupt than elsewhere in your experience? What do you mean by the words “corrupt” and “corruption”? When do you mean when you say we’re more or less corrupt than other parts of the country? What would you point to as evidence of corruption or lack of corruption?
read … Pretending that corruption is a question rather than an answer
National Democrat Donors Fly AG Chin Around World
CB: …Attorney General Doug Chin has been especially peripatetic.
Our AG reported about $25,000 in gifted travel expenses for AG-related business. His itinerary included San Diego; San Francisco; Fort Lauderdale; Mexico City; Havana; New York City; Denver; Guam; Portlands (Oregon and Maine); Alexandria, Virginia; Park City, Utah; and Washington, D.C.
read … Repayment for War on Trump
Peter Apo: “I should have declined the offer to be a paid Civil Beat columnist”
CB: …I have been writing op-ed columns, essays and various forms of the printed word including topical song lyrics and poetry for 40 years (absent any ghostwriters as claimed by a reader).
My considerable body of work, which largely focuses on Hawaiian politics and culture, tourism and Hawaii’s economic growth challenges, stands on its own.
And, at 78 years old, I have no intention of stopping….
…I should have declined the offer to be a paid Civil Beat columnist….
read … Peter Apo: Let Me Set The Record Straight
High-ranking Maui police officer investigated for sexual assault
HNN: …The Maui Police Department has launched a sexual assault investigation into one of its own.
The high-ranking officer is accused of assaulting one of his female sergeants.
Attorney David Sereno said he expects his client, Capt. Stephen Orikasa, to be charged with sexual assault in the fourth degree, which is a misdemeanor….
Sources said the alleged assault happened in the workplace last month with no one around….
Sources said after the incident, the alleged victim confronted her boss and he confessed, unaware she had a hidden microphone recording the conversation….
read … Another Day in the Nei
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