Hawaii AG Obstructs Requests on How Much Taxpayer Funds Are Being Spent Fighting Trump’s Travel Ban
State of Hawaii Auditing OHA
USNWR: Best States? Hawaii Ranks 27th
Best Colleges? UH Manoa Ranks 484th -- UH Hilo 729th
State and Local Taxation Per Capita: Hawaii Takes $5,705
Islandwide Sit-Lie Ban Part of Trick to Create Massive Festering Homeless Tent Cities All Over Oahu
CB: Three Honolulu City Council bills would further restrict where homeless people shelter refusers can be….
Councilman Ernie Martin introduced two of the three bills. One of his measures would expand the sit-lie ban to all public sidewalks on Oahu….
His second measure would expand the ban in front of businesses and along certain streets in Iwilei. Bill 83, introduced by Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, would expand the sit-lie ban around libraries and schools.
All the bills passed first reading on 7-1 votes. Councilman Brandon Elefante, who represents Aiea and Waipahu, voted against the measures. Councilman Joey Manahan was absent.
People who testified against the bills Wednesday (are a whos-who of the forces keeping the homeless out of shelters and on the streets)….
read … Island wide Sit-Lie Ban Gets Preliminary Approval
Will Harry Kim get land for Homeless Tent City?
HTH: The state Board of Land and Natural Resources during its meeting Friday in Honolulu will consider a request to set aside more than 35 acres of state land in Kealakehe for the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. for “affordable housing and related purposes.”
The land is part of the Villages of Lai Opua, a planned community by HHFDC, according to a submittal filed with the Land Board.
The request comes a little more than a month after Mayor Harry Kim wrote to Suzanne Case, chairwoman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, seeking a right of entry to a 5-acre portion of the parcel to create a homeless encampment.
After consulting with DLNR, HHFDC and the county, an agent with the Land Division said the most practical course of action is to set aside the parcel for the HHFDC, which can then work directly with the county.
read … Decision pending on land for ‘affordable housing’
Most of Hawaii's homeless students aren't actually living on the streets
HNN: According to statistics released by the state Department of Education, more than 3,000 students in Hawaii reported that they were homeless at the start of the 2017 school year.
Education officials say roughly 2,000 of those students are considered "doubled-up," which means they don't have a permanent place to stay and are likely living with friends or extended family.
The other 1,000 children are either living in shelters or on the street. This year's numbers are down about 500 from last May, but officials believe the actual number of homeless students could be much higher….
Education officials say they are looking to hire another 15 homeless community liaisons. They are slated to work in neighborhoods with the highest number of homeless students. ….
Nanakuli-Waianae -- 19% homeless
read … Most of Hawaii's homeless students aren't actually living on the streets
Arakawa to be fined $2000 for Buying Goodwill?
HNN: …Arakawa, who is running for Lieutenant Governor, is accused of misrepresenting more than $6,000 in advertisements that his campaign bought.
The commission, which wants to fine him $2,000, said the ads are really charitable donations to nonprofits, meant to buy goodwill among voters.
"It's not necessarily advertising as you have tried to characterize it. It has to do with goodwill, seeding the community … for voters,” said Kristin Izumi-Nitao, the commission’s executive director….
MN: Mayor accused of falsifying campaign spending report
read … Lawyer: Investigation into Maui Mayor's spending is a 'witch hunt'
Honolulu City Clerk Wants Big Increase In Price Of Voter Data
CB: The Honolulu City Council is considering tripling the cost of obtaining voter registration data for Oahu.
City Council Chairman Ron Menor introduced Bill 90 on behalf of City Clerk Glen Takahashi.
The proposal comes as the Office of Information Practices separately seeks to raise the price of accessing other types of public records.
Bill 90 would increase the price of obtaining voter registration data from $250 to $750.
It also would raise the cost of a certificate that proves you are a Honolulu voter and the price of getting a document certified by the city, in both cases from 50 cents to $5….
Takahashi said the city received 307 requests for voter certificates last fiscal year. The certificates can be used to prove residency for purposes like kamaaina discounts at the city’s golf course or university scholarships.
Takahashi says that the city only received about 30 requests for voter registration data last fiscal year, mainly from service bureaus that do political data processing, political parties and large campaigns….
read … Price
Trump's Latest Travel Ban Could Be the Toughest to Challenge
The Atlantic: Earlier iterations of the executive order were rushed and unpolished. But the third version could very well pass the Supreme Court’s test….
read … Trump's Latest Travel Ban Could Be the Toughest to Challenge
How Two Decades of Kauai Anti-GMO Ignorance Shaped Obama Admin Policy
CB: …In Hawaii, opposition to GMOs gathered momentum in the 2000s. UHM’s agricultural college introduced commercial varieties of GM papaya in the late 1990s and sought to patent several varieties of taro in the early 2000s. Activists began to mobilize against university crop scientists, and a law was passed in 2007 to establish a Taro Security and Purity Research Program. Seed corporations remained largely unresponsive to the growing concern about GMOs that soon coalesced against them.
A coalition of environmental, Native Hawaiian and local food activists began to pursue legislation at the county and state level that targeted seed corporations. Groups like Hawaii SEED helped to organize mobilization, and the disagreement over these initiatives grew contentious, particularly on Kauai.
In 2013, nearly a thousand attended a meeting for a bill targeting seed corporations on Kauai with supporters of the bill wearing red and opponents wearing blue. The bill was passed later that year after a staggering 18-hour County Council session that concluded around 3:30 a.m.
Kauai County Mayor Ben Carvalho vetoed the bill and subsequently received death threats. The Kauai County Council overrode the mayor’s veto, but the law was eventually overturned after federal courts ruled that the County Council was preempted by state law.
One product of the Kauai Council bill was the creation of a Joint Fact Finding Group, which released a detailed report in May 2016. Although a third of the nine-member group resigned, this report provides thorough analysis of environmental and health issues associated with seed corporations in Hawaii.
Similar to Kauai, a ballot initiative in Maui was passed but subsequently overturned after a federal court ruled that state and federal jurisdiction takes precedence over county laws for agricultural regulations. Although these county laws were ultimately overturned, they tarnished Hawaii’s image as a welcoming place for seed corporations. Mobilization in Hawaii also contributed to the political climate in which President Obama signed a national GMO Labeling law in July 2016….
read … How Hawaii Fits Into The Changing World Of Seed Corn Production
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