Hawaii: Highest Consumer Debt in USA
OHA Strategic Plan? Results Not Updated since 2013
Circuit Court judge dismisses all claims against city in case involving Kaka‘ako Land Company
Auditor: DLIR Joins Long List of Departments Not Reporting Funds to Legislature
Wrong 25 Years Ago--UH 'scientists' sign SECOND warning notice to humanity
Governing Green Power: Realigning Institutions to Shovel Ratepayer Money to Elon Musk
Hawaii's Best Workplace? Monsanto
ACLU Child Molester: KSBE Broken Trustees Scramble to Shift Blame
HNN: …former state House Speaker Henry Peters, who told Hawaii News Now on Tuesday the board was never informed about the sexual assaults of dozens of students by Dr. Robert Browne, a psychiatrist who served as a consultant for the school (and a Board member of Hawaii ACLU).
"Absolutely not. And if we were, there's no question in my mind we would have dealt with it immediately,” he said. (IQ Test: Do you believe him?)
Peters said the abuses were hidden so long because of a "wall of secrecy" erected by then-President Michael Chun and other campus administrators….
In an August 2016 deposition, Chun said he was relying on advice from the Bishop Estate legal department, which apparently didn't follow up.
Attorney Eric Seitz said that department often bottled things up.
"A lot of stuff that was happening at the school was never really communicated to the trustees,” said Seitz, who represented ex-trustee and former state Senate President Richard “Dickie” Wong.
(IQ Test: Do you believe him?)
Some of the victims even turned to attorney Kevin Wakayama, who was overseeing the Bishop Estate accounts for the state Attorney General's office.
"I encouraged them to come forward. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, no one was willing to come forward,” Wakayama said.
"They have been harassed and intimidated. … The retribution is real and it continues to be real today.”…. (Word!)
SA: Stender tries to deflect blame away from KSBE Trustees but, “The transcripts show that at least one letter from the father of the boys who alleged abuse was copied to William Richardson, a member of the board.”….
HNN: Hawaii ACLU’s Dead Child Molester a ‘Monster’
HNN: Victims: Kamehameha Schools sex abuse suit is about accountability
read … Shifting Blame
Homeless Drug Addicts move into Pearl City cemetery
HNN: …illegal campers have moved in, desecrating the sacred ground where his loves ones are buried.
For years, the cemetery has been plagued with problems after its owner ran out of money. Now, those who volunteer to look after the place say the situation is spiraling out of control.
"We've seen a lot of illegal things go on," said volunteer Peter Fernando.
Added Shim, "The homeless issues. The abandoned vehicles. A lot of illegal drug use. It's not safe in there."
Within minutes of arriving, Hawaii News Now found out first-hand what they were talking about. Before even stepping foot into the cemetery, a man wielding a knife emerged from the encampment and told HNN to leave.
Neighbors say problems are now spilling onto their property.
Ele lives at a nearby senior apartment complex, and asked that her last name not be used to protect her identity.
She says activity increased after the Pearl Harbor Bike path was swept in August.
Over the past few months, Ele said, squatters have been found making themselves at home inside their community room and laundry facility. Clothes and electric scooters have been reported missing. At times, she doesn't feel safe.
"They sit around. They sat by my door…
read … Homeless move into cemetery, frustrating efforts to clean it up
Did Honolulu Police Go Too Far In The Case Of This Man’s Death?
CB: …the city is asking a federal appeals court to recognize that those kinds of police tactics are part of their “community caretaking function” and not excessive use of force.
It was around 8:15 p.m. on March 16, 2015, and Haleck had been seen darting through traffic on South King Street in dark clothing. When officers arrived they pepper-sprayed him numerous times and deployed a Taser in an attempt to get him out of the roadway.
Ultimately, six officers piled on top of him so they could cuff his hands and shackle his legs. He stopped breathing shortly after they dragged him out of the street…..
Haleck was a veteran of the Hawaii Air National Guard, where he served for 15 years. According to his autopsy report, he had a history of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, a personality disorder and substance abuse.
At the time of his death Haleck was under the influence of methamphetamine….
PDF: Haleck Appeal
read … Tweeker
Kauai: Idiot Legislators Try New Conspiracy Theories
KGI: …“I’m so suspicious there will be a cover up. It’s too coincidental that so soon after the rat poison is dropped, we have this stranding,” said Rep. Dee Morikawa (D-16). “These whales eat the squid that may have eaten the poison dropped in the ocean. That is what I suspect happened.”…
“If the whales passed Ni’ihau and saw a lot of dead fish and squid, they’d have a field day eating them and that’s what I’m suspecting happened. I could be wrong. I hope I’m wrong,” Morikawa said. “I want to make sure we have an agency we can trust looking into this and getting the correct information out.”
Rep. Jimmy Tokioka (D-14) also attended the briefing and raised questions about a potential poisoned food chain causing the whales to strand….
Rep. Chris Lee (Kailua, Waimanalo), chair of the Energy &Environmental Protection committee and Rep. Kaniela Ing (Kihei, Wailea, Makena), chair of the Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources &Hawaiian Affairs, held the briefing after hearing public and cultural concerns about the stranding of the whales.
“It’s important that we look into these type of stranding to see what effects human pesticides, debris and noise have on the wildlife in our oceans,” Lee said. “And to see what can be done to prevent this type of thing in the future.”
Ing asked about the possible cause of this stranding.
“When marine mammals strand themselves it’s usually a signal that something in our environment is out of sync,” said Ing….
SA: Morikawa said she’s concerned that any linkage of the whale stranding to the rat poison will be “covered up.”
read … Isle of Stupidity
Ambulance Chasers latch on to Anti-Pesticide Movement
KGI: …A Honolulu law firm has recently been running radio advertisements on Kauai and Maui, stating:
“If you worked on a farm or lived close to the fields where pesticides were sprayed while you were pregnant, and your child was born with a birth defect…then your child may be entitled to significant compensation. Call 1-866-988-TOXIC (6942.)” https://galiherlaw.com/service/birth-defects/
read … Ambulance Chasers
With Legalization, TVRs Could Generate $60M Tax Revenue
SA: …The governor’s office is working on an agreement with Airbnb that would provide for Airbnb to collect transient accommodations taxes (TAT) and general excise taxes (GET) from the owners of vacation rentals and remit them to the state.
The City Council recently asked the city Department of Planning and Permitting to draft bills that would enable the “legalization” of at least a portion of the currently unpermitted vacation rentals.
A study commissioned by the Hawaii Tourism Authority three years ago estimated there were 4,411 “nontraditional” rental units (i.e., vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts) on Oahu, about 20 percent of the statewide total, and that unreported TAT totaled $100 million statewide. Applying 20 percent of this to Oahu implies unreported TAT totaled $20 million on Oahu; $20 million of unreported TAT means another $8.6 million of unreported GET for the state (and another $1 million annually for the rail project).
Total: $28.6 million for the state, for Oahu only. This was three years ago. Likely higher today.
In addition to these state tax revenues, the City and County should not overlook applying hotel/resort real property rates to vacation rentals. Shouldn’t vacation rental operators pay the same taxes as hotels? The property tax rate for hotels is $12.90 per $1,000 of assessed value, more than triple the residential rate of $3.50.
Applying the hotel rate to the 4,411 “nontraditional” units on Oahu, at an average value (conservatively) of $750,000, produces $31 million annually in additional property tax for the City and County.
So roughly $28.6 million of TAT/GET for the state and another $31 million property taxes for the city — nearly $60 million annually — is the potential if all vacation rentals on Oahu were legalized and all operators decided to continue their operations even with higher taxes….
read … Need housing? Tax vacation rentals
Hawaii County Garbage Tax to Soar 33%?
WHT: Commercial haulers and others taking garbage to the landfill will be paying more to toss their trash, if the County Council agrees with a Department of Environmental Management request to raise tipping fees 33 percent over five years….
Fees at the landfill will increase from $85 a ton to $101 a ton starting July 1, then by $3 a ton each year until 2022, when it will be $113 per ton. It will take County Council action after that to raise it further….
Overdue accounts will be charged a 12 percent annual interest rate instead of the current 18 percent, but the penalty could begin accruing sooner than the current 60 days, according to changes in the bill.
Bill 82 is scheduled to be heard by the County Council Finance Committee at 10 a.m. Monday in Hilo council chambers….
Currently, tipping fees account for $9.6 million….
read … Garbage Tax
Is Hawaii Socialist?
CB: …The biggest problem we have today is that people are willing to lie to achieve their goals (or at least peddle half-truths). Let me suggest that building public policy on a foundation of lies isn’t going to work as a practical matter and lying doesn’t help your credibility as an advocate anyway. If we lie less, then our government may get better.
I have heard a few people call Hawaii “socialist.” Possibly.
But every state is different and ours is demonstrably different because so much of our money comes from outside its borders from spending by tourists and the federal government. And because we have roots in the paternalism of Christian missionaries, plantation owners, the “Big 5” corporations and Hawaiian and Asian cultures, it may not make sense to try to turn us into Texas or Utah.
Still, we should stay within the American tradition by remembering the fundamentals of public policy outlined in this essay.
read … Is Hawaii Socialist?
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