Are Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg For or Against Religious Hostility?
Hawaii ranks 24th in national child well-being
Judge in Kawananakoa eviction case was on Family Payroll
HNN: …On Thursday, Megan Kau, attorney for the housekeepers, accused District Court Judge Steven Hartley of having a potential conflict of interest. She said step aside from the case since he represented Kawananakoa's nephew, David, who is pursuing the eviction on behalf of the 92-year-old heiress.
It's the latest controversy in the legal battle over the control of Kawananakoa's $200 million fortune.
"It has been brought to my attention that there may be a conflict. I was informed this morning that your honor was the attorney for David Kawananakoa, he is now the party that has brought this suit," Kau said in court on Thursday.
"We are respectfully asking the court to disqualify itself we believe that under the Hawaii revised code of conduct that although the court might not have an actual conflict of interest, there may be an appearance of impropriety."
Hartley is a per diem judge who works as a family court attorney. He disclosed in court that he represented David Kawananakoa and his brother, former state lawmaker Quentin Kawananakoa, in unrelated family court matters.
But the disclosure came only after Kau raised the potential conflict and after the judge made a number of housekeeping rulings in the eviction case….
Flashback: Kamehameha School Child Molester Case – Hidden Payoff to Judge Exposed
read … Judge in Kawananakoa eviction case steps aside amid potential conflict
Hawaii County Council Stops Pretending -- passes $40M GE tax increase
HTH: The Hawaii County Council on Friday passed a one-quarter percent surcharge to the general excise tax.
The county surcharge, raising an estimated $20 million a year, would start Jan. 1, 2019, and end Dec. 31, 2020, under Bill 159.
The council voted 7-2. Voting “no” were North Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha and Puna Councilwoman Jen Ruggles…. (both are leaving the Council)
read …County passes tax increase
HELCO Scores $290M Rate Increase
SA: …The state Public Utilities Commission voted 3-0 to give Hawaii Electric Light Co. a reduced rate increase so that the utility can meet its revenue requirement of $290.7 million.
The figure is the same approved for interim relief in April and is significantly less than the $314.8 million that the Big Island utility originally requested in 2016.
The difference reflects rate reductions due to the federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act.
read … $290M
$8 an hour: That's how much Hawaii child care workers earn when cost of living is factored in
HNN: …Hawaii wages for other positions in early childhood education also fared poorly.
Preschool teachers in Hawaii earn a median annual salary of $37,310. But that's cut down by nearly $10,000 when cost of living is accounted for, the report said.
Meanwhile, preschool center directors and kindergarten teachers in the islands are also the lowest paid in the nation when the cost of living is factored in….
PDF: Details
read … $8 an hour: That's how much Hawaii child care workers earn when cost of living is factored in
Margin of Error: Gabbard Maybe Less Popular than Hirono
MIH: …This poll had a 3.2% margin of error. The pollsters found they could be reasonably confident that approval ratings in early May for the four current Congressional delegates were:
Gabbard: Somewhere between 57.8% - 64.2%
Hirono: Somewhere between 55.8% – 62.2%
Schatz: Somewhere between 50.8% – 57.2%
Hanabusa: Somewhere between 40.8% - 47.2%.
Given these intervals (and again assuming there were no major polling flaws), it is possible that Gabbard had the highest actual approval rating in early May. It is also possible that Hirono’s approval rating was 4.4 percentage points higher than Gabbard’s (62.2% to 57.8%). The difference between Gabbard's and Hirono's numbers was statistically insignificant. The poll also found that Schatz's actual approval rating in early May could have been 1.4 percentage points above Hirono's (57.2% to 55.8%) and just six tenths of one percentage point below Gabbard's (57.2% to 57.8%).
Yet Civil Beat’s editor chose to run with the headline, “Tulsi Gabbard is Hawaii’s Most Popular Politician.” The article featured a cute picture of a happy Gabbard with the caption, “Hawaii’s voters love Tulsi Gabbard.” Half of the article was devoted to Gabbard.
read … Less Popular than Hirono
Challenger criticizes Gabbard for ducking debate
SA: U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is refusing to debate a Democratic primary challenger again this election season, spurring another round of criticism that she’s stifling the democratic election process and not giving voters a chance to hear from her opponents. The popular congresswoman has yet to participate in a debate against a primary challenger since being elected to Congress six years ago.
“Blocking debates from happening through non-participation is the opposite of democracy,” said Sherry Campagna, her main challenger this year in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary, in a news release.
Campagna said with the recent flooding on Kauai, volcanic eruption on the Big Island, as well as ongoing problems with homelessness and access to health care, open political debate is all the more needed. The House seat represents the neighbor islands and rural Oahu….
read … Challenger criticizes Gabbard for ducking debate
Former Unity House Scammers Still Harassing Waikiki Beachboys
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