Ige-Green Administration is Hiring
Bitcoin emissions alone could push global warming above 2°C?
Charitable? Hawaii Ranks 46th
Revolving Door: DBEDT Director Quitting to Join Law Firm's Lobbying Arm
PBN: …Luis Salaveria, who served as the director of Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic and Tourism under Gov. David Ige for the past four years, is leaving state government to join SanHi Government Strategies.
Salaveria starts his new role at SanHi, the government affairs group at Honolulu law firm Ashford & Wriston, on Dec. 4. There was no immediate word on who would replace Salaveria at DBEDT, according to a spokeswoman for the state agency.
“SanHi specializes in helping clients operate successfully in the local business ecosystem, which offers an ideal venue in which I can leverage my acquired experience,” Salaveria, who was the state’s deputy director of finance before joining Ige’s administration in 2014, said in a statement. “I am excited about the opportunity to continue helping business and clients navigate Hawaii’s regulatory environment and work effectively with elected officials.” ….
read … Hawaii's director of business development joins law firm's lobbying arm
Hawaii County: Top Contractor Headed Salary Commission—Gave Massive Raises
HTH: … Salary Commission Chairman Hugh Ono, who led the board through double-digit raises for county elected officials and department heads, resigned Tuesday.
Ono didn’t elaborate on why he’s decided to leave two years before his term ends, other than to say it’s for personal reasons and he’s not ill. He’d planned his resignation before the meeting and included it on the agenda….
Ono, who’d been outspoken in his criticism of the charter amendment, found himself questioned personally as well, because he works for a company that benefits from county business. As lead engineer and vice president of the consulting group SSFM, Ono has a hand in no-bid six-digit consulting work from the county.
Ono said last month he didn’t think the two roles caused a conflict of interest….
read … Salary Commission chairman calls it quits
Really, how hard can fixing jail blunders be?
WHT: … It’s a bit difficult to appreciate the scope of the internal investigation going on right now inside the ranks of the state Department of Public Safety because it sounds like something that should be pretty straightforward.
The Department of Public Safety has a record-tracking problem. And it really shouldn’t. In the world of incarceration, the department is tasked with little else than holding, monitoring and releasing inmates. They’re also responsible for transporting them around the island. So it should know who belongs in its ranks and who doesn’t. Nearly six months into the investigation, the community is still waiting word on why DPS often releases people from Hawaii Community Correction Center when it shouldn’t.
Why, it boils down to, can’t DPS read and follow its own records?
What prompted the inside probe was a rash of inmates repeatedly released by mistake. This year alone, a newspaper investigation in October found the state had erroneously released nine inmates, with six of those on the Big Island, including an accused killer on July 23.
Since that report, the state’s erroneously released another….
read … Really, how hard can fixing jail blunders be?
Danners won’t face prosecution
KGI: The Kauai County prosecutor has declined to pursue trespassing and interfering with a government agent charges against Native Hawaiian activist Robin Danner and her son, Garrett Danner, that grew out of a confrontation in Anahola last month….
On Oct. 18, DHHL enforcement officers, supported by 10 KPD officers, arrived at the location ostensibly to evict a man described as a volunteer caretaker responsible for maintaining a small section at the south end of the beach on which Kumu Camp fronts. DHHL officers contended that the man, Keikilani Pa, was on the property illegally because Danner and her organization lack legal authority to grant permission for Pa’s presence.
The incident was part of a much larger dispute between Danner and DHHL over who has proper legal access rights to Kumu Camp. It is a dispute that has dragged on for years, through a series of DHHL administrations.
Several weeks before the incident that led to the arrests, DHHL personnel cited Kumu Camp for constructing an allegedly illegal wood platform for a neighborhood watch program.
DHHL had also threatened to remove the platform and to force Pa from his beachfront encampment….
read … Danners won’t face prosecution
Hotel strikers to get $6.13 in raises over 4 years
SA: … Hotel owner Kyo-ya has offered striking hotel workers $6.13 per hour in pay and benefit increases over four years in a new contract that will likely end a 51-day-old strike.
The contract must be ratified by the 2,700 striking workers who are voting today.
In the first year, non-tipped employees will get $1.50 per hour increase plus 20 cents per hour for medical, 13 cents for pension and 10 cents for a child/elder care fund. Tipped employees would get 75 cents per hour added to their pay.
Next year the pay and benefit increase would total $1, in 2020 it would increase by $1.76 and in 2021 it would be $1.44.
When the strike started workers were seeking a $3-hourly-wage increase for the first year and Kyo-ya had offered a 70-cent-hike for wages and benefits. The average Local 5 housekeeper makes $22 an hour….
read … Hotel strikers to get $6.13 in raises over 4 years
State Law Allows Minors to Refuse Psychiatric Treatment
CB: … Amber Reynolds’ son started showing signs of depression when he was 7.
At times he was almost catatonic, refusing to rise out of bed to eat, urinate or see a psychiatrist.
When he was 15, he was hospitalized for the first time for his mental illness. He had attempted to kill himself by running into traffic, his mother said.
Nearly four years later, Reynolds said her son, almost 19, still doesn’t have a proper diagnosis for rapidly intensifying symptoms of psychosis. She blames, in part, a state law that has routinely allowed him to refuse inpatient psychiatric treatment.
read … A Mom Struggles Mightily As Law Lets Son Defy Doctor’s Orders
Marshallese Adoptions Fuel A Lucrative Practice For Some Lawyers
CB: …U.S. and Marshall Islands officials say the law clearly bars women from traveling to America to give up babies for adoption. But some attorneys are still taking advantage of lax oversight and willing families….
read … Marshallese Adoptions Fuel A Lucrative Practice For Some Lawyers
Man who suffered heart attack during Hawaii missile alert sues state
SA: … A man who suffered a heart attack minutes after saying his last goodbyes to his children following Hawaii’s ballistic missile alert on Jan. 13 is suing the state for an undisclosed amount.
James Sean Shields and his girlfriend Brenda Reichel are suing the state and Vern Miyagi, former administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, or HI-EMA, for the false alarm they claim triggered the heart attack and caused panic throughout the state. ….
read … Man who suffered heart attack during Hawaii missile alert sues state
Consumers sue maker of ‘Hawaiian’ potato chips
SA: …A Hawaii man and California woman have filed a class-action lawsuit against a company that sells “Hawaiian” potato chips because they say the chips are made in Washington state of ingredients not from Hawaii….
They are suing Pinnacle Foods Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in New Jersey, whose brands include Duncan Hines, Birds Eye, Aunt Jemima and Van de Kamp’s, for false and deceptive advertising, fraudulent and unfair business practices.
Tim’s Cascade Snacks, a Pinnacle Specialty Foods subsidiary, sells Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips in Original, Luau BBQ, Sweet Maui Onion, Ginger Wasabi, Hulapeno and Mango Habanero varieties in Hawaii and California. The company also sells Hawaiian Luau Barbeque Rings and Hawaiian Sweet Maui Onion Rings….
SA Editorial: Making a profit from Hawaii’s good name
read … Consumers sue maker of ‘Hawaiian’ potato chips
President 2020? Gabbard Speaking to Democrats in New Hampshire
SCO: …In the months leading up to New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Presidential Primary in 2020, the Rockingham County Democrats will host a series of meet and greet events with declared and prospective Democratic presidential candidates.
The next meet and greet will feature Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii Sunday, Dec. 2 at 3:30 p.m. at the Rockingham County Democrats’ office at 104 Epping Road in Exeter….
SA: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s New Hampshire trip marks possible presidential run
CB: Is This The Beginning Of Tulsi Gabbard’s Bid For President?
read … Gabbard Speaking to Democrats in New Hampshire
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