9th Circuit Rejects Race-Based Voting on Guam
OHA Needs a Culture of Transparency
Lyon Corruption: Master Halbert gets 18 Months
"F" Again -- Hawaii Manufacturing and Logistics Scorecard
Hawaii 5th-Highest Gasoline Taxes
Hawaii Attorney General Urges Ban on Firefighting Foam
Stossel and Akina talk ‘dirty dozen’ at FreedomFest 2019
1853 Hawaiian Mission to Marquesan Cannibals
Kamala Harris Campaign Blames Russia for Humiliation by Tulsi Gabbard
BB: … Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)’s campaign press secretary suggested Russia was behind Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) after she landed an effective blow on Harris’ record as a prosecutor during the Democrat debates on Wednesday night.
Her press secretary, Ian Sams, tweeted shortly after the attack an NBC News article from February 2019 claiming the “Russian propaganda machine” was promoting Gabbard:
“Reporters writing their stories with eyes on the modern-day assignment desk of Twitter, read this: ‘The Russian propaganda machine that tried to influence the 2016 election is now promoting the presidential aspirations of a controversial Hawaii Democrat,'” he tweeted. He later retweeted his tweet.
The NBC News article from February 2019 cites, “several experts who track websites and social media linked to the Kremlin” who have seen “what they believe may be the first stirrings of an upcoming Russian campaign of support for Gabbard.”…
CD: Progressives Say Kamala Harris Team 'Inventing Conspiracies' About Tulsi Gabbard Rather Than Addressing Critiques
Background:
read … Kamala Harris Campaign Blames Russia for Humiliation by Tulsi Gabbard
$100M Showdown Looms With Howard Hughes Over Parcels On Rail Route
SB: …Negotiations to compensate the Kakaako landowner for properties critical to the project have broken down, with the parties as much as $100 million apart. ….
Most of the Howard Hughes properties needed for rail are narrow strips — not full parcels — meant to buffer the street from the elevated rail line as it runs along Halekauwila and Queen streets.
It also includes more than 37,000 square feet for the system’s future Kakaako station, near the Ross Dress For Less and former Sports Authority stores on Ward Avenue.
HART launched condemnation proceedings against Howard Hughes in December 2017 — the same as it’s done to numerous other property owners along the rail line. Since then, it’s managed to obtain an order of possession granting the agency some access apart from the larger fight over condemnation.
The court, meanwhile, has rejected Howard Hughes’ challenge of the proceedings, according to the latest available oversight report….
Out of the 224 properties needed for Oahu’s rail line, more than 60 parcels have faced eminent domain (condemnation) proceedings so far, including a high-profile dispute with the Blood Bank of Hawaii. Most of those proceedings have not reached the court level, however….
read … Showdown Looms With Howard Hughes Over Parcels On Rail Route
Telescope staff secure facilities before storms
AP: … East Asian Observatory Deputy Director Jessica Dempsey says seven vehicles carried staff to the telescopes on Wednesday.
She says the observatories negotiated access through law enforcement because protesters continue to block the road to the summit to prevent construction of a large new telescope.
She says some staff moved telescope domes away from the direction of prevailing winds. Others disabled systems so they won't get as damaged if there's a prolonged power outage.
The protest is on its 17th day.
Hurricane Erick is expected to pass south of Hawaii later this week. Tropical Storm Flossie is forecast to approach the Big Island early next week….
HTH: An external door at the observatory was swinging open in the wind
read … Telescope staff secure facilities before storms
Spain: ‘Unanimous’ support if TMT project were to relocate
KITV: … The Spanish minister of science met with the board that governs the observatories in the Canaries where the TMT would go….
Big Q: What do you think about extending by two years the construction start deadline for the Thirty Meter Telescope? 68% – ‘Bad idea: Construction should start now’ -- 6% – ‘The Telescope Should not be built at all’
HNN: TMT says Canary Islands site is not ready despite Spain’s green light
read … Unanimous Support
OHA Hack Watson: The Protest is More Valuable than the Telescope
CB: …What’s happening at Mauna Kea is a form of nation-building, and its value supersedes whatever the Thirty Meter Telescope could accomplish….
CB: A list of things someone thinks are more important than Telescopes
Flashback: Brother of OHA Crony Trisha Watson Diverts UH Scholarship to Bookie
read … I smell Money
Crackdown on Oahu vacation rentals could hurt tourism
SA: … Oahu’s more restrictive short-term rental rules, which take effect today, have come to the attention of investors and economists who warn the county is in danger of not having enough lodging for visitor arrivals to continue to grow.
“I have a strong feeling that there is this train wreck that is unfolding,” said Paul Brewbaker, principal of TZ Economics, who advised the Honolulu City Council not to pass Bill 89.
Council members unanimously passed Bill 89, which became Ordinance 19-018 when it was signed June 25. The new law bans advertising of unpermitted short-term rentals and enacts penalties that can result in fines of up to $10,000 for persistent violators….
SA: Report illegal vacation unit to city by telephone or mail
read … Crackdown on Oahu vacation rentals could hurt tourism
More Transfer Stations Closed Because UPW Members Can’t be Bothered to Show up for Work
WHT: … The Keei Transfer Station will closed at 8 a.m. today due to staffing shortages in the Kona Base Yard…. Also due to shortages, the Pahala and Puako transfer stations will be closed today and reopen Friday….
The department has suffered from staffing issues over the last several months that have led to frequent closures when employees call in sick.
read … More transfer stations close again today
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