OHA Refuses to Cooperate with Auditor—May Lose Legislative Appropriation to Hide LLC Secrets
Economic Curtain closing on Jones Act
They’re Taking Their Business Elsewhere
On TMT issue, political solution Must Come from Legislature
Borreca: … After years of solid public backing, the recent opinion poll shows Hawaii voters bailing on TMT.
In the face of dedicated resistance, the telescope is now supported by half of Hawaii’s voters. Just 18 months ago, it carried a 77% approval rating.
The last time Native Hawaiian activists played such an important role in state affairs was during the 1990s, when after 20 years of protests, they were battling the federal government to stop the bombing of Kahoolawe.
The politics of the day was that GOP U.S. Rep. Pat Saiki was running against U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka in 1990, and Saiki was credited with talking President George H.W. Bush into halting the bombing after years of Republican insistence that the Hawaiian island was needed for national security. While Akaka was a steadfast opponent of the Kahoolawe bombing, politics stopped the bombs, although public opinion polls at the time gave neither Saiki nor Akaka credit for the halt.
If a political solution is to be found for TMT, it will take a lot more players to step up.
Colin Moore, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, predicts getting resolution from groups such as the state Legislature will be difficult.
“Politicians will almost certainly try to duck the TMT issue,” Moore noted. “A divisive and emotional issue where public opinion is evenly split is the last thing any candidate wants to discuss.”
The discussion, however, is going to be held and if some politicians do step up, it will define a new era of leadership. If no one does, we go on with same old, same old. …
Bases for Legislative Action:
read … On TMT issue, as it was on Kahoolawe, political solution will take strong leaders
What do we do with inept and shady pols? Reelect them
Shapiro: … A Honolulu Star-Advertiser poll found most Hawaii voters think our elected officials are moving in the wrong direction, don’t care what we say and lack ethics. We keep electing them anyway in case there’s a crisis that only can be solved by sign- waving….
And the quote of the month … from Caldwell on his latest unpopular changes to rubbish pickup rules: “If we don’t adjust and make change, things are not going to improve.” Words to remember the next time his name appears on a ballot….
read … What do we do with inept and shady pols? Reelect them
EV charger mandate bad for new housing
SA: … A City Council proposal to require 25% electric vehicle- enabled stalls in new single- and multi-family housing will pile onto the already excessive cost of a new home. The National Association of Home Builders data shows that for every $1,000 in increased building costs, 250,000 families will no longer qualify for a home loan. Home ownership is becoming an unattainable dream for even higher-income families. Enough, already!
Maui, Kauai, and soon Hawaii County have represented their people well by prioritizing lower building costs over forced EV-charger installation that may never be used. The Honolulu City Council must no longer support proposals that increase new home prices for Oahu’s families….
read … EV charger mandate bad for new housing
OCCC guard, deputy sheriff will not be prosecuted in fatal shootings
SA: … The state Department of Public Safety had zero fatal shootings in the past 10 years until Feb. 18, when a deputy sheriff shot in the back a small, disabled, homeless man who had been drinking beer at the state Capitol rotunda.
Eleven days later on March 1, a second deadly shooting occurred when an Oahu Community Correctional Center guard chased an escapee a couple blocks away and shot him in the back outside a church in a densely populated Kalihi neighborhood.
Despite lingering questions about both shootings, officials from two agencies have decided not to prosecute the unnamed deputy sheriff and prison guard who killed the unarmed men.
The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office passed both cases on to the Department of the Attorney General due to conflicts of interest connected to the Attorney General’s office. One of the cases was then turned over to the Maui County Prosecutor’s Office to handle.
DPS internal investigations into both deaths are continuing….
Arrisgado was being held on a warrant. Three days earlier, Crime Reduction Unit officers tried to serve him with the warrant when he allegedly stabbed two of them….
The case went to Maui because Arrisgado’s father was a deputy prosecutor with the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office who had also worked with attorneys at the Department of the Attorney General….
read … OCCC guard, deputy sheriff will not be prosecuted in fatal shootings
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