Hawaii Republicans Blocked from Observing Voter Count
May, 2020: Tourism Down 98.9%
Panos: Anti-Mask Rhetoric Absurd
Video: HD49 Candidate Arrested for Quarantine Violation
Puerto Rico to demand COVID-19 test results from passengers
COVID Count: 18 new cases out of 1,315 tests
Abercrombie Campaign Contributions Become Issue in Alabama Congressional Race
Gender neutral option available for state credentials beginning July 1, 2020
Former little league softball coach charged with producing child pornography
Feds Indict Three Hilo Jail Guards for Beating up Inmate
After 29 Years--Hawaii Supreme Court rules in favor of Hawaiian homelands beneficiaries
HNN: … In a unanimous opinion, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled the state must pay damages to more than 2,700 who spent decades on that wait list.
The lawsuit was filed in 1991.
“It’s a tragedy that it’s been drawn out this way. But the state has decided to take a scorched-earth approach to it and instead of doing what the Supreme Court today recognized was the just thing to do and finding a way to adequately compensate people for the delays form this mismanagement of the trust, they’ve just fought it tooth and nail until now,” attorney Carl Varady said.
The court agreed the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands failed to manage and preserve trust property and maintain adequate records.
Varady said it's hard to calculate an exact cost because that damages will be measured using Fair Market Rental Value for each claimant.
But that the state should expect to pay tens of millions of dollars….
“We have 200,000 plus acres in the trust that can’t seem to be developed in any kind of way that adequately addresses the needs of the beneficiaries or fulfills the state’s solemn promise to rehabilitate Hawaiian through homesteading,” said Varady.
Delays have dragged on, and 400 of the 2,700 beneficiaries involved in this dispute have died.
But their families can still be compensated….
Big Q: What do you think of the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling against the state for failing Native Hawaiian homesteaders?
HPR: Beneficiary Reflects On Hawaiian Homestead Waitlist Court Victory
SA Editorial: State must settle with Hawaiians
SA: Justices fault state for mismanaging Hawaiian land trust
CNS: The Hawaii Supreme Court upheld the adoption of a fair market rental value method for calculating damages owed
PDF: Supreme Court Ruling
read ... Hawaii Supreme Court rules in favor of Hawaiian homelands beneficiaries
Gut n Replace SB1427: YB Rate Hike Decision to be Taken Away from PUC to Ice out Consumer Advocate?
SA: … The state House Finance Committee decided Tuesday not to advance a recently drafted measure that could have provided Young Brothers with $30 million to avoid a threatened shutdown of its critical service.
A proposed draft of Senate Bill 1427 authorized the state Department of Transportation to loan Young Brothers up to $20 million next year provided that the cargo carrier obtained at least $10 million this year from one or more counties….
concerns were raised by DOT, the PUC and the state Consumer Advocate.
DOT said in written testimony that it would need $3 million and additional staff to fulfill proposal provisions….
The agency questioned whether it would need to formulate rules to issue loans from a special harbor operations fund, and whether it would need some authority to require collateral for such lending.
DOT also asked whether it would have to allow the consumer advocate and the public to participate in setting rates as is required under the PUC process.
The PUC took no position on the loan provision, which included service requirements and limitations on how Young Brothers could use proceeds. But the commission expressed concern about temporarily transferring its rate authority to DOT….
SB1427: Text, Status
Reality: Young Brothers Rate Hike Proposal Based on Fraudulent Numbers
read … Legislation stalls to aid interisland cargo firm Young Brothers
HB2475: Allow HDoT to Give Money to YB
HTH: … Another bill in the Legislature, House Bill 2475, would provide subsidies to cargo carriers to offset costs incurred by providing services to ports on the neighbor island counties.
It would also authorize the PUC to appoint a receiver for a failing regulated water carrier to ensure uninterrupted interisland shipping services, extend the duration the PUC can permit a regulated water carrier to operate in emergency situations, allow the PUC to waive regulatory provisions in “order to restore or protect essential water carrier services” and permit the PUC to authorize new water carriers to enter service in Hawaii.
The Transportation Committee, before passing the measure June 24, amended the bill to allow the DOT to provide subsidies to cargo carriers. It is now awaiting a hearing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee….
WHT: Lawmakers take up bailout bills as Young Brothers container mishap investigation continues
HB2475: Text, Status
read … YB Give Away
HB2728: Lawmakers Want To Keep Foreign Interference Out Of Elections
CB: … HB 2728 would not only prohibit foreign nationals and corporations and their CEOs from making independent expenditures — that is, money spent directly to advocate for or against a candidate that was not made in cooperation with a candidate — on Hawaii elections but also require every corporation that contributes or expends funds in a state election to file a statement of certification regarding its status as a foreign corporation….
“Foreign nationals” are defined in the bill as people who are not U.S citizens or lawfully permitted residents, while “corporations” are defined as not just businesses but also foreign countries, political parties or organizations. The same spending restriction would apply to a local subsidiary of a foreign corporation….
Link: House Bill 2728
read … Lawmakers Want To Keep Foreign Interference Out Of Elections
HB1902: Lawmakers again move forward on ban of large-capacity rifle magazines
SA: … A proposed ban on large- capacity rifle magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition is back on track to pass at the state Capitol despite resistance from dozens of gun owners and despite concerns raised by the state attorney general that the ban as proposed is probably unenforceable.
The Senate Judiciary Committee gave tentative approval Tuesday to House Bill 1902, which would immediately prohibit people in Hawaii from possessing large-capacity magazines. However, the bill would “grandfather” people who already own magazines that can hold more than 10 bullets, meaning they would be allowed to keep them…..
Kainoa Kaku, president of the Hawaii Rifle Association, called the bill “a ridiculous thing that only targets law-abiding citizens.”
“Criminals are not going to get rid of these magazines,” he said. “There’s hundreds of thousands, is my estimate, of these magazines in Hawaii, and I myself and every single person that I know who do own these magazines are not going to give them up.”
“They have no way of proving how many magazines we own. There’s no way that (Honolulu police) would be able to even register the magazines that are currently owned,” Kaku said….
The Capitol is closed to the public because of the pandemic, and no in-person testimony is allowed, but about 140 people submitted written testimony opposing the measure.
HB1902: Text, Status
read … Lawmakers again move forward on ban of large-capacity rifle magazines
HB1529: High school journalism bill dead for this legislative session
SA: … Hawaii high school journalists will have to wait yet another year to express their First Amendment rights in print without fear of censorship from their administration after the state Judiciary committee deferred the bill Tuesday morning. It is now dead for the legislative session.
“On this one … in normal times I would move it along and try to figure something out in conference,” state Sen. Karl Rhoads, chairman of the Judiciary committee, said during the hearing. “But these are not normal times, and it’s not ready to go.”
House Bill 1529 would have allowed public high school journalists to exercise freedom of speech and freedom of the press without censorship or the risk of disciplinary action by the school administration, although libelous or obscene material would be excluded from the protections offered by the bill….
HB1529: Text, Status
read … High school journalism bill dead for this legislative session
After Aug 1 Real Time Database will Track Quarantine Breakers
HNN: … there’s no clear plan to make sure those who don’t get tested actually isolate themselves.
State Attorney General Clare Connors did say a new database for law enforcement should be ready once the new regulations take effect.
“Everybody who is not subject to the quarantine, that is somebody who has pretested or done the pre-travel testing, is not going to be in the database,” she said.
The database will be updated by the state Department of Transportation, Department of Health and law enforcement agencies.
“To ensure that the system is able to process individuals and be able to tell the counties in, as close to real time as we can make it, who’s subject to the travel quarantine and who needs to be identified for enforcement purposes,” she said.
Health Director Bruce Anderson said an app would also be part of the tracking technology.
“We actually use an application in our work at the facilities where we are quarantining and isolating patients, actually requires that they check in several times a day we know their whereabouts,” he said….
The Facebook group, Hawaii Quarantine Kapu Breakers, has helped law enforcement track down violators. Angela Keen, administrator of the watchdog group, said it will be difficult when the rules change.
“It’s going to be almost impossible,” she said….
ILind: Worries about ramping up tourism
CB: Lots Of Questions Surround Hawaii’s Pre-Travel Testing Program
KHON: Travel officials work on messaging campaign to inform visitors of state rules
read … State forges ahead with plan to reopen tourism with testing, despite potential loophole
To help keep virus out and residents safe, a senior living facility turns to tech
HNN: … After an initial in-person screening, approved workers and essential visitors get into the building after asking a series of question on an iPad.
“The computer does all the asking of the questions and then it’s automatically documented so that piece is done on the iPad. If there’s the wrong answer then the front desk security gets an alert,” said Michelle Kakazu, executive director at One Kalakaua.
Besides contact with COVID-19, recent travelers from the neighbor islands are not allowed.
The second level of screening is the facility's new thermal scanner. A person stands in front of it and gets checked for their temperature and a mask.
Staff is alerted in the building if there's a fever or the person is not wearing a mask….
read … To help keep virus out and residents safe, a senior living facility turns to tech
Starting this fall, new immunizations required for Hawaii students
HNN: … Starting this fall, new immunizations are required for Hawaii students, the state Department of Health said.
The requirement goes into effect Wednesday.
This applies to those entering childcare or preschool, kindergarten, seventh grade, colleges and universities and all students entering school for the first time.
[Click here for the full list of required immunizations]
Health officials said it follows national guidelines….
(Cue anti-vaxxer freak out.)
read … Starting this fall, new immunizations required for Hawaii students
Laughing at Your Sacrifice: Maui Council to Put Vote for New County Ag Dep’t on ballot
MN: … A Maui County Council committee on Tuesday recommended approval of a charter amendment, calling for the establishment of the county Department of Agriculture, to be placed on the November ballot.
After listening to testimony last week on the pros and cons, the council Government, Ethics and Transparency Committee reconvened Tuesday and voted 6 to 3 in favor of placing the amendment on the general election ballot.
The proposal now heads to the full council, with first reading set for July 10. It needs two readings to be placed on the ballot.
Advocates for the Agriculture Department say the new department would (create positions)….
But those opposed argued that the department just created another layer of bureaucracy for farmers, about the cost of the department amid tight coronavirus-era budgets, and that more discussion was needed, especially with an amended version introduced after last week’s meeting not being vetted by the Maui County Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups.
The committee Tuesday voted on the amended proposal introduced by (anti-GMO) Council Member Shane Sinenci, the author of the proposal to establish the department…..
2019: With Help from Maui Council, Convicted Sovereignty Scammer Keanu Sai Launches ‘Hawaiian Kingdom’ Bond Sales
read … Council panel backs county Agriculture Department creation
To woo customers back, city announces Chinatown beautification plan
HNN: … On Tuesday, he announced several new initiatives to help bring people and business back to the historic neighborhood.
Along with planting trees, installing LED lights, and removing graffiti, crews will start power washing sidewalks in Chinatown from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., five days a week.
“On top of power washing our sidewalks, we’re going to be disinfecting all our bus stops in Chinatown,” said Caldwell. “That’s 50 bus stops in the district, so they’ll be cleaner and they’ll smell better.”
The overnight cleanings ― paid for with federal funding ― will also displace homeless individuals (drug addicts and lunatics) who live on the streets….
HTH: Homeless encampment fire closes Singing Bridge overnight
read … To woo customers back, city announces Chinatown beautification plan
Convenience fee added to Hawaii DMV Now kiosks
KITV: … Drivers in the City and County of Honolulu will be assessed the vendor’s $3 convenience fee when paying to renew their motor vehicle registration at self-service kiosks.
The new fee takes effect on Wednesday, July 1 and will be on top of a 2.5% fee on credit card and debit cards assessed by financial institutions when used at any of the free-standing terminals that operate much like ATM machines.
The city says it has been absorbing both costs for providing the service, which offers residents the convenience of accessing a basic government service outside of normal city business hours. …
(Translation: If consumers are going to use this HGEA position destroying machine, the least we could do is get some money out of them.)
read … Convenience fee added to Hawaii DMV Now kiosks
Hawaii COVID-19 cases broken down by age
KITV: … Out of the 900 cases, 518 were 40 years and older -- compared to the 382 people ages 39 and younger. That's a little more than 50% of all people who tested positive.
A majority of the people who had to be hospitalized are also in this age group. About 33% of people ages 60 and older were admitted to the hospital, and 9% between the ages 40 and 59 were hospitalized….
HNN: Most COVID-19 patients recover at home, but hospitalizations higher among seniors
KITV: Pacific Islanders have high percentage of COVID-19 cases
read … Hawaii COVID-19 cases broken down by age
Election News:
Corona Virus News:
QUICK HITS: