Damn the Tax Clearances, Full Speed Ahead!
COVID Count: 24 new cases out of 849 tests
WCIT/DTL Chairs Amemiya Campaign
ILind: … Income (Keith): Island Holdings, Inc (Senior vp) $200,000-$299,000 (Bonnie) AIO, LLC (Chief Financial Officer) $100,000 to $149,000
Fiduciary positions Keith Amemiya:
- Board Chair, Atlas Insurance Agency, 2013-2019. Compensation: $10,000-$24,999
- Board member, Aloha Stadium Authority 2015-2022
- President, Downtown Athletic Club 2012-present
- Board member, Jump Start Breakfast Advisory Board 2019-present
- Board member, Shane Victorino Voundation (Las Vegas) 2010-present
Bonny Amemiya:
- Board member, Hawaiian Host, Inc. 2017-present
- Board member, Hoike Networks, Inc. 2017-present
- Board member, Hawaii Tokai International College 2016-present
- Board member, aio Foundation, 2020-present
Campaign Chair: Adam Wong is managing partner of ACW Ventures, an investment and real estate firm. The telephone number for Wong in Amemiya’s campaign organizational report is the office number for WCIT Architecture, where he was long listed as a company principal.
ACW Ventures was touted as one of the local companies supporting the NextEra takeover of Hawaiian Electric, and was listed as an officer of a firm providing consulting services to NextEra….
BONUS: List of Max Donors to Amemiya Campaign
DTL/WCIT Flashbacks:
Related: Amemiya Joins Pack of Insiders Grabbing ‘Affordable’ Housing Units for Themselves
read … Checking out the (many) candidates for Honolulu Mayor
Ige warns that without more federal aid, Hawaii public worker pay cuts or furloughs are inevitable
SA: … Gov. David Ige is planning to borrow money from the federal government to raise cash to navigate the budget crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but said layoffs, pay cuts or furloughs of Hawaii public employees are inevitable if Congress and President Donald Trump don’t come through with more help.
In an interview with the Star-Advertiser last week, the governor outlined features of the new financial plan his administration has developed to ride out the economic malaise caused by the pandemic, which triggered an abrupt economic shutdown and a steep dive in tax collections. But Ige warned there is more pain ahead.
Given the sudden dropoff in tax collections and the collapse of the critically important tourism trade, Ige said the state cannot continue to spend at the rate it has been. The administration must take steps to reduce payroll costs, and the available options are layoffs, pay cuts or furloughs, he said.
“Those are the three choices,” Ige said. “I do think federal aid is really the only answer that would be helpful. At least with what we’ve looked at, just trying to make the financial plan work, if the federal government would provide more relief that would allow us more time for the economy to recover.”
When asked to respond to Ige’s comments, Hawaii State Teachers Association President Corey Rosenlee said in a written statement that “HSTA appreciates leaders in the Hawaii Legislature have budgeted the money to avoid state employee pay cuts and layoffs. Republicans in the U.S. Senate need to take action to pass federal stimulus to avoid making this situation worse.”…
(Translation: They are banking on a Dem sweep of Presidency, Senate and House this November. Decision on Weds Nov 4th.)
read … Ige warns that without more federal aid, Hawaii public worker pay cuts or furloughs are inevitable
Republican Incompetence to Blame for Hawaii’s meager ballot choices
Shapiro: … When the Legislature takes unsavory actions such as its $150 million public workers pay raise in a collapsed economy, I get many emails to the effect of: “Stupid voters have nobody to blame but themselves when they keep electing the same Democrats.”
But voters get an unfair rap. Because of stacked campaign finance laws that protect incumbents and incompetence by the local GOP, voters often find few realistic ballot options for change.
Republicans, beset by vicious ideological infighting that makes it difficult to take them seriously, this year are contesting only five of 13 State Senate seats up for election. Four Democratic senators are unopposed, and the rest face mostly little-known and underfunded third-party and nonpartisan challengers.
The only Republican senator, Kurt Fevella, often votes with Democrats on measures such as public worker pay raises.
In the House, the GOP is contesting barely half the 51 seats, and 10 Democratic representatives are unopposed. Republicans will be lucky to hold the five seats they have with the retirement of Rep. Cynthia Thielen.
There are few competitive Democratic primary contests except for a handful of seats with no incumbent. The upstart Aloha Aina Party, with 14 candidates in legislative races, is the freshest item on the menu.
So voters angry about public worker pay raises, which passed the Senate 21-3 and on a party-line 45-4 in the House, have little way to protest other than take chances on challengers they know little about with “anybody but incumbents” votes.….
read … Don’t blame Hawaii voters for our meager ballot choices
Get ready for Hawaii’s inaugural vote-by-mail election coming up in weeks
Borreca: … Later this month, election officials will mail out ballots for the August statewide primary election.
If you are a registered voter, the state will send you the official ballot to be filled out and mailed back before the Aug. 8 election.
Rex Quidilla, elections administrator for Honolulu, says while there has been a dramatic drop in paper transactions, both voter registrations and change of address forms, there is a huge increase in electronic submissions.
“The big point is there are no more polling places,” said Quidilla, a veteran state and now city elections official.
“I can’t recall anything like this: There have always been polling places; now they are gone….
If you need to register to vote, you can do it online by going to olvr.hawaii.gov.
If you get a ballot for someone who no longer lives at that address, just mark “return to sender” on the envelope and put it back in the mailbox, Quidilla explained.
You cannot vote a ballot that isn’t marked for you because the elections office will spot the fake signature and is likely to prosecute, election officials have warned….
read … Get ready for Hawaii’s inaugural vote-by-mail election coming up in weeks
Should Hawaii counties defund police? No: Make warranted decision, not vengeful one
SA: … In response to recent cases of police brutality, including the murder of George Floyd, ideas such as “defund the police” have become frequent motifs on social media and from certain politicians. The exact definition of “defund the police” is difficult to ascertain. To some, it means cutting a police department’s budget and allocating funds to other areas. For others, it means abolishing and replacing the department with some other entity to handle public safety.
The problem with these ideas is that they are actually nonsequiturs disguised as viable policy solutions, often laced with moral indignation against those who disagree. Defunding or restructuring the police department wrongfully assumes that those actions would necessarily reduce police misconduct. If the problem at hand is police violence, simply cutting a police department’s budgets or reallocating those resources to different agencies wouldn’t necessarily result in fewer instances….
It has become more politically expedient to virtue signal than to ask the tough questions and develop serious solutions. It takes no courage or intellect to pull police-related Lego sets off the shelves or cancel long-running police-related shows compared to actually discussing legitimate solutions. Unfortunately, many people have cowered behind the poorly constructed slogan of defunding the police without knowing what it even means out of fear that asking the wrong questions or making the wrong suggestions would get them canceled….
SA: Should Hawaii counties defund police? Yes: Give more resources to our communities
read … Should Hawaii counties defund police? No: Make warranted decision, not vengeful one
Suicide Squad Writes 30 Prescriptions in First Year
HTH: … Thirty qualified patients in Hawaii received aid-in-dying prescriptions in 2019, the first year the Our Care, Our Choice Act was implemented, according to a July 1 report to the state Legislature from the state Department of Health.
According to the report, 23 of the 30 patients who received a prescription died, 15 of whom died after taking the aid-in-dying medication.
Nearly all of those who died after self-administering their prescriptions were between the ages of 64 and 85, and most had a cancer diagnosis. One patient had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, one had end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and two had Parkinson’s disease.
A 57-year-old man with metastatic pancreatic cancer was the youngest.
The report did not identify where in Hawaii these patients lived.
A total of 13 providers wrote prescriptions in 2019 — 12 on Oahu and one on the Big Island.
As of June 26, 24 patients had received aid-in-dying prescriptions in 2020, an increase compared to the same time frame last year, and 13 patients had ingested the medication, according to the report…
Reality: Meet the Insurance Executive Behind Assisted Suicide in Hawaii
read … Suicide Sales Squad
Report: Residents don’t want quarantine for travelers
TGI: … As governments figure out how to open without overwhelming the health care system, for Hawai‘i, it’s about finding a balance between reopening to a mass amount of travelers and keeping residents safe.
For about two-thirds of Hawai‘i residents surveyed in May, a slow reopening through the end of the year without the 14-day quarantine requirement is preferred.
The Bank of Hawai‘i Foundation released the study, “COVID-19 in Hawai‘i – Facts and Insights” which surveyed 1,096 participants statewide by phone and internet between May 14-22. The report gained to better understanding of residents “feelings, fears and financial hardships related to the virus.”…
TGI: Report: Kaua‘i residents face ‘high financial stress’
read … Report: Residents don’t want quarantine for travelers
Lack of clear vision for pre-arrival testing program is hindering Hawaii’s tourism reopening
SA: … The clock is already ticking on the 30-day countdown to reopen Hawaii to visitors, but so far there’s not a playbook in sight.
GoHawaii.com, the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s official website for visitors, tells travelers that those who take a COVID-19 polymerise chain reaction test from a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified laboratory 72 hours prior to boarding their flight to Hawaii and get it confirmed prior to arriving will not be subject to the state’s mandatory 14-day self-quarantine.
Other details are lacking, with the website promising information at a later date on the age cutoff for children to be tested, how long the pre-arrival testing requirement and quarantine process will be in effect, and whether the program covers travel just from the U.S. mainland or also includes travel from other countries. And it doesn’t explain if returning residents will fall under the same stipulations….
July 4, 2020: DOH Signs Contract--CVS To provide COVID Testing to Hawaii Tourists
read … Lack of clear vision for pre-arrival testing program is hindering Hawaii’s tourism reopening
Kapa'a man freaks out over mask in store -- arrested for terroristic threatening
KITV: …Kaua'i police arrested Ryan Buley, 34, of Kapa'a, Saturday afternoon for terroristic threatening and harassment following his refusal to wear a mask in a North Shore store.
According to a preliminary report, dispatch received a call around 1:30 p.m. that Buley had entered without wearing a mask. He allegedly proceeded to get into a verbal altercation with an employee about his refusal to wear a mask. He subsequently threatened to leave the store and return with a gun.
An eyewitness describes to KITV4, "He went beserk in the store and threatened to come back and shoot everyone in a tirade at the exit." The witness says out of precaution, Kilauea Market closed store for the rest of Saturday, but our calls to the market to confirm that were not returned.
Buley left Kilauea Market in his vehicle before police arrived but he was quickly tracked down and taken into custody. He was released after posting $5,150 bail and his court date, when he will face felony charges, is set for September.
read … Kapa'a man arrested for terroristic threatening
HNL Clogged up with Electric Vehicles Parked Free
CB: … Last week, electric vehicle owners lost the free parking privileges they’ve enjoyed for the last eight years in public parking lots. Efforts by the Legislature this year to retain those parking benefits failed….
On top of all that, electric vehicle owners will also have to pay an extra $50 a year on their registration because of a law passed last year….
In 2012, there were just 879 registered electric vehicles in the state, according to data from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. As of May, there were about 12,140 — a significant increase, but still only 1% of all vehicles in Hawaii.
Still, the free parking has created problems for some state agencies.
In testimony to state lawmakers, the Department of Accounting and General Services, which runs many of the state’s facilities, said that it loses between $20,000 and $30,000 each month because of the parking privileges.
The Department of Transportation said that, on average, electric vehicles take up 20% of the 4,740 stalls at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport….
read … A Setback For Clean Energy? No More Free Parking For Electric Vehicles
Election News:
Corona Virus News:
QUICK HITS: