COVID Debt Bomb Puts Honolulu Over the Limit
Oahu Mandates Face Masks Indoors and Out
Should Police Misconduct Records Be Made Public?
Voting in Hawaii: Changes and Reminders
HB2457: Senate Fails to Protect Kids by Voting to Allow Continued Sale of Menthol E-Cigarettes and Cigarettes
Hawaii 3rd-Highest Beer Taxes in USA
Can Visitor Data Predict COVID in Hawaii?
COVID Upsurge not Affecting Hawaii Hospitals Much—Only 5 ICU or Ventilator Patients Statewide
HTH: …Currently 120 of 244 intensive care unit beds, or 49%, are in use, while just 53 of 459 ventilators are in use. Few of those — three and two, respectively — and are being used by COVID-19 positive individuals.
“The uptick we’ve seen in cases over the last few weeks has been concerning for many … but things have changed,” Green said. “We have opened up our kamaaina economy and it’s providing a lot of people an ability to work again here in the state. We have not had significant consequence at our hospital level, which is good news.”….
read … Ige outlines features of new financial plan to cope with COVID-19 pandemic
Bought n Paid for -- 42% of Kahele’s Money Coming from Out of State
OS: … In State Contributions vs. Out of State Contributions ….
read … Bought n Paid for -- 42% of Kahele’s Money Coming from Out of State
These Hawaii Businesses Got Federal Loans During The Pandemic
CB: … Zippy’s restaurants, the Kahala Hotel & Resort and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s parent company, Oahu Publications, were among the top beneficiaries of a federal loan program meant to prevent mass layoffs during the global COVID-19 pandemic that has hit Hawaii’s economy harder than any other state.
On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department released data that showed those three companies were among those that received between $5 million and $10 million through a federal forgivable loan program created as part of a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that was first approved in March.
In all, more than 24,000 Hawaii businesses, corporations and nonprofits, including religious organizations, participated in the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, securing more than $2.5 billion in loans that were used to support more than 225,000 jobs….
ProPublica: Who Got PPP Loans in Hawaii?
SA: 3,228 Hawaii companies received loans over $150,000 and were disclosed in the new data.
read … These Hawaii Businesses Got Federal Loans During The Pandemic
A small-business owner’s perspective on the minimum wage
SA: … If I am required to raise wages across the board, I will need to raise prices, which will decrease demand and result in fewer hires and lower wages. I also compete with large factories serving much larger markets that can use economies of scale to undercut their prices. Manufacturers outside of Hawaii also pay less for raw materials because they are not limited by the geographic isolation a manufacturer in Hawaii faces.
It is also disheartening when some businesses assert that because their lowest starting wage is $15 an hour, all businesses should be able to do the same. These businesses should be commended for paying higher starting wages, but lawmakers should be mindful that this insinuates that all employees produce work valued at $15 an hour.
When an individual applies for a job with my company after being terminated, why should I take a chance on hiring that person for the same amount of money they made at their prior job, especially if I offer work that requires less skill and training? That person deserves a chance for employment with my company and an opportunity to work back up to $15 an hour. With only 2% unemployment prior to this pandemic, I and other manufacturers were able to give people with poor work histories a chance. If I am required to raise their wages, I will have to lay off these employees….
read … Column: A small-business owner’s perspective on the minimum wage
Pay Raise Retaliation? Hawaii Senate committee rejects Gov. Ige’s pick for state director of finance
SA: … One specific complaint involved the administration’s handling of negotiated raises for tens of thousands of state and county workers who are members of the Hawaii Government Employees Association and the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly.
The state is trying to cope with an anticipated $2.3 billion budget shortfall, and many thousands of private sector workers have lost their jobs. To give raises to public workers in that situation could be politically dangerous, especially with an election just weeks away.
Lawmakers voted last month to appropriate more than $150 million in general funds and an additional $50 million in federal and other funds to pay for raises for those public workers, but Sen. Kurt Fevella made it clear during Hirai’s confirmation hearing last week he was unhappy to have that issue dropped on his desk….
Fevella (R-Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point), who is the only Republican in the 25-member senate, asked Hirai if he saw a letter from the Senate urging the governor to meet with the unions to ask them to defer the raises. Hirai said he did not believe he had, and Fevella asked how he would advise the governor on the issue.
“I think he should address those things as soon as possible, yes,” Hirai said.
Fevella continued: “As we went on the Senate floor and voted for this, it was as you can tell, it was very heart-wrenching and emotional, and all kinds of things that was happening there, even when we had stressed to the governor to make a decision, we didn’t hear nothing, and then we hear nothing from you, you was there, you say you was part of that advising to the governor.”
Fevella said the Senate would not have been put in that position if Ige had “stepped up” and told the unions they would not get the raises this year. Instead, “right now we got people that’s not working, and we giving other people raises,” he said.
“That’s the kind of position that I don’t think we should have been put in if we have somebody strong, like you sir. You supposed to be strong in budgeting and worrying about the people, and not worrying about what the governor is thinking in a bargaining aspect,” Fevella said. “So, I think you should have had a little bit more say on behalf of the people, knowing that we didn’t have the money, because you’re the head of budgeting for the state. $150 million is not a small piece of change, that’s a lot of money.”
The Senate voted 21-3 in favor of the raises on June 26, with Fevella among those voting in favor of the pay increases. The House also voted to approve the raises.
Four members of the Ways and Means Committee voted in favor of Hirai’s nomination this morning, and seven voted against it. Those opposing the nomination were Fevella and Sens. Donovan Dela Cruz, Kai Kahele, Michelle Kidani, Sharon Moriwaki, Gil Riviere, and Maile Shimabukuro. Sen. Brian Taniguchi was absent.
Hirai’s nomination now goes to the full Senate for further consideration and a floor vote.
Last week interim state Tax Director Rona Suzuki announced she had asked Ige to withdraw her name from consideration after learning the Ways and Means Committee planned to recommend that she not be confirmed to the permanent post.
Ige did not actually withdraw Suzuki’s name from consideration, and the Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to question her this afternoon about her job performance.
In another sign of tension between the administration and senators, Department of Business Economic Development & Tourism Director Mike McCartney refused to testify before the Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 last month, and said he planned to file a complaint with Senate leadership….
CB: Ige’s Tax, Budget Nominees Run Into Senate Opposition
read … Hawaii Senate committee rejects Gov. Ige’s pick for state director of finance
Senate committee recommends rejection of Ige’s BLNR nominee
HTH: … Voting against Yuen’s nomination was Sen. Kai Kahele of Hilo, the committee chairman, plus Sens. Gil Riviere and Clarence Nishihara, both Oahu Democrats, and Kurt Fevella, an Oahu Republican.
The lone vote in Yuen’s favor was cast by Sen. Gilbert Keith-Agaran of Maui, the committee’s vice chairman….
read … Senate committee recommends rejection of Ige’s BLNR nominee
Senate passes COVID-19 screening bill, despite protests
KITV: … House Bill 2502 would allow the state to take steps to detect and prevent dangerous diseases, but one group gathered at the State Capitol Monday said it also goes way beyond simple screening for the coronavirus.
Protesters raised their voices at the capitol rotunda to get the attention of lawmakers voting on the bill that would screen people coming to the islands and could require treatment, quarantine or isolation of travelers if needed.
"Screening travelers is an important part of fighting the spread of disease and this measure will allow the Department of Health to screen and test," said Senator Rosalyn Baker….
Many in the group of protestors, including Nanakuli parent Malaurie Heidenescher fear government intervention more than they fear the coronavirus….
"There is no language in this measure that requires vaccinations, even if one becomes available," countered Baker.
Part of the bill would provide funding for hotels to test employees, and set up penalties for violators.
After passing out of the Senate, it will now go back to the House for a final vote as well.
If passed, it would go to the governor for his signature to become law….
read … Senate passes COVID-19 screening bill, despite protests
HB460: A tool to ferret out unlicensed rentals
SA: … COVID-19 has sparked a renewed effort, statewide, to bring vacation rentals under tighter control.
That initiative now takes the form of House Bill 460, which was rewritten in a “gut and replace” move to make it a measure that empowers counties to assemble a registry of vacation rentals.
They could do so using data from a “place of stay declaration form” all travelers to Hawaii would complete upon arrival, in which the precise address of the rental is disclosed….
In written testimony submitted on HB 460, Senate Draft 1, vacation rental hosts as well as representatives of booking platforms such as Airbnb and the Expedia- owned Vrbo.com site have protested loudly that the information-gathering would compromise privacy rights….
the mayors of Kauai, the Big Island and Maui decided on June 16 to allow legal vacation rentals to reopen to guests who do not have to quarantine.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell rightly opted to hold the line on even the city’s permitted rentals, preferring for now to keep visitors under closer watch at hotels — and the expected uptick in cases under control.
But starting Aug. 1, the state has pledged to waive the quarantine for those who test negative for the coronavirus about 72 hours before arriving. Once trans-Pacific travel reopens, there’s no justification to bar Oahu’s legal vacation rentals from business…..
read … A tool to ferret out unlicensed rentals
COVID Cluster -- 9 at Local Gym
HNN: … There’s a cluster of 9 coronavirus cases that has been linked to an unnamed but temporarily closed Hawaii gym, and Governor Ige said Monday that gyms may be the type of business that could shut down down again if positive tests continue to rise.
Unrelated to the gym cluster mentioned by the state Department of Health, the owners of Egan’s Bootcamp ― Egan and Marcia Inoue ― sent a letter to their clients that a member at their Aiea gym took a COVID-19 test on July 2.
The next day, it came back positive.
After a months-long closure, Egan’s Bootcamp just reopened on June 22. That very same week, the Inoue’s said, a member went to four classes at the Aiea location….
read … Gyms battle germs as officials consider rollbacks of high-risk businesses
Soft on Crime: Recidivist Tweeker Gets 5 Years for 11-day Crime Spree
HTHL …Kona Circuit Judge Robert D.S. Kim sentenced Walter Gomes III on Monday to serve concurrent five-year terms for second-degree assault and two counts of first-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle in connection with the series of events that began March 20, 2019, when a woman showed up at Kona Community Hospital with a gunshot wound to her face.
Hawaii Police Department officers first ran into Gomes the following day by Costco in Kailua-Kona. After refusing commands, police said officers opened fire when Gomes reportedly drove at them.
After fleeing, officers encountered Gomes two more times in North Kohala, where officers discharged weapons in both incidents, including near Old Camp 17 Road when Gomes crashed into a subsidized police vehicle. After that, Gomes disappeared into the North Kohala brush.
Gomes wasn’t officially seen again until March 31, 2019, in Captain Cook, where he was taken into custody without incident and later charged with 15 counts to which he pleaded not guilty.
In early April, Gomes pleaded no contest to second-degree assault and two counts of first-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop 12 of the charges initially filed against him, all Class B or C felonies.
In her argument against probation, Wolfe said Gomes’ conduct caused “serious and significant harm” to the victim, as well as the public “as he fled from police on numerous occasions.” She added the crimes occurred despite him nearing the end of probation for a 2014 case….
read … Man gets 5 years for 2019 shooting
Soft on Crime: Plea deal still on table in alleged child starvation
HTH: … A plea deal is still in the works for a 52-year-old Hilo man accused of starving his 9-year-old daughter to death more than four years ago.
On Monday, Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota told Kevin Lehano that his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sherilyn Tavares, is “trying to work out some plea deal for you with the state.”
Kubota ordered Lehano to return to court at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 28 for further proceedings.
Lehano is the father of Shaelynn Lehano-Stone, and faces a second-degree murder charge for the girl’s death. Also accused of second-degree murder are the girl’s 36-year-old mother, Tiffany Stone, and 62-year-old grandmother, Henrietta Stone.
Police and emergency medical personnel were summoned June 28, 2016, to a Kinoole Street apartment almost directly across from Hilo’s central fire station. They reportedly found Lehano-Stone unconscious and severely malnourished. The girl was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where she died a few hours later.
Lehano-Stone, whom court documents state was developmentally disabled, was removed from Hilo Union Elementary School to be home-schooled by Henrietta Stone, who was the girl’s legal guardian. The indictments state the girl was denied adequate food, water and medical care from “on or about Oct. 23, 2015,” until her death….
read … Plea deal still on table in alleged child starvation
Judge blocks auction of Hawaiian heiress’ belongings
HTH: … An auction of a 94-year-old Native Hawaiian heiress’ belongings can’t go forward until a conservator is named to handle her finances, a judge ruled Monday.
Abigail Kawananakoa’s foundation, which has been working to ensure her fortune goes to benefiting Native Hawaiian causes, asked a judge to stop the auction until at least a conservator is named. The auction was scheduled to close next week, while a hearing on her conservator isn’t scheduled until July 21. On Monday, the the auction website said it is now scheduled to end on Aug. 2….
read … Judge blocks auction of Hawaiian heiress’ belongings
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