The Enola Gay Has Left the Hangar
HIDOE releases guidelines to allow athletic workouts and practices
What’s Dead And Alive At The Hawaii Legislature
CB: … Senate proposals on housing, energy and elections all appear to be moving forward. The House is also advancing measures to clamp down on the governor’s emergency powers, implement uniform pandemic travel rules for all the islands and mediate rental agreements between landlords and tenants….
CB: Here's How Tax Increases Are Shaking Out In The Hawaii Legislature
HTH: Senate Bill 676, which would increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour beginning in July 2022, has passed its committees in the Senate and remains active.
Borreca: SB159--Amid voter-restriction moves elsewhere, automatic voter registration here worth support
read … What’s Dead And Alive At The Hawaii Legislature
Lawmakers End Efforts To Revamp Oversight Of Watchdog Agencies
CB: … The House’s attempts to reorganize government watchdog agencies and gut the state auditor’s budget appear to have stalled for this legislative session.
House Bill 1341 would have consolidated the offices of the auditor, ombudsman, information practices, ethics commission and campaign spending commission into a new Office of Public Accountability. Most of those agencies opposed the bureaucratic reshuffling.
Meanwhile, House leaders had also proposed 50% cuts to State Auditor Les Kondo’s budget.
But as the Legislature approaches its halfway point, it appears neither will move forward.
HB 1341 failed to gain a hearing, and funding for Kondo’s office has mostly been restored. Kondo is the target of an investigation (retaliation) by House Speaker Scott Saiki (designed to help OHA stay corrupt)…. .
read … Lawmakers End Efforts To Revamp Oversight Of Watchdog Agencies
Honolulu’s housing director has new plans to tackle homelessness
SA: … Blangiardi’s point person on the intractable homeless problem is Office of Housing Director Anton Krucky, whose first inclination is an approach that moves away from routine police involvement….
“A person may call the city today, and they may want to report an incident, but they don’t want to report it as a crime. They just want to say, ‘Hey, this person’s here, and it looks like they need some help,’” Krucky said.
“Right now, the only reaction we have is HPD.”
He wants to change that.
The idea is, what if instead of calling the police to address a homelessness issue, people had another number they could call that would send outreach services instead?
It is based on a program in Denver called Support Team Assistance Response. It sends a paramedic and a mental health professional to respond to calls related to non-violent problems such as trespassing, indecent exposure and welfare checks.
During the Denver program’s pilot period of six months, it responded to 748 calls, and none required the assistance of the Denver Police Department, according to the STAR Program Evaluation….
(Key Question: How many of these 748 bums accepted shelter?)
While most of Krucky’s plans were still in the planning phase, one issue that Mayor Rick Blangiardi campaigned on was to end sweeps, the city’s policy of clearing homeless out of Oahu’s parks and off sidewalks.
However, sweeps are still happening. (Good.)
Sumu Enaena and George Macomber have been homeless for “a long time,” so long they cannot recall how many years it has been.(skip two paragraphs of excuses) neither wanted to go to another shelter right away.
read … Honolulu’s housing director has new plans to tackle homelessness
While Seniors Wait: 391,000 Vaccinations Delivered in Hawaii
HNN: … Earlier this week, health officials reported more than 391,000 doses of the COVID vaccine have already been administered statewide. And inoculation efforts continued around the state this weekend….
Hawaii Population age 65+ = 160,601
HGEA Membership = 44,000
DoE Employees = 44,000
read … Communities focus on outreach while assisting elderly in vaccine signups
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami supports lifting interisland travel quarantine by April 1
KITV: … The Garden Isle will also rejoin the Safe Travels program for domestic passengers on April 5th….
read … Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami supports lifting interisland travel quarantine by April 1
Will DoH Give Back Kauai Drug Treatment Center?
TGI: … Last March, the state Department of Health took over the Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center as a COVID-19 isolation facility, then the county canceled a service-provider’s contract, and the focus of the building’s use shifted.
The topic of the ATHC will be on the Kaua‘i County Council’s agenda Wednesday, but during an executive session, which is closed to the public.
Councilmembers KipuKai Kuali‘i and Bernard Carvalho Jr. requested the briefing from members of the administration and the Office of the County Attorney, “out of a deep concern for our ATHC returning to its original, intended purpose as agreed to with the land donor, the community, the state and other partners,” Kuali‘i said in a statement Thursday.,…
Flashback 2007: Office of Hawaiian Affairs Blocks Kauai Drug Treatment Facility
read … Adolescent center on next council agenda
Grant to help HPD process firearms permits
HTH: … Concerns about the coronavirus pandemic coupled with political turmoil could have contributed to an almost doubling in firearms permits and registration on Hawaii Island last year compared to 2019, leading to a waiting list at the Police Department of up to three months.
A $545,760 federal grant approved Wednesday by the County Council to automate and streamline the firearms registration process and improve record keeping and data availability is expected to help the department continue whittling the waiting list, which has already been reduced to about a month….
read … Grant to help HPD process firearms permits
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