Hawai‘i Plunges to 44th in the Nation in Ensuring Economic Well-Being of Keiki
COVID Became Opportunity to Force 100s of Homeless back onto the Streets
Unemployment 8.1% for May--Down 0.4%
Ethics: School Principal Gives $43K in 'Cash Advances', Runs up credit card
Sen Fevella Asks FBI to Investigate Hanabusa Contract, Bond Sale
SA: … Fevella’s most serious allegations involved “Possible Criminal Acts of Toby Martyn related to Rail General Obligation Bond Issuances,” regarding Martyn’s “affirmative vote requesting the Honolulu City Council approve the issuance and sale of ($292 million in) rail general obligation bonds. This action was taken while Mr. Martyn also served as Stifel Financial Corp’s Branch Manager and Vice President of Investments.”
Fevella also alleged that Martyn was involved in a “possible violation” of Hawaii’s Sunshine Law by meeting with board Vice Chairman Hoyt Zia and board member Lynn McCrory in December….
read … State senator Kurt Fevella seeks federal and state investigations into rail project
Ige: Public Appalled at Hanabusa Contact
CB: … Talking with the people in the general community, they continue to be appalled at how that project is managed and they see examples of excess and waste all the time. And I think it would be hard for the Legislature to take action to provide more resources because the general public just thinks that that project has been mismanaged. There are examples — if you just look at this (Colleen Hanabusa) contract. A million-dollar contract basically to lobby the Legislature to get more state resources. The public is just appalled that that’s actually part of the program.
Until there is better fiscal discipline in the project, until people get a sense that they’re being responsible with whatever funds they’re getting, it will be difficult for the state to step up again to provide them additional resources. So I don’t feel comfortable advocating that we extend those taxes.
It’s hard for me to advocate for the state giving more resources to the county when you know this project hasn’t been managed well, and you know the general public doesn’t want it to get more resources….
read … The Civil Beat Editorial Board Interview: Gov. David Ige
Hawaii hotels were 61.5% occupied in May
PBN: … According to HTA’s monthly Hawaii Hotel Performance Report, which features data compiled by STR and was released Monday, hotels statewide reported an occupancy rate of 61.5% in May. That’s the highest occupancy rate Hawaii hotels have seen since the pandemic began; April 2021 had marked the previous high point, with a 51% occupancy rate….
read … Hawaii hotels were 61.5% occupied in May
Lawsuit Challenges Kauai’s Termination Of Youth Drug Treatment Contract – Building to be Converted into County Bureaucrats’ Offices
CB: … In a lawsuit filed last week, Hope Treatment Services alleges Kauai County seized control of the $7 million taxpayer-funded inpatient adolescent treatment center on March 13 and repurposed the building as an isolation center for people infected with COVID-19, citing emergency proclamations by Gov. David Ige and Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami.
The lawsuit alleges that the county has since effectively barred Hope Treatment Services from the premises.
“The termination was ostensibly based on false and/or otherwise misleading allegations — namely that the (treatment center) was empty and non-operational,” the lawsuit reads. “In fact, (the county) made it impossible for (Hope Treatment Services) to perform.” …
Today the treatment center remains in use as Kauai’s official COVID-19 isolation facility….
Last June, the county announced a new post-pandemic plan for the facility. Instead of housing youth with drug and alcohol dependency problems, the building would be a hub for preexisting services for at-risk youth and families, such as crime victims and witness protection services….
read … Lawsuit Challenges Kauai’s Termination Of Youth Drug Treatment Contract
Homeless Dude from Michigan Allegedly Attacks Hilo Police, Gets Shot Dead
SA: … The Hawaii Police Department has identified a man police shot and killed in Hilo on Friday as Daniel Buckingham, a 31-year-old man from Michigan who may have been homeless.
The police department said Buckingham, originally from Ann Arbor, Mich., had lived on Hawaii island for about a year and a half, but reported that he had no permanent address.
Buckingham is the suspect in a break-in case at the 1800 block of Kilauea Avenue in Hilo that took place on Friday morning. The Hawaii Police Department said officers arrived on the scene and the suspect, who had a “pocket knife and a much larger knife,” allegedly attacked and injured one of the responding officers….
read … Police identify suspect fatally shot by officers in Hilo as Michigan man
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