Tourism Down 22% from August 2019
COVID Recovery? Honolulu Dead Last
Blackouts Coming: 10% of Oahu Electricity Supply to be Wiped out to ‘Stop Global Warming’
HNN: …“Next year with the closure of the AES coal plant, we aren’t really confident we have a game plan as to how we are going to fill that puka,” said state Sen. Glenn Wakai, chair of the Senate Energy, Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
The AES power plant at Campbell Industrial Park generates about 10% of Oahu’s firm electricity supply. But because it uses coal as a fuel source, it’s a major source of greenhouse gases and doesn’t fit in with the state’s green energy goals.
(Clue: Warming causes CO2, not the other way around. Here are some images of CO2 being released by the warming.)
During a Senate informational briefing, officials with Hawaii Natural Energy Institute outlined the benefits of converting the coal plant to one that burns biomass -- or wood chips.
“When you burn the biomass, there is a significant amount of carbon footprint. If you grow a comparable amount of trees, you capture exactly the same amount of CO2 that you burn,” said Rick Rocheleau, director of the HNEI.
“It gives a significant jump in the use of renewables on the Oahu grid -- approximately 20% of the RPS.”
The renewable portfolio standard -- or RPS -- is the percentage measure of energy that a utility gets from green sources such as wind and solar.
The state’s goal is to have 100% of its energy supply come from these renewable sources by the year 2045.
“The biomass is more expensive than oil under the current prices but at $100 a barrel oil price, the biomass would be cheaper and translate into savings for the consumer,” said Derek Stenclik, a consultant for the HNEI….
Reality: To provide the fuel for the biomass plant, some 200,000 to 300,000 acres of trees would be needed on a seven-year rotational basis
Meanwhile in China: China’s power outages shut down factories, fuel climate goal pushback
read … Fuel duel: Lawmakers discuss alternatives as state’s last coal power plant is set to close
As Maui Police Commission searches for new MPD chief, many say a major overhaul is needed
HNN: … Schmitt said after responding to an alleged hit-and-run by former Chief Tivoli Faaumu last year, a patrolman was taken by two Criminal Intelligence Unit officers to a remote area and interrogated for hours about who leaked the surveillance video to the media.
Although department officials told Hawaii News Now that the investigation is ongoing, the Internal Affairs commander said it’s complete.
“As the Internal Affairs Commander, I’m not able to discuss the investigation that detective Schmitt touched upon. However, I can assure you that the investigation was done fairly,” said Capt. Ricky Uedoi. “The criminal case is done, and it has been referred to the Attorney General Office for review.”
The commissioners listened to hours of testimony from dozens of people. Many testifiers said the department needs a major overhaul.
“I’m not confident that the changes the community is asking for and has been asking for will be accomplished by hiring within, and this is not my normal position that I would take, I normally advocate for hiring local,” said Maui County Council Vice Chair Keani Rawlins-Fernandez. “I advocate today for a clear slate.”
The commissioners will be interviewing the finalists Friday at 8:30 a.m. It will be streamed live so the public can watch it in real time.
The final vote is Tuesday….
UPDATE: Outsider Chosen as Maui PD Chief
CB: Testimony: New Maui Police Chief Should Come From Outside The Department
MN: Police chief interviews to be held in open session
read … As Maui Police Commission searches for new MPD chief, many say a major overhaul is needed
Judge Orders Release Of All Body Camera Footage In Sykap Shooting Case
CB: …“The key is he says that you can’t just say ‘ongoing investigation,’” Black said. “If the prosecutor is going to follow the judge’s order, going forward in cases like this, they will need to produce the body camera footage promptly, absent some actual harm to the investigation.”
Several minutes of bodycam footage already aired in July during a preliminary hearing in which prosecutors sought to charge three officers who shot into the car Sykap was driving. But there is much more. The prosecutor’s office has over 16 hours of body camera footage from 70 different police officers present during and after the shooting, according to a declaration Alm’s office filed in court….
read … Judge Orders Release Of All Body Camera Footage In Sykap Shooting Case
Honolulu Man Mistakenly Locked Up In State Mental Hospital Had Been Correctly ID’d By Police Before
CB: …Newly obtained police reports reveal new details about the institutional failures that landed Joshua Spriestersbach in the Hawaii State Hospital for more than two years….
REALITY: Lucky Dude: Mistaken identity gets homeless man the forcible mental health treatment he needed--Now he lives on 10ac Farm in Vermont
read … Honolulu Man Mistakenly Locked Up In State Mental Hospital Had Been Correctly ID’d By Police Before
Corrections Commission Is Poised to Hire Staff After Two Years Of Delay
CB: … More than two years after lawmakers created the Hawaii Correctional Systems Oversight Commission to act as an independent state watchdog, the commission has finally been cleared to hire a full-time coordinator to investigate conditions in state prisons and jails.
Act 179 took effect in mid-2019 as part of a push for reforms that would make the state correctional system more “rehabilitative and therapeutic,” and a high-powered five-member volunteer commission was appointed to lead that effort….
read … Corrections Commission Is Poised to Hire Staff After Two Years Of Delay
Fentanyl News: Detroit Criminal Comes to Hawaii, Quickly Racks up 10 Felony Convictions
SA: … When investigators executed search warrants at residences, storage units and a clandestine drug lab on Middle Street on June 30 and July 1, investigators seized a total of $250,000 in cash, four assault rifles, four semi-automatic pistols, more than 100 rounds of ammunition, multiple magazines and a bulletproof vest, according to court documents.
A large amount of illegal drugs also was taken by a team of federal agents and Honolulu police, including more than “eight pounds of fentanyl (in powder and more than 2,700 counterfeit prescription tablets), two pounds of heroin, three pounds of (actual) methamphetamine, and other suspected controlled substances for which lab testing is pending; and drug processing and packaging paraphernalia,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Smith has an extensive criminal record in Hawaii and Michigan and was on parole until July 2020.
Smith has nine Hawaii felony convictions for second-degree robbery, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Feb. 23, 2010. On that date he also pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree theft, and received a sentence of five years.
Smith has several felony charges in Michigan from 2001 to 2007, according to court documents. In one incident he was arrested for allegedly breaking into a Halloween store the day before the holiday….
read … Soft on Crime
Hawaii: Obesity Jumps from 25% to 42% After Year of Lockdowns
KITV: … New study findings show a long-time health concern continues in Hawaii. Healthcare professionals say the Coronavirus pandemic is a contributing factor to the most recent obesity numbers. It seems like people are interested in change. Dietitians at Kaiser Permanente report more interest in their wellness and fitness programs.
Numbers from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, show Hawaii's adult obesity rate shot up in 2020 to more than 40-percent from just 25-percent in 2019….
read … People are reaching out for help as new study results find 42% of Hawaii adults are obese
Big drop in U.S. teen vaping seen with COVID school closures
AP: … In the national survey, 11% of high school students and less than 3% of middle school students said they were recent users of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
That’s a roughly 40% drop from last year, when nearly 20% of high school students and 5% of middle schoolers said they’d recently vaped.
If this year’s numbers hold up, it would be the second big drop in a row, from a peak of 28% for high schoolers in 2019….
FDA: Youth E-cigarette Use Remains Serious Public Health Concern Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
read … Big drop in U.S. teen vaping seen with COVID school closures
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