Romney Slams Gabbard for 'Parroting Russian Propaganda,' 'Treasonous Lies'
Let’s Not Die on Red Hill
‘Open Secret’ Malu Motta’s best friend took over Hawaii County Hiring for Four Years--Bypassed Civil Service Rules to Hire ‘POI’
HTH: … “That is really key to what caused the initial hiring practices audit. A body was put into place and that body (headed by Malu Motta’s best friend, Billy Kenoi) was able to exert influence in and throughout the process,” Benner said. “This became an open secret, in 2014, 15 and 16 and it really festered by 2017 when we finally conducted this audit.”
The original audit by former Auditor Bonnie Nims warned county practices contributed to public complaints of unfairness and favoritism and could have violated the law by taking power away from the state-defined appointing authority, the department head, and placing it in the hands of a small committee within the mayor’s office.
West Hawaii Today, in an investigation, expanded on the audit’s findings by revealing the use of sticky notes and the acronym “POI” to designate a “person of interest,” who was selected even before recruitment was conducted for positions….
Information on the new hotline and an online form can be found at LINK.
To report fraud and waste, call (808) 480-8213. Fraud is deception intended to result in financial or personal gain, such as theft, forgery and falsifying records. Waste is the thoughtless or careless expenditure or mismanagement incurring unnecessary costs, such as purchasing unnecessary goods or services, purchasing overpriced items from a favored vendor or ignoring competitive bidding.
To report abuse, call (808) 480-8279. Abuse is excessive or improper use or practices, such as awarding government contracts to family and friends, receiving or asking for gifts from vendors and using a vendor’s written specification to eliminate competitive bidding….
read … County auditor says new controls should curb favoritism in county hiring
Hawaiian Home Lands survey shows half of respondents would trade their waitlist spot for $100K
HPR: … The online survey circulated last Tuesday posed the following question to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries:
"If DHHL provided you with $100,000 to purchase a new home, to pay your mortgage, or to pay your current rent, would you be willing to remove yourself from the DHHL waiting list?”
DHHL spokesman Cedric Duarte says the survey was distributed to about 12,000 beneficiaries on the department’s email list with the goal of gauging interest in down payment and mortgage assistance, in anticipation of a multi-million dollar infusion of funding from state lawmakers….
read … Hawaiian Home Lands survey shows half of respondents would trade their waitlist spot for $100K
Big Island Bioenergy Plant Searches For More Trees — And Regulatory Approval
CB: … The head of a wood-fired power plant seeking to supply Hawaii island with electricity for 30 years says his company has enough trees under contract for the first few years of operation, but it’s unclear where the rest will come from.
Warren Lee, president of Hu Honua Bioenergy, recently told the Public Utilities Commission that his company is attempting to negotiate leases with landowners of commercial eucalyptus forests on the Big Island to secure a long-term inventory of trees. But because Hu Honua lacks what he calls a “non-appealable” power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric sanctioned by the commission, landowners are reluctant to sign contracts….
To date, Hu Honua has secured leases with three sources of eucalyptus covering approximately 11,266 acres. Those trees would allow Hu Honua to operate for six to nine years, depending on how much energy the plant is producing, Lee said. The tree plantations are in Pahala, Paauhau and Hamakua.
If the plant gets the commission’s approval to operate, it needs about 1,137 acres of trees per year initially, according to Hu Honua documents. When it’s operating at full capacity and producing 21.5 megawatts of power, Hu Honua would need 1,871 acres annually….
Reality: Wood Pellets? Hawaii 'Green' Energy Scam is Dirtier Than Coal
read … Big Island Bioenergy Plant Searches For More Trees — And Regulatory Approval
Delay expected for national park air tour plans in Hawaii
SA: … Proposals to cap tour flights over Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakala national parks — or ban them altogether — are among the options being considered as two federal agencies work to draft mandated air tour management plans that are more than 20 years overdue.
Other options contained in scoping newsletters for each park released in February by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service include no-fly days and set flight routes and times for air tours. The agencies set an April 1 deadline for public comment on the proposals and are under a court-ordered August deadline to finalize the ATMPs.
However, a progress report filed with the court Feb. 28 by federal attorneys says that while making every effort to meet the deadline, the agencies anticipate the process will extend at least a year to August 2023 or beyond due to “complex” factors.
read … Delay expected for national park air tour plans in Hawaii
Next Boondoggle: Public workshops scheduled for Ala Wai flood risk abatement
SA: … The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City and County of Honolulu are inviting the public to participate in the Ala Wai Canal Flood Risk Management General Reevaluation Study in a series of virtual “miniworkshops” next month.
Each of the four workshops, scheduled for April 1, 8, 14 and 22, will focus on a specific sub-basin of the Ala Wai watershed, addressing how to reduce the risk of flooding due to extreme rainstorms, which threatens the area’s 200,000 residents and schools and businesses, notably the economic hub of Waikiki.
“We’re now getting as much public input as we can, and we’ll take any idea from anybody and consider it,” said Alex Kozlov, director of the city Department of Design and Construction. “We’re starting with a clean sheet of paper; we haven’t decided at all what this is going to look like at the end of day.” …
(IQ Test: Are you laughing?)
REALITY: Ala Wai? Corps of Engineers has Long History of Corruption and Cost Overruns
MORE REALITY: The Delphi Technique: Let’s Stop Being Manipulated!
read … Public workshops scheduled for Ala Wai flood risk abatement
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