HB1823: Suicide Bill is Dead
Beginning Sunday real estate transactions must disclose sea level risk
42% of Private Sector Working Remotely as of August, 2021
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted April 29, 2022
HART Releases Latest Attempt at ‘Recovery Plan’ -- Nine More Years to Civic Center, Cost $10B
KHON: … HART released its newest recovery plan on Friday, April 29 pegging the cost of a shortened rail route at nearly $10 billion.
HART said the estimated cost to complete rail to Civic Center instead of Ala Moana is $9.1 billion plus another $785 million in financing costs. The total would be to $9.9 billion.
Operational readiness is slated for March of 2031.
HART said getting to Ala Moana would cost $11.3 billion, and they don’t have a source to patch that money gap.
The Federal Transit Administration requires the recovery plan by June 30 in order to release the rest of their federal grant money which is $744 million.
Honolulu rail to reach Civic Center due to funding
The plan also defers building the Pearl Highlands parking garage after the tab came in at a whopping $330 million….
CB: The original projected ridership of 119,600 boardings per day in 2030 would decline to about 84,000
PDF: 'Recovery Plan'
read … HART released its newest recovery plan on Friday, April 29 pegging the cost of a shortened rail route at nearly $10 billion.
UH To Lose Responsibility For Mauna Kea Under Compromise Bill
CB: … The compromise reached Friday after lawmakers from the House and Senate met in conference committee was aimed at allowing astronomy to continue while giving Native Hawaiians more of a say.
The measure goes to the House and Senate for a final vote next week. If approved, it must still be signed by the governor.
In the latest draft of House Bill 2024, the university would continue to handle day-to-day management of the astronomy district during the five-year transition period. The university also would have a seat on the new 11-member panel….
University officials, who have expressed concern about the fate of astronomy on Mauna Kea, declined to comment, saying they are still reviewing the latest draft of the bill….
read … UH To Lose Responsibility For Mauna Kea Under Compromise Bill
Hawaii Lawmakers Agree On Raising The Minimum Wage
CB: … Hawaii’s minimum wage is set to rise for the first time in more than four years.
The current minimum wage of $10.10 an hour would rise to $12 an hour in October under a measure that cleared a key legislative conference committee Friday afternoon.
Wages would then rise to $14 an hour in 2024; $16 an hour in 2026; and $18 an hour in 2028.
House Bill 2510, the minimum wage bill, is a compromise measure between the House, which called for delayed implementation of wage increases, and the Senate, which pushed for much faster wage increases. It still needs to pass a final vote in both chambers and be approved by Gov. David Ige….
House Bill 2510 also makes a state earned income tax credit refundable. Meanwhile, many taxpayers could soon get a $300 tax rebate….
SA: Legislative bill to boost Hawaii minimum wage advances
read … Hawaii Lawmakers Finally Agree On Raising The Minimum Wage
Hawaii tax refund bill finalized at $300 per person earning under $100K
SA: … A rebate for Hawaii taxpayers appears near delivery after approval Friday by a conference committee at the Legislature.
Committee members approved $300 rebates for people who earn under $100,000 and $100 rebates for folks earning more than the same sum. Those rebates also apply to dependents of taxpayers, meaning a family of four where each person earns less than $100,000 would collectively receive $1,200.
The rebates are included in a bill that members of the joint House and Senate conference committee also are using to put $500 million into the state’s emergency and budget reserve fund along with $300 million into the state’s pension fund ….
read … Hawaii tax refund bill finalized at cost of $250 million
Hawaii Education Board Narrows Down Finalists For Superintendent Position
CB: … The search for a new public school chief in Hawaii is one step closer. The state Board of Education unveiled on its website Friday the three finalists for the superintendent position at the Department of Education.
The finalists include interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi, former BOE member Darrel Galera, and Caprice Young, president of an education consulting group in Los Angeles.
The three finalists were selected from 27 applicants and approved by the board’s search committee.
Hayashi has been leading the DOE since Aug. 1 when former Superintendent Christina Kishimoto stepped down amid criticism over her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic….
SA: Keith Hayashi among 3 finalists for Hawaii public schools superintendent
read … Hawaii Education Board Narrows Down Finalists For Superintendent Position
Despite indictment in Kealoha probe, BWS board member declines to step down
HNN: … More than four months after being arrested and charged in connection with the ongoing Kealoha corruption probe, Max Sword hasn’t stepped down from the Board of Water Supply’s board of directors ― and has no plans to do so.
Sword was appointed to the panel by former Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
The retired Outrigger Hotels lobbyist was indicted by a grand jury in January and is accused of conspiring with two other former city executives to pay off disgraced ex-Police Chief Louis Kealoha.
Court records said the three organized the plan to skirt the Honolulu City Council, which would have likely denied the payout.
Sword was on another volunteer panel at that time ― the Honolulu Police Commission….
read … Despite indictment in federal probe, BWS board member declines to step down
Nobody is paying attention to BWS Call for 10% Water Reduction
CB: … Despite calls to use 10% less water, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply says it hasn’t seen a significant drop in usage…
KITV: Oahu residents not conserving water
read … Green Lawns And Pools: Honolulu’s Biggest Water Users Struggle To Conserve
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