CNBC: America’s Top States for Business--Hawaii 46th
Kahele Admits to criminal past. Says he will release his fellow criminals from prison if elected Governor
CB: … Democrats Kai Kahele and Vicky Cayetano both expressed interest in using the governor’s clemency powers to arrange for the release of certain types of inmates….
Lt. Gov. Josh Green, the apparent frontrunner in the Democratic primary, did not attend the forum.
Kahele revealed to listeners at the Sunday forum hosted by the ACLU Hawaii and the nonprofit ‘Ekolu Mea Nui that he had his own run-ins with the criminal justice system as a youth.
“Most people may not know this, I’ll be honest, I was a juvenile delinquent in high school,” Kahele said. “Kicked out of Waiakea High School, arrested at 16 years old, went to Olomana Boy’s Home, most people don’t know that. Hundreds of hours of community service, thousands of dollars in restitution to the people I affected, arrested at 18 years old for assault….
Republican Honolulu City Councilwoman Heidi Tsuneyoshi (former wife of convicted cocaine dealer) said her experiences launching a parenting program for women inmates on Oahu demonstrated that “clemency definitely needs to be an option to be discussed.”…
The candidates also discussed efforts to eliminate cash bail for people who have been arrested for non-violent offenses, a proposal that was in a controversial bill that Gov. David Ige vetoed last week….
Gary Cordery rejected that idea, saying that Hawaii business owners are being victimized by thieves. Eliminating cash bail “actually removes the consequences for a small-dollar crime, up to $1,000,” he said, adding that “the idea of removing any kind of consequence for bad behavior in our society leads to more bad behavior. It does not restrain unlawful behavior.”…
April 21, 2022: Attorney: Kahele threatened to kill ex-wife
read … Candidates For Governor Describe Hawaii’s Correctional System As ‘Deplorable’
Absenteeism 31% at DoE Schools--20% Failing
SA: … COVID-19 continued to cause rampant absenteeism among both students and teachers during the 2021-22 school year, and this also took its toll. At the end of that second quarter, 31% of students had excessive absences and “were at risk of being chronically absent,” reported the Department of Education….
The most recent findings on student achievement showed that a significant percentage of Hawaii youth are facing serious learning deficits. During the first two quarters of 2021-22, more than 1 in 5 elementary school students received a failing grade in English, and more than 1 in 7 failed math. Screening assessments in math and English for students in kindergarten through grade 8 showed that a majority tested at one or more grades below their grade level.
Among high school students, more than 1 in 10 had failing grades in these primary subjects….
SA: Number of long-COVID cases continues growing, potentially affecting Hawaii workforce
Big Q: How will the public schools do under new Superintendent Keith Hayashi?
read … Many challenges for new DOE chief
Rolling Blackouts Coming Sept 1: DPP-Solar Industry Blame Game
SA: … Many Oahu solar companies have stopped taking on townhouse clients due to the long wait for building permit approval from the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.
“The problem is … just exasperating to residents of the state who are trying to help take the pressure off of the electric problem with the coal plant closing by putting it in storage,” said Sloane Struse, who wanted to install solar panels on his Ko Olina townhouse but could not find a solar company that would take him on as a client.
“We can’t even help because we can’t even get the permits because they’re so backlogged.”…
The AES Hawaii coal power plant in West Oahu is scheduled to close by September, which has put an increased urgency on the state to implement green energy systems, such as more solar….
Uchida said that it can take months to get the permit into the system but that DPP is trying to find better software that would streamline the permitting process as well as to bring on more staff. He said the department was approved to bring on about 80 new staff members over the next couple of years, 40 of whom would be building permit plan examiners.
Further exacerbating issues is the state’s decision to shut down the coal plant, a decision that DPP was not included in. Uchida explained that because of the closure, DPP staff has had to work on approving permits for large solar projects….
IM: Firm Clean Electricity Is Needed, But Less of It
LOL: Honolulu DPP: ‘Robotic tech and artificial intelligence’ will process building permits
read … Companies pull back on solar installations for Oahu townhouses
Marco Polo is the only building to retrofit with sprinklers since the tragic fire
KHON: … In the wake of the Marco Polo fire, there was a push to require older residential high-rise buildings to install fire sprinkler systems. When the fire happened, the Marco Polo, built in 1971, did not have sprinklers.
There was pushback from some condo associations over the cost, so now, under the current city ordinance, 22-02, the condos can either install automatic sprinklers in the common and living areas, or undergo a life safety evaluation, and take steps to pass the evaluation with an acceptable score.
The life safety evaluation looks at things such as fire barriers and alarm notification systems. It must be done by a licensed life safety design professional.
"Originally they had 380 buildings on that list. Now currently, there's 319 buildings that need to comply with ordinance 22-02," said Kendall Ching, acting battalion chief of HFD's fire prevention bureau. "The buildings that did not have to comply with the ordinance didn't meet the standards as a high rise building of 75 feet or more, or they proved that they already had sprinklers in their buildings."
The buildings still on the list have until August 31, 2022 to submit a life safety evaluation, and until May 2030 to get a passing score. Thus far, HFD says 275 of the 319 buildings have submitted a life safety evaluation, and 20 of those have an acceptable level of safety….
read … Marco Polo is the only building to retrofit with sprinklers since the tragic fire
Abortion: The Key is to make Sure Women Have no Other Alternative
CB: … Hawaii Has Plenty Of Pregnancy Resource Centers That Offer Alternatives To Abortion But some abortionists are concerned that the efforts will confuse and mislead women as they navigate a post-Roe world….
read … Hawaii Has Plenty Of Pregnancy Resource Centers That Offer Alternatives To Abortion
‘Too Much for us to Handle’-- Homeless Criminals Chase Beach Boys off Waikiki Beach
SA: … Mounting crime and increased homelessness in Waikiki have prompted the nonprofit Pacific Island Beach Boys to pull out of a concession at one of the four Kuhio Beach pavilions, which the city has used for the past several years as a tool to increase safety in the district.
Pacific Island Beach Boys, which has been successfully providing beach services at Pavilion No. 3 and the “Blue Box” at Walls that include surfing lessons and rentals for water activities, began a contract Dec. 18 that also included city Pavilion No. 4 on the Diamond Head side of Kuhio Beach.
A little over six months later, concessionaire David Carvalho is invoking his right to give back Pavilion No. 4 due to challenges with vandalism, crime and homelessness….
“When we first got (Pavilion) No. 3 and Walls, we made it ours. We’re beachboys, we’ll move people out. We’ll clean it out. For the first two weeks, it was a little tough. As we stayed and showed consistency, it got better,” Carvalho said. “But the negative presence (at Pavilion No. 4) was too much for us to handle.”…
a shift in homeless people from downtown to East Honolulu has contributed to a 71% increase in the district’s share of Oahu’s unsheltered population since 2019….
Deutzman said problems at the pavilions also have been exacerbated by the justice system, which continues to release many of those accused of committing crimes in Waikiki on their own recognizance.
“They don’t come back to court, but they do come back to Waikiki,” he said.
Despite all the meetings and promises, Deutzman said the “the area between the wall and the police substation is an embarrassment and disaster.”
“In my opinion, we are still running an outdoor psychiatric center, an outdoor jail, and it’s right in the heart of the tourist district,” he said. “Pavilion No. 4 pulled out because he couldn’t take it anymore. People are defecating, fighting, drinking, dealing drugs right there every day.”…
NYP: ‘He wanted to play doctor on us’: Terrifying stranger secretly lived in our home
read … Nonprofit pulls out of Waikiki pavilion amid rise in criminal activity
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