National Science Foundation to Launch EIS Process for Mauna Kea Telescope
Army Conducts Review of Facility Use by Political Entities
Oahu primary election ballots mailed out today
SA: … Mail-in ballots for Oahu residents for the Aug. 13 primary election are being mailed today and Thursday by the Honolulu City Clerk’s office.
Residents can now register to vote by mail up to 10 days before the election. Previously, the deadline to register and receive a mail-in ballot was 30 days before Election Day.
As of Tuesday afternoon the number of ballots that will be mailed is 470,268, which will continue to increase as more people request mail-in ballots.
The number of people registered to vote in Honolulu was 561,011 on Tuesday.
Ballots on the neighbor islands should be mailed out Friday.
In addition to mail-in ballots, registered voters will have the opportunity to vote in person Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at two polling sites: Kaneohe District Park meeting room from Aug. 1 through 5; and George Fred Wright Wahiawa District Park ceramics room from Aug. 8 through 12.
In addition, Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale will both be open starting Aug. 1, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
On Primary Election Day, in-person voting will be conducted at Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale only, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Online registration and in-person registration continue until polls close.
Mail-in ballots received after 7 p.m. Aug. 13 will not be counted, and Takahashi advises anyone turning in a mail-in ballot close to the deadline to walk it in….
read … Oahu primary election ballots mailed out today
Laughing at You: Hawaii Lawmakers Took $500k In Campaign Cash This Session Despite Pleas To Ban Campaign Cash During Session
CB: … Top brass at the Legislature have bolstered their reelection campaigns with money raised from lobbyists, labor unions and other groups while they make decisions on state policy.
And that’s just a portion of the $7.8 million state politicians raked in during legislative sessions in the last decade from lobbyists, developers, labor unions and other special interest groups while making budget and policy decisions that could affect their interests, an analysis of campaign spending records shows.….
read … Hawaii Lawmakers Took $500k In Campaign Cash This Session Despite Pleas To Ban Campaign Cash During Session
Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s Empty Promises On Government Accountability
CB: … Like many politicians, Gov. David Ige styles himself as a proponent of transparency and accountability. On July 12, when he vetoed Senate Bill 3252, Governor Ige abandoned the smoke and mirrors….
Ignoring a unanimous Legislature and a public demanding change, he walked away from any pretense of government accountability and solidified his reputation as a governor committed to keeping the public in the dark.
The people of Hawaii need the candidates running to be our next governor to commit to doing better. They need to commit to actively supporting SB 3252 next session.
SB 3252 would have made clearer that media outlets and nonprofit organizations cannot be charged hundreds or thousands of dollars for an agency to review public records before the records are released.
For instance, under SB 3252, if a reporter wants to examine building permit files or procurement contracts within the City and County of Honolulu to follow up on tips of bribery, the reporter would be able to do that for free. Other requesters — commercial entities, lawyers, and those who don’t have the intention and ability to educate the general public regarding the records — would still need to pay fees….
the attorneys general for the last 25 years have allowed agencies to intentionally abuse the fee structure by requiring prepayment of such high (and unjustified) fees — after giving a mere $30 discount — that public interest requesters routinely just give up the request.
read … Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s Empty Promises On Government Accountability
Hawaii reports 13 additional COVID deaths, over 4,000 new cases in past week
HNN: … Hawaii on Wednesday reported 13 additional coronavirus deaths and 4,329 new cases in the past seven days.
That compares to 4,464 cases and 11 additional deaths in the previous week.
The state’s COVID figures don’t include positive from at-home tests, so the real number is likely far higher. …
read … Hawaii reports 13 additional COVID deaths, over 4,000 new cases in past week
The End Of Hawaii Tourism As We Know It
BoH: … A new blueprint for Hawaii tourism is coming. It is fraught with issues in typical Hawaii fashion, including diverse opinions and all of the in-fighting at Hawaii’s marketing entities. Nonetheless, one thing is clear that old school Hawaii tourism is ending.
It’s time to say goodbye to the golden era of Hawaii tourism that reigned for sixty years, from the 1960s through 2019. It was a great run, and both Hawaii and visitors loved it and benefited. It’s a shared legacy that began with the advent of jet travel.
As we pay respects to some Hawaii visitors of the past who are choosing not to return and to mass tourism moreover, we bid farewell to aspects of the industry that is stereotyped in iconic picture-perfect images such as the one above. What a journey it has been. Kicking and screaming (one and all), we are entering a time of seismic shift in Hawaii travel, and simply nothing less….
Big Q: How safe do you feel in Waikiki lately?
PBN: Native Hawaiian Convention to address tourism, renewable energy
KHON: Tonight on Empowered Hawaii: Tomorrow’s Tourism
read … The End Of Hawaii Tourism As We Know It
Landowner accuses paramilitary Hawaiian sovereignty group of forcing him off his land
HNN: … A controversial Hawaiian paramilitary group is being accused of squatting on another parcel of land in Kahaluu.
It comes after several of its members were evicted and arrested in Kunia earlier this month….
The 86-year-old owner said when he tried to inspect the property, Lindsey Kinney ― who is linked by federal officials to the Occupied Forces Hawaii Army ― pushed him off the property, changed the locks and took over….
But unlike the previous Kunia dispute, none of the Kahaluu occupiers say they have ownership rights to the land.
“There’s no allegation, no claim that they own the property,” said Lind….
“(They) are engaged in persecuting and harassing me ... have caused me extreme hardship and agonizing sufferings,” the landowner said, in court papers….
read … Landowner accuses paramilitary Hawaiian sovereignty group of forcing him off his land
Weaponizing Meth Camps: Maui Council Threatens to Designate Parking Areas for Homeless
CB: … Several communities across the U.S. have designated parking areas for people to sleep in their vehicles. Maui’s current mayor isn’t so sure about the idea…..
Big Q: How safe do you feel in Waikiki lately?
read … The Maui Council Wants To Create A Safe Space For People Who Live In Their Cars
Affordable Housing Once Blocked by OHA: Kaiaulu o Kuku‘ia has taken over 30 years to bring to fruition, governor says
MN: … Gov. David Ige flew from Honolulu for the groundbreaking, saying in his remarks that this project, which is part of the state’s Villages of Leiali’i master-planned community, has taken over 30 years to bring to fruition.
“I’m really excited to be here. Affordable housing, workforce housing is something that’s the biggest challenge for all of us as government officials,” Ige said. “I’m excited because there are two-, three-, four-bedroom homes that we know our community needs. This is the type of housing that our families have said that they’ve needed, and what’s a better, more spectacular place to be?
“It certainly has been a long time coming.”…
(Here’s why, if you are man enough to click the link and read.)
2010: OHA driving Hawaiians out of Hawaii OHA’s legal assault on ‘ceded’ lands began with a 1994 suit seeing to prevent the State from selling about 500 acres in Lahaina to construct the Leiali`i affordable housing development and another approximately 1,000 acres in North Kona for the La`i`opua affordable housing development near Kealakehe High School.
NR: HHFDC NEWS RELEASE: GOV. IGE JOINS CEREMONIES MARKING MILESTONES FOR TWO MAUI AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS
read … Groundbreaking held for 200-unit housing project--Kaiaulu o Kuku‘ia has taken over 30 years to bring to fruition, governor says
88,000 cesspools dump 53 million gallons of raw sewage into Hawaii waters each day
KITV: … More than 88 thousand cesspools discharge over 53 million gallons of raw sewage into Hawaii waters each day…. The Hawaii Department of Health's Waste water Branch requiring all cesspools be upgraded, converted, or closed by January 1st of 2050….
read … Addressing Hawaii's 88,0000 cesspools
Pandering Relentlessly, State lawmakers blast Navy on ‘incomplete’ plan to defuel Red Hill
HNN: … State lawmakers grilled Navy leaders Tuesday on their plan to empty the underground Red Hill fuel tanks, saying the document was thin on details ― and key dates.
“The concern is that this defueling plan that you folks went ahead and presented troubles me that it was so incomplete, missing plans, missing details,” said state. Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, at a legislative briefing. “You seem to have experts on your side. The plan is so disappointing. It is so critical, yet so incomplete.”
Last week, the state Health Department also came out against the plan, saying they plan to reject it….
Navy leaders say before 104 million gallons of fuel can be taken out of the Red Hill fuel facility, fuel needs to be taken out out of the pipelines that go from Red Hill to Pearl Harbor so the pipelines can be repaired.
Defueling could be completed by the end of 2024, they say….
KHON: ‘Disappointing’ DOH rejects Navy’s Red Hill defueling plan
SA Editorial: Hawaii leaders must press Navy harder
SA: Hawaii lawmakers grill top Navy officials on Red Hill defueling
As Explained: Red Hill: Its the Pipes, not the Tanks
read … State lawmakers blast Navy on ‘incomplete’ plan to defuel Red Hill
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