FDA: Puberty Blocker Side Effects Include Brain Swelling, Blindness
DHHL Opens Comment Period for Draft General Plan
Can Patrick Branco’s Mainland Backers Buy Him A Seat In Congress?
CB: … The amount of money VoteVets, Mainstream Democrats, Bold PAC, Web3 Forward and DAO for America have poured into CD2 is significant. The $1 million in independent expenditures is almost twice as much money as Tokuda’s campaign has raised in total this election cycle and nearly seven times the contributions received by Branco.
The prevailing political wisdom in Hawaii has generally been that Tokuda is a shoe-in. She’s the better-known candidate, having run statewide races before and serving more than a decade in the Legislature while Branco, who is completing his sole two-year term in the state House, is a relative newcomer to Hawaii politics.
A Civil Beat/Hawaii News Now poll from late June showed Tokuda with a 31% to 6% edge over Branco, which gave many the impression that CD2 was her seat to lose in the Aug. 13 primary, considering Republicans almost never stand a chance in the general election.
But observers say the large number of undecided voters — 63%, according to the poll — provided an opening for outside political players who would prefer to see Branco in Congress….
“This is a bargain basement congressional seat.” — political media consultant Martin Hamburger…
SA Editorial: Special interests skew election ads
Big Q: What do you think of so-called “negative ads” by super PACs that target rivals of their preferred candidate?
read … Can Patrick Branco’s Mainland Backers Buy Him A Seat In Congress?
After Forcing DoE to Spend Millions on Air Conditioning, HSTA Now Wants Natural Ventilation
SA: … Approximately 1,261 of Hawaii’s 12,000 public school classrooms have limited access to fresh air from outside because they rely on air conditioning, and 377 of those classrooms were found by a contractor to have concerning levels of carbon dioxide — a sign of poor air ventilation, which is a risk factor for the spread of COVID-19.
With tens of thousands of students back to school this week, and masking now optional both indoors and outdoors in the public schools, the role of inadequate classroom ventilation in COVID-19 contagion is widely seen as a more urgent issue than ever….
SA Editorial: Clearing classroom air
read … Hundreds of Hawaii classrooms are found with poor ventilation, posing a COVID-19 risk
Crime Pays: COVID Lawsuit Seeks $5000 Each For Inmates
CB: … Seitz said he will ask the court to appoint an administrator to process claims by inmates who have been infected, and he believes $1,000 to $5,000 payments for prisoners who were infected and became “minimally sick” may be appropriate.
“For people who had symptoms that have lasted for months and years, for those inmates who died, obviously the compensation should be and will be greater,” he said. So far 10 Hawaii inmates have died due to Covid-19 complications….
Seitz said he will ask the court to certify the case as a class-action lawsuit….
PDF: Lawsuit
SA: Soft on Crime: Repeat Offender Does it again (what a surprise!)
read … Lawsuit Seeks Compensation For Inmates Over Hawaii’s Response to Covid-19
How A Messy Divorce Case Led To A Legal Battle Over Press Freedom In Hawaii
CB: … Reporters should not be forced to reveal sources or turn over notes on a story. A state court judge agrees….
read … How A Messy Divorce Case Led To A Legal Battle Over Press Freedom In Hawaii
Hawaii nonprofit helping to relocate homeless to the mainland
KITV: … The Institute for Human Services estimates between 50% and 60% more homeless people are coming from the mainland this year -- after COVID-19 restrictions stopped travel during the pandemic….
The IHS has helped 575 people since 2015 relocate back to the mainland. The nonprofit provides travel vouchers for those wanting to go home after connecting them with family, friends or treatment providers willing to help get them off the streets.
read … Hawaii nonprofit helping to relocate homeless to the mainland
Ex-HPD officer charged with child sex trafficking denied bail as he awaits trial
HNN: … A judge ordered a former Honolulu police officer accused of bullying minors into acts of prostitution to be held without bail as he awaits trial.
Mason Jordan, 31, has pleaded not guilty to child sex trafficking and enticing minors to take part in prostitution.
Authorities say he was impersonating others on social media in hopes of recruiting minors to work for him as prostitutes….
read … Ex-HPD officer charged with child sex trafficking denied bail as he awaits trial
ADC transition can advance economic success of agriculture
SA: … ADC is also working with the state Department of Education to provide land and infrastructure at the planned food hub for the construction of a centralized kitchen. This would give farmers the opportunity to deliver their produce directly to the food hub facility for sale to the DOE as part of its mandate to purchase locally grown food for public schools….
read … Column: ADC transition can advance economic success of agriculture
New rules curbing Hawaii beach barriers are further delayed
SA: … The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands announced in December 2020 that it planned to revise its administrative rules governing the emergency approvals. But after delays in finalizing them, they’ve now been parked at the state Attorney General’s Office for the past seven months.
Gary Yamashiroya, special assistant to the attorney general, said he couldn’t provide an estimate of when his office will complete its review, which he described as “comprehensive,” but said hopefully it will be soon.
OCCL will then need to seek approval from the seven-member Board of Land and Natural Resources to hold statewide public hearings on the proposed rule changes. The public will have the opportunity to comment on the rules, which are subject to revision. The rules will then need to go back to the Land Board for approval before being again reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office. The governor must then sign off on them.
The Attorney General’s Office declined the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s request for a copy of the draft rules, saying the document was subject to attorney-client privilege. But they are expected to make it much harder for coastal property owners to receive emergency approvals for sandbags and other shoreline- hardening structures, particularly when their homes, hotels, condominiums or businesses are threatened by ongoing coastal erosion….
Big Q: How is the state doing on coastal erosion policies, such as on seawalls and sand “burritos”?
read … New rules curbing Hawaii beach barriers are further delayed
Hawaii doctors seek to maintain injunction allowing telemedicine abortion services on Guam
GDP: … Two Hawaii-based doctors with licenses to practice on Guam, Dr. Shandhini Raidoo and Dr. Bliss Kaneshiro, challenged the in-person mandate last year at the District Court of Guam. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of the doctors.
According to documents filed in the lawsuit, the mandate makes it impossible to administer medication abortion through telemedicine.
read … Hawaii doctors seek to maintain injunction on in-person mandate for abortion services
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