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Bill: Outlaw Nepotism in Legislature After Cullen Crime Family Scores Primary Win
HPR: … Robert Harris, executive director of the Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission, has drafted a bill that would bar legislators from employing or doing business with family members.
The draft explicitly prohibits a lawmaker from awarding contracts or taking action with businesses where a relative has substantial ownership.
"The intent with this nepotism bill is to create a bright line about the hiring and supervising of family members. Currently, there is already some level of restrictions under the fair treatment, you can't give unwarranted privileges or something to someone special," Harris said….
July 21, 2022: Cullen Crime Family Nepotism is Legal: Ballot for state House seat includes familiar Cullen name
Aug 13, 2022: HD36 Lamosao 66.0% (Cullen connected) vs Morita 23.0%
read … Drafted bill aims to address nepotism between state Legislature, local businesses
Hawaii has issued 1 gun carry permit since high court ruling
AP: …Prior to the ruling, Hawaii police chiefs issued only six carry permits in 21 years, according to state data.
And since the ruling, Maui County is the only place where a single permit application has been approved. Alana Pico, a spokesperson for the department, confirmed the approval of one application but the department didn’t immediately respond to a public records request seeking more information.
The Big Island’s police force is the only one other than Maui to have updated its permit rules since the high court decision. The Kauai Police Department is still working on its regulations.
Revised rules for Maui and the Big Island include a requirement to submit shooting proficiency test scores.
Chris Marvin, a Hawaii resident with Everytown for Gun Safety, said it’s good that application procedures for Maui and the Big Island haven’t changed radically, including seeking details on criminal and mental health histories….
read … Hawaii has issued 1 gun carry permit since high court ruling
Residents of Hawaii Army base face weekend power outage, with more to follow
SAS: … Thousands of soldiers and their families living on Hawaii’s largest Army base are bracing for a planned weekend power outage as work continues to upgrade the base’s antiquated electrical grid.
Army leadership at Schofield Barracks in central Oahu have notified base residents to expect more scheduled outages in the coming weeks as workers with Hawaiian Electric upgrade the system.
In early June, one of a pair of transformers in the Menoher electrical substation on Schofield failed. The substation provides power to roughly 3,500 homes, as well as barracks and other buildings housing military units.
Obtaining a replacement transformer for the base’s antiquated electrical system required having one custom built on the mainland.
With the substation running at half capacity since June 10, the base has experienced routine power outages this summer.
Earlier this month, base leadership took steps to minimize electrical use by removing nonessential military facilities from the power grid and significantly reducing usage at others.
They also urged residents to drastically reduce their power consumption between 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. by avoiding using more than one major appliance at a time, among other power-saving steps….
read … Residents of Hawaii Army base face weekend power outage, with more to follow
Hospitals working on overdrive forcing officials to search for solutions
KHON: … From trauma, diseases and COVID, hospitals are near capacity across Hawaii. According to the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, 2,749 patients are filling facilities.
“That is literally a new record for us and that is a higher census than at any point during either the Omicron or the Delta surges,” said Hilton Raethel, Healthcare Association of Hawaii President and CEO.
“We have a lot of patients who are sicker than usual that are coming to us,” said Elena Cabatu of Hilo Medical Center.
Staffing continues to be an issue for many hospitals.
“We still have on any given day, between 200 and 300 patients who are ready to be discharged. We don’t have the staff though in our long-term care facilities to accept those patients,” said Raethel….
Gov. David Ige signed emergency rules in August to allow out-of-state nurses to practice in Hawaii, but Hilo Medical Center is creating the state’s first paid nurses’ aide training program as a long-term fix. There’s no college degree needed. Applicants just need a high school diploma and be 18 years or older….
KITV: Ambulance safety questioned on Oahu following deadly explosion in Kailua
read … Hospitals working on overdrive forcing officials to search for solutions
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