Too Late to Mail Ballots -- Cast in person at Voter Service Centers or Drop Boxes
Low Turnout Matches Primary Election Numbers
MN: … The Maui County Clerk’s Office had received about 27,000 ballots as of Saturday, County Clerk Kathy Kaohu said Monday on the eve of the general election.
That total is already close to the 28,488 ballots cast in early releases of the results during the primary election night in August. By the end of the primary, however, a total of 39,493 Maui County residents, or 34.8 percent of 113,427 registered voters at the time, had cast their ballots….
Maui County had the lowest primary turnout in the state. Hawaii County was at 41 percent, Honolulu County at 40 percent and Kauai County at 38.5 percent, according to data a day after the primary in August.
Although Hawaii now votes by mail, there will be voter service centers open for in-person voting, ballot drop-off and questions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
read … About 27,000 ballots cast so far as Election Day dawns
‘There is no playbook’: As next phase of Red Hill defueling begins, focus is on safety
HNN: …Now that the so-called “unpacking” of the Red Hill pipelines is finished, the Navy is turning its attention to repairs of the Red Hill fuel tanks ― a key phase required before emptying the tanks.
Rear Admiral John Wade, commander of the Joint Task Force in charge of defueling the Red Hill tanks, expects repairs and defueling to be completed by June 2024.
“Right now the plan for defueling is about four months,” said Wade….
Big Q: Are you open to the Navy’s Red Hill tanks being repurposed for nonfuel use, after they’ve been drained and cleaned?
read … ‘There is no playbook’: As next phase of Red Hill defueling begins, focus is on safety
Kauai EB5 Timeshare Scam Faces Another Lawsuit
L360: … Investor Jun Gao alleged in a complaint that when progress on an EB-5 regional center-funded hotel resort project on the shore of Island of Kauai, Hawaii, stalled in 2019, he sought to recoup a $550,000 investment from various project affiliates. The suit names Coconut Beach/Hawaii LLC, Forefront EB-5 Fund (HCR) LLC, Symmetry Property Development II LLC, SPD II Makaiwa Resort Development LLC, Kelcop LP and related individuals as defendants….
The case is Gao v. Coconut Beach/Hawaii LLC et al., case number 654127/2022, before the New York County Supreme Court….
read … EB-5 Investor Says Hawaii Resort Investment Never Returned
90 Minutes to Death: Mental Case Bounced from Hospital, Immediately Breaks into House
HNN: … Law enforcement sources say the 31-year-old man had just been released from a hospital across the street from where the break-in happened….
HPD swarmed the Olomana neighborhood about 8:30 a.m. Monday after dispatchers received several calls about a man acting erratically.
“He ended up picking up a chair and he eventually broke through and got into his living room,” said Matt Suzuki.
Shirley Zhu said she heard screaming and the sound of glass breaking.
”That’s why I went to check.”
Zhu says she then saw the suspect on the floor inside the home and added that he wasn’t moving.
“He was so quiet,” she said.
Law enforcement sources say the suspect was released from Adventist Health Castle less than a half hour before the break-in. Officers had dropped him off at the hospital for an evaluation after finding him acting erratically in Waimanalo about 7 a.m., sources said….
SA: Man, 31, dies after allegedly breaking into Maunawili home
read … Suspect who died during Kailua home invasion had just been released from hospital
Honolulu's CORE program keeps bums out of Emergency Rooms
KHON: … Like a number of residents who call Chinatown streets their home, David Tavaras has been there for years.
He suffers from diabetes, high cholesterol and a number of other ailments and used to call 9-1-1 when he needed to go to the doctor.
"I have no more bus pass," explained Tavaras.
"Some homeless residents call 9-1-1 50-100 times a year. They call because they lost their medication, they have gout pain, or they might want a sandwich. There is a need, but not a 9-1-1 highly trained paramedic need," said Dr. Jim Ireland, the Honolulu Emergency Services Director.
Each call, with trained paramedics and transport to the hospital can cost $2000.
For the past year, emergency medical technicians have instead come to Tavaras and others on the streets, through the city's Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement Program - known as CORE.
That has cut down on hundreds of homeless calls to 9-1-1.
"EMS has seen record number of calls and CORE helps with those calls from homeless that are non emergency," said Ireland.
Many of those calls are because of minor injuries, and infections afflicting those living on the streets.
"It's wound care a lot of times. They could also be laying in their own feces ….
read … Honolulu's CORE program rolling along after a year
Not Enough Workers to Give EBT Card Refills to Non-Workers
HNN: … For thousands of Hawaii households, food stamps help put food on the table.
But this weekend, some were disappointed when the monthly allowance didn’t show up on their EBT cards.
The reason: ‘Overwhelmed’ state workers. (LOL!)
On Monday, the state said it has received a crucial waiver from the federal government that should help them catch up with monthly benefits for thousands in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.
About 2,000 people did not get their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards refreshed with new money this weekend.
Most were to receive the payments on Saturday….
read … Overwhelmed human service workers fall behind in processing food stamp benefits
Lanai Draws Tenants In Lottery For First Affordable Housing Project In 30 Years
CB: … It’s been nearly 30 years since an affordable housing project has been built on Lanai, where workforce housing is in short supply and families sometimes bunk together to keep a roof over their heads….
Until recently, Nuesca said she and her family of four lived uncomfortably in a two-bedroom plantation home with five other relatives until they could find a home to rent on their own. So when her family won an opportunity to rent a home at below market rate in the housing lottery Saturday morning, she declared the news a game changer.
“When else are we ever going to get the chance to rent a house?” Nuesca said.
Privately funded for an undisclosed price by Ellison, the creation of 76 units of affordable housing at the future Hokuao Housing Project marks a historic investment in the production of homes for low-income residents.
It’s also an investment in Ellison’s redevelopment plans for a 140-square-mile island plagued by staffing issues. Some employees of Lanai’s twin Four Seasons resorts, for example, reside in luxury hotel rooms — a symptom of the housing crunch. Construction workers from other islands routinely catch a ride to a job site on Lanai on a private plane owned by Ellison….
A decade ago the county came up with a plan to develop more than 400 affordable units on the outskirts of Lanai City. The county appeared to abandon the project in 2015 because of the high costs to build sewer and water lines to service the undeveloped property.
But the long-stalled plan to create homes for low-income residents has recently gained new momentum….
read … Lanai Draws Tenants In Lottery For First Affordable Housing Project In 30 Years
Judge finds Another Safeels guilty of sexually assaulting minor
MN: Ryan Saffeels, 43, was convicted of three counts of third-degree sexual assault for inappropriately touching the girl in the early-morning hours of May 28, 2020….
Saffeels, who is free after posting a $100,000 bail bond, is set to be sentenced Jan. 24.
Saffeels is the brother of former Maui Police Department officer Brandon Saffeels, 38, who was sentenced last week to 10 years in federal prison for attempting to have sexual contact with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl last year….
RELATED: Former Maui Police Officer Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Attempted Child Enticement
read … Judge finds man guilty of sexually assaulting minor
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