Green Names 14 Cabinet Picks
Evidence of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse at OHA from 2012-2016
(Another) Former Maui County Environmental Management Official Charged with Accepting Bribes
Guam office of Ernst & Young took $750K COVID loan
Red Light Camera Sites Named
Maui County Christmas Tree Lighting Slated for Monday
Josh Green’s 5 big priorities for his first 100 days in office
HNN: … The first is to take immediate action on Hawaii’s housing crisis.
“Rules will be changed,” he said.
Green says if necessary he’ll use emergency powers to adjust some of the processes that are obstructing the ability to build housing.
“An emergency proclamation may be coming,” said Green.
When asked if there was a specific rule he thought needs to be amended, he said:
“They’ve had a lot of problems with the permitting process. And I think that has to be expedited. That’s one. Also moving some of the land that has been stuck, where people had planned to build and haven’t done it.”…
Green says his second priority is to build kauhale, or villages for the homeless made up of tiny homes.
“We want to immediately move forward on several kauhale in different regions of the state,” Green said. “And that means giving parcels of land. We have $15 millions in Ohana Zone money that we have to spend right away.”…
He says his third priority is to begin to restore trust in government.
“That is not meant to be a vague statement,” Green said. “I think it’s time to be honest that we have not treated the Hawaiian community adequately or respectfully.”
When HNN asked what could be done tangibly to accomplish that, he said, “Distribute land.”
He continued: “So I think over the course of the first two years we’re going to do everything we can to distribute land to the people that are on the list, to build infrastructure and build housing.”
Green’s fourth priority is to launch a climate plan, establishing a roadmap for how the state will address climate change. “We are contemplating a climate czar,” he said. That would be a new position for the Governor’s Office….
“The fifth priority is really, I think dealing with affordability,” Green said.
He says in his first 100 days of office he plans to propose Hawaii get rid of the tax on food and medication.
“It will carry a cost with it. We do have a surplus,” said Green. “It’s something that is the right thing to do. It’s been discussed for a long time. Those are very regressive taxes.”
Green says to also expect a decision in regard to what will happen with Aloha Stadium in those first 100 days.
read … Josh Green’s 5 big priorities for his first 100 days in office
Mayor Kawakami lays out priorities for next term at his inauguration
TGI: … Kawakami, entering his second term as mayor, laid out the goals for the next four years of his administration: “Infrastructure, infrastructure and infrastructure.”
Top of the list of infrastructure projects is figuring out a way to deal with the island’s trash. Kawakami emphasized the need to site a new landfill, invest in waste to energy, and employ other diversion initiatives. The Kekaha landfill is set to fill up in five years and the process of getting a new landfill going could take as many as 10, leaving a gap when it is unclear what will happen to the trash.
The mayor also announced plans to begin work on what he described as an “unprecedented number” of affordable housing projects in the coming year, which will result in the creation of 400 new units….
read … Mayor Kawakami lays out priorities for next term at his inauguration
‘A Deep Moral Crisis’: Commission Proposes ‘Bold’ Reforms for Legislature to Ignore
CB: … Commission members urged the public to pay close attention to what the Hawaii Legislature does with the 31 proposals intended to combat corruption, ethical issues and more….
CB: The chair and a member of the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct talk about proposals to restore public trust in Hawaii's scandal-marred government.
SA: Hawaii government reform proposals put forth in wake of corruption
HNN: How to tackle corruption in Hawaii government? This commission has some ideas
PDF: Final Report - Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct
read … ‘A Deep Moral Crisis’: Commission Proposes ‘Bold’ Reforms In Government
One Failure Deserves Another: Hawaii’s State Board Of Education Draft Plan Pretends to Include Higher Reading and Math Goals
CB: … The BOE plans to release a full draft of the plan on Dec. 15, followed by a survey Dec. 19, that will give stakeholders the opportunity to weigh in on its contents until Jan. 13. …
… Only 28% of eighth graders in Hawaii were proficient in math last year, according to The Nation’s Report Card testing, which is considered to be more rigorous than the Smarter Balanced assessments ….
read … Hawaii’s State Board Of Education Draft Plan Includes Higher Reading and Math Goals
Navy halts Red Hill defuel plan due to toxic fire suppressant spill
HNN: … The military says it still doesn’t know what caused a 1,100-gallon spill of firefighting foam concentrate at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility on Tuesday.
On Thursday, emergency crews were still digging out contaminated soil.
The Navy says the contaminated soil is more than 85% excavated.
“Most likely we are going to go down 1 to 2 feet in depth to make sure we are absolutely certain in all locations that we’ve recovered the solvent,” said Capt. Cameron Geertsema, commanding officer at NAVFAC Pacific.
SA: Navy plan approved by health department following foam leak at Red Hill
read … Navy halts Red Hill defuel plan due to toxic fire suppressant spill
Hawaii is now the only state where drivers are paying over $5 for a gallon of gas
HNN: … AAA Hawaii said the average regular unleaded gas price for Hawaii is $5.19 while the average national price is $3.47. The average national price of gas went down by 12 cents compared to last week….
read … Hawaii is now the only state where drivers are paying over $5 for a gallon of gas
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