Who is Running for Neighborhood Board in Your Community?
DoE Seeks Comment on Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act Application
COVID Closures Hit DoE College Readiness Indicators
After 42 Years Hawaii Finally Compliant with “Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services”
Red Light Cam Activated at Site of Deadly Hit-and-Run
Green Signs Abortion Bill
Green Signs First Bills into Law
Maui Physician Charged with Unlawful Distribution of Hydrocodone
Hawaii’s pandemic learning loss recovery could take years
SA: … A new independent analysis has found that learning loss among Hawaii’s public school students during the COVID-19 pandemic has ranged from moderate to severe, and the state will need a “multiyear effort” to catch them up to where they should be, a consultant told state Department of Education officials on Wednesday.
The analysis by the Dover, N.H.-based Center for Assessment found that the impact of the pandemic on students’ performance in English language arts was “mostly moderate to large,” and the impact on their mathematics was “mostly large to severe,” state Schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi wrote in a memo that summarizes the report….
Hawaii students proficient in math had been at 43% in the last year of testing before the pandemic started, plummeting to 32% during the worst of the pandemic, then rising to 38% in the 2021-2022 school year.
(CLUE: Absenteeism is way up. The ‘bounce-back numbers are reflective of the more motivated kids who are showing up for school.)
Students proficient in English language arts had been at 54% before the pandemic, sliding to 50% in 2020-21, then inching up to 52% last school year.
The report said that “Hawaii students learned at a faster rate post-pandemic than they did before the pandemic,” and that “mathematics needs a steeper recovery than English language arts.”…
broader test data stretching from 2014-2022 “show a flat line for meeting standards prior to the pandemic, a dip during the pandemic, and a recovery after the pandemic, but not to the levels of pre-pandemic,” Nakamura said in an emailed request for comment. “It also shows that the achievement gap between non-high needs and high-needs students is persistent throughout the period.
“In sum, the system has not improved during these eight years,” Nakamura said. “We are concerned about the lack of progress prior to pandemic and what DOE will do differently to change the trajectory going forward.”…
read … Hawaii’s pandemic learning loss recovery could take years
Governor’s Embattled DBEDT Nominee Opts To Face A Full Senate Vote
SA: … “I think the Senate’s working out their differences on our nominees,” said Green, a former state senator. “I would just say this: We look forward to Friday to see how my former colleagues vote.”…
The governor, who spoke with reporters at his fifth floor office at the Capitol after a bill-signing ceremony, credited Sadayasu with resolving a tourism management and marketing contract dilemma that fell apart under the previous administration.
“He’s brought a coalition of people together,” said Green….
read … Governor’s Embattled DBEDT Nominee Opts To Face A Full Senate Vote
Hawaii Senate Delays Vote On Planning Director Nominee
CB: … Senate President Ron Kouchi said no members came forward to say they were coerced to vote against Scott Glenn's nomination.
The Senate delayed until Friday a vote on Scott Glenn’s nomination to lead the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development in part due to accusations that senators have been pressuring colleagues to vote one way or another.
Senate President Ron Kouchi said delaying the vote will give members of the Senate who have not yet met with Glenn time to do so.
“This has obviously now become a large issue in the press, and members who had not had the chance to meet with Mr. Glenn realize that any response that they give, any vote that they cast, will probably be asked for the rationale and supporting statement to the vote,” Kouchi said during the Senate’s noon floor session….
read … Hawaii Senate Delays Vote On Planning Director Nominee
Cost of Aloha Stadium Rises to $1.49B
SA: … The new plan, Salaveria also said, was informed by a Feb. 16 economic analysis commissioned from New York-based PFM Financial Advisors LLC suggesting that the value of spending taxpayer revenue on a new stadium is worse under the long- standing plan where higher long-term costs would be paid by the state to a private partner that earns no revenue from stadium operations.
PFM’s analysis claims that the 30-year cost to the state for a new stadium, including financing and maintenance expenses, would be $1.49 billion under the long-standing plan, or nearly $460 million more than a $1.03 billion price tag if the state had no private partner. However, the analysis did not include Green’s proposed twist to have a private partner operate the stadium….
read … Board overseeing Aloha Stadium briefed on new redevelopment plan
Major state assets left to deteriorate
SA Editorial: … A chief concern that has surfaced is the need for repairs at state-owned hospitals such as Hilo Medical Center and, even more critically, Kona Community Hospital.
Green, a physician, points to the Kona hospital’s problems with air quality. Letting that worsen could render its intensive care and surgical units unusable. The Hawaii Health Systems Corp. that manages these hospitals has set the costs for Hilo and Kona, respectively, at $50 million and $20 million. Hilo is now slated to get $25 million, with only $7 million budgeted for Kona.
Where is the smart fiscal planning in that? Rural hospitals unable to function properly are compelled to send more patients to Honolulu, which has its own capacity problems to solve. Funding repair work should rank high on the state’s job list….
read … Major state assets left to deteriorate
Hawaii Is Close to Shutting Down Tourism Marketing Agency
S: … The Hawaii Tourism Authority may not be around for long. Last week, the state legislature’s House committee approved a Senate bill that would repeal the Hawaii Tourism Authority and create a government office dedicated solely to destination management, leaving the island without a tourism marketing agency. The bill now has to face two hearings before leaving the House, bringing it closer to passage….
SB1522: Text, Status
read … Hawaii Is Close to Shutting Down Tourism Marketing Agency
Lawmakers Agree On ‘Incoherent patchwork of Solutions’ To Funnel Affordable Housing Money to Cronies
CB: … More than a dozen bills addressing housing remain alive, but they largely amount to an incoherent patchwork of solutions. Some focus on money for specific housing programs, others on infrastructure….
An oft-quoted study, cited in one of Green’s bills, estimates Hawaii will need to build more than 50,000 units by 2025 to meet demand. The study also says more than 90% of those units will need to be priced as affordable for individuals earning $111,000 or less annually or for families of four earning $158,000 or less….
Chang’s “Aloha Homes” bill setting up a Singapore-style housing program in Hawaii has passed out of the Senate and its first hurdle in the House, but still needs to pass one more House committee….
Chang also introduced bills providing funding to refurbish existing state-owned affordable housing units, encourage Hawaii banks to lend money to develop affordable housing and create a pilot to extend to 99 years from 65 years the time the state can lease property to private people for housing….
Dela Cruz is pushing a different approach. His preferred vehicle, Senate Bill 1191, would funnel as much as $750 million to the Hawaii Community Development Authority to direct to a variety of specific infrastructure projects around the state. Titled “Relating To Transit-Oriented Development,” the bill proposes funding for projects along the Honolulu rail line and other locations, such as the Kahului civic center on Maui and the Kailua-Kona Civic Center. It also directs money to improvements at Kewalo Basin in Kakaako Makai.
The bill has received support from agencies like the Hawaii State Energy Office, Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., and Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, although with some caveats.
Scott Glenn, the acting director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, whose nomination remains pending, has suggested lawmakers provide money to the planning office to manage, rather than to specific projects….
read … Lawmakers Agree On The Need To Address Hawaii’s Housing Crisis — But Not On How
Legislature Kills Measures To Protect Parental Rights In Child Welfare Cases
CB: … Several bills designed to protect the rights of Hawaii parents who face the removal of their children are dead, at least for now.
The bills would have required authorities to get orders from judges in most cases before taking children from a parent suspected of abuse or neglect, in contrast to the current practice in Hawaii of almost never seeking court orders.
The most prominent of the measures, Senate Bill 407, ran aground when the Senate Judiciary Committee declined to hear it after it was passed by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The human services chair, Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, was one of the authors of the bill.
“I just couldn’t do everything, and we prioritized other stuff,” said Sen. Karl Rhoads, the Judiciary chair….
Three other bills — Senate Bill 1042, Senate Bill 638 and House Bill 449 — died without ever getting a hearing.
A Civil Beat investigation last year found that Hawaii is flouting federal court precedent by almost never getting an order from a judge before removing children for suspected abuse or neglect. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a series of decisions, has made it clear that authorities should get a court order unless the danger to the child is so great that they face harm in the time it would take to go before a judge. Hawaii is part of the 9th Circuit and is bound by its rulings….
Montana, however, is considering legislation to require child protection workers to get warrants unless they document imminent danger to the child, much like the Hawaii legislation would have done. One of the authors of the Montana bill called it “astonishing” that the state has operated for so long outside the bounds of the Constitution.
Hawaii law currently allows children to be taken without a court order if there’s probable cause to believe the child will be harmed in the next 90 days….
SB 407 would have only allowed warrantless removals if authorities believed the child was in danger in the time it would take to go before a judge. Police officers would have had to write a report within 24 hours justifying the removal, and Child Welfare Services would have had to include that police report in its filing in family court to obtain temporary custody of the child.
Hawaii’s current policy, and the failure of the bills like SB 407, makes it vulnerable to lawsuits from parents whose constitutional rights have been denied, said Shawn McMillan, a California attorney who has successfully sued several jurisdictions on the mainland for removing children without court orders.
San Diego attorney Shawn McMillan says it’s just a matter of time before someone sues Hawaii over its child removal policy. (Dave Barak/Civil Beat/2022)
“They’re eventually going to get hit,” he said. “It’s not a matter of if but when. You need the right case, the right client. A big enough hit and everyone will change their attitude.”…
RELATED: Federal Court Ruling Outlines Hawaii CWS Kidnapping, Conspiracy
read … Legislature Kills Measures To Protect Parental Rights In Child Welfare Cases
Shrooms Next: Hawaii Senators Approve Bill To Create Psychedelics Advisory Council To Prepare For Federal Legalization
MM: … A Hawaii Senate committee approved a House-passed bill on Wednesday that would create an advisory council to look into possible regulations to provide access to federal “breakthrough therapies” (party drugs) like psilocybin and MDMA.
The psychedelics legislation from Rep. Adrian Tam (D) advanced, with amendments, in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in a 5-0 vote.
Members took testimony from advocates and experts, including a representative of the Department of Health, which voiced support for the proposal. All 20 people and organizations that submitted written testimony ahead of the panel’s hearing were in favor of the reform….
read … Hawaii Senators Approve Bill To Create Psychedelics Advisory Council To Prepare For Federal Legalization
Hawaii and Guam service members brace for whopping COLA cuts
SAS: … Troops stationed in Hawaii and Guam stand to lose more than half of their cost-of-living allowances – hundreds of dollars per month in many cases – that could dent their paychecks as early as April 1.
Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono lambasted Defense Department officials last week over the coming 50% to 66% cuts during a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“As we continue to combat inflation, the thought of slashing the cost-of-living allowance for service members in Hawaii is absurd,” Hirono said. She told the Defense Department officials that her office had fielded numerous complaints from Hawaii service members about the impending cuts.
“Today, the cost of a gallon of gas in Hawaii is $4.85, more than a dollar above the national average of $3.46,” Hirono said at the March 15 hearing. “A gallon of milk in Honolulu is $7.25 compared to the national average of $4.41. The cost of housing in Hawaii is higher than any other state – I could go on.”
The looming cuts are the result of two separate surveys last year.
The Defense Department conducted a living-pattern survey in Hawaii from February through mid-March in 2022 and collected data for the Retail Price Schedule from March through June 2022.
Unit commanders in Hawaii were briefed in early fall on proposed cuts to cost-of-living allowances based on the survey’s findings.
In November, the Defense Department announced it would conduct a second “do-over” survey. According to a Feb. 15 Defense Department memo, the results of the second survey changed little from the original one….
SA: Military in Hawaii face possible pay reduction
read … Hawaii and Guam service members brace for whopping COLA cuts
‘Progressives’ on Maui Council Obstruct Affordable Housing Project
MN: … Approval for the Ke Kahua Residential Workforce Rental Housing project, which would sit on an 11.5-acre site owned by Maui Economic Opportunity, fell short with a 3-2 vote in the council’s Housing and Land Use Committee. Five approval votes were needed.
Voting in favor were Council Members Tom Cook, Yuki Lei Sugimura and Nohelani U’u-Hodgins. Those voting in opposition were Council Members Keani Rawlins-Fernandez and Shane Sinenci.
Council Chairwoman Alice Lee and Council Member Tamara Paltin were excused. Committee Chairwoman Tasha Kama and Council Member Gabe Johnson had recused themselves and were excused from the meeting….
Ke Kahua would consist of 13 two-story buildings containing 120 multifamily residential units of one, two and three bedrooms. It will be composed of 100 percent affordable rentals and restricted to applicants earning 60 percent or less of the area median income.
The project will also include a 3,477-square-foot nonprofit building, a 3,231-square-foot clubhouse for project residents, two play areas with playground equipment, two on-site laundry facilities, a maintenance room and 274 parking stalls and two loading stalls. The site is at the intersection of Kahekili Highway and Waiehu Beach Road….
read … Waiehu rental project’s fate remains undecided
Maui HS Maybe Open in August--Pedestrian Bridge Will Cost … uh … $25M
MN: … The agreement reached between the state and the county will allow the DOE to receive a temporary certificate of occupancy in exchange for the state temporarily indemnifying the county from liability claims — the county has long held off on issuing a certificate because the DOE has yet to build a pedestrian crossing required to open the school.
The DOE will continue to move forward with the requirement that it build an elevated pedestrian crosswalk, which is needed in order to receive a permanent certificate of occupancy, the Governor’s Office said. Construction of the raised crosswalk is estimated to talk three years to complete and cost more than $25 million….
“We remain committed to funding the required grade-separated overpass,” said McKelvey, whose district includes South Maui. “By making this only a temporary solution, it continues to put the onus on the DOE to follow through on what should have been done before this point.”…
DoE: HIDOE targeting fall opening for Kūlanihāko‘i High School campus
read … High school opening agreement reached
Hawaii hotel occupancy down--price up
PBN: … Hotels statewide were 76.3% occupied during February, according to the latest data by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
According to the monthly Hawaii Hotel Performance Report, which was released Tuesday and features data compiled by analytics company STR, the occupancy rate marks a 7.2 percentage-point drop compared to pre-pandemic levels in February 2019, when hotels were 83.5% occupied.
Compared to last February, when hotels were less than 72% occupied, it marks a nearly 5 percentage-point increase.
Hawaii hotels also saw substantial increases in other key metrics last month compared to 2019. Average daily rate, or ADR, was up 33% from $292 in February 2019 to $387 last month. Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, jumped 21% from $243 to $296.
Room revenue for the state totaled $459 million last month, up 25% from $368.6 million in February 2019. Supply was up 2.6% to nearly 1.6 million room nights, but demand fell 6% to below 1.2 million room nights….
read … Hawaii hotels reported an occupancy rate of 76% last month
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