Hawaii GOP Convention Elects New Leadership
Hawaii's new gun laws could lead to lawsuits, group says
SB1230: A one-finger salute at our military
Lawmaker won’t apologize after saying Hawaiian leader ‘would have been hung’ for criticizing him
HNN: … Some residents are calling for an apology from state Sen. Brenton Awa, who said during a recent public meeting that a respected Hawaiian leader “would have been hung” for criticizing him.
Awa told Hawaii News Now on Monday that he doesn’t regret the comment, which happened during a virtual Kahaluu Neighborhood Board meeting on March 8. The video has subsequently circulated widely.
The heated exchange was over a proposed ban on aquarium fishing, which died when Awa cast the final vote against it in committee.
Hawaiian cultural leader Leialoha Rocky Kaluhiwa, past president of the Koolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, confronted Awa during the meeting. She said she was at the Capitol during his vote that helped kill the aquarium fishing ban.
She also said most people support the ban and his staff was helping him with hand signals.
“I was disappointed,” Kaluhiwa said.
She continued: “And I am sure if your grandfather, John, was alive, he would be just as disappointed because our community worked hard for it.”
Awa responded: “I hear you, Rocky. You got a lot of misinformation in there. I’ll tell you that we should meet. I’m still waiting. My door is open. I’m right down the road from you. I’ll do it tonight. I’m literally eight houses away.”
He then continued:
“You bring up my grandfather. That’s crazy. If I’m honest, if we are talking Hawaiians, Rocky, if we are talking Hawaiians … you would have been hung … for not supporting a Hawaiian.”
The board chair stopped the discussion after that, saying she didn’t want the meeting to deteriorate.
Kaaawa resident Kamuela Kala’i, a Hawaiian burials advocate who saw the video recently, is in the process of filing complaints with the governor and Senate president.
“It was shocking because I thought he was the good guy who was going to come in and do good for the community,” Kala’i said. “That is ridiculous and crazy and reprehensible and unacceptable from a public servant an elected official in a public meeting.” ….
Awa said voters will be the final judge. He faces re-election next year.
“I am never going to regret something that comes out of my mouth. It’s true to me,” he said….
Background: Newly elected state senator hires Eddie Rothman’s son Makua Rothman, hint, hint
2014: Interview: Drug Dealing N. Shore Anti-GMO Leader Has 'Penchant for Violence'
read … Lawmaker won’t apologize after saying Hawaiian leader ‘would have been hung’ for criticizing him
Council members call on Chair Waters to put salary proposal up for vote
KHON: … Honolulu council members are putting pressure on the council chair, to allow members to vote on whether they should reject a pay raise that was recommended by the salary commission. Without a vote, the pay raises will automatically be approved.
Council members Andria Tupola and Augie Tulba have introduced resolutions calling for the members to hold a public hearing on the proposed pay raise and have the council vote on it. If approved their salary will go from nearly $70,000 to $113,000, a 64 percent raise. The council chair would make $123,000….
CB: Proposed Raises For Honolulu City Officials Are Offensive
SA: Council’s pay raise issue aptly called ‘obscene’
read … Council members call on Chair Waters to put salary proposal up for vote
Benches at new stadium ridiculous; fix old facility
SA: … I agree with columnist Stephen Tsai’s proposal to fix the old Aloha Stadium rather than rebuild it completely (“Fixing up old stadium may be better option than building new,” Star-Advertiser, May 2). A brand-new stadium with bench seats is totally unreasonable, particularly with older spectators like myself who have problems sitting. The old seats should be kept.
I suggest the state look at options to remove the top tier and enhance the bottom tier with reinforced concrete foundations. The roof should be replaced to protect spectators from passing showers and sun. Water and electrical infrastructure need not be totally changed. A new multilevel parking lot could be built on the Halawa parking lot….
read … Benches at new stadium ridiculous; fix old facility
Hawaii leads the way on advanced electric rate hike design
UD: … Hawaii’s recent regulation ordering innovative rate (hike) designs gives a strong signal to states still debating time-of-use, or TOU, rates that the energy transition requires new pricing (increase) approaches, rate (hike) design authorities said.
Hawaii’s Advanced Rate Design proceeding also introduced a new approach to (increasing) fixed charges based on its new and more limited definition of the fixed generation, transmission and other costs to serve customers.
Many state policymakers are considering TOU rate (hike)s that vary (increase) customers’ electricity bill prices based on times when system costs are higher or lower, regulatory analysts reported. These (increased) rates link customer usage with traditionally-defined costs to protect utility revenues (LOL!) and (gouge) customer bills as power system loads and complexities grow, but they require a difficult balancing of customer (payments) and utility interests, they agreed….
read … Hawaii leads the way on advanced rate design with default time-of-use rates, fixed charge innovations
Is The Deck Stacked Against Hawaii Condo Owners?
CB: … Critics say oversight by state Real Estate Commission means owners get short-changed in favor of associations, management firms and lawyers….
critics say a basic aspect of Condorama runs counter to the idea that the department and Real Estate Commission are committed to empowering condo owners. The department chose a real estate trade group to run the event that routinely lobbies against bills to strengthen the rights of condo owners.
Called the Community Associations Institute, the organization is composed of condominium associations “as well as those who provide services and products to these associations,” the group’s website says.
The directors of the Hawaii chapter include a partner in a law firm recently found liable for violating state and federal laws during a legal battle with a condo owner over a dog and the president of a management company that recently operated for months without an active license, in apparent violation of state law….
read … Is The Deck Stacked Against Hawaii Condo Owners?
5 years after lava nearly destroyed it, Puna Geothermal announces expansion plans
HNN: … In a draft Environmental Impact Statement filed on Monday, Puna Geothermal said it wants to expand its existing capacity by 21% initially and then by nearly 60%.
Supporters said the expansion will help boost the state’s goal of becoming 100% independent of fossil fuels by the year 2045….
read … 5 years after lava nearly destroyed it, Puna Geothermal announces expansion plans
HGEA Work Rules Make Simple Commonsense Changes Difficult
SA: … A staffing shortage of fire and Emergency Medical Services dispatchers at the Hawaii County Fire Department has prompted its dispatch center to relocate to the Hawaii Police Department’s dispatch center in Hilo.
“Currently, our staffing has been to the point where for safety and communication reasons, we wanted to bring the two dispatch centers to a single location so they can just turn and talk to each other,” Hawaii County Fire Chief Kazuo Todd said.
The temporary consolidation of police, fire and EMS dispatchers that took effect Friday has raised concerns by the Hawaii Government Employees Association, which represents emergency dispatchers at the Police and Fire departments….
(Skip paragraphs of blablabla from Perreira)
Todd said of the seven dispatchers employed at the Fire Department, two are on leave for personal reasons, and a third has given their resignation….
The Fire Department currently has one dispatcher working per shift.
“If that person needs to stand up and go use the restroom or something happens and they’re there by themselves, that’s not a good situation,” Moszkowicz said….
read … Big Isle fire dispatchers move due to low staffing
Honolulu reduces workforce vacancies, but slightly
SA: … Last summer, Honolulu took part in a Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative, in which the city choose to examine its own complex hiring process. As part of the study, the hiring process was broken into three parts: The first step was to get approval to fill the position, which on average took the city about 62 days. The second step was to screen eligible candidates and recruit future workers, which took on average about 49 days. The third step was to interview and select potential workers, which took about 70 days.
On average, the study found it took the city 31 days to even post a new job. The delays in hiring were often the result of differences between individual departments. The report found that on average, delays within individual departments add 94 days to hiring.
“Our goal was to reduce each of those by 50%,” Miyasaki said, noting improvements were made in all three parts the study had examined in 2022. “Stage one process has been reduced by 50%, on a month-to-month average.”
She added that the second stage of external recruitment went to 25 days from 49. “We’ve also hit those numbers for the past four months.”
The third step — to reduce interviewing and selection times to 35 from 70 days — has not been fully achieved.
“It might be at 25% … but we’re going to try to help the departments to get more efficient through a greater use of our technology platform … so I expect that number to improve,” Miyasaki said….
SA Editorial: City tackles vacancies
read … Honolulu reduces workforce vacancies, but slightly
Ritte Stages Another Molokai Ranch Shakedown
HNN: … Over the weekend, more than a hundred island residents gathered to march on Molokai Ranch, demanding open access to the private land in order to reach areas of cultural importance….
Native Hawaiian Activist Walter Ritte says a similar protest was held in 1975 and the issue was resolved. Three years later, in 1978, activists were able to get a change in the state constitution. The change protected Native Hawaiian rights to subsistence, cultural and religious exercises but the state could still regulate those rights….
“We were using this beach and all of a sudden a gate goes up and blocks our access once again,” Ritte said.
“The reason they put the gates up is to allow hunters to come to Molokai and pay for hunting (and I demand a cut of the action)….”
read … Scores march on Molokai Ranch over access to culturally important lands
22 Fentanyl arrests made in last 4 months on Hawaii Island
HNN: … In all, officers recovered nearly 600 pills and 400 grams of the synthetic opioid — which is 50 times more potent than heroin.
Authorities said criminal drug networks are mixing the synthetic opioid into illegal counterfeit pills and selling them as legitimate prescription pills….
HTH: Hawaii County Police to release monthly stats on fentanyl arrests, seizures
read … Over 20 Fentanyl arrests made in last 4 months on Hawaii Island
Gambling: Third HPD Raid on ‘Ohana Grocery’
KHON: … This is not the first time police have raided "Ohana Grocery". In 2020, authorities removed eight gambling machines. Police also conducted a raid there in 2018. ….
read … Elderly woman charged with felony after illegal game room arrest
Homeless Dude Assaults 79-year old woman at bus stop
HNN: … A 55-year-old homeless man was charged after allegedly striking a 79-year-old woman on the head with a blunt metal object in Downtown Honolulu Friday morning, according to authorities.
Officials say the suspect, Donald M. Foafoa, was charged Saturday with first-degree assault. He is being held on $50,000 bail.
Honolulu Police say the woman was sitting at a bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive around at 8:45 a.m around Bishop and Merchant streets when the suspect allegedly struck her with a metal object, causing a laceration and bleeding.
The victim was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
This was an allegedly unprovoked attack, and the suspect and victim do not know each other….
KITV: City officials working to mitigate homeless encampment near Kalihi Transit Center
read … More Homeless Mayhem
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