Zoom-ing in on Better Healthcare
Guam activists urge Ninth Circuit to revive environmental claims against Air Force
“Where do you think all of these people are going to go?”
CB: … “What do you figure it costs to rent a room in a house right now?” he said.
“Well, it was around $800, then the pandemic pushed it up to $1,000,” Kahue-Cabanting replied. “And right now it’s looking like $1,500. The fires just accelerated the market.”
“Where do you think all of these people are going to go?” he asked, gesturing to a parade of fire survivors, their rubber slippers slapping the lobby floor en route to meal giveaways and American Red Cross appointments….
Like Kahue-Cabanting, Siatris has been living at the resort where he works. Now, he wants to rebuild his home. But he knows that could take years.
In the short term, he’s determined to live on his land in something more makeshift — a tent, a tiny home, maybe a trailer….
read … Their Home Destroyed, Their Business Incinerated. Now, They Just Need To Keep Going
EPA begins work on burned commercial properties in Lahaina
MN: … The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began removing hazardous materials from commercial properties in Lahaina on Friday as it nears the end of its monthslong effort to clean up properties following the Aug. 8 wildfire.
“The work is not done, but the completion of EPA’s Phase I work is in sight,” EPA Incident Cmdr. Tara Fitzgerald said in a news release Friday. “We have started work on the most technically difficult properties, which signal a near transition to the Army Corps work of removing all remaining debris on properties.”
Commercial properties present unique challenges because of their larger size and the increased likelihood of finding more diverse hazardous materials, which could take longer for crews to clear, the EPA said.
Removal of hazardous materials will take place on commercial properties that have been identified as not having a risk for field workers. The risks include unstable structures, collapsed roofs or other physical hazards. Commercial properties that cannot be addressed during this phase will be addressed in the second phase….
read … EPA begins work on burned commercial properties in Lahaina
Honolulu Police Department is finally releasing officer misconduct records
CB: … a search for information about Lucius Crabbe also turned up a very different kind of story about what happened on another off-duty day in 2004.
That was on Independence Day, and Crabbe and another officer, William Malina, were at Kipapa Neighborhood Park in Mililani. Malina’s daughter was playing in a softball game.
Elsewhere in the park, 24-year-old Kevin Silva was armed with two kitchen knives and lunging at people. Someone called out for Malina to help and he and Crabbe grabbed softball bats and disarmed Silva.
Four years later, in 2008 — it’s unclear why it took four years, the newspaper article doesn’t say and HPD wouldn’t talk to Civil Beat for this story — Malina was awarded HPD’s Warrior Bronze Medal of Valor and Crabbe, then an officer, was awarded a certificate of merit for their actions four years earlier….
read … Drunken Day At A Bar Led To This Detective’s 99-Day Suspension
Honolulu Planning Commission to decide another two-year extension for Waimanalo Gulch
SA: … The Honolulu Planning Commission plans to make a decision in early 2024 on the city’s request for a two-year extension to find an alternate site for the 34-year-old Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill in Kapolei.
The commission last week ended its formal hearing, held over several months, on the request made by the city Department of Environmental Services.
The request, first submitted in December, would amend a previous state-issued special-use permit granted in 2019. If the request is approved, the prior deadline to identify an alternative site would be extended to Dec. 31, 2024, from Dec. 31, 2022….
Cal Chipchase, attorney for the Ko Olina Community Association, noted the city’s “long history of missing deadlines” with regard to closing Waimanalo Gulch Landfill, which first opened in 1989. The dump was originally slated to close eight years later, by 1997….
Over the years, Chipchase said, the city had requested — in 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2022 — formal extensions to continue operations at the landfill or to find an alternate dump site. During that time the landfill grew from its original size of 60.5 acres….
read … Honolulu Planning Commission to decide fate of landfill selection process
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