Coast Guard Orders Port of Hilo Shut Down -- Then Reopened
City to send 2024 Real Property Notice of Assessments
HECO 'Clean' Energy: Biodiesel and Batteries
Oahu Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Weapons Possession
Former Correctional Officer Receives 42 Months in Prison for Smuggling Drugs into Oahu Community Correctional Center
Four Months Later: Final Group of Homeowners Allowed to Reenter Burn Zone
MN: … The re-opening of all zones in the Lahaina wildfire disaster area was completed Tuesday, following a second day of residents returning to their properties in areas along Front Street.
Re-entry into the 83 zones established for the 2,170 acres in the five-mile Lahaina impact area concluded more than a week ahead of schedule, the county said Tuesday afternoon.
The process started with the first residential zone opening for re-entry Sept. 25 and 26 on Kaniau Road.
Over the 11 weeks that followed, zones were reopened after safety reviews and authorization by Maui County, state and federal agencies and utilities….
MC: County of Maui completes re-opening of all 83 Lahaina Zones
AP: Heart of Hawaii’s historic Lahaina, scene of deadly wildfire, reopens to residents after 4 months
HNN: Maui County completes re-opening of all Lahaina burn zones ahead of schedule (hawaiinewsnow.com)
read … All zones in the wildfire disaster area have opened
$1B Ala Wai flood mitigation plan faces harsh criticism
KITV: … The project, which is meant to prevent a disaster, is still years from completion. But many residents said more attention needs to be spent on clearing streams than building walls….
The proposed plan, as it stands, includes constructing a six-foot tall wall along portions of the Manoa Stream, the Palolo Stream and along both sides of the Ala Wai canal.
The cost is an estimated $1billion with the federal government to cover 65% of the bill. Honolulu tax payers will have to pay the rest….
The project, which is meant to prevent a disaster, is still years from completion. But many residents said more attention needs to be spent on clearing streams than building walls….
CB: Honolulu Mayor Defends $1 Billion Ala Wai Canal Flood Plan - Honolulu Civil Beat
HNN: Residents voice concerns about $1B Ala Wai flood mitigation proposal
read … $1B Ala Wai flood mitigation plan faces harsh criticism
Military Land Leases: OHA Insiders Smell the Money
CB: …In my column last week, I proposed that there should be a partial handover of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 2041, tied to the renewal of the military’s leases of state lands that are set to expire in 2029….
… Pearl Harbor isn’t part of the 6,300 acres of land leased from the state for a dollar a year like Pohakuloa on Hawaii Island and Makua Valley on Oahu. Those lands are part of 65-year leases that expire in 2029. The United States has controlled Pearl Harbor since the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 was signed by King Kalakaua’s government. So the deadline of 2041 is one the federal government could set. (Because I made it up out of thin air.) ….
The last point I want to share is what would be equitable compensation for Hawaii’s continued military occupation of prominent lands and waters.
What’s an equitable amount for the people of Hawaii to continue to host the military?
Obviously, a dollar a year isn’t acceptable. However, what dollar figure would be?
(It is ‘obvious’ to the writer that OHA insiders need more money.)
That question leads to what besides money would be worthwhile?
“The author’s optimistic vision of future military land use has failed to materialize so far at Kalaeloa (Barbers Point) facility since the State of Hawaii regained authority,” another commenter wrote last week. “There has been no transformative development. No real investment in general aviation facilities or education by the state. No real infrastructure or land stewardship plan has been put forth to the public. What evidence is there that the State would handle further authority of more underused Navy land any better?”….
REALITY: Telescope: For OHA, it’s all About the Rent Money
read … The People Of Hawaii Deserve Fair Compensation For Hosting The Military
Maui Fire Victims Fight To Keep Lawsuits On Maui
CB: … At the center of the fight over venue is a federal law called the Multiparty, Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act.
Normally, State courts have general jurisdiction, including power to hear wildfire property damage and wrongful death cases. By contrast, federal courts have limited jurisdiction, with the power to handle mostly claims arising under the U.S. Constitution and specific federal laws.
The citizenship of the parties can also play a role in whether a federal court has jurisdiction. If parties on each side of a controversy are from entirely different states, for instance, the federal court can have “diversity jurisdiction” if there’s enough money at stake.
According to these general rules governing civil cases, only the state court would have jurisdiction over Maui fire cases.
But 2002’s Multiparty, Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act expanded the jurisdiction of federal courts to hear mass disaster cases – specifically disasters arising from a “single accident, where at least 75 natural persons have died in the accident at a discrete location.” In such cases, it’s enough for at least one defendant and one plaintiff to reside in different states, which the statute calls “minimal diversity.”
Like Spectrum, Hawaiian Electric invoked the act earlier this month when it moved several dozen suits filed against Hawaiian Electric subsidiaries from state court to federal court. …
read … Maui Fire Victims Fight To Keep Lawsuits On Maui
Hotel metrics a mixed bag after tourism reopened in West Maui
MN: … Even as Maui County hotels continued to be impacted by the wildfires, the hotels still led the counties across the state in revenue per available room, due to higher average daily rates, according to the October 2023 Hawai’i Hotel Performance Report by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority released last month.
Maui County hotels had revenue per available room of $336.35, which was down 2.5 percent versus October 2022 when revenue per available room was at $344.98, but up 30.5 percent versus pre-pandemic levels in 2019 when revenue per available room was at $257.82.
The average daily rate in Maui County was $505.96, which was down 3.2 percent compared to October 2022 when the average daily rate was $522.92, but up 49.9 percent compared to October 2019 when average daily rate was $337.55, according to the report.
Occupancy for Maui County hotels in October was at 66.5 percent, up 0.5 percentage points versus October 2022 when occupancy was at 66 percent, but down 9.9 percentage points versus October 2019, when occupancy was at 76.4 percent. It was also a change from August, when occupancy dipped to 52.2 percent the month of the fires.
Still, Maui County had the lowest occupancy rate compared to all other counties in October….
TGI: Kaua‘i hotels fare well in October - The Garden Island
TGI: Visitor spending soars - The Garden Island
read … Hotel metrics a mixed bag after tourism reopened in West Maui
Mayor: Credibility of HPD ‘on the line’ as officers are being investigated for mishandling crash probe
HNN: … Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi is responding to police body camera video that shows the actions of Honolulu police officers under investigation for mishandling a crash investigation involving one of their own.
“I don’t think I’ve been more concerned about a police matter since I’ve been in office,” he told HNN. “This is of extreme importance because this is about credibility and integrity.
“That’s what’s on the line.”
Records show HPD Cpl. Vasai Isala Jr. was on “last chance” probation when he recently slammed his subsidized vehicle into the back of a motorcyclist, seriously injuring the rider.
For two months, the department has refused to respond to questions about the case, including whether Isala may have been driving intoxicated….
read … Mayor: Credibility of HPD ‘on the line’ as officers are being investigated for mishandling crash probe
Spike in violent crime involving youth triggers after-hours security concerns for school campuses
HNN: … From deadly shootings to stabbings, robberies and rape, youth seem to be at the center of a growing number of violent crimes on Oahu — a disturbing trend that’s also impacting some school campuses after most students and teachers have already gone home….
An HNN investigation revealed instances of violence happening after-hours on Oahu school campuses. In the span of just three days, HPD responded to an armed robbery at Nanakuli High School and a felony sex assault at Aiea High School. Victims in both the robbery and sex assault cases are teenagers. At last check, the search for the suspects continues.
In one incident at Nanakuli High on Dec. 2, a 15-year-old was hanging out with some friends about 9:40 p.m. when they were approached by more than a half dozen other males, police said.
One of the suspects allegedly lifted his shirt, displaying a gun in his waistband before beating the boy and stripping him of his shoes and a chain….
Three days later, an 18-year-old woman told police she was sexually assaulted in the parking structure at Aiea High School. It happened about 9 p.m….
read … Spike in violent crime involving youth triggers after-hours security concerns for school campuses
Hawaii’s first homeless ‘medical respite’ site closing, never to be rebuilt
SA: … After more than six months of housing and treating homeless patients discharged from Oahu hospitals, Hawaii’s first “medical respite” kauhale will begin shutting down Thursday and take the lessons learned to two new projects designed to expand to mental health issues affecting the homeless….
The dozen tiny homes that comprise Pulama Ola will now be relocated next week to create another kauhale on Middle Street in Mapunapuna….
Pulama Ola’s residents have since moved into — or plan to move into — the city’s H4 homeless housing project in Iwilei, run by the Kalihi-Palama Health Center, and Hawaii’s original brick-and-mortar medical respite, Tutu Bert’s House, which is run by the Institute for Human Services….
(TRANSLATION: It is closed and nothing else will be built.)
More than 200 homeless people living downtown also were welcomed at Pulama Ola to get medical treatment, eat, use the bathroom, take a shower, pick out donated clothes, get fresh hygiene supplies, charge their cellphones and get help accessing their government benefits and other social service help.
Thirteen more kauhale are planned across the state: two on Hawaii island, including one focused on homeless substance abuse issues; two on Maui; one on Molokai; and six more on Oahu…
(TRANSLATION: It is closed and nothing else will be built.)
HomeAid Hawaii, the state’s kauhale developer, is reviewing hundreds of potential kauhale sites across Hawaii, said the organization’s executive director, Kimo Carvalho, who previously was spokesperson for IHS, which operates Hawaii’s largest homeless shelters, interacts with homeless people on the street to get them help and provides medical treatment….
(TRANSLATION: It is closed and nothing else will be built.)
read … Hawaii’s first homeless ‘medical respite’ site closing as concept expands
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