Housing regulations add up to solid brick wall against homebuilding
The Miske Case: A Few Friends In High Places?
ILind: … Will Gov. Josh Green and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi appear as witnesses for the defense in the racketeering trial of former Honolulu business owner Michael J. Miske Jr. and his two remaining co-defendants?
Well, we don’t know, but they are on the final list of 323 defense witnesses submitted to the court over the weekend. The list includes witnesses who are definitely expected to be called, as well as those who “may” be asked to appear….
Other names that stand out include Bruce Coppa, prominent lobbyist and former chief of staff for Gov. Neil Abercrombie; Kahu Curt Kekuna, retired senior pastor at Kawaiahao Church; Dustin Dawson, ILWU Longshore official; Tim Lyons, longtime lobbyist for several trade organizations, including the Hawaii Pest Control Association; and Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesia Voyaging society and east Honolulu resident….
FOX: Hawaii businessman accused of running drug trade, ordering murders as underworld boss
HNN: Trial for so-called ‘Miske Enterprise’ could take half a year
HNN: Jury selection begins in trial of accused Honolulu crime boss Michael Miske
read … The Miske Case: A Few Friends In High Places?
Convention Center Usage Down by 33%
SA: … “We just aren’t up to pre-pandemic levels. We were averaging about 28 conventions per year, and this fiscal year we are looking at 19, and the next year roughly about the same,”….
(DO THE MATH: 19/28 = 0.67)
Teri Orton, convention center general manager, said the facility is re- forecasting gross revenue of $24.1 million, which includes $1.4 million of interest income, and a facility net loss of $1 million, which is $4.3 million under budget….
...(there is a major) drop in “citywides,” the industry term for large events that spread business across multiple venues….
(The rest of this article is a bunch of fluff designed to make these numbers look good.)
read … Hawai‘i Convention Center focuses on future offshore bookings
Escape the DoE: Hawai‘i School Choice Week lays out options
SA: … A news release from the National School Choice Awareness Foundation begins, “Gov. Josh Green has officially declared Jan. 21-Jan. 27 to be School Choice Week in Hawaii. In doing so, he joined state, city, and county leaders nationwide who have formally called attention to the importance of families having effective, customizable education options.” The proclamation is featured on the foundation’s website….
The main local public event is the “Hawaii K-12 Parent and School Expo” on Jan. 20 at Windward Mall, featuring 35 schools and programs …
David Sun-Miyashiro, executive director of the nonprofit HawaiiKidsCAN, said his organization received a grant from the foundation to present the exposition. But it is “non political, (with) no kind of policy focus. … We have no interest or time, to be honest, to kind of look at anything on the policy or legislative side or on that,” he said….
(The rest of the article is a lengthy attack on School Choice.)
LINK: 2024 Hawaii K-12 Parent and School Expo (hawaiikidscan.org)
read … Hawai‘i School Choice Week lays out options
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