Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted June 8, 2024
2025 HART operating budget -- $123 per rider per day
SA: … the just-approved city budget for fiscal year 2025… has the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s operating budget at $138.3 million, a 27% increase over the current $109.2 million. Another $574 million is being allocated for its capital budget (construction and facilities), of which $250 million is supposed to be covered by a federal grants fund…
DO THE MATH: $138.3M / 3,076 daily riders = $45K per rider per year / 52 = $865 per rider per week / 7 = $123.50 per rider per day.
Sound bad? It gets worse. HART's operating budget is not the operating budget for the rail system. HART is paying overhead for 'operating' the construction of rail. It is mostly debt service on rail construction loans. The cost of physically operating the rail system is incurred by City’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS) -- about $72 per rider.
FLASHBACK: Honolulu’s Skyline rail ridership still paltry, cost now $72 each
read … 2025 HART operating budget nears $140M
First-term state lawmaker Sen. Brenton Awa stands out as unconventional
SA: … Over the past two years, Awa has cast the sole “no” vote on 42 bills sent to Gov. Josh Green. That equates to a little under 10% of all bills passed and appears unparalleled in recent history.
Along with the nonconformist voting streak, Awa doesn’t hold an outside job like most other lawmakers, and he said he doesn’t plan to campaign as part of his bid to be reelected in November….
MEANWHILE: Clayton Hee Trying to Sneak Back into the State Senate
read … First-term state lawmaker Sen. Brenton Awa stands out as unconventional
Supreme Court asks Biden administration for feedback on Hawaii Big Oil lawsuit
TH: … The Supreme Court solicited the Biden administration’s views on two lawsuits by the city of Honolulu that accuse the oil and gas industries of knowingly suppressing the truth about their roles in climate change.
“The Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in these cases expressing the views of the United States,” the court wrote Monday.
(TRANSLATION: SCOTUS will likely hear this case.)
… Several states and localities are the plaintiffs in ongoing lawsuits seeking to hold oil and gas companies civilly liable for the effects of climate change. The Honolulu cases are the furthest along, and a Supreme Court decision on either side could have major implications for such legal arguments….
In a statement, Ted Boutrous, counsel for Chevron Corp., said “the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision flatly contradicts U.S. Supreme Court precedent and federal circuit court decisions, including the Second Circuit which held in dismissing New York City’s similar lawsuit, ‘such a sprawling case is simply beyond the limits of state law.’ These meritless state and local lawsuits violate the federal constitution and interfere with federal energy policy.”
NYT: Is the Fight Against Big Oil Headed to the Supreme Court?
read … Supreme Court asks Biden administration for feedback on Hawaii Big Oil lawsuit
Kawananakoa Estate: “Many have been watching where the money ends up”
UKDM: … Kawananakoa, the great-granddaughter of sugar baron James Campbell, was a significant cultural figure and philanthropist. Her ‘wife’, Veronica Gail Kawananakoa, will receive $40 million from the estate.
More than a year after Kawananakoa's death at age 96, her $250million estate was settled in January 2024.
Finalized court documents show that after doling out tens of millions to various people - including former housekeepers, other longtime employees and her ‘wife’ - there will be at least $100 million left to support Native Hawaiian causes....
According to documents in the probate case for her estate, $40 million will go to her ‘wife’.
Settlements have also been reached with about a dozen other people who had claims, including someone described in court documents as her 'hanai' son, referring to an informal adoption in Hawaiian culture….
A trustee has overseen the estate….
Many have been watching where the money ends up because of concerns about the fate of the foundation Kawananakoa set up to benefit Hawaiians. Kawananakoa´s trust will perpetuate Native Hawaiian culture and language, Andrade said….
2017: Kawananakoa Estate: Sex, Drugs, and Inequality
read … Inside America's only royal palace whose lesbian 'last princess' left $250m fortune after she died
Japanese seek to unload unused timeshare units in Hawaii
AS: … he said he finally decided to sell the ownership because the annual fees have topped 300,000 yen as the Japanese currency has weakened and the amount soared during the latest period ….
read … Japanese seek to unload unused timeshare units in Hawaii
Six ‘Core 24’ Hawaii County Council Candidates Coordinate
CB: … the Hawaii County Council race, 31 candidates have filed to run, easily making it the most crowded field in the Aug. 10 primary. It turns out that six of them including the weatherman are part of a coordinated campaign called Core ’24.
“For the first time in Hawaii Island’s history, leading County Council candidates joined forces in hopes of quickly changing the county’s focus to providing core government services,” says a June 7 press release. “While these candidates represent diverse perspectives and ideologies, they share a unified platform focused on delivering core services that aim to serve the community better.”
While each candidate will campaign in their respective districts, the coordinated campaign “will bring advertising to the entire island featuring all candidate profiles and photographs.”
read … The Sunshine Blog: Have You Heard About The Billionaire Running For Office?
1 in 5 Hawaii residents experience domestic violence, new study finds
SA: … A new study by the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence aims to raise awareness of the prevalence of intimate-partner violence in Hawaii and the hurdles to seeking help that survivors face.
The “Scars on the Heart: Barriers to Safety for Survivors of Domestic Violence” report found that 18% of Hawaii adults experienced physical violence or intimidation, such as strangulation, abuse while pregnant or the threat of using a gun or a knife, by an intimate partner in the past five years — equating to around 200,000 residents across the state. Approximately 20% experienced coercive control by their intimate partner, which includes isolation tactics and verbal abuse that are not as easily detected.
“One is physical that we talk a lot about. It’s what we know and what we see people typically attribute to domestic violence,” said Angelina Mercado, executive director of the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “What has risen in the last couple years and what has resulted in changes in our legislation is coercive control, which we haven’t had a lot of data on.”
SA: Editorial: Actions can fight domestic violence
read … 1 in 5 Hawaii residents experience domestic violence, new study finds
Soft on Crime: Alleged sex offender gets out, allegedly does it again
HNN: … Honolulu police have arrested a man Kehonu James Sturm accused of attempted sexual assault of a woman in Diamond Head on Monday, according to law enforcement sources.
According to official sources, a 25-year-old man was arrested for attempted sexual assault and robbery charges on Saturday around 6:15 p.m.
Records show the suspect was taken into custody after an off-duty officer spotted him in Lanikai.
According to police records, it’s the same man who was arrested last month for a sex crime in Pearl City…. (AND HE’S ALREADY BACK OUT ON THE STREET.)
May 2, 2024: Police have arrested the 25-year-old suspect in last week's alleged sexual assault in Pearl City
read … Police arrest man accused of attempted sexual assault in Diamond Head, sources say
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