Hawaii's chance to expand housing freedom
Governor signs bill to allow temporary licenses to nurses
Hawaii County proposal -- good direction for Oahu beekeeping
New law creates opportunities for Hawaii food entrepreneurs
Proposed Hawaii County STR rules fraught with potential economic, legal pitfalls
Even After Lahaina Burns, Hawaiian Electric Prioritizes Solar over Fire Safety
CB: … Hawaiian Electric Co. officials say they hope to have four new renewable energy projects across Maui online by 2028 in what’s proving to be a challenging switch from fossil fuels to a grid powered by wind, solar and other clean energy sources on that island.
(QUESTION: Even after Lahaina burns to the ground, will Hawaiian Electric still prioritize pretend global warming ‘solutions’ over fire safety?)
Those proposed projects at Maalaea, Pulehunui and Wanea remain in the early phases and still have key hurdles to clear, HECO officials told community members at a PUC-organized meeting on Maui last week. They still have to earn community buy-in, reach successful contract negotiations with the developers, and ultimately win approval from the Public Utilities Commission.
(TRANSLATION: Even after Lahaina burns, HEI is still spending money on fake ‘global warming solutions’ instead of burying power lines to reduce fire risk. They deserve bankruptcy. Bankruptcy would strip the current management out and replace them with outsiders.)
HECO’s briefing on the island’s power grid came as Maui leaders separately consider just how aggressively they should pursue putting utility lines underground to help avoid sparking future wildfires. The effort would be costly, but it’s gained vocal support among many Maui residents following last year’s deadly Lahaina wildfire. So far, however, there’s no plan.
(TRANSLTION: ‘No plan’ means HEI hopes Maui residents will just lose interest in burying power lines so HEI can keep wasting money on ‘intermittent’ power sources.)
The clean-energy projects, meanwhile, aim to replace four previously planned renewable proposals on Maui that collapsed in the past five years or so amid legal challenges, community push-back and rising costs related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
(TRANSLATION: This scheme has already failed once, but it is more important than fire safety.)
New renewable projects will be critical to keeping the energy flowing reliably on (bring rolling blackouts to) Maui’s energy grid after 2028, when the island faces the inevitable (ideologically imposed) loss of some 88 megawatts of firm, diesel- and oil-powered energy at its power plants in Maalaea and Kahului, according to Mike DeCaprio, HECO’s vice president for power supply ….
read … Maui Faces Uncertainty Over The Future Of Its Energy Grid
Honolulu ranks toughest to flip homes in U.S., report says
SA: … “I don’t have current flippers. The challenge right now in flipping is home prices are expensive and there’s no product,” said Shannon Severance, a real estate agent for RE/MAX Honolulu…
The median price for previously owned single-family homes rose 6.7% in June to $1.12 million from $1.05 million, while sales gained 4% to 258 from 248, according to the HBR data. The condominium median price increased 3.9% to $530,000 from $510,000, while sales plunged 24.5% to 355 from 470 for their largest year-over-year decline of 2024….
ATTOM: Home Flipping Activity and Profits Both Rise Across U.S. in First Quarter of 2024 (attomdata.com)
read … Honolulu ranks toughest to flip homes in U.S., report says
An Oahu Teacher’s Futile Apartment Hunt Shows How Bad The Rental Market Is
CB: … The going rate in Lau’s building, Harbor View Plaza, was a little above $2,000 a month when she moved in nearly four years ago, she says. Now she’s paying $2,125 a month on a month-to-month lease. But apartments in her building now are being listed for $3,000 and up, she said….
The imbalance of supply and demand for long-term rentals — along with increasing insurance costs, overall inflation and other factors — has sent rents soaring. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks inflation, reports a 29% increase in rents for primary residences in Honolulu in the past five years….
for years Rim had been charging Lau less than the market rate. He also said homeowners association fees had risen and that Rim had had to pay for costly repairs, including replacing a sliding glass door to the unit’s lanai. Additionally, he said, more recently Lau had taken it upon herself to reduce her rent payment by $150 because of a broken cabinet door…. (ooops!)
(The rest of this article is a sales pitch for socialist Rep Amy Perruso’s failed rent control bill.)
read … An Oahu Teacher's Futile Apartment Hunt Shows How Bad The Rental Market Is
Honolulu Ethics Commission Says Number Of Complaints Has Dropped
CB: … Honolulu’s ethics watchdog says it can’t explain a dramatic fall in the number of complaints it received last year, but it’s hopeful that the decrease might be the result of more specialized training and expanded outreach.
The Honolulu Ethics Commission reviewed 81 enforcement filings or ethics complaints in the 2023 fiscal year – half the number it received the previous year.
“It did kind of drop off a cliff,” said Jan Yamane, the commission’s executive director and lead counsel.
The number of ethics complaints the commission received in 2023 was the lowest since 2018, but the 160 it received in 2022 was a record. …
the 81 complaints last year is still lower than the average of 100 for the past nine years....
read … Honolulu Ethics Commission Says Number Of Complaints Has Dropped
Irony Alert: State can’t get EBT cash to people who are not working because DHS can’t get anybody to work
HNN: … State SNAP and EBT benefits are being delayed due to a surge in applications and staff vacancies.
The Department of Human Services says nearly a quarter of positions for workers who process applications have not been filled ….
(CLUE: All the people who would have filled those DHS jobs have moved to Las Vegas.)
read … State SNAP, EBT benefits delayed due to surge in applications, staff vacancies
No Mugshots for Deputies ‘Arrested’ in Racial Harassment Case
CB: … Recently, four deputy sheriffs were arrested for harassment relating to a couple of different incidents the department is still investigating. The DLE released pictures of them in the office. The Blog, who has developed a healthy cynicism over the decades, just presumed the DLE was just trying to save them from a notorious mugshot photo. Now it all makes sense….
read … The Department Of Law Says Goodbye To Those Unflattering Mugshots
Prison Worker with 2lbs Meth: Smuggled Meth Into Arizona Facility That Houses Hawaii Inmates
CB: … Authorities arrested a prison employee and seized an estimated 2 pounds of methamphetamine from her home after she allegedly tried to smuggle drugs into an Arizona prison where more than 1,000 Hawaii inmates are being held.
Patricia Fay West, 56, pleaded not guilty Friday at her arraignment in Pinal County Superior Court to six felony charges in the case, including three that carry penalties of five to 10 years each in prison.
According to a court document filed by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, West was arrested on June 20 after she attempted to enter the privately run Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, with more than 6 ounces of meth concealed in her bra….
(32 oz/6oz = 5.3 trips. If smuggling once a week, 2lbs would be about a month’s meth supply for one prison.)
According to the sheriff’s affidavit, West self-identified as a meth user, and admitted she was carrying drugs when she entered the prison grounds to go to work on June 20. …
(CLUE: In Hawaii, guards who smuggle meth are not caught because they aren’t searched.)
read … Police Say Prison Worker Tried To Bring Meth Into Arizona Facility That Houses Hawaii Inmates
ACLU Calls on Green to Veto Jail Construction to force Release of More Criminals onto Streets
CB: … Over the years, media reports highlight inhumane and unconstitutional conditions of confinement. People sleeping four to five to a cell designed for two persons, being housed in “dry rooms” with no toilets or running water and repeated lockdowns….
(CLUE: ACLU causes this by obstructing prison construction.)
According to the Department of Public Safety Intake Center data, approximately 38% of all people in jails in Hawaii are homeless. An even larger percentage of people warehoused in our jails have mental illness or are awaiting trial because they can’t afford bail.
(TRANSLATION: ACLU wants these homeless back on the street. Then the ACLU will try to stop us from forcing them into shelters.)
We need to develop a continuum of care that diverts people from our jails. This includes housing and a broad spectrum of treatment services to reduce the number of people with mental illness, substance use and co-occurring disorders in our jails.
(IDEA: Reopen the insane asylums. Put the insane back inside. ACLU is against this.)
Outside public hearings, secret conversations ensue between state officials and lobbyists who represent private prison corporations like CoreCivic. These profiteers are eager to enter Hawaii’s market to build, construct and “finance” new jails.
Don’t be deceived by the slick marketing of private prison corporations and lobbyists trying to convince us that new modernized jails are “solutions” to overcrowding.
(TRANSLATION: We can have better-run jails built for free. ACLU is against this.)
Let’s be clear. The prison industrial complex (ACLU) cares about maximizing profit (power), not the health and safety of our communities.
ACLU STRATEGY: “ruthless criticism of all that exists”
WHT: Free taxpayer-funded supplies like glass pipes, mouthpieces and foil are crucial for people who smoke drugs like methamphetamine, opioids and cocaine.
read … Green Has Historic Opportunity To Build Community Safety - Honolulu Civil Beat
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