July 13, 2024 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Saturday, July 13, 2024

July 13, 2024 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:43 PM :: 2946 Views

Miske Lawyers Blame Wayne Miller for Everything

Outsider Foolishly Buys N. Shore Oceanfront Lot--BLNR Steals It

BLNR Destroys Kayak Business-Denies Hearing

JSC Seeking Five Nominees for Circuit/Family Court

DEADLINE EXTENDED AGAIN: Judicial Vacancy – Chief Judge, Intermediate Court of Appeals

Why Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam aren’t covered in NATO’s defense pact

Hana Highway Regulation—Another Tourist Attack: 'We're going to kill you, get out of the car, you're not getting away from us, you're dead."

KITV: … The Freet family of New York has a lasting impression of the road to Hana, not because of its striking views, but because of a reported run-in with two men they believe are area residents.

"It was terrifying," Jonathan Freet said, recounting the moments he, his wife Christin, and two children had an unexpected encounter with two men on their way out of Hana Tuesday afternoon.

"(The men were) telling us to get out of there, they don't need tourists," Jonathan recalled.

According to the couple, the men tried to cut them off several times.

"We were going back and forth, every time I tried to turn around they chased me telling us to get out of the car," Jonathan shared.

Christin added, "they (the men) said, 'we're going to kill you, get out of the car, you're not getting away from us, you're dead."…

(This story is an example of an ‘enforcement action’ by) Some East Maui ~~residents~~ (sovereignty activists who) created a code of conduct to ~~guide~~ (command) both residents and visitors who plan to travel on the often crowded road to Hana, in which they (pretend they) do not condone harassment or violence.

"It can get really frustrating with the congestion and illegal parking happening on the roadway and then also its’ safety hazards, so I can understand the residents' frustration, but also this is safety hazards that we need to address," East Maui resident Kamalani Pahukoa said….

(IQ Test: She just condoned the attack and called the victims a ‘safety hazard’.)

LAST ONE: ‘Defend Hawaii’ – Maui PD and EMTs Conspire to Chase ‘Hunted’ Tourist-Victims Away

read … 'Terrifying': Tourists claim they were accosted on the popular road to Hana

CNBC: Why Hawaii is worst state for business

CNBC: …First came the Covid-19 pandemic, striking at the very heart of Hawaii’s economy.

Then, just as the state was beginning to recover, came last summer’s deadly Maui wildfires, which killed more than 100 people, destroyed upward of 2,000 structures, did $5.5 billion in damage and paralyzed the state’s tourism industry yet again.

Finishing last in CNBC’s 2024 competitiveness ranking, America’s Top States for Business, seems pretty minor in comparison to all of that. But Hawaii’s economic issues go even deeper than the high-profile tragedies that have befallen the state….

Put it all together, and it leads to America’s second-worst economy, according to the Top States study, after Mississippi. It is little surprise that no major companies are headquartered there. Economic growth was modest last year as the state struggled to recover from the wildfires, and job growth was meager at best.

In their most recent quarterly economic outlook, published in June, forecasters with the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism predicted that tourism will end the year flat following a 4% drop in the first four months of the year, largely due to the wildfires….

With so many inherent disadvantages, why doesn’t Hawaii finish at the bottom of the rankings every year? The answer, in part, is because it’s Hawaii, with a legendary quality of life. But now, even that is under siege.

Hawaii ranks No. 7 for Quality of Life in 2024, its lowest ranking in the important category since our Top States study began in 2007.

According to Child Care Aware of America, child care in Hawaii costs 18% of the median income for a married couple. That is the most expensive in the country, and nearly twice the national average….

America's Top States for Business: The full rankings (cnbc.com)

Top States for Business 2024: Hawaii (cnbc.com)

read … Why Hawaii, America's paradise, is also its worst state for business (cnbc.com)

Hanabusa names PIG to ‘investigate’ CEO Lori Kahikina’s next contract

SA: … Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation CEO Lori Kahikina’s future contract agreement to continue leading the nearly $10 billion Skyline project must first undergo an investigation.

During a special HART board of directors meeting Thursday, the panel voted to establish a permitted interaction group, or PIG, to investigate Kahikina’s next work agreement with the city’s rail agency.

Named HART’s permanent CEO in 2022, Kahikina’s annual $275,000 contract is set to expire Dec. 31….

On Thursday, Hanabusa — appearing virtually at the special meeting, which listed only one agenda item — chose five board members to be part of the PIG: Michele Chun Brunngraber, who will chair the subcommittee; Anthony Aalto, its vice chair; Roger Morton; Arthur Tolentino; and Kika Bukoski.

“The PIG’s scope is to investigate the executive director and CEO’s employment agreement,” Hanabusa said before the vote. “It is going to be the duty of the PIG to negotiate the terms of the contract with Lori and her attorney.”

She noted “it is anticipated … that this will be a multiyear contract, with terms, or benchmarks, or whatever all of you on the PIG agree to as well as with Lori’s attorney, and we’re hoping that we’ll be able to get to some agreement very shortly.”

The future contract agreement was to be completed by the end of August, according to Hanabusa….

read … HART panel to ‘investigate’ CEO Lori Kahikina’s next contract

On Molokai, complaints about these downed utility poles have dragged on for years

HNN: … Downed utility poles in west Molokai are prompting growing concern. The toppled infrastructure appears precariously balanced on a steep hillside above Maunaloa Highway.

HNN Investigates confirmed the downed poles belong to Hawaiian Telcom. The company says its crews are currently addressing the problem. Adding “the leaning poles aren’t considered dangerous.”

But some residents disagree.

For months, drivers along Molokai’s Maunaloa Highway near mile marker 13.5 have flooded our HNN’s inbox with startling images of two uprooted utility poles suspended atop vegetation on the steep hillside above the road. When we visited the site last week, we found long spans of cable draped across the ground and tangled in the brush. And more poles that looked to be on the verge of collapse….

read … On Molokai, complaints about these downed utility poles have dragged on for years

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