Hawaii to Become one of the best states in terms of income tax?
OIP: Five Changes to Sunshine Law
Hawaii’s population exodus blamed partly on Jones Act
HDOT Seeks Bids for Removal of Falls of Clyde (again)
20% Of Maui County Residents “seriously considering” leaving the state
CB: … Nearly half of Maui residents say their financial situation has worsened since the Lahaina fire and 1 in 5 are “seriously considering” leaving the state, according to a new report ….
(CLUE: The plan is to clear you out to make way for a new Lahaina tourist attraction centered on the ‘Venice of the Pacific’ water feature. KSBE has already announced plans for 190 ac of luxury villas in the burn zone.)
More than two-thirds of fire survivors have struggled to afford groceries in the last year, and half have cut back on medical care for financial reasons.
“We don’t use the word ‘poverty’ very often to talk about the situations in Maui County and we should,” said Lisa Grove, lead researcher of the Maui Together Wildfire Assessment.
More than 2,000 county residents and 1,000 fire survivors participated in the assessment, which is being published by the Hawaii State Rural Health Association and drew on both written surveys and in-person and online focus groups.
The vast majority of respondents — whether they lived in West Maui or Lanai or Molokai — said they were more worried than hopeful about their future in Hawaii.
Perhaps most troubling, it’s the people with the deepest roots in Hawaii who expressed the most uncertainty about their future here, Grove said.
“It’s our Native Hawaiian community. It’s our kupuna. It’s the long-time residents,” Grove said during a presentation Thursday on the survey.
The percentage of residents across the county who said they had been directly and indirectly impacted by the fires — 72% — was startling…
LINK: Maui Together - The Struggles of Maui County 2024 Report (hsrha.org)
read … Report: Growing Number Of Maui County Residents Are 'Barely Surviving'
It’s Working: Maui County’s vacation rentals at 49.3% occupancy in June, down double-digits from last year
MN: … With the largest supply of vacation rental nights available in the state, Maui County’s unit demand and occupancy rates are down in double-digits since last year and 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, according to a report for June by the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
(CLUE: The purpose of the ‘Lahaina Strong’ meth-gang protests is to drive down TVRs in favor of ILWU mafia hotels. It’s working.)
Maui County’s vacation rental supply was 256,800 available unit nights in June, a 4.3% increase since last year, but off 6.7% from 2019. However, unit demand was 126,500 unit nights, a decline of 13.5% from last year and a fall of 40.9% from 2019. Occupancy was 49.3 percent for the month, a drop of 10.2 percentage points from a year earlier and off 28.4 percentage points from 2019.
Maui County’s average daily room rate for vacation rentals was $380 in June, an increase of 7% from a year earlier and 63.8% more than in 2019. In contrast, Maui County hotels reported an average daily room rate of $563, and occupancy of 57.5% in June….
SA: Vacation rentals post statewide occupancy drop | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Related: Maui Planning Commission advances vacation rental phase-out bill : Maui Now
read … Maui County’s vacation rentals at 49.3% occupancy in June, down double-digits from last year
Next Boondoggle: Plan for new Aloha Stadium development heading for early approval
SA: … The state could accept a proposal for the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District in Halawa as soon as mid-September, but demolition of the original Aloha Stadium won’t start until a contract is finalized nine months later.
Wednesday is the deadline to submit proposals to design, build, operate and maintain the stadium and develop the surrounding acreage, and a winner could be approved around two weeks ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, officials said at Thursday’s monthly Stadium Authority meeting.
Early approval is possible or even probable because only one contender, Aloha Halawa District Partners, remains after the withdrawal of Waiola Development Partners in June.
The Aloha Halawa group is a mix of local, national and international entities including Development Ventures Group Inc., Stanford Carr Development LLC, Ameresco Inc. and Aloha Stadium Community Development LLC (The Cordish Company) as lead equity members.
The group’s design team comprises RMA Architects Inc., Populous, SB Architects, Henning Larsen, Alakea Design Group LLC and WCIT Architects (WCIT=Sen DelaCruz). Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. Inc. and AECOM Hunt make up the construction team.
Castle & Cooke Hawaii and Wilson Okamoto Corp. are other team members.
Even if proposal approval is announced before the Sept. 30 deadline, only limited preparation work will be allowed before the state and contractors complete negotiations that have a deadline of June 30….
PB: Hawaii Stadium set for early P3 decision (partnershipsbulletin.com)
read … Plan for new Aloha Stadium development heading for early approval
Defense Teams' Solidarity Key In Hawaii DA's Acquittal
L360: … no defendant turned state’s evidence ….
read … Defense Teams' Solidarity Key In Hawaii DA's Acquittal
Kauai Wildfire Shows How Other Hawaii Power Safety Shutoffs Might Work
CB: … JPʻs Pizza on Kaumualii Highway had just received its latest, weekly inventory of cheeses, specialty pepperoni and other ingredients from Honolulu last week when a brush fire broke out on Kauai, threatening to engulf Kaumakani, where the restaurant sits, and nearby Hanapepe.
The July 15 blaze eventually prompted Kauai Island Utility Cooperative to shut off the transmission lines that power those two communities, plus other towns located on the arid West Side, when it jumped the highway.
The shutoff caused JPʻs to lose its entire $2,000 inventory and close for a week, according to owner Chad Machado. But he supported the move to de-energize the lines there, especially after watching the fire come within a few hundred yards of his restaurant….
read … Kauai Wildfire Shows How Other Hawaii Power Safety Shutoffs Might Work - H
Hawaiʻi has a medical malpractice problem
KHON: … A recent study revealed that Hawaiʻi has the fourth-highest rate of medical malpractice in the United States. This means that Hawaiʻi has a significant number of medical malpractice incidents compared to other states….Between 2020 and 2023, Hawaiʻi recorded an average of 17.54 medical malpractice incidents per 1,000 practitioners….North Dakota has the lowest rate with only 2.65 incidents per 1,000 practitioners….
You can click here for more information on the study and here for more information from the resource materials….
read … Hawaiʻi has a medical malpractice problem
The Bus Routes Cut Again due to Lack of Ridership
CB: … In August, Routes 9, 18 and 24 are being discontinued, and routes 2, 7, 9s, 20, 23, 200, 307 and 544 are being modified. Some modifications will help fill the gaps left by discontinued routes.
The modifications are part of a larger shift in Honolulu. Cities around the world are reckoning with their downtown areas losing the gravitational pull they once exerted as centers of employment, and Honolulu is no exception. At the same time, Honolulu transit officials are aiming to construct a route map that meshes TheBus with the new rail system Skyline as it advances toward its planned eastern terminus in Kakaako….
Last year, following the opening of the first leg of the rail system, the city reorganized its bus routes in a bid to make Skyline and TheBus one cohesive system whose riders could transfer between the two modes of transportation.
(After $10B burnt on rail,) Critics of the route modifications say that transferring between Skyline and TheBus is less convenient than sitting in one seat the entire way….
read … Changes Are Coming To Honolulu's Bus Routes, And Not Everyone Is Happy - Honolulu Civil Beat
Bomb squad called to homeless encampment in Honolulu
KITV: … What started as a major cleanup of the Makiki Stream Thursday resulted in a call to the bomb squad.
It happened at the intersection of Kalakaua and King Street near a homeless encampment.
HPD was conducting a sweep of the area when crews found a suspicious object. The Army Ordinance team along with HPD's Bomb squad responded….
Waimanalo resident Hoku McIntosh has been conducting work near Makiki Stream and told Island News, "I've seen people throwing trash inside of here, I've seen a tent on fire over there…”
Thursday's extensive cleanup was orchestrated by a joint agency operation, including/involving HPD, the Stored Property Ordinance, City and County of Honolulu, plus the Dept. of Facilities Maintenance Road Division.
Countless items removed Thurs. reportedly consisted of motorized wheel chairs, mattresses, air conditioning units, electronic items including a TV and shopping carts….
read … Bomb squad called to homeless encampment in Honolulu
Trash continuing to pile up across Oahu
KITV: … General manager Sissy Noelani said she's constantly getting complaints. And to make matters worse: "They said, 'Oh by the way we're going to be raising your rates by $1,000 a month.' I told them we're not going to pay that until we start getting at least our current service."
The trash collector, West Oahu Aggregate, a year ago bought out Aloha Waste Systems of Honolulu. That's when workers at West Oahu Aggregate told Island News that many employees quit. West Oahu Aggregate didn't respond to requests for comment….
read … Trash continuing to pile up across Oahu
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