Meth poisoning leading cause for fatal overdoses in older Hawaiʻi residents
Public Input Sought for Hawaiʻi Gas Rate Increase
Hawaii PUC probing utility’s role in deadly Lahaina wildfire
SA: … The state Public Utilities Commission Opens in a new tab has issued more than 30 information requests totaling nearly 200 questions to Hawaiian Electric as part of an ongoing investigation into the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfire, which killed 102 people and caused more than $5.5 billion in damage.
The PUC “has been and remains committed” to investigating the tragic wildfire, according to a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about a nondocketed compliance investigation opened Jan. 23 regarding the role that Hawaiian Electric’s operations and equipment played in the Lahaina and Upcountry Maui wildfires on Aug. 8, 2023, the Mililani Mauka fire on Oct. 30 and the Nov. 14 Waianae fire….
The PUC’s investigation of the Maui wildfires is housed in a nondocketed case, which is “primarily used as an information repository and cannot be used for decision-making.”
It is a starting point for the PUC to “develop the appropriate scoping for docketed proceedings” where decision-making and party intervention may take place.
On the PUC’s website categorizing its compliance investigation of the electrical utility, there are 20 entries and 1,181 pages Opens in a new tab of filed responses from Hawaiian Electric….
read … Hawaii PUC probing utility’s role in deadly Lahaina wildfire
Kauai County UPW to receive 15% COVID ‘hazard’ pay
KHON: … More than 300 Kauai County employees who worked during the pandemic will finally receive their hazard pay after a nearly five-year fight.
On Monday, the United Public Workers union announced a temporary hazard pay settlement was made with the county, which “highlights a major victory for the union in securing recognition and protection for essential workers under extraordinary circumstances.”
Officials said the settlement comes after a class grievance was filed for employees who reported for work during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to March 2022….
SA: Kauai County UPW to get COVID hazard pay | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (staradvertiser.com)
read … Kauai County employees to receive temporary hazard pay
Hawaii bracing for shortage of IV and dialysis fluids after Hurricane Helene disrupts production
HNN: … IV fluids play a vital role in a hospital’s ability to prepare someone for surgery, treat the sick and administer medication, while peritoneal dialysis fluid is used to remove toxins from the bodies of patients in kidney failure.
According to Hilton Raethel, president of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, the islands could start seeing impacts “any day” now.
Baxter, a pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina that produces 60% of the country’s IV solutions, was forced to halt production after the facility was flooded following a levee breach caused by remnants of Hurricane Helene.
Not only did the storm leave the plant a muddy mess, bridges leading to the facility are impassable ….
read … Hawaii bracing for shortage of IV and dialysis fluids after Hurricane Helene disrupts production
Hawaii to Become Full Mountain West Member in 2026
AN: … Hawaii will become a full member of the Mountain West in 2026, giving the league the required eight full members to meet FBS requirements as an NCAA conference, sources told Action Network.
With Hawaii on board, the league will resume discussions with MAC schools Northern Illinois and Toledo to potentially become football-only members, sources said.
Last month, Action Network reported that Mountain West had notified the MAC of its interest in NIU and Toledo about joining as football-only members in 2026.
If the Mountain West adds NIU and Toledo, it would make the league the only conference with schools in five time zones — Hawaii plus the four time zones in the continental US. This could potentially increase the value of the Mountain West’s future media rights, sources said….
SS: Hawaii Will Join Mountain West as a Full Member in 2026 (swimswam.com)
NSN: Mountain West hits FBS minimum membership number by adding Hawaii as full member
TA: Hawaii to become full Mountain West member, leaving Big West, AD says - The Athletic
read … Hawaii to Become Full Mountain West Member in 2026
5,810: Lawmakers Introduce Too Many Bills
CB: … At this very moment, legislators and their ghost writers are writing up drafts of bills that they know have practically zero chance of passage.
During the two sessions of the 2023-2024 biennium, 5,810 bills were introduced, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. Of those, 536 were approved by both the House and the Senate, and 516 survived the final threat of gubernatorial veto to actually became laws….
There are 99 legislative chambers in the country (every state except Nebraska has two). In 24 of them, limits are placed on the number of bills lawmakers can introduce.
Those limits can be strict: five bills per year in Colorado’s Senate and House, six bills per session in the Florida House, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Others are far more lenient: 50 bills every two-year session in the California Assembly and 65 in its Senate.
You’ll find no such restrictions in the official rules of the Hawaii Senate and House, although House Speaker Scott Saiki sent out emails before the start of the last biennium in an attempt to stanch the flood of legislation.
Saiki laid out an internal rule with a 20-bill-per-session limit for rank-and-file legislators and higher limits for committee chairs. But lawmakers were also allowed to request waivers and apparently many of those were granted, because 36 of 51 representatives introduced more than 20 bills in the 2023 session.
Some of the most prolific included Reps. Cedric Gates with 78 bills, John Mizuno with 71, Linda Ichiyama with 65 and Nicole Lowen with 61….
Senate President Ron Kouchi didn’t even attempt to limit the number of bills introduced in his own chamber, and even though there are only 25 senators they outdid their House counterparts in total bills both years of the biennium.
Each chamber does limit its members to a maximum of five bill introductions a day in the final three days before the deadline, which is one week after opening day. But that just means lawmakers must be prepared to file all their other bills with the clerk’s offices sooner than that.
About 10% of those bills become law, which is half the national average, said Colin Moore, a political scientist at the University of Hawaii Manoa. …
read … Richard Wiens: Lawmakers Introduce Too Many Bills
Homeschooling in Hawai‘i
HB: … Thousands of families are taking charge of their children's education. Many say they like the flexibility and are happy with the outcomes….
read … Homeschooling in Hawai‘i
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