My wish list for Santa
Ethics Comm Approves UH Employees' Technology Transfer Contracts
Does Jones Act really support jobs?
Deferral of 'empty homes' tax leads list of recent good news
Empty Homes Tax--Tug of War
2025 Neighborhood Board Elections--Candidate Registration Begins
Plan: Block Jail Construction to Force Mass-Release of hardened Criminals via Federal Takeover of Hawaii Prisons
SA: … DCR’s “new Oahu jail” campaign insists that new construction is necessary for rehabilitation and restorative programming. This argument is flawed. Effective rehabilitation (Mass release of criminals) depends on the quality and availability of services (us forcing a federal consent decree based on) not the age of the buildings (but their poor condition, created by the years of neglect we have imposed on the system by running this anti-jail-construction scam in every legislative cycle) -- Hawaii Friends of Restorative Justice (edited to forcibly induce honesty and accuracy) ….
(TRANSLATION: Meet the new Legislature, same as the old Legislature.)
read … Column: Invest in real reforms, not $1.2B new jail | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Federal COVID money still fills out State Budget
Borreca: … midway through his first term as Hawaii’s governor, Green repeatedly brings up Hawaii’s bank account. He loves to focus on how much Hawaii has stashed away in the state’s rainy day fund.
I can see why Green feels a need to brag.
He’s now pegging it at $1.5 billion, a number he repeated in several news and public statements..
If you want to shift focus and look at a particularly soggy rainy day fund, then dial back to December of 2020. That was when former Gov. David Ige was announcing that the state finances had tumbled so much, Hawaii could not “sustain government as it exists.”
Four years ago, almost to the day, Ige was preparing a state budget that included plans for twice-a-month furloughs for 10,160 state workers while also warning that state worker layoffs might be necessary.
The news was not about disasters but it was “a fiscal crisis.”
Ige had ordered up plans for budget cuts of 10%, 15% or 20% to general fund spending in addition to furloughs.
The troubles showed up in a balance sheet that was concerning. Between fiscal years 2015 and 2016, total government spending in Hawaii increased by approximately $1 billion — from $12.9 billion in fiscal year 2015 to an estimated $13.8 billion in 2016. This represented a 7.5% increase, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers’ June 2017 State Expenditure Report….
read … Column: Federal pandemic money infuses Hawaii’s fiscal health
Hawaii Ethics Commission plans penalty system akin to traffic fines
SA: … The Hawaii Ethics Commission plans to create a uniform fine schedule — similar to standardized traffic fines — and voted unanimously Wednesday to have a bill introduced in the next legislative session that would speed up the issuance of fines, which now takes up to six months.
Accused violators will still have the right to argue why they shouldn’t have to pay a penalty and later challenge any fines, said Ethics Commission Executive Director Robert Harris. But anyone accused of committing offenses would know the size of the fines they face and would have the option of paying them “faster and more efficiently.” ….
Harris said not every alleged ethics offense would be found on the proposed fine schedule if there are multiple and complicated allegations with “more factors to consider.”
Others, such as a simple, single offense, would….
In 2023, the Ethics Commission took in 329 ethics complaints from sources or anonymous sources, launched 17 formal investigations, issued three formal charges, and assessed $9,500 in penalties, according to its annual report. The panel also closed 360 cases due to lack of jurisdiction, successful settlements or enforcement, and other factors….
The maximum fine for an Ethics Commission violation is $5,000….
read … Hawaii Ethics Commission plans penalty system akin to traffic fines
EPA says military violated Red Hill consent decree, issues fine
SA: … The Environmental Protection Agency says the military violated a federal consent decree when officials chose not to attend a Dec. 12 public meeting with the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Rear Adm. Mark Williams, deputy commander of Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill, and David Kless of the Defense Logistics Agency, the EPA said it was “disappointed” by their decision not to participate in the meeting and had assessed a $5,000 fine for not attending.
The CRI is community board made up of a mixture of local residents, activists and people directly affected by the Red Hill water crisis, which began in November 2021 when fuel from the Navy’s bulk Red Hill fuel storage facility contaminated the Navy’s Oahu water system, which serves 93,000 people.
read … EPA says military violated Red Hill consent decree, issues fine | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … EPA says military violated Red Hill consent decree, issues fine
Hilo Morgue Overflowing with Bodies
HTH: … Police, as coroners, have used the hospital’s morgue as a holding facility for bodies in coroner’s inquest cases and in criminal investigations.
HBMC months ago requested that HPD remove by Sept. 1 the HPD bodies — that is, the remains of decedents whose death occurred anywhere other than in the hospital.
“We appreciate the progress HPD has made in their plans for completing their cold storage build,” said Kris Wilson, assistant administrator for the Hawaii Health Systems East Hawaii region. “After HPD opens their cold storage, HBMC will be able to proceed with repairs that will close our morgue completely for at least three days.”
“The morgue census is still high and well over our 16-body capacity on most days,” she continued. “We are hoping the County of Hawaii continues its momentum on this project that is crucial to our operations.”
The temporary cold-storage would be provided by two 40-foot refrigerated containers purchased by the county for “just under $80,000,” then-Managing Director Deanna Sako told the Tribune-Herald in September….
read … County’s plan to vacate HBMC morgue moves ahead - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
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