VIDEO: Vaccination Drive Saves Samoa from RFK's Deadly Antivaxxer Propaganda
21% of Students Short on Vaccinations
The growing crisis in the insurance market further exacerbates Hawaiʻi’s cost of living crisis
State Senate Democrats Outline Priorities for Legislative Session
Hawaiian Electric to close Shift and Save time-of-use rates program to new enrollments
NRA Grassroots Meeting set for Oahu
Hawaii Abortions Down 11% for 2022
Maui Eviction Moratorium Ends
SURPRISE! Sale Puts 89% of American Savings Bank Shares in Hands of Mainland Owners
PBN: … A dozen corporate investors own more than 99% of the shares of the newly independent investor-owned American Savings Bank, while 12 of the bank’s executives and independent directors own less than 1%, according to a Pacific Business News analysis of former parent Hawaiian Electric Industries’ filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission….
While keeping 9.9%, HEI closed the deal to 11 corporate investors, nine ASB executives and the bank’s three independent directors.
"When HEI made the decision to sell [ASB], one of the things that some of the investors that were looking at investing wanted to know, was management supportive and were they willing to also invest?" Whitehead said. "And so, the opportunity was made to us to buy a very small piece."
Investors with direct ties to the bank invested in a total of 90 shares at $50,000 per share, worth an overall $4.5 million, or 0.98%. The 11 other corporate investors invested in a total of 8,019 shares worth an overall $400.95 million….
Whitehead is one of four ASB executives who invested $500,000 each for 10 shares, or 0.11% of total shares. The others are President and CEO Ann Teranishi; Executive Vice President Natalie Taniguchi and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dane Teruya. The bank’s three independent directors — Richard Dahl, Michael Kennedy and Yoko Otani — also invested $500,000 each.
Five of the 12 corporate investors invested $44.55 million each for 9.9% of ASB’s common stock, or 891 shares each, the most held by any shareholder. HEI is the only Hawaii-based corporate investor. The others holding 9.9% of ASB are: 3Edgewood LLC, Paradise Valley, Arizona; Davis Partnership, Sausalito, California; JCSD Bishop LLC, Walnut Creek, California; and Strategic Value Investors LP, Cleveland, Ohio….
Following the sale of ASB’s stock, HEI now has two main subsidiaries — its HECO utility and Pacific Current LLC, a clean energy investment platform. HEI said it is looking into a “comprehensive review of strategic options” for Pacific Current….
News release from Sen Jarrett Keohokalole, Dec 31, 2024: "It is especially encouraging to hear that the sale is structured to keep local jobs and operations of a local bank in local hands."
RELATED: Insider Giveaway? Hawaiian Electric Announces Sale of American Savings Bank
read … American Savings Bank has new, independent owners. Here's how much they each invested
100% Fake: After 14 years of Green Energy Initiative, Hawaii Energy Still 90.8% Fossil Fuel
IM: … Hawaii resources used in energy consumption is 2022 was 273.11 billion BTU, of which 248.07 billion BTU (90.8%) came from fossil fuels.
(2022-2008=14 years)
The chart is found on page 48 of the Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) Annual Report for 2024….
(TRANSLATION: Green energy is 100% fake.)
read … Hawaii Economy Dominated by Fossil Fuel Consumption is 2022
No Surprise: Tulsi Gabbard Flip-Flops on Spying in Desperate Bid to Save Nomination
WSJ: … Though considered vital to national security by intelligence officials, a diverse group of progressive and conservative lawmakers have long harbored resentment for the program because of how it allows some private data belonging to Americans to be collected and searched without a warrant. In 2020, while Gabbard was a House member, she introduced legislation that would have repealed the authority and other post-Sept. 11 spying capabilities.
Now, however, Gabbard is telling Republican senators—most of whom strongly support the law—that recent changes to the law have assuaged her previous civil-liberties concerns about Section 702 surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency.
(REALLY EASY IQ Test: Are you surprised by any Gabbard flip-flop?)
(REALLY TOUGH IQ Test: Has Gabbard actually changed her position on anything, ever?)
(CLUE: No. She has always been 100% consistent as a pure devotee of Chris Butler. Her so-called ‘spiritual journey’ is merely his opportunism.)
“Tulsi Gabbard has assured me in our conversations that she supports Section 702 as recently amended and that she will follow the law and support its reauthorization as DNI,” Sen. Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the intelligence committee, said in a statement.
Some Republican senators had flagged Gabbard’s previous opposition to Section 702 as a specific concern.
“If she comes out and says, ‘No, I want to oppose all 702 authority,’ that literally shuts down all of our national defense gathering,” Republican Sen. James Lankford, who sits on the intelligence committee, said during a Journal Opinion podcast interview earlier this week.
Gabbard was seen by many current and former intelligence officials—as well as many Republicans—as a surprising selection for the job of spy chief, even by a president that relishes disrupting the status quo. In addition to her skepticism of U.S. surveillance powers, she has often seemed to embrace Washington’s adversaries and questioned key American intelligence judgments, raising alarm among veteran intelligence officials and the wider national-security establishment.
“My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI’s misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens,” Gabbard said in a statement. “Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues.”
Gabbard didn’t specify what reforms she was referring to. Last spring, Congress renewed Section 702 for just two years—instead of the five years sought by the Biden administration—in part because some House Republicans wanted to ensure Trump would have an opportunity to sharply curtail the law if re-elected….
(TRANSLATION: Tulsi Gabbard is an airhead.)
As the House voted, Trump urged Republicans in a social-media post to “KILL FISA,” a last-minute maneuver that nearly derailed the expiring law from being renewed….
(REALITY: Chris Butler told her to do whatever it takes. She is obeying as always.)
PB: Gabbard reverses course on key intel-gathering tool as nomination teeters
read … Tulsi Gabbard Backs Spying Power in Bid to Win Senate Support
Fake Representative: Mr Kim Coco Iwamoto Calls OHA Development Plan ‘A Good Start’
SA: … This year’s legislative session begins Wednesday.
Upholding the ban, which the Legislature imposed in 2006 by passing a law to override zoning by a state agency regulating development in Kakaako, has been rooted in the state House where Scott Saiki represented the area and had long been House speaker or majority leader with power to derail bills aimed at repealing the ban.
Saiki, a Democrat, lost his bid for reelection in August.
(Oooops!)
Still, some House members who attended Wednesday’s event said they needed more time and information to take a position on OHA’s proposal.
“It was a good starter,” Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto, a Democrat who replaced Saiki representing Kakaako in the House, said after the meeting. “I want to ask more questions.”
(QUESTION FOR KAKAAKO: Buyer’s remorse? B-b-but you’re on the cutting edge of the transsexual revolution!)
Rep. Darius Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili) credited OHA for being prepared and welcoming feedback including criticism. “That’s one thing you couldn’t say before,” he said.
Kila also said after the meeting that he’s not ready to take a position on the agency’s bid….
Ron Iwami, founder of the Friends of Kewalos nonprofit, which has opposed residential use in Kakaako Makai for two decades, told Kahele that he can’t support OHA’s new plan. Iwami said he has concerns about contaminated soil being disturbed and possibly leaching into the ocean.
Kahele said such environmental concerns can and would have to be addressed with any development.
Much of the roughly 200-acre peninsula was created from fill as a city dump….
read … OHA pitches community on Kakaako Makai housing | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Fake Affordability: DHHL to Evict 57 Households from their affordable condos on Kauai—Suggests They Move to Mainland
KNN: … The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is preparing to acquire an East Side apartment complex on Kauaʻi in early February, which has led 57 households to confront a daunting future: Where will they relocate?
“We don’t know where we’re going to live,” said Wallace Hansen, one of several affected residents who testified Wednesday at a committee meeting of the Kaua‘i County Council.
“I’m 75 years old. I cannot get around like I used to,” Hansen said. “I can’t take the stress of it … This is affecting our health.”
The Courtyards at Waipouli, an 82-unit complex of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in Wailua, was built in 2009. Several units now stand empty in light of the impending sale.
(CLUE: Courtyards at Waipouli was about the only affordable complex on Kauai.)
Advocates in 2023 urged the state of Hawai‘i to purchase the Courtyards to establish affordable housing, but in early 2024, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands announced plans to purchase the property for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries….
(Great Plan: Spend $$$M to create zero new affordable housing units by buying housing that is already affordable and evicting the tenants.)
Courtyards tenants received copies of a draft relocation plan in mid-December. It lists 37 possible relocation sites, six of which are duplicates, according to community organizer and housing researcher Kenna StormoGipson.
Only two relocation sites in the draft plan are on Kaua‘i, StormoGipson said, adding their rent is $9,800 a month.
(TRANSLATION: You are being kicked off the island.)
The draft plan’s inclusion of sites located on the mainland or elsewhere in Hawai‘i reflects interviewed tenants’ stated interest in moving off-island, according to its creators.
(TRANSLATION: You are being kicked out of Hawaii.)
However, for some tenants at the Courtyards at Waipouli, moving off-island is not an option. They include 80-year-old Jan Burns and her husband, who say they now pay $3,100 a month for rent. They said they rely on their son Jeremy, who lives nearby….
Arson News: Kauai Fire Deals $20 Million Blow To Affordable Housing
read … 57 households face relocation as Hawaiian Home Lands nears purchase of Kaua‘i condos
Real Graft: Legislators rush to hold campaign fundraisers before opening gavel
CB: … Wednesday is Opening Day of the 2025 Hawaiʻi Legislature, so that can only mean one thing: state legislators will rush to hold campaign fundraisers before the opening gavel falls because they’re prohibited by state law from holding organized fundraisers during session.
The Blog is referring specifically to Sens. Lynn DeCoite and Jarrett Keohokalole, who asked for donations at Capitol Modern Tuesday night. It’s conveniently located right across Richards Street from the Hawaiʻi State Capitol.
On Wednesday night Sens. Chris Lee, Donovan Dela Cruz, Henry Aquino and Troy Hashimoto passed their hats at Bishop Museum.
Aquino, DeCoite and Keohokalole are planning ahead — they’re not up for reelection until 2028.
House bills proposing to end the acceptance of all campaign contributions during legislative sessions (not just at organized fundraisers) passed that chamber unanimously in the 2023 session but were not heard by the Senate….
read … The Sunshine Blog: Here's When It Pays To Be A Doctor — And A Governor - Honolulu Civil Beat
No Surprise: Honolulu Police Commission has been chronic violator of the state’s Sunshine Law
ILind: … Two of the commissioners — who have been on the panel for years — are attorneys with deep experience in public policy and, yes, the Sunshine Law. Commission Chair Doug Chin is a former state attorney general and former managing director of the city of Honolulu. Commissioner Carrie Okinaga is a former Honolulu Corporation Counsel under three different mayors, a former Honolulu rail board chair, and is currently the chief counsel for the University of Hawai‘i. So you’re telling The Blog neither of those two knows the rules for how to write an agenda? ….
The commission is assigned it’s own attorney, a deputy corporation counsel whose job is to see that they obey the law. It seems that Corp Counsel needs a full refresher course in the Sunshine Law and the public interest.
One sad fact is that it’s very unlikely the Honolulu Police Commission isn’t the only one on the wrong side of the Sunshine Law.
What about the other city boards and commissions? The Police Commission is pretty high-profile agency which for years as been flouting the law and getting away with it. Were other boards given equally free rein to play loose with the Sunshine Law rules?
Is the failure to follow the Sunshine Law one reason that three former top city officials, including a former Corporation Counsel, are now awaiting trial in federal court on charges stemming from ramming through a retirement deal for the disgraced former police chief Louis Kealoha? If the Sunshine Law had been routinely followed, forcing the public’s business into public view, would their behind-the-scenes dealmaking been possible? Might a robust Sunshine Law regime have prevented the actions that allegedly violated federal law?
read … Honolulu Police Commission has been chronic violator of the state’s Sunshine Law | i L i n d
Phoney Baloney: Mayor Fooled by Vegas Meth Wholesaler who Hollers ‘Jesus’
KHON: … Olayan was on supervised release since 2021 for federal conspiracy charges and received a mandatory 10-year sentence in July 2024 — but since his release, he was instrumental in starting neighborhood security walks for the West side, organizing unity events involving dozens of churches and even managed to garner the mayor’s support.
“It was a privilege to walk alongside him and see the respect that he commands that he earned because he didn’t start out that way. All the respect, all the admiration, all the love he got, he earned,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. “So, I’m supportive of Mana. I wish he wasn’t going away. I hope we can get him back sooner rather than later.”…
“I fully support pardoning Mana. I’m currently in talks with the incoming administration to make sure that the White House is aware of its situation, the transformation that’s taking place in his life, and the justification for a full pardon,” said Hawaii House Minority Floor Leader Rep. Diamond Garcia….
PDF: Indictment “KINCAID OLAYAN, aka "Kaimana" and "Mana," the defendant, was a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada who, as a broker and facilitator, distributed and caused to be distributed wholesale amounts of methamphetamine in Hawaii.”
25 Years of Federal Cases: Olayan, Kincaid (dft) 1:2000cr00474, 1:2000mj00794, 2:2020mj00941, 2:2021mj00243, 1:2020cr00098
CB: Kincaid Olayan, better known as Mana, said, “I’m the founder of God Forgives Bad Boys and Bad Girls, a ministry made up of ex-gang members, ex-shot-callers, ex-drug addicts and ex-homeless.” His group is among those trying to make his Ewa Beach neighborhood safer, he said.
Remember This? Youth counselor killed in 2021 over debt involving meth, prosecutors say
read … Streets to service: Ewa man's new mission behind bars
Fake Food Goal: DOE Gets An F: Hawaiʻi Schools Miss Their First Local Food Target
CB: … The Hawaiʻi Department of Education bought just 5% of ingredients for school lunches from local producers last year, failing to hit its first state-mandated farm-to-school target of 10% for local foods. And that counts purchases of local bottled water.
This translated to roughly $4.5 million of the education department’s $82 million in food spending during the 2023-2024 school year for local produce, dairy, ground beef and poi among other staples, according to a report school officials will present Friday to the House Finance Committee. …
read … DOE Gets An F: Hawaiʻi Schools Miss Their First Local Food Target - Honolulu Civil Beat
Real Results: Hawaii vacation rental demand drops dramatically
SFG: … In November 2024, of the 803,100 vacation rental unit nights available, only 388,800 nights were booked, according to a report by the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. This is a decrease of 2.4% compared with 2023 — and a whopping 38.3% drop compared with 2019….
Hawaii visitors are changing where they choose to stay. The number of vacation rental rooms booked, such as those listed on Airbnb or Vrbo, is declining dramatically, while hotel stays are increasing….
(TRANSLATION: Hotels and their unions won.)
prices of vacation rentals are rising. “Monthly vacation rental ADR was higher than 2023 and much higher than 2019,” Jennifer Chun, the Hawaii director of tourism research, told SFGATE, referring to 2024’s average daily rate.
In November 2024, the average vacation rental daily rate was $313, an increase of 6.5% compared with November 2023 and an increase of 48.3% compared with November 2019. Chun added that “visitors planning to stay in hotels increased through YTD November 2024.”…
(Precisely as intended: Only rich people stay in TVRs now.)
read … Hawaii vacation rental demand drops dramatically
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