January 15, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Wednesday, January 15, 2025

January 15, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:10 PM :: 274 Views

Chris Butler Sabotaging Gabbard Nomination? Blames Opposition on 'Pedophile and Paranoid Murderer'

Drunk? Hirono vs Hegseth

Maui Wildfire: AG Releases Final Phase of Report

HS Teams to Compete in 2025 Hawaii Lifesmarts Competition

'Ohana Health Plan Launches Residential Program for Homeless Psych Treatment

DLE Director Quits

LOL! Tulsi Gabbard Charm Offensive Draws Skepticism From Republican Senators

WSJ: … In her meeting with Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.), Gabbard couldn’t clearly articulate what the role of director of national intelligence entails, two Senate Republican aides and a Trump transition official said. When she met with Sen. Mike Rounds (R., S.D.), Gabbard seemed confused about a key U.S. national-security surveillance power, a top legislative priority for nearly every member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, conflating it with other issues, the aides said….

(SIF cult schools don’t really provide much of an education.)

Trump transition spokeswoman Alexa Henning declined to make Gabbard available for an interview….

(TRANSLATION by Mark Twain: “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”)

The transition official predicted that senators, fearing primary challenges, won’t be willing to cross Trump over his choice for DNI….

(TRANSLATION: Nobody supports Gabbard. 48 Republican Senators will pander to the Trumpster base knowing America will be saved by nays from 5 Republican Senators who are retiring anyway. Some Democrat Senators may pretend to support Gabbard in hopes of making more Republican Senators take the political risk. In the end, Gabbard loses 48-52. Will she drop out or will Chris Butler insist on a vote?)

According to several people with knowledge of the Rounds meeting, Gabbard conflated Section 702 of FISA with a much more traditional form of narrow surveillance known as Title I of FISA, which typically targets individual suspects living within the U.S. who are suspected of being spies.

(SIF cult schools don’t really provide much of an education.)

When asked by Rounds how, as DNI, she would handle specific elements of the job, she said she would have to wait to see (what Chris Butler tells her to do) when she gets there, several of the people briefed on the meeting said. Rounds then read the statutory language of what the DNI qualifications are and asked her how she can possibly meet that threshold, these people said.

(She thinks she is being nominated to run DOBOR. She’s a little confused about the spy submarines at Ala Wai, but she’ll figure it out when she gets there.)

Rounds, who met with Gabbard again on Monday, in a statement described the follow-up meeting as excellent, and suggested she had shown some improvement between their first and second meetings.

(LOL! Remedial kindergarten for spies.)

“Tulsi has been working hard and I was pleased she had taken my advice to meet with the experts I recommended,” he said, adding that he would do what he can to support her through the process….

(TRANSLATION: “48-52”)

read … Tulsi Gabbard’s Charm Offensive Draws Skepticism From Republican Senators - WSJ

Garbage News: Formby Admits Real Plan is to Expand Waimanalo Gulch

HNN: … Under questioning by Windward Oahu council member Esther Kiaaina, who has one potential landfill site in her district at an unused quarry, Lau admitted never trying to suggest a better place.

“Have you and your staff just independently looked and thought to yourselves this might be an appropriate site?” Kiaaina asked.

“We didn’t actually do that exercise, council member,” Lau said.

(TRANSLATION: We know this is just Kabuki Theater. Waimanalo Gulch is destiny. Always has been.)

The committee voted to stand by the council’s previous opposition to landfills over aquifers.

But other restrictions from the Legislature, federal regulations, and hometown politics could make it hard to find a new place.

Formby said they just might go to the Land Use Commission and ask to expand at the current landfill site: Waimanalo Gulch near Ko Olina.

(See? Told you.)

“We may do a district boundary amendment to even give us more time at Waimanalo Gulch,” he said. “There’s no good solution.”…

(See? Told you.)

But from a purely political point of view, expanding Waimanalo Gulch starts to look more possible, because almost all the legislators in that area are now Republicans.

(And, as a bonus, they blame the Republicans!)

SA: Resolution opposing landfill sites above Oahu’s aquifer advances | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

NR: REPRESENTATIVE PERRUSO AND COUNCILMEMBER WEYER TO HOLD LANDFILL TOWN HALL

read … City executive and water supply chief battle over landfill site

Lawsuit over EPIC system moves ahead

HTH: … Oral arguments have been scheduled in a lawsuit in which a Milolii homeowner is suing the county, alleging its Electronic Processing and Information Center system, known as EPIC, has trapped him in a permitting catch-22 that will allow him only to demolish his home — which is in a shoreline management area — not to remodel or live in it.

Legal counsel for Shahzaad Ausman, a principal of 88-129 KAI LLC, the plaintiff, and the county Corporation Counsel, representing the Board of Appeals and former Public Works Director Stephen Pause — who has since been succeeded by Hugh Ono — are set to make their cases before Third Circuit Chief Judge Wendy DeWeese at 2 p.m. Feb. 3 in Kona Circuit Court….

BACKGROUND: Dream home in paradise leads to 'total dismay'

read … Lawsuit over EPIC system moves ahead - Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Number Of Hawaiʻi Children In Foster Care Drops Due to Lack of Social Workers

CB: … The number of children in foster care in Hawaiʻi hit a 20-year low last year, an encouraging development for the troubled state Child Welfare Services Branch.

CWS acknowledges in a newly released report that it isn’t sure what caused the recent drop, but believes it is largely due to “a shift in mindset among staff” as the system moves ahead with federal and local reform efforts.

“Hawaiʻi is relieved that the number of children in foster care has been declining, but CWSB is not confident that this number will continue to decline,” according to the latest CWS Annual Progress and Services Report.

Agency officials dismissed the possibility that fewer children in the system could be attributed to staffing shortages in the agency. However, the report confirmed staff vacancy rates, especially for workers who assess troubled children and families, are dramatically higher than a few years ago.

(CLUE: That which CWS dismisses must therefore be true.)

The foster care population has been declining for four years including fiscal year 2023, ending June 30, 2023, the most recent year covered in the report. The total number of children in foster care that year dropped to 1,959, a little over one-third of the 5,207 children in the system two decades earlier….

SA: Column: Nonprofits’ contracts need true-to-cost funding | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

read … The Number Of Hawaiʻi Children In Foster Care Dropped To Lowest In Decades

State’s First Charter Preschool Opens

CB: … Hawaiʻi’s first-ever charter preschool is slated to open in Kapolei next month, amid a push to utilize the charter system to increase access to early learning in the state.

Parkway Village Preschool is located in an affordable housing complex that recently opened there and will eventually serve up to 80 3- and 4-year-olds.

The state estimates that it needs 337 more classrooms to meet its goal of providing universal access to preschool by 2032. Only a few charter schools operate preschool programs on their K-12 campuses, and the number of charter preschool seats has been stagnant since 2015 ….

read … State Is Banking On Charter Schools To Help Expand Hawaiʻi's Free Preschool - Honolulu Civil Beat

Improvement District for Downtown Honolulu to Help Sell Residential Office Conversion Condos

CB: … Honolulu business and political leaders are pushing to create a new special downtown business improvement district, similar to the one governing Waikīkī, to add more safety, sanitation and security to a once thriving neighborhood that has never fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The idea is in its infancy, and it’s far from clear whether it can gain the support from a majority of property owners needed to pass a city ordinance establishing the district. But the initiative has the backing of Tradewind Group, the parent of Island Insurance, and its influential founder, Colbert Matsumoto.

Tradewind is launching the idea at a breakfast today co-sponsored by Hawaii Business Magazine. Panelists include Honolulu City Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam; Trevor Abarzua, executive director of the Waikīkī Improvement District and Christine Camp, chief executive of Avalon Group, who wants to redevelop underused office buildings into condominiums….

read … Executives Hope A New Fee Can Save Downtown Honolulu - Honolulu Civil Beat

Mis-Use 911? They’ll send an Uber

HNN: … In December, HNN Investigates told you about the Nurse Navigator program; an initiative that would be tied in with the county’s 911 system.

If a dispatcher determines a call is minor in nature, instead of sending an ambulance, the call would be transferred.

Honolulu Emergency Services director Jim Ireland explains, “The Nurse Navigator would then send a rideshare for the patient to get to an urgent care or a doctor’s office.” …

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Lyft added, “If something does happen, like a rider getting sick, drivers can reach out to Lyft support to report any issues.” That spokesperson went on to say, “we will work with the driver, so they can clean their vehicle without incurring the expense.” …

read … Honolulu proposes to ease ambulance strain with help from rideshare companies, but drivers have questions

Kalihi businesses impacted by rail construction can soon apply for financial relief

HNN: … The city will accept applications for the Transit Construction Mitigation Fund (TCMF) Grant online from Jan. 27 to Feb. 7.

The fund was established when the Honolulu City Council passed Bill 40 last January to provide relief to eligible local businesses impacted by construction of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project.

Applicants can receive grants of up to $10,000, which will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis….

NR: Local businesses impacted by the rail construction of Skyline can soon apply for financial relief | Office of the Mayor

read … Kalihi businesses impacted by rail construction can soon apply for financial relief

Abrupt shutdown of a Kauai market slashes vital business for 50 small vendors

HNN: … The Princeville Farmers and Artist Market was in operation for several years. After a complaint from a (one!) nearby homeowner, the market was shut down in early January. It was a vital lifeline for about 50 small businesses and farmers.

(Yup. We are in Hawaii.)

“It’s heartbreaking. They are heartbroken. They are at a complete loss. Many of them are in a panic because their primary source of income is from this market,” market coordinator and vendor Desirea Hirani said.

The market took place once a week on Saturdays for three hours at the Prince Albert Park. During that time, hundreds of people would flow through, buying produce and other goods. Everything was locally made….

read … Abrupt shutdown of a Kauai market slashes vital business for 50 small vendors

The Never-Ending Story: Wrangling over South Maui General Plan

CB: … Over the coming two decades, residents wanted responsible growth, protection from natural disasters and better quality of life for the nearly 30,000 people who call Kīhei, Wailea, Māʻalaea and Mākena home.

But the county Planning Department has since changed key parts of the 171-page plan so much that residents feel it no longer would lead to the future they envisioned through dozens of community meetings, according to longtime Kīhei resident Mike Moran, former president of the Kīhei Community Association. They worry about too much development — and not enough affordable housing — happening too fast for the small coastal town to absorb….

(Whatever. The upshot of whatever comes out of this useless charade is that the luxe resort housing being built in S Maui will cost more. That is the goal of everybody involved whether they realize it or not.)

But seven major developments — some already approved — could add 7,355 new homes to South Maui, with only 20% deemed affordable, he said. That’s on an island where the median home price was $1.37 million in December, according to the Realtors Association of Maui….

7,355 x $1M = $7.3B

7,355 x $2M = $14.6B

See the difference?

read … South Maui Community Pushes Back After Plan Gets More Developer-Friendly - Honolulu Civil Beat

Legislative Agenda:

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