Case, Moylan Introduce Jones Act Reform Bill
Honolulu Neighborhood Board Candidate Registration Ends Feb 21
18 Months Later: Maui Council Begins to Loosen Rebuild Restrictions
Frustrations, ironies of ‘Princeville Market saga’
Report urges changes to cut review delays at State Historic Preservation Division
Releasing Mosquitoes to Help Kauai Forest Birds
Busted on Guam: Federal Juror Took Bribe from Dirty ex-Cop
How Zoning Ruined the Housing Market in Blue-State America
WSJ: … For a century, progressives have been making it harder to build new homes in prosperous areas. Workers, immigrants and the economy pay the price….
read … How Zoning Ruined the Housing Market in Blue-State America - WSJ
SB27 and SB28 advance to end county council obstructionism of state-funded housing projects
MN: … A bill to exempt state-financed housing developments from county council approval has passed second reading on the Hawaiʻi Senate floor and advanced to the Ways and Means Committee.
Senate Bill 27 drew mixed reactions during a public hearing late last month before the Senate Housing Committee, chaired by Sen. Stanley Chang of urban Honolulu and southeast Oahu, and vice chaired by Sen. Troy Hashimoto of Central Maui.
(Vacationing) Lahaina Strong (methamphetamines) submitted written testimony saying that current fast-tracked state housing projects have a 45-day review period and “are reviewed thoroughly while remaining time-sensitive.”…
A Housing Committee report on this bill is here. A YouTube recording of the Jan. 28 committee meeting is here.
The Senate also has passed on second reading Senate Bill 38, which would prohibit county councils from making modifications to housing development proposals that would increase project costs….
read … Senate bill advances to strip county council approval of state-funded housing projects
County bill advances to allow nonconforming structures in Lahaina to be rebuilt as they were before the wildfires
MN: … A committee of the Maui County Council has advanced a bill that would allow people to rebuild the homes and businesses to the way they were before they burned in the August 2023 wildfires, even if they don’t meet the current code.
Bill 105, which passed unanimously out of the Disaster Recovery, International Affairs and Planning Committee on Tuesday, will likely go to the full council for review in March, said Council Member Tamara Paltin, who chairs the committee and holds the West Maui seat. …
read … County bill advances to allow nonconforming structures in Lahaina to be rebuilt as they were before the wildfires
‘I knew the truth.’ Red Hill whistleblower responds after inspector general report clears leaders
HNN: … In 2020, she became the fuels director of the underground Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and quickly discovered a slew of safety problems.
At Pearl Harbor’s Hotel Pier across the Arizona Memorial, she reported an active leak before the May 2021 spill. That led to the fuel leak disaster six months later, contaminating the Navy’s drinking water and sickening thousands of people.
Bencs was sidelined by her her commanding officer, Capt. Trent Kalp, over questions on her performance and professionalism.
Kalp was relieved of command and replaced just ahead of the November 2021 leak.
Capt. Albert Lee Hornyak took over, but Bencs says she continued to be treated differently because she’s a woman.
“He just continued the same gaslighting to me,” said Bencs.
“It was very clear that he was given orders to shut me down,” she added.
But the Department of Defense preliminary inspector general report found otherwise.
“We did not substantiate the allegations that Capt. Kalp removed a portion of the Complainant’s duties and responsibilities,” the report said.
“We determined that these actions did not affect, or have the potential to affect, her military pay, benefits, or career and do not qualify as unfavorable personnel actions,” the report added regarding Hornyak’s actions.
While the report clears Navy leaders of harassment, it points fingers at Bencs.
Capt. Kalp accused her of creating a “hostile work environment.”
“Her interference with a May 6, 2021 fuel spill response team by retasking members of the response team when she was not authorized to do so,” said the report….
read …‘I knew the truth.’ Red Hill whistleblower responds after inspector general report clears leaders
Game Room Enforcer with 50 Priors Gets Probation Again and Again
SA: … The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney declined to charge a 38-year-old man with murder today in connection with the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old man at an illegal game room in Kalihi.
Iosefa “Sefa” Fiso, a convicted felon, was charged with a firearms offense and his bail is set at $50,000, according to the Honolulu Police Department. Prosecutors did not immediately release a reason for declining to charge Fiso for murder.
Fiso has more than 50 prior arrests and citations, according to state court records. In June 2023 he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Fiso was sentenced to four years probation….
SA: Prosecutor says Kalihi shooting was self defense; no murder charge | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … Prosecutors decline to charge man with murder in Kalihi shooting | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Death of neighbor sparks kauhale health concerns
HNN: … an Iwilei resident died at the senior living facility which is located next to the kauhale.
The deceased resident suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His death alarmed fellow residents who knew about a generator onsite at the kauale that supposedly runs 24/7 and uses 700 gallons of fuel per week (100 gallons per day).
A public meeting is scheduled for Thursday to address community concerns and look for a solution.
The meeting starts at 5 p.m. in the conference room at 215 North King Street….
Kauai: Homeless Dude Arrested for hit n run
read … Death of resident sparks kauhale health concerns
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