SB433: Hawaii Knife Ban Bill Stopped
Fire debris cleared from final commercial property in Lahaina
Island Flex Open Enrollment Period: March 1 through April 30, 2025
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Three Bills Could Speed Up Rebuilding Of Lahaina's Front Street
CB: … Senate Bill 830, introduced by Sens. Troy Hashimoto and Stanley Chang, would narrow the definition of the term “development” in coastal zone management law by excluding some kinds of government oversight when properties are impacted by “certain events.” The legislation defines those events as things — like fires or earthquakes — that are so bad they cause the state’s governor or a county’s mayor to declare a state of emergency.
However, the bill specifically excludes properties harmed by “waves, storm surges, high tide or shoreline erosion.”
The measure won unanimous support Wednesday in a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing chaired by Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz. He amended the bill to include proposed language from the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources that would allow exemptions for structures that had been deemed lawful before the disaster occurred.
The DLNR’s testimony suggests that it will permit and promptly process “submerged land leases” that existed along Lahaina’s Front Street seawall, as that “stretch of shoreline has been armored for over a century.”
A companion bill in the House, House Bill 1181, has passed its second hearing before the Water and Land Committee and has moved to the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
The legislation appears to be moving quickly.
Another measure that would help speed up reconstruction of Lahaina’s historic core is Senate Bill 1296, which specifically exempts some structures in the town’s Lahaina Historic Landmark District from being required to obtain what is called a Special Management Area use permit or minor permit, obligations that are ordinarily imposed on proposed new construction. That measure is sponsored by Sens. Angus McKelvey, who represents Lahaina, and Lorraine Inouye of the Big Island. It was approved by the Water and Land Committee, but the Judiciary Committee has not yet scheduled a hearing on it, and there is no companion bill in the House….
As Explained: Do Lahaina Property Owners Have the Right to Rebuild?
read … Bills Could Speed Up Rebuilding Of Lahaina's Front Street
Cochran absent from House Floor 80% so far this session
MN: … Democratic West Maui Rep. Elle Cochran has the second-highest rate of full-day absences so far this year at 80%, second-only to Republican Rep. Gene Ward, who has been absent every day through the 20th day of this year’s lawmaking session.
Cochran said Thursday she’s been coping with an illness in her family.
Thirty-two members of the 51-member House body had no absences, according to a House of Representatives daily session attendance sheet, updated on Feb. 18. Other House members have one to three full-day absences….
read … Cochran absent from House Floor 80% so far this session; lawmaker cites ‘illness in the family’
More Miske associates sentenced
ILind: … Three more Miske associates who previously made deals and pleaded guilty have appeared before Chief Judge Derrick Watson over the past two weeks for sentencing.
The first was Tricia Castro, 53, Miske’s longtime accountant. She pleaded guilty in June 2021 to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the United States “for the purpose of impeding, impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful governmental functions of the IRS in the ascertainment, computation, assessment, and collection of revenue, namely, income and employment taxes….”
The charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine, plus supervised release of up to three years.
According to her plea agreement, Castro was an accounting manager at AATS, LLC from 2009 to 2016, then was a partner at Egami & Ichikawa CPAs, Inc., until 2018.
Castro conspired with Mike Miske, Delia Fabro Miske, and Jason Yokoyama to “conceal funds and income from the IRS” by preparing and filing false tax returns, according to her plea agreement….
read … More Miske associates sentenced
Proposed pay hikes for state ‘leaders’ spark outrage
HNN: … State legislators meet once a year for 60 business days from mid-January to late April or early May. Right now, each lawmaker makes $74,160 a year. The commission is proposing a 40% raise in 2027, the first year they are allowed an increase, to $103,824.
“Blablabla,” said commission chair Colleen Hanabusa…
“The fact that you even need to keep increasing, increasing to keep up with the cost of living. What about the people for whom you work?” asked Tara Rojas, who testified remotely.
“In most private sector jobs, you’ll see a 3% increase, a 5% increase, maybe a 10% increase. But a 40% increase is something that’s just not sitting well with my community,” said state Rep. Diamond Garcia, R-Varona Village, Ewa, Kapolei.
“Families are struggling right now, and I don’t believe now is the time for increase state officials’ salaries,” said state Sen. Samantha DeCorte, R-Nanakuli, Maili, Waiane, Makaha….
read … Proposed pay hikes for state leaders spark outrage
SB1553: A Pre-Fab Factory to Get More Native Hawaiians Into DHHL Homes
CB: … When plots of DHHL land have become available, many Hawaiians have found it difficult to finance construction of a new home. The department believes that modular housing would offer a cheaper alternative and that an Oʻahu factory could produce up to 40 homes a month.
“It may be our go-to approach if we find the savings is tremendous,” Watson told lawmakers earlier this month.
The department plans to partner with Fading West, a company based in Colorado that specializes in off-site homebuilding. It’s already done work in Hawaiʻi, building 82 homes for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to place in Lahaina.
According to Eric Schaefer, the company’s chief business development officer, the homes were delivered from Fading West’s facility in Buena Vista, Colorado, and were ready for occupancy within about four months of FEMA’s order.
Home designs on Fading West’s website are meant to fit in with Colorado’s architecture, but DHHL would create its own designs that wouldn’t look out of place in a neighborhood in Hawaiʻi, Schaefer said.
Production of the modular homes runs a bit like an assembly line at a car facility. Schaefer said Fading West based its process off Toyota’s approach to building cars.
DHHL was the only state agency that testified on Senate Bill 1553, the proposal to buy the hangar. The bill has received no opposition so far….SB 1553 cleared the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday and now moves to the full Senate for a vote.
read … Could A Pre-Fab Factory Get More Native Hawaiians Into Homes?
Mindless DPP Bureaucracy Makes 'Renovation Aloha' Illegal
CB: … In the second season of the HGTV show “Renovation Aloha” that kicked off this week, a minor plot point involved something far less cinematic than turning Oʻahu eyesores into glitzy real estate listings.
Home flippers Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama twice make a point of mentioning building permits.
“Permits are approved, and the $10,000 repair on the subfloor has begun,” Kamohai Kalama says.
In reality, the permit for the home featured in “Episode 1: Junk in Pearl City” was still pending as Kamohai Kalama spoke over timelapse footage of their flooring work. The home was renovated and on the market by the time the city finished its review, according to city records and Zillow.
Nevertheless, the Kalamas’ speedy timeline paid off with a $140,000 profit, according to the show.
It’s a pattern the Kalamas have followed again and again, public records show: Start construction work with or without applying for a permit, and sort out any issues after the fact. It’s a tempting approach for permit applicants in Honolulu, who often have to wait months or even years for official permission to build. …
read … 'Renovation Aloha' Home Flippers Hit With Flurry Of Building Violations
Maui Council’s $300,000 vacation rental phase-out study strays off course
MN: … A Maui County Council plan to contract its own study of the economic impacts of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed phase-out of Maui County vacation rentals has fallen to the wayside, and Council legislative analysts will conduct research in-house instead.
An Aug. 23 request for proposals drew only one bidder who was unwilling ultimately to sign a contract under the county’s terms and conditions, “while simultaneously asking for time extensions,” Council Chair Alice Lee said in an email Friday afternoon.
Without an independent contracted study, which had been budgeted for as much as $300,000, legislative analysts are doing their own research on the vacation rental phase-out bill and awaiting a study from the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization, also known as UHERO, Lee said.
A study by Hawaiʻi economic consultant Kloninger & Sims, conducted last summer at the behest of the Travel Technology Association, forecast that prohibiting vacation rentals would cost Maui County from $53.3 million to $91.8 million annually in real property, transient accommodations and general excise taxes. …
read … Council’s $300,000 vacation rental phase-out study strays off course : Maui Now
‘Sustainable’ Aviation Fuel: $80M Subsidy to Refinery, Airlines
IM: … Two bills were heard that would subsidize researching sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The Senate bill, SB995, was deferred. The House bill, HB976, was heard by two committees and is now before the finance committee.
The principal backer of the bills is the Hawai‘i Renewable Fuels Coalition, representing a refinery, a union, several airlines and several farms…
The bills are opposed by the Energy Justice Network and the Americans for Democratic Action.
The Energy Justice Network is a national organization that has been active in Hawaii over the past ten years. “A transition to different burnable fuels in air travel is a false solution – one that, in many ways, is actually worse than the status quo.”
“While we’d prefer to see the bill indefinitely deferred, we offer the following amendments to make it somewhat less toxic and harmful, even though it would still amount to a massive $80 million per year subsidy to an oil refinery and airlines, with dubious climate benefits, if any.”….
read … Sustainable Aviation Fuel Subsidies Splits Environmental Community | Ililani Media
Hawaii Tax Revenues for January Down $171M From Last January
L360: … Hawaii's total tax revenues in January fell $171 million compared with the same month last year, according to data released Thursday by the state's Department of Taxation ….
read … Hawaii Tax Revenues In Jan. Down $171M From Last Year
Lawsuit over Rail’s ‘Foul Miasma’ -- HART ‘flooded with sewage’
SA: … During HART’s tenure as landlord, the property experienced “serious plumbing issues that caused Tom’s Seafood to be flooded with sewage water numerous times, which caused closures of the business and loss of retail products,” the suit claims.
The plaintiffs’ suit alleges they “promptly notified HART of the regular floodings and plumbing issues and requested that HART remedy the problem.”
“Plaintiffs’ pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as HART did not send anyone to inspect and fix the issue,” the lawsuit reads. “Forced to take matters into their own hands, plaintiffs did everything they could to clean and air out the store.”
“Plaintiffs’ best efforts to remedy the issues would eventually prove to be futile in the face of HART’s indifference and crude, one-size-fits-all treatment of businesses that were in the path of the rail project,” the complaint states. “The stench of the flood waters hung around Tom’s Seafood’s store, polluting its environment and soiling the store’s commercial atmosphere.”
“The foul miasma drove away once-loyal customers one by one, causing both Tom’s Seafood and Mahal Kita to descend into further ruins,” the lawsuit asserts. “The repeated floodings also destroyed a significant amount of stocked retail products.”
The complaint claims Mahal Kita’s “cash flow correspondingly dwindled, as it primarily depended on Tom’s Seafood’s customers for its parking income.”
And once HART commenced construction, the rail-related work caused the size of Mahal Kita’s parking lot to be reduced by half, “which cut down on Mahal Kita’s monthly income significantly,” the lawsuit states.
By July 2014, HART issued an “urgent need” notice to vacate the property to the plaintiffs, giving them only 30 days to vacate the property. “At the end of August 2014, both Mahal Kita and Tom’s Seafood were evicted,” the complaint states.….
“Before HART acquired the property and derailed plaintiffs’ lives, plaintiffs ran Tom’s Seafood successfully for over 12 years,” the civil complaint states. “Plaintiffs’ years of hard work disappeared in only a matter of months after HART condemned the property, drove up rent, and wreaked havoc on the daily operations of the businesses.”…
read … Owners of 3 shuttered businesses sue HART for more than $2 million | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Police union approves COVID hazard pay settlement
SA: … Members of the Honolulu police officers union overwhelmingly voted to accept a COVID-19 hazard pay settlement with the city worth more than $30 million with initial payouts of $20,000 or more by June 30.
In an email to members obtained by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers’ state board of directors detailed the audited and certified results of the ratification vote for the “Tentative Negotiated Hazard Pay Settlement Agreement.”
Of the 946 votes cast, there were 890 in support of the settlement, 49 opposed and seven blank votes. The number of eligible SHOPO Honolulu chapter voters was 1,653….
read … Police union approves COVID hazard pay settlement
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