March 7, 2025 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Friday, March 7, 2025

March 7, 2025 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 3:23 PM :: 750 Views

“It’s becoming harder and harder for the working person who doesn’t own a home yet just to rent a place to live”

Seven Gun Bills Moving Fast at Half-Way Point in Legislative Session

Hawaii AG Celebrates Injunction Against Trump Funding Cuts

Maui County Spools up $7.7B Ask for ‘Wildfire Recovery Plan’

CB: … The stunning cost of rebuilding Maui has become clearer following the release of the county’s draft plan for spending $1.6 billion in federal wildfire recovery funds.

(Translation: Go big or go home.)

Replacing the thousands of homes destroyed by the 2023 wildfires will cost an average of $1 million per residence, far higher than what many people’s insurance will cover. Helping to meet that gap for residents is expected to push the county’s overall tab for recovery to $7 billion, the county’s Office of Recovery has found.

That’s higher than the $5.5 billion estimate the county issued shortly after the wildfires — a figure that didn’t include all costs of construction….

The county has already received $480 million for water infrastructure, economic recovery and road repairs in December, and a dozen other federal awards for Maui have been made separately to state departments, including the departments of Health and Labor and Industrial Relations.

Projected costs for recovery in the report include: $2.4 billion for housing (supposed to be covered by insurance and class action settlements); $1.8 billion for infrastructure, including a (brand spanking new) municipal water system for Lahaina; $2.4 billion for economic development to help make up for lost tourism revenue (slush fund/pure waste); and $240 million for public services including health care and job training (pure waste and/or replication of existing services)….

(IQ Test: See how this works?)

read … Maui County Faces Huge Funding Gap For Wildfire Recovery, Draft Plan Shows - Honolulu Civil Beat

Crossover: 765 Bills on the Move

CB: … The Legislature’s highly anticipated crossover came and went quietly Thursday. That’s the day the House and the Senate had to pass all their bills except the budget out of their own chamber. The budget, approved by the House Finance Committee on Wednesday, is slated to be the subject of floor action next week and it has until March 12 to pass the full House.

The Senate advanced an additional tax on tourists, one of Gov. Josh Green’s latest attempts at getting approval for a so-called “green fee” that could fund climate change projects.

There was no discussion on the tax bill or any of the other three bills that the Senate passed in a round of votes that lasted just under 100 seconds. The Blog was one of a couple dozen or so people watching online and if it hadn’t been for an entire row of guys from an automobile association in the gallery the spectator section would have been largely empty.

The House was even more low-key, considering some resolutions and adjourning until Friday.

The House has sent 375 bills to the Senate and the Senate sent 390 bills to the House. Committees are already busily scheduling hearings for next week….

read … The Sunshine Blog

Still no clear answer for combating Hawaiʻi physician shortage

HPR: … The cost of living, specifically housing prices and student loan debt, plays a large part in deciding whether or not a student can afford to stay in Hawai’i for their residency and beyond.

“Even for folks that grew up here and have deep family ties here, they can pay off their debt faster, actually own a home, and afford to send their kids to good schools in places back on the continent,” Buenconsejo-Lum said. “When you’re $200,000 in debt, you can’t just stay in the place that has the highest cost of living and arguably the lowest wages.”

But for Abe of the Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association, the physician shortage is “past crisis.” He said action needs to be taken in some form. He explained that telehealth has become the default for providing health care services for many areas, but this poses its own problems because rural areas have weaker cell service, so telehealth is not always reliable.

“We've been at a critical state for the past generation, and it's getting so bad that even providing basic health care or basic services to communities is a major problem,” Abe said.

He noted that some of the poorer areas that have higher reports of crime and gun violence are hit the hardest.

“Many of those physicians are saying it's too dangerous to go there so it's not worth it,” he said. “Something like 85% to 90% of our clients are all Medicaid recipients, meaning there's no money for physicians to make off of most of the clients we serve.” …

read … Still no clear answer for combating Hawaiʻi physician shortage

Ed Case among 10 Democrats joining with Republicans to censure Rep. Al Green for Trump speech protest

CNN: … The 10 Democrats who voted with Republicans to censure Green were: Ami Bera of California, Ed Case of Hawaii, Jim Costa of California, Laura Gillen of New York, Jim Himes of Connecticut, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Tom Suozzi of New York….

Most of the 10 the Democrats are considered centrists in the party, and belong to either the Blue Dog Coalition, the New Democrat Coalition or the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

Many represent competitive seats, including three of the Democrats – Kaptur, Suozzi and Gluesenkamp Perez – who represent districts that Trump won in November.

The number of Democrats supporting the measure surprised some in the party, who had been expecting more unity.

But some lawmakers said anger is growing among Democrats about Green’s antics — which they believe have consumed headlines and distracted from Trump’s actions, such as his plan to unwind the Department of Education.

“People are pissed,” one Democratic lawmaker said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party dynamics. The lawmaker added that Green’s antics were viewed as “selfish” after party leaders made clear they wanted their members to act somberly during the address….

CB: The Sunshine Blog: Ed Case Supports Censure 'To Respect The Institution' - Honolulu Civil Beat

read … 10 Democrats join with Republicans to censure Rep. Al Green for Trump speech protest

Will Maui County Expedite Lahaina Historic District Rebuild Permits?

CB: … More than a dozen old buildings burned in the 2023 fire — representing hundreds of years of Hawaiʻi’s rich cultural heritage — are being restored, providing anchor points in the historical town’s resurrection. Meanwhile, a new county proposal to expedite building permits within the historic district could help spur things along.

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation is preparing a master plan to restore and renovate eight of its properties in Lahaina, including the Baldwin Home, Hale Aloha museum, the Old Lahaina Courthouse Building and the Masters’ Reading Room, where ship captains once gathered to share news and swap navigation advice. The board expects most of the money to come from the federal government, but it is ramping up fundraising efforts as well. A benefit luau May 10 will jumpstart the push ….

read … Kirstin Downey: Devastated Lahaina Restores Its History First - Honolulu Civil Beat

State Department of Education receives nearly 11% of its annual funding from the federal government

KHON: … According to the HSTA, the state Department of Education receives nearly 11% of its annual funding from the federal government.

Federal funds provide Hawaii nearly $52 million a year in Title 1 grants to hire teachers and support staff. Loss of those funds could mean a larger teacher shortage.

Hawaii could also lose about $38 million in federal support for special needs students. And school meal subsidies could be at risk….

read … Is the future of Hawaii's schools at risk?

An Oahu inmate was murdered in his cell. Was a housing error to blame?

HNN: … An apparent housing error may have led to the death of an inmate at Oahu’s largest jail.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 5, Eric Scotton, 33, was found beaten to death inside his cell at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.

The suspect is a cellmate who, according to the rules, should have been moved to a different facility weeks prior to the murder.

“The fundamental constitutional principle is you can’t house pretrial confinees with sentenced inmates,” said attorney Eric Seitz….

According to the Honolulu prosecutor’s office, the suspect, Vance Nguyen, is a convicted robber who had been sentenced to 10 years behind bars on Jan. 16, nearly three weeks prior to the killing….

read … An Oahu inmate was murdered in his cell. Was a housing error to blame?

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