HB900 Dies in Senate: No Lawyers for Abused Foster Kids
VIDEO: Progress in reducing housing regulations
Grassroot Institute Testifies on Dozens of Bills
Hawaii-Family-Forum-Legislative-Week-in-Review
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted March 29, 2025
Florida Career Offender arrested as Pro-Trump Counter-Demonstrator at Tesla rally in Waikiki
SA: … A man was arrested today at a Tesla showroom in Waikiki during a rally against Tesla that drew a crowd of around 200 people.
Honolulu police said they arrested (pro-Trump counter demonstrator) Maximo Ramos Arango (age 45 per HPD blotter) at around 12:50 p.m. for third-degree assault.
The rally was advertised as “protesting against Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” according to the event’s flier….
SAME NAME, SAME PIC, SAME AGE: Florida Career Offender
read … Protestor arrested at Tesla rally in Waikiki | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Poof: Maui Won't Be Converting Vacation Rentals To Long-Term Housing Anytime Soon
CB: … It’s increasingly unlikely that Mayor Richard Bissen’s plan to convert more than 7,000 short-term rentals into long-term housing on Maui will be implemented this year.
As proposed, the exemptions that allow many apartment-zoned units on the island to operate as vacation rentals would expire July 1 for 2,200 units in West Maui, and on Jan. 1 for the remaining 5,000 such units, mostly located in South Maui.
But that can’t happen without approval by the Maui County Council, which has yet to take the matter up for a vote….
(CLUE: It was all empty talk designed to reduce TVR availability and it worked.)
read … Maui Won't Be Converting Vacation Rentals To Long-Term Housing Anytime Soon
Firefighters have high levels of PFAS in aftermath of Maui fires
SA: … A recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the first known to focus specifically on Maui County first responders — shared this finding, noting that the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires destroyed thousands of structures, vehicles and parcels of land, resulting in 102 deaths.
Among firefighters the median sum serum concentrations of seven types of PFAS was at 7.0 micrograms per liter, higher than other Maui County participants.
For other work groups, including police and lifeguards, the median sum serum concentrations ranged from 5.7 to 6.9 micrograms per liter.
The study also found PFAS concentrations to be highest among firefighters who had been working for 30 years or more….
read … Firefighters have high levels of PFAS in aftermath of Maui fires
Act 86: 1,182 Homeless Meth Addicts Receive Forcible Two-Week Psych Eval
SA: … The Behavioral Health Crisis Center opened in 2024 across the street from the Institute for Human Services’ men’s shelter in Iwilei and has seen 1,182 people ever since to address issues including substance abuse and mental health, which are considered critical underlying reasons why people end up and remain homeless.
…anyone can walk in and get evaluated and observed over just a few hours.
Or they might involuntarily be brought in by Honolulu Police Department officers and remain upstairs on the mezzanine level for 10 to 14 days before leaving with longer-term case management plans including treatment beds to get additional, stable help.
The center also gives HPD officers a time-efficient alternative to get the people they encounter evaluated, compared with the sometimes hours officers can spend in emergency rooms like The Queen’s Medical Center, said Dr. Chad Koyanagi, the state Health Department’s medical director for crisis continuum, who oversees patient care at the Behavioral Health Crisis Center.
In 2024 the Legislature approved the latest version of Senate Bill 3139, which allows law enforcement to take a person considered dangerous to themselves or others against their will to alternative facilities like the Behavioral Health Crisis Center.
Gov. Josh Green signed the bill into law as Act 86.
Last week two HPD officers brought a man in handcuffs to the behavioral health center whom they encountered in Aiea, got him admitted and were back on their way within minutes to patrol their Aiea district.….
(CLUE: The only solution to homelessness is to force all the homeless into involuntary incarceration in jail-like drug treatment facilities. Voluntary methods will never solve the problem. We need more facilities and treatment longer than two weeks.)
read … Center tackles homelessness at root levels | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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