Will Trump Reform Jones Act Shipbuild Requirement?
HB1369: Category Killer
Grassroot Wrap-up: How Legislature handled housing, taxes, rebuilding Lahaina and more
Progressives Whine Because Ed Case Thinks for Himself
Shapiro: … Hawaii U.S. Rep. Ed Case has put a target on his back among some fellow Democrats for his moderate course in this most immoderate political time.
Case has mostly voted with his party on key issues such as last month’s Republican continuing resolution to drastically reshape federal spending, but drew fire for joining Republicans on hot-button measures requiring proof of citizenship to vote and censuring a Democratic lawmaker for heckling Donald Trump during his State of the State speech.
On the latter, Case was among only 10 House Democrats to vote with Republicans to censure 77-year-old Texas Rep. Al Green for shouting his disagreement as Trump spoke….
Case displayed similar (four-dimensional) one-dimensional thinking as one of only four Democrats to vote for a Republican bill requiring first-time voters to show proof of citizenship in addition to residence.
“Noncitizen voting is illegal, and we should all know that noncitizens are not voting,” he said….
Case is aligned with the moderate Problem Solvers Caucus, which promotes worthy values of bipartisanship and compromise, but these are increasingly less achievable as politics polarize….
Flashback: Ed Case's 2006 "felony" vote: Greens vs. Illegals
CB: Beth Fukumoto: Ed Caseʻs Support For Voter ID Was Surrender, Not Compromise - Honolulu Civil Beat
read … David Shapiro: Ed Case finds a bumpy path as he charts a solo course | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Ige, Lingle: Gambling’s costs far outweigh benefits
SA: … As former governors from opposite sides of the political aisle, we may have disagreed on many issues, but we are united in our love for the people of Hawaii and our opposition to legalized gambling in our state, specifically House Bill 1308, the proposed online sports wagering bill.
Proponents argue it will generate revenue, but at what cost? Is it worth sacrificing who we are, our people, our aloha, for a dollar amount? Is it worth aggravating existing social problems? For us, the cost to our people and our values far outweighs any financial benefit.
Our state government should not be in business with an industry that makes money when our people lose. That is not who we are in Hawaii….
read … Column: Gambling’s costs far outweigh benefits | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
UH Cancer Funding Cut by Dela Cruz and Trump Working in Tandem
Borreca: … The promise is that they will be back for a special session.
The Legislature last convened a special session in 2017 to address rail project funding. Now the new dates for the special session being considered are August, September or November.
Legislative leaders think by then more information could be available. Even if that gives local politicians more time, though, it does not give them more money to spend on restoring Trump administration and GOP budget cuts….
Kalbert Young, says the state’s latest version of the UH budget includes a series of cuts.
Young, UH vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer, said those included reductions in funding for the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the UH Cancer Center.
“Young warned that federal funding for biomedical research is expected to decline under the new federal administration,” the Star-Advertiser reported….
Yes, pay increases recommended by a state salary commission are coming to legislators, judges and others in the top levels of state government.
The proposed pay package includes a 32% raise for state lawmakers, increasing their salaries from $74,160 today to $97,896 starting Jan. 1, 2027. After that, lawmakers are expected to get 4% pay increases in each of the following two years and another 8% pay increase on Jan. 1, 2030, for a total 48% pay increase over six years.
The process for raises is fashioned to give legislators the ability to say they didn’t vote for a pay raise. …
read … On Politics: Lawmakers hand-wring over cuts, as raises handed out | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Look Who's Taking Big City Council Pay Raises After All
CB: … Andria Tupola, Augie Tulba and Radiant Cordero who rode a wave of public outrage over the 64% pay hikes and very publicly opposed them. When the raises couldn’t be stopped, Tupola, Tulba and Cordero made quite the show out of refusing the raises individually, telling everyone they would stick with $69,000 a year rather then abuse the public trust by accepting a boost to $113,000 annually.
Well, that was then and this is now.
Guess who is getting paychecks of $113,000 a year. Uh huh.
Tupola and Tulba. And pretty soon Cordero too, now that she knows the other two have been taking them.
Tupola told Civil Beat reporter Ben Angarone earlier this month that she actually started cashing the higher paycheck last year, right after she was reelected in August. Tulba says he did too.
“Starting our new term, we both wanted it to be par with the rest of the council members,” she told our intrepid reporter.
Tupola says now that she makes more money as a council member “I don’t need to do as much side stuff.” Last year she had an outside consulting job that paid six figures ….
read … The Sunshine Blog: Look Who's Taking Big City Council Pay Raises After All
Final EIS—Will Army Buy Pohakuloa Training Area?
HNN: … “It is, essentially, a real estate action,” said Lt. Col. Tim Alvarado, the PTA garrison commander.
The PTA is the largest live-fire range and maneuver training area in Hawaii, using nearly 23,000 acres of state land between Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai.
The final EIS produced by the Army said it’s preferred alternative would be to lease 19,700 acres.
“As we negotiate with the state, there’s purchases, there’s leases, there’s other different variations of what those real estate actions are,” said Alvarado.
State Rep. Ikaika Hussey sponsored a resolution approved by the House Thursday, urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources to conduct a comprehensive economic analysis of all military-leased lands in the state.
“If we were to charge the military the same sort of per acre fees that we charge other land users for -- farmers, for instance -- then, what would that dollar amount be?” said Hussey.
Hussey said it would cost far more than a dollar. He offered a potential purchase price.
“I have rough estimates, back of the napkin kind of math. I’m guessing around $200 million,” he said, “Just for the PTA lands.”….
The Army will now observe a 30-day waiting period before deciding how much land, if any, it will retain. The Army also said it has distributed the document to Native Hawaiian organizations, federal, state and local agencies, officials and other stakeholders….
LINK: More information and the full EIS are available here.
SA: The Army will be negotiating with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources on its request for a new lease. -- Military officials have told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that of the leased lands with leases expiring in 2029, PTA is by far the one most of them view as most important.
read … Army publishes final environmental impact statement on retaining Pohakuloa Training Area
Lanai to be first island in state to have Hawaiian Homes waitlist eliminated?
HNN: … On the remote island of Lanai, with a population of around 3,000 residents, a milestone will soon be reached. It will be the first island in the state where the waitlist for Hawaiian homes will hit zero….
The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands said it plans to award 75 leases in September to the remaining Lanai residents waiting on the list….
The homes would still need to be built after the leases are issued, but the planned expansion is putting an island known for staying out of the news in the spotlight….
read … Lanai to be first island in state to have Hawaiian Homes waitlist eliminated this year
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