Crichton: Environmentalism is a religion
Ira Einhorn, Earth Day's Dirty Secret
SB1296: Apply rebuilding waivers to all Lahaina fire victims
Conference Commitee Approves State Budget Bill--Text Still Not Available
Secret Conference Committee: After Budget What’s Next?
CB: … Green’s plan to contribute more than $800 million to the wildfire trust fund to resolve claims growing out of the deadly Lahaina fire appears to be on track.
(CLUE: After weeks of kabuki theater, the real legislature is meeting in secret ‘conference committees’ and writing the real legislation. Bills will then be whipped down to the floor voted and sent to the Governor with most legislators and the public having not read them.)
Lawmakers are expected to finalize House Bill 1001 Tuesday afternoon to fund the state’s contribution to the $4 billion wildfire trust fund, with the state expected to contribute $400 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and $407 million the following year….
Lawmakers are also advancing an appropriations bill that includes almost $50 million to fund raises for University of Hawaiʻi and community college union faculty.
The University of Hawaiʻi Professional Assembly struck a deal with the Green administration last fall for raises of 3.5% next fiscal year, and 3.79% the following year.
The United Public Workers union is trying to finalize separate deals this week for similar raises under a four-year contract, which would then need to be rushed through the Legislature later this week in order to be funded….
Among the proposals that didn’t make it this year was a bill to increase the state tax credit for families that pay for child or adult care expenses.
Bills to require paid family leave for people caring for newborns or family members with serious health conditions also failed to pass. However, House and Senate lawmakers did vote to establish a working group to further study that idea, which has been debated time and again at the Legislature.
Still hanging in the balance this week is a bill to to make free and reduced price lunches available to more public school students. If it passes, Senate Bill 1300 would make free lunches available starting next year to students whose family income is 300% of the federal poverty level or less.
Also still alive is House Bill 692 to expand access for children to the preschool Open Doors program. That measure is designed to remove barriers to enrollment in Open Doors, which offers subsidies to parents to make preschool more affordable.
House and Senate negotiators announced Monday that they have earmarked $30 million to continue planning and procurement to hire a developer to build a new Oʻahu jail, and also set aside $4 million to provide resources to help former inmates make the transition back into society after they are released….
read … Lawmakers Settle On A New Two-Year Budget That Focuses On Housing - Honolulu Civil Beat
“When you need a casino to make your stadium pencil out, that’s not planning. That’s panic.”
HNN: … Gov. Josh Green said Monday he will not veto a bill to allow online sports betting in Hawaii if it comes out of the state Legislature with proper safeguards.
Meanwhile, the state House debated a proposal to study casino gaming which is tied to the challenge of redeveloping the Aloha Stadium district….
Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 121 would bring industry, law enforcement, tourism and government experts into a working group to study how to legalize casinos.
This year, gambling supporters are playing an extra card: a casino could ensure success for the new stadium and entertainment district.
In March, Aloha Stadium Authority chair Brennon Morioka and district developer Stanford Carr asked that the developer have a seat on the SCR 121 working group.
“We always do encourage the exploration of new revenue or alternative revenue streams that is meant to be reinvested into building a new stadium,” Morioka said.
But the tactic gave Manoa Rep. Andrew Garrett, who already opposed casinos, another reasons to cast doubt on the ambitious plan for a new stadium and entertainment district while the state only invests $350 million.
“Just be honest,” he said on the House floor. “When you need a casino to make your stadium pencil out, that’s not planning. That’s panic. That’s a bailout dressed up as a policy discussion.”…
HPR: House lawmakers pass resolution to study legalized gambling in Hawaiʻi | Hawai'i Public Radio
read … Gambling bill still roiling lawmakers while governor keeps open mind
Upcountry residents say vacant, state-owned apartment complex in Kula should be used to help fire victims
HNN: … HNN Investigates went to the property at 34 Kulalani Drive and found three structures with multiple apartment units on a 26,284 square foot lot. A chain link fence surrounded the property which had a lock on the gate.
The grass and surrounding landscape had not been tended to recently and cleaning supplies were scattered in the weeds.
“It’s sitting vacant and we have people who need places to live,” said Kyle Ellison, president of the nonprofit Malama Kula.
“These are apartments that, to my understanding, are furnished and have been renovated and are ready to be lived in,” he said.
HNN Investigates has learned the state Housing Finance & Development Corporation owns the property but leases it to the Hawaii Department of Health.
Tax records show the total combined living space is 6,700 square feet….
Nearby residents believe there are six apartment units total.
“We could use it to house fire survivors who are still rebuilding,” Ellison said.
Rebuilding is taking longer than many people expected. About two dozen structures burned in August 2023 in upcountry Maui.
One couple is rebuilding a home half a mile away from the state apartment complex. The woman, who did not want to be named, said they’ve been living in a church parsonage but have to leave soon…
read … Upcountry residents say vacant, state-owned apartment complex in Kula should be used to help fire victims
Maui Activists Openly Campaign Against Fire Victims Rebuilding Homes
CB: … Tiare Lawrence and Racquel Achiu accuse fire victims of ‘ignoring sea level rise’ – they oppose House Bill 732 and Senate Bill 1296 -- all based on the ignorant lie that Hawaii is about to magically undergo 3 feet of sea level rise. Per NOAA, sea level rise at HNL is 6 inches per 100 years ….
read … Shoreline Permitting Bills Ignore Coastal Development, Sea Level Rise - Honolulu Civil Beat
Federal Cuts at UH now total $36M
SA: … University of Hawaii President Wendy Hensel announced more federal funding cuts and took her strongest position yet to defend academic freedom at Monday’s public forum held at the UH Manoa Campus Center Ballroom.
(Strongest? In what way? Is she screeching louder?)
Hensel told the ballroom’s crowd of 100 and around 1,000 attendees on Zoom that the amount of federal funding cuts rapidly increased by $6 million, to $36 million, since Thursday, bringing the total of terminated or paused research programs to 48 from Thursday’s 36. There are now 82 employees affected by the federal cuts, she said.
“In the time it took me to walk over here, I received another email with a major termination for one of our programs,” Hensel said….
ASD: University of Hawai‘i president Wendy Hensel gives new updates on AD search
SA: UH president joins over 170 academic leaders opposing Trump’s education policies | Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Did you really think any of them would support Trump?)
read … UH president backs Harvard amid $6M more in lost funding | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
HB613: OYS to run shelters for minors without parental consent
CB: … A bill, House Bill 613, now being negotiated in the Legislature, would allow youth to stay in a shelter for up to 90 days without an adult’s consent. It would also make permanent a pilot program called Safe Spaces to create a network of places — from public buses to convenience stores — where youth in trouble could connect with outreach workers to get what they need, including shelter ….
read … On The Run And Undercounted, Homeless Youth Try Hard To Stay Out of Sight
FBI investigating allegation that HPD officer switched meth pipe from one meth-head to another
SA: … A sergeant with the Honolulu Police Department is the target of a federal investigation into allegations that there is recorded footage of him planting drug paraphernalia on the driver of a car during a November traffic stop.
Sgt. Shane Cazimero, who has 17 years of experience with the department, had his police powers suspended after he and the department received a target letter from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Cazimero has not been arrested or charged with a crime….
Cazimero allegedly approached a car with two men in it. Footage captured of the traffic stop allegedly shows Cazimero lean in through the passenger window and confiscate the pipe.
(TRANSLATION: The passenger is a meth-head.)
Cazimero allegedly walked around the car, put the pipe (back) on the driver, then arrested him. The man in the passenger seat of the vehicle complained to HPD leadership and the FBI about Cazimero’s alleged behavior….
(TRANSLATION: We are asked to assume that the driver is not a meth-head.)
read … FBI investigating allegation that HPD officer planted evidence | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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