Cost of Bills Index: Hawaii 32% Above US Median
Hawaii is a Leader for Preschool Quality But Last in Access Among Pacific States
Hawaii 3rd-Highest Beer Taxes in USA
Strategy: Make Tourists Pay More
BH: … A single sentence helps explain a broader, more subtle shift across the islands: “Someone will still pay the price we won’t or can’t.” Hawaii is no longer trying to bring everyone back as it once did. It’s focused instead on who else will pay more….
(Really Obvious Question: Do you think Hawaii’s high cost of living might be worsened by this strategy?)
BACKGROUND: 35 Years of Stagnation: Tourism Income Flat Since 1988
read … Return Visitors Won’t Pay? Hawaii Knows Who Else Will
No Soda or Candy on EBT Card?
CB: … Green says he’s pitched the administration on the idea of signing a waiver to block Hawaii’s SNAP recipients from using their benefits to purchase candy and other sugary drinks, such as soda, in exchange for the promise that any cuts to the program be delayed for at least two years….
But Green says much of the discussion focused instead on broader health care issues, particularly related to the future of Medicaid as Republicans seek to cut billions of dollars out of the program…
read … The Sunshine Blog: Hawaiʻi On The Hill Special Edition - Honolulu Civil Beat
Blangiardi on ICE: City to exercise "appropriate judgment" toward immigration law enforcement
ASD: … "While there are no official policies regarding City compliance with ICE, the City understands its obligations to comply with federal, state and county laws and regulations in the context of immigration enforcement actions and individual civil rights and we intend to exercise appropriate judgment and discretion in the interest of our residents, public safety and the law," read Scheuring's statement….
read … Blangiardi on ICE: City to exercise "appropriate judgment" toward immigration law…
SHOPO Drives Search for new Kauai Police Chief
CB: … The state police union, which has been critical of Raybuck’s tenure, is urging the Kauaʻi Police Commission to hire a “team builder” as his successor.
…Elliott Kalani Ke will move up from his assistant chief position to serve as interim chief. Ke started his law enforcement career at KPD in 1999 and has worked as a patrol officer, traffic safety officer, drug abuse resistance education officer and vice officer in the Investigative Services Bureau….
Raybuck pointed to accomplishments including the implementation of organizational changes to slash overtime pay, the adoption of cutting-edge virtual reality training technology and improvement in community engagement.
“I haven’t been perfect in my tenure, I made mistakes,” Raybuck told Civil Beat. “I thought I had the right answer, and it wasn’t. But the union, my critics, everybody wants to pin a couple of mistakes that I’ve made and portray that as my legacy for this police department.” ….
In the interview, Raybuck criticized the SHOPO union for making personal attacks on police chiefs statewide and not offering viable solutions to problems. He stressed the need for a unified leadership team to address department morale issues and improve community trust. And he expressed confidence in the leadership team he built and its commitment to the department’s future….
The Kauaʻi Police Department has a $41.5 million annual budget and 236 full-time staff, including 135 sworn officers. Another 30 officer positions are unfilled, creating an 18% officer vacancy rate. Staff recruitment and retention difficulties have long plagued the department.
A familiar face has emerged as an applicant. Howard Leslie, a retired commander for the Los Angeles Police Department, resigned in April from his post as chairman of the Kauaʻi Police Commission to bid for the chief’s position. The deadline to apply is July 7….
read … The Search Is On For New Kauaʻi Police Chief - Honolulu Civil Beat
Crime: Waianae a Sacrifice Zone for Decades
SA: … Honolulu City Council member, Andria Tupola, succeeded last week in securing money for improvements needed to complete the long-delayed Waianae Police Station.
The $1.7 million allocation for the critical project was part of the city’s $1.28 billion capital improvements budget that the Council approved last week, along with the $3.91 billion operating budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Equally important for Tupola and the rest of the Council is to ride herd on the project and ensure that funds are in place for adequate staffing of the police station.
Along the Waianae Coast, the call for better policing practices — routine surveillance for early problem detection, stronger community partnerships — has sounded for years. The response time needed for sufficient police intervention, dispatched from neighboring communities when problems arise, can be a critical impediment.
The new, larger Waianae Police Station opened in 2016, ostensibly providing a full-scale facility to replace the 1961 substation that was one-third its size. In fact, however, it’s never been fully activated, lacking the equipment and improvements that now should be enabled through added funding.
The push for completing the station reached a fever pitch a year ago, when Mayor Rick Blangiardi made an appearance at a Nanakuli town hall.
Residents told the mayor it takes too much time and resources to bring police units from Kapolei down congested Farrington Highway so frequently. One man had tracked 782 emergency 911 calls for a single highway intersection in Makaha.….
read … Editorial: West Oahu needs anti-crime policy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Fentanyl overdose deaths drop in Hawaii as meth-related fatalities spike
HNN: … A sharp rise in deaths is connected to methamphetamine in Hawaii, the highest in five years.
That’s according to a newly released report on drug-related deaths by the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.
There is something to be proud of in the 2024 report. The neighbor islands are showing progress in the fight to curb fatal overdoses, especially when it comes to fentanyl.
Only Honolulu saw a rise in all the categories.
The overall numbers show 244 people died on Oahu last year, a nearly 10% increase from 2023.
Hawaii Island was flat with 32 in both years.
Kauai saw 27 fatalities, down nearly 10%.
Maui County saw the biggest decline, 49 compared to 64.
Deaths involving fentanyl saw the biggest drop statewide with 103 in last year compared to 107 in 2023.
Gary Yabuta, Hawaii HIDTA executive director, credits the availability of Narcan…
read … Fentanyl overdose deaths drop in Hawaii as meth-related fatalities spike
Burials Bring Kauai Jobsite to Screeching Halt—Fines and Lawsuits Begin
CB: … Lequire said he “can understand if the rental company came back and took their equipment, I can understand that because they must be losing revenue. But I’m not going to pay for it if it’s just sitting there, this thing could take years.”
Argil said he had immediately granted the State Historic Preservation Division access to the property and complied with directions to retain an archaeologist to consult, all of which Hemenway’s declaration confirms.
“Now I am finding myself where I have to pay a lot more money, and I have a restraining order against me,” he said. “I did not continue. I was not there trying to do anything else, because why would I want to do that? It was all flagged and all photographed.”
Argil said he hired the archaeology consultancy Pacific Legacy from the list the preservation division had supplied but he terminated the contract on May 23. Mara Mulrooney of Pacific Legacy said Wednesday she wasn’t able to comment.
Argil said he planned to hire a larger archaeological team to go over the site. The backfilling makes the treatment of the fragmented human remains more complicated and more costly. “Instead of sifting 50% of the sand, they will have to do 100% of the sand,” he said.
Argil said the cost of managing the remains would jump from $40,000 to around $100,000, so “there’s going to be a bunch of lawsuits going on.”
Lequire also is bracing for financial impact, saying he was trying to retain an attorney to represent his company in the state’s motion for a restraining order. He has been told that the minimum retainer is $10,000.
“I don’t think it’s fair to the homeowner, because he didn’t put the bones there and we did our part by calling out when we found them and we haven’t been back there since,” Lequire said….
read … AG: Iwi Kūpuna Destroyed After State Halted North Shore Project - Honolulu Civil Beat
TRUMP NEWS:
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA:
QUICK HITS: