Entries for December 2024

... A young girl, whose remains were discovered in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2014, has been identified as Mary Sue Fink, born April 29, 1959 ....

... Honolulu residents have until January 7, 2025 to participate online ....

... OHA Trustees are hoping 2025 will be the year legislators stop laughing at their Kaka’ako Makai upzone bills ....

As presented by Hoku Paoa Stevenson at the Summer Palace....

... The word ‘plan’ occurs 526 times in this report.  The phrase ‘property rights’ occurs zero times ....

... Approximately $1.6B allocated for housing and $480M for restoration efforts ....

... two new Republican Governors ....

... The greatest statewide shortage remains in primary care, with 152 FTEs needed in total across all islands ....

... 118th Congress Decides it's Done ....

... Friday, December 20, 2024 – Candidate and Voter Registration Begins ....

... Deferred doesn’t mean dead ....

... The Honolulu City Council shelved Bill 46 while also approving bills that will actually be effective at facilitating more housing ....

... U.S. maritime jobs disappearing despite protectionist Jones Act ....

... a few requests for the people of Hawaii ....

... UH employees may negotiate and enter into contracts with the UH on behalf of their private businesses ....

... Feds, once again, doing the job the State Judiciary can/will not ....

... The Department of Taxation Requires Employers Decrease Withholding Amounts Beginning January 1, 2025 ....

... The House approved the bill by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 366-34 ....

... “birth tourism” scheme that charged Chinese clients tens of thousands of dollars to help them give birth in the United States to obtain birthright U.S. citizenship for their children ....

... Interior Secretary can approve American Samoa’s constitutional amendments now and in the future without unnecessary steps in Washington, D.C., that other territories do not have ....

... Hawaii will significantly modify its individual income tax brackets ....

... not for the faint of heart ....

... another $365 million is expected to be released by DOT as HART continues to meet the milestones outlined in the grant agreement ....

... the coalition plans to take concrete action by working together to leverage and enforce each state’s existing civil liability and consumer protection laws ....

... highlights FBI Honolulu’s casework in counterintelligence, counterterrorism, cyberstalking, drug and gun crimes, organized crime, violent crimes against children, white-collar crimes, and more ....

... $10.4 billion in fiscal year 2026 and $10.5 billion in fiscal year 2027, which represents an increase of $620 million (6.3%) in the first year and $664 million (6.7%) in the second year ....

... reforms implemented in 2019 have not reduced pretrial incarceration ....

... Hawaii leads the nation with 88,703 passengers per 100,000 residents. This is 11 times the national average of 7,746 ....

... complex, nonneutral taxes with comparatively high rates ....

... Bureau of Economic Analysis data details disparities in spending power across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of each state ....

... Hawaii has effectively declared that the Second Amendment, as interpreted in Bruen, does not apply within its borders ....

... Currently, all but eight commercial properties in Lahaina have been cleared and completed ....

... the missed warnings and chaotic response ....

“What’s the biggest break that today’s tax code gives us?”

... the credit for this win goes to you, the people who got involved and made their voices heard ....

... As one of only five U.S. Navy-sponsored University-Affiliated Research Centers, ARL at UH has secured over $175 million in funding since its establishment in 2008 ....

... The Legislature will continue to accept GIA applications until Friday, January 17, 2025, at 4:30 p.m., and final determinations will be made as Council on Revenue forecasts in January and March are published. ...

... Kaiawe fraudulently obtained at least approximately $126,026 in CRUA assistance benefits ....

...  sex trafficking Minor Victim 1 in 2005 and 2006; coercing and enticing Minor Victim 2 to engage in sexual activity in 2006; and producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography of Minor Victim 3 in and around 2020 to 2023 ....

... The project will cost $155 million to develop ....

... The median price of a single-family home is up 9% statewide and 15% on Maui this year, and mortgage rates hover near 7%. Rising homeowner insurance premiums ....

... Any power outages were unrelated to the PSPS program ....

... the Solicitor General Urged the Supreme Court to Deny Requests Aimed at Stopping State and Local Lawsuits against Big Oil Companies from Advancing Toward Trial in State Courts ....

... after over 5-hours public testimony of which the majority opposed Bill 46 ....

"... Should the proposed Wahiawā site be rejected, and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature decline to amend Act 73, the City will have no choice but to seek an extension of current landfill operations at Waimānalo Gulch ...."

... a 24-year-old man ingested the pills and overdosed. First responders revived the victim and transported him to the hospital for further treatment. The victim discharged himself later that day and contacted Camacho to buy more pills ....

“...Since 2009, Communist Chinese passport holders have been permitted to sidestep the U.S.. visa requirements to enter the northern Mariana islands through categorical parole....”

... The economy (73%), personal finances (73%), and housing costs (64%) rank as the most significant stressors for residents, particularly for households with incomes below $50,000 ....

“...I like to think Hawaii helped kick off this national turnaround with passage of House Bill 2404, a historic tax reduction bill that Gov. Josh Green signed into law June 3....”

... While Thomas acknowledged the Second Amendment case was not appropriate for the court's review, he indicated willingness to revisit the matter in a future case. Thomas said the issue “clearly remains imperative, given lower courts’ continued insistence on treating the Second Amendment ‘right so cavalierly.’”....