Entries for February 2022

... The decision not to extend the emergency order means the Safe Access O‘ahu program, which required businesses such as restaurants, fitness centers, and events that served food, to verify employees and customers were fully vaccinated or had a negative COVID-19 test, will no longer be a government mandate ....

... tourist headcount down 29.8% ....

... Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro traveled to Oahu Feb. 25-28 to meet with families and senior officials and to see first-hand the progress that has been made in restoring and protecting the island’s safe drinking water ....

... Total COVID-19 deaths in Hawaii: 91 per 100,000 people ....

... House Minority Whip Val Okimoto is asking Hawaii Gov. David Ige to rescind the state's mask mandate in light of new guidelines released by the US CDC ....

... Oahu Democrats vote 15-2 in resolutions committee to condemn former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for speaking as featured guest at CPAC dinner ....

... late filing penalties, which are now 5% a month but are capped at 25%, can go to 75% ....

... In August 2021, nine teachers were absent from their classrooms, but the school could only secure four substitute teachers. So the principal, Thomas Swan, texted academic coaches and other non-classroom teachers to fill the remaining openings ....

... SB 3209 D1 would appropriate around $16 million to fund the restoration of 'professional development' for educators ....

... The average household size in Hawaii is 2.95 ....

... Tasers were made legal in Hawaii on January 1st, and a new law has already been proposed to ban carrying them ....

... Hawaii Family Forum, legislative week in review ....

... for years, Hawaii has been getting about one-third of its crude oil from Russia ....

... HB2303 HD1, which would exempt “drafts, internal memoranda and correspondence, and other deliberative and pre-decisional materials that are a direct part of an agency’s internal decision-making process” from Hawaii’s open records law ....

... The repeal is only for county rules, the state’s Safe Travels Program and the statewide requirement to wear masks indoors will remain in effect, subject to Gov. David Ige’s proclamation ....

... Ige will choose one of the three who, remarkably, don't include former HSTA president Rosenlee ....

... Hawaii has been largely left out of the cryptocurrency revolution .... 

... The gasoline tax in 2035 will be $33.16 a barrel ....

... OHA Board of Trustees today selected former OHA Trustee Mililani Trask of Hilo to serve as the new OHA Trustee for Hawaiʻi Island ....

... House Bill 2464 empowers law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and their loved ones by repealing the requirement in state law that citizens must retreat, relinquish property, or comply with the demands of assailants before defending with deadly force ....

... The Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee has recommended approval of a bill that would ban fundraising activities for lawmakers during legislative sessions. ...

... Defendants Sentenced for Scheme to Defraud Local Housing Programs of Over $100,000 ....

... possible effects on cultural practices by future land authorizations ....

... the Board authorized Na Pua Makani to kill up to 51 ‘ōpe‘ape‘a bats ....

... the 1920 law is a main reason Hawaii relies on Russia for more than a third of its crude oil supply ....

... Heidi's husband, Chad Tsuneyoshi, is a federal ex-con convicted for his part in a 1000kg cocaine ring ....

... Former Executive Director of the Hawaii Commission Sentenced To 46 Months in Prison for Embezzling from AmeriCorps And Offering a Bribe in Return for CARES Act Grants ....

... Mauna Kea should be handed over to us .... We will make money from tolls, tours, and telescopes ....

... where employers are struggling the most in hiring ....

... analysts looked at the latest information on vaccine hesitancy to find the main reasons why parents don’t want to vaccinate their children ....

... University of Hawaiʻi campuses across the state achieved record highs in important graduation and retention metrics for the academic year 2020–21, the first full academic year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic ....

... the cost of living in Hawaii ranks as the highest among states ....

... Hawaii Pothole complaints: 20.6 for every 1,000 km of road ....

... For more information about the campaign and Sam, please visit his website at votesamking.com ....

... The committee on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-22-22 at 9:30 am. ...

... Medicare will only reimburse medical work at “reasonable charges” and will not reimburse the doctors for the GET they have to pay ....

... 8,700 of Hawaii’s 13,500 public and charter school teachers would have their annual salaries adjusted anywhere from $7,700 to $26,000 under SB2819, depending on their years of service ....

... Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund Revolving Fund $15,448,000 ....

... Watching proposed tax hikes make their way through the Legislature has become an annual tradition ....

... the Capitol is filled with eager beavers ....

... minimum wage hikes kill jobs for teens, young adults, and the less educated ....

... ‘wealth tax’ great way to encourage capital flight ....

... The numbers keep increasing, even as the “Jones Act industry” declines ....

... judicial nominees for one position each in the District Court and District Family Court of the First Circuit, island of Oahu ....

... Maui County’s indoor mask requirement must be lifted by the governor ....

... Dems will forward Rosenlee and two others to Gov Ige so he can pick Rosenlee ....

"The CLFCU unit was to spearhead the criminal prosecution of White Collar and government corruption crimes. So far, completed cases that were sent to the unit have not been forwarded for indictments and are held in abeyance for no reason." -- Chief Investigator Daniel Hanagami

... Senate Bill 214, and its House companion HB 781, are patterned on the Student Press Law Center’s “New Voices” model legislation ....

... $250 million in funding for the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force to cover expenses incurred related to drinking water contamination and $100 million for the Department of Defense to comply with the State of Hawaii’s emergency order to defuel the Red Hill tanks ....

... Wesley “Kaiwi” Yoon, Doreen Canto, Aimee Keli‘i Barnes, Karen Ono, Riley Smith ....