Entries for March 2021

... Wednesday, Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata has introduced HR 1941 in the 117th Congress ....

... People who attended events hosted by King’s Cathedral and Chapels in the past 14 days are encouraged to get tested for COVID-19 ....

... the HPA sets the real sentence after a judge pretends to sentence a criminal ....

... DHHL has advised the U. S. General Services Administration (GSA) that it will accept the transfer of approximately 80 acres from the federal government ....

... tax burden measures the proportion of total personal income that residents pay toward state and local taxes ....

... the DoD received another failing audit opinion on its financial statements ....

... free financial and investor education-related activities, presentations and resources for consumers of all ages ....

"... He didn't see all my fancy degrees.  He didn't see that I was an elected official...."

... Federal corruption probe targets DPP staffers and one local architect ....

... Ige announced the appointments of William Haning, III, M.D., Wayne Higaki and Diane Paloma to the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents ....

... options to buy crypto are very limited at the moment. That’s because of a little-known rule from a little-known government organization ....

... Guess who decides what is misleading information? .... 

... DPP will hold a public hearing April 6 on draft rules to regulate and register short-term rentals on O‘ahu ....

"... The Aa2 rating on the State of Hawaii's general obligation bonds recognizes the significant fiscal challenges posed by the current health and economic crisis...."

... state policymakers are determined to raise taxes with bills such as SB56 and HB58. They say their hikes are aimed at 'the rich', but they’re not looking at the whole economic picture ....

... On March 30th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear House Bill 31 ....

... For our faculty and students, this upcoming fall 2021 semester will be a transition semester, as we reopen our campus and navigate from a primarily online environment towards a primarily in-person semester in/by spring 2022 ....

... Environmental stewardship has never been this popular ....

... With the Young decision FINALLY coming out, we thought we would be able to FINALLY move on with our Taser lawsuit. ...

... Bill 40 or the Disposable Food Ware Ordinance (DFWO), takes effect April 1, 2021 ....

... three guests invited by Hawaii Public Radio to talk about tax bills at the Legislature this year, including the notorious SB56, many parts of which have now been attached to HB58, creating a “Frankenbill” ....

... Cap't Ben Mahi was the 2nd-highest-ranking officer of HPD Division 1, when a drunken Division 1 Sgt Anson Kimura accidentally shot waitress Hyun Ju Park ....

... Bills Introduced and Votes in Congress from GovTrack.us ....

... SB815 creates a “public education stabilization trust fund” ....

... 11 of 16 Hawaii towns are in the top 10% of most overextended mortgage borrowers ....

... hundreds of Republicans participated in the virtual Honolulu County Republican Party Convention ....

... Bullet Dodged on Problematic Bills ....

... The Service is seeking public comment on the proposed change in status for the aeʻo from March 25 – May 24, 2021 .... 

... Kauai instructor accused of child sex crimes was also a longtime foster parent ....

... Hanalei Aipoalani, 42, of Waianae, Hawaii, pled guilty in federal court today to embezzling more than $500,000 from AmeriCorps and to agreeing to accept a bribe for the administration of grants under the CARES Act ....

... unlike your cousin, they didn’t even bring over a box of malasadas as a “thank you” gift ....

... the request to modify Honolulu’s COVID-19 recovery framework to include “weddings” as a category has been approved and is effective immediately ....

... BEA -- Gross Domestic Product by State, 4th Quarter 2020 and Annual 2020 ....

... more mayhem from one of Oahu's biggest homeless camps ....

... State Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) organized the action to rally opponents and to publicize many DHHL beneficiary complaints that the solar farm plan originated without their input and is a bad use of the agency’s trust land ....

... Maui County Council members will now review and deliberate the administration’s budget proposal. The fiscal year 2022 budget goes into effect July 1, 2021 ....

... to allow travelers to confirm compliance with the Safe Travels Program prior to departure and bypass mandatory airport screenings upon arrival ....

... A Grassroot Institute of Hawaii analysis finds Hawaii residents paid more than double the national average in state taxes during 2020 ....

... the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for February was 9.2 percent compared to the revised rate of 10.3 percent in January ....

... beginning Monday, March 29 ....

... The Molokai Community Health Center is excited to sponsor 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤-𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐤𝐚'𝐢 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝟏𝟖 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 & 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬) ....

... the average daily census showed that there were 90,776 visitors in Hawaii on any given day in February 2021, compared to 250,052 visitors per day in February 2020 ....

... Keli’i Akina says House members should have aimed to pay off more debt instead of go on a record-breaking spending spree ....

... One staffer in a ballroom that serves general inquiries tested positive yesterday, and in response the department has shut down operations in that ballroom ....

... 50% for the class of 2020 enrolling in college immediately after graduation, as compared to 55% for the class of 2019 ....

... One provision provides a 100 percent COBRA subsidy for up to six months. Another provision increases the Premium Tax Credit, which will extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to higher-income individuals ....

... 26,122 personal/private firearm permit applications were processed statewide during 2020, marking a 62.3% increase from 16,098 applications processed in 2019 .... 

... In a Hawaii case, the majority of an 11-judge en banc Ninth Circuit panel concluded that the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right to carry firearms outside the home .....

... Hawai‘i’s statute contains a single major check on the executive’s delegated authority: the “automatic termination” provision ....

"...The Youth Challenge Academy, operated by the Hawai‘i National Guard, is a community-based program that trains, educates, and mentors young people under military-like conditions...."