Entries for May 2019

...in Hawaii the dollar has less buying power than in any other state....

...“Unnatural Disaster: Assessing the Jones Act’s Impact on Puerto Rico”....

...the population of urban Honolulu declined in 2018 for the second year in a row....

...average daily visitor spending was down -9.2%, total visitor arrivals rose 6.6 percent to 856,250 visitors in April....

...Along with the response, we also got something else—the election results -- five days ahead of the new deadline....

...if people speak out and let policymakers know that taxes should be lowered and barriers to economic freedom removed, things could change....

...Request for Proposals: Pohnpei State Hemodialysis Project....

...“When my legislation became law, it should have solved this issue and allowed FAS citizens to obtain REAL ID compliant identification.  However, recent guidance put into place by the Department of Homeland Security has imposed additional burdens on these citizens."  -- Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

...lots of jobs sit unfilled as Hawaii has the 5th-lowest avg starting salaries (adjusted for cost of living) in the USA....

...this would apply to Veterans living in Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire and the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands....

...an updated list of Neighborhood Board vacancies as of May 29, 2019....

...The Official requested...all 33 Neighborhood Board chairs...place the ballot issue  ...on their board’s monthly agenda between September 15 and October 15, 2018, so that a certain political action committee “and others” could publicly discuss this topic prior to the election....

...the Commission reviewed the totality of the circumstances and also confirmed the conduct as de minimis, dismissed the complaint, and did not impose a civil fine on Official....

...The comment period will close June 5....

...22 community events that will receive a total of $100,000 from OHA’s ʻAhahui Grants Program....

... Hawaii derives 22.9% of tax revenue from individual income taxes .... 

... enviros allege there is a 36% decline in Cauiflower Coral populations ....

...not all are so impressed....

...State Makes No Conclusion On Whether DPS Deputy Director Violated Ethics Code....

...Votes and Bills Introduced for week ending May 26, 2019....

...A 2014 FSM government claim against Lyon Associates Inc. for over $4.6 million for ”errors and omissions” in the designs for a road and sewer project in Chuuk State raises additional questions about the company’s involvement in the FSM....

...Medicaid care homes are allowed no more than two patients, however, if in the discretion of the health department such a Medicaid care home is allowed a third patient, such a patient MUST be a Medicaid patient....

...“It’s not surprising to see a decrease in visitor spending during 2018 since most of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was closed for 134 days due to unsafe and unpredictable volcanic activity”....

...A long time ago the Tax Foundation of Hawaii sued the State....

...The Judicial Selection Commission is accepting applications and nominations to fill the following anticipated judicial vacancy ....

...A decade after the first missionaries arrived, the gospel tore across the islands in the 1830s....

...The Senate confirmed a Los Angeles attorney Tuesday to a seat on the Ninth Circuit after he faced criticisms from Democrats over his record of representing fossil fuel companies in court, making him the second Trump nominee added to the San Francisco-based appeals court in a week....

... Hawaii earned a top of-the-class A+ for spending as much as the settlement allowed on electric vehicle charging infrastructure (Elon Musk) and electrified mass transit buses (Al Gore) ....

...Oahu population is down 12,612 from its 2016 peak....

"...On behalf of EIH, we are prepared to litigate this matter to the full extent necessary...."

...Kauai is looking at a budget increase of 10.7%; Honolulu, 8.6%; Maui 8.1%; and Hawaii County 12.7%....

...John Dunham, president of the highly regarded New York-based economic consulting firm John Dunham & Associates, will appear at two Grassroot Institute of Hawaii luncheons....

...Applicants Sought for Disciplinary Board of the Hawaii Supreme Court....

...Apparently nobody at the Sierra Club Magazine knows what a penny stock tout is....

...Ige is recruiting qualified and dedicated individuals who are interested in working for state government....

...taxi companies in several cities have brought lawsuits claiming that legalizing ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment....

... the GE Tax accounts for 37.2% of State revenue, Hawaii ranks 9th most dependent....

...“And then, the boys who were there among the sixty, I told them, you know, it’s kind of hard for a woman to get pregnant without you guys,” she said....

...DBEDT expects that Hawaii’s economy will continue the slower growth for the next few years between 1.2 and 1.4 percent....

...a Final Rule issued by the Trump Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services, which seeks to expand the ability of businesses and individuals to refuse to provide necessary health care on the basis of businesses’ or employees’ “religious beliefs or moral convictions....”

...Today, many citizens of the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia serve in the United States military....

...Four years ago, Panuelo’s predecessor as FSM President, Peter Christian, didn’t go to the White House.  Instead he began his administration by meeting in Pohnpei at his Cliff Rainbow Hotel with corrupt Hawaii businessman Jim Lyon....

...the average officer is only 45 years old — 42 for non-disability enlisted personnel — upon retirement from service....

...But the list of controversial donors to Gabbard, as detailed by her filings with the Federal Election Committee, doesn’t end there....

...the law’s discrimination against nonresidents was prohibited by a part of the U.S. Constitution that the deputy attorney general didn’t consider.  “Oops,” the deputy said....

...Today, state and local public employees can choose whether they want to join a union....

...Unit 9 has completed their arbitration hearing. We anticipate a decision will be rendered early this summer....

...Patients at “C” hospitals on average face an 88% greater risk of avoidable death....

...The first step is admitting you have a problem....

...each has seen a falloff in tourism activity and a slowing of employment growth in a number of sectors....