Entries for June 2023

... Governor Josh Green, M.D., today notified legislative leaders and stakeholders of his intent to veto 11 bills passed by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature during the 2023 session. ...

... Former President Barack Obama, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Governor of Hawaii Josh Green, and Senator Hirono Promote Peace through Pearl Harbor National Memorial and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Sister Park Arrangement ....

... A federal official wrote a parody of Harvard’s attitude toward Asian Americans and shared it with the dean of admissions. Why did a judge try to hide that from the public?....

... this represents a 94.6 percent recovery in total visitor arrivals from May 2019 ....

... All repairs to the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, mandated by the Hawaii Department of Health, are complete, Joint Task Force – Red Hill announced in a Wednesday night news release ....

... UHERO released the first edition of an annual report on the state of housing called “The Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook” ....

... how many years has this been going on? ....

“...The SBRRB oversees rules and regulations for Hawai‘i small businesses promulgated by state and county agencies...."

... Between April 2023 and May 2023, CCH discharged effluent from the wastewater treatment plant in exceedance of daily NPDES permit limits for enterococci on 13 occasions ....

... The banning of profanity on license plates is constitutional, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday, following a Honolulu man's challenge to the city's recall of a vanity plate reading "FCKBLM" ....

"... an incredibly neglectful and reckless weapons security practice on the part of HPD ...."

... HDOT is working to redevelop Pier 7 at Honolulu Harbor which has been vacant and inactive for the last 14 years, after Bishop Museum closed the Hawaiʻi Maritime Center ....

... Green has an approval rating of 62% and a disapproval rating of 22% ....

... The lawsuit targets several problematic provisions within ACT 52, including the ban on carrying firearms at parks, beaches, banks, restaurants that serve alcohol, and their adjacent parking areas ....

... in 2022, with Reynolds Recyling employee Jill Tokuda heading for Congress, the Legislature passed Act 12 which requires DOH to develop a risk-based process to address criminal fraud that the State Auditor has reported for 20 years ....

... all the different layers of taxation on production and distribution make up about 40 percent of the retail price for beer ....

... some Hawaii lawmakers have been looking at the so-called Vienna model of housing as a way to help resolve Hawaii's housing crisis ....

... guess which shipyard is upgrading Matson ships ....

... Implementing cutting-edge strategies to control and eradicate invasive mosquitoes that spread avian malaria, which has ravaged Hawaiian forest bird populations ....

... What happened to Hawaii’s $10 billion budget surplus? ....

... A proposed 0.5% county surcharge added to the state's 4% rate would jack up the cost of living, cost jobs and harm productivity ....

... businesses in Hawaii are going to be paying $130 million more this year in unemployment taxes than they did last year. That’s a 46% increase ....

... setting the framework to begin defueling about 104 million gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility ....

... Report summarizes potential chemical exposure to residents from 2021 jet fuel exposure ....

... physicians from around the country will enjoy an expedited path to licensure in our state ....

... Sometimes it takes a bad situation to make another bad situation better.  This might be one of those times ....

... a list of political careers derailed by rail ....

... votes cast and bills introduced ....

... draft environmental assessment for the use of Wolbachia-based incompatible male mosquitoes on the island of Kauaʻi to stop the spread of avian malaria ....

... the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation expects the additional benefit of reduced demand for overnight and multiple-day parking ....

... results from electronic vote released ....

... The punishment for a Class C felony is a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years in prison ....

... OHA Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey notified agency staff members of the planned June 30, 2023, departure by email on May 3. ....

... but Hawaii is among the worst states in terms of women receiving early prenatal care ....

... Such lawsuits abound, with as many as 300 cases underway. Honolulu’s, though, has a twist ....

... advertising fentanyl precursors as a “Mexico hot sale;” guaranteeing “100% stealth shipping” abroad; and posting to its websites documentation of Amarvel Biotech shipping chemicals to Culiacan ....

" ... if the government spending is growing faster than the private sector, then it is unsustainable .... "

... The biennial budget passed by the 2023 Hawaii Legislature threatened to wipe out the state’s projected surplus by fiscal 2028 ....

... "We are working with our colleagues, possibly in the next couple of weeks, you will see this housing declaration of emergency, similarly to address some of the bottlenecks on housing," Green said. ....

... Don Aweau most recently served with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a senior advisor ....

... 21,881 personal/private firearm permit applications were processed statewide during 2022, marking a 6.1% decrease ....

... City and state to pay $130K to settle gun owner’s lawsuit ....

... Failure to implement measures required by the SPCC Rule can threaten public health or the welfare of fish and other wildlife ....

... Keith Suzuka will serve as Deputy Director of the Department of Land Management and Ben Sullivan will serve as Deputy Director of the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency ....

... The application deadline is 4:30 p.m. June 29 ....

... in Honolulu a $250K salary is worth $82,672.04 ....

... a computer glitch prevented Sub District 11 voters from being able to electronically submit their votes ....

"... living in Hawaii would require an annual income of at least $80,000 to $100,000 for a single person and around $125,000 to $150,000 for a family ....”

... Honolulu average household credit card debt is $14,927, up by $2,498 ....

... #1 Highest Avg Rent in USA: Urban Honolulu, HI $2,514/mo ....