Entries for July 2023

... Because it is temporary, Green’s Proclamation ensures that too few projects will be approved to actually bring down the cost of housing ....

... clinging to this outdated policy is not an act of patriotism, but rather one of stagnation ....

... a 1961 land-use law and subsequent amendments placed most of the land in the state off limits to development ....

... Hawaii is the worst state in the nation for cryptocurrency, due to the state's strict and confusing regulations ....

... In early 2020, when DoE approached Maui County for permits, it said that the design of the pedestrian overpass was already started and projected for it to be built in 2022 and 2023 ....

... Tupola served four years in the state House, starting in 2014, then was elected to the City Council, in 2020 ....

... How long should Oahu residents have to wait for a permit to repair or renovate their homes? A few days? Weeks? Months? ....

... votes cast and bills introduced in Congress ....

... The Moniz appointment is due in large part from a new law. Under a recent law, Act 260 Session Laws of Hawaii, the Governor must appoint the person nominated by the public employee unions. ....

... data gathered by Hawaiian Electric and will ultimately determine how the program may roll out to all customers starting in late 2024 or 2025 ....

... 889,274 visitors arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in June 2023, an increase of 5.5 percent from June 2022 ....

"Syringe exchanges serve as essential health hubs for people who use drugs"

... PRO Housing to reduce barriers to affordable housing production by helping local communities address restrictive zoning, land use, and regulatory policies. It also expands financing for affordable, energy-efficient, and resilient housing, and promotes commercial-to-residential conversion ....

..."minors 14 years of age or older" can "consent to outpatient mental health services without the consent, knowledge or participation of their parents or legal guardians, upon consultation and agreement of their licensed therapist."....

... especially the many “whereas” justifications for why the emergency order was issued — which states many of the points I’ve been making for years regarding the bad policy and inaction that have characterized Hawaii’s approach to homebuilding ....

... asks the court to stop the City’s targeted enforcement actions—including sweeps, citations, and arrests—that disrupt and disenfranchise houseless people, unless and until there is adequate shelter ....

... Between 2020 and 2021, the most recent years of available data, carbon emissions in Hawaii increased by 16.2%. Over that period, energy related carbon dioxide pollution went from 14.9 million metric tons to 17.3 million metric tons ....

... Hawai‘i’s LPDLs are not exclusively issued to those without a legal presence in the U.S. ....

... Hawaii Community College paid at least $100,000 in ransomware attack ....

... The continuing shortage of qualified school bus drivers statewide will suspend bus transportation services at ten of Oʻahu’s 24 high schools and four schools on Kauaʻi when the new school year begins ....

... A national expert and a leading local doctor will take a deep look at how Hawaii will benefit from working together with other states ....

... private shipping companies cannot exclude shipments to Hawai’i and other non-contiguous parts of country and cannot charge inflated costs ....

... a bill creating the 20-year Red Hill Epidemiological Health Outcomes Study overseen by the U.S. Department of Health of Human Services ....

... OIP also found, sua sponte, that the PCSC executive session minutes did not convey a true reflection of the matters discussed at the meeting ....

... Folks on the Neighbor Islands:  Don’t laugh. You might be next! ....

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

... the highest per-passenger cost among light-rail systems in the nation — by far ....

... The purpose was to bring awareness to initiatives to modernize our public safety facilities, disrupt pathways to prison, and reduce recidivism ....

... major technological advances, especially in sustainable fuels and carbon-capture, and reaching consensus on land-use policy are some of what’s required for Hawaii to fully decarbonize ....

... back-to-back record hauls in extramural funding ....

... 140 months for conspiracy, wire fraud, and embezzlement from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260 and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $209,391.72 ....

... Dave Swann and Keli‘i Akina were among winners at this year’s annual journalism awards ceremony presented by the Hawaii chapter of the national Society of Professional Journalists ....

... but the number of jobs decreased ....

... Camp Blaz is being outfitted to host thousands of U.S. Marines, a plan said to threaten more than a dozen species with extinction ....

... relating to the installation of fire alarm systems at eight public schools ....

... The proposed critical habitat areas include the states of California, Florida, Hawaiʻi, North Carolina and Texas; the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands; and the commonwealths of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico ....

... in state court they would have been sentenced to probation ....

... The industry supports about 5,000 jobs in American Samoa, chief among those a StarKist Co. tuna cannery ....

... 0.5% county surcharge to the state’s 4% general excise tax for the purpose of funding “housing infrastructure” ....

... The Hawaii Police Department has responded to 6,479 calls for service/incidents in the area from September, 2018, to April, 2023, with an estimated cost for responding to these calls ranges from $319,000 to $459,000 ....

...“This emergency proclamation is one of the largest state-level housing actions anywhere in the country in years, if not decades," said Senator Stanley Chang, chair of the Senate Committee on Housing....

"...It is crucial for the well-being and security of Leeward Coast residents that this area remains cleared and safe...."

... Just two months after being elected at the abortive May 6, 2023, Republican state convention in Hilo, latest Chair, Tim Dalhouse, has resigned ....

... 4,000 is a little short of the number that HART projected it would attract once the system is completed: 84,000 people a day ....

... facilities geniuses at our DOE came up with the idea ....

... Based on the high error rates, we concluded that DHR’s data was unreliable and insufficient to conduct further analysis .... 

... Multiple bills have already passed, and many council members have asked for more information about how to reform the property tax systems in their counties ....

... votes cast and bills introduced in Congress ....

... City to accept applications for a second tranche of relief funding for non-profits affected by Covid-19 ....

... Hawaii’s recently-enacted public nuisance law will allow frivolous lawsuits against members of the firearm industry for the criminal and negligent misuse of firearms by remote third parties ....