Entries for September 2019

...Will Kim’s book of cash offers be enough to pull the institutional support out from under the telescope protesters camp?....

...Ige today signed new administrative rules for Planned Communities, Multi-Family Complexes and Rental Housing within the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands....

...Case says the Jones Act extorts money from Hawaii residents....

...watch how a CEO manages to serve on a Board which gives away over $100K cash to his company....

...CongDelHawaii--Votes Cast and Bills Introduced....

...We, among many others, have long warned that if government squeezes our population too hard with taxes, regulations, and other impediments, people will vote. Not necessarily at the ballot box, but with their feet.... 

... Perhaps Trustees don’t want legislators to get a more in-depth view of Trustees’ direct involvement in OHA’s dishonest Act 37 lobbying effort. ...

...both the number and capacity of Jones Act ships has steadily declined in recent decades, which in turn has reduced domestic water shipments between the states....

...FTA will not allow Federal participation in any past, current, or future costs associated with HART's Relocation Program....

...DoTAX continues to construe the film tax credit statute to include out-of-state expenditures as “qualified production costs,” which is inconsistent with the plain language of the statute and the Legislature’s intent....

...Federal law prohibits a foreign national living in the United States pursuant to a non-immigrant visa from possessing any firearms....

...Tulsi Gabbard says she now supports impeachment inquiry....

...Perhaps of interest to the Attorney General, the OHA-funded contracts illegally place the rented equipment on land belonging to DHHL, DLNR, and HDoT....

...in order to steer federal contracts worth at least $19 million....

...user-friendly tool to assist Hawai‘i’s business community, rule-drafting agencies, business chambers and trade organizations in providing current information on the status of state and county new and proposed HARs....

...Police assigned to be in place for the TMT protestor blockade and encampment on Mauna Kea access road continued the stepped-up traffic enforcement efforts on Daniel K. Inouye Highway....

...Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.50 billion in August, 2019, an increase of 6.3 percent compared to August, 2018....

""These poll results do not deter or discourage us because we strongly believe they reflect responses to a number of issues beyond TMT."

...If the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is not built in Hawaii, it can just go to the Canary Islands, right?  Wrong....

...“A recent enhancement that allowed new applications to be submitted online has cut Guard Employee (GDE) processing time from 15 days to two!”....

...The Commission imposed an administrative penalty of $23,106.53 and referred the matter to the Attorney General for further action....

...the likelihood of all of these projects remains speculative, and the timeframes even more so given BOEM’s decision to review the entire permitting process....

...Existing research shows USFWS doesn’t have a clue how many bats exist and or even if this species can survive their approved wind energy mortality....

...Hawaii is tied with Massachussets for 4th-highest debt per taxpayer....

...The DOE’s inconsistent and problematic implementation of the school impact fee law calls into question the relevance and appropriateness of the fees that have been collected to date....

...and teachers salaries are the lowest in USA when adjusted for cost of living....

...Between 2010 and 2018, OHA provided more than 2,000 post-secondary education scholarships, totaling more than $5.6 million....

“In the future, everybody will be Emmanuel Goldstein for 2 minutes.” – Andy Orwell....

...What It Actually Costs to Live in America’s Most Expensive Cities....

... from GovTrack.us ....

...A recent working paper released by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, or UHERO, collects and reports hard data on the effects of the Jones Act....

...incidental take permit (ITP) amendments to three applicants—Kawailoa Wind, LLC; Auwahi Wind, LLC; and Kaheawa Wind Power II, LLC—and a new ITP to Tawhiri Power, LLC....

... First Circuit and Second Circuit ....

...President Donald Trump announced six new judicial nominees on Friday, including two to seats on the once reliably liberal Ninth Circuit and four to federal courts in California....

...I have made a formal request for a statement of these expenditures....

...zero emission vehicle program are pre-empted under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which specifically prohibits states from adopting or enforcing laws or regulations “related to” fuel economy standards....

"... It is my understanding that early attempts at hoʻoponopono to resolve this situation failed. We ask that all sides renew these efforts ...."

...The theft offense had been previously reported to police occurring two days prior in Kalapana. The suspect was found in the same tent where six Department of Transportation (DOT) plastic barricades had been located on (August 30). ...

...population decline and vacation rental crackdown place economy at risk....

...In Gallup’s annual well-being index, Hawaii occupied the #1 spot among US states for six out of the past 10 years....

...Hawaii's OPEB plans are only 12.7 percent funded. Hawaii, like many others, treats OPEB on a pay-as-you-go basis, whereby benefits are paid when retirees receive the health care. This leaves future taxpayers stuck paying for OPEB benefits earned by current employees....

... 2019 Shared Parenting Report Card ....

...Sham Public Meetings Begin Next Round of HSTA Pay Hike Deals....

...Next mayor will have mountains of problems, but a mere molehill of money to pay for them....

...Their only "survival" option is to downsize by a factor of at least 10....

..."The Hawai'i, New England Connection," a 30-day tour of History Theatre, panel discussions, and cultural events....

...  They are trying to get the identity of an officer without paying a $5,000 bounty ....

"...The ACLU of Hawaii declined an interview request...."

...Houston is America's largest city without any zoning laws....

...These cases are being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security Investigations), Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program (HIDTA), U.S. Marshals Service Hawaii Fugitive Task Force, and the Honolulu Police Department....