...the 2017 Economic Freedom of North America report, ranks Hawaii a low 46th in the nation in terms of economic freedom, due to its high taxation, high regulation and high cost of living....

...Suicide Prevention Month Bill Clears First Committee....

...Senate Bill 2265, introduced by Senator Josh Green (D-3), is an omnibus bill that requires re-registration of firearms every five years; bans trigger modifications, trigger adjustments, and after-market triggers; bans certain muzzle devices; and modifications that prevent a firearm from overheating....

...Updates required at Hawai’i Terminals would prevent TOTE from entering Hawai’i trade in 2020/2021....

“This is not about an individual, this is about our national security."

“...The state has a responsibility to ensure its natural resources are managed in a scientifically credible way for the benefit of all its citizens. We look forward to being partners in this important work....”

...Statewide Average Daily Rate Rose to $319 in December -- Highest of Any Month in 2017....

...since the facility closed on October 19, 2017, new physicians have been trained in hyperbaric techniques. HTC reopened on January 15, 2018....

...Calls for ending aid to Pakistan are growing on both sides of the aisle. In the House of Representatives, Republican Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii are preparing to introduce a similar bill....

...“it appears that the false alert was a result of two failures: First, simple human error. Second, the state did not have safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the human error from resulting in the transmission of a false alert.”....

...these three health-related taxes would have taken $31.25 billion over the ten-year period from 2018 to 2027....

...Connecticut and New York share the highest tax rate with $4.35 per pack, trailed by Rhode Island ($4.25), Massachusetts ($3.51), and Hawaii ($3.20)....

...It was clear to anyone who has worked any level of civil defense planning, or who has lived through the drills of the 1950s and ’60s, that after the false alarm went out, no one in Hawaii had any idea what to do....

...if the Ethics Comm takes down all the state and county employees who are doing UH school work on the taxpayers dime, we would probably cut UH enrollment 20%.  I suggest starting with every state and county employee at UH Richardson School of Law....

...HIDOE's Thermal Comfort website features data collected from weather stations and indoor monitoring sensors at Hawaii's public schools....

...Hawaii -- 21.3 percent of employees are union members....

...Representative Gene Ward (R–Hawaii Kai, Kalama Valley) wrote a letter to Governor Ige urging him to release the HI-EMA security tapes on the morning of January 13th....

"...Judiciary Announces Hawaiian Language Interpreter Policy...."

...Senate Bill 2003, which is being heard by the Senate Land & Water Committee on Friday, bans the issue of all new aquarium fishing licenses....

...Live at the Legislature with Rep. Gene Ward....

...Nineteen robotics teams from across Hawaii achieved significant scores and demonstrated exceptional skill and performance at the Hawaiian Electric Companies Hawaii State VEX Championships held Jan. 13-14 at Kamehameha Schools....

...Last Friday, Hawaii’s state senate introduced a bill that threatens to make it much harder to open a new vape shop. Now it’s emerged that another bill put forward at the same time could ban all online sales of vapor products....

...Missed Opportunities: Do States Require Screening of Children for Health Conditions that Interfere with Learning....

...jump-start the testing and operation of "driverless" cars in Hawaii....

...Freddy Called Himself Hawaiian & Had Reasons For Suing To Vote In OHA Elections That Were Unlike What You May Have Heard....

"...That's because Tulsi wants Governor Colleen to appoint her to the U.S. Senate ...."

...The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement actions this year in Hawaii resulted in closures of 19 large capacity cesspools (LCC) and over $500,000 in fines....

... Auto Repair Shops per Capita – 49th ....

...Our bill package strives to make our government and our state more accountable, affordable, and accessible....

... Truth in Accounting released its second Financial State of the Cities report ....

...Residents of Hawaii spend, on average, 36.2% of their monthly paychecks on credit card, student loan, and housing payments—the highest percentage in the nation....

"...Quality of Education -- 36th...."

...A blast over Honolulu would be catastrophic. That doesn’t mean the government shouldn’t help the public prepare for one....

...Ige said Monday that one of the reasons it took so long to inform the public that a ballistic missile alert in the state was in fact a false alarm was because he couldn’t remember his Twitter password....

...Jones Act supporters in Congress are angling to require petroleum and liquid natural gas produced in the United States be exported on only so-called Jones Act ships....

...Rep Hanabusa also voted in favor of the same continuing resolution, so logically all of this rhetoric should apply to her as well.  Do Hawaii progressives become 'outraged' only when instructed?....

"...Hanabusa looks forward to sharing a clear vision for our state’s future in the months ahead....” (or whenever)

...The Minority Caucus identifies 5 issues that Ige fails to discuss....

...a celebration is planned on Thursday, January 25 9:30am at the State Capitol....

"...We often need to be reminded of what makes us so special. ..."

"...General Hara is a close personal friend of General Miyagi and under the command of General Logan.  General Logan serves as the Director of the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, so how can he be evaluated by his Deputy Director, General Hara?"

...and Hawaii ranks 48th for Small Business Lending per capita....

...members of the Subcommittee are virtually all strong supporters of the Jones Act and typically receive industry backing in turn....

...Measures student success (dilutes failing test scores--Editor) with 14 indicators including chronic absenteeism, inclusion rate, teacher retention, facility repair and maintenance backlog, and family engagement....

...lawmakers will be asked to conform our Hawaii income tax law to the federal changes that have taken place in 2017....

...Hawaii’s Democratic congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard, was among the first to blame the president. She said that Mr. Trump was “taking too long” to defuse the North Korean threat adding, “He’s not taking this threat seriously. There’s no time to waste.”....

...adds e-liquid to the definition of “tobacco products”, which would make all provisions of the cigarette tax and tobacco tax law that relate to tobacco products applicable to e-liquid....

...Within five minutes of the erroneous missile alert, Iolani School student William Heyler had tweeted to the world that it was a mistake....

...The assisted suicide bills from 2017 are still alive and we expect new bills to be introduced....

"...the only thing accomplished today was more unanswered questions and the announcement that we must wait and see what the Governor's study-report by General Hara turns up...."