...if the minimum wage was increased, many grocery stores today would simply replace workers with automated tablets....

...Ige announced that he would cut $220 million from his current spending plan. However, the ‘cuts’ are only reductions in proposed spending increases....

...and if you earn $100K, Hawaii is 3rd-highest....

...why firearm suppressors are so heavily regulated....

...and Legislators are pushing HB209 to make those rates even higher....

The sheer number of bills related to tax or public finance is staggering. It's much more frenetic this year than in any other year I've been in this position....

All legislative bills referred to more than one committee (i.e., those with multiple referrals) must have moved to their final committee in the originating chamber....

Because the savings rate is calculated from local price comparisons, it will vary by region due to differences in the cost of living, even when commissary prices remain uniform and constant....

SB 898 is a misguided gun control bill that would permanently strip an individual of their Second Amendment rights, not based on a criminal conviction or mental adjudication, but based on a quasi-criminal proceeding....

7.35% of Hawaii households have $1M or more of investable assets....

Hawaii state lawmakers hope to make their state the next to force pregnancy care centers to promote abortion....

Candidate Registration is now closed....

Friday, February 17, 2017 is the last day to register as a candidate for the Neighborhood Board elections....

An NSC survey released Feb. 15 provides a glimpse at the risky things drivers are doing....

The extension adds eight calendar days to the 30 calendar days allowed by statute for the approving agency to decide if the FEIS is acceptable....

...OHA Professional Services Contract awards for the past 36 months....

...researchers have determined that an average of 15.5 bats are killed at each individual wind turbine site every year....

"Currently, there are no laws on the books that allow for the involuntarily commitment of individuals who are mentally ill or drug addicted or alcoholic...."

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection & Health passed the assisted suicide (SB1129) out of committee on February 15, 2017....

...Highest Percentage of Jobs Generated by Immigrant-Owned Businesses Rank -- 3rd....

...when it is mailed by the appellant, or when received by the Board of Registration Appeals....

This means one or more of the key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or substructure, is considered to be in "poor" or worse condition....

... Auditor: OHA Fails to File Oversight Reports as it Drains Public Land Trust Fund ....

Rather than reopen the search, University of Hawaiʻi President David Lassner is recommending that he continue to serve as interim UH Mānoa chancellor for two more years....

...judicial nominees for three vacancies in the District Court of the First Circuit (Island of Oahu) as a result of the retirement of Judges Gerald H. Kibe, David W. Lo, and Barbara P. Richardson....

...What color is your golden parachute?....

 ...$9,450 a year more without spending a penny....

The deadline to submit completed candidate and voter registration forms for upcoming Neighborhood Board elections is this Friday, February 17, 2017....

Maunakea Scholars is an innovative program designed to bring Hawaiʻi’s young, aspiring astronomers into the observatory community by competitively allocating observing time on Maunakea’s world-class telescopes....

...Randall Roth comments on two stories on the DoE investigation into education reform advocate John Sosa which ran on KHON Feb 6 and Feb 7....

...the department has chosen to support Senate Bill No. 424 and House Bill No. 456....

...UHERO: ‘Discriminatory’ HSTA Property Tax Plan hits Renters Hardest....

...Must read: AG responds to 9 questions from Ing.  Short version of responses: “No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, and No.”....

...the State is making a ton of money off the skim....

In its 2016 Annual Report to the Legislature (pg4), HGIA explains it could write more loans if only its Board had more insiders....

Hawaii is missing $23 billion ....

...the system knows the driver's exact route, his speed compliance and provides ratings for his braking and cornering performance. Too much info in the hands of the government....

...72 individuals from the seven countries covered in President Trump's vetting executive order have been convicted in terror cases since the 9/11 attacks....

The committee on CPH has scheduled a public hearing on 02-15-17 8:30AM in conference room 229....

The deadline for candidate applications is Friday, February 17, 2017....

...Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shared her perspective on the law, the courts and congress in February at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa....

...equity rich — where the combined loan amount secured by the property was 50 percent or less of the property’s estimated market value....

If it is possible to address the national security concerns of the Jones Act through other, more efficient and effective legislation, then we might clear the path to modernizing the Act....

to lobby for a constitutional amendment that will drastically increase property taxes....

... $1.6M state tax dollars and $8.2M federal tax dollars given away, not loaned ....

...Keith K. Hiraoka (Former Ige Campaign Chair), Catherine H. Remigio, and Todd W. Eddins appointed to First Circuit Court (Oahu)....

"The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, just like every governmental agency, must follow its own rules and state law."

Trustee Dan Ahuna was named board vice chair....