... HOU is responsible for coordinating and directing the development, preparation, and implementation of plans and programs relating to affordable housing and homelessness ....

... $1,534,259.15 was collected in criminal actions and $554,363.58 was collected in civil actions ....

... to fill the unexpired term of William Dean (County of Hawaiʻi) that will expire on June 30, 2024 ....

... Hawaii residents paid on average $210.26 a month up by $38.08 ....

... this would cost the state $25 million per year ....

... because HSTA didn't get two paid days vacation from their vacation .... 

... Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s “wins” over the past year ....

... new members and (eventually) a new Speaker ....

... the New Year is off and running and we are quaking in our boots waiting for our Legislature to reconvene, here are some of the ideas that we have been following ....

... The Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly known as the Don't Say Gay act prohibits public schools from giving "classroom instruction" on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through to third grade ....

... Because of persistent funding inadequacies and inequities, many schools, especially those serving low-income communities, were not equipped to educate students ....

... and that doesn’t account for state tax rates, which are among the highest in the nation ....

“...A year ago I would have been pessimistic….”  …but … Recent developments make John O’Meara “optimistic about astronomy on Mauna Kea whether or not TMT is part of it....”

... The Chief Justice has the discretion to assign a district judge/district family judge to either the District Court or Family Court ....

... January 7, 8, 10, 2023 online ....

... The Price of Pizza Hut and Domino’s in Every Country and State ....

... sailing from Oahu on his boat, fully fueled, and stocked with cash and enough provisions to sustain himself at sea ....

... the challenge brought by Ahia and 30 Maui County voters argues Maui County Clerk Kathy Kaohu made an error by failing to determine the validity of hundreds of mail-in ballot envelopes deemed ‘deficient’ ....

... Ensure the integrity of the election process ....

... allowing longer-term special use permits, adjusting parking fees for non-residents, managing commercial usage similar to the Nā Ala Hele Trails and Access program, extending the closure of areas, and restricting access to off-trail areas ....

... Akina and Iwasa discuss the history of property taxes in Hawaii, how assessments are conducted and what reforms the counties should consider ....

... "7.2% of the individuals were furloughed, or reduced their working hours while 6.6% of them reported having someone in their family furloughed or reducing working hours" ....

... Gov. Josh Green made eliminating the general excise tax for food and medicine one of his major talking points. And on the county level, faced with concerns about skyrocketing real estate assessments, Mayor Rick Blangiardi promised to “aggressively” pursue ways to reduce that tax burden. ....

... 16% of Hawaiʻi’s rural roads and 26% of urban roads rated with poor pavement roughness ....

... whenever a grand jury is impaneled an independent counsel shall be appointed, as provided by law, to advise the members of the grand jury regarding matters brought before it ....

... more than 15,000 left the state between July 2021 and July 2022 ....

... According to 2021 data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 78.9% of traced guns in Hawaii were sold by an out-of-state retailer - the third largest share in the country. Firearms traced by the ATF typically have been used, or are suspected to have been used, to commit a crime ....

... Tasha Kama was unanimously selected as the new interim council chair pending the outcome of the legal challenge to Alice Lee's election now before the Hawaii Supreme Court ....

... bold proposals for legislative reform ....

... money is green ....

... effective January 3, 2023 ....

... the important thing isn’t money for the sake of money, but whether it’s being used wisely to make our lives better ....

... Hawaii-sponsored bills on the move as Congressional session nears end ....

... a lawsuit filed in 2nd Circuit Court November 4 by former MPD Officer Manuel Sorcy shows CIU investigators intensely focused on Chief Faaumu’s internal rivals both real and imagined ....

... Case Secures Passage Of Hawai‘i National Forest Study Bill ....

... TikTok is known to be mining and storing in China the identities and private information of up to 200 million Americans ....

... Hawaii’s population dropped by almost 7,000 people, or 0.5%, between July 2021 and July 2022 ....

... The rate increase is subject to approval by the PUC and any increase is not expected to impact member bills until the second half of 2023 ....

... Inflation is 17% from 2019 to 2022 so a 13.7% 'nominal' increase means 'real dollar' spending is down, not up ....

... Reps. James Tokioka of Kauai and Ryan Yamane of Mililani will resign their seats in the Legislature and start in their new positions next week ....

... 579 grants, totaling $2,684,350, for small-scale agriculture; including home gardening, herding and livestock operations ....

... spend nearly three times as long on educational requirements and be faced with shelling out twice as much in associated fees ....

... the first permit issued in modern history for Honolulu ....

... Applications for consideration should be submitted by February 01, 2023 .... 

... fireworks auditing, cigarette tax stamps, ranked choice voting ....

... The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today it plans to designate more than 275,000 acres as protected critical habitat for the threatened ‘i‘iwi, the best known of Hawai‘i’s imperiled honeycreepers ....

... five cameras now active along Vineyard Boulevard and Nuuanu Avenue ....

... more than 20 briefings to be held between Jan. 10 and 24 ....  

... Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 20, 2023 ....

... “If my name sounds familiar it's because my dad was President of the Hawaii AFL-CIO and the Business Manager/ Financial Secretary for the Hawaii Carpenters Union Local 745 for over 20 years.”….