Top-down energy plans not going down easy
Blame for the Housing Crisis
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted September 10, 2022
Face masks no longer required at UH after Friday, September 16
Hawaii 3rd Highest Unemployment Claims Per Capita
Alm: 25 Killers May Walk--Special Session Needed
KHON: … According to Alm: “The Hawaii Supreme Court in Obrero ruled that this method, complaint and preliminary hearing, is now unlawful because of an obsolete 1905 statute that was overlooked when the constitution was amended 40 years ago. My office has over 160 cases that were charged under the complaint and preliminary hearing process and approved by judges for trial. This includes 25 murders, attempted murders, and manslaughters, over 40 robberies, and many other serious crimes such as arson, kidnapping, and sexual assault. Defense counsel, who have long lauded the virtues of the preliminary hearing process, are now using the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision to try to free their clients from jail.”…
According to Lee, there could even be retroactive implications.
“As a general rule, when it benefits the accused, the law would be applied retroactively. So you could see people going back and challenging their conviction.”…
Alm added: “We will also be asking the Governor to call a special session.”…
HTH: State high court ruling worries officials
read … Supreme Court ruling could allow violent offenders to go free
Tough-on-crime initiatives come and go, but lawbreaking in Waikiki persists
Borreca: …Waikiki has not lacked for catchy descriptions for its latest get-tough-on-crime campaign, and sadly, Waikiki has not lacked for reasons to bear down on the criminal element flourishing in the tourist mecca.
What hasn’t been realized is the concerted pressure from Waikiki’s own businesses and residents to demand a serious and sustained law enforcement presence that will not tolerate lawbreaking…..
read … Tough-on-crime initiatives come and go, but lawbreaking in Waikiki persists
Can Blangiardi Reform City Government?
Shapiro: … It’s an open question whether Blangiardi will be able to pull off the changes he’s trying to make, but he deserves credit for sticking his neck out from under the usual political cover.
Any success would set a higher standard for future city administrations….
read … Mayor Rick Blangiardi moves to get Honolulu Hale down to business
Owner of FCKBLM Hawaii license plate sues state, City of Honolulu
HNN: … Edward Odquina claims they’re violating his civil rights by recalling the plate.
Court documents show Odquina was approved for and paid for the expletive-laced license plate in January 2021. He received it in summer 2021.
After receiving complaints, the City ordered him to surrender the plate. Until he does, he cannot renew his car registration and is subject to citation and seizure of his property….
PDF: Lawsuit
CB: The ‘FCKBLM’ License Plate Holder Says Honolulu Is Violating His Free Speech Rights
read … Owner of Hawaii license plate offensive to BLM sues state, City of Honolulu
Former employee says Department of Education hasn’t done enough to protect against threats
SA: … It was frightening enough for then-state Department of Education Communications Director Lindsay Chambers to be the target of one school parent’s repeated furious calls and voicemails to the DOE, including some that contained intimidating, vulgar and racist language, and that indicated Chambers and her husband were being surveilled.
But a Sept. 24, 2020, voicemail in which the agitated parent declared that Chambers would be “terminated,” she said, made it clear to her she was in danger.
“I promise you, when this is all said and done, you will be begging on the side of the street because you will be terminated … ,” the man said in a voicemail left on a non-DOE line in which he repeatedly referred to Chambers by name….
Chambers is shielded now from the man’s threats by a three-year injunction against harassment — legal protection she had to pay for out of her own pocket — plus a job change into the private sector….
In a separate case, Katherine Balatico, principal of Stevenson Middle School, has reported receiving terrifying threats of violence and death against her and her children. She also has said the DOE has not done enough to keep her, her staff and her family safe. HGEA has helped both Balatico and Chambers file grievances against the department, which are still pending….
SA: Aggression against educational workers is growing -- Cynthia Bartlett of the Hawaii Autism Foundation said ... the proposal would have had a chilling effect on parent communications with schools.
read … Former employee says Department of Education hasn’t done enough to protect against threats
BLNR Dithers While Hilo Bayfront Rots
HTH: … “We were just about ready to publish our Country Club (request for proposal and qualifications), when we realized a document contained a provision that the (DLNR) would potentially be selling the improvements to the property,” said DLNR Land Division Administrator Russell Tsuji.
Tsuji said that, after conversations with the state Attorney General, he is unsure whether the DLNR is legally allowed to sell the hotel — which is situated on state land — to a new lessee, so he felt it better to scrap the problematic language entirely to avoid complicating the matter.
Tsuji acknowledged that, typically, the state’s practice is to require the prior lessee to remove all improvements to a property when vacating a lease. However, because of the size of the former Country Club, he said that would be unfeasible in this instance.
Kevin Moore, assistant administrator for the Land Division, said the division’s first recommendation for the building is its demolition.
However, the cost to demolish the building was estimated in 2018 to be more than $6.2 million. In a July report, the Land Division estimated that, because of inflation and increased contracting costs, that price tag has ballooned to more than $10 million in 2022.
On the other hand, Moore said, renovating the building to be compliant with county and state codes will also be very costly.
Moore said prospective lessees could still choose to demolish the building, but noted that doing so will also trigger the need for another environmental assessment, while renovations of the site will not.
But in any event, no new lessee will be awarded the lease without making a big investment…..
read … BLNR nixes possible sale of former Country Club Condominium Hotel
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