OHA Ends 'Work-from-Home' for Employees
Happy Fourth of July!
The 1840 Hawaiian Constitution and the Fourth of July
The Verified Complaint In Equity: The Declaration Of Independence
Death Threats? Luke Takes Swipe at Second Amendment Activists as Security improvements at State Capitol made
KHON: … Total cost for the security upgrades is $1.5 million in federal funding. Which includes the metal detectors and six security guards to operate the machines from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
In addition to roving patrols around the capitol district.
State officials said it’s time, especially as tensions rise over hot topics.
“During this past legislative session when the legislators were discussing gun control we did hear that individuals with potential firearms were at the capitol,” said Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke…
(Odd that Legislators would be uncomfortable about lawful gun owners. Legislators have never been shy about associating with mafia illegal gun owners.)
But some community members worry that the new security will take away from the capitol’s open concept.
“The idea is that capitols are a place for people to bring up concerns and it’s for the people the ordinary citizen so by adding metal detectors, it limits one’s accessibility,” said Ely Kirsch, visitor….
The new security protocol will begin on Monday…
UPDATE: Plan To Install Metal Detectors At Hawaii Capitol Is Delayed to Aug 7
PRESS RELEASE: HAWAI‘I STATE CAPITOL TO EXPAND SECURITY MEASURES
AP: Hawaii State Capitol to get metal detectors after lawmakers and aides say they don't feel safe
read … Security improvements at State Capitol after death threats made
Hawaii’s Soft on Crime Parole Board Is The Most Powerful In The Country. That May Change
CB: …. The Legislature has ordered up a task force to study whether the state should remove one of the most important powers now wielded by Hawaii Paroling Authority — the power to impose (gift criminals with) minimum sentences on prisoners who have been convicted of felonies.
Hawaii is the only state that assigns to a paroling authority that responsibility for setting minimum sentences, according to the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.
In most other states minimum terms are imposed by the judges who preside over the inmates’ criminal trials or plea agreements, and hear the arguments and evidence in the criminal cases.
The Hawaii Paroling Authority is a five-member board that operates almost entirely out of the public eye. Retired Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Dan Foley described it as “the most powerful paroling authority in the United States.”
“There’s none more powerful,” Foley said. “It sets the minimum, can reduce the minimum, decides when someone is paroled, (can) revoke parole, all under rules and guidelines that they set. It is the most powerful.”
This year lawmakers approved House Concurrent Resolution 23, which creates an 18-member task force to study HPA’s current procedures and recommend what changes should be made. The resolution specifically asks whether responsibility for setting minimum terms should be removed from the authority.…
read … Hawaii’s Parole Board Is The Most Powerful In The Country. That May Change
Green hopes next phase of plan doubles this year's designated $104M in tax relief
HPR: … Luis Salaveria, the state’s Department of Budget and Finance director, said tax code discussions will continue during the interim, like indexing and increasing the personal exemptions.
"I think some of the structural things that we did was doubling the personal income tax deductions, as well as indexing and creating inflationary adjustments towards the tax bracket code," Salaveria said. "Those are the things that we wanted to make and actually incorporate and institutionalize beyond just the individual credits."
The credits are under a five-year sunset period so the state can look at the efficacy, Salaveria said.
"Over time, we'd like to move more toward about $250 million in tax breaks," Green said. "That's what phase two will look like."
read … Green hopes next phase of plan doubles this year's designated $104M in tax relief
For some, test of rail-bus connections ends with disappointment
HNN: … First, there was a hike to the nearest bus stop: A narrow strip of asphalt on Nimitz Highway near the Kalihi Street intersection. The Route 20 bus on Monday was about 10 minutes behind schedule.
The ride fell further behind schedule with traffic at the airport and a stop at Pearl Harbor….
The Route 20 bus took almost 45 minutes just to get to the rail station at Halawa…
The rail line Monday was crowded but still moved like clockwork, taking precisely 20 minutes to reach the station at UH West Oahu. But there, this Makakilo commuter found more disappointment.
The Route 461, the only one that serves upper Makakilo from the rail station, was half an hour away….
read … For some, test of rail-bus connections ends with disappointment
DOH report claims illnesses reported even before 2021 Red Hill fuel spill
HNN: … A new Department of Health report offers new insight into why some families may have gotten sick even before the November 2021 fuel spill at the Navy’s Red Hill facility.
The Department of Health webinar uses Hawaii News Now reporting to clarifying what families were experiencing. For example, Dr. Roger Brewer says in the webinar that the peacock-colored sheen on water included in one HNN report is a classic sign of petroleum contamination…
(CLUE: Junk science.)
He also talked to mainland fuel experts and said the images of water in a frying pan looks like fuel with de-icing agent (or Pam). “Thanks again to the media especially Hawaii News Now,” said Brewer in the webinar….
(CLUE: Junk science.)
Thousands of families reported illnesses following the November 2021 spill, but many also said they experienced symptoms in the weeks and months prior, indicating earlier problems with the water.
Cyndi Gomez, who was among those HNN interviewed shortly after the spills, called the information included in the webinar “crazy.” She added, “We lived in military housing. They should have protected us.”
Army Maj. Amanda Feindt, who lived at Ford Island, said the DOH webinar underscores a lack of transparency from the military. “This document, the exposure report, the YouTube video do you think any of this has been pushed to us from the military from the folks who poisoned us? The answer is no,” she said.
“This was the missing link. They have not been able to truly care for us or to properly care or treat us because they have not known or had access to this information,” she added.
The DOH report, an exposure assessment released late last month, talks about families complaining of illnesses before the tainted water crisis even began. Brewer said there could have been a chemical in the water before the spills from July to November 2021 and that it could have been degraded fuel, surfactants (like Simple Green), algae or another unknown chemical.
Gomez says she has had more intense migraines since the fuel spills, but she and others say they were getting sick before the November crisis and that the water tasted “bitter” …
read … DOH report sheds new light on illnesses reported even before 2021 Red Hill fuel spill
KPD re-opening case of woman found murdered 13 years ago
KHON: … The case of a Kauai woman who was found murdered 13 years ago on July 3, 2010, is being re-opened by Kauai’s Investigative Services Bureau….
“There’s advances in DNA testing, and that’s promising and so I can 100% say that friends and family, we are feeling more hopeful than we have in 13 years.”
read … KPD re-opening case of woman found murdered 13 years ago
Deliberate indifference’: Suit alleges officer failed to act in fatal beating outside police station
KHON: … When Linda Johnson was killed in front of the Kapolei Police Station last year, a witness told a female police officer in the station that Johnson was being attacked just outside.
That’s according to the family’s lawyer, who said the officer had a chance to help but didn’t.
“He told her that he had heard something going on outside the the doors of the police station, and that this woman needed help,” said attorney Eric Seitz.
“Instead of providing help, the woman just retreated further into the police station.”
tread … Deliberate indifference’: Suit alleges officer failed to act in fatal beating outside police station
QUICK HITS: