Honolulu Ranks #3 in U.S. for Micro-Housing — New Study Finds
Study: More Housing Units Built-But Fewer Available for Residents
Hawaii 'Clean' Hydrogen to Come from Oil Refinery
Brenton Awa vs Tokuda for Congress?
HNN: … The Republican lawmaker told Spotlight Now he’s looking to “get a pulse from the people” on the idea. He would not be required to give up his current Senate seat if he chooses to do so.
Awa said, “We have an opportunity with the next elections coming up in 2026 for a potential run at Congress, and so it’s not something that I’m announcing, but we are looking at House District 2, that seat, and the reason being is the things that we’re trying to do here, the things that we’ve been doing in our community. If we were able to get that seat, we would be able to do that across the state of Hawaii.”
The Republican minority leader says that while his party has not been able to pass many laws here, being in Washington could bring new opportunities for him and Hawaii.
“I’ve been in (the state Legislature for) three years now. We’ve tried to push bills, but because we’re on the wrong team when it comes to who runs the state, we don’t get traction in the Legislature at passing those bills,” Awa said. “I don’t want to downplay what the representative up there has done. We just believe that it makes sense for us to be there if the people would want that.”
In his last campaign, Awa made a point of accepting no donations. He acknowledged that running a statewide race would mean a lot of fundraising.
“You have to raise a million plus bucks to be competitive,” Awa said. “This is a David and Goliath race and and money would be a big factor, so that’s part of the message in this. If people want and they want change up there, and they want potentially all these grant monies to be coming back, there’s going to have to be skin put in this campaign.”
HNN political analyst Colin Moore says that won’t be a problem.
“I don’t think he’s going to have any trouble raising that money. For national Republicans, there are a lot of advantages to running someone like Sen. Awa,” Moore said. “Running a credible candidate in a very blue state shows they are taking seriously rebuilding the Republican brand here. Even if they don’t win, it’s an opportunity to recruit volunteers, to raise the profile of the party, and it’s a shot across the bow at the national Democrats.”…
read … Republican state senator eyes potential run for Congress
Alien Enemies: Gabbard Staff Pushed to Rewrite Intelligence So It Could Not Be ‘Used Against’ Trump
NYT: … New emails document how a top aide to Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, ordered analysts to edit an assessment with the hope of insulating President Trump and Ms. Gabbard from being attacked for the administration’s claim that Venezuela’s government controls a criminal gang.
“We need to do some rewriting” and more analytic work “so this document is not used against the DNI or POTUS,” Joe Kent, the chief of staff to Ms. Gabbard, wrote in an email to a group of intelligence officials on April 3, using shorthand for Ms. Gabbard’s position and for the president of the United States.….
The issue centers on Mr. Trump’s invocation in March of a rarely used wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to summarily deport people accused of being members of the gang. After several planeloads of such transfers, courts have blocked any further use of the law for now….
read … Official Pushed to Rewrite Intelligence So It Could Not Be ‘Used Against’ Trump - The New York Times
BWS Votes to Give State Water Commission control of Oahu – First Step, dumping water into dry Waianae streambeds
HNN: … Tuesday’s decision will put the whole island of Oahu under the Water Commission’s jurisdiction, with the Board of Water Supply applying for what it needs….
(TRANSLATION: Move to Vegas.)
The commission voted to designate Waianae a groundwater management area, meaning the commission can eventually prioritize who gets water and who doesn’t.….
(TRANSLATION: Move to Vegas.)
“It’s the only tool that gives you guys the power, whether it’s a stream flow standard or a well construction installation permit, to put meaningful conditions on the amount of water that’s taken,” he said.
(TRANSLATION: Move to Vegas.)
Under the state water code, along with affordable and Native Hawaiian housing, restoration of streams and traditional agriculture would be considered high priority. Golf courses and resorts would be last in line for groundwater (unless they pay bribes), potentially forced to build their own wastewater recycling systems…..
(TRANSLATION: Move to Vegas.)
“So, the commission and the board can work closely together to make sure there is water for housing and for the most important public uses,” Scheuer said.
(TRANSLATION: Streambeds and wetland taro. No dryland taro.)
The commission will now go through a few more months of public outreach and research before it’s ready to take over Waianae water permits….
(TRANSLATION: They want to make sure you are fooled.)
read … State water commission will regulate Waianae water sources
Lahaina: Infrastructure in Just 100 Days
ASD: … HomeAid Hawaiʻi CEO Kimo Carvalho told Aloha State Daily by email, “We are doing something unlike anything that’s ever been done in the state of Hawaiʻi.”
“Within just 100 days, we transformed a completely rural, undeveloped site into a community with critical infrastructure, homes and wildfire survivors living safely at Ka Laʻi Ola….
read … Lahaina fire survivor Cesar Martinez looks to be part of the solution for housing
Congresswoman asks UNOS to change kidney allocation policy following HNN investigation
HNN: … When it comes to organ sharing, records show Hawaii is at a stark disadvantage. Over the last eight years, for every 46 kidneys that have gone to the mainland, Hawaii has gotten just one in return….
read … Congresswoman asks UNOS to change kidney allocation policy following HNN investigation
Geothermal energy solutions need study
SA: … If Hawaii is serious about energy self-sufficiency and resilience, we must invest in technologies that deliver reliable, fossil-free energy 24/7. Only two options can provide this at the scale and within a compact footprint: geothermal and advanced nuclear. Both are controversial. However, ruling them out without research means blindly eliminating the only two nonfossil fuel options for our energy self-sufficiency.
Geothermal can provide clean, firm power with minimal land requirements. However, environmental, political and cultural concerns have blocked funding for geothermal studies for decades, leaving Hawaii in the dark about the viability of this energy resource. Drilling dozens of test wells across the state would confirm usable resources. This, however, requires a meaningful commitment from the state, as private investors expect basic resource viability assessments to be available. We cannot move forward unless we, the state of Hawaii, invest in our future….
Unfortunately, there has been resistance to simply studying these technologies. In the last session, eight legislative proposals were introduced to support geothermal and nuclear research. Not one passed. Only two resolutions — HCR58 and SCR136 — made it through, and they merely call for creating voluntary working groups. That’s not enough….
The GTK-SEH report, available at sustainableenergyhawaii.org, offers credible reference data to jump-start these critical discussions….
read … Column: Contentious energy solutions need study | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Opportunity to pay less for electricity during sunlight hours yields mixed results
HPR: … On paper, this time-of-use program was a win-win: individual customers could save money on their electricity bills by adjusting when they used electricity, and their collective efforts could help to shift the demand curve on the grid to make better use of available clean power.
But data from the year-long program, detailed in a recent report to the Public Utilities Commission, failed to conclusively demonstrate that either goal was achieved.
HECO told HPR that the results of the study were "mixed."
Residents enrolled in the program did use less electricity in the evening when energy was most expensive, but the decrease was small — about 3%.
There was also no statistically significant increase in energy usage among residential customers during the daytime when energy was cheaper, which was the main way households could take advantage of the rate structure to lower their electricity costs….
read … Opportunity to pay less for electricity during sunlight hours yields mixed results | Hawai'i Public Radio
Manager Alleges Potential Fraud In Homeless Village Construction
CB: … Ben provided a few details of his broad allegations, focusing on Alana Ola Pono village in Iwilei, where he served as construction manager.
The $5.2 million project opened in December with 43 small housing units, two security units, two community centers and common bathroom, kitchen and laundry spaces. Alana Ola Pono initially could house only 18 people because of utility issues.
As a charitable organization, HomeAid can receive funding through public donations as well as in-kind donations of labor and supplies to reduce costs to the public of building the kauhale villages. Ben alleged that one conflict of interest arose when he said HomeAid hired a company owned by Carvalho’s husband, Dotson Gardens LLC, to do the landscaping for the village. …
Even though Green’s emergency proclamation on homelessness suspended many state laws related to building kauhale, the contract says HomeAid must follow state law requiring government construction projects to hire local workers. The statute imposes the 80% requirement for construction.
In the case of Alana Ola Pono, HomeAid chose to use prebuilt units similar to large modular homes for the village’s common buildings, including an office, community center and communal bathrooms and showers.
“How are you going to use 80% local labor when you’re buying these large buildings from South Korea and just shipping them here?” Ben asked.….
RELATED: ‘By Request’ Gambling Bill got John Mizuno Ousted as Homeless Czar?
read … Manager Alleges Potential Fraud In Homeless Village Construction - Honolulu Civil Beat
Criminals Mailing Illegal Fireworks To Hawaiʻi Mostly Get Away With It
CB: … Out of more than 130 illicit fireworks seizures by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in the last six years, the agency logged only six arrests, according to enforcement data Civil Beat obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
And prosecutions almost never occur.
One person, a 29-year-old, was arrested in connection with the shipment of 1,500 pounds of fireworks from California to Honolulu and Waipahu, the records show. The case is now closed. Officials wouldn’t answer questions about the case, and Civil Beat was unable to find any evidence the person faced criminal charges.
Without the threat of consequences, people are sending undeclared explosive material through the mail to Hawaiʻi – on both commercial and cargo planes – on a regular basis, Department of Law Enforcement Director Mike Lambert said in an interview….
For a while, John Allan Jr.’s fireworks business was lucrative.
The Pennsylvania dad in his 40s purchased fireworks from a wholesaler, took orders from Hawaiʻi residents on eBay and Instagram, and shipped package after package to the islands using the U.S. mail.
Over a two-year period, Allan sent 254 packages to the islands weighing more than 7,600 pounds, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service found. Customers paid him through PayPal, Venmo or cash sent to a Pennsylvania P.O. box.
From 2018 to 2022, Allan raked in at least $750,000, court records show…..
read … Criminals Mailing Illegal Fireworks To Hawaiʻi Mostly Get Away With It - Honolulu Civil Beat
City moves to take over property where family has been squatting for decades
HNN: … It all started 34 years ago when the city bought the property from Genevive Kaeo to expand Kapiolani Regional Park and make it available for recreational purposes.
The city says she was allowed to live there until her death in 1997, but a City Council resolution says Queenie, Kalani, and Keoni Kaeo occupy the property over the city’s objection and do not pay rent….
read … City moves to take over property where family has been squatting for decades
HGEA finalizes $41 million COVID hazard pay settlement
SA: … the City Council voted unanimously May 14 to authorize the city’s request to settle approximately $41.4 million in claims for temporary hazard pay for HGEA’s affected employees and members for essential government services performed during the pandemic.
HGEA — the state’s largest public-sector union, representing nine bargaining units within the city and county alone, including Ocean Safety Department lifeguards — will see its THP payout cover the period from March 5, 2020, to March 5, 2022….
The mayor’s office confirmed that the terms of the agreement include $15,000 payments for those HGEA employees who filed hazard pay claims on or before March 18, 2022, and $7,500 payments for those employees who did not file claims….
read … HGEA finalizes $41 million hazard pay settlement | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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