Twenty Years of Nickels
Japan buys Gulf Coast oil, Hawaii doesn’t, thanks to 1920 Jones Act
Interstate telehealth to boost local medical care
Gays Rewrite State Constitution, State History, and Language
SA: … In its first year, the Hawaii State LGBTQ+ Commission helped with the effort to pass a constitutional amendment to remove discriminatory language from our state’s founding document — a historic win that brings us closer to the inclusive future Hawaii deserves. And for the first time, Pride flags flew proudly at the state Capitol. We partnered with Lei Pua ‘Ala: Queer Histories of Hawai‘i to help make that happen, and in doing so, helped our community see itself reflected in the seat of power.
We launched the first-ever Queer Day at the Capitol, bringing queer voices directly to lawmakers. The halls of power must echo with the voices of those who have too often been left out. That day wasn’t just a political event — it was a celebration of civic pride and queer resilience. To assist everyone, know the correct terms and understand the acronyms for our community, we launched the first-ever state-sponsored LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Glossary….
Read … Column: Progress, but much to do for LGBTQ+ | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Legislators make appetizer of state tourism overseers
SA: … In the end, the hearing was just a big belch of hot air contributing to the warming of the planet as the mouse swirled down the legislative gullet.
They were beating on an HTA that soon will no longer exist. The once-independent board will be reduced to an advisory committee, and Gov. Josh Green has said he’ll ask all current members to resign so he can appoint a fresh slate. A new CEO will be appointed and report to the governor. The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism will absorb most HTA functions.
And much responsibility for the chaos legislators derided lays at their own feet for constantly meddling and changing the rules on funding and governance.
HTA was originally a mostly independent agency with a dedicated source of funding of about $80 million a year from the hotel room tax. It had a clear mission: marketing programs to promote Hawaii tourism, our leading economic driver responsible for one of every five jobs here.
Then in 2021, the Legislature stripped its autonomy by taking away the dedicated funding and making HTA grovel for money before lawmakers each year, its budget reduced to $63 million. The change gave legislators far more opportunity to micromanage the agency’s operations.
Lawmakers muddied HTA’s mission by adding destination management to its duties along with tourism marketing, leaving it with the contradictory responsibilities of attracting more tourists to Hawaii while addressing concerns we host too many.
This year’s changes basically blew everything up, and lawmakers are still full of ideas about further changes such as folding HTA entirely into DBEDT and splitting promotion and destination management between different departments.
We’ve reached a point where the endless fiddling has left HTA broken beyond repair, and the answer isn’t more fiddling….
SA: Governor seeks clean slate to appoint new Hawai‘i Tourism Authority board | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Read … David Shapiro: Legislators make appetizer of state tourism overseers | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Police Commission: Problem is too much Mayoral Control, not too little
CB: … I submit that rather than abdicating the Police Commission’s authority over HPD and handing it to the mayor, the Charter Commission should craft measures to assure the commission’s political independence and to strengthen its supervisory powers over the police department. And, if we are truly going to have an effective Police Commission, the selection process of its commissioners must be drastically overhauled as well.
The mayor currently has the sole authority to nominate police commissioners, who are then confirmed by the City Council. But this process has proven ineffective, as mayors have consistently nominated people to the commission who are their political supporters and who mostly lack law enforcement or criminal justice backgrounds. And even when a mayor appoints someone who is considered a reformer or activist, the mayor ensures they are in the minority.
As a result, the commission often does the mayor’s bidding even though the mayor claims he doesn’t have “ultimate” authority. Or have we already forgotten the dubious $250,000 payoff to Chief Louis Kealoha? And whose interest does the current Police Commission chair really serve when he failed to tell his fellow commissioners that the mayor was trying to force Logan out when the chair apparently knew for months what the mayor was doing, all without the support or knowledge of the full commission? …
Blangiardi says he will submit a proposal to the Charter Commission giving him sole authority to hire and fire the chief of police. The Charter Commission would then need to adopt the mayor’s proposal and put it on the ballot for voters to consider in the November 2026 general election.
If passed, it will ensure the complete politicalization of the process. We should not forget that one of the functions of HPD is to investigate crimes committed by members of state and city government, and if the chief is beholden to the mayor, it can only lead to the corruption of that criminal justice process.
I strongly urge the Charter Commission to reject the mayor’s efforts. Instead, I ask others, including the City Council, to propose other changes to the City Charter to ensure that the selection process for police commissioners is modified so that better qualified people are appointed who are free from undue political influence. There should also be proposals that clearly define the powers of the Police Commission to allow it more latitude in exercising its supervisory powers over the police department….
Read … Fix The Honolulu Police Commission. Don't Abdicate Its Authority To The Mayor - Honolulu Civil Beat
Taxpayers Keep Paying For Disgraced City Officials
CB: … The Sunshine Blog is still scratching its head at the taxpayer cash flow involving two former high-ranking city officials who ran afoul of the law when they arranged to give former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha a nice $250,000 payoff even as he was being forced out while under federal investigation for public corruption.
Former Corporation Counsel Donna Leong and former Honolulu Police Commission chair Max Sword pleaded guilty in March to misdemeanor conspiracy charges. They’re supposed to repay $100,000 each in restitution to the city. (Former managing director Roy Amemiya who got a different legal arrangement that lets him get his charges dismissed is supposed to repay $50,000.)
But now Honolulu City Council members are set to confirm final payments for the legal defense of Leong and Sword. Turns out the taxpayers are picking up the tab for their attorneys, which has amounted to $102,000 for Leong and $105,000 for Sword, according to council members Andria Tupola and Radiant Cordero….
The corrupt police chief gets $250,000 to leave quietly and even though he was required to pay it back if he got convicted he still hasn’t. City officials who illegally funneled the money to the chief got caught and their punishment was to in essence repay the money that Kealoha owed. But now that cash is coming to them from the taxpayers by way of reimbursing their attorneys’ fees. …
Read … The Sunshine Blog: Taxpayers Keep Paying For Disgraced City Officials - Honolulu Civil Beat
University of Hawaiʻi’s telescope dedicated in 1970 now honored for enduring impact on space exploration
BIN: … In 1964, Gerard Kuiper, director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, was the first to propose placing a telescope on the summit of Maunakea. The exact location is 13,786 feet above sea level.
At that elevation, the telescope would be above much of Earth’s atmosphere and water vapor, providing a nearly complete view of the sky.
Physicist John Jeffries agreed with Kuiper and created a proposal for the University of Hawai‘i to build and run a facility for UH88 in Hawai‘i. After being awarded $3 million for his proposal in 1965, Jeffries founded the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy and began building the telescope and scientific research facility….
…it was a challenge to build at the summit, with snowy weather, no paved road and no electricity. Early researchers often traveled on off-road vehicles and slept in trailers at Hale Pōhaku, located at 9,200 feet above sea level. Some got stuck at the summit for days.
(Now it’s so easy that even protesters can get there.)
The State of Hawai‘i eventually built support buildings at Hale Pōhaku, a road and a power line, and provided government positions for astronomers and engineers. The decision to build at the site was quickly vindicated by the level of collection success, according to the Institute for Astronomy.
During the dedication ceremony of the new observatory in 1970, Kuiper claimed the Maunakea summit to be the best site in the world to study space and the place where the most advanced observations from Earth can be made….
Read … University of Hawaiʻi’s telescope dedicated in 1970 now honored for enduring impact on space exploration : Big Island Now
Hawaii Got the Slowdown It Asked For. Now It's Running Scared.
BH: … Is something off with Hawaii’s summer travel season? That’s the question being talked about in airport lounges, reader comments, and conversations all over the islands and beyond. No big verifiable headlines yet, but if you’ve been here lately, or even tried booking a trip, you may have felt it too….
Read … Hawaii Got the Slowdown It Asked For. Now It's Running Scared. - Beat of Hawaii
Pinata: Eco Groups Start Grabbing for Green Fee Money
KN: … Kauaʻi nonprofit Malama Hule’ia planned to use a $750,000 federal grant to purchase an aquatic excavator to remove invasive red mangrove around the Hule’ia river watershed in Lihu’e….
Tom Woods of Reef Guardians, a Kaua’i-based ocean non-profit that conducts critical water quality surveys in several of Kaua’i’s streams and waterways, said he is concerned that the income generated from the green fee could potentially be put into the state’s general fund to be used for non environmental reasons.
“Now, it’s up to the good faith of our government leaders to decide who will actually receive this funding,” he said….
Holland has her ideas about how the funding could help shape the future of Kauaʻi: “It would be amazing if the money was used to acquire significant sites, such as old fishpond infrastructure and cultural spaces that could be preserved as public resources and places of connection to ʻāina and culture.”
While Green did not provide any specific examples of projects he would like to see funded by the fee, he repeatedly highlighted his commitment to supporting causes focused on “environmental stewardship, climate and hazard resiliency, and sustainable tourism.”
Several conservation leaders worry the Green Fee funding could promote tourist attractions over organizations more focused on environmental conservation initiatives.
“Becoming a tourist attraction is antithetical to our mission at Malama Hule’ia,” Bowen expressed (burbled)….
Read … Kaua’i conservation leaders hope Hawaiʻi’s new Green Fee will prioritize environmental initiatives, not tourism : Kauai Now
REMEMBER? Tulsi Gabbard was once Hawaii’s Most Popular Politician
CB: … How many times has Tulsi Gabbard warned us against getting involved in a “regime change war” in the Middle East?
A hundred times? A thousand?
For a while, it was all she talked about….
She said “regime change wars” nine times during the 2020 presidential debate (when she, a lowly Democratic congress member, had the audacity to run for president.)
She talked about “regime change wars” during her Senate confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence earlier this year….
But all that passionate anti-interventionism came screeching to a halt when President Trump ordered attacks on Iran last week….
… No surprise there. Tulsi Gabbard has never stood for anything except Tulsi Gabbard (Chris Butler) ….
There used to be words for people who turn on a dime like that, words like two-faced and spineless and hypocritical. People who flip-flopped on issues and values used to be seen as having a weak moral compass; their character was suspect, their judgment was not to be trusted….
There are so many character flaws and outrageous flip-flops to chose from. Gabbard is the most craven, shameless, opportunistic, self-centered, morally empty, say-anything mega-ambitious political animal that Hawaiʻi has ever set forth upon the world. We should be ashamed of how we aided and abetted her start in politics by electing her to every county and state office she ever set her sights on whether she displayed any real commitment to serving that office at all.
She was, for a time, the most popular politician in the state. That should make us shudder (take a good look at ourselves, but it won’t) …
SA: Gabbard’s role diminished as Trump seeks to slash intelligence staff | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Read … Lee Cataluna: Tulsi Gabbard Does An About-Face On Regime Change Wars - Honolulu Civil Beat
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