Testimony: Bill 9 Debunked by Former AG David Louie
Over 400 building permits have been issued for Lahaina rebuilds so far
HPR: … The County's Office of Recovery Administrator, John Smith, said about 420 permits have been issued. 4Leaf Inc. has been contracted by Maui County to help expedite the disaster recovery permitting process.
As of Wednesday, more than 30 homes have been issued their certificate of occupancy, marking completion….
Read … Over 400 building permits have been issued for Lahaina rebuilds so far | Hawai'i Public Radio
Honolulu rail project streamlines stations and tactics to save money
HNN: … rail leaders are trying several tactics to save money and meet deadlines.
Escalators have been a feature on every one of Skyline’s stations so far, but Honolulu Area for Rapid Transit CEO Lori Kahikina, said HART decided they are too costly and hard to maintain and won’t be part of stations for the busiest part of the system.
“Its double elevators to make sure we can handle the capacity of the riders, but yeah, no escalators at all,” she told Hawaii News Now….
in its second year, from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, the city says Skyline recorded 1,204,341 trips while costing $89,163,189 to operate….
“And so the contractor, this time, proposed, ‘Hey, would you consider us using a different methodology for constructing the guideway?” he said….
They are ending the use of precast concrete individual guideway segments installed by massive and expensive overhead gantries in favor of an old-school solution -- just like highway bridges, with concrete girders and a deck laid down between columns, Scanlon explained.
“It’s able to be constructed with everything that’s already on island –- the precast yards, the concrete providers and the cranes that are on island,” Scanlon explained. “So, it’s not specialty equipment having to be procured, constructed and then shipped to the island.”…
In addition to the lack of escalators -- the stations will look different. For example, the tensile fabric canopies will be replaced as part of the more austere attitude, likely with steel roofs covered with solar panels.
“I do want to simplify things,” Kahikina said. “I’m hoping the canopies are not going to be there because that’s an O&M (operations and maintenance) nightmare for DTS.
Trimming costs for the station enabled HART to negotiate $250 million off of Tutor Perini’s bid, which came down to $1.7 billion. The segment is scheduled for completion in 2030.
The next significant milestone for the project is three months away: October 1 is the opening of segment two -- from the stadium to Middle Street, including the airport….
Read … Honolulu rail project streamlines stations and tactics to save money
ACLU Very Excited to Learn Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center to house ICE detainees
SA: … The Federal Detention Center in Honolulu is one of three that have been approved to house immigrant detainees — including a jail in New York City known for violent and poor conditions that has held high profile individuals such as Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean “Diddy” Combs (on Rikers Island).
As the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign strains immigration centers nationwide, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been housing hundreds of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in jails and prisons following an interagency agreement in February.
Now the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, and the Federal Correctional Institution in Lewisburg, Pa., are joining the list, according to internal communication obtained by the Miami Herald. The expansion brings the total number of approved facilities under the agreement to eight….
Attorneys have long known that FDC Honolulu houses immigrants, but representatives of the local ACLU said they were unaware of any agreement changes. The organization said it is asking Hawaii’s congressional delegation to visit the facility and to get a copy of the new agreement.
Liza Ryan Gill, executive director of the Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said the largest demographic of detained immigrants used to be people from China arrested locally. Now, many detainees are from Central America, and she said some have arrived this month from California and other states.
“It feels a bit like they’re sending folks out to … the farthest-flung place so that they can keep them out of any limelight,” she said. “That would be my concern: Who are they sending out to Hawaii and for what purpose?” …
SA: Rep. Case confirms ICE detainees coming to Honolulu facility | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Read … Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center to house ICE detainees | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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