Hawaiian Airlines didn’t fail — The world changed around it
Time to retire the Jones Act’s U.S.-build requirement
No Tax on Tips
Vacancy: Maui Circuit Court Judge
Rail Construction Creates Tsunami Death Trap
SA: … The weekday commute corridor was already clogged before construction began. With one less lane and the loss of morning contra-flow that once added capacity into town, Prevedouros warned the changes will push even more cars onto the already overburdened Middle Street merge.
In an emergency evacuation, he said, the problem would be far worse. Unlike Florida, which can convert highways to one-way outbound routes during hurricanes, Hawaii has no comparable plan, Prevedouros said.
The choke points, he noted, aren’t just on Nimitz itself but at intersections such as Nimitz and Kalihi Street, where traffic lights slow outbound flow.
Prevedouros, a longtime critic of Honolulu’s rail project, suggested measures such as contra-flow on Dillingham Boulevard, synchronized green lights for outbound traffic and better coordination across parallel routes like Nimitz, Dillingham, King Street and the H-1 freeway.
But he cautioned that without public education on vertical evacuation to higher floors within a building, even those steps would not prevent gridlock.
University of Hawaii researcher Karl Kim, who authored a 2022 study modeling short-notice tsunami evacuations in Waikiki, said the July 29 evacuation highlighted familiar problems.
“It could’ve been much worse; what if it was a locally generated tsunami? What if it occurred when school was in session or in the middle of the night when most people are asleep?” Kim said.
Kim’s study found that without improvements, as many as 38,760 lives could be lost in a catastrophic tsunami….
SA: Editorial Tsunami-scare-is-a-call-to-action
SA: Editorial: Improve outreach for rail-building | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
read … Nimitz lane closures intensify evacuation gridlock worries | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Waves Of Lawsuits Will Shape Hawaii Travel
BH: … Hawaii is no stranger to controversy over tourism, but a striking pattern has emerged. The biggest changes to how visitors experience the islands are no longer to be hammered out by legislators or even by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. They will be fought, one after another, in court.
The latest is the federal lawsuit challenging the state’s new “Green Fee,” which raises the hotel tax to 11% (19% including all application accommodation taxes) and extends it for the first time to passengers visiting by ship. While that case has drawn headlines, it is not the only one.
From Maui vacation rental ban plans to the state Supreme Court decision that hotels misled guests on tips, lawsuits are now the central arena in which Hawaii’s visitor industry is being reshaped.
For travelers, this means that everything from what you pay to where you stay, and even whether you can find the accommodations you want in Hawaii at all, could hinge on court decisions. For residents, it has created both hope and frustration: hope that judges might finally force accountability, and frustration that elected officials appear unable to set a clear direction for tourism on their own ….
BH: Now Big Island Residents Say: 'Enough Tourism Already' - Beat of Hawaii
read … Waves Of Lawsuits Will Shape Hawaii Travel - Beat of Hawaii
Solar – DPP’s new permitting system fails
SA: … A group of solar-industry contractors say apparent technical glitches are hampering the city Department of Planning and Permitting’s new software permitting system.
Since HNL Build’s Aug. 4 launch, many solar contractors say they’ve not received city-issued solar permits as quickly as they would like or expect of a new system meant to speed up DPP’s ability to process permits.
Historically, building permit applications to DPP — largely for residential and commercial projects — have taken up to a year or longer to process and obtain.
The rooftop solar industry’s complaints also come as an end-of-the year deadline looms for homeowners wishing to benefit from a 30% federal tax credit to install rooftop solar.
That tax incentive disappears Jan. 1.
“The launch of the City and County of Honolulu’s new permitting software, HNL Build, unfortunately has added to these challenges,” Hawaii Solar Energy Association board members wrote in an “Island Voices” column Aug. 24 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. …
read … Solar companies throw shade on permit system | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
After 12 Years, YMCA reports a little progress on Atkinson property rezoning
SA: … Represented by R.M. Towill Corp., the YMCA submitted a written request to the city Department of Planning and Permitting in June involving the proposed change of the site’s zoning at 401 Atkinson Drive to allow for the building heights to be reduced from 350 feet to 150 feet.
Specifically, the consultant’s letter asked for confirmation from DPP regarding the project’s need for environmental assessments or an amendment to the city’s Primary Urban Center Development Plan, which encompasses areas from Kahala to Pearl City and is the most populous of the island’s eight planning areas.
“In 2013, the project site was rezoned from A-2 Medium Density Apartment District with a 150-foot height limit to AMX-3 High- Density Apartment Mixed-Use District with a 350-foot height limit,” R.M. Towill project planner Isaiah Sato wrote in his June 26 letter to DPP. “Therefore the applicant proposes to revert the 2013 zone change and rezone the site from AMX-3, 350-foot height limit back to its original A-2, 150-foot height limit.”
The consultant also requested an existing unilateral agreement — conditions generally imposed by the city when land is rezoned — to be terminated….
Most of the health and fitness amenities at the facility, including its drained swimming pool, have been closed to the public since 2015.
An eventual sale of the Central Y is also expected to end the organization’s years-long transitional housing program, located across the street from Ala Moana Center, as well as end the high cost to maintain the aging property, the consultant stated.
The YMCA’s request follows a prior, opposite zoning change at the complex more than a decade ago that allowed the site’s building heights to go from 150 feet to 350 feet.
In 2013, the organization envisioned a 128-unit, 350-foot residential tower adjacent to a revamped YMCA facility. The consultant’s letter noted the site “was up-zoned for a specific development being proposed by development partner, Aloha Kai Development.”
“However, after several years of negotiations, the agreement between the YMCA and Aloha Kai Development had been terminated,” Sato wrote. “The 2013 zone change contained project specific conditions based on the development being proposed by Aloha Kai Development.
“These conditions related to the number of units allowed, vehicle and pedestrian access, street frontage requirements, design guidelines, and affordable housing requirements,” Sato wrote. “Over the years the YMCA has received several inquiries to purchase the property; however, all of the potential development partners expressed concerns and have moved on because of the existing restrictions that were intended for the 2013 Aloha Kai Development project.”…
read … YMCA reports progress on Atkinson property rezoning | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
‘Tommy Paycheck’ baggage may haunt Waters’ new run
Shapiro: … He may prevail on the legalities, but a credible and reasonably funded challenger would test his claim he remains popular with district voters after his biggest achievement in leading a generally timid Council was engineering greedy 64% pay raises giving part-time Council members rich six-figure salaries….
read … David Shapiro: ‘Tommy Paycheck’ baggage may haunt Waters’ new run | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
2026 Elections: Candidates Already Campaigning
CB: … The Hawaiʻi primary is not until Aug. 8 and the deadline to file paperwork not until June 2, but some candidates are already off and running:
--Democrat Corey Rosenlee lost by just 11 voters to Republican Elijah Pierick in the 2024 contest for State House District 39 (Royal Kunia, Village Park, Honouliuli, Ho‘opili and parts of Waipahu). The former president of the Hawai’i State Teachers Association says he’s going to take on Pierick, one of the most conservative members of the Legislature, once more — assuming Rosenlee gets past the primary and assuming Pierick chooses to defend his seat.
--The Blog previously reported that Republican Gary Cordery, who finished third in the 2022 primary, was considering another run for governor. Earlier this month he made it official, saying in a press release that he was running on a platform addressing housing affordability, cost of living, energy independence, education reform and community safety. Cordery has been an outspoken critic of Covid vaccine policies and how Hawaiʻi conducts its elections.
--Tara Malia Gregory was on a proposed short list earlier this year to replace the late Gene Ward, who represented House District 18 (Portlock, Hawaiʻi Kai, Kalama Valley). But Gov. Josh Green picked Joe Gedeon instead. No word on what Gedeon might do, but Gregory — the District 18 GOP chairwoman and East Honolulu regional vice chair for the Hawaiʻi Republican Party — is already campaigning about issues like overdevelopment, community-based planning, traffic relief and school safety….
RELATED: Kouchi Changes Mind—Will serve one more term as Senate President
read … The Sunshine Blog: State Officials Are Heading To New Zealand — Again - Honolulu Civil Beat
Dela Cruz Leads State Officials on Trip to New Zealand — Again
CB: … This weekend marks the second trip in two years for Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz to visit New Zealand on state business. He visited last September alongside 15 fellow Hawaiʻi lawmakers and officials. That trip, estimated to cost about $50,000, included visits to the country’s diverse facilities at ports, mail centers and biosecurity training facilities. Notably absent from the trip was anyone from the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council, an official government group.
Lawmakers, who said they learned a lot on the 2024 junket (insert several paragraphs of excuses here) ….
read … State Officials Are Heading To New Zealand — Again
ACLU: We want to release 1000s of hardened criminals onto the streets
CB: … It is accepted that OCCC is in a terrible state and that the conditions for prisoners housed there are deplorable. However, without an evidence-based conclusion it is difficult to accept the conclusion that the Oahu Community Correctional Center “is decades beyond rehabilitation.”…
(TRANSLTION: We want to stall jail construction in hope of a federal consent decree mandating the release of 1000s of hardened criminals onto the streets.)
We know living conditions in OCCC could be immediately improved if the state took steps to decarcerate. Amending parole criteria and comprehensive pretrial reform are two ways that could be accomplished….
(TRANSLTION: We want to release 1000s of hardened criminals onto the streets.)
(IDEA: A ’50-strikes-and-you’re-out’ law. And a new jail build to house all the 50-srikers.)
read … Renewed Call for Replacing O‘ahu’s Jail Glosses Over Reality - Honolulu Civil Beat
Operation Hire Hawaii initiative fills less than 3% of state job vacancies
SA: … Over the past six months, Operation Hire Hawai‘i, established via executive order by Gov. Josh Green, has resulted in (only) 142 hires through Aug. 20, including many new employees not from the federal workforce amid a purge under President Donald Trump….
read … Operation Hire Hawaii initiative fills less than 3% of state job vacancies
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