Entries for November 2017

...the former state employee could improperly benefit by trading on his or her “insider knowledge” to secure future employment or business opportunities....

...inbound air cargo volume from the U.S. mainland jumped in 2002 due to e-commerce and has been at that high level ever since....

• Senate: Kan Nomination – Confirmation
• Senate: Bradbury Nomination – Conf
• Senate: Esper Nomination – Confirmation
• Senate: Zatezalo Nomination – Confirmation
• Senate: Otting Nomination – Confirmation
• House: Flood Insurance Reauthorization
• House: Fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization-Conference Report
• House: Tax Overhaul

...Honolulu cost of living is 86 percent above national average .... 

...This report evaluates twelve publicly released agreements that Airbnb has entered with state or local governments....

Krishna Consciousness is when you know the Krishnas did it....

...Most begin on January 3, 2018 and end on the last day of the legislative session.... 

...Overstock Began Accepting Bitcoin in January 2014....

...The Department apparently regards the taxpayers here as lower life forms and wants to give them no respect.... 

There’s a lot of news out there about the tax bills before the Congress, and nearly all of it is confusing....

...the report concludes that Hawaii is not yet at the stage of overtourism....

...When asked whether department members “are aware of the endorsement, and if so, whether you approve of it,” only one professor replied, telling Campus Reform that “we are, and I am.”....

...Hawaii’s county governments — and county taxpayers — are about to feel the pinch....

A federal court order is being ignored so union members at the Hawai’i State Hospital can manipulate work rules....

Hawaii public hospital workers earn less but cost more than their private sector counterparts.  How is that possible?

..."Andrew Walden of the Hawai'i Free Press, actually called HHSC the 'HGEA job trust'"....

...after decades ignoring the festering problems at the HGEA job trust State Hospital, AG and DoH pretend to suddenly be oh-so-very-concerned....

...the annual median cost of long term care services in Hawaii increased an average of 5.51 percent from 2016 to 2017....

...Escape in the Second Degree is a class C felony and carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a $10,000.00 fine....

...between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2014, she applied for and received public assistance benefits to which she was not entitled. This resulted in DHS making more than $20,000.00 in overpayments....

...FTA also stated that they are watching to see what HART’s new strategy to build the City Center portion of the guideway will look like....

...find out what the lawsuit settlement terms will be....

San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Deputies said they arrested Randall Saito, the Hawaii State Hospital escapee, at approximately 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.....

...Last year biodiesel represented 2 percent of HECO’s oil and diesel consumption. (Translation: Its an expensive fig leaf for diesel plants.)....

...a seawater jet powered by Hawaii tax credits is used to shoot pies up into the sky--electricity is generated by harnessing the energy of the pies as they fall back to Earth....

...scheduled for Tuesday, November 14, 2017 and Wednesday, November 15, 2017 to confirm four judicial appointments, three for the Circuit Court of the First Circuit and one for the District Family Court of the First Circuit – O‘ahu....

...Review of Special Funds, Revolving Funds, Trust Funds, and Trust Accounts of the Department of Taxation....

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to weigh in on a California law that forces pro-life pregnancy care centers to provide free advertising for the abortion industry....

...Despite her crucial role in Puerto Rico recovery, Jaresko was apparently unaware of the Jones Act or its effects on the Commonwealth....

...Exposure Draft — November 15, 2017 Ethics Commission meeting....

...Proposed Legislation for 2018 Legislative Session....

..."We disagree with DHRD. The statutory requirements that DHRD report to the Legislature are unambiguous and do not exempt these trust funds." -- Auditor....

... The Ninth Circuit on Monday partly granted an emergency motion by the Trump administration and lifted a preliminary stay on most aspects of President Donald Trump’s ban on entry into the United States ....

...The increase in family incomes is the result of both the income tax cuts and the broader rise in productivity and wages due to economic growth....

• Senate: Gibson Nomination – Confirmation
• Senate: Engel Nomination – Confirmation
• Senate: Wehrum Nomination – Confirmation
• House: Joint Employer Definition
• House: Hydropower Regulation
• House: Securities Regulations Exemptions

Three doctors, specializing in pediatrics, biology, and psychiatry, are criticizing what they say is the reliance on feelings over facts ....

...Approximately 300 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients live in Hawaii....

...Kidney failure, blood clots, cardiac arrest, inflammation of the pancreas, leaking intestines....

“I object to the use of the word ‘customer.’ It certainly doesn’t feel like that type of relationship to me. Maybe ‘hostage’?”

“The Airports Division expects near-term traffic results will be better than projected due to Island Air expanding interisland traffic...." -- Fitch Ratings, October 26, 2017

...The Institute for Justice finds Hawaii to be ‘most burdensome’ in USA due to the large number of professions requiring licensure.   In contrast, the Wisconsin study finds Hawaii to be the 'least burdensome' based on an analysis of 10 specific professions and the requirements to attain license in each....

Americans adopt approximately 140,000 children per year....

...the state Legislature has discovered a new tactic for meeting its public pension financial obligations: passing the costs on to the counties....

...after she was deposed, and after Hawaii became a U.S. territory, the former queen sued the United States in what was then the U.S. Claims Court....

...take a moment to celebrate the service of all U.S. military veterans past and present....

...“We got a few hundred subscribers, but nothing really earth shattering,” Epler says...Civil Beat has an annual budget of roughly $3 million and a staff of about 22 to 24 people....

“Because Farrington Highway and Kamehameha Highway are on the National Highway System, the reconstruction projects are eligible for Federal aid funds, subject to selection by OahuMPO and HIDOT.”  -- FHWA Acting Director Nadeau, October 7, 2015

...The City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services (DTS) is excited to announce the creation of the first O‘ahu Pedestrian Plan and an update of the 2012 Bicycle Master Plan....

Legacy Costs evaluates whether states provided adequate funding, as defined by retirement system actuaries, for pensions and other promised retirement benefits for public workers.....

...We live in a world of plenty which is both good and bad....