Entries for January 2019

...In a budget briefing at the legislature at about this time last year, Department of Education officials reported that their backlog of repair and maintenance jobs was $293 million, and they were patting themselves on the back because it was a significant drop from the $392 million reported in 2010....

...This week, the Hawaii Legislature convened for the 2019 session and anti-gun forces are already making attempts to limit your rights....

... The penalty to Preserve Our Hawaii for the violation would be $25; the penalty to the Star-Advertiser would be nothing ....

 "Tulsi Gabbard. I don't think she knows what she's doing and I don't think she ... is qualified. She's not qualified." -- DNC Chair Howard Dean

... Hirono argues religious freedom is "the alt-right's position" -- but she didn't dare to vote nay ....

... 'King of Atooi' Dayne Gonsalves and his 'marshals' team up with developer to intimidate Coco Palms protesters ....

...HDoT, DAGS, DLIR, B&F, PSD.....

...Attention Politicians: This is why you cannot get ahead by changing positions on gay marriage....

"...HART policies and practices are inadequate to prevent cost overruns and schedule delays from recurring...."

...Senate President Ron Kouchi talked about how his “greatest passion was to create a Hawaii where each and every one one of our children could come home.”....

...Hawaii suffered the second-largest construction employment decline in USA....

...Would You Pay $10 for Maui Beachfront Land?....

...Waving fake police badges, recidivist criminal police impersonators claiming to be ‘Federal Marshals’ from Kauai today assaulted employees at the State of Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs.  Police let most of the group leave....

...Hawaii, a state with a sales tax base so broad that it applies to more than the state’s entire economy, taxes not just the machinery businesses use to manufacture goods, but also the raw materials used in manufacturing....

...percent of average wages to rent--Santa Cruz County, California (81.7 percent); Honolulu County, Hawaii (74.4 percent); Spotsylvania County, Virginia (73.0 percent); Maui County, Hawaii (69.5 percent)....

...Ethnomathematics participants gather algae around Coconut Island....

...A press release announcing McCartney’s appointment Wednesday morning made no mention of the dual roles for Fuchigami....

...This is my continuing effort to keep you informed of our progress and to provide information as we change the political landscape on Oahu....

...We will be faithful and committed to the needs of the people of Hawai‘i, and to the agenda that you set out as the Majority – but we ask that your agenda conform to the generally accepted principals of free markets, free people void of government shackles, and greater prosperity for all the people of Hawai‘i....

... faceplant ....

...WalletHub measured the gaps between blacks and whites across 22 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia....

...As of Nov. 30, 2018 there were approximately 6,659 registered patients and 383 caregivers on Hawai‘i Island of the total 23,479 patients and 1,734 caregivers registered statewide. The primary reported condition for adult registered patients is ‘severe pain’. The primary reported condition for children under 18 years of age is ‘seizures’....

...there have been increasing issues with vandalism including damage to a palace window and graffiti on historic structures. This is a result of night time vagrancy and items such as hypodermic needles being left on the grass....

...In Report 2, we examined the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s current management structure, the relationship between HART and its Board of Directors, and HART’s use of third-party consultants to manage the Honolulu Rail Transit Project....

...Honolulu’s corporation counsel Donna Leong received a federal “target letter” eleven days ago--Caldwell said nothing until the story broke in the media....

...Hawaii residents now owe $4.1B in student loans, up from $2B in 2008....

...Robert Frank Westerman (Kauaʻi County), Alapaki Nahale-a (Hawaiʻi County) and Kelli K.K. Acopan (Student Regent)....

...Irwin is currently the California State University (CSU) Monterey Bay provost and vice president for academic affairs....

...The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Insurance Division has released its annual sample premium comparison guides for motor vehicle, homeowners, condominium, and renters insurance....

...SIC may not discontinue service without our express authorization....

... weekly update from GovTrack.us ....

...The decision comes after a divided Ninth Circuit last month rebuked Gilliam for “abuse of discretion” by blocking interim versions of the rules in December 2017 in all 50 states....

...Today, we examine “zero-based budgeting,” an idea that has been around for a while but was recently championed by House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke....  

...Hawaii Family Forum Legislative Week in Review....

...The Volker Alliance gave states grades of A to D-minus, the lowest possible mark, for their practices in five areas that are the building blocks of budgeting nationwide....

...Within hours of Rep Tulsi Gabbard's presidential campaign announcement, the first hat is thrown into the ring for Hawaii CD2....

Among conditions for the buyers of these “ALOHA homes”....

...Which States Rely the Most on Federal Aid?....

...I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week," the Hawaii Democrat told CNN's Van Jones during an interview slated to air at 7 p.m. Saturday....

...DLNR Chair Suzanne Case remarked, “Jason has stepped in and stepped up on multiple occasions to fill leadership voids when previous chiefs have retired or resigned...."

...The economic boom of the last few years allowed them to continue spending at high levels, and many of them would like to keep it that way....

...Hirono asked, “If confirmed, do you intend to end your membership with this organization to avoid any appearance of bias?”....

...meanwhile Senator Brian Schatz serves on the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. Senate....

"...The chairwoman also said the BOE needs to review other past executive-session actions to ascertain whether or not they also should be invalidated...."

"...Eighty percent of those forcibly initiated into prostitution via sex trafficking also prostituted without a trafficker at a later point...."

...On the first pay date of the year on Jan. 4, 2019, the PeopleSoft Payroll system issued 70,771 payments to 66,182 employees, as there are individuals issued pay for multiple positions....

...designed to make refusing shelter easier....

...We found that, as the Honolulu Rail Transit Project progressed and costs swelled from $5.122 billion in 2012 to $9.188 billion in 2018, HART began reporting information to the public that often contradicted its own internal projections or differed from what it was telling the Federal Transit Administration....

...featuring nationally famous criminal justice journalist Radley Balko....

...The Hawaii Supreme Court declared a Republican victory for Senator Kurt Fevella in the 2018 General Election for State Senate District 19....