Entries for January 2015

The report is being made available in accordance with Hawaiʻi’s public records law....

If the Legislature fails to grant MMMC permission to negotiate a partnership agreement with HPH and MMMC goes bankrupt, this interview will be the smoking gun....

“The bottom line of this bill is to start saving lives."

Voting has been compulsory in Australia since 1912 and appears to have reached about 94% voter turn-out in most elections....

...a new state-by-state comparison puts Hawaii as #1 in terms of the gap between the income residents earn and the cost of housing....

...Nebraskans pay one of the lowest rates for electricity in the nation and revenues are reinvested in infrastructure to ensure reliable and cheap service for years to come....

The deadline to apply is February 20, 2015....

...In nearly any other state, the inter-island cable project being considered in Hawaii would be subject to various federal rules and regulations designed to ensure consumers receive the benefits of robust competition....

...see the status and progress of planned renewable generation projects, including customer-sited rooftop solar as well as mid-sized and utility-scale wind and solar projects....

The defendant is the former executive director of the Hawaii Centers for Independent Living....

...dishonesty and financial carelessness by the managers of the Hawaii Health Connector have been so rampant as to be criminal in nature....

Okino was the principal advocate for rail when the City Council originally authorized the project. Djou lead the opposition to rail on the council....

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will host community meetings throughout Hawai‘i, February 17 – March 3....

... 8,282,680 visitors came to the Hawaiian Islands in 2014, exceeding the 2013 record of 8,174,461 visitors by 1.3 percent ....

...Totally unrelated story -- Dec 17, 2014: Corruption: Al Hee Indicted on 13 Counts--Could Get 39 Years in Federal Prison (Indictment announced on 2nd anniversary of Dan Inouye's death)....

Highlights of the application include a commitment to not file a request with the PUC for a general base rate increase for at least four years post-transaction close and approximately $60 million in quantified customer savings...

...the cost of a U.S.-manufactured ship is about four times that of foreign competition....

...Hawai‘i has the largest gap in the nation between residents’ income and housing costs, ranking dead last....

...We noted numerous questionable travel and entertainment costs as well as unsupported severance pay. These questionable costs may be disallowed by the funding agency....

Pass-through businesses pay a significant role in the US economy. They account for 95 percent of all businesses, more than 60 percent of all business income, and more than 50 percent of all employment....