...our legislature has a dogged focus on new taxes....

...The Impact of Public Health Insurance on Medical Utilization in a Vulnerable Population: Evidence from COFA Migrants....

...after dumping as many independent tests as possible, the DoE tries to make it look good.  Here's their report....

"...branded an “F.” How does that make the hardworking kids, educators and families of that school community feel?...."

...Due to difficulty verifying validity of petition signatures on a previous Change.org impeachment petition, Impeach Kaneshiro organizers have launched a new on-line petition designed to collect verifiable signatures of Honolulu registered voters....

"...the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment bars a city from prosecuting people criminally for sleeping outside on public property when those people have no home or other shelter to go to...."

...The Honolulu rail is now famous, but for all the wrong reasons. The question is: “What we are going to do about it?....

...could receive a vote as early as April 5, 2019....

...The redevelopment should take into consideration input received in the DTL, LLC Final Report....

...The group was led by OHA Vice Chair Lee and included Chair Machado and Trustees Robert Lindsey and John Waiheʻe IV, as well as OHA Chief Executive Officer/Ka Pouhana Kamanaʻopono Crabbe, OHA Chief Operating Officer/Ka Pou Nui Sylvia Hussey, and trustee and administration staff....

...Killing this bill sends $62M from A&B to Mahi Pono which has its staff larded up with anti-GMO activists....

...Ten organizations to receive funding....

"...the manner in which Chief Ballard is administering her statutory authority to process applications for concealed and open carry licenses...could potentially precipitate one of the greatest legal catastrophes...the nation (has) ever experienced...." -- Steven Levinson and Loretta Sheehan

...Right before the riots took place there were (214) inmates housed in the Modules, all playing " pretend lockdown", fully capable of breaching their cell doors at will....

...HIDOE announces its 2019 graduation dates for 64 schools statewide including public charter schools....

...Elon Musk is going to get even more of your money....

...'Sin' taxes are levied on a relatively narrow tax base, and many are regressive, with a larger share of the tax burden falling on those with lower incomes....

...Is There A Way Of Living In Hawai'i Without All The Problems?....

"...The Kealoha case is arguably the single largest corruption case in the history of our state...."

...A new Grassroot Institute of Hawaii report suggests ways to build a financial reserve....

...Unlike tax rates, which vary widely based on an individual’s circumstances, tax burden measures the proportion of total personal income that residents pay toward state and local taxes....

...the State (in 1967) and the City and County of Honolulu (in 2004) passed legislation designed to dismantle leasehold housing on private lands....

...this will be exploited to jam up traffic even more....

...Hawaii residents get the least amount of sleep per night and have the 3rd-lowest job security in USA....

Editor's Note: The Big Island is different because the subdivisions in Puna and Kau change the supply-demand equation. 

...The committee is charged with increasing awareness about the importance of being counted; organizing state resources effectively and cost-efficiently to promote the count; and improving the response rate for the 2020 Census questionnaire....

...Trump Admin Awards $5.1 Million to Group of Pro-life Medical Clinics, Cuts Funding to Planned Parenthood....

"...With two newly-elected Republican legislators on Oahu in 2018, we are really beginning to turn things around....”

...Survey dates are Monday, April 1, 2019 to Tuesday, April 30, 2019....

...four material weaknesses and ten significant deficiencies in internal control over compliance with major federal programs....

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

...Suicide Prevention and Palliative Care bills still moving....

...Utility bills have dropped ranging from less than a dollar a month for the average residential customer in Hawaii to about $14 for the same group in Florida....

...The AOC requires Big Island Dairy owners to terminate their dairy operations, remove all their cows from confinement on the site, clean and remove the existing wastewater system, and pay $79,000 by June of 2019....

...The application must be postmarked or delivered on or before the application deadline of Thursday, June 27, 2019....

...Before the ink was dry on those judgments, the Department of Taxation produced additional assessments against the taxpayers, this time on car rental commissions....

...Hawaii lawmakers are considering a myriad of new tax increases in order to pay for their spending plans, but instead they should clamp down on their spending so tax hikes aren’t needed....

...Stress tests help validate increases in state, worker contributions....

...The Hawaii Rifle Association today filed a lawsuit challenging Hawaii’s extreme requirement that a concealed carry license can only be issued in “urgent” or “exceptional” instances.... 

“…the court finds as a matter of law that OHA owns, and has authority and control over the operation and management of the LLC’s operations….”

...Trustees now have an opportunity to address the Spending Policy, and other financial policies that are under review....

...Hawaii Visitor Statistics Released for February 2019....

...We found that DAGS fundamentally misunderstands its responsibilities under Act 1, performing unnecessary busy work that not only wastes time and money but also increases the risk of improper payment....

...We already have a good stadium.  And this consultant now admits Aloha Stadium is located in the best possible place.  So why tear it down for yet another unnecessary boondoggle?....

...a byzantine structure of taxes and fees, with effective tax rates on consumers often exceeding 30 percent....

“Would you accept a rate increase to modernize the grid? How much of an increase? What about a 5%, 10%, 15% increase to your current bill?”

...Among the projects approved is Hoohana Solar 1 in Kunia, which is planned for a parcel zoned as prime agricultural land, where renewable energy projects are currently not permitted....

...The new term for the Commissioner will begin July 1, 2019 and run for four (4) years, expiring on June 30, 2023....

...with a month to go, legislators will have plenty of time to raise your taxes....

...Reminiscent of rail, projected Ala Wai costs have already leapt from $200M to $470M....