Friday, May 7, 2010

Feds say teachers can work for free, Big Island mayor says tax the rich, new electric car plant coming to Oahu, Neighbor Islands struggle with budgets, state to sell fishponds, more Hawaii news

Feds: Union Wrong, Teachers Can Work Legally For Free

A South Korea-based company has committed to build a $200 million assembly plant on O'ahu that would turn out two-seat electric cars and other vehicles and employ as many as 400 people.

A South Korea-based auto manufacturer announced yesterday its plans to build Hawaii's first car assembly plant.

Unable to reach an agreement after threatening legal action in March, conservationists and cultural practitioners are suing the St. Regis Princeville Resort for the hotel’s alleged failure to mitigate deaths and injuries of rare Hawaiian seabirds, according to a Thursday press release.

In less than two months, two stealthy F-22 Raptor fighters will fly from Utah to Hickam Air Force Base.

Frustrated by a divided local party, national Democratic groups that have spent more than $300,000 on ads and phone calls in attempts to weaken Republican Charles Djou's campaign for Congress appear ready to pull out of the battle.

Colleen Hanabusa has power.

State plans to auction ancient fishponds

The state Department of Transportation is ordering a contractor to restore a damaged stream on Oahu's north shore.

A Seattle-based firm that planned to ship hundreds of tons of the city's trash to the Pacific Northwest has been fined $40,400 by the state for illegally storing waste.

Marybeth Yuen Maul, 85, who served as an attorney and judge on Molokai for nearly 40 years, died April 23 in Eugene, Ore.

The number of homes resold on Oahu in April climbed compared to the same time last year and the previous month, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Tax rates for the county's wealthiest property owners could spike as much as 31.5 percent under a "cautiously optimistic" budget proposed Wednesday by Mayor Billy Kenoi.

The Hawaii County Council voted Wednesday night to delay the start new energy efficiency building standards to June 15, pending mayoral approval.

Partial funding for Hawaii County's two bands, extended transfer station hours and higher property tax rates are all part of the amended spending request Mayor Billy Kenoi gave to lawmakers Wednesday.

A proposal to increase water rates, particularly for agricultural users, met opposition during a public hearing before Hawaii County's Water Board on Wednesday at King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona.

Concerns about loss of conservation land, the impact of airplane noise above a development and a developers' broken promises were reiterated at a state Land Use Commission meeting Wednesday.

Even as they furlough employees, close pools and raise property tax rates to cope with a major decline in revenues, Maui County officials expressed frustration that more than $19 million in potential collections are frozen due to a backlog in property tax appeals.

Maui County will hold its first property tax foreclosure auction in more than 13 years later this month.

Recycling, The Kaua‘i Bus, lifeguards, the county auditor and other topics were on the minds of Kauaians at the last County Council public hearing on the county operating budget before Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. today delivers his final version to councilmembers.

No comments:

Post a Comment