Governor tours Maui jail, signs Kilauea lava relief bill; homeless shelters don't meet specs; pay raises for Honolulu officials, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Elderly hula dancer n Hawaii ©2019 All Hawaii News

Lawmakers boost funding for senior services. State lawmakers Tuesday approved a package of bills that earmark about $10 million during the next two years for services and staff to support seniors. Star-Advertiser.

Legislature Approves Spending Millions For Elderly Care. Funding for kupuna care programs were some of the outstanding big ticket items that weren’t included in the state’s operating budget in March. Civil Beat.

8 homeless shelters don’t meet new standards, but will be funded anyway. The state has had to throw out the results of its latest bids from homeless shelter providers after eight of 34 homeless shelters failed to meet new quality standards. Hawaii News Now.

DOE Lays Out A 10-year ‘Road Map’ For Fixing Old Schools, Building New Ones. A long-range DOE facilities plan has identified $7 billion in “top priority” capitol needs, from adding more classrooms to repairing aging schools. Civil Beat.

State seeks ‘safe harbor’ for financial institutions that do business with medical marijuana dispensaries. Star-Advertiser.

Minimum Wage Increase Could Help Over 200,000 Workers, Report Says. The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice analyzed the demographics of workers who could be impacted by an increase. Civil Beat.

Ozawa-Waters Race Highlights Flaws in Hawaii's Voting System. Problems counting mail-in ballots and an extremely small margin created chaos in the 2018 Honolulu City Council election between Tommy Waters and Trevor Ozawa. Several bills at the legislature aim to correct those problems. Hawaii Public Radio.

Hawaii Rep. Ed Case Raised 99% Of Campaign Money From PACs. The congressman raised nearly $78,000 during the first quarter of 2019. Only $425 came from individual donors. Civil Beat.

Commentary: Why, Tulsi, Why? Her fans cried, “Run, Tulsi, Run.” But now the Hawaii congresswoman’s presidential campaign is sputtering and the big question is why is she staying in the race? Civil Beat.

Statewide solar electric permits in Hawaii decline in Q1. Oahu and the Big Island experienced year-over-year first quarter decreases in the number of solar photovoltaic installation permits while Kauai and Maui had slight increases, according to data compiled by Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Big Island-based ProVision Solar. Pacific Business News.

Oahu

Honolulu Salary Commission Approves Pay Raises For Top City Officials. Barring any action by the City Council, most of Honolulu's top officials will get a 3.5% pay raise this year. Hawaii Public Radio.

A bill designed to give owners of apartment-size lots enough incentive to develop affordable rentals is up for a key vote before the Honolulu City Council today. Star-Advertiser.

City Council to vote on a long-awaited Waikiki park project. A vacant lot will become a gated green area in Waikiki with the approval of what would become Centennial Park in a vote today before the Honolulu City Council. Star-Advertiser.

Lawmakers Agree to Emergency Funds For Pali Highway. The $7 million approved by lawmakers Tuesday is less than half of the $15 million requested by the Senate in March. Civil Beat.

State regulators push to relocate Red Hill fuel tanks as Navy studies potential new sites. The Navy pumps fuel from its Red Hill tanks to its piers at Pearl Harbor. Hawaii News Now.

New sit-lie enforcers proposed. The homeless population in Chinatown has grown by about 30 percent, according to the chairwoman of the area's neighborhood board. KHON2.

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A Division of Fish and Wildlife employee and two representatives of the nonprofit Pacific Rim Conservation survive helicopter crash near Sacred Falls. A pilot and three passengers walked away from a helicopter that lost power and crashed Tuesday morning in a gully in a remote section of Sacred Falls State Park in Hauula. Star-Advertiser.

4 escape injury after chopper crash on Oahu’s North Shore. Four people miraculously escaped injury Tuesday morning after a state-contracted helicopter crashed in Sacred Falls Valley on Oahu’s North Shore. Hawaii News Now.

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Matson’s bigger cranes for bigger cargo ships arrive in Honolulu. Hawaii’s dominant ocean cargo transportation firm Tuesday began what is expected to be a more than two-month process of installing three bigger and more powerful gantry cranes at its container handling facility at the state’s busiest harbor. Star-Advertiser.

Matson unloads three cranes to advance modernization push. Matson Inc. set a new milestone in Honolulu Harbor as three new 65 long-ton capacity gantry cranes, the biggest ship-to-shore container cranes sent to a commercial Hawaii harbor, were delivered. Pacific Business News.

Hawaii Island

Governor Signs Volcanic Disaster Relief Bill For Hawaii County. The new law, now to be known as Act 9, appropriates $60 million for disaster recovery in the wake of the Kilauea volcanic eruption. Big Island Video News.

Council seeks proof that taxpayer money’s well-spent. A full 38% of the county’s proposed 2019-20 budget is eaten up by employee pensions, retirement, health insurance and payment on old debt, eroding the ability of the County Council and administration to pay for new services and initiatives. West Hawaii Today.

County preparing to address parking lot behind Agasa Furniture that has become a homeless camp. A small lot of land located between Ponahawai and Mamo streets has, during the past several months, gone from a vacant parking lot to a fenced-off collection of tents and makeshift structures. Tribune-Herald.

NHCH nurses, Queen’s in contract talks. As negotiations continue for a new contract between The Queen’s Health Systems and the nurses of North Hawaii Community Hospital, the president of the Hawaii Nurses Association says there are still some issues that need resolving, even as management is preparing to come back with its final offer. West Hawaii Today.

Lead Found In Hu Honua Discharge, Sierra Club Says. Cory Harden of the Sierra Club's Moku Loa group informed the Hawaii County Game Management Advisory Commission of their findings on Monday. Big Island Video News.

Experts say market should be stable and slow, which is good news. Matthew Gardner, Windermere Real Estate chief economist, delivered his forecast Monday during the inaugural Hawaii Island Economic Summit, hosted by Windermere C&H Properties, at the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Officials tour Maui jail. Five weeks after an inmate revolt at the Maui Community Correctional Center caused $5.3 million in damage, state and county officials toured the Wailuku facility Tuesday to check on repairs and security updates while promising to address overcrowding issues they blame for the unrest. Star-Advertiser.

Maui Jail Riot Repairs Estimated to Cost $5.3 M. Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda, Governor David Ige, and United Public Workers Union’s State Director Dayton Nakanelua all traveled to Maui today to join Maui Mayor Michael Victorino in surveying the latest repairs and security updates underway at the Maui Community Correctional Center. Maui Now.

Gov. Ige tours MCCC for a first-hand look at damage following riots, escapes. A month after an inmate uprising at the Maui Community Correctional Center, Gov. David Ige toured the facility for an update on repairs. Hawaii News Now.

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Mayor Michael Victorino announced today his selection of Steve Welling as deputy director of the Department of Public Works. Maui Now.

Maui retail vacancies hit record high in 2018. Report shows that new, existing retailers moving to new malls. Maui News.

Kauai

Old school produce. Rotary members built two wheelchair accessible raised garden beds at Kauai Care Center, and now residents are harvesting produce for their dinner table. Garden Island.

Kauai 'alert and warning' siren testing Wednesday 8am-5pm. It's just a test, a part of Hawaii's statewide "alert & warning system"  used to notify the public during pending emergencies. KITV.

Newborn humpback whale video mesmerizes researchers, Ige signs early childhood public-private partnership, Gabbard to launch presidential bid Saturday, double the money for Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kauai audit finds cash mismanagement, pCard misuse, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

UH footage captures newborn humpback minutes after birth. Rare drone footage captured by the University of Hawaii Marine Mammal Research Program shows a newborn humpback whale gliding along near the ocean’s surface, sometimes riding on its mother’s back. Star-Advertiser.

Governor David Ige signed the Hawaii Early Childhood State Plan today. The Governor said the plan involved hundreds of community stakeholders and organizations who will be involved in implementing the private-public effort. Hawaii Public Radio.

Governor Ige signs first 'Hawaii Early Childhood Education State Plan'. Governor David Ige signed the first ever 'Hawaii Early Childhood State Plan' Wednesday. KITV.

Gov. David Ige’s ambitious proposal to expand Hawaii’s statewide public preschool system unveiled in his recent State of the State address turns on the idea of restructuring some K-6 elementary schools. Civil Beat.

The Legislative Keiki Caucus is sponsoring 24 senate and house bills focusing on the education, health and well-being of children. Hawaii Public Radio.

The number of unvaccinated kindergartners grew again in Hawaii last year. In the 2017-18 school year, some 518 kindergarten students at public and private schools in the islands got vaccination exemptions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hawaii News Now.

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Key Lawmakers Are Trying To Water Down Inspection Rules For Elder Care Homes. House and Senate bills would undercut a new law that requires unannounced state inspections of care homes by making those optional. Civil Beat.

Several bills introduced in the state Legislature this month might be the last straw for Hawaii. Six bills so far have been introduced that would, if passed, prohibit or otherwise limit the use and distribution of plastic straws. Tribune-Herald.

Dozens Of Proposed Bills Could Change The Way We Vote. Recounts in close elections, all-mail balloting and easing the voter registration process are among the measures this session. Civil Beat.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs would see its share of public land trust revenue more than double to $35 million under a bill advanced by a state House committee Wednesday. Star-Advertiser.

Increased funding for OHA approved by House Committee. The House Committee on Water, Land & Hawaiian Affairs today passed out HB 402 which establishes $35 million as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' pro rata share of the public land trust and transfers a lump sum of $139 million to OHA for underpayment of the public land trust funds. KHON2.

Some Question Calls For Tougher Penalties On OHA Takeover Group. Native Hawaiian activists sharply criticized their actions, but not everyone agrees on how best to respond to members of the obscure “Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi.” Civil Beat.

Dan Kouchi, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii’s new assistant vice president for government affairs and alliances, will not be lobbying at the office of his father, Senate President Ron Kouchi of Kauai. Garden Island.

Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard plans to kickoff her presidential campaign Saturday at an event on the great lawn of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Star-Advertiser.

Gabbard announces venue for 2020 presidential campaign kickoff. Hawaii News Now.

Heavy rain and floods on Kauai, flooding in East Oahu, lava on the Big Island, and a series of hurricane and storm threats made 2018 a very busy year in terms of disaster preparation and response. A critical list of suppliers for food and water right after a disaster has been pushed back one year by the very agency tasked with coordinating emergency responses. KHON2.

Hawaii hotels tops in the nation for revenue in 2018. Pacific Business News.

Oahu

King’s Village businesses make way for a timeshare. The demise of King’s Village, which had more than 45 stores, represents the end of an era in Waikiki. King’s Village was really Waikiki’s last small business stronghold after the 2013 closure of the International Market Place. Star-Advertiser.

A final goodbye to King's Village in Waikiki. Most of the businesses at King's Village Shopping Center in Waikiki have already moved out. KITV.

A rescue boat that cost taxpayers $118K sits mostly idle in a Kewalo Basin yard. When Gov. David Ige and Mayor Kirk Caldwell unveiled the new rescue boat at Kewalo Basin nearly three years ago, state and city officials said it would improve emergency response along Oahu’s south shore. Hawaii News Now.

Affordable housing campus for kupuna celebrates its pre-opening. About 50 people celebrated the pre-opening for the Hale Mahaolu Ewalu Phase I affordable senior housing campus Wednesday morning in the Kulamalu Town Center. KHON2.

State officials said today that The Falls of Clyde, the historic ship, is taking on water and beginning to sink at Honolulu Harbor. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii Island

Bishop Museum will retain ownership of its Waipio Valley lands. The news comes three years after the Oahu-based museum declared in January 2016 its intent to sell its substantial acreage within the historic agricultural community. Tribune-Herald.

After passing legislation to extend leases for the Kanoelehua Industrial Area last year, state lawmakers are again turning their attention to improving Hilo’s hotel area on Banyan Drive. Tribune-Herald.

Kona resort aims for 2022 reopening. Construction is underway at the iconic Kona Coast getaway as real estate investment firm Kennedy Wilson prepares to reopen the resort that has been shuttered since the March 2011 tsunami devastated the grounds. West Hawaii Today.

Kona Village, now managed by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, will reopen in 2022, a news release announced on Wednesday. Big Island Video News.

Kona Village Resort set to reopen with a major face lift. Hawaii News Now.

Maui

Mayor Michael Victorino on Tuesday backed away from his inauguration day pledge to open the Central Maui Landfill on Sundays, beginning in February. Maui News.

Spence, Goode garner support, criticism at review. Panel recesses after public testimony on director choices. Maui News.

200-Room Windward Hotel Planned in Kahului, Maui. An Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice has been filed for a 200-room hotel proposed for construction within the Maui Business Park Phase II in Kahului. Maui Now.

Mahi Pono, LLC, today announced the appointment of Larry Nixon as General Manager. Nixon joined Mahi Pono on January 28 and will be managing the company’s farming operations on Maui. Maui Now.

Kauai

County audit reveals accounting backlog, purchase card misuse. The county’s finance department is over a year behind in its quarterly cash counts and some county employees are not following laws that require them to get approval prior to making purchases on county-issued credit cards, according to two reports issued last month by an independent accounting firm. Garden Island.

The torrential rains that flooded Kauai in April set a national record for the most rainfall in a 24-hour period, weather officials confirmed today. Star-Advertiser.

Officials from the National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday that Kauai broke the U.S. record for rainfall in a 24-hour period in April. Garden Island.

Kauai sets new national record for rainfall. KHON2.

April's rain total on Kauai breaks national record. National Weather Service officially reports record rainfall total from April 15th on Kauai. KITV.

Hawaii counties count legislative blessings, IBEW taken over by parent as probe into nepotism widens, tax credits for organic farmers, 75th Pearl Harbor anniversary planned, University of Hawaii money has strings attached, no funding for UH Cancer Center, solar company cutbacks after incentive plan cut, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii elder hula © 2016 All Hawaii News

Hawaii ranks seventh among the 50 states in which to grow old, according to a new Caring.com report. The report looked at several factors affecting people age 55 and up. The ratings incorporated data on quality of life, health care, long-term care, support for seniors and family caregivers, affordability of senior care and more than 100,000 ratings of senior care providers. Pacific Business News.

Hawaii would become the first state to pass a plan that would set up tax breaks for farmers to offset the cost of becoming certified as organic. Under the plan farmers could get up to $50,000 in tax credits for qualifying expenses. The state Legislature approved the proposal this year. Associated Press.

New Political Parties Get Their Shot On Hawaii Ballots This Year. The Hawaii Constitution Party, the Hawaii Independent Party and the American Shopping Party have qualified. Civil Beat.

The state’s newly selected medical marijuana dispensary operators could be permitted to grow under natural sunlight, and advanced practice registered nurses might be allowed to certify new patients. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaii’s solar industry continues to struggle after the state ended a popular solar incentive program in October. The Hawaii Solar Energy Association, a solar advocacy group, said Monday a survey of 11 member companies showed 73 percent have decreased staff since the incentive program ended. Star-Advertiser.

The takeover of one of Hawaii's largest unions by its international parent comes amid longtime complaints of nepotism in the office. A Hawaii News Now review of the IBEW Local 1260's filings with the U.S. Labor Department shows that the union employed at least four people related to business manager Brian Ahakuelo. Hawaii News Now.

Only half of Hawaii’s public high schools with football teams have access to the top-rated helmets, and even at the campuses with the best helmets available, your child may still be handed a lower-rated piece of equipment. KHON2.

Oahu

The Legislature passed 275 bills and appropriated more than 7 billion dollars in state general funds before it adjourned last week. But the UH Cancer Center did not receive a single cent of what it asked for. Hawaii Public Radio.

Lawmakers are trying to prohibit the University of Hawaii from spending any of the nearly $50 million the Legislature has budgeted for the university’s repair and maintenance backlog on the College of Education at UH Manoa — unless the college is relocated. Star-Advertiser.

Kakaako Waterfront Park has a reputation as a giant, uninviting grassy mound with crumbly walking paths and shade pavilions popular with the homeless. But the state’s biggest park in urban Honolulu would become a grand public recreation destination under a new master plan. Star-Advertiser.

Planners of the 75th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, attacks on Oahu are optimistic that either an aircraft carrier or “big deck” amphibious assault ship and vintage aircraft will participate in the milestone commemoration, which likely will be the last major hurrah for a rapidly dwindling number of Pearl Harbor survivors. Star-Advertiser.

The ordinance that bans sitting and lying on public sidewalks has been a handy tool for Honolulu Police Department officers to clear the homeless and other sidewalk dwellers off of busy sidewalks in Waikiki and the downtown/Chinatown areas over the past two years. But in the 15 neighborhoods from Waimanalo to Wahiawa that were added to the sit-lie law by City Council members, the law does not appear to have been used. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

Kona International Airport improvements and an expansion of the Hawaii Community Correctional Center are among the big ticket items lawmakers approved for the Big Island this session. In total, the state Legislature approved $389 million in capital projects for the island during the session that ended last week. Tribune-Herald.

State lawmakers are touting the $389 million in Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funding secured for Hawaii Island under the state budget (biennium of Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017 ) passed by the Legislature last week. The Big Island’s elected officials were also able to secure $8.5 million in Grants-In-Aid CIP for Hawaii Island nonprofit organizations. Big Island Video News.

Travel to and from Kahakai Elementary School will soon become smoother, and Principal Jim Denight hopes substantially safer after the State Legislature allocated $355,000 to improve safety conditions on Kahakai Access Road. West Hawaii Today.

Government and nonprofit groups are pitching in to keep the vision of botanist Amy Beatrice Holdsworth Greenwell alive. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Dozens gather in solidarity with Maui lifeguards fighting for better pay. KITV4.

In a follow-up to our March 6th MAUIWatch interview with Kai Pelayo, the new Monsanto Maui community affairs director, Pelayo forwarded a 32-page update to the company’s Memorandum of Understanding with the County of Maui for the year 2015.

The Department of Natural Resources was called to investigate the discovery of an unidentified object/device that washed ashore overnight at the beach in Spreckelsville off of Stable Road. Authorities say the item appeared to be some type of Naval sonar equipment, but the DLNR Maui Boating District Manager is looking into the case to assess what it is and how to get it removed. Maui Now.

Hana and Lanai high and elementary schools are among 23 schools statewide being added next school year to a U.S. Department of Agriculture free meal program, the state Department of Education announced Thursday. Maui News.

Kauai

Kauai representatives secured over $141 million in Capital Improvement Project funding for fiscal years 2016 and 2017. Garden Island.

The Kauai Community Correctional Center will be receiving $15 million for new housing and support offices after Kauai lawmakers secured more than $140 million in Capital Improvement Project funding this week. Garden Island.

Senate President Ronald Kouchi frequently drives on Puhi Road, which means he knows about its condition firsthand. Garden Island.