Thursday, March 9, 2023

State short on EV chargers, House poses preliminary budget, ethics reform moves to Senate, Maui condos near record $1M median, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

With 19K EVs, Hawaii pushes to make charging up easier. There are about 19,000 registered electric vehicles In Hawaii and 5,200 plug in hybrids according to the State’s energy department. Hawaiian Electric Company said Hawaii has the lowest charging ports per electric vehicle in the country. KHON2.

Hawaii Lawmakers Are Wary Of Revenue Shortfalls As They Roll Out A Proposed 2-Year Spending Plan. The House Finance Committee unveiled its first draft of an ambitious new budget on Wednesday, but the chairman warned that a decline in tax collections may force changes. Civil Beat. Star-Advertiser.  Maui Now. Garden Island. Hawaii News Now.  KITV4.

Hawaii’s New Top Cop Wants To Beef Up Airport Police, Fireworks Inspections. Jordan Lowe, along with a handful of other heads of state agencies, won approval from Senate committees this week. Gov. Josh Green’s pick to lead the new state Department of Law Enforcement plans to eventually phase out the use of private security guards at state-run airports in favor of deputy sheriffs and promised to work with other law enforcement agencies and shipping companies to increase inspections for fireworks at the ports. Civil Beat.

Lower drunken driving threshold gains ground. Hawaii could become the second state to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration, or BAC threshold, from 0.08% to 0.05% for those operating a vehicle. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaiʻi House of Representatives passes 11 ethics reform bills; next stop the Senate. The Hawaiʻi House of Representatives on Tuesday passed 11 remaining bills relating to ethics reform that were introduced based on recommendations made in the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct Final Report. Big Island Now.

Hawaii May Become The Next State To Ban The Sale Of Fur Products. Hawaii could become the second state in the country to prohibit the fur trade within its borders, if a bill supported by animal rights activists continues to gain momentum within the Legislature. Civil Beat.

Hawaii gun control efforts applauded.
State lawmakers and gun control advocates gathered Wednesday to celebrate the Legislature’s work so far aimed at reducing gun violence across the islands. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaiian Vs. Southwest: Good News For Travelers, Bad News For The Bottom Line. As travelers enjoy Southwest's $39 interisland fares into the spring, Hawaiian Airlines holds the local market but posts net losses. Civil Beat.

Remembering Hawaiʻi's COVID shutdown 3 years after the pandemic began. It was three years ago this week that the Department of Health announced the first case of COVID-19 in Hawaiʻi. Before the month was out, a stay-at-home order and travel restrictions were put in place.  Hawaii Public Radio.

510 new COVID-19 cases and 7 more deaths. The state’s average positivity rate — the percentage of all tests reported that were positive — remained the same as March 1 at 4.4%. Star-Advertiser. Hawaii News Now.

Oahu

HART proposes $108.9 million operating budget for fiscal 2024. Two transit agencies involved in the construction or future operation and maintenance of the city’s nearly $10-billion rail line detailed Tuesday their budgetary goals for next fiscal year. Star-Advertiser.

Kualoa Ranch expansion is hit with another delay. Kualoa Ranch returned to the Honolulu Planning Commission on Wednesday seeking approval to lift restrictions on its operations to complete an expansion plan that has been in play for seven years — but the Windward Oahu agricultural center and tourist attraction is going to have to wait a while longer. Star-Advertiser.

Big changes coming to popular North Shore beach. Laniakea Beach on the North Shore, with its beautiful surf, and the turtles that come to rest along the shoreline, attracts thousands and thousands of visitors annually. KHON2.

City clears homeless encampments in Waianae, but many say it's a waste of taxpayer dollars. The city budgets about $850,000 a year for what it calls sanitation efforts -- that it says in almost all instances are requested by community members. KITV4.

Playful monk seal spotted in the Ala Wai Canal. The notoriously dirty Ala Wai Canal has recently been home to a returning monk seal. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

Roth on health care crisis: ’A matter of life or death’.  Mayor Mitch Roth called the state of health care on Hawaii Island “an emergency situation.” Tribune-Herald.

Council committees discuss affordable housing, land preservation, floriculture on Big Island. The Hawai‘i County Council met Tuesday for several committee meetings. Agenda topics included affordable housing, preservation of 3 acres in Hilo and the importance of the floriculture industry to the Big Island. Big Island Now.

County code changes might be needed before housing program can be fully improved
. Hawaii County’s affordable housing credit program needs to be reshaped, but not before the county code itself can be revised, county officials said. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaiian Tel completes a fiber ring in E. Hawaii. Crews closed an approximately 25-mile fiber gap between Volcano and Pahala, completing another ring in the company’s network. Tribune-Herald. Big Island Now.

Animal control agency OK’d. A new Hawaii County animal control agency will be formed in July, bringing with it 45 new county jobs. Tribune-Herald.

Rapid help pledged for mold-plagued Holualoa Elementary School. Gov. Josh Green pledged Wednesday that he’ll approve funding to fix up the nearly 140-year-old Holualoa Elementary School “the minute it hits my desk,” and a top state Department of Education official said he expects as many as 17 mold-plagued classrooms to be cleaned and repaired over the summer, in time for next school year. Star-Advertiser.

Maui

Maui County condo median sales price sets all-time record at $908,000. Spiked by luxury sales, the median sales price for Maui County condominiums last month set a record high at close to $1 million, a new report said. Maui Now.

Sunken yacht to be left on seafloor for now. DLNR, community planning discussions on future shipwreck response, prevention. Saying that removal would be costly and impacts from the fuel-drained boat “should be minimal,” state officials said there are no plans at this time to pull a 94 foot-long luxury yacht that sank to the seafloor Sunday afternoon in West Maui, though they are planning discussions on how “to fill gaps” in shipwreck responses and prevention.  Maui News.

Restoration efforts underway after luxury yacht caused ‘significant’ damage to coral colonies. The coral in Honolua Bay was ground to bits by a luxury yacht recently stuck around for nearly two weeks. Hawaii News Now. KITV4.

Former Maui police chief Howard Tagomori called tough, progressive.  Howard Hikaru Tagomori, the former Maui police chief remembered for his relentless pursuit of improvement and whose samurai demeanor came with a quick wit and kind heart, died Friday at the age of 82. Star-Advertiser.

Kauai

Public invited to Kaua’i Mayor Kawakami’s State of County address March 14. Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami's 2023 State of the County Address will be held at 9 a.m. at the Līhu‘e Civic Center in the Mo‘ikeha Courtyard.  Kauai Now.

Master plan would reshape Mahaelona Hospital on Kaua‘i.  Officials are closing in on a final master plan for Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital and the surrounding areas, which will include a new library, police substation and hundreds of units of housing. Garden Island.

Kapa‘a satellite DMV coming to town.
Shioi Construction, the same contractor that did the work for the Kapa‘a police substation in the annex, secured the $177,000 project that will have parts of the Kapa‘a Armory renovated to accommodate three DMV service windows facing the road separating the armory from the Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex. Garden Island. Kauai Now.

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