Legislators mull money for seniors, Ige pledges support for Kakaako elder housing, Arakawa fined for campaign spending violations, Waianae homeless rally at Capitol, vacation rental bill pulled pending ethics ruling, no background checks for home-school parents, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Kupuna hula ©2018 All Hawaii News

Lawmakers are considering $2 million to $4 million in legislative funding for the Kupuna Caregivers program to provide up to $70 a day in services for seniors in Hawaii. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii bumped to third in annual State of Well-Being Rankings report. Hawaii is no longer the state with the healthiest residents, in terms of mind and body, according to the most recent State of Well-Being Rankings report released by Gallup and health and wellness engagement platform Sharecare on Tuesday. Pacific Business News.

The trustees of the $16.9 billion public workers pension fund have fired their chief investment officer, instructing him on Monday to leave the offices of the Employees’ Retirement System and not return, according to sources familiar with the action. Star-Advertiser.

Tougher penalties sought for patients who assault health care workers. Tribune-Herald.

A bill that would have “established procedures for a parent or legal guardian to obtain authorization to home school a child” in Hawaii was withdrawn today after a massive outpouring in opposition. Big Island Video News.

Senator yanks bill requiring background checks for parents who home-school their children. Hawaii News Now.

Dozens of hospital patients acquitted of violent crimes with no way to track them. KHON2.

A woman carrying $335,000 cash aboard a private jet from Honolulu headed for the Philippines tried to leave the country Tuesday without listing all of the money on her customs declaration, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Star-Advertiser.

HEI earnings down in fourth quarter. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. topped analysts’ estimates in the fourth quarter despite lower net income and said a record 27 percent of electricity on its utility’s grid was from renewable sources last year. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. reported net income of $32.4 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to net income of $44.6 million, or 42 cents per diluted share, for the same quarter last year, a decrease of 27.3 percent. Pacific Business News.

Oahu

Waianae homeless camp seeks help from state. Residents of a large homeless encampment near the Waianae Small Boat Harbor say they are not to blame for many of the concerns being cited as reasons to explore shutting down the village on state-owned property. Star-Advertiser.

Waianae Boat Harbor Residents Try To Stave Off A Homeless Sweep. Some of them gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday to respond to growing criticism of the encampment. Civil Beat.

Leaders of a longstanding homeless encampment near the Waianae Boat Harbor used the State Capitol as a backdrop to deliver a message to lawmakers. Hawaii News Now.

Waianae homeless village fights for safe haven at state capitol. KITV.

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Ige Promises To Help Anxious Kakaako Seniors Facing Rent Hikes. The governor says the state will provide monthly subsidies of up to $250, and indicates a willingness to help residents elsewhere. Civil Beat.

Developer to break ground on long-delayed affordable rentals in Honolulu. The developer of Hale Kewalo plans to break ground on the project on Thursday, more than three years after receiving approval from the Hawaii Community Development Authority for the 128-unit affordable rental project near Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. Pacific Business News.

Experts say expect more water quality alerts. KITV.

A bill allowing the city medical examiner to start charging mortuaries daily fees for the storage of bodies won preliminary approval from the City Council Budget Committee on Wednesday. Star-Advertiser.

A battle is brewing over a plan to split up an historic Oahu ranch and sell dozens of parcels to new owners who could build homes on land zoned for agriculture. Hawaii News Now.

Honolulu City Council Explores Monster Home Regulation. Critics say extra-large structures known as “Monster Homes” are apartment buildings masquerading as single or two family dwellings in residential neighborhoods. Hawaii Public Radio.

A Bill calling for more immediate steps to prevent fuel spills at the Navy’s Red Hill Storage Facility stalled in the House today. Hawaii Public Radio.

A public neighborhood board meeting is scheduled to be held in Makiki tonight where members will address the drift racing problem on Tantalus Drive in the aftermath of the January crash that left a triathlete with multiple fractures after a racing car plowed into her. Star-Advertiser.

Following a recent dust-up with the World Surf League over tournament dates on the North Shore, Mayor Kirk Caldwell wants to create an advisory committee to rewrite Parks and Recreation Department surf tournament rules all across Oahu by August and in time for the 2019-2020 season. Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell has called on the World Surf League to reconsider its threat of removing its events from Hawaii after the city denied its permit request. Pacific Business News.

Wallaby makes a visit to the Halawa Correctional Facility. Wallabies are native to Australia, but have been been spotted in the islands. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

A bill regulating vacation rentals has been pulled from consideration until the Board of Ethics can determine whether North Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff has a conflict of interest in co-sponsoring it. West Hawaii Today.

Gov. David Ige announced that he has appointed Dennis “Fresh” Onishi to serve as the governor’s representative for East Hawaii. Big Island Now.

The remote and rugged terrain of Hawaii island will once again take up its starring role as the surface of Mars today in an ongoing, NASA-funded study of the human factors that contribute to long-duration space exploration. Star-Advertiser.

The University of Hawaii’s sixth Mars mission simulation will begin today as another crew starts eight months of isolation inside a dome on Mauna Loa. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

The Campaign Spending Commission on Wednesday voted to fine Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa $1,000 for exceeding donation limits to multiple charities. Hawaii News Now.

The Liquor Control Department has a new deputy director and a new application checklist that reduces the burden on nonprofit organizations seeking special licenses for fundraising events. Maui News.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation is implementing new weight limit restrictions on five Maui bridges. Maui Now.

Maui Water Quality Program Expands to Include 48 Test Sites. Maui Now.

Kauai

Kauai police and the Department of Parks and Recreation are asking for help in finding the individuals who vandalized a public restroom in Kealia. Star-Advertiser.

Vandals deface restrooms on Kauai's east side; Tips on suspects wanted. Hawaii News Now.

Molokai
The Maui County Department of Water Supply reported a water quality violation at the Ualapue Shaft in East Molokai. Maui Now.

Ige's executive order bars non-net neutrality contracts, lifeguard survey pinpoints needs, Honolulu releases police discipline report, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii lifeguards ©2018 All Hawaii News

From staffing to storage, lifeguards outline needs in light of ocean safety shortfalls. We surveyed lifeguard units statewide to find out what all the county crews need, and it boils down to hiring more of them, assigned to more places, and for more hours. KHON2.

Gov. David Ige signed an executive order Monday directing state agencies to do business only with internet providers willing to contractually “abide by net neutrality principles.” Tribune-Herald.

Gov. David Ige signed an executive order that directs all state government agencies to contract for internet-related services only with providers who contractually agree to abide by net neutrality principals. Maui Now.

Ige signs executive order on net neutrality. Hawaii Gov. David Ige Monday signed an executive order, directing all state government agencies to contract for internet-related services only with providers who contractually agree to abide by net neutrality principals. Pacific Business News.

What A Constitutional Convention Might Mean For Hawaiians. The 1978 rewriting of the state constitution improved the lives of kanaka maoli. Could that happen again? Civil Beat.

New Solar Panel Tariff Won’t Hurt Hawaii. The Trump administration recently decided to impose a 30 percent duty on imported solar panels to help U.S. panel makers. Civil Beat.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is disputing the account of the warning officer who mistook a drill for the real thing and sent an erroneous Jan. 13 missile alert to cellphones, causing 38 minutes of needless fear and panic. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii emergency worker gets threats after misleading photo. When an erroneous alert was sent out last month telling people in Hawaii that there was an incoming ballistic missile, Jeffrey Wong was an island away from the state's emergency management agency office where he works as an operations officer. Associated Press.

In wake of high-profile child deaths, lawmakers eye greater home schooling oversight. Hawaii News Now.

Oahu

The Honolulu Police Department last year fired or recommended for firing police officers in 22 cases ranging from sex assault to kidnapping and malicious use of physical force to use of illicit drugs, according to an annual report the agency submitted last week to the state Legislature. Star-Advertiser.

Man who was allegedly forced to lick public urinal afraid of police retaliation The man at the center of an investigation involving four Honolulu police officers is afraid to speak to investigators, sources say. KHON2.

Handi-Van Riders Are Fuming Over Proposed Fare Increases. Honolulu’s paratransit service has the nation’s highest demand, but that makes it more expensive to run. Civil Beat.

Lawmakers propose to remove bicycle stations and bulbouts from Chinatown. City Council member Carol Fukunaga introduced a bill seeking to ban all bike-stations and curb extension bulbouts in the Chinatown district. KITV.

The Honolulu City Council is expected to fast-track a temporary ban on so-called “Monster Houses.” Hawaii Public Radio.

FilCom Center files for bankruptcy in clash with caterer. The biggest Filipino community center outside the Philippines — a stately facility in Waipahu — is in financial straits after clashing with a local catering and events management company that was supposed to benefit the center. Star-Advertiser.

A federal judge has ruled against the family of one of two California-based Marines killed in an Osprey crash in Waimanalo who sued the manufacturers of the tilt-rotor aircraft. Star-Advertiser.

A dispute over permitting may jeopardize whether the World Surf League continues to hold championship tour competitions in Hawaii. Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Island

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is preparing an environmental assessment for developing a vacant 12.7-acre parcel near Prince Kuhio Plaza to support its beneficiaries in Panaewa. Tribune-Herald.

Lawmakers will hear a bill today that would provide funding to the University of Hawaii at Hilo to conduct rat lungworm research. Tribune-Herald.

Fee increase proposed for park. More than 420,000 people visited Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park in 2016, according to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. West Hawaii Today.

Single-family home sales on Hawaii’s Big Island jumped 12 percent in January, compared to a year ago, as condominium sales dipped, as prices for both categories were mixed, according to statistics released by Hawaii Information Service on behalf of Hawaii Island Realtors. Pacific Business News.

Maui

Restoration Manager for the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission Restoration Program, Paul Higashino, will lead a discussion about watershed restoration on Kahoolawe. Maui Now.

A public lottery for workforce housing units at the Kahoma Village late last month drew about 75 people to the developer’s sales office on the west side. Maui News.

Kauai

Native tenants remain on Coco Palms property over a week after their court-ordered ejectment date. Garden Island.

Gov. David Ige will be holding a talk story session with Kauai teachers today from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Kauai High School library. Garden Island.