Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Connors confirmed as attorney general, raises for firefighters in new contract, Maui's first industrial hemp farm, Raybuck new Kauai police chief, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

courtesy photo
Hawaii Attorney General Clare Connors, courtesy photo
Clare Connors confirmed as Hawaii's 16th Attorney General. Clare Connors was confirmed as Hawaii's 16th attorney general by the state senate Monday. KITV.

Hawaii hotels report lackluster first quarter. State occupancy in March fell nearly 3 percentage points to 79.6%, while the average daily room rate fell 1.1% to $285, according to a report released by hotel analytic company STR. Star-Advertiser.

Firefighters’ pay to increase with new contract. Hawaii firefighters have a new two-year contract giving them 2% pay increases in each of the next two years, one-time bonuses in each of those years and an increase in their regular raises based on years of service. Star-Advertiser.

Bill would ID police fired or suspended for misconduct. Lawmakers are again considering a bill to require that police departments disclose the names of officers suspended or fired for misconduct, a controversial subject that has prompted years of debate and litigation in Hawaii. Star-Advertiser.

The embattled head of Hawaii’s Public Safety Department on Monday promised his employees he won’t retaliate against them for criticizing him. Nolan Espinda is struggling to win Senate confirmation for a second term. Hawaii News Now.

Lavish salaries, perks focus of federal theft investigation into union boss. Federal prosecutors are wrapping up a three-year investigation into IBEW Local 1260′s former business manager Brian Ahakuelo. Hawaii News Now.

Legislature passes suicide prevention bills. Two measures aimed at suicide prevention and raising suicide awareness passed the Legislature on Monday. Garden Island.

Law meant to help those with severe mental illness is trapping them on the streets. It’s estimated there are up to 600 homeless people who suffer from severe mental illness statewide. Hawaii News Now.

’Kal’s Law’ would help disabled people with jobs to keep key health benefits. People with disabilities who want to have jobs are often faced with an unfortunate decision: If they make too much money, they risk losing their Medicaid benefits. Hawaii News Now.

Climate Activists: Hawaii Legislature ‘Wasted An Entire Year’. Measures big and small died this session with little fanfare as time runs out to combat the disastrous effects of a warming planet. Civil Beat.

About 20 representatives from about a dozen organizations gathered at the state Capitol on Monday to commemorate Earth Day and mourn the death of bills they said would have helped Hawaii tackle climate change. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii's Small Independent Doctors May Be Struggling Under New Payment System. Some doctors are struggling with the latest changes in the way they are paid by the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state’s largest health care insurer. Hawaii Public Radio.

Charter Schools Have By Far The Highest Rates Of Unvaccinated Kids. The statewide percentage of students exempted by their parents from being immunized is 8.1% at charter schools, 2.7% at private schools and 1.4% at traditional public schools. Civil Beat.

Oahu

Kamehameha Schools land being readied for housing. The $12 billion charitable trust has plans to produce 8,000 to 10,000 new homes in Honolulu’s urban core over the coming years. Star-Advertiser.

Neighborhood Board Elections Begin Friday. Oahu residents will choose among more than 500 candidates to sit on 36 boards representing the island’s neighborhoods. Civil Beat.

Public meeting coming up on Oahu's First Pedestrian Plan. The City is looking for public input on areas throughout Oahu that may need to be focused on for changes to pedestrian areas like sidewalks and crosswalks. KHON2.

Petition to impeach city prosecutor prompts legal debate: Are e-signatures legal? Those pushing to impeach embattled city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro have hit another roadblock. Hawaii News Now.

Councilwoman calls for ‘fair’ treatment of Leeward Oahu parks. Now, she wants an audit of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Hawaii News Now.

‘End Is Near’ For Company’s Hold On Kakaako Streets After $250K Fine. A business that has long profited from parking fees it charges on roads that it doesn’t maintain faces several legal challenges. Civil Beat.

Hawaii Island

Councilwoman’s former side job raises questions. Community members who filed an ethics complaint against Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz told the Board of Ethics on Monday they want to pursue the complaint against her, even though she has since publicly disclosed a possible conflict of interest and resigned her position at a public relations company that represents officers of the landowner in a zoning application before the County Council. West Hawaii Today.

Kona Micro-Distillery Gets Planning Commission Approval. On April 18, the Kona Distilling Company went before the commission, seeking a Special Permit to allow the establishment of the micro-distillery, visitor’s center (including a tasting component) and related facilities on an approximately 7.5-acre portion of 70-acres of land in the State Land Use Agricultural District. Big Island Video News.

Hawaii County’s unemployment rate edged up slightly in March, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reports. Some 3.7% of the island’s 87,850 person workforce was without work during March, up slightly from February when the rate was 3.6%. In March 2018, the rate was 2.6%. West Hawaii Today.

Maui

Maui’s first industrial hemp farm set to begin production. The commercial farming operation will initially produce full-spectrum industrial hemp extract. Maui News.

Maui’s First State-Licensed Industrial Hemp Farm Blessed on Earth Day. Maui Now.

Kauai

Todd Raybuck has officially taken over as chief of the Kauai Police Department. Garden Island.

Police seek to spend $500K for guns, truck. The Kauai Police Department is looking to buy new trucks and guns and get federal funding to crack down on illegal drugs. Garden Island.

Thirty parking spots will be dedicated daily to Hawaii residents at Haena State Park and according to officials, reservations for Aloha State residents won’t be required. Garden Island.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Ige's union support falters; lawmakers to take up payday loans, suicide prevention, self-driving cars in upcoming legislative session; Kauai post office to be moved; Big Island income lags; rail station privatization mulled, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

courtesy HSTA
Teachers union supported Gov. David Ige in 2014. Other unions are not so happy with him. Courtesy HSTA
Twice this fall the state’s largest union has issued dire warnings about efforts by Gov. David Ige’s administration to upgrade critically important state computer systems, and that pushback is taking on political implications as Ige prepares for a tough Democratic primary next year. Star-Advertiser.

Gov’s chief of staff shifts to deputy role. Mike McCartney, Gov. David Ige’s chief of staff, has been moved into a lower-­level position and salary — but gets to keep his old title — under what Ige describes as a reorganization of his office. Star-Advertiser.

Medical Pot: Taking Your Medicine Can Get You Fired. Cannabis advocates may try to strengthen patient protections in workplaces and public housing during the next legislative session. Civil Beat.

Civil Beat Poll: Let’s Have A Constitutional Convention. Two-thirds of Hawaii voters surveyed in our poll support the state holding a “con con,” the first in 40 years. Civil Beat.

State legislators aim to regulate high-interest payday loans. State lawmakers plan to again consider imposing stricter regulations on so-called payday lenders issuing loans that can carry interest rates as high as 459 percent in Hawaii. Star-Advertiser.

Lawmakers urge more funding, awareness to suicide prevention. Hawaii legislators are grappling with how to prevent suicides, the leading cause of fatal injuries in the state.  Associated Press.

Inouye among skeptics of testing self-driving cars. Hawaii’s drivers might soon share the road with self-driving cars, after Gov. David Ige signed an executive order last month allowing statewide testing of the autonomous vehicles. Tribune-Herald.

Hawaii Longliners Are Paying Big Bucks To Go Over Quota. Environmentalists worry short-term deals will result in overfishing. Meanwhile, fishermen seek more access to restricted areas. Civil Beat.

China ups recycling regulations, causes ripple effect felt in Hawaii. China wants to rehabilitate its environment, but one of the country’s primary initiatives to do so could leave pollutants piling up over much of the rest of the world, including Hawaii. West Hawaii Today.

State creates Hawaii Defense Economy website to share data. Total defense spending in Hawaii averages around $7.8 billion a year, according to the website, and defense spending is 9.8 percent of the state’s gross domestic product. Garden Island.

Hawaiian Telcom took a step closer to being acquired by Ohio-based Cincinnati Bell on Friday, receiving one of two necessary Hawaii regulatory approvals. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Cable Television Division on Friday conditionally approved the merger transaction transferring control of Hawaiian Telcom’s Oahu cable franchise to Cincinnati Bell Inc. Pacific Business News.

Hawaiian Airlines Federal Credit Union merged with Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union last month after Hawaiian Airlines FCU’s board of directors and membership voted in favor of the merger on Sept. 8. Pacific Business News.

Oahu

Hawaii Reserves Inc. has scrapped its contentious plan to put up houses in rural Malaekahana and is instead proposing a scaled-down project allowing for 300 additional residential units within the Laie ahupuaa. Star-Advertiser.

Honolulu rail officials have brought on Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors LLC to study the potential use of a public-private partnership for the remainder of the 20-mile elevated rail project. Pacific Business News.

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration will award Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children $514,532 to fund resident training. Pacific Business News.

Waianae latest stop for Hokulea in its 'mahalo sail' around the islands. The voyaging canoe Hokulea received a warm welcome when it arrived at Pokai Bay in Waianae Saturday as it continues its Mahalo Hawaii Sail around the islands. KITV.

Hokulea sails to the west side, celebrates Buffalo Keaulana. KHON2.

Hawaii Island

Big Island household income falling behind. It’s long been said a rising tide lifts all boats, but census data released last week shows the Big Island remains grounded on the reef of a faltering economy. West Hawaii Today.

Council questions scrutiny of contingency funds. Hawaii County Council members often use their contingency funds as grants to nonprofits, which they say allows them to provide quick aid to their districts. Tribune-Herald.

Delay sought in TMT sublease contested case. Attorneys for the University of Hawaii and TMT International Observatory are asking that a contested case for the telescope’s sublease not proceed at this time. Tribune-Herald.

Raises for UH staffers: Many at UH-Hilo, HCC earn more than $100K per year. Nearly a dozen executive and managerial employees at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College will get merit-based raises effective Jan. 1. Tribune-Herald.

Wind farm seeks incidental take permit.  The operator of Lalamilo Wind Farm has applied for a federal permit that would allow for the incidental taking of two endangered Hawaiian species during the project’s operation. West Hawaii Today.

$30M Waikoloa resort project moving forward. Two years after the Planning Department accepted applications to rezone part of a Waikoloa parcel and grant a special management area use permit for a proposed 44-unit resort development, the Leeward Planning Commission is expected to take up the issue this week. West Hawaii Today.

Non-native birds thrive where coquis abide, study finds. The proliferation of coqui frogs in Hawaii has had a significant, and surprising, impact on non-­native birds — not that indigenous birds have bothered to notice. Star-Advertiser.

Maui

Illegal fireworks are booming. Resident: ‘It cannot be a cultural thing, every single night from Halloween to the first week in February’. Maui News.

Maui residents call for end to Illegal fireworks. With New Year's around the corner, Maui residents are complaining over social media about loud booms in their neighborhoods, which are irritating residents and frightening children and pets. Associated Press.

Pilot program aims to use oysters to filter pollution from Maalaea bay water. According to UH researchers, oysters can filter 50 to 100 gallons of water a day. Maui News.

Kauai

Community blasts USPS decision to close Lihue office. The U.S. Postal Service is under criticism for giving the Kauai community “false hope” that it would prevail in its appeal to save the historic Lihue Post Office. Star-Advertiser.

Molokai

2 killed in fiery crash of small plane on Molokai. The Cessna 206 propeller plane crashed while en route to the Molokai Airport under unknown circumstances, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer. Star-Advertiser.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Another $13M to house homeless, Pearl Harbor vessel to check North Korea missile, racial slur on Hilo shopfront, smaller Aloha Stadium planned, OHA meeting disintegrates, 3 council members named in Maui ethics case, more news from all the Hawaiian Islands

copyright 2017 All Hawaii News all rights reserved
Waikiki homeless © 2017 All Hawaii News
Thirty-three homeless shelters across the islands are pledging to collectively add nearly 200 beds and to more than double the number of clients they place into permanent housing, Gov. David Ige announced Thursday. Star-Advertiser.

State contracts that support homeless shelter operations will fund nearly 200 more shelter beds in 2017 compared to last year, Gov. David Ige announced Thursday. Civil Beat.

The Governor announced an increase in homeless shelter beds statewide over the next 12 months. Hawaii Public Radio.

Death And Taxes: Two Certainties For This Year’s Hawaii Legislature. Lawmakers will consider medical aid in dying legislation while also weighing how to fund transportation projects such as Honolulu rail. Civil Beat.

Longtime state political lobbyist John Radcliffe is the face and voice of the latest push to give terminally ill patients in Hawaii, like himself, the legal ability to end their lives on their own terms. Star-Advertiser.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday against the state of Hawaii aims to grant terminally ill, mentally competent patients the right to medical aid in dying. Civil Beat.

Days after critics called for a federal probe into “unconstitutional” conditions at the state’s prisons and jails, Hawaii Department of Public Safety officials fielded questions from state lawmakers about the governor’s budget proposal that offers little in the way of quick solutions. Civil Beat.

Is Hawaii Spending Enough To Protect Its Natural Resources? The challenge facing the DLNR is called “overwhelming,” but the agency hasn’t hired all the people it’s authorized to. Civil Beat.

The Sea-Based X-Band Radar has deployed out of Pearl Harbor after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un recently said his country was in the “final stages” of test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii ranks near the bottom half when compared to other U.S. states and territories for releases of toxic chemicals into the air, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pacific Business News.

Terry Surles, who was a top executive for the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii Manoa, has been named interim administrator of the state Energy Office, industry sources confirmed to Pacific Business News Thursday.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has been named as co-trustee to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Hawaii Public Radio.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs now has an official voice in the management of the world’s largest marine conservation area. Associated Press.

A Board of Trustees meeting at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs abruptly ended shortly after it started Thursday when a majority of the members walked out. Civil Beat.

A procedural dispute short-circuited an expected showdown over whether the CEO at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs stays or goes. KITV.

Robert Farrell has been tapped to lead the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement. West Hawaii Today.

Oahu

House Speaker Joe Souki says he supports plans to make the half-percent excise tax surcharge for the Honolulu rail project permanent, and wants to use money from the surcharge to extend the rail line to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, but only on one condition: Souki says the city must contribute its own funding to help pay to build the project. Star-Advertiser.

The Aloha Stadium Authority is recommending that the state seek ancillary development to help underwrite a new, slightly smaller stadium on land surrounding the deteriorating 42-year-old Aloha Stadium. Star-Advertiser.

The Hawaii state agency that oversees Aloha Stadium has approved a plan to move ahead with the development of a smaller stadium that would replace the aging and outdated Honolulu facility that was once the longtime home to University of Hawaii football and the NFL’s Pro Bowl. Pacific Business News.

Latest push to expand cell phone ban targets pedestrians, bicyclists. KHON2.

Gov. David Ige has until Feb. 11 to decide who will fill two seats left vacant on Oahu’s Circuit Court following the retirement of Judges Steven Alm in August and Karen Ahn in June. Star-Advertiser.

Popular hike has tenants calling out for solutions. Star-Advertiser.

A development team led by a New York company received more than $50 million in state and federal financing to build a “micro-unit” rental apartment tower in Kakaako. Star-Advertiser.

Hawaii

Vandal writes 'No Blacks' on Hilo Boutique. KITV.

The nearly 1,000-acre Makalei Golf Club community on the Big Island of Hawaii is on the market with an asking price of $11.25 million for the undeveloped subdivision, Pacific Business News has learned.

Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaii’s flagship carrier, announced Thursday it will launch once daily non-stop service between Kauai and Kailua-Kona. West Hawaii Today.

Thousands of people have flocked to Kamokuna on the Big Island to get as close as they can to the lava flow entering the ocean from Kilauea's Pu'u O'o vent. Many of them are getting their via tour boats. And the National Park Service says those boats are raising concerns about safety. Hawaii News Now.

A stream of lava continues to gush out the side of a sea cliff in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as the 61g flow struggles to rebuild a delta of volcanic rock that calved like a glacier New Year’s Eve. Tribune-Herald.

Maui

A Wailuku man has filed a complaint with the Maui County Board of Ethics over alleged ethics violations by three County Council members during the council’s initial meeting of the new term on Jan. 2 and 3. Maui News.

A U.S. district judge late last month whittled down the number of claims against Mayor Alan Arakawa in his personal capacity in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by former Film Commissioner Harry Donenfeld. Maui News.

Thar She Blows! Maui Whale Season in Full Bloom. Maui Now.

Kauai

If the Kauai County Council was aware Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. did not support a bill to legalize drinking on the Wailua Golf Course, it would have saved a lot of time and trouble, said Councilman Ross Kagawa. Garden Island.

Gov. David Ige announced the state Department of Human Services will award contracts to 33 homeless shelters, including Kauai Economic Opportunity on Kauai. Garden Island.

Volunteers are needed to help Kauai Economic Opportunity with its annual homeless census. Garden Island.