Matthew Leonard

1 day ago | civilbeat.org | Matthew Leonard

Honolulu City Council approved a payout to the United Public Workers to resolve a dozen disputes over garbage collector pay. Delays by city officials added thousands in fees and fines. Delays by city and county attorneys who blew past legal deadlines and ignored court orders in grievance cases filed by the United Public Workers contributed to the final amount Honolulu taxpayers will pay to settle over a dozen claims.

2 days ago | civilbeat.org | Matthew Leonard

The measure, which needs to be signed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi, raises rates at a slower pace than initially proposed. Councilman Augie Tulba said it’s still “a heavy lift for many families.”Households on Oʻahu will pay more in sewer fees over the next six years after the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday narrowly approved a measure seen as a compromise after months of debate over how to minimize the impact on consumers.

4 days ago | civilbeat.org | Matthew Leonard

The 20 state-owned units were installed last year in the parking lot of the Hawaii Cedar Church in Kalihi. The kauhale currently shelters kūpuna and families. The state’s Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions is demanding that a Korean church either return or pay $20,000 apiece to buy20 state-owned tiny housing units installed in their Honolulu parking lot. The demands were outlined in a letter sent to the pastor of Hawaii Cedar Church by the governor’s homelessness coordinator, Jun Yang.

1 week ago | civilbeat.org | Matthew Leonard

Researchers and law enforcement officials are seeing increases in careless and aggressive driving in Hawaiʻi. It’s challenging to quantify the extent of the problem. A national report card has ranked Hawaiʻi as the eighth worst state for road rage incidents after years of being in the bottom half of the list. That might surprise people in the Aloha State, where drivers often go out of their way to be friendly or throw a shaka after a lane change. Aggressive and careless? Check. But road rage?

2 weeks ago | civilbeat.org | Matthew Leonard

The harbor’s status as a public asset is at odds with the state’s long-term goals for private management boating facilities. A major rate hike for users of Hawaiʻi’s small boat harbors in 2019 was touted as an overdue adjustment that would ensure boat owners paid fair-use fees and fund critical maintenance projects. Everyone – except many boat owners – seemed to be behind the rise.