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Dozens of people voiced their concerns over Gov. Josh Green’s emergency housing proclamation as it relates to rebuilding Lahaina, the seaside West Maui town devastated by the deadly Aug. 8 wildfire, during a Maui County Council committee hearing Wednesday.
The proclamation, issued July 17, suspends several laws, including historic preservation, environmental review, sunshine and collective bargaining, and replaces them with different rules designed to speed development and ease the state’s housing crisis where the median cost of a home is $1.1 million.
“It is nothing less than a threat to democracy and it appears to be unconstitutional,” said Kihei resident Robin Knox.
Knox said she fully supports a reduction in bureaucratic red tape and unnecessary zoning requirements. But the solution to Hawaii’s housing is crisis is “not to set aside environmental, cultural, sunshine laws, procurement laws, collective bargaining, all of those things, and the proclamation, the expedited process, should only be for affordable housing,” Knox said.
To take down our rights, to take down democracy, you are hurting the teachers, you are hurting the people of Lahaina. Enough is enough. Distance yourself from this as soon as you can,” Hughey said.
Lahaina community activist Leonard “Junya” Nakoa gave what amounted to an extended tirade against the proclamation, saying it undermines people’s voices and gives too much power to an unelected official, meaning Medeiros.
By the time he spoke, Medeiros had already left the meeting.
Biden also said the funding, provided under 2021's $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be used for "smart meters" that identify where a line goes down, "intelligent switches" that help reduce wildfire risk, vegetation removal under overhead lines, and relocation of Maui's grid control center to a more secure and resilient location.
According to Katie Weeks, communications director of the Energy Department's Grid Deployment Office, the $95 million is a competitive grant being awarded to Hawaiian Electric.
The office announced earlier this year that $2.3 billion in such grants for states, territories and tribal entities will be distributed over five years under an initial funding round to strengthen and modernize America's power grid against wildfires, extreme weather and other natural disasters in the face of climate change.
Making the announcement aboard a traditional Hawaiian voyaging canoe, Maui mayor Alan Arakawa said: “The goals we are setting today are not only desirable, but attainable, and help send a message that Maui County and Hawaii are open for innovation to help ensure the greater health of our communities and the planet as a whole.”
The island of Kauai, which sits north-west of the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu, boasts over 15 of these projects, including a major solar farm created by Tesla and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.
The project is composed of 54,978 solar panels with 13 megawatts of solar generation capacity, and Tesla has also installed 272 Powerpack 2 battery systems to store the solar energy to use at night.
According to Tesla, the project is expected to reduce fossil fuel use by around 1.6 million gallons per year, with the system being turned on in phases.
Hawaii's governor has signed a bill that adopts goals of the Paris climate agreement, despite President Trump's announcement last week that the U.S. is pulling out of the global accord.
"Reducing greenhouse emissions in Hawaii is now the law — the state law," reports Hawaii Public Radio's Bill Dorman. "While the specifics are a bit vague, the political message is clear: to keep pace with environmental commitments made as part of the Paris accord."
The law commits the state to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to align with the principles and goals of the Paris Agreement.
State Sen. J. Kalani English, who introduced the bill, said the measure "gives us legal basis to continue adaptation and mitigation strategies for Hawai'i, despite the Federal government's withdrawal from the treaty."
It also creates a commission to establish strategies to combat climate change and develop plans to manage the impact of rising sea levels.
Just one month prior to the fire, Governor Green’s Office issued a press release to highlight their commitment to the United Nations (U.N.) 17 Goals for Sustainable Development.
Hawaiʻi’s second Voluntary Local Review (VLR), presented by Governor Josh Green, M.D., to the United Nations (UN) during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development July 12, presents a good news/bad news scenario. The review highlights progress on achieving the six Aloha+ Challenge goals, which are the state’s local implementation of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and clearly defines what is lacking. Hawaiʻi stands as the sole state in the United States to have submitted a VLR, with the report being prepared by Hawaiʻi Green Growth with input from local partners.
Hawaii has also partnered with Japanese companies for renewable energy, including Hitachi and JumpStart Maui. Smart grid technology and data analytics have also been implemented.
The goal of JUMPSmartMaui is to demonstrate smart grid technologies that will enable the efficient use of renewable energy and will contribute to the implementation of a low-carbon social infrastructure system in island regions
My intention is to support those impacted as they determine what rebuilding looks like for them," Winfrey said in a release of the initiative
originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: nugget1
Why would Hawaiian Electric "de-energize" the Maui power lines six hours before the fires occurred?
[SNIPPED]
PERFECT PHONE CALL!!! NOT GUILTY!!!
Q !ITPb.qbhqo ID: 99LpGawB No.149124567 📁
Nov 12 2017 12:31:16 (EST)
Anonymous ID: AdHN8HBF No.149123755 📁
Nov 12 2017 12:23:45 (EST)
>>149122998
There are a bunch out there, here is one
>The CIA has 7 supercomputers, and they are all named after the 7 dwarfs from Snow White (Doc, Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy and Happy)
cheshirelibraryscience.wordpress.com...📁
>>149123755
Confirmed.
Go deeper.
Signatures are IMPORTANT.
Q
When addressing a former President of the United States in a formal setting, the correct form is “Mr. LastName.” (“President LastName” or “Mr. President” are terms reserved for the current head of state.) This is true for other ex-officials, as well. When talking about the person to a third party, on the other hand, it’s appropriate to say, “former President LastName.”
originally posted by: nugget1
originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: nugget1
Why would Hawaiian Electric "de-energize" the Maui power lines six hours before the fires occurred?
Maybe the company is run by Democrats. Sounds like the type of lie you'd expect from members of that party.
They deenergized them after starting the morning fire. Here's a link:
[www.cnn.com...]
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been cleared to continue work as normal after two occasions over the past two months when he “froze” while answering questions from reporters, a congressional doctor said Thursday.
Capitol Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan said in a statement released by McConnell’s office that he had consulted with the 81-year-old Kentucky Republican and his neurology team and McConnell was “medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned.”
originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: RelSciHistItSufi
First I need to look up "arraignment". I've heard the word a thousand times, but didn't know what it meant, apparently.
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant to inform them of the charges against them. In some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; in other jurisdictions, no plea is required.1 At an arraignment hearing, a judge will read the criminal charges against the accused and ask the defendant whether they understand the charges, regardless of whether they agree with them. The judge will inform the defendant of important trial rights before proceeding.2 The defendant learns more about their rights and the charges against them, arrangements are made for them to have an attorney, and the judge decides if the defendant will be held in prison or released until the trial.0 If the case goes to trial, the judge will ultimately levy a verdict, and either party to the suit may choose to appeal the court’s decision.
Passed in September 1950 at the start of the Korean War, the DPA was modeled on the War Powers Acts of 1941 and 1942, which gave President Franklin D. Roosevelt sweeping authority [PDF] to control the domestic economy during World War II. The original DPA gave the president a broad set of powers, including the ability to set wages and prices, as well as ration consumer goods, though not all of these powers have been renewed. The law has been continually reauthorized by Congress, most recently in the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act of 2019. It is set to expire in 2025.