Kaʻū News Briefs December 5, 2023

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MARKING COMPLETION OF HIS FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE, GOV. JOSH GREEN GAVE a talk on Tuesday about his challenges and accomplishments, including "bold actions he has taken to serve the people of Hawai'i," says the statement from his office.
   The Governor, who started his medical practice in Kaʻū, said his new administration addressed the highest cost of living in the U.S.; the second-highest rate of homelessness per capita; the long-festering affordable housing shortage of some 50,000 units; the Red Hill water contamination crisis; a teacher shortage impacting public education for keiki; a shortage of healthcare workers especially in rural communities; ongoing gun violence and "the previously unimaginable devastation suffered in the Maui wildfires."
   The speech circled back to priorities he outlined in his inaugural State of the State Address in January. He noted that he introduced and passed the first phase of the Green Affordability Plan to reduce the high cost of living for working families, providing $104 million in direct income tax relief for ALICE families (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed). Green said he will seek $250 million in additional relief for Hawai'i families, via the child and dependent tax credit this year.
   In January, Green signed the first Emergency Proclamation on Homelessness "to cut through red tape, allowing for construction of up to 12 kauhale villages statewide in the coming years."  The first medical respite kauhale, Pūlama Ola, was opened in May, adjacent to the Governor's mansion. The idea was to

Gov. Josh Green and First Lady Jaime Kanani Green celebrating the completion of his first year in office on Tuesday. Photo from Governor's Office

lead by example in changing the mindset to "Yes In My Backyard," from "Not In My Backyard." More kauhale to house the houseless are in the pipeline for construction, he said.
    To help keep Hawai'i's people at home in the islands, said Green, he exercised his emergency powers to create a committee of the state's leading housing experts to fast-track the development of affordable housing projects. Some 10,800 units of new affordable housing for working families at the state's nine public housing properties were immediately approved and more affordable housing units — as well as homesteads for Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries, are coming, said the Governor.
    Another 800 new housing units planned by county governments and private developers have also broken ground or opened this year.
    "Protecting the health and safety of our people and preserving our precious environmental resources have been top priorities, said Green. The statement from his office said, "His leadership alongside state and county officials has resulted in important progress on draining fuel from Red Hill so it can finally be shut down for good. The draining of up to 250 million gallons from Red Hill's 20 mammoth tanks – the U.S. military's largest underground fuel storage facility -- began five months ahead of schedule."
    Concerning education, the statement said, "Green's commitment to public education was demonstrated in the successful negotiation of a new four-year contract with the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the 13,500 teachers it represents, in April of this year. With its substantial pay raises for new hires and bonuses for experienced professionals, the contract has paid dividends with teaching positions being filled, vacancies dropping, keeping more and more teachers from leaving the educational field."

Gov. Josh Green and staff as he reviews his first year in office. Photo from the Governor's Office

   Regarding healthcare, the statement said, "As the only active physician-governor in the U.S., Governor Green's announcement of the Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program begins to address the severe shortage of healthcare professionals in the state. The HELP program has already awarded 585 healthcare licensees in exchange for two years of full-time or half-time service in Hawai'i, providing care for at least 30% vulnerable patients. This ensures that access to care will be improved for the underserved, especially in rural communities."
   The speech also pointed to gun violence and "the state's first meaningful gun buyback in decades, in October. Nearly 500 firearms were turned in, taken off our streets in exchange for grocery gift cards. This initiative, along with the Governor's commitment to creating safe places from guns, and his signing of key firearms-related legislation on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, will help make our communities safer and protect our keiki from deadly violence."
    Concerning Lahaina, the statement said, "The most devastating disaster most kama'āina will ever see, killed 100 of our loved ones and destroyed most of historic Lahaina Town on August 8. The Lahaina Fire is considered to have been the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century. Governor Green's request to President Biden for federal assistance was approved within hours and since then, survivors and displaced residents have received more than $120 million in housing assistance, and will receive another $130 million in state and federal aid. Additional aid will be offered to those who lost loved ones or who were severely injured in the fires through the Governor's Maui Relief Fund, as part of his One 'Ohana Initiative.
    "The Governor and our state partners work daily to find longer-term housing solutions for our Maui neighbors and the Department of Human Services has just announced a Rental Assistance Program to help people relocate from hotel rooms to homes. Governor Green also has provided $12.5 million in emergency grants through Maui Economic Opportunity for businesses affected by the wildfire."

    See more on the Governor's address in the Wednesday Kaʻū News Briefs.