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    New Year, New Administration: Welcome Rick Blangiardi!

    Joan Wilder
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    New Year, New Administration: Welcome Rick Blangiardi!

    The voters have spoken.

    With the highest turnout ever, the City and County of Honolulu overturned the status quo and selected a mayor with no meaningful connections to the unions; rejected the ones that did; and put a neophyte in office during the worst economic disaster in the state’s history.

    This is why it may be just what we need:

    With the establishment of a new City Council and the ouster of five termed-out members, it is entirely possible that new ideas can be brought forth!

    Advancing backwards in time to the Lingle era, Honolulu residents were talking then about the huge housing shortage, rising prices, rent increases, diversifying the economy, an island overrun with tourism, etc., etc., etc.

    In fact, as we look back to the early 1980s, when homes were still on leased land, the problems were exactly the same.

    Those problems have only grown worse.

    While it is true that the unions have provided a comfortable living for many of their employees, particularly in the construction trade, they have priced the cost of living out of range for the rest of us. That includes those in Local 5, for example, and teachers, who are experiencing the impacts of cutbacks due to covid along with the rest of us.

    We cannot all join the construction trades, but these are the ones who contributed so mightily to the failed candidacy of Keith Amemiya. Last count, he had several dozen union endorsements, which probably heralded the unprecedented turnout of voters fed up with business as usual.

    What if a new mayor and new council members who are not beholden to a hui for their own personal gain start to look at novel ways to improve city infrastructure, rebuild the departments, tackle the growing population of homelessness, look for ways to diversify the economy, solve the housing crisis and actually, finally, really grow our state’s agriculture so that we are not dependent on the mainland for week-old produce and a 33% minimum markup on food?

    It is time.

    Mayor Elect Rick Blangiardi has proven that he is a capable leader who can think outside the box. He consolidated the news industry to make it viable into the 21st Century (albeit, also creating a single source for all news). He rescued Telemundo. He has shown a great degree of creative thinking that is so needed at this horrible time in our history.

    It is a lot to take on, but he has taken on a lot in the past.

    Two things that are of concern: that his wife Karen Chang has taken over all aspects of hiring for the new administration and Blangiardi’s thin skin when it comes to media.

    His Chief of Staff, Mike Formby, is a better choice for hiring. He knows what is needed and what is out there much better than the candidate’s wife, who is a career CPA. And no matter what he does, he should know, controversy sells papers. There will be critics. Get over yourself, coz its not about you – its about whoever is doing the criticizing.

    Yes, it is true that the Blangiardi’s have resided in the 1 percenters. But Rick Blangiardi earned it from the ground up. He played football at UH, majored in P.E., and ended up a coach. He wasn’t given the same silver spoon Keith Amemiya tried to say he didn’t get. (He did. He is still part of the richest contingent of Honolulu residents and power brokers whose wealth has not been adversely effected by the tourism failure, including aio and Island Insurance, as well as Micah Kane.)

    With the final City Council meeting in the rearview mirror, however, we saw a scary glimpse of the future.

    The new chair will be Dist. 4 Council Member Tommy Waters (Kahala – Waikiki), which gives him a lot of power over what gets on the agenda and how it is heard.

    In the last meeting of his committee on Public Safety and Welfare, Waters addressed Police Chief Susan Ballard regarding a very unfavorable audit of her department.

    He began by asking her a long series of very tough questions, much like an attorney on cross examination (he is an attorney). Serious issues about reporting, police misconduct and domestic abuses, violence and training were addressed. It appears that not much has changed since the now-disgraced Police Chief Kealoha was in power.

    And yet, at the end of the questioning, Waters was all smiles and buddy-buddy with the Chief, saying what a great job she is doing! What?

    For those of us who are into it, we have come to know Waters. That is his M.O. He starts out like he is going to be tough – but then he backs off and ties it up without resolution. He asks nothing but the status quo. He only asks questions and leaves the work to someone else, though it is unclear who that may be.

    Unfortunately, the way the government works here in Honolulu, that ends up being the mayor. And under Caldwell, everything has been politics. Funding gets denied for anything proposed by a council member who does not tow his line. He makes decisions that reflect his political allies as he angles for governor in the next election – as we have witnessed with the massive shutdowns over covid that have crippled our small businesses while he met with visitor industry folks and bankers.

    It is time to solve these ubiquitous problems for good and to make Honolulu meet the promise of its destination. There is a lot more than sunny weather and beaches here. There are good people who need to be nourished and treated with respect so they can reach their potential and make this place great. Today they are just trying to feed themselves and their families and scrape by!

    It is time to bring down the DPP and start from scratch because it doesn’t work. It is time to update our city’s computers. It is past time to bring new, innovative affordable housing projects to Honolulu that bypass all the permitting that is holding up construction. It is time to begin putting money to work towards subsidizing fertilizer and water projects for our agriculture; towards bring foods to market locally; towards innovation in agriculture; to supporting small businesses who cannot pay these high rents; to working away from tourism that attracts bargain hungers to tourism that attracts spending and lowers the impact; towards bringing infrastructure that brings in tech companies; towards pairing our businesses with lucrative military contracts; towards paying our teachers and attracting educational opportunities to enhance our state university.

    Welcome Rick Blangiardi! You are here by popular demand! Please take advantage of your popularity and the huge number of creative and thoughtful individuals who are trying to make a difference!

    Business Entity Registration Scam

    Tom Yamachika
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    Business Entity Registration Scam

    Recently, our Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs (DCCA) reminded people of a news release. The release was directed to anyone in Hawaii that owns or has control of an entity (such as a corporation, partnership, or LLC).

    DCCA explained that there are some non-Hawaii-based companies that send solicitations to Hawaii-based companies.  They say, “Hey! Your business registration is going to be due shortly, and renewing it is required by law.  Pay us $145 and it will be done.”

    The first problem is that some people think that the letter comes from a government agency.  It doesn’t.

    The second problem is that the renewal for most entities doesn’t cost anywhere near $145.  It’s $12.50 for most entities, and even less for partnerships ($5.00) or nonprofit corporations ($2.50).  This fee can be paid online at DCCA‘s website at the beginning of the quarter in which the business initially registered. 

    Now, these first two might not be real problems because services like these can be done by legitimate  businesses.  Attorneys, for example, make money helping people navigate through the laws and regulations.  When responding to complaints lodged in other states like Oregon, these companies’ attorneys made that claim.  But that leads to the third problem with these companies.

    The third problem is that these companies (at least the ones DCCA has identified in its release) are not themselves registered in Hawaii.  The law clearly says that an entity doing business in Hawaii needs to be registered with DCCA.  (See HRS section 414-431 for corporations, 425-1 for partnerships, 428-1001 for LLCs.)  It also needs to provide some basic information such as the name and address of somebody in Hawaii to whom legal paperwork can be delivered if someone in Hawaii wants to sue it.  Instead, DCCA observed that the companies appear to use a mail drop as their company address, which sounds like they don’t want people to find out where their physical location is. 

    With this third problem, the odds of these companies being legitimate service businesses drop way down.  A service business that is helping consumers follow the laws shouldn’t be flagrantly breaking those same laws themselves. 

    To make things worse, neither of the companies DCCA identified appears to have an active general excise tax license.  Are they trying to fly under the radar or what?

    Companies like these also might be trying to make money by selling any personal information you give to them.  And, if you give them financial access data like a credit card number, you seriously need to watch out. 

    They aren’t only a problem in Hawaii.  The Better Business Bureau has noted a pattern of complaints against it, operating in multiple states under assumed names.

    Remember that if it looks fraudulent or questionable, it probably is.  Fraudsters and scammers tend to omit certain information to avoid being traced.  Look for these red flags before submitting any personal information or payments:

    • No physical return address—just a P.O. Box.
    • No telephone number to contact a representative.
    • A non-corporate email address (such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail).
    • A service fee or an upcharge for credit/debit card payments.

    COVID: Communist-Originated Virus Infects Democracy

    Sydney Ross Singer
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    COVID: Communist-Originated Virus Infects Democracy

    When I first heard about the COVID-19 epidemic in China late last year, I realized how much easier it would be for China to deal with the virus than it would be for the US and other free countries. 

    Lockdowns, quarantines, and forced vaccinations are easy for communist regimes, where people are compliant, individual rights are nonexistent, and government control over all aspects of life are the norm.  Public health mandates in China are little different from normal, daily mandates. People are used to being told what to do, and how to live.

    Public health mandates in the US are the closest we get to being communist. Once a public health emergency is declared, civil rights are knocked-down, while everything else is locked-down. We all become statistical data, no longer individuals with a life of our own. And as the response to COVID-19 is showing, we can be told by our government to stay home, stop working, stop seeing friends and family, and stop breathing without a mask. Our kids can’t go to school. We can’t even go to the park, if it is still open, and enjoy nature. 

    Private businesses have been closed and destroyed, replacing business income with government loans and handouts. Big government, and Big Tech, have become our Big Brothers. 

    Our lives have been forced online to be lived over the Internet, where Big Brother can watch, listen, and record everything that is said. Our homes are on public display, and our privacy no longer exists. 

    For those who are used to being private, self-directed citizens of a free country, the US is no longer recognizable. COVID-19 has given license to communism in the US. We are now all wards of the State, and must do what we are told by our pseudo-elected officials and their public health “experts”.

    In communist China, you are arrested and punished for not obeying the “experts”. In the US, you now face fines and imprisonment for disobeying mask mandates, or gathering with “too many” people.

    In China, those who do not obey are subjected to “re-education”. Now, in the US, we are all being re-educated into feeling guilt and shame over our past. Statues of our iconic Founding Fathers are being destroyed.  Capitalism is under attack.

    Having free and fair elections is also something communists don’t get. And from the looks of things, we seem to have lost that, too, here in the US. 

    In a free country, we accept responsibility for our own actions. We live by the Golden Rule, but accept that others may not. But in a communist regime, we have responsibility for one another. We live by the government rule. 

    In a free country, we respond to an epidemic by taking personal precautionary measures as we see fit, and listen to the advice of the “experts” if we agree with that advice. It’s our choice. In a communist country, we are told how to respond to an epidemic by the government, and take any measures politicians and “experts” decide are for our “safety”. 

    A free country requires freedom of speech and assembly to continue to exist as free. In a communist country, information is censored, and those who don’t comply are “cancelled”, just as is happening today in the US. 

    Fear tactics, censorship, lockdowns, isolation, and despair are used to control the masses. We are under the gun to comply, fearful of the virus, and fearful of the government. And the government stays in our face constantly, as we are forced to wear masks, even outdoors. 

    Usually, when there is a health crisis, the sick are quarantined, not the healthy. Individual liberty is lost when someone has an infectious disease and needs to be isolated for the safety of others. Now, however, we are all quarantined, even the healthy. We are not allowed to take any risks with our own lives. 

    Everything we do is assumed to potentially impact others, limiting our freedom. The need to protect others from disease has become more important than our right to live our lives as we wish. We can’t even say something that someone else finds offensive. We have become our brothers’ keepers, more concerned with others than ourselves, with everything under the umbrella of social justice and equality and government control.

    In a communist regime we are responsible for one another; in a democracy we are responsive to one another. 

    Until COVID-19, our culture had accepted that people can spread disease. We lived with deadly flu viruses year after year without these hysterical calls for ending contagion. We accepted that life has risks, and disease is one of them. We avoided crowds during flu season, but didn’t social distance or wear masks, especially not healthy people. We even shook hands. We somehow managed to live for centuries despite the hazards of living. 

    But we have changed as a nation. We now embrace policies and values that are more fitting for China than the US. We have sold our freedom, and our souls, out of fear. We are being re-educated, and our culture rebranded. The virus has infected our minds and souls more than our bodies. Our nation is sick with despair and self-pity and wants Big Brother to save us, just as it does in China. 

    We  need to stop locking down our minds, our economy, and our lives. We need to breathe the sweet air of freedom again, and place our faith in some power higher than Big Brother and Big Tech. The virus may take away some unfortunate lives, but it must not continue to take away our freedoms and destroy our nation, or history will show 2019 as the year the US died of COVID.

    Tale of the Tape

    Tom Yamachika
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    When we analyze how well, or how poorly, our economy is faring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and then try to craft appropriate corrective action, we often hear the buzzword “data-driven.” 

    ”Data-driven,” in general terms, means we want a strategy that is backed with some kind of data, or numbers, as opposed to being a qualitative judgment based on God knows what.

    But we need to be very careful in choosing the data we rely upon.  “There are three kinds of lies:  lies, damned lies, and statistics,” the saying goes.

    One way of tracking economic activity in our state is by looking at tax collections.  The good news is that the Department of Taxation publishes statistics on tax collections, and has recently launched a series of data dashboards to summarize the data it collects.  Its “Collections Portal” page reports that general fund fiscal year to date collections are $2.274 billion (through Oct. 31, 2020), down 8.0%.

    Eight percent doesn’t sound too bad, does it?

    But there are a couple of things to remember.  The “down 8.0%” compares fiscal year to date collections, so it’s comparing July through October 2020 with July through October 2019.  Does four months out of the year give anyone an adequate idea of economic activity?  Second, it compares only money that went into the general fund.  Lots of the money funding our government comes from elsewhere, such as federal funds and special funds.  Many of our taxes are earmarked, so the money we collect goes into special funds and isn’t counted in the comparison.  Further, as we wrote about back in May, the earmarking can and did change.  Transient accommodations tax money that was supposed to feed the counties and the Tourism Authority got rerouted to the general fund, making the general fund collections from that point forward somewhat rosier.

    To try getting a little closer to what is actually happening to our economy, we looked at the General Excise Tax.  It’s imposed on all business so it should be a reasonable proxy for business activity.  Here is what actually came in the door for the past three years:

    Source:  Department of Taxation, Collection Reports

    The blue bars are 2020 collections.  Beginning in May or so, there is a lot of daylight between the mark hit in 2019 (orange) or 2018 (gray), and each grid line on the graph is $50 million.

    We also compared the GET collections for the twelve months ending in October 2020 with the twelve months ending in October 2019.  The numbers are $3.135 billion and $3.595 billion respectively, a decline of 12.79%.  A chart comparing the trailing 12 months of collections shows that the year-to-year decline steadily increases the more pandemic months are factored in:

    Source:  Department of Taxation, Collection Reports

    Unsure of the data?  Check it out for yourself.  Now, does anyone think we don’t have a problem here?

    Eighth Amendment Protects Us from Massive Tax Penalties

    Tom Yamachika
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    Eighth Amendment Protects Us from Massive Tax Penalties

    “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”  So reads the Eighth Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.  Many of us hearing these words think about Death Row and whether people waiting there are going to the gas chamber or the electric chair courtesy of our criminal justice system.

    In a case called Timbs v. Indiana decided just last year, however, the U.S. Supreme Court made a couple of key points.  First, the Eighth Amendment also protects against excessive fines, including property forfeiture no matter what it’s called.  Second, the protection is against all governments in this country, including federal, state, and municipal governments.

    Timbs was convicted in Indiana of one felony count of dealing drugs.  Indiana then moved in civil court for forfeiture of his $42,000 Land Rover because it was used in the commission of the offense, and the lower courts there thought the penalty was excessive.  “Nah,” said the Indiana Supreme Court, in effect, “the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines doesn’t apply to the States anyway, so go ahead and take the Land Rover.”

    The U.S. Supreme Court, in an opinion written by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, disagreed.  After going back through history to the Magna Carta reviewing the prohibition on excessive fines there, the Court concluded that the Fourteenth Amendment made deeply rooted historical protections applicable to the States, and that the protection against excessive fines qualified.

    Justice Ginsburg’s opinion homed in on a very good reason why, especially in the ravages of an economic disaster, we need to be wary of excessive fines.  “Even absent a political motive,” her opinion said, “fines may be employed ‘in a measure out of accord with the penal goals of retribution and deterrence, for fines are a source of revenue, while other forms of punishment cost a State money.”

    Here in Hawaii, the most draconian provisions in our tax law, which we have written about before, were enacted in 2010, when our state revenues were still hurting in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008.  At the time, it was tough to argue against these provisions – after all, they were meant to punish scofflaws and other undesirables, so that law-abiding folks like us would not have to pick up their slack. 

    But in practice, situations come up that make one wonder about whether the penalty is just too much.  Suppose, for example, we have a wholesaling company (for which the tax rate is prescribed at 0.5%) that dutifully files its monthly returns for years and pays all the taxes owed, but somehow doesn’t file its annual returns.  The purpose of the statute was to drop the hammer on businesses that tried to fly under the radar by not filing returns at all.  But the statute also says clearly that the monthly returns don’t count, so the Department re-assesses all income at 4.0% plus county surcharge, bringing the tax bill to nine times what the client has paid even before penalties and interest are added. 

    Even if a judge were to think that imposing the full plate of penalties is too much in this situation, there wasn’t much in terms of case law to rely on to upend the Department’s assessment.  But, fortunately for all of us, now there is.  Not only is there the Timbs decision, but cases are popping up all over applying it.  The moral of the story is that if a taxpayer is facing a situation with excessive or ruinous penalties, there may be a way to push back.

    Give your lever action rifle an RLO Custom Leather makeover

    Robert Kay
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    Give your lever action rifle an RLO Custom Leather makeover

    Not long ago I unearthed my Winchester 30-30 out of the safe where it had been sitting lo these many years. I purchased it in Decatur, Georgia, where I snuck off from a family reunion and headed to a pawn shop. Yes, I was playing hooky and perusing guns. (What was the world coming to?)

    And there it was, a beat up but lovable Model 94 Winchester.

    Don’t ask what possessed me to buy this rifle.

    Perhaps I wanted a piece of old Americana. After all this classic has seen service from the time of the Indian Wars to the WWII. 

    Right out of the box you can readily see the craftsmanship that went into the sling.

    Then there were the movies where it had been featured with everyone from Clint Eastwood to the Three Stooges.

    How venerable can you get? 

    I purchased the rifle and had it shipped to Hawaii.

    At any rate, I figured it would be fun to shoot and would be a perfect pig hunting tool. Lots of wild pigs here. They were brought over by the original Polynesian voyagers and eventually inter-bred with escaped domestic piggies.

    I wanted to handload for the ’94 so I got the proper dies, powder, bullets, cartridges, etc for my 550 Dillon press. Then I promptly forgot about the rifle.

    More accurately, I got distracted by other shiny things.

    Years passed and suffice it to say, I decided it was time to take the Model 94 to the range. So I loaded up a few plinker rounds with plated bullets. All I wanted to do was reacquaint myself with this rifle and hit a gong.

    Surely if Annie Oakley could hit a quarter that someone tossed in the air, I should be able to whack a 14” diameter steel plate at 100 yards.

    At the range the rifle was a blast. It’s a carbine and not all that heavy so it was quite manageable.

    However, after a short time, that Model 94 started feeling mighty onerous. 

    What was the problem?

    Pretty simple. Unlike my “modern sporting rifles” it didn’t have a sling. 

    I needed to rectify this.

    There were several slings out there but they all necessitated drilling of holes. I didn’t want any of that so I kept on looking and stumbled onto RLO Custom Leather. RLO is the brainchild of a fellow named Rick Lowe who resides at the interface of firearms and leather.

    The harness is secured on the buttstock by two snaps. The hardware such as the swivel is first class. A “Chicago” screw is used to adjust the strap.

    His products include scabbards, knife sheaths, slings, stock covers, cheek risers and the like. He makes accessories for bolt action rifles and shotguns as well as lever guns. He has products for manufacturers ranging from CZ to Winchester.

    Based in Bronson, Florida, Mr. Lowe got started making sheathes for his own custom knives. His work got attention and before you know it he was designing leather rifle accessories for the Mosin Nagant, Mauser and SKS. That in turn led him to making slings for Henry, Winchester, Marlin and other lever action rifles.

    Rick’s gift to rifledom is that his slings utilize a “no-drill” design.

    Instead of adulterating the stock with screws and the like, he uses a harness on the buttstock. In addition to the harness and sling strap you get hardware such as swivels, a magazine tube clamp and a hex wrench. 

    After the clamp is added (see photo below) it’s easy to put the swivel end of the strap.

    You can either order the product from his distributor, a company called Brass Stacker or you can go directly to creator’s workshop, RLO Custom Leather.

    My RLO sling arrived in a simple white box from USPS.

    Upon opening the box I knew that it was hand packed and handcrafted. There was a good feel to know that it was fabricated in someone’s shop, not some soul less factory overseas.

    As a side note, this is one of the great things about the firearms industry. There’s still room for an entrepreneur with a good idea. Hence the opportunity for people like Rick Lowe.

    So back to the product.

    Essentially, all you need to do is place the harness over the butt stock and snap it on. There are two snaps which secure the harness. Likewise, the tube clamp is easily attached with a screw. (They provide the Allen Wrench). 

    The next step is to attach the swivel by means of a spring loaded pin. Finally, adjust the (1 inch wide) strap length by means of a “Chicago” screw. There are three adjustment holes approximately 1-1/4″ apart.  I needed to add an extra hole, which was not a big deal.

    The tube clamp is easily added by tightening a screw. The allenhead wrench is provided by RLO. Adding the sling takes only a few minutes.

    The whole thing will take you all of 20 minutes to assemble/attach on a bad day. The sling is available in Chocolate Brown, lighter Saddle Tan and Charcoal Black. All are made from quality 5/6 ounce veg-tan leather hides.

    The ergonomics of the sling were excellent and instead of wearing me out at the range, I could shoot my old lever gun all day.

    So what do I like about it other than the utility?

    Without getting too anthropomorphic, the RLO sling adds a kind of personality and individuality to the rifle.

    At $88 it’s not going to break the bank.

    Whether it’s a Winchester, Marlin, Rossi or Henry, a strap makeover will add a different dimension to your lever action rife. The sum of the parts does make for a greater whole. More importantly it makes the old 94 more user friendly.

    Standardless Spending, Part 2?

    Tom Yamachika
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    Standardless Spending, Part 2?

    A few weeks ago, we wrote about how the State’s procurement law was suspended by Governor’s Emergency Proclamation.  We argued it meant standardless spending, and we were delighted to report last week that the issue was addressed in the most recent Emergency Proclamation. 

    In a prior article and a follow-up, we followed $1.25 billion of federal money that the CARES Act set aside for Hawai’i.  We could have it if we could actually spend the money by year’s end. 

    The Legislature spent much time figuring out how to allocate those funds between the agencies that wanted them and passed an appropriation bill. The Governor line-item vetoed more than $300 million of those appropriations, and then used the $300 million for the Hawai’i restaurant card program.  

    Now, I don’t think the restaurant card program is a bad thing, but I do have a concern with how the money got there. The Legislature is supposed to dole out our money between competing priorities. The Governor is spending $300 million on something else. 

    As for the other $500 million that the Legislature did appropriate, we are worried about standardless spending there, as the State Auditor pointed out in a recent report. 

    As we mentioned, the federal money has strings attached. It must be spent on previously unbudgeted, COVID-19 related, expenses.  The State needed to designate a point of contact for the Federal Government so they could figure out if the conditions were being complied with.  That contact was in the Department of Budget and Finance (B&F). 

    So, what kind of oversight is B&F exercising over the $800+ million in appropriated and non-appropriated money, to make sure it meets federal requirements as well as normal budgetary procedures and controls?

    According to the Auditor’s report:  None. 

    B&F basically told the departments, “Here’s your money.  Go spend it.”

    Are we going to “spend every penny,” as the Governor promised, before year end?  And in accordance with federal requirements?

    It’s going to be tough.  Already the Auditor has noticed inconsistencies in how money is being tracked.  “In our review of CRF funds [Coronavirus Relief Fund, i.e., CARES Act money] reports,” the Auditor wrote, “we found significant discrepancies in the State’s accounting of moneys allocated, encumbered, and, most importantly, expended.  This inconsistent monitoring and tracking of CRF moneys raise concerns about the State’s ability to distribute the funds in a proper and timely manner.”

    Uh-oh.  It looks like we may be going down the path of standardless spending again.  That path has a much higher risk of undesirable outcomes.  If we can’t figure out how much we’ve spent, we might spend too much and thereby spend money we don’t have.  Or we might not be spending enough or for the right things, either of which could result in having to repay Uncle Sam.  To get off this path, we need coordinated tracking, and we need standards.  This is something we can’t afford to get wrong!

    What the world’s largest eyewear company’s data breach means for Hawaii Consumers

    Robert Kay
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    What the world’s largest eyewear company’s data breach means for Hawaii Consumers

    Homebound in the Covid-19 era? Here’s a few devices to improve quality of life

    Robert Kay
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    Homebound in the Covid-19 era? Here’s a few devices to improve quality of life

    Let’s begin with wireless ear buds.

    I know I’m showing my age, but I never thought the day would come when I’d have ear buds dripping out of my auricles. However, after a month of testing these out, I’m sold on the Liberty 2 Pro True Wireless Earbuds from Anker’s Soundcore series.  

    When would these devices come in handy?

    If you’re doing a lot of Zoom these days (and who isn’t?) a set of noise cancelling earbuds is obligatory. For one thing, they reduce background noise. In doing so, you are going to make your audience happier by delivering good quality audio. (Nothing is worse than a Zoom session with garbled sound).

    Secondly, I find myself speaking on the phone these days to relatives and friends a lot more. Full disclosure, often I’m also multi-tasking. Being able to talk while I’m pulling weeds or picking up around the  house comes in very handy.  While doing these kinds of activities I also might be listening to a podcast or to music.

    Bingo. They are really nice to have.

    You can spend upwards of $400 on this technology but you can get excellent quality from this model for $150 from Amazon.

    There are other reasons to like them.

    The ear buds fit into a nifty little cover that can be recharged via USB or wirelessly.

    They are comfortable. My ears are hard to fit, and most in-ear buds either feel very uncomfortable right from the start, or start to fall out rather quickly with minimal motion. Not only do they fit great but the kit comes with four different sized silicone ear tips. If you’re doing conference calls, you’ll want ‘em.

    The case design is large enough to accommodate bigger, foam ear tips if you choose to swap out the originals. You can either charge the case with a USB cable or wirelessly.

    The earphones work solidly, without interruptions with both my Android smartphone and my Windows laptop.

    You can spend upwards of $400 on this technology but you can get excellent audio quality from this model for $150 from Amazon. 

    Once charged the earphones can work for several hours continuously so you won’t run out of juice in the middle of a call.

    To install simply download the Soundcore app on your mobile device. The app provides a “HearID” test that allows you to customize each earbud to your hearing sensitivity.

    A less expensive option is the Soundcore Libery Air 2 which also offers good audio suitable for music or voice.

    If you don’t want to spend $150, I tested a less expensive model the Soundcore Libery Air 2 which retail for about $100 on Amazon. They have a slightly different design (elongated) but also work well for Zoom duty and music. They are comfortable as well.

    Here’s a hint for both models if you have trouble connecting, which sometimes occurs: There’s a tiny reset button on the cases. Press that and wait until you see a red light flashing on the earbuds. That’s the signal that it’s been reset and it should connect with no problem. 

    Are you a robovac skeptic? This device will change your mind.

    Is it time for a Robot Vacuum Cleaner?

    Nesting in the COVID-19 era has, among other things, focuses us on hygiene and the newly released RoboVac G30 Edge from eufy, the newest entry in the “Roomba” style robot vacuum cleaner space, will definitely improve your QOL.

    When the Roomba was first were introduced in 2002, it seemed like a gimmick. I was wrong.

    They worked in 2002 and the newer models clean better (and are less expensive) now. Chief among these is the G30 Edge which I tested in my Kaimuki home. 

    Compared to my Roomba, the G30 was much quieter and slimmer. Whereas most of the robot vacuums randomly ping pong off your walls and furniture, the G30 employs “Smart Dynamic Navigation” to map the room and plot a path through it. Thus, by design, it performs the job of vacuuming more like a person, methodically vacuuming every square inch of the room. (Its wi-fi app will even draw a map of the job). 

    Priced at $369 (on Amazon) it is a midrange-priced machine in today’s market. In addition to the “navigation” you’re also getting a vacuum that has three suction modes (standard, turbo and max). Of course, the battery will run down sooner on the higher vacuuming modes, but they really suck up the dirt.

    It’s easy to remove the cassette that collects the dust. Note the scratches on the top. The G30 withstood a large object falling on top of it. I can be hard on my appliances but this stood the test.

    Set up was easy. After unboxing, attach the side brush and set up the app on your phone or tablet. The wi-fi comes in handy (you can schedule and adjust the suction modes) but I found it easier just to hit the button on the vacuum and let it do its thing. It’s best of course to move chairs, toys, cords, etc. before you let her rip.

    The G30 Edge comes with “boundary strips” to keep your robot from disappearing into another room (or in my case) into Palolo Valley.

    I summary, I really liked this machine. It’s robust. An accidental drop test proved it. A large ceramic bowl landed with a thump on the G30 with enough velocity to seriously scratch the top plastic cover. It kept right on running without pause.

    It sucks dust like a champ but there are limitations. Like any of these machines, it has trouble vacuuming along a wall. (That’s where you come in!)

    The boundary strips didn’t always keep the Robovac in the right room, but that’s not a deal killer.

    If you have an older Roomba model should you ditch it in favor of a newer machine like the G30?  

    Like any technology, the newer machines simply work better.

    If you don’t own a Robot vacuum, you won’t regret buying a G30. 

    This 60w wonder can speed up your charge rate up to 3x.

    You can never re-charge quickly enough. That’s my credo.

    Obviously we’re all tethered to mobile devices nowadays and we also seem to have much less patience. So getting your phone charged up rapidly is important to your mental health. 

    Anker makes a variety of these fast chargers (as do other manufacturers). I tested a couple of of their models, the 60W Anker iPhone Charger (with two ports) and a compact model, the Nano Power Port III, which has the advantage of being really small. 

    The larger model which has two USB C ports, can charge 2 Laptops simultaneously. Both are designed for travel. The 60W unit also comes with interchangeable plugs for use in the US, UK, and Europe, but of course you can use it at home.

    Small but mighty, this has 20 w of power and is great for travel to the Mainland or the North Shore.

    The smaller, Nano Power Port III is intended for phones and tablets (rather than laptops) and also charges up to three times as fast as a standard charger. Thus if you need a compact, powerful charger to keep in your pocket or bag, this is the ticket. You don’t have to go to Disneyland to take advantage of it. You might even use it on a trip to the North Shore.

    Finally, a blue tooth speaker is a necessary addition for this home-bound epoch.

    Why’s that?

    If you’re like me, listening to podcasts is part of my life and with more time around the house, having a wireless speaker connected to my mobile devices is a no brainer.

    The second reason is outdoor entertaining.

    No, this isn’t an era of garden parties but (at a safe social distance of course) I’ll have a friend over on the deck discussing politics or other affairs over a glass of wine. In the background I like to stream my favorite jazz station (TSF) out of Paris. 

    For these reasons I opted for yet another Anker product, the Soundcore Flare 2 Bluetooth Speaker which retails at $69 on Amazon.

    For a pool party or a podcast, this speaker will work great.

    It’s received terrific reviews on Amazon and for good reason. The sound (especially for the price) is excellent and more than adequate for a podcast. 

    It’s easy to operate (you can control is from the Soundcore App if need be) and uses Type C USB Charging. 

    And what if it starts raining? No problem, it’s waterproof, so as to “with stand” pool parties. And yes, folks you can even bring it to beach.

    If you don’t need a stereo set up and can use an outdoor speaker, this will be perfect. 

    The Flare Speaker in action on my deck, overlooking Waikiki.

    But wait there’s more.

    It sports visual effects, a rainbow light show that pulses, phases, and shines to the beat of the music.

    Do I need the disco effects? Not really, but it’s fun. If a pool party-ready speaker is not necessary, Anker has a variety of other less expensive speakers suitable for podcasts such as the Flare Mini or our Soundcore 2.

    Rob Kay, a Honolulu-based writer, is the creator of fijiguide. com. He can be reached at Robertfredkay@gmail.com.

     

    Where’s All the Money?

    Tom Yamachika
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    Where’s All the Money?

    For most of us, if we are asked how much money we have (perhaps by a bank or credit union that is considering lending us money), answering the question isn’t terribly difficult. Look up a bank account or two, add a brokerage account if we are fortunate enough to have one, and we go from there. 

    For our State government, apparently it’s not so easy. Not only do the state accountants need to deal with general funds and the money there, but we have hundreds of special funds—little pockets of money held for different purposes. Sometimes there’s an associated bank account, sometimes not. Sometimes there is a law establishing the special fund, sometimes not (agencies can and do establish funds administratively). 

    In an attempt to keep track of the money, the Legislature passed a law requiring agencies to report on the special funds they have, and then they sent the State Auditor to check up on the agencies to make sure they did that.  According to the Auditor’s reports, some of which we have covered in this space, sometimes agencies comply with the law, sometimes not. And there are no real penalties for disobeying the law—the Auditor can’t put a delinquent director in the imu at the next luau with a pig roast, for example. 

    Does it matter?  Well, consider Auditor’s Report No. 20-08, which concluded: “More than $483 million in excess moneys may be available to be transferred from 57 special and revolving fund accounts to the General Fund without adversely affecting programs.”  That report followed another report, No. 20-06, which “identified $2.28 billion within 257 accounts associated with departments’ special and revolving funds that either had no financial activity during the past five fiscal years (FY2015 through FY2019) or had fiscal year ending balances that were significantly more than necessary to support the associated programs, based on the funds’ average outflows over the past three fiscal years.”  

    There are idle funds holding money.  Lots of money.  And this is only for the funds that the Auditor knows about.

    If our government wants to take extreme measures such as cut back on core services and ask Joe and Jane Taxpayer to dig ever deeper into their pockets, there better not be millions or billions of dollars just laying around.

    So, what we need to do is something a little more radical to make sure we know where the money is.

    Let’s pass something that says that ALL funds—general, special, or revolving, statutory, administrative, or anything else—are maintained by the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS), the folks who are supposed to cut all or most of the State’s checks now. Agencies can spend the funds to the extent they can do so now, but DAGS gets the bank statements.  (Of course, if the Legislature doesn’t like the extent to which a certain agency is spending money, it can change the law.) 

    If an agency tries to pull the wool over DAGS’ eyes, the responsible party can be punished for theft.  People can go to the hoosegow for that.  By the way, our law (HRS sec. 708-830) already defines theft to include “failure to make required disposition of funds.”

    Once we have a single agency responsible for keeping track of all the State’s money and measures in place to ensure that other agencies aren’t stashing cash in a closet somewhere, we should be able to figure out how much money we have.  Then we, as the public, can have more confidence that our government can figure out its financial condition and tell us in the public the truth about it.

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