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Ige promotes proposals for working families

Gov. David Ige speaks to reporters in Honolulu on Tuesday, after delivering his state of the state address at the Hawaii State Capitol. Hawaii Gov. AP photo

The Associated Press

and The Maui News

HONOLULU — Gov. David Ige on Tuesday outlined a plan to boost preschool education, housing and tax relief for families as he delivered his annual state of the state address. Ige and state lawmakers jointly announced the package of proposals last week before the Legislature convened.

Ige said increasing the minimum wage to $13 per hour, together with tax relief, could result in an annual cash benefit of $4,400 to each worker.

“We believe we have hit the sweet spot that will make a difference for our working families,” Ige told lawmakers.

On housing, Ige said leaders propose to build 17,000 leasehold homes on state-owned land in partnership with private developers. To help this effort, the state would invest $200 million in roads and infrastructure on state land in West Oahu. The plan would spend $75 million on affordable housing on the Neighbor Islands.

The governor says he wants every 3- and 4-year old in Hawaii to have the opportunity to attend child care or preschool program by the end of the decade. He noted about 20,000 children statewide currently don’t have that chance.

“Business as usual is not acceptable,” he said.

The Democratic governor addressed criticism he’s received for not arresting those who have been blocking the road to the top of Mauna Kea to prevent the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope, saying taking “strong measures”would have been the “easier course.”

He said more than the authority of the law was at stake.

“What is also at risk is the glue that always bounds us together: our sense of aloha. It is the thing that underpins our laws and gives them meaning and an ethical foundation. That trust in each other is sacred. And I will not break that bond, no matter how convenient or easy,” he said.

He began his address with a moment of silence for two Honolulu Police Department officers killed on Sunday.

He referenced “ohana” as he spoke to Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard, who was in the audience.

“Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with the HPD ohana and with the families of these two brave officers,” he said. The audience stood and applauded for Ballard when she was introduced.

Ige made a few references to Maui County in his speech but did not offer specific programs. On agriculture and self-sufficiency, the governor noted Mahi Pono’s purchase of 41,000 acres of old sugar fields from Alexander & Baldwin in 2018 and its growing of potatoes. The company, led by Ige’s former lieutenant governor, Shan Tsutsui, also seeks to plant another 120 acres of citrus trees and 20 acres of non-GMO papayas with plans for growing avocados, bell peppers, guava, lilikoi, oranges, lemons and limes, he said.

The governor also recognized En Young of Sensei Farms on Lanai, who was in the audience. He said Sensei Farms is using “a mix of proven and innovative technology to power its hydroponic greenhouses on former pineapple fields.”

“This mix of traditional farming and new technology is the wave of the future for agriculture throughout the state,” Ige said.

Sensei Farms is an agriculture tech startup launched by tech billionaire Larry Ellison, who owns most of Lanai, and Dr. David Agus, a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering.

Ige cited the massive wildfires last year and unprecedented high tides in West Maui as stark signs that climate change needs to be dealt with. He called for setting aside 10,000 acres in conservation under the state Legacy Land program and mandating 100 percent clean energy usage by 2045.

The Lana`i Culture & Heritage Center and Hula Halau O Molokai were mentioned as recipients of the Hawai`i Tourism Authority’s Kukula Ola program grants. HTA is shifting “its priorities from increasing visitor arrivals to improving the visitor experience, while supporting the quality of life for residents,” Ige said.

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