mtanji@mauinews.com
A Maui County Council committee is proposing an $842.6 million budget that would use higher hotel taxes to generate more revenue for affordable housing. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
A Maui County Council committee is proposing an $842.6 million budget that would increase the current budget by about $20 million and rely on tax hikes for hotels to fund more affordable housing.
The Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee finished reviewing Mayor Michael Victorino’s proposal last week and moved forward its own version, which includes at least $9 million more than the mayor budgeted for affordable housing, Committee Chairwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez said on Thursday.
Cheyenne Police Recognized for Pre-Arrest Diversion Program kingfm.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kingfm.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Washington s 2-year experiment under new drug possession law
at 10:08 am KUOW-FM
The legislative âfixâ to Washington stateâs drug possession laws takes effect once Governor Jay Inslee signs it. That new law makes simple drug possession a misdemeanor, and funds development of a statewide framework for treatment and recovery.
It also requires police to steer people with substance use disorders away from jail and towards those new services. Burien has already adopted that approach, but business owners are getting frustrated with the outcomes.
Possessing small amounts of drugs including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine has effectively been decriminalized in Washington state since February, when the state supreme court threw out the existing felony drug law in its âBlakeâ decision.
lfujimoto@mauinews.com
Maui Police Department Chief Tivoli Faaumu delivers an emotional farewell speech as wife Deborah Faaumu looks on Friday morning at the Wailuku Police Station. Faaumu retires today after nearly 36 years on the job. â The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
WAILUKU Whether it was handing out bottles of water while talking to Black Lives Matter protesters, walking in high heels to support survivors of domestic violence or tackling a fleeing fugitive, Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu left his mark.
“As the chief, I can’t just hide behind doors,” Faaumu said. “I have to go out. I have a civic duty.
Opioid use, fentanyl deaths spike in Maryland amid pandemic
Callan Tansill-Suddath
Preliminary data from 2020 reveals a dramatic increase in deaths linked with opioids in Maryland, particularly fentanyl, and health officials cite the pandemic as a major factor.
The number of unintentional intoxication overdoses those involving all drugs and alcohol rose 18.7% to 2,773 in 2020 from 2,379 in 2019, according to data collected by the Maryland Department of Health.
In more than 90% of cases, opioids were detected in bodies postmortem, the highest rate recorded in the state’s history of collecting this data.
While too early to formally determine the extent to which COVID-19 has influenced this increase, experts agree the pandemic is likely to blame for the widespread increase in drug use.