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THUMP!
Hear that? That’s the proverbial “other shoe” dropping, and it’s landing right on Hawaii drivers’ gasoline bills.
Gov. David Ige gave a big, important speech Monday — it’s called the State of the State — in which he outlined some big ideas and priorities for the state to tackle this year. But nowhere in the wide-ranging speech did he even hint about raising the gasoline tax.
That news broke a couple days later, and it’s sure to draw a lot of discussion. Not only is Ige proposing to raise the gas tax to 19 cents per gallon from 16 cents, he’s also looking to raise vehicle registration fees and weight taxes.
Fasten your seat belts, folks, it’s gonna be bumpy.
Resolutions easier said than done
Beyond signing off on the extended rail tax — at long last — the Honolulu City Council didn’t have much heavy lifting to do this week.
In other business, there was a bill clearing the way for “parklets” and other cyclist- and pedestrian-friendly elements of the “Complete Streets” policy.
There was also a pile of resolutions, including a call to build temporary housing units and hygiene centers for the homeless.
In another, the Council “declares its intent to consider all options regarding the provision of electric service, including the investigation of municipal or cooperative public ownership on the island of Oahu.” It’s hard to argue against any of that in theory.
And now the public eagerly waits to see if any action ensues.
