Thursday, January 07, 2010
Hawaii administration: Penny wise (maybe), pound foolish
by Larry Geller
Just came back from Town Square on HPR, which we transformed for an hour to “rat radio.”
Tonight was the second DOH class for Kekaulike Market vendors. You’ll recall that the first class, held at 4:30 p.m., was attended by only two vendors. Tonight’s was held at 6 p.m. But due to strict rules, the same rules that prevent DOH from sending inspectors out at night, DOH people can’t attend or teach the class. So an outside expert is giving the class using DOH materials.
Guess what, though—because DOH refuses to authorize overtime, even for this class, but also for inspectors who could have helped avoid the current rodent problem—business in Chinatown is reported to have declined. Some reports said as much as 60%.
So the state saved a bit on overtime and lost a big hunk of taxes on lost business.
Makes sense, huh? Only in a banana republic.
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