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Flint residents grapple with water crisis a decade later: ‘If we had the energy left, we’d cry’

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Thursday, April 25, 2024

Earlier this month, Brittany Thomas received a call that her 11-year-old daughter Janiyah had experienced a seizure at school.“She’d been seizure-free for about two years now,” said Thomas, a resident of Flint, Michigan. “And they just came back.”The call took Thomas back to April 2014, when, to save money, the City of Flint switched to a water source that exposed more than 100,000 residents – including up to 12,000 children – to elevated levels of lead and bacteria. Thomas’s family drank bottled water at the time, but they cooked with and bathed in the tap water.Soon after the switch, Thomas and her two children developed rashes on their skin. Then the children began experiencing frequent seizures that sent them in and out of the hospital. Blood tests revealed they had lead poisoning.“I didn’t know how to feel,” she said. “I’ve been depressed, I’ve been frustrated, stressed out – can’t catch a break.”Studies later showed that after officials changed Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, the percentage of children with elevated levels of lead levels in their blood doubled – and in some parts of the city, tripled. The switch also exposed residents to the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, leading to as many as 115 deaths.Despite an outcry from the predominantly African American community, officials at every level of government were slow to respond. It was nearly two years before Barack Obama, then president, declared a state of emergency in Flint. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, a state-established body, concluded that the poor governmental response to the Flint crisis was a “result of systemic racism”.Now, a decade after the crisis began, kids are still sick, the city is not done replacing lead pipes and families like Thomas’ are still awaiting justice.“The people of Flint will never trust that water again,” said Pastor Alfred Harris of Concerned Pastors for Social Action. Harris was part of a group of pastors who organized protests and water-filter giveaways, met with lawmakers to urge them to stop sourcing water from the Flint River and sued, along with other groups, the city and state in 2016.“Flint was a poor community and majority people of color,” Harris said. “If it had been in another community – a majority white or more affluent community – I think actions would have been taken much sooner.”There is no safe level of lead exposure. The neurotoxin harms nearly all of the body’s functions, is linked to premature births and miscarriages and has been shown to cause learning and behavior problems, among other ailments, in children.A delivery man hauls bottled water outside of the St Mark Baptist church in Flint, Michigan, on 23 February 2016. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty ImagesIn 2020, the state of Michigan agreed to a $600m settlement with Flint residents. Eighty percent of that sum would go to children who, like Thomas’ kids, were under 18 when they were exposed to Flint River water, and a district court is now reviewing residents’ claims.Settlement funds can’t come soon enough for claimants like Thomas, who said she lost her job as a result of needing to respond to her kids’ health problems. “They haven’t told us anything,” she said. “They keep giving us different dates … but nobody hasn’t seen nothing.”‘It’s like an open sore’A Flint resident for most of her life, Eileen Hayes moved into her townhome in 1996. When lead contaminated her water, she started losing her hair.“Losing hair on the top of your head changes not only how you can wear your hair, but it changes your self-esteem, how you see yourself, and of course that impacts how you carry yourself,” she said.Hayes continues to buy her own bottled water, years after the state stopped supplying it. “It would have to be a massive change that would make me stop using bottled water,” she said.In 2017, as part of a settlement with Flint residents, officials agreed to replace thousands of lead pipes in the city within three years.Hayes, like many residents, received conflicting information about whether her service lines were checked. “I can’t put the issue behind me until we fix the pipes,” Hayes wrote in a 2023 declaration. “The unfinished program is like an open sore to me.”skip past newsletter promotionOur US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionLast month, a judge held the city in contempt of court for failing to comply with the settlement. “It is apparent that the City has failed to abide by the Court’s orders in several respects,” the order read. “And that it has no good reason for its failures.”Workers prepare to replace a lead water service line at the site of the first Flint home with high lead levels on 4 March 2016. Photograph: Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesA spokesperson for the City of Flint said lead service line replacement is ongoing. “We have completed outreach to more than 31,000 addresses and there are still 1,900 addresses where we have not been able to get consent from residents to do the work,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. The spokesperson said the city completed work at Hayes’ home in 2021. ‘If we had the energy left, we’d cry’Like Hayes and Thomas, Melissa Mays also pays for bottled water out of pocket. She worries about exposure to microplastics from bottled water, but doesn’t trust the tap.In 2014, even as some areas of the city had brown tap water, her water was clear. So she and her family continued drinking it. When the city set a boil water advisory for bacteria, she boiled the water. “Nobody told us that was making it a ton worse – concentrating the metals,” she explained.Her family consumed contaminated tap water for nine months. Now, her three sons have a long list of medical issues and learning challenges. Like Thomas, she too is waiting on settlement funds to help pay for her kids’ healthcare, school tutors and therapy.Mays said the community is still reeling from the “moral injury” of the crisis – state officials knew of the risks long before telling the public. “We are traumatised from being lied to by the same people that continue to tell us everything’s fine and it’s just in our head,” Mays said.A spokesperson for the Michigan department of environment, Great Lakes and energy (EGLE) wrote, “EGLE has worked hard to make sure Flint residents have the facts and data they need to trust their water again.” The department said it had “wholly revamped its approach to public drinking water”, with new offices added to oversee water. The official also noted that Flint’s drinking water has met federal standards since July 2016.The City of Flint said in a statement that it has made major upgrades to water quality monitoring and water infrastructure, including a new backup water source “to ensure residents have access to water in an emergency and will never again be forced to turn to the Flint River as a water source”. While the city’s water is in compliance with federal lead standards of less than 15 ppb, the city spokesperson said they recognize that “no amount of lead in water is safe”.We are traumatised from being lied to by the same people that continue to tell us everything’s fine and it’s just in our headThe Environmental Protection Agency oversees and tracks compliance with public water systems in Michigan, including Flint. A spokesperson from the agency wrote in an email: “Every community deserves clean water to drink, and the Biden-Harris Administration is working to ensure no family has to worry whether their water is safe when they turn on the tap. That’s why EPA efforts to ensure safe, reliable drinking water for Flint residents are ongoing.” The spokesperson added that the EPA is leveraging $15bn in funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to identify and replace lead service lines across the country.Four officials from the local, state and federal governments resigned in the wake of the crisis, including one official from the EPA. Nine leaders in Michigan, including former governor Rick Snyder, were charged with felonies and misdemeanors, but the charges were dropped.Like many residents, Mays was shocked. “Nobody went to jail. How does that happen in America?” she asked. “If we had the energy left, we’d cry.”

Years after the emergency, the Michigan city is yet to replace all lead pipes and affected families are still awaiting justiceEarlier this month, Brittany Thomas received a call that her 11-year-old daughter Janiyah had experienced a seizure at school.“She’d been seizure-free for about two years now,” said Thomas, a resident of Flint, Michigan. “And they just came back.” Continue reading...

Earlier this month, Brittany Thomas received a call that her 11-year-old daughter Janiyah had experienced a seizure at school.

“She’d been seizure-free for about two years now,” said Thomas, a resident of Flint, Michigan. “And they just came back.”

The call took Thomas back to April 2014, when, to save money, the City of Flint switched to a water source that exposed more than 100,000 residents – including up to 12,000 children – to elevated levels of lead and bacteria. Thomas’s family drank bottled water at the time, but they cooked with and bathed in the tap water.

Soon after the switch, Thomas and her two children developed rashes on their skin. Then the children began experiencing frequent seizures that sent them in and out of the hospital. Blood tests revealed they had lead poisoning.

“I didn’t know how to feel,” she said. “I’ve been depressed, I’ve been frustrated, stressed out – can’t catch a break.”

Studies later showed that after officials changed Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River, the percentage of children with elevated levels of lead levels in their blood doubled – and in some parts of the city, tripled. The switch also exposed residents to the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, leading to as many as 115 deaths.

Despite an outcry from the predominantly African American community, officials at every level of government were slow to respond. It was nearly two years before Barack Obama, then president, declared a state of emergency in Flint. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, a state-established body, concluded that the poor governmental response to the Flint crisis was a “result of systemic racism”.

Now, a decade after the crisis began, kids are still sick, the city is not done replacing lead pipes and families like Thomas’ are still awaiting justice.

“The people of Flint will never trust that water again,” said Pastor Alfred Harris of Concerned Pastors for Social Action. Harris was part of a group of pastors who organized protests and water-filter giveaways, met with lawmakers to urge them to stop sourcing water from the Flint River and sued, along with other groups, the city and state in 2016.

“Flint was a poor community and majority people of color,” Harris said. “If it had been in another community – a majority white or more affluent community – I think actions would have been taken much sooner.”

There is no safe level of lead exposure. The neurotoxin harms nearly all of the body’s functions, is linked to premature births and miscarriages and has been shown to cause learning and behavior problems, among other ailments, in children.

A delivery man hauls bottled water outside of the St Mark Baptist church in Flint, Michigan, on 23 February 2016. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

In 2020, the state of Michigan agreed to a $600m settlement with Flint residents. Eighty percent of that sum would go to children who, like Thomas’ kids, were under 18 when they were exposed to Flint River water, and a district court is now reviewing residents’ claims.

Settlement funds can’t come soon enough for claimants like Thomas, who said she lost her job as a result of needing to respond to her kids’ health problems. “They haven’t told us anything,” she said. “They keep giving us different dates … but nobody hasn’t seen nothing.”

‘It’s like an open sore

A Flint resident for most of her life, Eileen Hayes moved into her townhome in 1996. When lead contaminated her water, she started losing her hair.

“Losing hair on the top of your head changes not only how you can wear your hair, but it changes your self-esteem, how you see yourself, and of course that impacts how you carry yourself,” she said.

Hayes continues to buy her own bottled water, years after the state stopped supplying it. “It would have to be a massive change that would make me stop using bottled water,” she said.

In 2017, as part of a settlement with Flint residents, officials agreed to replace thousands of lead pipes in the city within three years.

Hayes, like many residents, received conflicting information about whether her service lines were checked. “I can’t put the issue behind me until we fix the pipes,” Hayes wrote in a 2023 declaration. “The unfinished program is like an open sore to me.”

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Last month, a judge held the city in contempt of court for failing to comply with the settlement. “It is apparent that the City has failed to abide by the Court’s orders in several respects,” the order read. “And that it has no good reason for its failures.”

Workers prepare to replace a lead water service line at the site of the first Flint home with high lead levels on 4 March 2016. Photograph: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

A spokesperson for the City of Flint said lead service line replacement is ongoing. “We have completed outreach to more than 31,000 addresses and there are still 1,900 addresses where we have not been able to get consent from residents to do the work,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. The spokesperson said the city completed work at Hayes’ home in 2021.

‘If we had the energy left, we’d cry’

Like Hayes and Thomas, Melissa Mays also pays for bottled water out of pocket. She worries about exposure to microplastics from bottled water, but doesn’t trust the tap.

In 2014, even as some areas of the city had brown tap water, her water was clear. So she and her family continued drinking it. When the city set a boil water advisory for bacteria, she boiled the water. “Nobody told us that was making it a ton worse – concentrating the metals,” she explained.

Her family consumed contaminated tap water for nine months. Now, her three sons have a long list of medical issues and learning challenges. Like Thomas, she too is waiting on settlement funds to help pay for her kids’ healthcare, school tutors and therapy.

Mays said the community is still reeling from the “moral injury” of the crisis – state officials knew of the risks long before telling the public. “We are traumatised from being lied to by the same people that continue to tell us everything’s fine and it’s just in our head,” Mays said.

A spokesperson for the Michigan department of environment, Great Lakes and energy (EGLE) wrote, “EGLE has worked hard to make sure Flint residents have the facts and data they need to trust their water again.” The department said it had “wholly revamped its approach to public drinking water”, with new offices added to oversee water. The official also noted that Flint’s drinking water has met federal standards since July 2016.

The City of Flint said in a statement that it has made major upgrades to water quality monitoring and water infrastructure, including a new backup water source “to ensure residents have access to water in an emergency and will never again be forced to turn to the Flint River as a water source”. While the city’s water is in compliance with federal lead standards of less than 15 ppb, the city spokesperson said they recognize that “no amount of lead in water is safe”.

The Environmental Protection Agency oversees and tracks compliance with public water systems in Michigan, including Flint. A spokesperson from the agency wrote in an email: “Every community deserves clean water to drink, and the Biden-Harris Administration is working to ensure no family has to worry whether their water is safe when they turn on the tap. That’s why EPA efforts to ensure safe, reliable drinking water for Flint residents are ongoing.” The spokesperson added that the EPA is leveraging $15bn in funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to identify and replace lead service lines across the country.

Four officials from the local, state and federal governments resigned in the wake of the crisis, including one official from the EPA. Nine leaders in Michigan, including former governor Rick Snyder, were charged with felonies and misdemeanors, but the charges were dropped.

Like many residents, Mays was shocked. “Nobody went to jail. How does that happen in America?” she asked. “If we had the energy left, we’d cry.”

Read the full story here.
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Alabama Utility Commission Allowed to Hike Prices Behind Closed Doors, Judge Rules

A judge has ruled that Alabama's Public Service Commission can continue holding private meetings to decide fuel price hikes

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's utility regulators can continue to hold closed-door meetings to determine price hikes, in an apparent departure from common practices in neighboring states, a circuit court judge ruled.The decision on Monday rejected a lawsuit filed by Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Energy Alabama, a nonprofit that advocates for renewable energy sources. The watchdog group was denied access to two meetings in 2024 where the public service commission decided how Alabama Power — the state's largest electricity provider — should adjust prices based on volatility in global fuel costs. Montgomery circuit Judge Brooke Reid ruled against the environmental advocates in a one-page order after a hearing in June. She said the group's rights had not been substantially violated. At the June hearing, Reid said the commission’s “interpretation of its own rules should be given deference.”Christina Tidwell, a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, blasted Reid’s decision in a statement on Monday.“While other Southern states have meaningful public engagement in fuel cost proceedings, Alabama Power customers will continue to be shut out of the process,” Tidwell wrote. The Alabama Public Service Commission has rules that govern how Alabama Power can change electricity prices to offset increases in fuel costs, which tend to be volatile. Those rules say that the public is entitled to hear evidence and participate in proceedings that adjust fuel costs to ensure these changes are “just and reasonable.”The lawsuit said there have been only two public fuel cost hearings since the commission’s current rules were adopted in 1981. By contrast, the Georgia Public Service Commission, which regulates a sister company of Alabama Power, has held at least 26 public formal fuel cost proceedings, according to the complaint.The last public meeting in Alabama was called because the 2008 financial crisis caused fuel prices to skyrocket rapidly, according to attorneys for the state commission. They argued that the commission hasn't technically initiated a new proceeding since that change 16 years ago, even though rates have been adjusted over 15 times since then, so they are not compelled to invite public input.Attorneys for the state also argued that the public has “plenty of opportunities for input” even without public meetings, because the commission publishes monthly reports on fuel prices online, and rate changes are subject to public appeal. Alabama Power is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company, which reported $4.4 billion in profit in 2024, according to annual shareholder reports. Alabama Power serves about 1.5 million of the state’s roughly 5 million residents.Most Alabama residents get electricity through municipal or cooperatively owned utilities. In 2023, the average Alabama Power consumer was paying about $159 per month, compared to the statewide average of approximately $132 per month, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Alabama Power did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday afternoon inquiring about recent rates.After the ruling, Energy Alabama's executive director Daniel Tait said in a statement that the decision was “disappointing” for “Alabamians who have no choice but to pay the high cost of fossil fuels on their Alabama Power bill.”Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - June 2025

California overhauls landmark environmental protection rules

Governor Gavin Newsom says bureaucratic roadblocks have made it difficult to build housing in the most populous stateCalifornia is overhauling its landmark environmental protection rules, a change state leaders say is essential to address the state’s housing shortage and homelessness crisis.California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, had threatened to reject the state budget passed last Friday unless lawmakers overhauled the California Environmental Quality Act, or Ceqa, a 1970s law that requires strict examination of any new development for its impact on the environment. Continue reading...

California is overhauling its landmark environmental protection rules, a change state leaders say is essential to address the state’s housing shortage and homelessness crisis.California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, had threatened to reject the state budget passed last Friday unless lawmakers overhauled the California Environmental Quality Act, or Ceqa, a 1970s law that requires strict examination of any new development for its impact on the environment.The governor and housing advocates say that Ceqa, although well-intentioned at the time, put up bureaucratic roadblocks that have made it increasingly difficult to build housing in the most populous state in the US.Lawmakers passed the transformative measure despite opposition from environmental groups. Newsom called it a step toward solving the state’s housing affordability problem.“This was too urgent, too important, to allow the process to unfold as it has for the last generation,” he told reporters at a news conference after signing the bill.The new rules were passed in two so-called “budget trailer” bills. Under the new rules, large swaths of “infill housing”, or homes built in and around existing development, will be exempt from Ceqa reviews. There will be some exceptions, including for very large projects and construction in very low-density areas, but most homes and apartments built in cities will no longer be subject to the review.“This is what we’ve all been waiting for – a long-overdue step to stop Ceqa from being weaponized against housing,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who sponsored one of the bills. “We’re taking a major step toward building desperately needed homes faster, fairer, and with more certainty.”The new regulations also include exemptions for hi-tech manufacturing sites, a move proponents say will stimulate growth but critics say will facilitate industrial development in low-income neighborhoods.The exemptions, and in particular those for manufacturing sites, have been vehemently opposed by some social justice and environmental groups. “Together, these bills undermine the public participation process and the right to protect their community from environmental and health risks,” said the Western Center on Law & Poverty.“We’re in a nature crisis, we’re seeing unprecedented loss of wildlife, and that’s to be made worse with this bill,” said Laura Deehan with the group Environment California in a committee hearing on Monday.Earlier this year, Newsom waived some Ceqa rules for victims of wildfires in southern California, creating an opening for the state to re-examine the law that critics say hampers development and drives up building costs.The state budget passed last week pares back a number of progressive priorities, including a landmark healthcare expansion for low-income adult immigrants without legal status, to close a $12bn deficit.

Coalition fears spending cuts could idle central Oregon trail maintenance

Jana Johnson of Deschutes Trails Coalition says federal funding cuts will indefinitely pause trail maintenance performed by professionals.

Each summer the Deschutes Trails Coalition dispatches a small crew into the forest around Bend to improve trail conditions for myriad hikers. They remove fallen trees, repair trails impacted by erosion and cut back overgrown vegetation. But those involved with trail maintenance are increasingly worried the work relied on by both locals and visitors will soon come to a screeching halt. Jana Johnson, executive director of the nonprofit coalition, says federal funding cuts ordered by the Trump administration will indefinitely pause trail maintenance performed by professionals. A hiring freeze for seasonal workers will only compound problems for the Forest Service. “There’s obviously a lot of staffing shortages. There have been firings. People have been leaving our federal agencies due to the current budget and offers from the current administration,” said Johnson. “The public needs to know that our public lands are struggling right now.” READ MORE: Oregon hikers asked to ‘step up’ as federal cuts threaten Northwest trails The Deschutes Trails Coalition — in the third year of a three-year pilot project to pay for trail maintenance — was expecting a $200,000 grant to pay for a trail crew to operate through the summer. But that funding has been canceled, casting doubt about how the nonprofit will pay for trail maintenance in the years ahead. The coalition planned to stretch the funding over the next three years, supplemented by grants. “But without that $200,000, we are just left scrambling to try to figure out how we are going to fund them,” said Johnson. Concerns that trail maintenance won’t happen this year on the Deschutes and other national forests reflect broader worries that the Trump administration is sidelining environmental protections and recreation in favor of resource extraction. Executive orders are already in place to increase logging and fossil fuel extraction on public lands. The Deschutes River Trail runs through Tumalo State Park in central Oregon near Bend. One section of the trail follows a metal boardwalk over a field of boulders. Jamie Hale/The OregonianNate Wyeth, vice president of strategy for Visit Bend, says abandoning professional trail maintenance won’t go unnoticed by the public. “Our unparalleled access to outdoor recreation is the top reason many folks visit or live in Bend, and the current federal funding crisis will undoubtedly impact trail conditions, creating a negative visitor experience,” Wyeth said. An inquiry to the U.S. Forest Service from the Bulletin related to the disappearance of funding for trail maintenance went unanswered. Maintaining trails in national forests and other public lands has only become more challenging in recent years, due to increased demand from the public to hike and explore the outdoors. Project work has piled up due to increased use. “We already have millions of dollars of backlog of maintenance that needs to be done on our trails,” said Johnson. “So we’re just going to keep falling further behind if we don’t have crews that are working on maintenance and projects.” While volunteer crews occasionally maintain local trails, the Deschutes Trail Coalition crew is the only paid, professional crew working on the Deschutes National Forest. Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone acknowledged that the Trump administration is tightening the purse strings, impacting groups like the trails coalition. “These are times of action, obviously, from Washington D.C. when the dollars are stopping in different directions,” said DeBone. “People could or need to think differently this year,” he added. “This is the time where if those resources aren’t there, what’s the next plan? Being able to open up a trail can be done in partnership with the federal government.” DeBone suggested local organizations like the Deschutes Trail Coalition find out what is possible to accomplish. “Volunteers can get quite a bit done,” he said. Trail maintenance on the Deschutes National Forest usually starts in May and continues until mid-October. Johnson said there are some funds leftover from a year ago along with some new grants that can be used to get some work done at the start of the season. But the coalition’s account will be drained fairly soon, she predicts. “We desperately need funds,” Johnson said. Courtney Braun, co-owner of Wanderlust Tours in Bend, said she is anxious about what federal funding cuts mean for national forests’ partner organizations and public lands. “We feel this could impact not only the health and maintenance of the forest including trails, but could impact visitor safety without as many boots on the ground or trail maintenance,” said Braun. “This also will affect future projects of trail building that will delay some major improvements for both our community and visitors alike.” Braun said she hopes the community can “rally around” public lands and support federal employees who have been left with large funding gaps in their departments. “We can encourage visitors to really lean into volunteering and understanding or educating themselves about the lands upon which we recreate,” said Braun. “Hopefully with all of our powers combined we can still offer a high quality visitor experience. It just may look a bit different.”Approximately two dozen organizations conduct volunteer trail maintenance in Central Oregon, including: • Sisters Trail Alliance • Oregon Equestrian Trails • Central Oregon Trail Alliance • Friends of the Central Cascades Wilderness • Central Oregon Nordic Club — Michael Kohn, The Bulletin

Hawaii Spent Millions on Housing for the Homeless. Show Us the Receipts

A Honolulu Civil Beat review found that the state agency in charge of Hawaii’s homeless villages lacks records to show how millions paid to a nonprofit to build hundreds of housing units was actually spent

The state agency in charge of Hawaiʻi’s homeless villages lacks the records to show how millions of dollars paid to a nonprofit to build hundreds of housing units was actually spent, a Civil Beat review of contract documents and invoices found.Since late 2023, the state has issued more than $37.1 million in no-bid contracts to HomeAid Hawaiʻi to build small dwellings as part of Gov. Josh Green’s signature Kauhale Initiative.While HomeAid has provided the Department of Human Services with balance sheets and supporting documents showing how it used state money for some of its projects, the state doesn’t have receipts or other documents detailing the specific use of public money for other projects.DHS told Civil Beat that some of those projects are not finished and will be subject to agency audits once they are.Now, Green wants $50 million more from the Legislature for his program to address homelessness. The Legislature has yet to agree on that funding as lawmakers consider what requirements to attach to the money to build kauhale villages across the state.House and Senate lawmakers have disagreed on the terms of the kauhale bill and must hash out differences during a conference committee, which has not yet been scheduled. A key point of contention is whether to require at least two bids for the construction of the villages.The Kauhale Initiative is meant to solve one of the state’s critical social issues. After running for governor on a campaign to address Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis, Green declared a state emergency on homelessness in 2023. Oʻahu’s annual Point-In-Time count at the time tallied more than 6,223 homeless people, more than half of them living outside. Green’s team quickly built 12 kauhale statewide. With the procurement code suspended under the state of emergency, Hawaiʻi waived competitive bidding and went with a no-bid development contractor, HomeAid Hawaiʻi, to implement the program. The initiative calls for creating “affordable spaces for housing and healing our people, through intentional ‘kauhale’ design and operation.”Critics, including of late Green’s former homelessness coordinator John Mizuno, have raised questions about operating costs of some kauhale. And Civil Beat’s review of construction expenditures highlights potential lapses in the Department of Human Services’ oversight of those projects.The department was unable to provide documents to show spending by HomeAid on two of the priciest kauhale projects to date — Middle Street’s Phase 2 and another one in Kahului on Maui — totaling more than $14 million. Work on those projects has just recently begun, officials said, although the nonprofit has received about $2 million up front.Details on two other contracts were also lacking. For one of those contracts – to deliver 273 homes statewide – HomeAid CEO Kimo Carvalho billed the state for nearly the entire cost of the contract all at once and provided almost no detail on how funds were used.On another contract for the Alana Ola Pono kauhale in Iwilei, the state paid out $2.5 million – half the value of the contract – up front with only a brief description of work that would be performed. Details on what became of the rest of the money weren’t provided in response to a records request from Civil Beat. That project opened in December, but is about two weeks away from completion, Carvalho said.Much of the work to review invoices was done by Jun Yang, who at the time was an employee of the Department of Transportation but also part of a kauhale team formed to aid Mizuno. Yang was so deeply involved that at one point, when there was a hold up in payment from DHS to HomeAid in September, Yang told Carvalho that if HomeAid staff sent payment request forms “we will get them taken care of.”Yang took over the top job from Mizuno in February.DHS Deputy Director Joseph Campos told Civil Beat on Wednesday that he recognizes his agency’s responsibility to the public and to legislators. The department has many processes to review the expenditures, he said, and it is not trying to skirt accountability.“Although we utilize the authority of the emergency order not to do a formal bid process, that does not mean we go willy nilly in choosing whatever we want.”Despite the absence of backup documentation to prove it in some cases, Campos said, “almost on a daily basis, we’re price-engineering or value-engineering a contract to make sure that we’re getting the best possible price out there.” Bill To Require Competitive Bidding In Question The House has sought to address questions of accountability by requiring at least two bids from builders. But the Senate removed the requirement after Yang testified that requiring two bids could delay development of projects. House Housing Committee Chairman Luke Evslin, who had amended the kauhale bill to include the two-bid requirement, said he couldn’t say what position House conferees will take during the negotiations to reconcile the two versions. Evslin has been named one of the co-chairs of the conference committee.An older version of the kauhale bill required “at least two bidders for any kauhale project”, however it was dropped in more recent versions.“For my own personal preference, the two-bid requirement makes a lot of sense to ensure accountability and efficiency,” Evslin said.Evslin acknowledged that no-bid contracts are allowed under Green’s emergency proclamation on homelessness, which suspends the state procurement code. But Evslin said requiring at least two bids makes sense as Green’s initiative matures from an emergency policy into a permanent endeavor.“Our hope is to transition the Kauhale Initiative into something that is sustainable,” he said. Green declined an interview request to discuss the kauhale bill. His spokesperson, Makana McClellan, said the administration would wait until after session to talk about active bills. Mizuno also declined to comment.McClellan said that HomeAId’s kauhale projects are routinely reviewed for compliance by the state Attorney General’s Office. How To Make The Program More Effective The rift over the two-bid requirement reflects a difference of opinion between the former and current coordinators in charge of overseeing Green’s Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions. The overall philosophy, which isn’t disputed, is that it’s better for people and less expensive for the state to create tiny home villages with support services than to provide services to people on the street. The dispute involves how to get there.Mizuno, a longtime former lawmaker whom Green appointed to the position in December 2023, testified in February in favor of requiring two bids to build kauhale. Evslin’s housing committee amended the bill to incorporate the request.Diesel fuel and equipment to provide electricity cost $21,032 just for April — which came out to more than $1,000 a month per tiny home — according to invoices from Sunbelt Rentals examined by Civil Beat. In contrast, the average monthly bill for a full-sized residential home on Oahu is $202, according to Hawaiian Electric Co.During a tour of several properties Mizuno showed that monthly cost for another kauhale, located in a converted residential home, was just over $1,300 per bed.Generally a staunch advocate of Green’s initiative, Mizuno said he was “very concerned with off-grid kauhale.” At the time, Green said the off-grid kauhale were merely a bridge to get people off the street and into homes.By month’s end, Mizuno had stepped down from the top post to be Green’s special advisor on homelessness, replaced by Yang, who previously had been homelessness coordinator for the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation.Less than a month later, on March 12, Yang requested that lawmakers remove the two-bid requirement for kauhale construction contracts during testimony in a joint hearing of the Senate committees on Health and Human Services and Housing.Echoing Department of Human Services testimony, Yang said he was “concerned that the two-bid minimum may delay project development in certain communities if only one bid is received.” Documents Show Irregularities Those records included invoices and supporting documents typical of large construction projects and final reports required by the contracts. The request initially focused on the Middle Street and Iwilei kauhale.The department’s first response to the request two weeks later didn’t include documents detailing expenditures. Instead, the department just provided copies of the contracts themselves.The agency eventually scanned and turned over copies of invoices and supporting documents for most of the kauhale projects on April 11. It provided extensive documentation for the Middle Street project’s first phase.But there were notable irregularities concerning other projects.For example, HomeAid was granted a contract in June to provide 273 tiny home units at a cost of $5.8 million. Payment was supposed to be made in four installments between June and September, with invoices and documents accompanying each installment.Instead, HomeAid sent one invoice in August, covering $174,000 worth of work, and another in October for $5.6 million. The majority of those funds went to the broad category of “Consulting and Non Employee Expense.” There’s no breakdown of what that entailed.“I believe we’re still working through the process,” Campos said of the project. “I believe we’re only halfway through on that one.”Despite the lack of publicly available accounting on some of these contracts, the department was looking at what the payments were for. Carvalho said his team and state officials meet weekly to review expenses on projects.Yang was the subject matter expert on the kauhale initiative, Campos said, which is why he was deeply involved in reviewing invoices.In one instance, Carvalho emailed Yang on Sept. 13 to check on reimbursements for money spent on kauhale in Kahului and Iwilei, as well as other projects in Kāneʻohe and Kalihi.“Would you mind helping me to track these down?” Carvalho wrote.Yang replied a few hours later, telling Carvalho to have staff prepare payment request forms. Yang even checked in with Campos’ secretary, asking her to forward other invoices for payment.He asked Carvalho to send a coversheet and a payment form for HomeAid’s 43-unit kauhale in Iwilei.“We will process the check for $2.5 million,” Yang wrote.HomeAid sent the state an invoice a week later. HomeAid’s Iwilei contract requires it to provide an itemization of expenses, timesheets or receipts. But there are no supporting documents to show how HomeAid spent the money on the Iwilei kauhale.Instead, there is merely a description in the invoice summarizing work performed, including erosion control, installation of a dust fence and barriers, construction and environmental services and site work. None of these costs are itemized, and there’s no accounting for what was paid to various subcontractors.Campos explained that those were upfront costs that wouldn’t necessarily be accounted for at this stage. Once projects like the Iwilei kauhale are completed, Campos said the public would be able to review the audits on those projects’ costs.Carvalho acknowledged that HomeAid is behind on providing invoices for the Iwilei project.“It doesn’t mean that the state’s not aware of what is being billed every month,” he said. “There’s still at least some accountability along the way.”The state also couldn’t provide documents concerning two newer projects. HomeAid was given a $6.7 million contract in November to complete the second phase of a kauhale on Middle Street. It called for up to 30 housing units, in addition to the 20 already at the site.In December, HomeAid was given a $7.9 million contract for a kauhale project in Kahului.Both contracts called for $1 million to be paid to HomeAid up front. HomeAid was required to account for those expenses, according to the contracts. The contracts also say that subsequent payments would be made in monthly installments after submission of invoices and supporting documentation.Asked about the status of those projects and records detailing spending, Carvalho said that work has just recently begun on both of those projects.“There hasn’t been a lot of work to spend on,” he said. ‘Where Is The Accountability?’ Lawmakers have also had a hard time getting details about HomeAid’s work on other housing projects.Rep. Elle Cochran, who represents Lahaina, has asked DHS for documentation concerning construction of Ka La’i Ola, a village of temporary homes for fire survivors in her district. The project cost $185 million, or $411,000 per home, including massive infrastructure improvements for the land, which will later be used by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The project opened in January.Cochran said she asked for documentation called for by DHS’s construction contract with HomeAid, including interim reports and a final accounting for the project. Emails from Campos to Cochran show the agency is still working on her request.Regardless of the emergency proclamation suspending the procurement law, Cochran said it’s fair to ask for an accounting now that Ka La’i Ola has been built.“If this type of money has been expended and given, then where is the breakdown? Where is the proof? Where is the receipt?” she asked. “Where is the accountability?”This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Romania promises laws to deal with brown bears as population estimate doubles

Country may be home to as many as 13,000 bears, the highest total by far in Europe outside RussiaRomania may be home to as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost twice as many as previously thought, the country’s forestry research institute has said, as officials promised new laws to allow communities to deal with “crisis bear situations”.The institute’s study of 25 counties in the Carpathian mountains was the first to use DNA samples from material such as faeces and hair. Previous estimates based on prints and sightings put the bear population at less than 8,000. Continue reading...

Romania may be home to as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost twice as many as previously thought, the country’s forestry research institute has said, as officials promised new laws to allow communities to deal with “crisis bear situations”.The institute’s study of 25 counties in the Carpathian mountains was the first to use DNA samples from material such as faeces and hair. Previous estimates based on prints and sightings put the bear population at less than 8,000.According to environment ministry figures, bears have killed 26 people and severely injured 274 others over the past 20 years in Romania, the most recent fatality being a 19-year-old hiker who was mauled to death on a popular Carpathian trail last July.The government last year more than doubled its authorised cull of brown bears, a protected species in the EU, to 481 after recording more than 7,500 emergency calls to signal bear sightings in 2023 – more than twice the previous year’s total.MPs argue “overpopulation” is leading to an increase in attacks, an assertion disputed by environmental groups who say the focus must be shifted towards prevention, by keeping bears away from communities and targeting specific “problem bears”.Germany’s foreign ministry last week updated its Romania travel advice, noting that bears were increasingly venturing into residential areas and along roads, leading to “dangerous encounters with humans”. It urged travellers to heed local warnings.Based on an analysis of about 24,000 samples collected over three years since 2022, the institute’s study, published late last week, concluded there were between 10,419 and 12,770 individuals living in Romania – by far Europe’s largest brown bear population outside Russia.A brown bear in a summer field in Romania’s Carpathian mountains. Photograph: Erika Eros/AlamyWorld Wildlife Fund (WWF) Romania has since questioned its methods, saying genetic studies were usually conducted over a much shorter period, but the institute has said it considers the survey 95% accurate.The Romanian environment minister, Mircea Fechet, said he would lobby the European Commission to lift the bears’ protected status. The EU’s habitats directive allows the animal to be killed only in exceptional circumstances and as a last resort.“We have to intervene,” Fechet told local media. “The specialists say the optimal bear population is around 4,000.”skip past newsletter promotionThe planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essentialPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionHe also promised to introduce a law allowing local officials to bypass the current system of “gradual intervention” – which obliges mayors to first try to scare a bear off, or capture and relocate it – and instead put the animal down directly if necessary.Existing methods “have so far proven ineffective”, Fechet said, adding: “I hope my proposal, which is currently under public consultation, will put an end to these tragedies. Human life comes first.”Slovakia this month also authorised a cull of 350 brown bears – about a quarter of its estimated population of 1,300 – after a 59-year-old man was mauled to death. Two other people died last year after being attacked or chased by bears.Slovaks “cannot live in a country where people are afraid to go into the forest, and where humans become food for bears”, said the country’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico.

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