Police say he allegedly shot at a car on the H-2 freeway on Friday night in an apparent case of road rage. No one was injured. 59 earn above $100K pensions ADVERTISING HONOLULU (AP) — Fifty-nine Hawaii retirees each receive
59 earn above $100K pensions
HONOLULU (AP) — Fifty-nine Hawaii retirees each receive more than $100,000 in government-funded pensions, but their identities are being kept confidential by state law.
According to statistics obtained via a public records request, three of the 59 collect more than $125,000 but less than $150,000. It could not be determined whether any are so-called double dippers who collect a state pension while getting a state or county paycheck.
At least 16 other states make their pension information public.
The Employees’ Retirement System, the agency that administers benefits to Hawaii retirees or beneficiaries, said state law prohibits disclosing individual’s payout benefits.
The agency disclosed limited statistics about state and county retirees whose pensions exceeded their base pay — at least 20 who retired in 2008 and 2009. According to statistics, 3,161 retirees were receiving annual pensions of $50,000 or more as of Jan. 31, a nearly 20 percent increase from 10 months earlier.
“It is a trend that we are concerned about given the growing pension and unfunded liabilities,” said Wes Machida, system administrator.
Watchdog groups and open-government advocates say retiree pensions should be public because they’re funded with public money.
Hawaii continues to rely on a 1990 Office of Information Practices opinion that concluded retirement amounts are confidential.
Inmate plans to be considered
HONOLULU (AP) — The state plans to return Hawaii inmates incarcerated on the mainland to the islands.
A Senate committee will hear more details of the plan from the Abercrombie administration today. The idea is to learn what the administration has planned so lawmakers can work on legislation that will help prepare inmates for successful re-entry.
Hawaii does not have enough prison space for all its inmates, so roughly 1,800 — or one-third — are housed in mainland prisons.
The briefing was announced soon after a lawsuit against the state was filed over the death of a Hawaii inmate who was killed at an Arizona prison in 2010.
The suit alleges that the state agreed to and tolerated insufficient staffing at the prison where Bronson Nunuha of Waianae, Oahu, was brutally slain.
Man charged in alleged shooting
HONOLULU (AP) — A Honolulu man is charged with terroristic threatening and other charges after allegedly opening fire on a freeway.
Sixty-five-year-old Douglas Freeman is being held on $50,000 bail and is expected to appear in court Monday.
Police say he allegedly shot at a car on the H-2 freeway on Friday night in an apparent case of road rage. No one was injured.
