The state has special funds that are sitting idle and holding hundreds of millions of dollars.For most of us, if we are asked how much money we have (perhaps by a bank or a credit union that is considering lending us money), answering the question isn’t terribly difficult. Look up a bank account or two, add a brokerage account if we are fortunate enough to have one, and we go from there.For our state government, apparently it’s not so easy. Not only do the state accountants need to deal with general funds and the money there, but we have hundreds of special funds — little pockets of money...…The state has special funds that are sitting idle and holding hundreds of millions of dollars.For most of us, if we are asked how much money we have (perhaps by a bank or a credit union that is considering lending us money), answering the question isn’t terribly difficult. Look up a bank account or two, add a brokerage account if we are fortunate enough to have one, and we go from there.For our state government, apparently it’s not so easy. Not only do the state accountants need to deal with general funds and the money there, but we have hundreds of special funds — little pockets of money...WW…

Should hotels really be forced by government to rehire employees laid off due to the pandemic?Here in the City and County of Honolulu, lots of people are out of work, especially in the hospitality industry. At some point the economy will reopen, and people will start occupying hotels again.Then, according to a proposal before the Honolulu City Council, we force the hotels to rehire people to their old jobs. Or comparable ones.The proposal is called . One of its first provisions says, “A hotel employer shall recall to active employment the same number of employees in substantially the same...…Should hotels really be forced by government to rehire employees laid off due to the pandemic?Here in the City and County of Honolulu, lots of people are out of work, especially in the hospitality industry. At some point the economy will reopen, and people will start occupying hotels again.Then, according to a proposal before the Honolulu City Council, we force the hotels to rehire people to their old jobs. Or comparable ones.The proposal is called . One of its first provisions says, “A hotel employer shall recall to active employment the same number of employees in substantially the same...WW…