City incurs $1.4M in OT, expenses tied to Lane

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Piihonua resident Margaret Collins looks out over flood damage due to Hurricane Lane in the Piihonua neighborhood in Hilo.

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The city spent more than $1.4 million on overtime and expenses tied to Hurricane Lane, city officials said Monday.

The breakdown — which included preparation and post-hurricane costs — came out to $1.08 million in overtime and fringe benefits, and $346,191 in expenses, according to a spreadsheet provided at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s request.

Requiring the most was the Honolulu Police Department, which reported $329,760 in overtime. HPD was followed by the Honolulu Fire Department ($183,773), the Department of Environmental Services ($141,430), the Department of Parks and Recreation ($90,038), the Department of Community Services ($86,265) and the Department of Facility Maintenance ($74,763).

Oahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus and TheHandi-Van under contracts with the city, incurred $175,000 in expenses followed by the Department of Environmental Services ($80,000) and the Department of Emergency Services ($49,641).

Lawsuit alleges former priest abused children

A lawsuit alleges that a Catholic priest sexually abused children while he worked at Hawaii parishes and schools.

The lawsuit against the Diocese of Honolulu and Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers was filed Monday on behalf of a man who says a priest, James Jackson, abused him when he was a child in the 1980s.

Lawyers for the man said this is the first lawsuit filed since the Hawaii Legislature reopened a retroactive window in July, allowing for sex abuse lawsuits even if statutes of limitations have passed.

Mark Gallagher, one of the attorneys for the man, said Jackson died in 2005.

Diocese officials didn’t immediately comment. Reached after-hours on the East Coast, an operator at the order’s New York number said the offices were closed and no one was available to comment.

Hawaii ranks as happiest state, study finds

Hawaii is the happiest state in the nation, according to a ranking released Monday by WalletHub.

Besides having a low percentage of depressed adults and a low suicide rate when compared to other states, Hawaii ranked high in emotional and physical health.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, said it compared 31 key indicators of happiness in each of the 50 states, including depression rates, income growth and sports participation. Several dimensions were considered, including emotional and physical well-being, work environment and the community.

Hawaii did not do as well in income and commute time, and earned the No. 1 ranking despite being the state with the lowest adequate sleep rate.

Utah ranked No. 2 on the list of “Happiest States in the U.S.,” followed by Minnesota at No. 3, North Dakota at No. 4, and California at No. 5. The least happy states were Oklahoma (No. 46), Alaska (No. 47), Louisiana (No. 48), Arkansas (No. 49) and West Virginia (No. 50).

Data for the study was pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United Health Foundation and Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, among other sources.