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Monday, September 21, 2015
September 21, 2015 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 6:03 PM :: 3718 Views

Nai Aupuni: We are Legal Because we are Organizing an Indian Tribe

DLNR Removes Telescope Protest Tent

Hawaii's Poor, Middle Class Among Most Overtaxed in US

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted September 21, 2015

Feds Coming for 14th Annual CNHA Confab

Sovereignty Activists Running for 'Aha to Block Indian Tribe

SA: ...hard-liners suspect that federal recognition and the nation-within-a-nation form of government — blasted during last year’s federal Department of Interior hearings — is the predetermined outcome.

While a list of would-be delegates has not been made public, some have made their candidacies known in social media, including longtime Hawaiian independence advocates Walter Ritte and Dennis “Bumpy” Kanahele.

Kanahele maintains this is the first time Hawaiians really have their fate in their own hands.

“The first action is not necessarily what government we want,” he said. “It’s to proclaim the restoration of national sovereignty.”

Also running are Lanakila Mangauil, a leader of the Thirty Meter Telescope protests, and Clarence Ku Ching, who is part of the Mauna Kea Hui, which is challenging the telescope project in court.

Mangauil, from Hilo, said he only found out his name was on the Native Hawaiian Roll a couple of weeks ago, and he decided to take advantage of it in an effort to closely scrutinize a process he doesn’t trust.

He said, if elected, he would serve with an open mind but with an extremely watchful eye, considering the history of an effort that isn’t “pono.”

“I’m going to make sure what’s going on doesn’t threaten the rights of the people,” he said.

Ching, also from Hawaii island, labels himself a “Hawaiian Nationalist” candidate who opposes federal recognition. On his website at unclekuching.com, the retired attorney and former OHA trustee said he would advocate for and vote for the restoration of a Hawaiian kingdom.

Certified candidates will vie to become one of 40 delegates — 20 from Oahu, seven from Hawaii island, three from Maui, two from Kauai and Niihau, one from Molokai or Lanai, and seven from out of state....

Related: Who is running for the 'Aha? Candidate List Secret until too late

read ... Blocking the Indian Tribe

Telescope: OHA to Grab for More Ceded Lands Money at Legislature

CB: ...At the Waimea meeting, Crabbe explained to the audience that a recent audit determined that the amount of ceded land revenue OHA currently receives from the state “is substantially low.” Crabbe said OHA would make the issue part of its agenda in the 2016 Hawaii Legislature, which begins in January.... (This is all about the telescope...see link below)

Related:  Revealed: How Telescope Fits in to OHA's Ceded Lands Cashflow

read ... All About the Money

OHA Power Struggle--Akana, Hulu Lindsey Ousted

CB: The committee merger was approved by the six trustees in attendance in Waimea....

Rowena Akana, who chaired the ARM committee, and Carmen Hulu Lindsey, who chaired the LAP committee — are not happy with the change, and Akana has accused board leaders of attempting to consolidate power, criticism that the chair of the new committee, Colette Machado, dismisses....

“Make no mistake about it,” Chair Robert Lindsey explained in a written statement provided to Civil Beat. “This new committee is about enhancing the board’s ability to meet higher standards of ethics, transparency and accounting that are expected of our oversight responsibilities.” ....

“They want to get rid of both of us, because I am checking the budget so closely and watching every expenditure, and they don’t want me there,” Akana said. “When I ask for information from the CEO and administration, they say I am harassing just by asking for this information.” ....

Crabbe’s contract ends in March, and he is undergoing a performance appraisal that is part of his contract. Lindsey told Civil Beat that the trustees and the CEO work closely together, and that he considers the Kerry flap “water under the bridge.”

Akana feels otherwise.  “He is always working against us,” she said of Crabbe, pointing to the example of the letter to Kerry. “He always has his own agenda.” ...

Related: Consolidating committees is an attempt to control power – again

read ... Power Struggle

Iwase Pushes the PUC

CB: ...That has meant new office management procedures and processes to approve major opinions on the biggest issues before the commission, namely the proposed $4.3 billion sale of Hawaiian Electric Industries to NextEra Energy and four other dockets (distributed energy resource policies, decoupling, demand response and power supply improvement plans).

Iwase has tried to tighten the reins on his fellow commissioners, Lorraine Akiba and Mike Champley, who must seek the chair’s approval to direct staff and utilize consultants....

They also have to respond within three days to a draft decision that’s been circulated.

“This is a means to get the commissioners to do what they’re paid to do, and that is make a decision in a timely manner,” he said. “We just cannot afford to have situations where decisions sit for no reason whatsoever. It’s an embarrassment.”

Iwase wouldn’t go into all the reasons why the decisions sat, but said commissioners now must commit to their positions on issues, which gives clear direction to staff....

Iwase opened an Aug. 14 memo about “office management” with a reference to a scathing state audit conducted in 2004, the most recent of the PUC.

“The commission’s … misguided mission statements and inability to strategically plan for organizational improvements have resulted in a lack of long and short term plans, mismanaged personnel and informational systems and faulty administration of laws,” he wrote, quoting the audit.

The five major dockets before the commission constitute a “huge drain” on staff, Iwase said, necessitating a more efficient work flow....

WHT: Public needs to give PUC input on NextEra/HEI merger

read ... Iwase Pushes the PUC

Boulder Colorado Municipalizing Shareholder-Owned Utility Which Dared to Oppose Rooftop Solar

IM: ...Xcel Energy is Colorado's largest investor-owned utility. Xcel promoted rooftop solar and then flip-flopped and argued against the wildly popular program. A 2011 Boulder Colorado voter initiative was placed on the ballot to municipalize the utility. Despite being heavily outspent by the utility, those favoring a public utility won.

Xcel, like HECO, had initially embraced rooftop solar and net energy metering, but then launched an extensive attack of the extremely popular program. They asserted, like HECO, that without facts or analysis they had determined that rooftop solar programs create unhealthy cross-subsidies that hurt those without solar. Ratepayers saw it as a thinly disguised effort to protect the utility’s outdated business model.

Boulder Colorado Sustainability Coordinator Jonathan Koehn attended the conference. He asserted that the vision of the future must be developed through an ongoing dialogue with all energy stakeholders regardless of their “socio or economic position.” The process must include “communities, utilities, policymakers, regulators, investors, analysts, and advocates.”

read ... Boulder Colorado is Municipalizing its Shareholder-Owned Utility

How Do Kids Feel About Being Homeless? We Asked Them

CB: People say kids will adapt to most anything and that certainly seems to be the case for these children in a Honolulu homeless shelter....

read ... How Do Kids Feel About Being Homeless? We Asked Them

Multiple Convictions--Back at Work Driving Cab

SA: Cabdriver Enio Tablas is awaiting trial on charges of sexually assaulting two female passengers last year, but since he posted bail and was released from jail, the city recently gave him a permit to resume driving a taxi.

City officials who oversee metered cabs in Honolulu say they were powerless to deny the permit.

“If an accused is allowed to bond out pending trial, he or she has not been convicted of the crime,” said Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city’s Department of Customer Services. “Innocent until proven guilty.”

Since 2006 Tablas has been convicted of theft, driving with a suspended or revoked license due to DUI, failure to take a chemical test, and numerous traffic violations in California and Hawaii.

He is slated to stand trial in Circuit Court in Honolulu on charges of second-degree sexual assault on Nov. 16. But he passed the city’s taxi driver criminal background screening because it is limited to convictions that occurred in Hawaii over a two-year period....

SA: Uber, Lyft Steer Fares Away

read ... Soft on Crime

City 'Abandons' Taxi Complaints

ILind: ...they’ve peeled away the layers of administrative incompetence in loving detail, exposing an amazing bit of city mismanagement.

One story, “Hailing Oversight,” was wildly entertaining. You really can’t make this stuff up, trust me.

Apparently every taxi is required to have a notice of what to do if you’ve got a complaint....

SA: Search airport taxi complaints

read ... Star-Advertiser busts city on broken taxi system

Dead in the Water

KE: As some folks continue to speculate on possible health risks associated with local ag pesticides, virtually nothing is said about documented public health problems in the Islands, including leptospirosis.

This bacterial disease, transmitted via the urine and feces of rats, wild pigs, goats and other mammals, is present in fresh water throughout the Islands, as well as taro loi. A new study, published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, found the disease affects as many as 1 million people globally, killing nearly 60,000.

And that data is based only on the most severe cases, which account for less than a fifth of all infections, study authors say. Lepto data is sparse overall, with many cases unconfirmed....

read ... Musings: Dead in the Water

Scott Walker drops out of '16 race, has harsh words for Trump

AP: Warning the GOP's presidential race has become too nasty, Scott Walker suspended his 2016 campaign on Monday and called on some of his Republican rivals to do the same, citing an urgent need to "clear the field" to help defeat GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

"Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With that in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately," Walker said in a Madison press conference.

"I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front-runner," Walker continued. "This is fundamentally important to the future of the party and more importantly to the future of our country."

read ... Scott Walker

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