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Friday, September 14, 2012
September 14, 2012 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:18 PM :: 5193 Views

Full Text: New Version of Akaka Bill

Hirono Votes Against Funding Tsunami Warning Network

Mapping the Political Geography of Hawaii

Property Owners Can Stall Rail ‘til Spring 2014

SA: The city expects that it can reasonably excavate 15 to 17 trenches each week, and at that pace the archaeological survey could be completed by January or February, he said.

Once the survey is complete, the city needs 30 days to prepare a report for SHPD, and SHPD needs another 30 days to review it, he said. That would allow the project to move forward in April or May, he said.

However, one issue that could have a major impact on the schedule is whether private property owners are willing to allow the city access to their land to do the necessary excavations.

Grabauskas said the city has identified 10 property owners who control land that is needed for 60 trenches. Some of those owners indicated they are "reluctant" to provide access to the city, while one of the 10 recently agreed to provide access.

Other property owners were only notified in the past two weeks that the city needs to get access to their land, and the city is in discussions with a number of landowners, he said.

If a property owner resists and tries to fight the city, the legal process the city would need to follow could require another five to 11 months before the city could get access, Grabauskas said.

read … Resistance is not futile

First human remains discovered along proposed Honolulu rail route

PBN: Human remains have been found along the route of Honolulu’s rail transit project in the city’s Kakaako area, the first burials discovered during archaeological surveys of the 20-mile route.

The remains were found in a narrow trench dug near the intersection of Cooke and Halekauwila streets as part of the archaeological survey work for the $5.16 billion project.

HART officials were tight-lipped about the discover Thursday afternoon and referred questions to the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

CB: In a statement released late Thursday afternoon, state officials said that a single human bone fragment has been found. The State Historic Preservation Division and the burial council have agreed to leave the bone fragment in place for now, and excavation work will continue on the surrounding area.

"Excavation around the bone fragment will provide better information about the cultural layer in which the bone fragment was found and how best to plan for this area," according to the statement from SHPD….

CB: Honolulu Rehashing Old Arguments in Rail Case

Full Text: NHLC Memo in Opposition

read … It Begins

Laura Thielen: Abolish PLDC before it has chance to do damage

SA: Critics of the Public Land Development Corp. (PLDC) have focused on its superpowers to bypass land-use regulations when developing state land. This is valid criticism. But it overlooks another PLDC superpower: the ability to invest state funds and use public trust lands to secure development deals.

The PLDC is authorized to make speculative investments even when no professional investor is involved. The only statutory standard is that the PLDC have a "reasonable possibility that (it) will recoup at least its initial investment."

So the goal is to invest state money in order to maybe break even? Does any trust hold its board members to such low standards?

To further complicate matters, the PLDC can invest in the private companies it contracts with to develop state land. We're not talking about building a snack shop in a state park. The PLDC is authorized to develop hotels and industrial projects. These are multimillion-dollar developments.

all seven members of the Board of Land and Natural Resources must disclose all direct and indirect interests in any organization doing business with the department; must disqualify themselves from any decision affecting such interests; no more than three members may be from the same political party; and any proposed sale of land must go through the state Legislature.

None of these safeguards apply to the PLDC.

HTH: Hawaii Co Council to Discuss call to Abolish PLDC

read … Abolish PLDC 

Senate UH probe widens beyond failed concert

HNN: The State Senate's investigation into UH's Stevie Wonder concert fiasco and its aftermath is expanding in scope to include numerous financial and management issues at the university, and could continue for several weeks.

State senators have asked Board of Regents Chairman Eric Martinson, UH President M.R.C. Greenwood, former Athletics Director Jim Donovan and former UH Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw to testify September 24 at a special hearing into the failed Stevie Wonder concert and its aftermath. The lawyers who worked on the UH's investigation of the failed concert have also been called to testify that day.

"It's funny how when things like this happen. That's the surface. But it's deeper problems that have been brewing for a while," said State Sen. Donna Kim, (D-Moanalua, Aiea, Kalihi Valley), chair of the Senate Accountability Committee. "I think there are many layers to it. So and there are a number of people. And we don't want to jump to any conclusions so I want to make sure that we're thorough."

Kim has asked UH for a list of documents including outside contracts for UH public relations and all UH PR positions and salaries.

"Why do we need so many people on staff if you're out sourcing it [public relations]," Kim asked during an interview in her capitol office Thursday.

A Honolulu Star-Advertiser investigation in August found the UH system has at least 43 public relations on the payroll and a PR budget of about $4 million. The UH has at least one contract with a Honolulu PR firm which is paid a flat fee of $2,500 a month….

Interestingly, after Greenwood met with Slom on Tuesday, Greenwood's staff called the offices of two other senators on the committee Kim and Ihara and cancelled meetings Greenwood had set up with those senators, Kim said, The senators' offices got those notifications with only a few hours' notice, Kim said.

read … Probe

Can A Republican Win A Senate Seat In Blue Hawaii?

NPR: Lingle says the state's voters are capable of crossing the partisan divide.

"They elected me and re-elected me with the largest margin in state history as a Republican. They know I'm a Republican, but they know I also put people first," she says. "So what does it mean in Hawaii to be a Republican? It means I'm a fiscal conservative, I'm a strong supporter of our military, but I'm also pro-choice. I'm a Hawaii Republican. I'm not a national Republican."

CB: Hirono, Lingle Each Spend $1 Million On TV Ad Time

read … Can A Republican Win A Senate Seat In Blue Hawaii?

Akaka Bill Likely DOA in Senate

HR: Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, indicated his opposition, as did Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, via proxy.

Meanwhile Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voiced her support. No other Republicans were present.

Barrasso said on the record this bill has inspired strong opposition from other Senators who "feel strongly" it bypasses the Department of Interior process inappropriately.

Steven Duffield, former policy director to Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who has watched the Akaka legislation over the years, and attended the hearing today, said: "This bill is dead on arrival on the Senate floor. Committee Vice Chair John Barrasso (R-WY) went out of his way to thank Sen. Akaka for his service and leadership, but then made clear that he opposes the bill and many others do, too. The fact that Sen. McCain, who once chaired this committee, reiterated his opposition should remind everyone how deep the concerns about this bill are."

Leon Siu, a native Hawaiian activist and popular Hawaiian entertainer, has opposed the Akaka Bill legislation in Congress and has even traveled to Washington DC to meet with House and Senate members about his concerns.

Siu said in an earlier letter to Hawaii Reporter that Akaka made a key tactical error in December 2009 when he amended the bill to create a "tribe" and take away state oversight, because that set off a chain of events that led to the bill's failure.

That included leading then Republican Gov. Linda Lingle's withdraw state’s support for the measure. In addition, Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who was in Congress at the time, failed to embrace the amendments Akaka proposed, Siu said, leaving two different versions of the bill.

Then Akaka changed his bill back to the pre-December 2009 version, Siu said, getting the governor back on board with the Senate bill, but not the still unacceptable Abercrombie version in the House.

In addition to native Hawaiian sovereignty activists who don't want federal authority over them, conservative organizations, such as the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, and several Republican Congress members, have opposed the bill.

read … DOA

City can't afford TheBus freebies

SA: Of the ideas that have surfaced so far, the most counterintuitive is Bill 58. This measure, in which the City Council proposes to turn back the clock and resume the free bus passes for seniors, is completely wrongheaded.

The correct impulse would be to assemble varied sources that give the system budgetary stability, not turn off one of the revenue spigots.

Fortunately, this was not the only legislation that passed the first stage of Council review this week and moved along to the Budget Committee. Members also gave initial support to Bill 61, which would eliminate financial support for commercial recycling companies that handle recycling residue with the city. The idea is to redirect these funds to the city bus system.

In fact, many of the seniors themselves are starting to speak out, asserting that they would be willing to pay their share of the costs that clearly have increased over time. Here's one comment, from Michael LaGassey of Makiki, who wrote in a letter to the Star-Advertiser that "the present annual cost is way too small."

"If an increase in the cost to me, other seniors and non-seniors would help with increasing the service and routes, I'm all for it," he wrote.

read … Welfare vs Corporate Welfare 

BYUH readies second phase of expansion plans for city  

HNN: The university has already started the first phase of the project, which includes seven new dormitories, two apartment buildings for married students, and a multi-use building. Construction on phase one is scheduled for completion in 2014.

BYUH is now going ahead with its plans for the second phase, which it said is necessary to keep the institution economy viable, first by replacing older buildings that are more than 50 years old. "Second is to meet increasing student demand, both here in Hawaii as well as across the Pacific, and third is to assist the community itself in becoming for economically viable by providing additional jobs," said Dr. Steven Wheelwright, BYUH president.

When all the construction is done, the university says it will have room for 3,700 students, about a thousand more than current enrollment. But while the project has its supporters, there are also those who are concerned with possible problems, including flooding. BYUH officials said that would be addressed as part of construction.

There were also some heated exchanges about kuleana lands around the campus, which some Native Hawaiians said have been in their families for generations. Some of them claimed at the meeting that the university's plans have begun to encroach on those lands.

At least one of those residents wants the university to enter into an agreement with them. "If anything happens to any kuleana lands, that you will not take our lands, and that you will not allow flooding, and that you will not be part of the destruction of the Hawaiian culture, history and language," said Laie resident Dawn Wasson.

However, Kela Miller, another kuleana lands resident -- and neighborhood board member -- said, "BYU has not built on our kuleana property."

read … BYUH

State soon won’t be able to issue drainage permits, which could cause project delays

PBN: Hawaii’s already lagging construction industry is about to take another hit because of the state’s failure to meet a deadline that will prevent it from issuing stormwater/runoff drainage permits after Oct. 21.

Because of this looming deadline that no one expects the state to hit, industry experts and even a state official say some new construction may be delayed or even halted, with some estimating that in a worst-case scenario the state won’t be able to issue drainage permits for up to seven months….

The state Department of Health needs to get a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, before it can issue drainage permits that allow contractors to start any project needing at least an acre of land.

The state permit is reissued every five years.

“The issue is that [the state] has a lot of permits they have to issue, but not a lot of staff [to do the work],” said Elizabeth Sablad, an environmental scientist with the EPA, who is overseeing the permitting program….

For firms that haven’t started construction on new projects and don’t have a permit, the health department is urging them to come in before Oct. 21 to apply for an individual permit, which comes with a $1,000 fee instead of $500 fee and a turnaround time of 120 days instead of 30 days….

“In my 25 years, I’ve never heard anything like this,” Baldridge said. “The ramifications are going to be massive.”

read … Your Magnificent State at Work

Abercrombie Endorses Assisted Suicide as Lobby Takes Advantage of Personal Tragedy

Borreca: The debate from 1996 to 2002 was interesting enough to provoke an in-depth study by Bill Kirtley, a Central Texas College political scientist, who found two of the players then are opponents today.

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, now Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate and then-candidate for governor, was "unequivocally for death with dignity," Kirtley said.

He quoted her as saying "We're not talking about euthanasia here. We're talking about an individual person's decision while they are very lucid, and I believe that is one of the most fundamental decisions one can make about their lives." (You can tell what they’re doing by what they deny.)

Kirtley found that Hirono's opponent then and now, former Gov. Linda Lingle, squared off in opposition.

"Lingle took a strong personal stand against death with dignity," he wrote, quoting Lingle as saying, "I don't think people should be in the position of killing family members."

Asked this week about the possibility of another try at a death-with-dignity bill next year, Gov. Neil Abercrombie did not indicate this was the right time.

"Everybody should be able to die with dignity," he said.

When asked if he would support such legislation, he said: "It doesn't serve any useful purpose to try to create drama on something so serious. The whole question of whether one is extending life or prolonging death is something that has been discussed in terms of ethics and philosophy for a long, long time." (You can tell what they’re doing by what they deny.)

Reality: Meet the Insurance Executive Behind Assisted Suicide in Hawaii

read … Isle drama renews interest in 'death with dignity' idea 

Coqui Heard at 12 Oahu Locations 

SA: Invasive-species investigators will be looking into at least 12 reports of coqui frogs across Oahu as a result of the "Go Out and Listen Night!" surveillance event Wednesday.

Five reports of the critter's distinctive "ko-KEE" call came in from the Hono­lulu urban core, one each from East Hono­lulu and Windward Oahu, two from Central Oahu and three from Leeward Oahu.

The Oahu Invasive Species Committee initiated the crowd-sourcing exercise to try to get an islandwide view of where the loud creatures — which have established themselves across much of Hawaii island — are on Oahu.

The committee said its website, www.coqui­311.blog­spot.com, received 3,300 visits and that 133 Oahu residents participated in Wednesday night's event.

read … Coqui 

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