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Tuesday, August 13, 2013
August 13, 2013 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 6:38 PM :: 5110 Views

The Jones Act: Road to Repeal

Pricey Honolulu rail project faces more legal hurdles

Watch Honolulu Rail Appeal Live From SF 11AM Thursday

DLNR Seeks Applications for SHPD Administrator

OSHA hits Hawaii refrigerated food warehouse: $253K Fine, 63 Violations

Bitter, Tense: Inouye Family Wants Schatz Out

TH: Relations are still bitter between Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz (D) and the family of the legendary senator he replaced, Daniel Inouye (D).

Inouye’s widow, Irene Hirano Inouye, wants Schatz out of the seat occupied for nearly 50 years by her late husband, throwing her support behind a fundraising drive for Schatz’s primary election opponent, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii.).

Relations between Schatz and Inouye’s camp have been tense ever since Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) defied Inouye’s dying wish that Hanabusa should be appointed his successor.

Abercrombie, a former member of the House, and Inouye were not close friends when they served together in Congress.

Inouye split with Abercrombie in 2010 when he urged Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann to run against Abercrombie in the gubernatorial primary.

Schatz was Abercrombie’s running mate....

read ... Inouye family backs Hanabusa fundraising drive to help oust Schatz

Schatz Compares Lack of Akaka Tribe to "Separate but Equal"

MN: "We will be talking about treating Native Hawaiians fairly with respect to the way the federal government treats Native Americans generally," he said during a wide-ranging interview at The Maui News. "Native Hawaiians are the only native group that doesn't have a government-to-government relationship acknowledged. And I think it's a matter of basic fairness that the federal government treat Hawaiians on an equal footing with Alaska natives and American Indians.

"I believe that separate is not equal and that Native Hawaiians need to be treated fairly," he said. (Pick three different things.  Discover they are not identical and then complain of 'segregation'.)

How federal recognition eventually translates to sovereignty for Native Hawaiians remains to be seen, he said. Questions about what a Native Hawaiian entity would look like and how independent it ought to be "are for the community to work out," he said.

"And they are very tough issues, and it's fair to say that there is no consensus yet," he said.  (So he will impose his 'solution')

Dead Wrong: Star-Adv Claims Obama can Create Akaka Tribe by Executive Action

Reality: Hanabusa: Obama Considers Creating Akaka Tribe Without Congressional Approval

read ... Wow.   Just, wow.

New Tax Hike Scheme: Caldwell Invent $26M Budget Deficit

KITV: According to Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, the city is facing a budget deficit of $26 million just a few months into the current fiscal year, which began July 1.

News of the shortfall caught City Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi by surprise when she was asked about it last Friday.

"How did it suddenly appear?" said Kobayashi. "We put in monies for projected increases for electric, water (and) salaries, so I don't know what this $26 million is."...

"At this point, the $26 million in cuts are still a work in progress and the administration intends to brief all the council members and all the departments before making a public announcement," wrote Broder Van Dyke.

As of Monday afternoon, Councilman Ikaika Anderson said he had not been briefed by any administration official about the projected deficit. Anderson spoke with Kobayashi and Council Chairman Ernie Martin before being approached by KITV4.

"The City Council did send the mayor a balanced budget, that is fact," said Anderson.

Kobayashi said the Council did not include revenue from a fuel tax increase as part of its budget, so she's perplexed as to why any shortfall would exist....

Just last week, the Hawaiian Humane Society was forced to scale back some of its enforcement operations after the city failed to increase the nonprofit's $2.3 million budget by $800,000....

read ... How did it suddenly appear,” said Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi

ORI blasts alleged misinformation

SA: ORI principals have made numerous political contributions over the years, many of which were to candidates that have no influence over city policies, Shipley said.

The HUD allegations, "with a couple of exceptions, are almost all pointed at shortcomings on the part of the city, an analysis of its historial oversight practices and its inability to now produce documents that HUD claims the city should have," Shipley told the Star-Advertiser. "The city then turns around and, in its response and comments to the press, says (ORI) is the bad guy, that they're not cooperating, that they've lawyered up, that they're not providing records."

Far from being unresponsive to the city or HUD as has been characterized in the media, ORI issued a detailed response to each of the allegations on July 8, Shipley said.

"There's a pattern that runs through the city's responses to, in effect, try to deflect blame by mischaracterizing (what) HUD really found to be deficient is the city's practices," he said.

As for ORI's decision to accept "in principle" the city's plan to withdraw Camp Pineapple 808 from the CDBG program, Shipley said the nonprofit is OK with other social service groups using the camp so long as they are compatible with the senior citizens and severely disabled adults using the Wellness Center next door.

Details are still being worked out with the city, he said.

City attorney Leong, in a statement, said it has been the city's intent to reach "an acceptable agreement" with ORI and secure City Council approval of the settlement proposal that is being presented to HUD. ORI's letter only reiterates what has been discussed in talks between the city and the nonprofit since its July 18 letter to HUD, she said.

"The city remains committed to working towards a constructive resolution to past challenges that were described in HUD's June 3 letter to the city and the city's July 18 letter to HUD," Leong said.

read ... ORI blasts alleged misinformation

MoveOn Members endorse Sen. Brian Schatz

MO: Sen. Schatz received more than 76 percent of votes cast ....

read ... MoveOn members endorse Social Security champs Sen. Brian Schatz

UH effort to honor Inouye seems shamelessly ironic

Borreca: Perhaps the prize for most tone deaf and inept political poker players goes to the regents of University of Hawaii, who consistently come out of one closed-door meeting after another marveling at their dedication to openness and transparency.

Star-Advertiser report Rob Perez wrote Sunday that: "The project appeared on the regents' agenda for the first time last month. But the public was barred from those talks, held in executive session."

In April of this year, the regents reported that they "were looking to enhance their transparency." This was part of a $266,000 paid to private consultants reviewing the aftermath of the phony Stevie Wonder concert that cost the UH $200,000.

Back in December, the same regents said in response to a state Senate report critical of UH openness that they "agree with its recommendations calling for greater transparency and accountability."

The Inouye Center was pushed out for consultant work only days before a new state law went into effect that takes away the UH's power to unilaterally conduct procurement for construction, engineering and design work.

The Legislature took the UH out of the procurement game because of repeated allegations of favoritism (towards Inoye crony Kobayashi) by UH, which the university denied.

The UH is also at an apparent moment of confusion over exactly how the $16-$20 million for the Inouye Center will arrive.

The UH alternatively says that the design contract will not require a state appropriation because it will be paid for by "private funding and a UH research training account that predominantly gets dollars from federal sources."

(The irony here is that they are building the Last Inouye project in exactly they way that Inouye trained his cronies to get it done.  It is the perfect memorial in every way.  At the entrance, they should quote the excerpted description of how it was approved so future generations will understand the Inouye Way.)

HFP August 11, 2013: Perfect Irony: $20M Daniel K. Inouye Center Being Built Quietly Without Public Input

read ... UH effort to honor Inouye seems shamelessly ironic

Sweeps Forcing Homeless to Accept Shelter

HNN: ....operators of homeless shelters have seen a small bump in the number of homeless seeking help.

"They're not coming in great droves but they are trickling in," said Marc Alexander of the Institute for Human Services.

"We have seen an increase in numbers at the beginning of the month, which is unusual," Safe Haven director Pamela Menter said.

So far the city has cleared about two dozen homeless encampments, mainly in Waikiki,  downtown and Kakaako.

The Next Step shelter in Kakaako has openings for more homeless in spite of the sweeps.

read ... Its Working

Breene Harimoto to run for Ige's Senate Seat?

CB: On Monday, Harimoto told Civil Beat he is “seriously considering” a run at Hawaii Sen. David Ige’s seat at the Capitol.

Ige, of course, is giving up his spot in the Senate to take a shot at governor, where he’ll compete in the 2014 Democratic primary against incumbent Neil Abercrombie....

Council seats have term limits. And even though Harimoto could choose to run for another four-year term, open seats in the state Senate — where there are no term limits — don’t come along all that often.

The big question now is, Who would run for Harimoto’s District 8 seat should he decide to run? One political heavyweight some are whispering about is former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who previously represented Aiea and Pearl City at Honolulu Hale. Now, that doesn’t mean Hannemann will actually run for anything. His name is usually always thrown out whenever there’s an open seat somewhere. Some are even saying he’s considering another stab at Congress.

read ... Honolulu Council Member Breene Harimoto Moving on Up?

DoE Has no Idea Who is Driving its Busses

CB: One problem detailed in the audit was the way that DOE staff dealt with bus contractors’ driver lists.

Contractors are supposed to submit rosters with drivers’ names — along with their driver's license numbers and records of a clean criminal history — annually. But most of the contractors that the state auditing office looked into last year didn’t provide rosters, and none had a complete one.

The limited documentation raises questions about children’s safety and lax oversight by the DOE. For all practical purposes, the job of keeping dangerous drivers off of school buses is left to the contractors that it hires.

DOE Assistant Superintendent for School Facilities and Support Services Ray L’Heureux, in an email to Civil Beat, emphasized that drivers are employed by individual contractors and not the department.

read ... Ignorance is not Bliss

Hawaii Teacher: Winning the First Crucial Battle

CB: After the late bell, and after I started my introduction to the class, a student appeared in the doorway, craning his neck in search of an open seat. He didn't have his uniform shirt, so I told him he could use one from the pile of extras that I keep around.

He refused. He insisted that I write him a pass to go get a shirt from the office.

“Not right now. You’ll miss important information," I told him. "I washed all the spare shirts over the summer. It’s alright.”

“No, write me a pass. I get one.”

“Not right now. Use one of those.”

He glared at me, unmoving for a long time.

read ... Discipline

Gall: Jimmy Pflueger demands hundreds of thousands from the state

KITV:  In a March 2013 letter, he told the Department of Land and Natural Resources:

"I have received nothing, but am accused of everything. You owe me more than I owe you."

He then sent the state a bill for $240,000: $1,000 a month, for the past 20 years

read ... Gall Personified

Limit on Consumer Costs Is Delayed in Health Care Law

WaPo: The limit on out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-payments, was not supposed to exceed $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family. But under a little-noticed ruling, federal officials have granted a one-year grace period to some insurers, allowing them to set higher limits, or no limit at all on some costs, in 2014.

The grace period has been outlined on the Labor Department’s Web site since February, but was obscured in a maze of legal and bureaucratic language that went largely unnoticed. When asked in recent days about the language — which appeared as an answer to one of 137 “frequently asked questions about Affordable Care Act implementation” — department officials confirmed the policy.

The discovery is likely to fuel continuing Republican efforts this fall to discredit the president’s health care law.

Under the policy, many group health plans will be able to maintain separate out-of-pocket limits for benefits in 2014. As a result, a consumer may be required to pay $6,350 for doctors’ services and hospital care, and an additional $6,350 for prescription drugs under a plan administered by a pharmacy benefit manager.

Some consumers may have to pay even more, as some group health plans will not be required to impose any limit on a patient’s out-of-pocket costs for drugs next year. If a drug plan does not currently have a limit on out-of-pocket costs, it will not have to impose one for 2014, federal officials said Monday.

CBS: Sebelius: ‘This Is Not A Bait-And-Switch’

Forbes: Yet Another White House Obamacare Delay: Out-Of-Pocket Caps Waived Until 2015

read ... On Drugs

Hawaii’s solar photovoltaic industry sees permit decline for third month in a row

PBN: The solar photovoltaic industry, one of the fastest growing sectors in Hawaii, may be showing signs of slowing down — July was the third straight month showing a year-over-year decline in permits issued on Oahu, according to new statistics collected by Marco Mangelsdorf, president of Hilo-based ProVision Solar.

There were 1,163 solar PV permits issued by the City and County of Honolulu last month, which actually was an increase from 980 permits issued in June and 932 permits issued in May, but fewer than the 1,466 permits issued in July 2012.

The peak month for permits issued during the past year-and-a-half was October, when there were 2,433 permits issued.

Lexology: Renewable energy installations accelerate in Hawaii

read ... Hawaii’s solar photovoltaic industry sees permit decline for third month in a row

Ewa Plantation manager’s home, then and now

ILind: Meda and I entered graduate school at UH Manoa in the fall of 1969 after graduating from college on the mainland.

Several months later, we drove out to Ewa one day to see the plantation manager’s home, where her great-grandfather, George F. Renton, Sr., and later his son, George Jr., served as managers from 1898 through 1937. Meda’s grandfather, J. Lewis Renton, would have been about 9 years old when the family moved to Ewa....

So it was with great sadness that I received a photo this week from John Bond showing the current condition of the same house.

read ... Lost History 

NYT: The Civil War and Hawaii

NYT: Hawaiians themselves decidedly favored the North. Union victories were celebrated, and a Honolulu bookstore sold red, white and blue envelopes that read “Union must be preserved” alongside copies of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Neighbors of a Southern-born woman living in Honolulu ripped up a Confederate flag she had hung from her veranda. In fact, support for Lincoln in Hawaii was greater than in the United States – he did better in 1860 and 1864 mock elections with American expats in Hawaii than among the Northern voting public. American residents on Hawaii island threw a grand Fourth of July celebration in 1861, complete with bands, the firing of guns, and toasts to Lincoln and the Union.

read ... The Civil War and Hawaii

Ford sues county over Leithead Todd appointment

WHT: Councilwoman Brenda Ford is asking a judge to rule that Department of Environmental Management Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd is not qualified to hold that position because she doesn’t have an engineering degree.

In a petition filed Thursday in 3rd Circuit Court in Kona, Ford’s attorney, Michael Matsukawa, cites the county charter’s requirement that the DEM director have “an engineering degree or a degree in a related field.”

“Since the respondent Bobby Jean Leithead Todd does not have an engineering degree or a degree in an engineering-related field, the respondent does not have the qualification required to hold the office of director of the Department of Environmental Management for the county of Hawaii,” the petition states.

read ... Ford sues county over Leithead Todd appointment

Military Superferry Coming to Hawaii?

SA: Pearl Harbor is expected to lose all three of its cruisers in coming years but gain four more destroyers and a troop- and equipment-carrying Joint High Speed Vessel similar to the defunct Hawaii Superferry, the chief of naval operations said during a stop here Monday.

But Adm. Jonathan Greenert, who at one time commanded the submarine USS Hono­lulu, said $80 million in surface ship maintenance is "at risk" in fiscal 2014 for Pearl Harbor ships due to sequestration and with the Navy absorbing $14 billion in spending cuts starting in October.

Cuts for ship repair, unless eliminated later in the year, would affect the jobs of about 800 local contractors and subcontractors who do surface ship work for the Navy.

(This boat corrects the design flaw in the original Superferry--lack of deck guns.)

read ... Poetic Justice

Teacher Pleads not Guilty to Groping Student

SA: According to the documents, the girl told police that Plourde, who was her former homeroom teacher at the private school in Kaimuki, touched her breast and genital area over and under her clothing in his car in Mili­lani Mauka at 9 a.m. June 6.

It was unclear why she was in his car. June 6, a Thursday, fell between the end of the school year and the beginning of summer school at Sacred Hearts.

Plourde was arrested at a Date Street address on suspicion of third-degree sexual assault and charged with one count of first-degree sex assault and six counts of third-degree sex assault, the city prosecutor's office said.

Meanwhile a homosexual rape gang runs wild at the Blind-Deaf School for decades and no criminal charges are filed.

Meanwhile: Another Alleged Homosexual Child Molester Busted

read ... What they want to focus on

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