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Friday, December 13, 2013
December 13, 2013 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 9:31 PM :: 3743 Views

Native Hawaiians singing a new song, and it’s growing into a chorus

Hawaii’s retirement system tackles $8.5 billion shortfall

Airline Fees: The Budget Deal's Sneaky Tax Increases

Proficiency and Growth: How is Your School Doing?

Small Business Policy Index: Hawaii Ranks 46th

Rep Faleomavaega a No-Show Again

Full Text: Hawaii Juvenile Justice Working Group Report

Election Season: Abercrombie Gives $3M to Nonprofits

Loretta Fuddy Remembered:

Hawaii Health Connector needs to enroll 10,000 individuals to be sustainable

PBN: The Hawaii Health Connector would need to enroll an estimated 10,000 individuals and 40,000 small businesses in health plans in the current fiscal year for the organization to be sustainable after federal funds dry up in 2015, officials told state lawmakers Thursday.

Tom Matsuda, who took over as interim executive director of the state’s online health-insurance exchange on Monday, also said it would need an estimated 39,000 individuals and 94,000 small businesses to enroll in the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2014.

Matsuda at first hesitated to share the numbers when asked by lawmakers at a legislative briefing held Thursday morning, noting that those numbers are early assumptions.

Boosting enrollment — which, as of Dec. 9, stood at 683 individuals — and ensuring the Hawaii Health Connector is sustainable were among top priorities discussed at the briefing....

To date, the Hawaii Health Connector has received $204.3 million in federal funds, $49.2 million of which has been expended and $44.2 million of which has been obligated but not yet paid in contracts. That leaves a remainder of $110.9 million in unobligated funds....

“I think the board will play a pivotal part as it looks at sustainability issues and perhaps some partnership with the Legislature,” said Patricia McManaman, director for the Hawaii Department Human Services. “Given the risk and challenges of sustainability that it would appear the connector is going to face, it may make sense to move the Hawaii Health Connector into the state.”

read ... 10,000 Needed

Abercrombie vs Ige on State budget

SA:  The Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund needs about $16 billion to meet future obligations, and the Employees' Retirement System is underfunded by $8.4 billion.

The state has made some progress toward curbing the growth of that debt by reforming entitlements going forward, but failure to deal with the immense current debt would be disastrous, as some less fortunate states already are witnessing.

Despite the apparent accord, this is an election year, and that can mean all manner of fiscal mischief. There will be pressure to spend on pet projects that look good in a candidate brochure, and some renewed campaigns for initiatives that have been shelved for a while.

What's essential is that the state administration and its partners in the Legislature set clear priorities for how any budget surplus should be spent. At the top of the list should be maintaining the pay-down of the state's liabilities.

Ensuring that there are enough funds to whittle the backlog of maintenance projects in the University of Hawaii system also ranks as a top concern. UH officials have set an aggressive timetable for completing the work, and success won't be possible if new initiatives siphon off the funds.

On another front, efforts are continuing toward a deal with Turtle Bay landowners that could preserve the North Shore's Kawela Bay. Conserving Oahu's diminishing stock of scenic landscapes is an investment in Hawaii's future that's as important as infrastructure and repayment of debt.

And one other duty that should be on the to-do list: The state should return the 10 percent skimmed off the general excise tax surcharge collected on behalf of the city rail project. Work is underway, and the city needs the assurance that it's getting its due.

Budget director Young said the state is nearing the peak of its economic recovery, but the downside of that observation is that the up cycle is about to end. This is not the best time to launch full-scale investments in new initiatives that present ongoing budgetary obligations.

To cite one example: The campaign to expand preschool access to more children will have to proceed with caution.

Further complicating the political dynamic, of course, is the electoral rivalry of Abercrombie and Ige, who exerts a great deal of control over the budget.

read ... Keep budget on stringent course

Hanabusa One of Only 32 Dems Voting Against Budget Deal, Gabbard Fakes Protest, then Votes for Deal

PR: U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa voted against the bipartisan budget deal that cleared the House on Thursday in a 332 to 94 vote.  Hanabusa was one of just 32 Democrats to vote against the deal. U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted `yes."...

The budget bill also increases aviation passenger security fees, which disproportionately impact Hawaii residents on interisland flights....

SA:  Gabbard FAKE Protest of Aviation Fee Hikes

read ... Political Radar

Hanabusa, Trask Conspire for Federal Takeover of DHHL Geothermal Rights

CB: Thanks to Representative Colleen Hanabusa’s efforts, the House adopted an amendment that paves the way for greater renewable energy development on public lands....

Congresswoman Hanabusa said in her remarks on the House floor, Congress created the Hawaii Homes Commission Act in 1920, which put more than 200,000 acres of land in Hawaii under their control.

Congress retained that control even after Hawaii attained statehood. (FALSE!)

Through the amendment she introduced, she made sure that the Hawaiian Home lands selected to be used for the development of geothermal, solar, wind, and other renewable sources will be included in the Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy.

This policy move and recognition of federal jurisdiction over lands that have largely been forgotten by Congress should propel us forward and enable us to broaden our energy portfolio.

PBN: Ranch holds huge energy potential

read ... Mililani Trask

Democrats appeal ruling on open Hawaii primary

AP: Hawaii Democrats are appealing a federal judge's ruling that upholds the state's primary election system, which allows voters to choose which party's primary they want to vote in no matter how they're registered.

Party officials filed a notice of appeal in federal court in Hawaii on Thursday. The notice says the party is appealing to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

read ... Closed Primary?

U.S. Law Restricting Foreign Ships Leads to Higher Gas Prices

B: Passed in 1920 by isolationist lawmakers, the act was meant to protect the nation’s shipping industry from foreign competition and ensure the U.S. maintained a strong naval presence. For most of its existence it went largely unnoticed, and outside of wasting a lot of fuel and making products in Hawaii needlessly expensive, its impact on the broader U.S. economy was muted.

That’s no longer true, as U.S. energy companies get squeezed by the act as they try to deliver record amounts of oil nationwide...

Related: Jones Act Does Not Bar International Trade From Hawaii

read ... U.S. Law Restricting Foreign Ships Leads to Higher Gas Prices

Chinatown Tenants Thank Council for Blocking Sale of Housing

CB: On behalf of the Chinatown Gateway Plaza Tenant Association (CGPTA) and the residents of Chinatown, I want to thank you all for a very principled discussion Wednesday and for doing the right thing regarding the sale of city-owned housing in declining to declare support for the sale and in putting Resolutions 13-291 and 13-292 on the table.

We face, not merely a broken sale, but a broken city housing process, utterly lacking transparency or accountability, unduly influenced by groups representing neither residents nor our Chinatown community, routinely rushing to approve administration proposals without full discussion or honest math. We are grateful that our City Council stepped up to its proper check-and-balance role and to its proper decision making responsibility....

THANK YOU ALL again for doing the right thing yesterday, for declining to declare Council support for a broken process and a broken sale, for leaving Resolutions 13-291 and 13-292 on the table, and for exercising proper City Council decision making responsibility.

Some may not agree this morning, but the truth is that we are ALL better off in the long run when our City Council properly and effectively exercises its genuine policy governance responsibilities. Residents look forward to working with you all to help fix a broken process and to reboot the right sale in the right way, if that is your decision!

About the author: Steve Lohse is the Chair, Chinatown Gateway Plaza Tenant Association (CGPTA) and Chair, Social Justice Council of the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu.

read ... Open Letter to the Honolulu City Council

No Solutions Yet On $142M Honolulu Housing Deal

CB: Now that the buyer, Honolulu Affordable Housing Partners, has claimed the city breached its contract, there’s a 10 day window for Mayor Kirk Caldwell to salvage the deal.

But as of Thursday, Caldwell and his top executives had yet to meet with the buyer. They have been meeting internally, however.

read ... No Solutions Yet On $142M Honolulu Housing Deal

Librarian shortage impacts Big Island schools, students

HTH: According to information provided by the Hawaii State Department of Education, Pahoa High and Intermediate School, along with Pahoa Elementary, Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary School, Keaau Middle School and Mountain View Elementary, must use a Hawaii State Public Library System library as their own.

Since none of the schools has a school librarian, students are unable to visit the libraries during normal school hours unless accompanied by a teacher or school administrator.

Local librarians and educators spoke out about what they see as a troublesome issue for Big Island schools and students during a November meeting of the Board of Education for the Hilo-Waiakea Complex.

read ... Librarian shortage impacts Big Island schools, students

Californian begins protesting even before she moves to Hawaii

SFG: “Did you hear about the shark on Maui?” is a frequent question I encounter these days. Since many have only read headlines, they’re unaware that the circumstances of recent attacks, though tragic for victims, are generally not how and where visitors experience Hawaiian waters.  Personally, I’m more concerned about an even larger if virtual  shark menacing Hawaii: the massive new observatory complex, dubbed the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT),  proposed for the summit of Mauna Kea, which could see construction as early as next year.

Kehea: New telescope atop Mauna Kea begs questions

read ... Californian begins protesting even before she moves to Hawaii

Alan Downer: The state's new historic preservation chief

SA:  Q: You said you have been here before, but was it ever as part of your professional duties?

A: When I worked for the advisory council on Historic Preservation in the Denver office, the staff was organized by state. Hawaii was one of the states that I covered. Every time a federal agency invited me out there to meet with them and do an on-site inspection of a project, somebody more important than me decided that they really needed to handle it.

(Laughs.) Once I even had my ticket in my hand when one of the senior executives in Washington called and said, “Oh, no, Downer, that’s something I really need to handle.”

read ... Historic Preservation

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