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Monday, March 3, 2014
March 3, 2014 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:55 PM :: 4634 Views

Complete List of Bills Set for Third Reading in Senate, House March 4

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted March 3, 2014

No Public Warfare Yet, in Intraparty Fight for D.C. Insider Mantle

RC: While many members fight to distance themselves from an unpopular Congress this cycle, thousands of miles away, two Democrats are battling to brag about who has tighter ties to Capitol Hill.

The competitive Democratic primary in Hawaii, the most isolated state in the country, is being waged over who can a carry on a legacy of securing crucial federal funding....

“They haven’t really started engaging in any public warfare yet,” one unaffiliated Hawaii Democrat said. “That will be the real test.”

Reality: Seniority? Hawaii is better off without it

read ... In Hawaii, an Intraparty Fight for D.C. Insider Mantle

Abercrombie: I've had some real Donnybrooks

KITV: Former Governor Ben Cayetano talked about his long time friend,  political partner and current Governor Neil Abercrombie.

"I think he's lost some of the things he's stood for," said Cayetano at a ceremony marking the opening of Ige's campaign headquarters Saturday.

Cayetano says he's voted for his colleague in every election. He and his wife contributed $12,000 to Abercrombie's first campaign for governor four years ago.

But that won't happen this time because he believes his friend has changed.

"Neil used to be a champion of the little guys in Kaka'ako, he used to worry about the average working person," Cayetano said. "Now he does a lot of favors for the people who want to develop the area."

Instead, Cayetano has come out early in this Democratic Primary in support of Ige, who represents Pearl City, Waimalu and Aiea.

After hearing of Cayetano's comments, Abercrombie shrugged the news. saying that's politics.

"I come back from the days of Tom Gill, Governor Ariyoshi, Jack Burns, Nelson Doi and Frank Fasi. So we had some real "donnybrooks" and some real differences in those days." said Governor Neil Abercrombie. "This is the Democratic Party. What we're arguing about is the best approach to accomplish the tasks of the Democratic Party."

Former Governor George Ariyoshi is also on Ige's side, saying that if Ige isn't elected he'd worry about what's ahead for the state.

"My opinion is that he (Ige) will be the best for Hawaii's future," said Ariyoshi.

Political Analyst Neal Milner believes this early support is significant.

"If you waited later on they wouldn't have the same kind of effect." Milner told KITV. "They want to have Abercrombie out of there."

Milner says the key is whether Ige can turn this old school support into votes.

"How he's going to be able to fill the gap, not just because Abercrombie sold out to the bigger interests...."

VIDEO: Red-Faced Abercrombie Bickers With Protesters on Stage at Democrats Grand Rally in Hilo

Read ... Against Abercrombie

Civil Beat: Hanohano a Problem to be Solved

CB: I spoke to several House Democrats who said Hanohano, behind the scenes, has the quiet support of Say lieutenants like Marcus Oshiro and Sharon Har. Har told me she was not able to comment at this time, and a message left with Oshiro's office was not returned.

Another Say supporter, Jimmy Tokioka, strongly rejected the idea that there is a leadership struggle regarding Hanohano.

"To comment that it is a Souki-Say struggle is absolutely false, because they [leadership] want to disown Faye," Tokioka told me. "Faye is not happy with how leadership handled her situation — how disrespectfully the leadership handled her, how they try to spin this to make her look bad and leadership look good."...

As of Friday, two candidates — Joy San Buenaventura and Lawrence Terlep Sr. — had filed papers to challenge Hanohano in the Democratic primary. Three other Democrats — Fred Blas, Lurline Kuamoo-Henry and Julia Peleiholani — have pulled papers, as has Hanohano herself....

read ... How Do You Solve a Problem Like Hanohano?

Star-Adv: Limit discretion in judicial secrecy

SA: Justice is best served in sunlight.

So while we are delighted that court records related to federal agent Christopher Deedy's murder trial were finally released last week, the fact is the proceeding never should have been closed to the public in the first place; the transcript of what happened never should have been sealed; and, once sealed, it should have been opened up the day after Deedy's mistrial was declared — and that was six months ago, on Aug. 26, 2013.

Releasing the transcript does nothing to address any of those larger issues, and does nothing to prevent Circuit Judge Karen Ahn — the judge in this case — or other Hawaii judges from acting similarly against the public interest in the future. So the seminal issue remains before the Hawaii Supreme Court, in a request for an order outlining limited conditions under which judges can close courts.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now have sought such an order; other television stations, the online news site Civil Beat, The Associated Press and others have filed a brief in support of the request.

This is an issue of grave concern to more than the news media, as it goes to the core of public trust in the integrity of our judicial system.

read ... Limit discretion in judicial secrecy

Anti-GMO Activists Admit only 41% on Maui Want Permanent GMO Ban

SA: Some 8,500 signatures must be submitted to the county clerk by March 31 to put the initiative on the county's November ballot.

Spearheaded by Maui residents Mark Sheehan, Dr. Lorrin Pang, Lei­‘ohu Ryder, Ali­ka Atay and Bonnie Marsh, the petition drive got underway last week.

According to the group, a recent poll of 300 county voters prompted the ballot initiative. The poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners, showed 54 percent of surveyed voters supported a temporary moratorium on GMOs, while 41 percent supported a permanent ban. The poll also tallied 32 percent of voters as opposed to a temporary ban, and 41 percent opposed a permanent ban.

Sheehan said large agricultural operations need to prove the safety of pesticides and GMOs.

"We want to keep corporations … responsible for what they do," he said.

In response to the initiative, Carol Rei­mann, a spokes­woman for Monsanto biotech company, said last week, "We have not seen the specific language … but its underlying premise seems to be that biotech crops are somehow damaging people's health or the environment. That is simply un­true."

Monsanto owns or leases a total of approximately 9,000 acres on Oahu, Maui and Molokai, where it grows mostly seed corn and some soybean seeds. Of that acreage, the company owns or leases 3,000 acres in Maui County, with 2,300 acres on Molo­kai.

Hundreds of peer-viewed studies have been conducted on the safety of biotech crops, Rei­mann said in an email statement. "The concept of placing a moratorium on something until it is ‘proven' safe is a slippery one. Does it imply we should also stop using automobiles, cell phones, peanuts, aspirin and many other common products until they are proven safe beyond a doubt?"

SA: Seed Farmers Pump $213M into Economy

read ... Even their own poll shows them failing

DHHL beneficiaries struggle in arid conditions

SA: SOUTH POINT, Hawaii Island » Every six days, rancher Daryl Kaluau Sr. fills his tanker truck with 6,000 gallons of water, drives to the remote hillside pasture he is leasing here from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and transfers the precious cargo into two large holding tanks.

It is a labor of necessity.

Without the water, Kaluau couldn't keep his 300 head of cattle alive.

read ... Struggle

Cronies Line up for Special Purpose Revenue Bonds

IM: Each year companies seeking to fund projects that serve a public purpose come to the Legislature seeking low interest Special Purpose Revenue Bonds (SPRBs) to finance their projects.

This year six requests were made that are still alive and moving through the Legislature.

They are Anaergia Inc. ($150,000,000); Pacific Power Group, LLC ($125,000,000);  West Maui Hospital and Medical Center Foundation, Inc. ($60,000,000); Clean Communities, LLC ($50,000,000);  BioTork Hawaii LLC ($50,000,000) and Princeton Energy Group($50,000,000).

These proposals have survived the first half of the Legislative trip. House Bills will go to the Senate. Senate Bills will go to the House. In the second chamber they will face additional scrutiny.

read ... May I have $50,000,000?

HB 1594 / HB 2170: Unlimited tax Credits for Hotel Developers

The full House is planning to vote this week on two bills, House Bill 1594 and House Bill 2170, that would create a tax credit for hotel construction and renovation through 2019. Both measures have already passed the House panels managing tourism and finance.

It's unclear how much the proposals might cost taxpayers because neither bill specifies the size of the tax credit.

"How much revenue would be lost would be hard to say," said House Tourism Committee Chairman Tom Brower, who introduced HB 2170....

read ... Unlimited Tax Credits

Developers of 2 Waikiki High-Rises Have Donated Heavily to City Officials

CB: Los Angeles developers seeking the city's permission to exceed a Waikiki building-height limit and other concessions for their controversial Kuhio Avenue hotel-condominium project have given more than $100,000 to Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Honolulu City Council members' political campaigns since 2011, campaign finance records show.

Caldwell and council members Ikaika Anderson and Stanley Chang have been the biggest beneficiaries of the Ritz-Carlton developers in the past three years as the project has worked its way through city approval processes, including a height limit exemption in January 2013, state and federal campaign finance records show.

Both Chang and Anderson are running for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Colleen Hanabusa.

read ... Developers

Handi-van riders fed up with unreliable service

SA: At a recent public meeting, Handi-Van passengers reported scheduling their rides as many as three hours in advance to make sure they get where they need to be on time.

Now, after several years of service complaints from riders, Ho­no­lulu City Councilman Breene Hari­moto says he will introduce a resolution in the next few weeks that would compel a management and operational audit of the Handi-Van system. The program is run by Oahu Transit Services, a nonprofit entity that's partly a city entity and partly an independent operator.

Handi-Van riders "complain about the same things over and over, year after year, and somehow their concerns never get addressed," Hari­moto said recently. "I know it's difficult, that's why I've been patient," but after four or five years it's time to make service improvements a priority, he said.

read ... Unreliable

China Fields New Intermediate-Range Nuclear Missile -- Target Guam

WFB: U.S. intelligence agencies recently confirmed China’s development of a new intermediate-range nuclear missile (IRBM) called the Dongfeng-26C (DF-26C), U.S. officials said.

The new missile is estimated to have a range of at least 2,200 miles—enough for Chinese military forces to conduct attacks on U.S. military facilities in Guam, a major hub for the Pentagon’s shift of U.S. forces to Asia Pacific.

As part of the force posture changes, several thousand Marines now based in Okinawa will be moved to Guam as part of the Asia pivot.

In April, the Pentagon announced it is deploying one of its newest anti-missile systems, the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) to Guam because of growing missile threats to the U.S. island, located in the South Pacific some 1,600 miles southeast of Japan and 4,000 miles from Hawaii.

TW: Okinawa Gay and lesbian troops perform in drag on American military base

read ... Target Guam

Drugged driving deaths triple in Hawaii after Medicated Marijuana Legalized

KITV: In Hawaii, the numbers increased from 132 deaths in 2000 to 140 in 2001. 

One of the statistics that is significant since the introduction of medical marijuana in Hawaii, is the percentage of drivers involved in fatal crashes that tested positive for THC - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.  Since 2001, that amount has tripled from five to 15 percent....

Nearly 50 percent of drivers tested in those deadly accidents, tested positive for alcohol. That was true before and after the introduction of medical marijuana.

read ... Medicated

A crush of bills moving to meet First Crossover deadline this week

ILind: SB2634 would reaffirm the existing practice of requiring lobbyists to itemize their expenditures and report totals in certain categories of expenses. The State Ethics Commission already requires this reporting, but the bill would amend the ethics law to explicitly require this level of reporting.

SB451, which calls for a major shakeup of the PUC. It would transfer the agency to the Dept. of Commerce & Consumer Affairs.,...

SB2682 would require annual financial disclosure statements filed by members of the PUC to be public records. Good as far as it goes, but other agencies also must make the financial disclosures of their director and deputy public as well. Why make a special case for the PUC, given the power of its professional staff?

SB2270, introduced by Senators Laura Thielen and Maile Shimabukuro would create a “private right of action” to allow homeowners to take their neighbors to court to enforce county restrictions on transient vacation rentals....

SB2633 would try to remedy the logjam at DLNR’s Historic Preservation Office, which is currently required to review and sign off on building permits for all dwellings over 50 years old, including all those 1960-era tract homes that are now getting demolished or remodeled....

read ... A crush of bills moving to meet First Crossover deadline this week

What Did Hawaii Delegates Do With Salaries During Shutdown?

CB: Sen. Mazie Hirono: $ 5,275, her “full salary for 16 days” to Lanakila Pacific, Hawaii Meals on Wheels, Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council, Hale Mahaolu and Kauai Economic Opportunity

• Sen. Brian Schatz: did not disclose who received the donations.

• Rep. Colleen Hanabusa: $5,400, her “after-tax salary during the government shutdown,” to Hawaii Meals on Wheels.

• Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: donated an undisclosed sum to the U.S. Treasury.

read ... What Did Hawaii Delegates Do With Salaries During Shutdown?

A Moment of Silence: Tommy Waters Running for Stanley Chang’s City Council Seat

CB: Waters, an attorney, is seeking the District 4 seat being vacated by Councilman Stanley Chang, who is running for Congress. He joins a field that already has Natalie Iwasa and Trevor Ozawa. A fourth potential candidate, Scot Johnson, has pulled election papers.

SB, 2008: Legislators should reject taking revenge against doctor -- Judiciary Chairman Tommy Waters, a lawyer, denied a hearing on the malpractice bill in the Legislature's current session, asking House members to observe a moment of silence "for the death of tort reform"

read ... Tommy Waters Running

Legislative Motion:

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