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Monday, May 5, 2014
May 5, 2014 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:53 PM :: 3365 Views

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted May 5, 2014

Informational Briefing on Native Hawaiian Roll Commission

Maui Council Approves Budget with Tax and Fee Cuts

Malama Solomon receives pass on land, Illegal Buildings critics say

SA: Flora Solomon, who has a 99-year lease for the 125-acre Hawaii island ranching parcel, recently applied to that county to subdivide the Waimea property into three smaller lots, with each containing at least two existing structures, according to the subdivision map submitted with her application.

One of the hillside lots would have a bizarre configuration, with two sections at either end of the property connected by a sliver down the middle, the map shows. Several structures would be on the lower end.

Four residences constructed between 1999 and 2007 are among the nine structures on the overall parcel, according to county records. DHHL regulations allow only one residence per homestead lot and, under certain circumstances, a workers' quarters.

But four dwellings clearly violate that limit. According to county records, the violations apparently have existed since the second dwelling was constructed in 2000 or the third one in 2004 — depending on whether the second one, totaling 1,916 square feet, was considered by DHHL as workers' quarters.

read ... Senator's family receives pass on land, critics say

SA: HECO needs to be specific about plans to make green energy scammers even richer

SA: The problem, the state authority overseeing HECO said last week, is the lack of a blueprint showing where those building blocks would fit. It's hard to argue with that logic.

Last week the PUC delivered a sharp rebuke to the company, rejecting its mammoth Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Action Plan and issuing a white paper titled "Commission's Inclinations on the Future of Hawaii's Electric Utilities."

That future, the commission rightly points out in the document, lies in finding a new business model that can sustain reliable delivery of electricity for a lower cost. It's a tall order — transforming a utility that's more of a distributor than a power generator demands alternative revenue streams — but HECO should be strategizing about how to get to that point.

"The IRP Action Plan appeared to be, in part, a series of unrelated capital projects without strategic focus on the clear issues facing the utility, and did not indicate further progress towards a sustainable business model," the commission concluded in the document.

read ... HECO too vague about its future

Explore cancellation of landfill contract, councilwoman Pine urges

SA: The federal indictment of Waste Management of Hawaii and two of its top officials last week over their handling of Oahu's landfill has Hono­lulu City Council members seeking answers and at least one questioning whether the city should continue its 20-year operating contract.

Councilwoman Kymberly Pine's district includes the Leeward Coast where overflow from the Wai­ma­nalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill caused syringes and other needles to wash onto the shoreline in January 2011.

Pine now says city attorneys need to look into whether the contract can be severed.

read ... Waimanalo Gulch

Finalists to lead UH will tour campuses

SA: According to the report, "The finalists understand that they will be expected to engage in multiple-day campus visits on every major island before the end of the spring academic semester to allow campus leadership, faculty, staff, students, and the public an opportunity to meet them, hear their views, and form a judgment as to their suitability to serve as President of the University at this time."

KGI: Meet the finalists

read ... Finalists

Campaign Cash Used to Portray Abercrombie as Grandfatherly, Good with Kids!

CB: The new ad depicts the governor as both a patriarch standing firm with a rainbow coalition of keiki but also as a grandfatherly type, the Wilford Brimley of Hawaii. Abercrombie actually holds one of the kid's hands near the end of the clip as several keiki and three women look on approvingly.

Given the blank looks on the faces of some of the kids, it would seem that none are....

Reality: VIDEO: Looking Back at Neil Abercrombie 'Highlights' as Governor

read ... Ad Watch: Abercrombie Plays the Keiki Card

Politicians Wheedle Reporter to Stop Reporting on Raising Campaign Cash During Session

CB: Near the end of the recently concluded Hawaii legislative session, a Capitol staffer asked me why I bothered to blog every time a legislator held a campaign fundraiser during the session — including just last week.

Others have asked me the same question, suggesting that it's a waste of my time and not of interest to Civil Beat readers. It's not news that politicians raise money, they point out.

read ... The Problem With Raising Campaign Cash During Session

New bill could delay Oahu’s plastic bag ban

KHON: Starting in July 2015, Oahu businesses will no longer be allowed to offer non-biodegradable plastic bags to customers.

But a new bill at the Honolulu City Council wants to take it a step further by banning all plastic bags.

“We discovered through different conversations that there is no standard as to what is biodegradable or what is not. And in order for the city to enforce the law, there has to be a standard,” said Honolulu City Councilmember Breene Harimoto.

Councilmember Harimoto says environmental groups brought this issue to his attention....

If the bill is passed, businesses with biodegradable bags would have until January 2016 to get rid of them....

The bill will now go to first reading a the council’s next meeting, which is set for Wednesday....

SA: Bill would alter city's plastic bag prohibition

read ... Bag Ban Delay

Two, Three, Many Kakaakos

SA: Tian calculates that 3,525 new homes need to be added on Oahu annually to match the anticipated 1 percent population growth, assuming 2.8 people per household. Over the last three years, there were 1,612 residential units approved for construction per year on average. That leaves a deficit of 1,913 homes.

"We are behind," Tian said.

Demand is outstripping supply to a point where median prices for single-family homes are projected by economists to reach about $800,000 next year after hitting a rec­ord $650,000 last year....

Even the planned addition of 5,000 condominiums in Kaka­ako won't cover the deficit because their construction will take years.

This wasn't the case during the 1960s when Oahu's population grew by about 12,000 people annually and about 7,000 homes were built each year. During the 1990s the figures were about even. During the 2000s the population grew by about 7,500 annually, and the number of homes added was about 2,000 per year.

read ... Housing production is left in the dust as population grows

Homeless Build Tree House 'To Get High Ground' on Cops

KITV: "No one bothers us here. It's relaxing up there. Cops can't sneak up on you," said tree house resident Tobias Debardeleben.

"You get high ground. They got to come up. We got them," said Todd Weeks who lives in the tree house.

Hidden away- the homeless men say more people are building up into the trees....

read ... Homeless trio gets kicked out of tree house home

Community members plot different plans for Ewa Cemetery

HNN: Last week, state lawmakers approved a $100,000 grant to a non-profit organization with ties to state Rep. Rida Cabanilla (D-Ewa Villages, Ewa Beach, West Loch) for maintenance at the cemetery. Volunteers said the money isn't needed since maintenance is already being handled by the city.

read ... Community members plot different plans for Ewa Cemetery

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