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Wednesday, May 31, 2017
May 31, 2017 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 10:26 AM :: 2962 Views

Help Stop This OHA Cover-up

UHPA Contract: Four Salary Hikes and a Reopener for UH Faculty

Trump Education Budget Cuts Native Hawaiian Education, Boosts Charter Schools

Honolulu Construction Employment Down 1%–Maui up 8%

Foreign-built floating dry dock arrives for Jones Act work in Hawaii

Good News: Legislators No Closer to Agreement on Tax Hikes for Rail

KHON: Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is still counting on state lawmakers to come to an agreement and hold a special session to put together a funding bill.

“I think when people see what we’re doing here, it just brings home the reality of rail and how important it is to get it all the way to Ala Moana,” he said.

The mayor says he is in touch with state lawmakers and, so far, they are not any closer to a resolution.

Both Caldwell and Murthy say they have not heard from the Federal Transit Administration, which will want answers soon on how the rest of the project will be funded….

read … Good News

COR: No Idea What Legislature Will Do – Ask Us Again in 3 Months

CB: …Council members continue to believe that revenues will come in slightly higher over the next several years, pointing mostly at strong tourism numbers.

But they were less certain as to what effect, if any, there will be on revenues if state lawmakers increase the transient accommodations tax or let Honolulu maintain its 0.5 percent surcharge on the general excise tax.

Both options were left on the table earlier this month when House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke and then-Senate Ways and Means Chair Jill Tokuda reached an impasse. The Legislature adjourned May 4 but there are rumblings of a special session to try to reach a deal, although it would be new WAM Chair Donovan Dela Cruz negotiating with Luke instead.

Luke and Dela Cruz were not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Council on Revenues member Ed Case, the former Democratic congressman who now works in the tourism industry for Outrigger, said he guarantees there will a tax increase to fund the rail project, and that it would be a drain on small businesses.

“I see this tax hike coming,” he said.

But council member Carl Bonham, who heads the University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization, does not anticipate either the continuation of the GET surcharge or upping the hotel tax by a few percent to have a significant effect on the state general fund revenues. He said seeing the 21-station, 20-mile project through could actually help bring in more money.

Not wanting to guess what the Legislature would ultimately decide to do — and other economic indicators remaining steady — the council members said they would keep their projections the same and revisit them in three months at their next meeting….

read … Three Months

Maui Council Passes Millions in Fee Hikes

MN: The Maui County Council gave its final approval Tuesday to the county’s $705.2 million fiscal 2018 budget, which will include … higher motor vehicle weight taxes ….

The budget measure calls for a half-cent increase in the motor vehicle weight tax for passenger vehicles, trucks and noncommercial vehicles not exceeding 6,500 pounds. That increase would not take effect until Jan. 1. And, there would be a 1-cent increase in the weight tax for other motor vehicles.

The vehicle weight tax hikes are expected to generate $1.79 million in six months for the highway fund….  (12 mos = $3.58M)

The budget includes some fee increases. Those include higher monthly trash fees for Maui and Molokai, from $24 to $27, and from $12 to $14 on Lanai. There will be a $3-per-vehicle fee for residential trash dumping at the Central Maui Landfill. Commercial tipping fees would rise from $81 to $90 per ton.

While water fees remained unchanged, sewer fees are set to increase from $29.20 to $30.08 per month for single-family and duplex dwellings….

MW: Mayor Arakawa Signs 2018 Fiscal Year Budget

Big Q: What do you think of the city’s plan to double hourly meter parking rates in Waikiki and downtown?

read … Council passes $705.2 million budget; sends it to mayor’s desk

Hawaii Co Council hearing Wednesday on doubling of gas tax

HTH: …“It’s crazy,” Shane said. Like Lyle, he didn’t want his last name used. “They just keep raising everything.”

Under a plan that’s the subject of a public hearing today, the gas tax would rise first from 8.8 cents a gallon to 19 cents, with increases of 2 cents in each of the next two years until it reaches 23 cents. That’s the amount Maui now charges and is the highest rate in the state. The Hawaii County gas tax currently is the lowest in the state, bringing in just over $8 million. It was last raised in 1988.

The County Council will hear public comments on the increase at 5 this evening in council chambers in Hilo. The public can also weigh in from the West Hawaii Civic Center, Naalehu state office building, Pahoa council office and the old Kohala courthouse. A vote will be taken at a later date.

Gas taxes can be used only for road maintenance and repair and mass transit.

The fuel tax is allocated to each transportation district by the Department of Public Works based on the miles of county-owned roads in each district. The increase is projected to more than double the current annual revenue….

read … doubling of gas tax

DoE Began Hiding School Failures Last October

SA: …Doing away with the practice of compiling and releasing annual rankings for the state’s 256 public schools and 34 charter schools mutes public accountability to families, taxpayers and the schools themselves. Also, such shielding could easily blunt the natural desire to receive praise rather than concern, yielding classroom complacency as well as a potential erosion or softening of academic achievement standards.

What’s more, such a strategy will not succeed for long in a time in which anyone with middling computer skills can mine public information to produce and publish the rankings.

According to a revised accountability system approved by the Education Board last week, during the 2017-18 year each school will be furnished with an individualized annual report, and low-performing schools will no longer be labeled as failing under the state’s system known as Strive HI…..

Until last year, the annual Strive HI statewide report assigned each school to one of five categories: recognition (top 5 percent of schools), continuous improvement, focus, priority (lowest 5 percent of schools) and superintendent’s zone for persistently low-performing schools. In October, the DOE announced top performing schools from 2015-16, but did not provide raw scores and corresponding categories. It maintained that the changes were part of a “transition year,” and that the state’s accountability system would be revised under provisions of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces the less-flexible No Child Left Behind mandate.

The BOE should reinstate the scrapped ranking and categories, and follow up with a call for analysis through which the public can see Strive HI’s annual results for what they are….

read … Public should know how schools rank

Kaiser: $35M Saved After Repeal of Obamacare Fees

SA: …Health insurers received a reprieve from an Obamacare fee this year, which in part helped to bolster the earnings of Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, the state’s largest health maintenance organization.

Kaiser earned $14.7 million in the first quarter, reversing a year-earlier loss of $21.5 million that it attributed largely to $18.5 million it paid last year in Affordable Care Act fees and taxes. Congress decided to suspend the fee starting this year.

Kaiser’s revenue from premiums grew to $366.3 million, up from $336.2 million in the year-earlier quarter, while expenses fell to $352.6 million from $358.5 million. The company — both a medical provider and health insurer with 252,654 members — earned operating income of $13.7 million, compared with an operating loss of $22.3 million in the first quarter of 2016.

read … Price of Obamacare

Political Corruption Becomes Excuse for State to Steal Home Equity from Working Class

CB: (Skip long story about flippers) …The rule changes, which the HCDA may approve during a board meeting that starts Wednesday at 9 a.m., would further restrict the ability of owners to resell their units and require them to share any profits with the state to help pay for additional affordable housing….

(Skip a couple of paragraphs about how all the buyers are really political insiders)

Downtown Capital privately financed 801 South Street, but benefited from about $5.9 million worth of fee waivers and taxpayer-funded infrastructure upgrades in Kakaako that totaled about $250 million districtwide.

A California-based consulting firm Strategic Economics estimated that a density bonus given to workforce housing projects like 801 South Street increases developers’ revenue by more than $110,000 per unit.

“There is a movement toward subsidy recapture or equity sharing, because housing is so expensive to produce (after we restrict the marketplace),” said Brett Theodos, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. He’s spent 10 years researching shared equity in affordable housing and said it’s becoming a more common tool for policymakers, especially in high-cost markets….

If the HCDA board approves the shared equity and buyback provisions, a lot of influential companies and people are going to be unhappy.

Developers like Stanford Carr Development and Avalon Development oppose the rules, and others include Kakaako landowners like Hawaii Gas and Waterhouse Inc. The rule changes wouldn’t affect the Howard Hughes development company and Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate, which already have gotten master plans for developing land in Kakaako approved by the state. Smaller landowners like Servo are worried that their land would be less valuable if the rule changes get approved.

Major Hawaii banks have also spoken out against the rule changes. Bank of Hawaii noted that some of its employees had purchased units in 801 South Street and argued that changing the rules would make it hard to sell mortgages on the secondary market….

“We cannot (don’t want to) build our way out of the affordable housing crisis. We cannot just say the market will solve the crisis (because we artificially restrict the market),” said Souki, citing a study that concluded making it easier to build housing in San Diego didn’t increase the number of affordable units. “There is a market failure (yes, too many Democrats) and we are not going to get to 65,000 units by not creating policies that keep these units affordable for a period of time (ie stealing home equity from legit buyers).”…

(Translation: Their corruption becomes yet another excuse to take things from us.)

Related: Ethics complaint: HCDA Falsifies Kakaako Workforce Housing Affordability Formulas

read … Keep them Poor

Insiders Milk HCDA’s Bogus ‘Affordable’ Housing

CB: Kakaako Condo (owned by VP of 1st Hawaiian) turned a profit of $46,592 when the company sold a high-rise unit after owning it for just a year….

Two dozen units at 801 South Street Tower A have been resold over the past two years, and five more are on the market…. On average, sellers have made more than $109,000….

801 South Street is the only project that’s been built under the workforce housing model so far…..

Many are owned by well-connected individuals. Honolulu Managing Director Roy Amemiya helped his son purchase an income-qualified condo. John Waiheʻe IV, an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee and son of former Gov. John Waiheʻe, also bought a workforce unit.

Gary Kurokawa, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s chief of staff, and Tracy Kubota, deputy director of the Department of Enterprise Services, together invested in a unit that didn’t have an income restriction. Another unit that didn’t have any restrictions went to Colbert Matsumoto, chairman of Tradewind Capital Group, one of the project’s funders….

Among the buyers who recently resold their units is Bill Wilson, chairman of the board of Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company. He bought a non-restricted unit and resold it for a $92,400 gain….

not everyone who got a winning lottery number ultimately got a unit. More than 100 of the workforce units went to people who didn’t join the lottery, like Amemiya, and qualified for the units after the original buyer dropped out.

That’s how Landon Nakata got his unit. Nakata, a project engineer at Nan Inc., a key contractor for Honolulu’s over-budget rail project, bought a two-bedroom income-qualified unit in July 2015 on the 40th floor for $490,600. He sold it just over a year later for $690,000, a nearly $200,000 gain, according to data from Locations. Nakata declined to comment on the resale.

It’s not clear how many units at 801 South Street Tower A actually went to qualified buyers (that is, people earning under 140 percent of AMI).

In testimony opposing the proposed rule changes, Downtown Capital said that 801 South Street Tower A provided 476 workforce units. That’s almost exactly 75 percent of the units in that high-rise, and matches the requirement that the development was required to aim for.

But HCDA data indicates just 397 units were sold to income-qualified buyers — 62 percent of the units.

Deepak Neupane, director of planning and development at HCDA, said that the list represents the number of units sold to qualified buyers within the first 60 days. After that, the developer was allowed to sell to anyone, although Lock said that moderate-income people still got a preference.

But while Neupane said he conducted random checks to verify the data, several names listed as owners of income-qualified units didn’t actually purchase the units, according to ownership data provided by Locations Hawaii.

For example, two units that are in the state’s records as having been sold to an income-qualified buyer were actually purchased by Kakaako Condo. A company called 801 South Street LLC bought a unit for $354,800 in June 2015. The unit was resold for $449,800 in January, a 25 percent increase.

Lock from Downtown Capital said that all of the units were sold at workforce prices — that is, below 140 percent of AMI — and that the developer complied with all of the requirements of the permit. But that didn’t mandate any tracking of the incomes of buyers after the first 60 days.

“We certainly could have reached the 75 percent goal,” Lock said.

After the 60-day window closed, Downtown Capital held another lottery, this time to sell units to friends and relatives of employees of companies that participated in the project. This is when Kurokawa, Caldwell’s chief of staff, bought a unit along with Kubota….

(Translation: They’re corruption becomes yet another excuse to take things from us.)

Related: Ethics complaint: HCDA Falsifies Kakaako Workforce Housing Affordability Formulas

read … Scammers

Final arguments filed in TMT case

HTH: Parties in the ongoing Thirty-Meter Telescope contested case have submitted their final arguments for consideration by hearings officer Riki May Amano.

The Tuesday deadline for filing written arguments is the penultimate step before Amano makes her decision on the case, which will determine whether a conservation district use permit can be issued for the telescope project by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. It is the second contested case on the matter.

The last step is filing challenges to arguments, which has a deadline of June 13….

The current case has 25 parties, but not all have participated in testimony (delaying tactics) to the same extent.

Oral testimony spanned more than four months and concluded in early March. The transcript of this portion of the hearing is 6,935 pages long.

The written arguments submitted so far ranged in length from 93 pages to four pages.

There is no exact date for when Amano, a retired judge, will make her decision….

UH: Maunakea scholars share their telescope observation experience

read … Heading for Canary Islands

17 Oahu schools have lacked working fire alarm systems for Years

KHON: A viewer reached out to us about the issue at King Intermediate School in Kaneohe, concerned that the campus hasn’t had a working fire alarm system for seven years….

The Department of Education admits it’s true, and says the reason is complex.

The issue boils down to a lack of options for the state when choosing vendors for the school’s fire alarm systems.

“It’s in the process of being fixed. We’ve had a number of issues with the vendor,” said DOE director of communications Donalyn Dela Cruz.

Dela Cruz says the fire alarm systems used in the schools are complex and hard to maintain. There are only two local vendors that can do the job.

Earlier this year, the school tried to install a new fire alarm system, but that backfired.

“It malfunctioned,” Dela Cruz said. “We didn’t like the work being done. We are now working with another vendor to try and get it done. It’s been a frustrating process not to get something like this complete and in a quick amount of time. Also, it’s not a perfect system, so we want to make sure we have backups in place.”….

There are 16 other schools statewide on a backlog list, requiring maintenance on their fire alarm systems. View the full list here.

The cost for the fire alarm system maintenance exceeds $3.5 million. The DOE says it’s currently exploring other types of fire alarm systems….

read … Oahu school lacks working fire alarm system, and it isn’t the only one

Maui Officials: Eliminate Wharfage Fees so County Fair can go on

MN: …Fair coordinators are hoping Gov. David Ige will identify Neighbor Island fairs as a “purpose for public good” and waive wharfage fees to ship carnival rides and games to keep the popular events running in the face of rising shipping rates….

As a result of the meeting, the entertainment company has committed to the 95th Maui Fair, scheduled for Oct. 5 to 8, President Scott Fernandez said…..

In March, the company canceled the Maui County Carnival and cited shipping rates that have doubled over the past decade.

The company paid Young Brothers, which is the sole carrier of shipped goods between Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands, about $300,000 a year to ship equipment for Neighbor Island fairs prior to 2010, Fernandez has said. Last year, his company paid more than $500,000 for shipping and would have had to pay an extra $16,500 this year.

Shipping rates have risen more than 40 percent in the past three years, which includes $10,000 to $15,000 worth of damage to equipment in shipping, Fernandez said. The company has absorbed increased costs since 2011 and has refrained from raising ride prices.

Aside from the shipping costs, Hawaii’s temporary ban on imported wild animals caused the company to lose over $1 million at the 50th State Fair, last year, Fernandez said Tuesday. It was the first time the company was barred from showcasing lions, bears, elephants and other wild animals at its shows after Ige placed the restriction on such animals at the end of 2015….

read … Officials attempt deal with governor to get fair rides to Neighbor Islands

SA1240: Just Say No to Anti-Aquarium Hype

SA: We urge the governor to veto Senate Bill 1240 because it impacts the safety of divers and ignores extensive data collected by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) that support the small, sustainable and highly regulated aquarium fish industry.

This issue erupted in the West Hawaii (Kona) community in the 1990s, and the Legislature directed DLNR to bring all parties together to resolve it. As a result, 35 percent of the coast was closed to aquarium fish collecting. DLNR also began rigorous data collection of aquarium fish populations and has surveyed fishes for over 17 years.

More data now exist on the West Hawaii aquarium fishery than any aquarium fishery in the world. Although reefs where collecting occurs have fewer fishes than protected areas, the populations fluctuate in synchrony with the protected areas. In fact, populations have increased over the past few years. This fits the definition of a “sustainable fishery,” where fished populations do not decline over time.

Now the issue has resurfaced, led by people who were not involved in the 1990s community meetings. They argue, without data, that aquarium fish collecting is harming the reef and that aquariums are unethical….

Earlier this year the DLNR engaged an international group of coral-reef biologists regarding coral bleaching. Of the dozens of recommendations, these scientists ranked aquarium fish collecting as least important….

Ant-Aquarium Nuts: “that natural resources belong to all of us. i like mine as part of the whole. Note that millions of dollars are made looking at natures wonders in protected areas. Harvesting money without taking any of the biota is a smart way to go.”  (Translation: We are dive tour operators and we want to push everyone else out of the way.)

read … Just Say No to Hype

Homeless Take over Iolani Palace, Smash Windows

Cataluna: …During the day the ­Iolani Palace grounds are a favorite hangout for homeless people. These are not the homeless families with sad-eyed, pitiful children who fell victim to the economy, felled by job loss or the high cost of living or the near-impossibility of renting a low-cost place in Hawaii.

They are the hard-core homeless, the ones who look like the living dead, the scary ones who make even big, strong men tell their kids, “Let’s go. Get in the car and lock the doors.”

Homeless people roll up to the palace with their filthy collections, unroll their filthy bedrolls and sleep on the grounds with impunity. On any given day you can walk the lawn that Kalakaua and Kapiolani walked and have to sidestep trash and food waste and human feces.

Some of the homeless are quite obviously mentally ill or under the influence of illegal substances or both. They scream in anguish and yell at people who are just walking on the sidewalk during their workday lunch hour.

The grounds are closed at night, and the homeless are ushered out, but twice in the past three years, people have managed to get back inside the fence and break palace windows. What if someone decides setting a fire is more fun?

While nighttime security measures don’t seem to be working, the palace area isn’t treated with respect during the day, either.

It’s one thing to give up swaths of public parks and beachside bushes to homeless camps, to see tents along the freeway and piles of garbage under bridges and to walk downtown having to hold your nose against the stench of urine. But if we can’t keep Iolani Palace from turning into a crime-ridden, smashed-window, trash-strewn homeless hangout, we’ve really given up trying….

AG: Accused Has Five Felonies on Record

read … Homeless

Secret Dope Dealership: Kauai Councilman Violated The Public’s Trust

CB: …Kauai County Council Chairman Derek Kawakami failed to disclose that he owns more than 14 percent of a company that’s trying to become licensed to grow and sell medical marijuana in Hawaii.

Asked about the oversight, Kawakami essentially shrugged his shoulders to Hofschneider, saying “there was nothing to disclose,” since his company, HK Medicinal, did not receive a permit from the Department of Health.

But HK Medicinal is still a functional, active company that is currently fighting in court to overturn the department’s decision. If it wins its appeal, it could end up growing and selling cannabis to thousands of patients on Kauai.

Given the ongoing legal battle, the potential for future business in a somewhat controversial industry and Kawakami’s growing involvement in the firm since the death of his father six months ago, Kawakami’s statement that “there was nothing to disclose” comes off as a total disregard for public accountability….

read … Wannabe Dope Dealer

Marijuana for Four-Year-Olds

KITV: Despite looming questions, the first medical marijuana dispensary in Hawaii is slated to open next week.

For Jari Sugano and her family, the milestone is a victory in gaining access to what they consider, potentially life-saving medication for her 8-year-old daughter, MJ.

"Our journey has been long, she's had epilepsy from day one, she has a genetic mutation," said Sugano.

Sugano said medical marijuana was a last resort for MJ.

"At the age of four, we realize nothing was working, and we were lucky enough to realize Hawaii had a medical cannabis program since 2000," said Sugano. …

read … For the Keiki

Hawaii Will Soon Have 32,000 Medicated Potheads

PBN: …According to the DOH, there are 16,332 registered medical marijuana patients in Hawaii, a 36 percent increase from August 2015.

Pressler said she expects to see patient numbers grow.

“In other states [with medical marijuana programs], they’ve had as much as a doubling in increased demand,” she said. “We expect a continuing increase in the number of our registry patients.”….

read … DOH director pleased with progress of medi-juana dispensary program, despite delays

SB505: Limit Opioid Prescriptions

CB: Opioids are killing people. In Hawaii, opioid medications were responsible for 35 percent of the 778 overdose deaths from 2010-2014.

Whether taken alone or in combination with other pills, the use of these medications can have lethal consequences. Across the United States, the numbers of addicts are rising, and many state legislatures are crafting laws regarding the appropriate use of these prescribed pills.

In Hawaii, Senate Bill 505 was approved and awaits the consideration of Gov. David Ige. It would establish variable limits on the amount that can be prescribed based on the indication for its use.

read … Limits

The Atlantic: Mapunapuna Street Puddle is Proof of Global Warming!

TA: “Within a few decades this will be the new normal,” said Chip Fletcher, associate dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaiʻi, in a university statement (very similar to ones release a few decades ago, no doubt….)

UH:  UH at the forefront of King Tides and sea-level rise ‘research’

read … Mapunapuna

Thanks to NAFTA, you can say aloha to Hawaiian sugar

WE: …Hawaii stopped producing sugar entirely in December, after more than a century in the business. Not because Hawaii isn't good at producing sugar — it was one of the best. It's because Mexico violated United States trade laws, dumped subsidized sugar on the market, distorted prices, and helped drive Hawaiian sugar producers out of business.

Hundreds of Hawaiians lost good paying jobs, and the pain is spreading to the mainland. Beet sugar factories throughout the Midwest and cane facilities in the South are also limping along after losing $4 billion due to Mexico's unlawful acts….

read … NAFTA 

North Korean Missile Could 'Shut Down Hawaii For Decades'

FOX: …Retired Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North said that a North Korean missile fired over the Pacific could "literally" shut down Hawaii for decades.

North said the U.S. must ensure the Pentagon's defense systems work since they are the only resources the country has to fend of a potential North Korean attack.

The important part is that "the people in Pyongyang realize they cannot get away with striking the U.S. with any kind of weapon," North told host Melissa Francis…..

read … Radioactive

Ostrov’s goal for the GOP

AJ: …The Hawaii Republican Party is the minority party in Hawaii. Ostrov said that she sought the chairmanship because she wants to help build the GOP to become the true opposition party in the state.  It is a steep hill to climb, with only five Republicans in the State House of Representatives and none in the Senate, the party struggles to get their voices heard.  The GOP in Hawaii is not represented in the U.S. House or Senate.

In an op-ed in the Honolulu Star Advertiser on May 4, Ostrov was quoted as saying, “The Hawaii Republican Party is not just the party of no, nor are we simply the party of tax cuts. I believe we’re the party of aloha and ohana.  We are the party that wants to see every resident thrive so they can build their business, family and community without excessive government interference. That’s the future we see for Hawaii.”

Ostrov, who, since her retirement, has become a business executive, and a co-founder of a non-profit Hawaiian Cultural School in the National Capitol Region said, “I think Hawaii’s Republicans have an excellent opportunity to rebuild and offer voters a real choice. My intent is pure and simple. I don’t have a private agenda. I am not seeking fame or fortune, I am not pursuing other positions at this time. I simply want to serve the party in a full-time manner to help the Republicans take their rightful place in Hawaii.”

She also pointed out that the most critical aspect of building a solid foundation is to get the party on a firm financial footing. “We are supposed to be a sharp contrast to the Democrats, offering viable, workable alternatives that energize the state’s residents to want our solutions and not continue with what we already know doesn’t work. Our financial underpinning helps us speak our message broadly, and I know we are at a critical financial crossroads today. In fact, I believe that this is one of the main reasons why the Hawaii Republican Party has been in decline for the last few years and it will be a primary area of focus for me as chairman.”

Immediately after her election as chairwoman, Ostrov went to Washington, D.C. to meet with GOP leaders and communicated with them her plans for the party in Hawaii. She said that they expressed their optimism and committed to providing support and resources to rebuild the local party.

Attracting Filipinos to the GOP

Ostrov stressed that, “Education and outreach in the community is key to our success as a party. Not only will we increase transparency and accountability within party leadership, but sharing our points of view will attract more members from the growing ranks of disillusioned or disengaged Independents and Democrats looking for a conservative home. We need those numbers in our party and their votes in the next election, votes that will come from the conservative cultures and people the Democrats have taken for granted.

“Two districts out of 51 are Districts 28 and 29, the Kalihi and Palama areas. Those areas are 78 percent Filipino, and not only are they the largest voting bloc in Hawaii, they are also very, very conservative. They are Democrats now, but they are starting to understand that their voting habits are clashing with their conservative culture. Education in the community will attract people whose family values and cultural background align more naturally with the Republican Party, if they hear us talk with them regularly as we share our message. With a diverse staff that starts with a broad range of ideas, we will articulate a message that covers the values and issues most people in our state care about and that the opposition isn’t even paying attention to.”

Inquirer:  Fil-Am woman elected head of Hawaii Republican Party

read … Goal

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