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Friday, January 2, 2015
January 2, 2015 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 3:34 PM :: 3390 Views

Chinese Consortium Makes Binding Offer to Buy Parent Company of Honolulu Rail Contractor

Big Wind: NextEra, Sierra Club Team up for Corporate Welfare

Full Text: Stockholder Suit Challenges HECO-NextEra Merger

Legislative Budget Hearings Set

NextEra Planning Offshore Windfarms for Hawaii?

IM: Robert Bryce reported on December 16, 2014 that the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives had passed the budget (H.R. 5771) with a windfall for the wind industry. The vote was 378 to 46.

“The wind sector won a vote in the House on a tax bill that includes a one-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC), which gives wind companies 2.3 cents for every kilowatt-hour of electricity they produce.” ...

“The extension of the PTC was part of a bill that contained more than 50 tax breaks and subsidies that will cost taxpayers more than $40 billion.”

The wind industry will profit to the tune of $6.3 billion. The company with the largest share of wind turbines in the country is Nextera.

“Rent-seeking entities love to claim that their pet projects deserve subsidies because they will create jobs. Indeed, the phrase ‘create jobs’ appears twice in a one-page letter that was sent to leaders of Congress last month imploring them to extend the PTC. “

“The letter was signed by AWEA and some 450 organizations, including the usual environmental groups — the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Wilderness Society — as well as a host of major corporations. Among them: NextEra Energy, one of the world’s largest wind-energy producers …Siemens Corporation, E.On, and Nucor Corporation, which is one of America’s biggest steel producers.” ...

Back in 2004 FPL Energy (now known as Nextera) was selected by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to build 40 ocean-based wind turbines. Some of the turbines would be less than three miles from shore.

In a previous blog I wrote "Facts About Offshore Wind Power. Wind energy companies are exploring the idea of building an offshore wind generation facility 5 to 15 miles from Oahu’s south shore. Each turbine would be 6 to 15 MW in size. By contrast, the largest land turbine in Hawai`i is about 3 MW.

The Navy is mapping out ocean blocks south of Pearl Harbor where future wave energy and wind energy platforms can be erected.

read ... NextEra Lobbying for Big Wind Tax Rebates

TAT Revenues on Track for Another Record Year

PBN: During the first 11 months of the 2014 calendar year, the state Department of Taxation collected $380.4 million from the transient accommodations tax on hotel guests and from the transient occupation tax on time-share residents.

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the state collected $395.2 million through the TAT, 7.2 percent more than in FY 2013. Of that, $93 million went to the counties, $33 million went to the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund, $82 million went to the Tourism Special Fund, and the rest, $187.2 million, went to the state's general fund.

The TAT has been 9.25 percent since 2010, and time-share units are under a 7.25 percent tax rate.

The TAT was scheduled to return to 7.25 percent and the caps on the counties' share would have expired on June 30, 2015, but the 2013 Legislature, through Act 161, made those changes permanent.

In 2014, the Legislature increased allocations to the counties from $93 million to $103 million per year for FY 2015 and FY 2016, before moving back to $93 million in future years.

read ... And the beast is hungry for More

A Trip Down the Rabbit Hole With Milk Price Controls

CB: Michelle Galimba grew up on the former Naalehu Dairy and the former Meadow Gold Dairy. She is currently a cattle rancher in Ka’u on Hawaii Island and she serves on the Hawaii Board of Agriculture (which oversees milk price controls)....

I grew up on the former Meadow Gold Dairy on the North Shore, where my father was the dairy manager. I walked by Lani Moo everyday on my way home from school, and my first summer job was repainting the white fences that fronted the dairy. In those days, the 1980s, there were dozens of dairy farms and Hawaii was self-sufficient in milk production....  (The price controls began and now there are only 2, but that's not what she blames....)

Support for local agriculture has provided me with the opportunity to provide food for my community and to contribute to sustainability. Without the support of the community I could not do what I do, small as it is. I am lucky in that I have a strong, supportive relationship with my local processor and distributor, Hawaii Beef Producers.

Hawaii’s milk producers are not so lucky. Their processor and distributor, Meadow Gold, a subsidiary of Dean Foods based in Dallas, has recently threatened to stop buying local milk from the last two remaining dairy farms in Hawaii if it does not get the changes to state law on milk prices that it wants.  (If only the processor would charge consumers higher prices then protectionism could do for Hawaii dairy farms what the Jones Act does for ocean carriers.  But we can't make law on this because of that pesky Commerce Clause thingy....)

This forced the BOA to choose between destroying the last two remaining dairy farms, or gutting the milk price laws that were put into place decades ago to protect dairy farmers from the milk processors....

WHT: Hawi’s Cloverleaf Dairy being sold to Omidyar firm

read ... Mindset

Mainland Enviros Continue to Whine About Hawaii Longline Fisheries

CB: Scientists are unanimous that record-breaking breaking catches can’t go on forever – and when they end, they will soon be followed by record-breaking low catches. “It reminds me of the story of the guy who jumps off the Empire State Building,” McCauley said. “As he passes in front of a first-floor window, he says to somebody standing there, ‘So far so good.’”

read ... More Whining

Not too Late to Convert Rail to Busway

SA: It is not too late to convert this project to something useful, such as elevated lanes for express bus, carpool and maybe tolls to help pay for it (whereby the actual users pay for it). They are called HOT Lanes and are growing in popularity nationwide. Let's step back, take a breath and investigate.

Finances are just one of many problems with rail, which was sold to the public with a bag of lies about traffic reduction, job creation, ridership, transit-oriented development (TOD), citizen participation, on-time, on-budget, etc. None of these promises are likely to happen in any significant way.

Take for example the latest ploy to fool the public, TOD, which is supposed to concentrate dense housing near stations. It's the only big argument for rail the city has left after all their other promises went bust.

The most recent failure of this TOD theory is found at the proposed Ho‘opili project near Kapolei, which would have two rail stations, each with about 130 acres within the quarter-mile radius, ideal for TOD walk-to-the-station housing. Do the math: 260 acres of open land available for TOD densities and what do the developers propose? Only 40 acres designated for high density!

PBN: Continues Chatter about Looting TheBus to pay for rail, Obviously intended to make Tax Hike Acceptable

read ... Not too Late

Department of Health: More contamination likely along rail route

KITV: According to the state Health Department, the lead was found in three areas of the 71/2-acre parcel, but doesn't pose an immediate threat to public safety. The highest concentration of lead found in one of the parcels was 902 parts per million....

"The real risk from lead in soils is accidental ingestion by kids. So, you don't want this kind of lead in your backyard," said Fenix Grange, the Site Discovery Assessment and Remediation supervisor for the Department of Health's Office of Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response. "Safe levels in a backyard is about 200 parts per million," she added.

Under a voluntary oversight agreement between the transit authority and the Health Department, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation must safely manage any contamination that poses a threat to people or the environment. The areas of the Banana Patch where lead was found will be restored to a 100-year flood plain and that means the transit authority will remove as much as 15 feet of soil. Under Health Department guidelines the soil must be capped if it remains in the area, or disposed of permanently if it's taken offsite....

Grange said it’s likely the rail project will encounter more contaminated areas as the 20-mile rail line is built, but the complete cost of remediation won’t be known until ground is actually broken....

The transit authority has set aside as much as $1 million to remove lead contamination from the Banana Patch or keep it in place. However, Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi is concerned that cost could escalate, just like the overall project.

read ... Contamination

Settlement over Kauai police shooting death

HNN: The terms of the settlement were not disclosed and will required approval by the County Council. But already the case has prompted some changes at the KPD....

KDP initially wanted to wait Louis out but after several hours of negotiation, KDP officer, Captain Henry Barriga, decided to place a squad inside of Louis' home, the suit said.

Shortly after that, KPD officer Chris Calio entered the home on his own accord and gave chase to Louis, who had gone up to his roof and was throwing bamboo poles at officers.

Calio shot Louis several times believing that he grabbed a metal object. But the lawsuit says that no weapon was ever recovered.

After a lengthy investigation, Calio was not disciplined and remains on the force.

Police Chief Darryl Perry, who was on suspension at the time, later testified that he probably would have handled the situation differently.

"It's a sad series of events. We believe that had Chief Perry been in charge, based upon his deposition, and had other senior officers been in charges, there would have been a different result," Breiner said....

read ... Settlement

Kauai Council 2015 priority: Get Over GMOs

KGI: “Hopefully we can get over all of these other issues that took up a lot of our attention, like (anti-GMO Bill) 2491 and what have you,” County Council Vice Chair Ross Kagawa said. “We need to start focusing on getting back to basics and taking care of our roads and our parks. Right now, a lot of people are upset with the county — we’ve got to get the people’s faith back in the county, and it doesn’t come by just words. We’ve got to do it through actions.”

Perhaps one of the most significant game changers in 2015, Kagawa said, will be a newly elected majority on the seven-member board, which tilted when Arryl Kaneshiro and KipuKai Kualii unseated longtime members Tim Bynum and Jay Furfaro in the General Election.

“I think the past two years for me were very rough — for the past two years, me and Mel (Rapozo) were losing a lot of votes by 5 to 2,” Kagawa said. “Thankfully, the election has changed the tide, so now I think we’ll have a chance to do what we thought was right for the community — the voters showed that in the election. I’m very hopeful and optimistic that things will get better.”

read ... Get over GMOs

Disgusting Organic Cheese Infected with Listeria

FPB: Whole Foods Market is recalling cheese sold in Arizona, California, and Hawaii that came from its supplier Bleating Heart cheese because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The recalled cheese was cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap at Whole Foods stores and sold with Whole Foods Market scale labels. No illnesses or infections have been reported to date.

The recalled cheeses include Shepardista, PLU# 254704, all sell by dates up to and including Jan 20st, 2015; Goldette Tommette, PLU# 250302, all sell by dates up to and including Jan 20st, 2015; and Fat Bottom girl, PLU# 254705, all sell by dates up to and including Jan 20st, 2015. They also include Ewelicious, PLU# 299784, all sell by dates up to and including Jan 20st, 2015; Mixtress, PLU# 299785, all sell by dates up to and including Jan 20st, 2015; and Moolicious, PLU# 299648, all sell by dates up to and including Jan 20st, 2015. You can see pictures of product labels at the FDA web site.

If you purchased these products, return them to the place of purchase for a refund. Then wash your hands well with soap and water and clean out your refrigerator with a mild bleach solution.

If you ate any of these products, monitor yourself for the signs of listeriosis for the next 70 days. They include severe headache, high fever, stiffness, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Pregnant women may only have a very mild illness, but listeriosis can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, and infection in the newborn baby. If you do get sick, see your doctor immediately.

(Anti-GMO activists' favorite food.  Mmmmmm goood.)

read ... Food Poisoning Bulletin

State Official: Hawaii Needs Easier Access to Marijuana

SA: Hawaii's Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force facilitator hopes patients will soon have easier access to the drug

read ... World Turned Upside Down

CO, WA Officials: We Must do More to Drive Customers into Pot Shops

SA: A year into the nation's experiment with legal, taxed marijuana sales, Washington and Colorado find themselves wrestling not with the federal interference many feared, but with competition from medical marijuana or even outright black market sales.

In Washington, the black market has exploded since voters legalized marijuana in 2012, with scores of legally dubious medical dispensaries opening and some pot delivery services brazenly advertising that they sell outside the legal system.

Licensed shops say taxes are so onerous that they can't compete.

Colorado, which launched legal pot sales last New Year's Day, is facing a lawsuit from Nebraska and Oklahoma alleging that they're being overrun with pot from the state.

And the number of patients on Colorado's medical marijuana registry went up, not down, since 2012, meaning more marijuana users there can avoid paying the higher taxes that recreational pot carries.

Officials in both states say they must do more to drive customers into the recreational stores. They're looking at reining in their medical systems and fixing the big tax differential between medical and recreational weed without harming patients.

read ... Dope Pushers in Government

Beyond Gay Marriage: Trannies Being Pushed into Military, Schools, Sports

AP: ...Another contentious issue is the ban on transgender people serving in the military. Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has suggested the policy be reviewed but gave no timetable, and advocacy groups are increasingly vocal with their impatience.

“There is no valid reason that our transgender troops should continue to be prohibited from serving openly and honestly,” said Ashley Broadway of the American Military Partner Association, which represents partners, spouses and families of LGBT service members.

Friction over transgender rights also is surfacing in school policies, as evidenced by a controversy in Gloucester, Virginia. Officials at Gloucester’s high school allowed a transgender boy — who was born female — to use the boys’ restroom, sparking complaints that led the county school board to reverse the decision.

The board adopted a policy on Dec. 9 that restricts male and female restrooms to students with “corresponding biological genders” and says transgender students could use an “alternative private facility.”

The American Civil Liberties Union subsequently filed a complaint with the departments of Justice and Education alleging that the new policy is discriminatory and violates federal law.

However, Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, commended the Gloucester school board and circulated a proposed “model policy” for other districts that would restrict transgender students’ use of communal restrooms. The group said it would consider offering free legal defense to districts whose use of the proposed policy was challenged in court.

“No policy should be tailored to a few students at the expense of all the others,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot.

School sports teams also are a source of contention. In Minnesota, Republican Rep. Joyce Peppin suggested closer legislative oversight of the Minnesota State High School League after its approval in early December of a policy letting transgender athletes play on teams that best align with their gender identity. Several other states have adopted similar policies....

All those developments are unfolding amid fast-paced changes related to same-sex marriage, which is now legal in 35 states. Several cases from states that still ban gay marriage have advanced to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could decide during a Jan. 9 conference to hear one or more of them this term.

read ... National Defense

Inequality: Collapse of Nuclear Family Drags Down Working Class, not Educated Elite

CB: ...college-educated people are more likely to get married before they have children.

Thirty-eight percent of the births in Hawaii in 2012 were to parents who were not married, just slightly below the national average. The parents of these children are much more likely to have a high school diploma or less.

Today, three-quarters of women without bachelors degrees have at least one child out of wedlock by the time they are in their late-20s.

Cherlin says the U.S. “is moving even further ahead in a category no nation wants to lead: the most unstable family lives.”

On measures of child well-being, Hawaii is about average (24th) compared to the rest of the country. So it’s not a stretch to assume that family situations here are typical.

Half of the non-marital relationships with children end within five years, which is much shorter than the time that married people stay together. The U.S. leads the Western world in the percentage of parents who have children with more than one partner.

In these situations, kids’ lives are more vulnerable. They are less likely to do well in school, have emotional problems, and  get into trouble with the law....

read ... Milner

Lava Flow: Puna Push for Harbor, Airstrip 

WHT: Legislation to provide insurance relief for Puna homeowners and emergency funds for Puna Community Medical Center and two charter schools are among the lava-related bills state Sen. Russell Ruderman says he will pursue this session.

Ruderman, D-Puna, said he also will introduce bills to create a harbor and air strip in case the June 27 lava flow cuts road access to lower Puna, though he acknowledges those might be long shots.

“It’s possible because of the emergency declaration that we can make something happen in a hurry,” he said....

The Hawaii Property Insurance Association placed a moratorium on new policies in lower Puna last September but is continuing to renew policies, the association said. The state Legislature created HPIA in 1991 to provide insurance for property owners who can’t get covered through the market.

Ruderman said he doesn’t think the state can force insurance providers to offer new coverage during a disaster. But he acknowledged insurance moratoriums are making it difficult for residents to sell their homes.

The emergency appropriations would provide $300,000 for Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science and Kua O Ka La. Both charter schools have been impacted by the lava flow, Ruderman said.

The medical center, which relocated from Pahoa Marketplace to 15-3039 Pahoa Village Road, would receive about $200,000, he said.

Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, D-Puna, could not be reached for comment.

read ... Lava Agenda

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