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Tuesday, July 4, 2017
July 4, 2017 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 3:32 PM :: 3375 Views

The 1840 Hawaiian Constitution and the Fourth of July

The Verified Complaint In Equity: The Declaration Of Independence

Trump Lawyers Ask Hawaii Court to Stay Out of Travel Ban

B: …Trump’s lawyers asked a Honolulu federal judge to deny Hawaii’s request for clarification on the restrictions, deeming it unnecessary, and said any orders that limit the scope of the ban should be considered first by the nation’s highest court.

Attorneys for the Trump administration argued that implementation of the travel ban is in accordance with the Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling. That order requires visa applicants from six Muslim-majority countries and refugees worldwide to prove a “bona fide” family relationship to the U.S.

In a filing responding to Hawaii’s challenge, the government said its definition of “close family member” is consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act….

Background: Travel Ban: AG Chin Asks Obama Judge to Redefine Supreme Court Ruling, Let More Muslims In

read … Trump Lawyers Ask Hawaii Court to Stay Out of Travel Ban

Ige: I will Help Keep Illegal Aliens Voting

SA: Gov. David Ige joined a chorus of other state leaders Monday in criticizing a White House commission’s request for a trove of personal voter data. Ige said the state doesn’t have any assurance that the information would be kept secure and, at this point, doesn’t think the state should share those rec­ords.

“It also appears that the commission aims to address voter fraud. By all accounts, incidents of actual voter fraud are extremely rare,” Ige said in a statement. “I’m concerned this type of investigation would lead to a denial of voter access.”

Ige noted that as of Monday evening neither his office nor, apparently, any other state office had actually received the letter from President Donald Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which was apparently sent out to officials in all 50 states last week.

“When we get the request, I will share my concerns with state and county elections officials,” said Ige.

The commission’s letter seeks the names of registered voters, their addresses, birth dates, political party affiliation, last four digits of their Social Security numbers and voting history. It also requests information on voter felony convictions, whether voters have registered to vote in other states, their military status and any overseas citizen information.

The commission asks that the states respond by July 14….. 

read … Ige criticizes White House panel’s call for voter data

Maui Hospital Privatization Will Save State $260M

SA: …Privatization of the financially ailing Maui County public hospitals is now a done deal. On July 1, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii’s new Maui Health System took control of Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital & Clinic and Lanai Community Hospital; it plans to invest over $50 million to expand services and update technology.

The Maui facilities had routinely needed emergency state allocations. The transition plan calls for $33.4 million in state funds for this year’s operations, plus a generous one-time sum of $30.6 million for severance benefits to the workforce leaving the state payroll; most workers are retained as Kaiser employees. The deal should save taxpayers $260 million in hospital subsidies over the next decade….

read … Privatization

At Maui's correctional center, a litany of safety concerns — and no fix in sight

HNN: …"The Maui situation is like any of the situations across the state, with the exception of Halawa, (they) are worn dilapidated and worn out," Espinda said.

Those conditions at MCCC have triggered complaints, union grievances, and even a threatened OSHA fine.

"We have a facility that's falling down," said one corrections officer who works at MCCC.

And the officer means that literally.

For example, in 2015, a roof leak at MCCC spurred a state occupational safety citation. The warden said he needed more time to fix it.

Also that year, a fire alarm panel was reported to be inoperable -- prompting another OSHA case. And, in a separate complaint, employees said they might have been exposed to mold and fungus due to water damage.

The documents obtained by Hawaii News Now show that many of the problems at MCCC have existed since at least, 2014, when MCCC was cited and DPS issued a $2,200 fine by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

And today, the problems continue.

Photos sent to Hawaii News Now from sources inside the jail appear to show severe mold outbreaks, cracked flooring, electrical wires strung haphazardly across rooms, stockpiled asbestos removal waste, and a fire control system that sources inside the jail say still isn't working.

"We don't have a fire control system. The main system in fire control system in central control has been broke for about three years," the corrections officer said.

Espinda says he's aware of the issues, but has had to deal with a lengthy procurement process to get them fixed.

"Simple projects that on the outside can take possibly two years can take the state up to five to seven," Espinda said.

"So much of what we do is predicated or prefaced by process put in place to avoid scandal, to avoid corruption, and these steps take a long time….”

read … At Maui's correctional center, a litany of safety concerns — and no fix in sight

Riding the rail means an endless parade of buses

SA: …The 20 stops will be humbug, but we will dependably reach the Ala Moana train station not much more than an hour after leaving our home.

Unfortunately, that won’t be the end of our commute. From the Ala Moana rail station, Mommy will then take bus No. 1 to work. Daddy will take bus No. 2 to work. Mikey will take bus No. 3 to Saint Louis School. Sally will take bus No. 4 to Saint Francis School. And baby will take bus No. 5 to preschool.

Oh wait, baby can’t go on the bus alone. I guess Mommy will take baby on bus No. 5 to the preschool. After dropping baby off, Mommy will patiently wait for a bus No. 6 that is headed back to the rail station. From there, Mommy will transfer to bus No. 1.

After work, Daddy will walk back to the bus stop closest to his office, which in his case is only a half-mile and partially protected from the elements. After waiting there for 10 to 15 minutes, Daddy will take bus No. 5 to within a quarter-mile of Mikey’s baseball game.

Sally’s walk from her school to her bus station will take only 10 minutes, and the wait for her bus only another 15 to 20 minutes, but her bus stop will be only 5 to 10 minutes from the ballpark where she will join Daddy at Mikey’s game.

When her workday ends, Mommy will take bus No. 1, transfer to bus No. 6, pick up baby, wait for a bus No. 6 headed in the opposite direction, eventually transfer to bus No. 5, so that she and baby can meet the rest of the family at the game.

Afterward, the family will walk to, and wait for, bus No. 8 … transfer to bus No. 9 … and eventually reach the downtown rail station where everyone can enjoy a wonderful dinner….

read … Riding the rail means an endless parade of buses

Isle lifeguards on patrol despite liability exposure

SA: A 15-year-old state policy granting immunity to county lifeguards from civil liability ended Friday, but it’s business as usual for the roughly 350 of them as they patrol Hawaii waters this Independence Day weekend.

Representatives from Honolulu and the three other counties all said last week there would be no change in lifeguard coverage despite the loss of their legal shield.

This year’s state Legislature opted to not extend a 2002 statute that had protected the counties and their lifeguards from liability for the rescue services they provide, so long as their actions did not arise from “gross negligence or wanton act or omission.”

Instead, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 562, which, in its final form, required state attorneys to give legal representation to the counties and their lifeguards when there are ocean safety-­related lawsuits against them arising from duty at the four state beaches staffed by county lifeguards: Hapuna in the South Kohala region of Hawaii island, Makena Beach on Maui, Kaena Point (also known as Yokohama Bay) on the Waianae Coast, and Kee Beach on Kauai….

Gov. David Ige placed Senate Bill 562 on a list of 15 measures he is expected to veto by a July 11 deadline.

read … Isle lifeguards on patrol despite liability exposure

Hawaii now has the nation's broadest wildlife trafficking ban

HNN: A Hawaii law touted as the nation’s broadest wildlife trafficking ban has taken effect, state officials said.

Act 125 prohibits the sale, purchase, trade, possession with intent to sell or barter of endangered or critically-endangered species, sea turtles and monk seals among the many.

The Senate bill passed in 2016, however, enforcement of the law was delayed until June 30….

read … Ban

Sand Mining Since 1984, Suddenly Shut Down

MN: An official from Maui Lani Partners said Monday that the company has been “taking material off-site since 1994” and that the county’s warning to stop grading and excavating sand two months ago “was the first time we were made aware there was a notice of warning on a potential violation on the property.”

read … Vindictive Gods of Ecotopia

Leftists Protest Against July 4th

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