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Wednesday, December 13, 2017
December 13, 2017 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:02 PM :: 3070 Views

Secret Plan: Use Constitutional Convention to Force Hawaiians into Fake Indian Tribe

Hawaii Mayors commit to Ban Gasoline, Diesel Vehicles by 2045

Hawaii: Homelessness and Poverty Do Not Correlate

Homeless Court clears hundreds of cases

Applications Being Accepted for Maui County Boards and Commissions

Keli'i Akina and Malia Hill: DC Update

John McHugh PhD New Head of Pesticides Branch

Child Care: Hawaii Among Most Unaffordable States

Hawaii Ranks 5th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

AG Chin to Run for Congress

SA: State Attorney General Douglas Chin is laying the groundwork for his first political campaign, which will be a run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, sources said.

Chin has sought expert legal advice to prepare for his fundraising efforts and is working with a public relations company to help with the election, and also prepared a video to be released in the weeks ahead to help publicize the launch of his campaign, according to a source familiar with those preparations….

Colin Moore, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said Chin’s attacks on Trump’s policies have been quite popular among Hawaii’s heavily Democratic voters. It has been conventional wisdom in political circles for many months that Chin would run, he said.

“He made himself into a bit of a local folk hero, and that’s going to be a really compelling campaign message,” Moore said.

He also predicted Chin will benefit from the fact that he has been involved in government for years, but is not seen as part of the “political establishment” in Hawaii.

“He’s not running as an elected official, he’s running as the attorney general, and I think that gives him a bit more credibility with the public that is pretty skeptical of a lot of mainstream Democratic leaders now,” Moore said.

He said Chin also will likely be able to use contacts he made as attorney general and as Honolulu managing director to help raise money for his campaign.

Political observers said Chin has been so effective at using the attorney general’s post to raise his profile that he is reluctant to give the job up to campaign full time.

His office has issued a stream of news releases, including one Tuesday in which Chin announced he had joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general who wrote to Trump objecting to his appointment of Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau….

Also running for the urban Honolulu House seat in the Democratic primary are state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-­Moanalua-Halawa), Honolulu city Councilman Ernie Martin and state Rep. Kaniela Ing (D, South Maui)…..

AP: Hawaii Attorney General Announces Run for US Congress 

HNN: Hawaii's attorney general enters race for US Congress

Politically Finished:

Meanwhile: Another Muslim Blows Himself up in NYC

read … State attorney general eyes Congress

Caldwell: Ige is ‘Controversial’

KHON: …Caldwell says he supports him, having worked closely with him during his first term.

“He’s very process driven, but he does do things and he does it in a way that reflects the values in this community. I think we need folks like that,” Caldwell said. “I think he’s solid. When you think about the tough things he has addressed, there are some very controversial things.”

read … Endorsement

Cataluna: Larger Mental Hospital Needed to Treat Homeless Mentally Ill

Cataluna: …more than stronger locks, bigger fences and vigilant staff, what is needed is greater capacity. Hawaii’s inadequate mental health services are at the heart of so many of the community’s troubles.

You can’t go downtown without seeing some poor bedraggled soul screaming at voices or swatting at hallucinations. It can’t feel good to be suffering through those episodes when the mind plays dirty tricks on itself. It is not a state of oblivion but rather one of torture, and just bearing witness to that sort of breakdown has an effect on bystanders even if there is no attack or threat or interaction of any kind. It hurts to watch people suffer like that.

All over the island, in doorways and parks and on median strips, are people who are in obvious need of medical attention and psychological evaluation. You see their feet, so swollen and purple as they shuffle across the street. You see the bent and crooked spine sticking up from ratty clothes as they push overloaded carts along the roadway. Sometimes, you see people who are filthy after soiling themselves and you wonder what the hell to say to the kids when they point and scream and ask questions. There are people who cannot take care of themselves, who are a danger to themselves and possibly others, and there are not enough places for them to go for treatment. There also aren’t ways to compassionately compel them to get help.

And then there are the grisly crimes that have no other explanation except the perpetrators must have been crazy, like the green-haired monster and his dead-eyed girlfriend charged with beating a hardworking lady to death in Haleiwa. When horrible stuff like this happens, do you know what we don’t say anymore? “Nothing like that EVER happens in Hawaii!” Because it does. Instead of being shocked that something like this could go down in the islands, our minds immediately turn to another time some deranged person committed a horrible act against innocent victims. And then a time before that. And another. And another. We can think up a whole litany of crimes that shouldn’t have happened and people who should have gotten help before things got really bad.

When the state Legislature kicks off the 2018 session in an election year where everybody is compelled to make big promises, let’s not forget that some of the gnarliest problems plaguing our community — homelessness, crime, drug use — are rooted in mental illness and that fixing a lot of problems starts there….

Related: Mental Health: Can Reform Solve Hawaii’s Homeless, Prison and Unfunded Liability Problems?

read … Hawaii problems rooted in mental illness

Civil Beat Poll: SB1129 -- Most People who Still Have Landlines Want to Die

CB: …63 percent of registered Hawaii voters who said they supported medical aid in dying in the latest Civil Beat poll.

Only 22 percent told Civil Beat’s pollster they oppose they idea. Another 9 percent said they were unsure and 6 percent said it didn’t matter….

Civil Beat’s poll, conducted Nov. 27-29, surveyed 843 registered voters statewide, 70 percent on landlines… (Who has a landline anymore?)

Because it was deferred, Senate Bill 1129 could be revived in the 2018 legislative session, which begins next month.

SB 1129 was modeled on Oregon’s death with dignity statute….

read … Die Already

SB548: Hawaii Sees Legalizing Adult Use Marijuana As Huge Boon to Island Economy

NHR: …An abundance of locally grown cannabis and subjective law enforcement have woven the tolerance of cannabis into Hawaii's culture. It's more c'est la vie than clandestine. After all, Hawaiians are less stressful and happier than residents of any other state. In fact, as long ago as 1979 Rolling Stone named cannabis Hawaii's No. one crop, above sugar and pineapple.

If the state is so progressive, why then has it not fully legalized recreational cannabis consumption? That was one of many key talking points at this island cannabis conference.

The Hawaiian black market has worked just fine for most of its residents, so there's been no huge grassroots push for legalization. Banking and tax challenges, retail management and laws are all unappealing elements one needn't be concerned with when things are seemingly working just fine behind the scenes. And precedent hasn't been inspiring….

Introduced earlier this year, Hawaii's 2017 Senate Bill 548 would legalize the personal use, possession and sale of cannabis for adult use, and license and regulate retail marijuana establishments. The bill would:

1. Decriminalize and regulate small amounts of marijuana for personal use;

2. Establish a licensing scheme for the cultivation, sale and use of small amounts of marijuana for personal use;

3. Tax marijuana sales in the same manner as state excise taxes; and

4. Subject income derived from marijuana sales to state income taxes.

read … The New Haven Register, the Spot for Hawaii News

Hooser: To Fund HSTA, Legalize Marijuana and Raise Taxes 6 Ways

KGI: There are many potential sources of new funding that could be implemented, if the political will was available to do so:

1) Property tax surcharge on second homes and investment properties over $1 million.

2) A modest GET (general excise tax) increase, balanced by eliminating the tax on groceries and affordable rentals.

3) Closing the existing tax loophole for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

4) Increasing various taxes on hotels and the visitor industry, such as car rentals, hotels and TVRs (transient vacation rentals).

5) Legalizing and taxing the responsible recreational use of cannabis by adults.

6) Institute “sugar tax” on sugar beverages and factory-made junk food.

Link: HSTA Propaganda Points

read … Six Tax Hikes the People will be too Doped up to Notice

One Percent of Hawaii Adults are Card-Carrying Potheads

CB: Every month, the number of patients cleared to use medical marijuana increases by about 3 percent in Hawaii.

Since dispensary sales kicked off in August, more than 1,000 new patients have registered….

The dispensaries’ production centers have the capacity to grow 48,000 plants, according to the health department, but had only produced 16,166 plants, as of late October.

On Wednesday afternoon, a legislative working group created to improve the state’s dispensary program will vote on a number of recommendations for consideration at the next legislative session that begins in January….

One Percent Of Hawaii Residents Are Cardholders … Since Act 241 establishing a framework for the dispensary program was signed into law in July 2015, 8,000 new patients have registered….

here’s a statistical look at the changing state of medical cannabis in Hawaii, based on the most recent data available from the health department…

read ….  Keep the People Doped Up

CFS: Poverty is a Medical Condition

SA: …According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, poverty is one of the greatest threats to child health. Poor children have increased infant mortality; more frequent and severe chronic diseases such as asthma; poorer nutrition and growth; less access to quality health care; lower immunization rates; and increased obesity and its complications.

Poverty and economic hardship is also particularly difficult for parents who may experience chronic stress, depression, marital distress and exhibit harsher parenting behaviors. These are all linked to poor social and emotional outcomes for children.

Over the past year, Child & Family Service has partnered with a program called Transition to Success to pilot a national model in Hawaii that treats poverty as a diagnosis affecting a family rather than a character flaw. Through our Family Centers on Maui and Kauai, we worked with families to map their dreams and help them create a path to get there. Youth who said they wanted to become NBA basketball players were not discouraged, but rather helped to put in motion the pieces to get there, such as a good education, which would motivate them to do well in school and get them on the path to confidence, achievement and self-sufficiency.

The success of the program is predicated on setting goals and dreams for family members, but bringing those dreams to fruition requires the collaboration of many community partners. On Maui and Kauai we partnered with more than 15 agencies, businesses and organizations who could provide important pieces to the puzzle, such as basic needs, literacy, getting an education including GED and higher education for parents, financial literacy and volunteerism, job training and placement, all key components for self-sufficiency.

Data is being collected to measure the effectiveness of this pilot and so far, the results are promising, with 80 percent of participating families meeting at least two of their stated goals during the year.

Last month, I had the opportunity to present the findings of this pilot project at a national conference of state leaders, along with Marcella Wilson, founder of the Transition to Success program. Upon returning home, I was surprisingly greeted with several emails from attendees wanting to learn more about how to create a community of partnerships in their states as well….

Related: Video: Should Being Homeless in Hawaii be Considered an Illness?

read … Only NBA Players will be able to afford the Insurance

Hawaii agency chooses buyer of state affordable housing portfolio

PBN: The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. has chosen, pending board approval, the team of California-based Standard Property Co. Inc. and Honolulu-based Stanford Carr Development as the buyers of a leasehold portfolio of six state-owned affordable housing projects on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.

The HHFDC board will vote on whether to approve the deal at its meeting on Thursday, according to the meeting agenda posted on the agency’s website….

read … Buyer

DLNR Leaseholds Obstruct Hilo Tourism Development

PBN: Recent surges of tourism on the Big Island have made its way from the popular tourism spot of Kona to the quiet town of Hilo, converting the town from a drive through destination to the island’s next vacation destination.

However, regulations are prohibiting further development on Banyan Drive, where all of the town’s main hotels reside….

Ross Birch, executive director of the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau, said there are challenges with current legislation that is restricting development on Banyan Drive, which is operated by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“It’s been a tough road for those entities with leases in place to make changes, and our legislators are looking at how to bring in proper development,” Birch told Pacific Business News….

2016: DLNR to Loosen Death Grip on Hilo Businesses?

read … DLNR

Caldwell’s Holes an Embarrassment During Marathon

ILind: …Take my post on December 9, the day before the Honolulu Marathon (“Road conditions an embarrassment for Honolulu“).

Following the race, Hawaii News Now reported on potholes that had caused problems for marathon runners (“For some, potholes turned Honolulu Marathon into obstacle course“).

read … Potholes made post-marathon news

Reason, common sense sacrificed in the face of unrelenting campaigns

PPN: …Despite the alarm that is felt throughout the industry right now, I think that virtually everyone who trades in Hawaii aquarium fish believes that some workable solution will be found. It seems unthinkable that the Hawaii fishery will be closed down permanently when there’s no detailed evidence demonstrating that it is either unsustainable or unethical. Therefore, the optimists within the industry eagerly await further news of a more positive nature.

At the back of our minds, though, we all harbor the fear and knowledge that, far too often, reason and common sense end up being sacrificed in the face of unrelenting, albeit poorly researched, campaigns.

read … Campaigns

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