State Releases 2014 Health Insurance Premiums Comparison Sheet
Insurance Division Updates Affordable Care Act Overview
Video: Sen Sam Slom on Upcoming Legislative Session
Hawaii Agriculture Conference, January 8-9, 2014
IAM Challenges Molokai Alt Energy Project on Transparency
UPDATE: Faleomavaega a "no show" at event; Remarks delivered for him
Alleged Homosexual Child Molestation Leads to 3rd Lawsuit
America's Health Rankings: Hawaii #1
Mayor's Crooked Transition Committee Chaired by Former Ethics Comm Director
ILind: ...There seem to have been a several focal issues, including the ethics commission’s investigation into the city’s relationship with ORI Anuenue Hale, which faces continuing questions of its use of federal block grant funds, and the commission’s investigation and report on the nearly $400,000 in private funds raised for Caldwell’s inauguration, much of it from companies doing business with the city
The commission’s findings regarding the money raised by Caldwell’s Mayoral Transition Committee are available in Advisory Opinion 2013-3.
The transition committee submitted a legal brief with its take on the issue.
It led to one of those “small world” moments for me.
The transition committee is represented by Honolulu attorney Lex Smith, who was the sole incorporator who filed the legal papers to create the committee as a nonprofit organization. Smith is an attorney with the firm of Kobayashi Sugita and Goda, a firm which, by the way, does a major amount of legal work for the city under a series of non-bid contracts.
This is a bit awkward, since the ethics commission concluded that contributions from those with business dealings with the city constituted “prohibited gifts” under the city’s ethics provisions.
Regular readers of this site might recall Smith’s name. He served as chairman of the Honolulu Ethics Commission until he resigned in mid-2010 in order to take an active role in Kirk Caldwell’s campaign.
And his name was in the news again last month after the eviction of the president of the Kahuku Plantation Residents Association in the ongoing controversy surrounding a planned development by Continental Pacific.
As Civil Beat noted:
In an eyebrow-raising twist to the drawn out saga, Lex Smith, the local attorney for Continental Pacific, bought Maghanoy’s home and two other village homes earlier this year. The purchase raised ethical and legal questions about whether a lawyer for the seller, embroiled in legal challenges, can become a buyer for that very development.
The commission’s current chair, attorney Charles W. Gall, is, like Smith, a partner in the Kobayashi law firm, according to the list of attorney’s one firm’s website.
read ... Mayor can’t win feud with Ethics Commission
Kauai Electric: Flawed anti-GMO bill that could help the chemical companies and the state definitively establish their pre-emptive powers over the counties
KE: I happened to be down at the County building yesterday morning, in the rain, when the Harleys came roaring in, bringing toys and food for the island's many needy citizens via the Keiki Toy and Food Ride.
Besides the stuff collected by the bikers, workers from the island's four chemical/seed companies, supported by some corporate funds, donated more than $1,000 worth of toys. Though a lot of the workers don't make much money, and many support relatives in the Philippines with their pay, they still managed to come up with a significant amount of cash to benefit a local charity.
And I couldn't help but think, how have the anti-GMO groups given back to the community lately? I don't mean individuals in those groups, because I know many are involved in worthwhile endeavors through their employment and/or volunteer activities, but the groups themselves. Because they do have money — money to fly people to other islands to testify and march, money to buy ads and run their various campaigns.
They've gotten money from the anti/pro-GMO groups that fund them, money from selling tee-shirts, money from donations, money from a benefit concert, money that will never be fully accounted for, much as they demand full transparency in others.
Just curious why groups that supposedly formed because they're so worried about the community aren't simultaneously doing something to help it — other than push through a badly flawed bill that could help the chemical companies and the state definitively establish their pre-emptive powers over the counties....
KGI Fluff Piece: Felicia Cowden from retailer to the voice of agriculture
read ... Good Little Parrots
With anti-GMO protesters attacking HC&S, Houses again pitched for Central Maui
SA: Developers are reviving a plan for a Central Maui housing development that would include 450 multifamily units, retail and office space, and a 15-acre park.
The Puunani subdivision would be built west of the Kehalani master-planned community south of Wailuku.
The land has been vacant after years of pineapple and sugar cane cultivation, designated agricultural, the Maui News reported. The project proposes to reclassify about 64 acres of the 208-acre area to urban and 144 acres to rural.
The developers -- Towne Development of Hawaii Inc., Endurance Investors LLC and Association of II Wai Hui LP -- aim to preserve the land's rural feel by dividing the area into half-acre and 1-acre lots, which families may use for small-scale farming, project coordinator Blanca Lafolette said.
Developers are working on a draft environmental impact statement they plan to submit early next year, Lafolette said.
read ... Anti-GMO = Pro Development
OHA Confab focuses on Land Development, Programs
KITV: The keynote was delivered by former Sen. Daniel Akaka, the first native Hawaiian to serve in the U.S. Senate. Akaka reminded about 500 guests that OHA's ultimate goal should be self-governance.
Crabbe did not mention a state audit that was highly critical of OHA but did address some of the issues covered in the report, which was made public in September. According to the audit, OHA was lax in its monitoring of $14 million worth of grants issued in fiscal year 2012. Crabbe said new grants will help shape the future of OHA and native Hawaiians over the next several years.
"We have awarded $8 million to 32 community-based organizations that we have challenged to bring a laser-like focus to helping execute our organization's strategic priorities over the next two years," said Crabbe.
The audit also criticized OHA for inadequate land management, saying it's unable to support a growing portfolio and future land involvement. However, Crabbe said the issues over grant monitoring and land management have been addressed.
"I looked at the recommendations as a very good guide for us," Crabbe told KITV4. "It's a way to be accountable and we welcome that."
OHA has made some blockbuster real estate moves in recent years.
Under state law, OHA receives $15.1 million annually from ceded lands revenue. Whether that amount increases and the broader issue of ceded lands is resolved may depend on how OHA keeps its house in order.
According to OHA's annual report, the agency had a core operating budget of $36.17 million in fiscal year 2012. Of that, 49 percent was dedicated toward contracts and grants, while 35 percent went toward personnel. Another 16 percent of the agency's budget went to pay overhead costs (9 percent) and program services (7 percent).
read ... OHA stable, but wishes it could do more
Buyer of housing projects warns of $2.5M default cost
SA: The company that agreed to buy 12 city-owned housing projects warned Tuesday that Honolulu likely will have to forfeit at least $2.5 million in damages for jeopardizing the deal's financing.
The "notice of default" from Honolulu Affordable Housing Partners LLC claims the City Council's proposal to rescind the sale contract has already undermined the company's financing for the $143 million deal.
"We're very disappointed," Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. "Our worst fears have been realized."
The Council, unhappy with the way the administration put together the deal, introduced a proposal last week to rescind the sale and will consider it again at a meeting today -- five days ahead of a deadline in which the city must present its plans to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Council previously approved the sale, which is part of the mayor's Housing First initiative, but concerns have arisen regarding the fairness of the bidding process as well as problems with the way social service agencies were chosen to receive funding from the deal's proceeds.
SA: Keep going on city housing sale
read ... Buyer of housing projects warns of $2.5M default cost
Senate to discuss allegations of violence at state hospital
KHON: The State Senate will meet next week to discuss recent allegations of violence against Hawaii State Hospital workers.
Senators will look at staffing patterns at the hospital, and how to create a safe workplace plus they'll receive information about the patients
read ... Senate to discuss allegations of violence at state hospital
Hirono, Hanabusa Like Ryan Budget deal
CB: Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii said in a statement, “This proposed budget deal presents tough choices for everyone and I commend my colleagues who worked together on a compromise that provides welcome relief from the partisan brinksmanship that led to the first government shutdown in 17 years. I will closely review the details of this budget proposal to see how it addresses the needs of Hawaii and our nation . …”
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa said in a statement, “I am certain that there will be provisions in the proposal that I like and others that give me pause, but that is the nature of compromise. I look forward to delving into the details and determining whether I can support the measure as a whole.”
Reality: 3 Things You Need to Know About the Congressional Budget Deal
read ... Two Hawaii Delegates Express Optimism Over Budget Deal
Hawaii Regains Footing After Early Stumbles on Race to Top
EW: Sixty-five miles from the nearest town of Hilo, over the volcano and past groves of coffee and macadamia-nut trees, is Naalehu Elementary School. Here, students travel as far as eight miles along privately owned roads to reach the closest school bus stop on the main highway, contributing to chronically high absenteeism.
Children from the Marshall Islands, a U.S. territory where the American military tested nuclear weapons during the Cold War, come to escape poverty and contamination, and often arrive at school with health problems and little English.
Naalehu Elementary is a training ground for new teachers, who typically do two years of duty, get tenure, and then leave for schools in larger towns....
read ... Ed Week
Prosecutor: No-Show City Employee Stole $45K in Wages
SA: Prosecutor David Van Acker told Alm that Costa was a supervisor in the city's road maintenance division. He said on numerous occasions between Jan. 1, 2010, to April 30, 2012, Costa checked in for work at the city's Halawa base yard then went home.
Van Acker said investigators for the city ethics commission followed Costa when he drove from the base yard in a city vehicle to his home in Kailua. He said Costa remained at home for hours and sometimes for the rest of his work shift.
The city determined that it paid Costa $45,579 for work that Costa did not perform.
ILind: Ethics probe of road supervisor led to indictment
read ... No Show Job
Waimanu Street businesses preparing to be evicted for rail
KITV: "About that part, My heart just went ah-h," said surfboard shaper Ben Aipa.
Aipa can't believe that the evictions will come as he celebrates his 50th year in business.
The well-known waterman had hoped for more time in the location he shares with Ala Moana Surfboards retail shop.
The notice from HART about the eviction date of next summer put a damper on the holidays.
The city bought the land under the companies almost two years ago.
In October, a judge cleared the way for the transit authority to resume evictions on land it has already bought.
Aipa has been scouting locations in Kapahulu and Kaimuki but it hasn't been easy even for someone with as much as history behind him.
read ... TOD
Koolau Loa Neighborhood Board OKs ‘Envision Laie’
CB: The board voted 6-4 in favor of the land use guidelines, known as Koolau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan, on Monday evening.
The plan includes a proposal backed by the Mormon Church called Envision Laie proposing a shopping center, office buildings and more than 1,000 homes.
read ... Koolau Loa Neighborhood Board
School bus safety not Included in new Contracts
HNN: New school bus contracts are about to be signed, worth more than $100 million on Oahu over the next five years. But we wanted to know if the safety measures we were told about a few weeks ago are included and we were surprised to find out most are not.
In a recent investigation, KHON2 confronted the Department of Education about school bus safety and discipline policies when things go wrong onboard.
They told us then that better things were ahead thanks to new bus service contracts that had just gone out to bid.
"It's going to be GPS, and student tracking, and I can't commit to whether we're going to mandate cameras, but in the request for proposal GPS, tracking, cameras will be in RFP," DOE assistant superintendent Ray L'Heureux said.
In the end, only one item -- GPS -- held on through the bid process as a mandate for next school year for Oahu school buses.
read ... Safety Not First
Molokai Considers Forming Electric Co-Op to Break HECO Monopoly
CB: Residents on Molokai may follow in the footsteps of Kauai and buy their island’s electric utility, including its power grid, which could be entirely powered by alternative energy sources.
The push for energy autonomy is an outgrowth of frustration with Hawaiian Electric Co. that was repeatedly on display during protests against the Big Wind project over the last four years. It also highlights a deep independent streak on Molokai.
I Aloha Molokai, a community group that sprang up in opposition to the large wind farm, has met with officials from Maui Electric Co., HECO's subsidiary that operates the power grid on Molokai. The group has also conferred with the Maui mayor’s office and federal officials who administer a rural utility loan program to look into the plan’s feasibility
read ... Co-op
The Wrong Questions Are Being Asked in the Minimum Wage Debate
CB: Lowell Kalapa's Dec. 1 column, "Lowell Kalapa: Debate over 'Minimum Wage' Shows Ignorance," drew this response from Victor Geminiani, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice.
read ... Appleseed
Willie Claims GMOs not Regulated by Feds, State
CB: Our federal and state government officials have been lax. In 1992 our federal government established the absurd agricultural policy that GMO foods and crops are “substantially equivalent” to the corresponding non-GMO crops.
The result was no requirement of any pre-market health studies for GMO crops and foods. (FALSE)
Likewise there has been no requirement to assess the adverse impacts of the cultivation of GMOs on the health of neighboring property owners and on the health of our people especially those most vulnerable — the keiki now and those of future generations. (FALSE)
And to date our state legislators have followed the lead of their federal counterparts, and have not regulated these ag-chemical GMO corporations. (FALSE)
read ... Willie's Ignorance
Molasses spill caused massive coral die-off
HNN: "There was quite a bit of coral damage around the Matson facility (and) across the harbor on the Pier 38 side," said Alton Miyasaka, aquatic biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
"There was also some damage on the Sand Island side of the entrance to the harbor going into Keehi."
Environmentalist have long suspected widespread die-off as a result of the spill and the DLNR's disclosure means that the damage toll will be high.
"If this is as bad as people fear, this could be a complete wipe out of the entire ecosystem," said Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club Hawaii.
"So it's likely this will be millions of dollars in damage."
read ... Molasses
Hawaii’s Parker Ranch may tap into geothermal energy resources
PBN: The working cattle ranch, which encompasses more than 100,000 acres, has agreed to partner with the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology of the University of Hawaii on an ongoing study of possible geothermal resource areas and groundwater in the state.
Thus far, preliminary findings have concluded that there may be geothermal and groundwater resources underneath Parker Ranch lands, and the planned work will help the ranch find out whether accessible, high-level groundwater may be available for ranch use and whether there is a significant likelihood that deeper geothermal resources could help supply the ranch’s energy needs and possibly the area, island and state, Kuyper said.
The state-funded project, which deals with conducting surveys across the state, including areas of Mauna Kea, is part of an effort to determine whether modern geophysical methods can identify evidence for geothermal resources on all of the Islands....
The ranch is currently in the midst of undertaking a new strategy created earlier this year that includes not only energy development, but expanding agriculture and community development by helping to preserve and improve the community’s quality of life and lifestyle.
The renewable energy plan is one-third of the way into the process, which should have some preliminary results ready by March or April.
It may include renewable resources such as wind, biomass, biofuel, solar photovoltaic, pumped-storage hydroelectric and geothermal.
read ... Hawaii’s Parker Ranch may tap into geothermal energy resources
Monthly Payments for Using less Electricity
IM: A resident using $150 worth of electricity would pay $30. A resident who uses only $50 worth of electricity would get $30 in the form of a credit or a rebate. ...
The Hawaii pilot project achieved a 9% reduction in consumption and reduced electricity costs by about $1.3M over 12 months. The savings were reinvested into the project to keep the housing and neighborhoods in good condition.
On Nov 15, 2013 Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii (NavFac) implemented a 123% increase in the cost of electricity. Energy consumers who were paying $100 now must pay $223. The rate hike also applies to Forest City residents. The band was set at 10%.
read ... Monthly Payments for Using less Electricity
Homosexual Child Molestation: Golf Coach Charged with 65 Counts
SFG: This is in California. If you try to talk his alleged victims out of becoming gay, you will go to prison. A similar law will be proposed to the Hawaii legislature in January.
read ... Homosexuality Spreads
QUICK HITS: