Taxpayer Advocate Lowell Kalapa Dies at 64
Abercrombie Gets Secret List of Three Candidates to replace Rep Coffman
Supreme Court to Confer on Hawaii Reapportionment Case January 17, 2014
Report: Obamacare Gives Hawaii More Cash, Less Benefit
Schofield Combat Engineers Train Afghan Soldiers
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s 9-day Hawaiian vacation
Informational Briefing on Violence at State Hospital
Hawaii: Twelfth Highest Tax Burden in USA
Michael Medved to Talk Up Republican Unity at HIRA Dinner
Star-Adv: In 2014 New Family Structure Must be Imposed on education, social programs
SA: The state has finally made the right civil-liberties decision in the legalization of same-sex marriage. However, discussions must continue on how the evolving structure of the family should be reflected in education, social programs and other aspects of public life. Making these transitions require more than legal adjustments, and all sides need to have their concerns aired.... (and then we will impose out will)
In each of these pivots, completing the turn properly will require skill and prudence from Hawaii's leaders (just like back in '98). Careful choices must be made in public policy, maintaining (the illusion of) balance among competing interests.
That is what's called for in 2014.
What they mean: FULL TEXT: Secret Pono Choices Curriculum Exposed
read ... Elite Imposes a Family Structure it Doesn't Practice
HMSA, Kaiser Year Ends With Another 9.2% Rate Hike Thanks to Obamacare
SA: The state has approved rate hikes for reinstated health plans that were set to be canceled today because they did not meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
The state Insurance Division said Monday that Kaiser Permanente Hawaii would be allowed to boost premiums by an average 9.2 percent for individual plans with 11,000 enrollees and by 5 percent for 26,300 small-business policyholders at their contract renewal dates.
Hawaii Medical Service Association also got the green light to bump up rates by 7.5 percent for 14,300 individuals. HMSA had been cleared earlier this year to increase small-business rates by 6.8 percent effective this past July for 118,000 members....
Both HMSA and Kaiser said the rate adjustments were necessary to cover higher projected medical expenses and taxes and fees related to President Barack Obama's signature health care law.
Steve Van-Ribbink, HMSA's chief financial and services officer, said in a statement that 4.4 percentage points of the 7.5 percent increase for individual plans are to cover ACA-related costs. For small-business policies, 3.9 percentage points of the 6.8 percent increase is related to ACA costs....
read ... Higher rates OK'd for HMSA, Kaiser over care act costs
First Wind's Kahuku Wind Farm still Floundering
PBN: First Wind’s 30-megawatt Kahuku Wind Farm on Oahu’s North Shore, which has been hampered by a fire that destroyed its battery warehouse last year, is still only running at a capacity of 5 megawatts, a spokesman for the Boston-based renewable energy company told PBN.
Originally, First Wind said it would be back at full capacity by the end of 2013....
“We hope to complete this process quickly so our customers may receive the benefits of having more wind energy on the electric system,” said spokesman Darren Pai.
In November 2012, HECO said that its interconnection facility inside the battery energy storage system warehouse would cost at least $8 million to rebuild and take about a year to complete.
The 15-megawatt system, which helps stabilize the wind energy output for the grid, houses both HECO’s interconnection facility and the wind farm’s control rooms
read ... Kahuku Wind Farm still not back up to speed
Rep Brower a Trendsetter: 'Alarming' trend of violence against homeless in Hawaii grows
HNN: "I think it's very alarming". Those words came from Connie Mitchell, the Executive Director for the Institute for Human Services in Honolulu.
She was answering questions in relation to the two recent murders of homeless men. 62-year old Paul Manner was attacked in the early hours of December 27th. He would later die from his injuries.
83-year old Mamerto "Eddie" Semana suffered the same fate. He was beaten on December 4th, and passed away two days later.
Arrests have been made in both cases. Each suspect is under 20 years of age. This is troubling to Mitchell and other homeless advocates....
Mitchell says there are ways to defend the homeless from these attacks. Legislating them as hate crimes is something that has been done elsewhere. She hopes Hawaii follows suit.
(Here's a better idea--lets force them off the street so they won't be at risk.)
SA: Police arrest teenager in McCully beating death
read ... Homeless
Honolulu Zoo Director Quits After 6 mos on Job
SA: Honolulu Zoo Director Jeffrey Mahon announced last week that he is resigning, less than six months after starting the job.
Mahon cited personal reasons, city officials said. His last day is Jan. 11. Assistant director Baird Fleming will serve as acting director until a successor is picked.
Mahon, 53, was named zoo director in July 2012. He has extensive background working at aquariums and other underwater facilities.
Mahon was chosen from a field of 40 after former director Manuel Mollinedo resigned effective March 1. Mollinedo cited personal reasons.
KHON: Honolulu Zoo director suddenly resigns
read ... Zoo director announces resignation
Hawaii Police Union Wants Officer Misconduct Records Kept Confidential
CB: Hawaii’s politically powerful police union wants to intervene in a public records lawsuit in order to protect the identities of 12 Honolulu officers who were suspended for 20 days or more after committing serious acts of misconduct....
The city and HPD have already opposed the court action but SHOPO attorneys Vladimir Devens and Keani Alapa say that’s not good enough.
In documents filed Dec. 26, Alapa, a former HPD officer himself, argues that the union must insert itself in the case to “protect and preserve the privacy interests” of its members. The hope is the judge in the case will allow SHOPO to be a party to the lawsuit, therefore giving the union the opportunity to file legal briefs and argue in court.
“The potential precedent of an adverse order would negatively affect SHOPO’s entire membership,” Alapa wrote in the union’s Dec. 26 motion. “This is especially disconcerting because SHOPO’s Members would have no real say in this controversy if they are not allowed to intervene, despite their direct interest in the subject matter being disputed. It is essential that SHOPO be permitted to intervene now or it may forever lose its ability to challenge the attacks on its Member’s privacy interests now and in the future.”
Alapa also argues that the union gives the officers their best option for fighting the lawsuit, since the city and HPD will approach the lawsuit from a managerial standpoint and not as a labor organization that has the sole interest of sticking up for its members.
The city and HPD also have “certain duties to the general public” that will result in “unavoidable potential conflicts” when those duties are applied to specific officers.
“For example, in deciding whether to disclose certain privacy matters, HPD is required to balance the public’s interests to information with the privacy interests of its employees affected by the disclosure,” Alapa said. “In such circumstances, SHOPO is in a better position to provide a more dedicated representation for its Members.”....
read ... Hawaii Police Union Wants Officer Misconduct Records Kept Confidential
Castle & Cooke reiterates plan to move ahead in building Koa Ridge houses
SA: Castle & Cooke Hawaii said Monday the company has had inquiries from people who want to live in Koa Ridge, the 3,500-home development it will build in central Oahu.
In a statement, Castle & Cooke said it will proceed with the development despite a Dec. 23 state Supreme Court decision invalidating a 2010 Land Use Commission approval of the project.
Two years later, the commission voted again to approve reclassifying land between Waipio and Mililani from agricultural to urban use. Mayor Kirk Caldwell signed into law a bill last month that finalizes rezoning of the property.
"The (Supreme Court) ruling does not prevent us from proceeding with Koa Ridge," the company said. "A 2012 LUC approval remains in effect, and last month, Bill 48 (Ordinance 13-38) was signed into law by Mayor Kirk Caldwell that completes the city's rezoning process."
The Supreme Court ruling was based solely "on a technicality beyond our control," the company said.
Background: Supreme Court Invalidates LUC Koa Ridge Reclassification
read ... Koa Ridge
A Woman Attempts to Rebuild Ohana Broken by Fear of 'Lepers'
CB: Lindamae Maldonado discovered the truth about her birth family 10 years ago. For most of her life, she had no idea that she was born on Kalaupapa. Her biological parents were among thousands of people who suffered from Hansen's disease, a widely stigmatized malady better known as leprosy, who were forced to live in a sort of internal exile on the isolated peninsula on Molokai.
When Maldonado was in her mid-fifties, one of her adoptive cousins suggested that Maldonado might have been born to Kalaupapa patients.
read ... A Woman Attempts to Rebuild Ohana Broken by Fear of 'Lepers'
Open Space Preferred to Obama Library
CB: But other community leaders suggest that, if Honolulu is selected as a satellite to a main Obama Presidential Center, Honoluluʻs facility should not be located directly on the oceanfront but, rather, farther inland from Point Panic. “I am not saying, 'Obama stay out of our park.' I am saying please do not take open space that needs to be expanded for the growing population of the state,” says Michelle Spalding Matson....
Matson suggests a better idea would be to combine the present UH Kakaako Marine Laboratory and a Hawaii Obama Center in a shared mission, and move the lab from its current location at Point Panic to another area about a block inland. She says the new joint center could address issues dear to Obama, such as climate change and rising ocean levels.... (Perfect sites both about 3' above sea level)
He adds that a modernized and enlarged Kewalo Lab could be the scientific engine in a satellite Obama center focused on the study of climate change and that it could involve Hawaii students in ocean research as part of their science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies.
DM: UPDATE: 'Global warming' scientists forced to admit defeat -- because of too much ice...
read ... A Presidential Obama Center at Point Panic Is a Bad Idea
Bezos' Drone to Be Tested in Omidyar's Backyard
HPR: The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday unveiled the names of the six applicants who have been granted the right to test the commercial uses of "unmanned aircraft systems" — drones.
The FAA's approvals were highly sought after because the test sites are expected to bring high-tech jobs and investments to the states where they're located. The six winners are:
-- The University of Alaska, which the FAA says proposed "a diverse set of test site range locations in seven climatic zones as well as geographic diversity with test site range locations in Hawaii and Oregon."....
The potential commercial use of drones got a big shot of publicity earlier this month, of course, when Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos (a true visionary) said his company has been working on an airborne delivery system for packages that weigh less than 5 pounds.
read ... Something EBay Just Can't Match
Pothead Blows Up House Making Marijuana Oil for ECigs
HNN: The blast had knocked out windows, melted plumbing fixtures and blown the doors off cabinets.
The sole occupant, a 30-year-old Keaau man, was initially taken to the Hawaiian Paradise Park fire station by private vehicle. He was then taken by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center with third-degree burns. He was later transferred to a hospital on Oahu.
Police recovered 102 marijuana plants from an indoor growing operation, more than an ounce of butane honey oil (a marijuana byproduct) in several stages of manufacture, three e-cigarettes and components associated with the manufacture of butane honey oil.
read ... About What E Cigs are Really For
Comments Open for Amendments to Western Pacific Fishery Ecosystem Plan
FR: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council proposes to amend the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. If approved, Amendment 7 would establish a management framework and process for specifying fishing catch and effort limits and accountability measures for pelagic fisheries in the U.S. Pacific territories (American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). The framework would authorize the government of each territory to allocate a portion of its specified catch or effort limit to a U.S. fishing vessel or vessels through a specified fishing agreement, and establish criteria, which a specified fishing agreement must satisfy. The framework also includes measures to ensure accountability for adhering to fishing catch and effort limits.
read ... Catch Limits
Hooker-Lovin Titcomb Obama's Constant Pal
TB: During his year-end trip to Hawaii, President Barack Obama joined his longtime friend Bobby Titcomb – convicted two years ago on solicitation of prostitution – nearly every day of the trip for golfing at Mid-Pacific Country Club in Honolulu, as well as a barbecue and some college basketball....
read... Titcomb
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