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Saturday, January 17, 2015
January 17, 2015 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:05 PM :: 5358 Views

A New Opportunity for Jones Act Reform in Washington, DC

Pro-Life? Hawaii Ranks 45th

Dropping Oil Prices Boost Hawaii's Economy

Ige Names Doug Chin AG, Randy Iwase PUC Chair

Report: Low Income Students a Majority in Hawaii Public Schools

Empower Windward: Neighborhood Board Election 2015 Workshop

Morita Opposes NextEra Merger, Gets Boot

CB: Iwase will chair the three-member commission, which also includes Lorraine Akiba and Michael Champley....

Ige’s office announced Monday that Morita had withdrawn her name from consideration for the post. People close to the commission have told Civil Beat that she lacked the support of the other two commissioners....

Morita spoke with authority about the upcoming issues facing the PUC, which will now be handed over to Iwase, and in particular the NextEra deal, which she called “probably the most significant decision in the PUC’s history.”

“As we begin the investigation of one of the most significant business transactions in this state’s history, I believe the answer we seek is whether NextEra, a Florida-based company, can incorporate and will perpetuate in its corporate philosophy and structure, Hawaii’s triple bottom line: kuleana, taking responsibility; malama pono, to do what is right and just; and aloha, compassion and cooperation,” she told the audience. “Only then, I believe, can NextEra establish a true partnership with Hawaii.” (Translation: "I am against the merger.")

read ... Iwase for NextEra?

Morita Doubts NextEra Can Follow Local Business Practices

SA: Iwase is succeeding former Chairwoman Hermina Morita, who resigned Monday. She also expressed doubts at a Capitol hearing Friday that NextEra can follow local business practices. (Translation: She is against the merger because NextEra is not part of the local power structure.)

Blue Planet Foundation Executive Director Jeff Miku­lina, who worked with Iwase when he was at the Legislature, said "We hope Chair Iwase can bring a similar level of passion as Chair Morita brought." (Translation: We hope Iwase will also oppose the merger.)

read ... No NextEra

Doug Chin was Ige's 7th Pick for AG

SA: Keith-Agaran expressed relief that the announcement was made Friday, noting that the opening day of the 2015 Legislature is Wednesday.

"It's never good for one of the major departments to not have someone (who will lead it) in place before session starts," he said. "I look forward to meeting with Doug soon.

If confirmed, Chin would replace Russell Suzuki, who has served on an interim basis after David Louie left the position in December at the end of former Gov. Neil Abercrombie's administration.

The appointment ends an exhaustive search for an attorney general. Several sources at the Legislature said the administration approached at least a half-dozen attorneys or judges for the position but was turned down by all of them....

read ... Relief

Williamson Chang Claims 65% of DoI Testimony Supported Fake Indian Tribe

TN: Over the summer, the US Department of the Interior held a series of hearings inviting Native Hawaiians to comment on the formation of a federally recognized nation. The hearings confirmed what many Hawaiians already knew: opposing camps have formed in the debate over Hawaiian sovereignty. One side views federal recognition as a pragmatic alternative to the status quo. The other side, at first thought to be a marginal segment of the movement, seeks the full independence that Hawai‘i had in the nineteenth century. Surprisingly, after decades in which the federal recognition advocates represented the mainstream, the voices for full independence seized the spotlight. The overwhelming response at the hearings to the question of federal recognition was “a‘ole”: no.

Very few people who supported federal recognition at the hearings—“only a handful,”according to the Honolulu Civil Beat—made their voices heard. One of the most prominent proponents was Native Hawaiian Roll Commissioner Na‘alehu Anthony, who said he did not want to pass the struggle on to his son after watching three generations fight for Hawaiian rights. The written testimony that followed shows a different balance. According to analysis by University of Hawai‘i law professor Williamson Chang, 65 percent of comments were in favor of federal recognition and 35 percent in favor of independence. (65+35=100% Does anybody believe there was no testimony which was indeterminate or supportive of other options?) The Department of the Interior has not yet completed its own review.

These numbers are misleading. The Roll Commission compiled a list of 125,000 ostensible supporters out of the roughly 500,000 Native Hawaiians living in the United States. But two-thirds of those names were from a 2004 list gathered with the less specific purpose of establishing a “Native Hawaiian governing body,” which is broad enough to mean different things to different people.

Mainstream media coverage was misleading too. By focusing on the tone rather than the content of the comments at the hearings, commentators missed the real story, which was that a major shift in Hawaiian political will had occurred. In a community known for its divisiveness, the emergence of the independence movement as a viable force is quite stunning. Under the radar, a new view of Hawaiian history is taking hold.  (This is an argument to the Feds for federal recognition.)

those in the independence movement counter that a “domestic” resolution of this sort violates international law. Just because the United States has not yet admitted to a prolonged military occupation, they argue, does not mean that Hawai‘i is not under one. This stance was buoyed by the mention of Hawai‘i for the first time as a state under “alleged” occupation in the 2013 War Report, a catalog of contemporary international conflicts published by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. (The War Report takes no stance on the veracity of the allegation.) The International Criminal Court is giving “consideration” to complaints against state judges for administering foreign law in an occupied state. And Office of Hawaiian Affairs CEO Kamana‘opono Crabbe sent a letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry in May, asking for advisement on possible breaches of international law stemming from the OHA’s support for federal recognition. (Some of OHA’s trustees later rescinded the letter.) Even the US State Department has removed its article on the annexation of Hawai‘i “pending review.”  (These are more arguments to the Feds for federal recognition.)

(NOTE: This article from The Nation is titled "Occupied State" but its purpose is to legitimize the fake Indian Tribe by fostering the lie that the majority of testimony supported the fake Indian tribe and by convincing idiots in Washington that secession is a real possibility.)

read ... The Nation

Tulsi Gabbard to Challenge Hirono, Josh Green to Run for ... ?

HTH: Fresh from winning a new four-year term, incumbent West Hawaii Sen. Josh Green is sitting on the fattest war chest of any state or local candidate in the 2014 election.

Green, D-Kona, Ka‘u, ended the election season with $493,438 left over, according to new statistics posted Thursday to the state Campaign Spending Commission website, ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/2014-election. Coming in second was Gov. David Ige, with $435,030.

Green, 44, who’s been in the state Legislature since he won a House seat in 2004, said Friday he’s not ruling anything out. He does, however, plan to at minimum complete his new term, which ends in 2018.

“I’m not currently preparing for a statewide race,” Green said. “If my constituents come to me and ask me to consider that in the future, I’ll think about it and talk it over with my family. … I categorically am not ruling anything out. My goal is to serve in the best capacity I can for the state of Hawaii.”

Coming in ninth in war chests was another Big Islander, incumbent Rep. Clift Tsuji, D-Hilo, with $90,571.

Last on the list was former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who lost to Ige in a bruising Democratic primary and now has a negative balance of $139,612 in his campaign coffers.

Longtime Hawaii politicians, especially the most ambitious, are doubtless revisiting their career plans, following Abercrombie’s unexpected primary loss against an intraparty rival, an unprecedented event in Hawaii’s short history of statehood. Had Abercrombie not lost, there would have been an open seat for governor in 2018, which is also the year U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono’s seat comes up for election.

Political insiders expect the popular U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to take a shot at Hirono’s seat, which would leave the Congressional District 2 seat open for newcomers. A host of challengers are likely to line up for that seat covering rural Oahu and all the neighbor islands, should it become available.

The Hawaii County mayor’s office, on the other hand, opens up next year, as does the U.S. Senate seat held by Brian Schatz, who is filling out the remainder of the late Sen. Daniel Inouye’s term after winning election last year.

“I’m still doing what I always do, holding occasional (big) fundraisers and tackling big (occasional) issues,” Green said....

Reality: Oxycontin Contributions: Clayton Hee, Josh Green, Karl Rhoads and HB466

read ... War Chests

AG Opinion: State Senate has Failed to Confirm Deputy Directors (ooops) 

AP: The state of Hawaii will correct the process after discovering it didn’t hold Senate confirmation hearings for newly appointed deputy directors of state agencies as it should.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the state’s Attorney General Russell Suzuki, who is acting on an interim basis, said deputy directors for 11 state departments should be confirmed by the state Senate.

“In the past, confirmation hearings were not held for the appointment of deputy directors, however, based on our review, we have concluded that senate confirmation is needed for the nomination of some (but not all) deputy directors,” Suzuki said in the letter.

The revelation came to light after a tragic plane crash in late 2013 which led to the death of the state’s former health department director, Lorraine Fuddy. Her deputy director, Keith Yamamoto, was injured in the accident, so he couldn’t take over her position, said Anne Lopez, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office.

“The only thing I’m surprised about is that no other attorney general came to that opinion in the past,” Kim said.

It wasn’t immediately clear why Senate hearings for the deputy directors weren’t previously held.

“I really truly think it was just a matter of, we don’t necessarily review every single law and look at it in depth unless we’re asked to,” Lopez said.

read ... Oooops

Hirono Opposes McCain Amendment to Jones Act

CB: U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii spoke on the Senate floor Friday in opposition to a proposed amendment that Hirono’s office says would “dismantle” the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, more commonly known as the Jones Act.

The Jones Act requires maritime vessels engaged in shipping goods between U.S. ports “to be built in the United States, at least 75 percent owned by United States citizens, and operated by United States citizens,” according to the senator’s office.

Background: Sen McCain Introduces Amendment to Jones Act

read ... Matson Owns Mazie

Incompetent UH: Royalties 700 times Smaller than Similar-Size Schools

PBN: For some universities, even some the size of University of Hawaii, licensing revenue generates anywhere from millions of dollars to more than $100 million a year.

By comparison, nine University of Hawaii patents were issued last year, generating royalty revenue of about $145,000.

Since the 1980 passage of the Bayh-Dole Act, universities have begun to increase efforts to profit from on-campus research and innovation.

The Association of University Technology Managers' 2013 report showed an increase in university patents filed and granted, university-created startups, and commercial products, but also highlighted a decrease in federal research funding.

UH patent revenue has remained around six figures annually, but has been on a downward trend. Average annual licensing revenue for the years 2010 to 2014 was $195,000. In 2005 to 2009 it had an average of $626,000....

read ... UH Incompetence

Thirty Meter Telescope opponents file appeal

HTH: Opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope filed this week their opening brief in an appeal of last year’s granting of a conservation district use permit for the project.

Filed Wednesday with the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, the brief spells out the case against the state Board of Land and Natural Resources being presented by the group of appellants, including Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, the Flores-Case ohana, Deborah J. Ward, Paul K. Neves, and environmental advocacy non-profit Kahea.

Reality: Telescope: The Shakedown begins

read ... Thirty Meter Telescope opponents file appeal

Hawaii lawmaker hopes to protect your digital assets

HNN: Money is money. But digital assets are being treated differently when someone dies. For example someone could have thousands of dollars in online currency like Bitcoin, but lawmakers say when you die and it doesn't go to your beneficiaries.

"Tens of thousands of dollars that is now lost. You've bought this Bitcoin currency, you had it to do internet currency and purchases and other exchanges and all of the sudden they die. What's the difference between that and a bank account?" said State Representative Angus McKelvey, (D) House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee Chair.

State Representative Angus McKelvey plans to introduce legislation that would cover digital assets, not just the currency, but also give family access to apps, photos, files, music, ebooks, even email and social media accounts....

read ... Hawaii lawmaker hopes to protect your digital assets

Don't create special fund for city park

SA: ...Nelson Koyanagi, the city budget and fiscal services director, told the Council in written testimony on Tuesday that the three revenue-generating parks in the district contributed a total of $252,900 to the current budget, which is too small an amount to make the separate accounting of a special fund worthwhile.

The Patsy Mink park alone was allotted $1.09 million in the city's operating budget. Clearly a special fund built of its revenues would fall short of at least one accepted standard for special funds: that they be self-sustaining.

In recent audits of government special funds, another common critique raised is that many of them lack the essential link between the fees that are paid in and the purpose for which the money is used.

This flaw applies to the proposed Central Oahu special fund. Because facilities at this park are so wide-ranging, it's likely that money raised through the use of one field or facility would get funneled into an improvement that benefits another.

Martin has argued that the creation of the Hanau-ma Bay Nature Preserve, which does maintain its own fund, set a precedent that Central Oahu can follow. But this overlooks the fact that Hanauma raises enough to cover its operations and improvements, where Central Oahu does not....

read ... Slush Fund

Foster Child Recruiter Pleads Guilty to Child Molestation 

SA: The man who opened and ran Heart Gallery Hawaii, the local chapter of a national organization that recruits parents for hard-to-adopt foster children, is guilty of sexually assaulting two girls.

A state jury deliberated less than three hours Friday before finding Louis A. Martinez guilty of three counts of felony sexual assault, one count of attempted felony sexual assault and two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault.

The girls reported that Martinez sexually assaulted them in 2011. One of the girls was 11 years old at the time. The other girl was 16.

Martinez, 38, faces sentencing in April.

read ... Molester

Matson's Million Dollar Molasses Fine Illegal, Renamed 'Restitution'

SA: When Matson Terminals Inc. pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in October to two counts of violating the Rivers and Harbors Act, the company agreed to pay the maximum $400,000 in fines plus $600,000 in community service payments, as part of its plea deal with the government. Half of the community service money was to go to Wai­kiki Aquarium to support coral programs and invasive algae cleanups and the other half to Sustainable Coastline Hawaii.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi expressed concern over the plea deal because Matson's $1 million proposed payout is higher than the maximum fines authorized under the law. He asked the court's Probation Office to research the issue and report its findings in a pre-sentence report. Puglisi also scheduled sentencing for Jan. 29.

In November the Probation Office said that instead of preparing a pre-sentence report, it was going to prepare a memorandum on what it believes are the applicable laws and distribute it to both the government and Matson for their response.

The Probation Office filed its memorandum with the court Jan. 5. In it the Probation Office says that the maximum combination of fines and community service payments that the court can impose is $400,000.

On Thursday the Probation Office said the government and Matson filed a joint response in which they say they will change their plea agreement to classify the $600,000 as restitution.

read ... New Name

Hawaiian Airlines Has No Intention of Passing Fuel Savings on to Customers

KGI: While the price of a barrel of oil has dropped to about $45 a barrel from $115 in June, airfares haven’t dropped at the same rate, and there’s a reason for that, Dunkerley said.

“We don’t really have the ability to pass it on,” he said. “I can’t tell you there’s a direct correlation between the price of oil and the price of airline tickets.”

He said when the price of oil rises, “airlines end up eating most of that.”

According to a flier Hawaiian handed out at the meeting, even with the recent fuel price drops, fuel prices have cumulatively increased 114 percent since 2002, while neighbor island fares have increased only 58 percent in the same time period.

What really determines ticket prices, he said, is the level of competition in the market place.

read ... What goes up does not come down

ILWU Slowdowns Affecting Hawaii Produce Aisles

HNN: Major retailers like Costco began stockpiling items last year and they have plenty of toilet paper, bottled water, and canned goods. But not all items can be stored.

"It worries us a great deal," says Tisha Uyehara, Marketing Director for Armstrong Produce, a major distributor of fruits of vegetables.

Armstrong Produce depends on companies like Matson and Horizon to bring in their items within a certain time frame.

"We have been 2 or 3 days behind, depending on where it's coming from," says Uyehara.

A federal arbitrator intervened earlier this month to help with the contract dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association which represent the companies.

"That brought more structure to the process," says Steve Getzug, spokesman for PMA. But the process seems to have stalled.

read ... Hawaii feeling effects of mainland labor dispute

Tulsi Gabbard: Obama Refuses to Recognize Who the Enemy Is

ITV: "What is so frustrating now as we look at the situation there, our administration refuses to recognize who our enemy is. And unless and until that happens, then it's impossible to come up with a strategy to defeat that enemy," Ms Gabbard, who recently returned from a two-week trip to India, told the CNN in an interview.

"We have to recognize that this is about radical Islam, this is as much a military war as it is an ideological war, and we've got to understand what that ideology is and challenge it, understand it so that we can defeat it and protect our citizens, protect the American people," she said.

"That's something that has to be done in order for us to look at places like Iraq, places like Syria, and places really, in different parts of the world, North Africa, Nigeria," added Ms Gabbard, who was sworn-in for her second term in the House of Representative last week.

She said this was not only about ISIS or al-Qaeda, but about an "overall threat" posed by the radical Islamist agenda that exists all around the world.

Ms Gabbard said she was upset that the President and the White House are not actually saying that this is a war that the Islamist extremists are posing against the US and against the West.

"We recognise who our enemy is, and come up with a strategy to defeat that enemy. Unless and until you recognize who our enemy is and understand them, then we won't be effective in defeating that threat and we're going to continue to see the kinds of tragic incidents that we've seen most recently in Paris," she said.

Ms Gabbard called a suspension of the Visa Waiver Program until this is brought under control and these borders are controlled, in particular between Turkey and Syria.

NYT: With Support of Local Mosque, French Muslims Pour into Syria to Join ISIS

read ... Obama Nailed

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