Resolutions Urge Audit of State Use of Outside Counsel
SB979: GOP Reps Speak out on 'Safe Places for Youth'
Wonder Blunder Defendant Indicted on Investment Fraud
Chief Justice Appoints William M. Domingo as Oahu District Court Judge
Hawaii Counties' Health Rankings Compared
Legislators Consider $800M Loan for Hawaiian Electric
CB: Hawaiian Electric Co. has been pushing state lawmakers to approve a bill this session that would authorize the issuance of $800 million in special purpose revenue bonds over the next five years.... SB1241 (Text, Status)
Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning is asking for another five years for its bonds. Over the past several sessions, the Legislature has approved a total of $145 million in special purpose revenue bonds for the project, which involves a technology that uses cold seawater from deep in the ocean to cool buildings.
There are $48 million of bonds approved in 2010 that are set to expire June 28. The company wants to keep that funding source available....
Anaergia wants $90 million in the bonds to develop facilities for renewable non-fossil fuel production on the Valley Isle....
Chaminade University of Honolulu is seeking $25 million to help the private sectarian school finance improvements to its athletic facilities, classrooms and offices as well as other needs. Convicted thief, Michael 'Bitchbear' Golojuch, is displeased ....
The Legislative Reference Bureau has studied the issue of using special purpose revenue bonds for private schools. Its 2001 report to the Legislature says these bonds won’t take money directly away from public schools because investors provide the money that is actually loaned to the private business.
“Selling SPRBs is a way for the State to loan funds (for private business projects that are found to be in the public interest by the Legislature) without actually having to spend taxpayers’ money,” the report says....
Two bills asking for $360 million in special purpose revenue bonds for several Paradise nonprofits involving George Grace III have died, but the House has passed a separate measure seeking an unspecified amount of money. It now awaits committee hearings in the Senate....
The project’s biggest barrier may not be the idea of building a new raceway or even using special purpose revenue bonds. The concern has been over Grace, who owes Honolulu hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for failing to get city permits to improve 38 acres of Department of Hawaiian Home Lands property five years ago for Kalaeloa Raceway Park. DHHL eventually evicted him and the racing there has stopped.
The Kapolei/Makakilo Neighborhood Board has debated building a motorsports facility in the area. The board has said it does not oppose a racetrack but does oppose the process by which the bill to provide the special purpose revenue bonds has been run.
The House Finance Committee only provided 48 minutes notice for its March 5 hearing on House Bill 1329. The board said this limited the public’s ability to testify and pointed out that even the Attorney General’s office lacked time to comment on the bill as it had when it was before the Economic Development Committee in February.
The bill, introduced by House Speaker Joe Souki, initially sought $100 million in special purpose revenue bonds for four different Paradise nonprofits that would do their projects on a portion of more than 400 acres in West Oahu. It’s still unclear exactly where the projects would be located....
A complete breakdown of what projects have been authorized and are either outstanding or unissued is available on the Budget and Finance Department’s website here....
VIDEO: Theilen Addresses SB1214 $800M Bonds for HEI
PBN: State agency wants more details on proposed sale of Hawaiian Electric Co. to NextEra Energy
read ... $800M for HEI?
PUC members under fire for extensive travel
HNN: Despite a huge backlog of cases, members of the Public Utilities Commission combined spent more than 100 works days last year attending industry conferences on the Mainland and in Korea and Puerto Rico.
"We knew that the commissioners go on trips but I was really surprised how extensive the trips are," said Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land.
"There are dockets that have been opened since 2007 that have not moved. There are a lot of issues before the PUC."
PUC records obtained by Hawaii News Now show that Commissioner Michael Champley was out of town for 18 days and former PUC Chair Hermina Morita spent a total of 33 days off island, including four days last July at a Governor's Energy Summit in San Juan, P.R.
Commissioner Lorraine Akiba traveled out of state for a total of 58 work days, including five days in Gyeongju, Korea at a conference sponsored by the Korea Energy Economics Institute.
"You can't be away from your restaurant, you can't be away from your factory and we have got so many issues that affect the PUC," said state Sen. Sam Slom, (R)-Hawaii Kai.
read ... No time for Utility Regulations, but ...
State Subsidizes Solar Industry With Another $103M
PBN: Hawaii’s renewable energy tax credit, one of the reasons for the state’s record number of rooftop solar energy installations, cost the state $103.8 million in 2013, down 36 percent from about $164 million the previous year, according to the state Department of Taxation.
The Tax Department said the data was based on the end of the calendar year; thus, not all the tax credit claims for that tax year were included.
The decline in tax credit dollars reflects a slowdown in the rooftop solar industry that began in late 2013 when Hawaiian Electric Co. instituted new and stricter interconnection rules.
The state tax credit, which has no sunset date, is set at 35 percent, while the federal tax credit, which is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2016, is 30 percent.
In a February 2013 study, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization revealed that the state renewable energy tax credit could cost $1.4 billion in lost revenue based on 1,100 megawatts of installed systems.
read ... $1.4B
HCR181 Calls for Rail Audit
SA: As state lawmakers continue to weigh a rail tax extension, the House Transportation Committee is considering whether to request a state audit of the project — but rail officials might not be able to provide all the details committee members want to see.
House Concurrent Resolution 181 (text, status) would ask the state auditor "at a minimum" to examine the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's operations, management and policies — as well as factors contributing to the budget gap of nearly $1 billion now confronting the largest public works project in Hawaii's history.
Transportation members will discuss the resolution, which was introduced by the committee's chairman, Rep. Henry Aquino (D, Waipahu), during a 10:30 a.m. hearing Wednesday at the Capitol.
The resolution would also have state auditors probe costs "associated with the rail transit project contracts, including payments to contractors, subcontractors and consultants, and what the expenditures are being used for." ...
In his written testimony for HCR 181, Grabauskas further noted that the project is subject to several other audits. That includes one conducted by an independent firm, most recently KMH LLP, which had (exactly what HART wanted --) "no findings" for fiscal year 2013-2014.
read ... Audit HART
Nearly $500K Spent on Rail Travel to Date
CB: More than $300,000 in travel expenses can be attributed to HART employees, including nearly $35,000 spent by Deputy Executive Director Brennon Morioka and Elizabeth Scanlon, a planning director who played a prominent role in preparing the city’s application for federal grant funding. City employees make up the next largest share of expenditures, or about $100,000.
Several policy makers, including Mayor Kirk Caldwell and members of both the HART Board of Directors and Honolulu City Council, have traveled on rail business as well, expensing more than $70,000 from the rail kitty.
Much of the rest of the money went to bringing mainland experts to Honolulu to discuss issues such as rail line safety and transit integration on university campuses. Jennifer Sabas, who is the former chief of staff to the late U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, also had a trip paid for from the rail budget. She’s currently in the head of Move Oahu Forward, a nonprofit made up of pro-rail business and labor leaders....
In 2011, he traveled to Copenhagen and Pittsburg, California, on the taxpayer’s dime for fact-finding missions related to Ansaldo. Honolulu is basing it’s driverless rail system on the Copenhagen Metro, and Ansaldo has a production facility in Pittsburg, where the rail cars will be assembled.
Records show Harimoto’s trips cost more than $8,500, which included travel expenses for an advisor to accompany him.
Honolulu City Council Chair Ernie Martin, who was vice chair at the time, made the trip to California but not to Copenhagen. According to budget records, Martin’s total rail-related travel for him and an aide cost more than $2,500.
But Harimoto says he’s traveled more than what is reported in the rail expenditure data obtained by Civil Beat. He attended several rail-related conferences when he was a councilman, including one in Washington, D.C. that was paid for by the Pacific Resource Partnership, a pro-development group backed by the Hawaii Carpenters Union. Other trips would come out of his office account or his own pocket.
read ... Frequent Fliers
Rail Causes 2-Hour Traffic Delays Thru Pearl City
KHON: Some in Pearl City can now find themselves waiting for two hours just to catch the bus.
According to Oahu Transit Services, buses are running anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour behind schedule in the area during the week.
On the weekends, some buses are two hours late.
Transit officials are blaming the delay on lane closures and say they plan to ask the city, state and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation for help.
On Sunday, Kamehameha Highway saw major gridlock — a combination of having fewer lanes because of rail work and drivers using the road to avoid lane closures on the H-1 Freeway for a different project.
“It’s a real hazard. Is this how Hawaii is going to be?” said driver Vernon Combis.
“Buses are delayed going west. There’s no service coming back east, so we need to come up with a plan to service the people, especially on the west end,” said OTS field operations manager Tracie Coelho.
OTS plans to ask the different agencies involved to pay for at least four Honolulu police officers to help direct traffic at the two intersections in Pearl City that are being affected: Acacia and Waimano Home Road.
read ... Is this how Hawaii is going to be?
Legislators Plan to Eliminate Polling Places on Sister Isles
AP: The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Tuesday that could make voting by mail the norm in Hawaii.
The panel passed HB 124.... It would start with smaller counties and gradually build so all voters get ballots in the mail....
Even if HR 124 becomes law, there would still be polling stations for people to vote in person. But with more people voting by mail, the proposal could save money, since fewer walk-in voting stations would be needed, Mason and other advocates said.
After initial investments, the new system could save the state at least $874,000 per election cycle, according to Common Cause Hawaii.
The bill was amended by the committee to allow for same-day voting registration, adopting language from a companion bill that died in the Senate.
The committee also amended another bill, HB 15 to allow the elections commission to remove its chairman by a two-thirds vote.
That bill initially just set statewide standards for the distribution of absentee ballots, but it was amended in the committee to clarify the term limits for elections commissioners and to state that the chairman can be removed by the commissioners at any time.
read ... Hawaii lawmakers push plans for voting by mail
Ethics Commission Ruling Draws Teachers’ Union Lawsuit
CB: The Hawaii State Teachers Association launched two legal actions this week to block enforcement of a new policy prohibiting teachers who are candidates for union offices from distributing their individual campaign materials in school mailboxes.
The actions came in response to a ruling earlier this month by staff of the Hawaii State Ethics Commission disallowing campaign use of school resources, including teacher mailboxes.
“We do not think it is appropriate for schools to allow the use of a mailbox to distribute individual teacher campaign information,” executive director Les Kondo told commissioners during their regular monthly meeting on March 18.
The new ethics ruling ended a common practice which has been “ongong for decades,” Kondo told the commission....
On Monday, the union filed an emergency motion in First Circuit Court seeking a temporary restraining order to stop enforcement of the ethics ruling and maintain the status quo, at least through the current union election.
That case was filed by David Alan Nakashima, an attorney with the law firm of Alston Hunt Floyd and Ing. Named as defendants are Gov. David Ige, the State of Hawaii, the Department of Education, Board of Education, and Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi.
At the same time, former Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa filed a prohibited practices complaint with the State Labor Relations Board, which has exclusive jurisdiction over collective bargaining matters.
ILind: Is union candidate access to school mailboxes an “unwarranted” privilege?
read ... Ethics
Maui Mayor’s budget: Tax, Fee Hikes pay for 16% increase
MN: Maui County residents could see hikes in their water and sewer bills, trash collection fees and in the county's fuel and vehicle weight tax under Mayor Alan Arakawa's nearly $700 million county budget for fiscal 2016....
Fee increases:
* 2.5 percent increase to water fees
* 5 percent increase to sewage fees
* $4 increase to trash collection fees per month for Maui and Molokai; $2 increase per month for Lanai
* Commercial tipping fee increase from $65.6 per ton to $80 per ton
* 2 cent per gallon increase to county fuel tax, from 16 cents to 18 cents
* Vehicle weight tax increase from $0.0275 to $0.03 per pound of net weight for passenger vehicles, trucks and non-commercial vehicles not exceeding 6,500 pounds
read ... 16% Increase
Public hearings slated for proposed 24% Hawaii County water rate hikes
WHT: Water rates would rise 3 percent next year, followed by 4 percent the following year and then 5 percent annually for the next three years, under a proposal floated Tuesday by the county Water Board. (Compounded total = 24% rate hike)
The Water Board has scheduled public hearings on the proposed rates for 5 p.m. May 26 in Kona and 6 p.m. May 27 in Hilo. The board plans to finalize the rates at its June meeting, and the new prices would go into effect July or August.
A typical family on a 5/8-inch meter using 9,500 gallons monthly would see their bimonthly bill go up from $101.75 to $104.96 the first year.
Hawaii Island’s typical $101.75 bimonthly bill compares to $86.40 on Maui, $93.45 on Oahu and $129.55 on Kauai, consultant Ann Hajnosz of Brown and Caldwell told the board.
read ... More Rate Hikes
Geothermal-based Electricity may expand beyond Puna rift zone
IM: Geothermal on the Kailua Kona side of the Big Island comes up for discussion at the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) meeting this Friday at the Kalanimoku Building’s Land Board Conference Room at 1151 Punchbowl Street in downtown Honolulu.
Carty S. Chang is the Interim BLNR Chairperson pending Governor Ige’s finding a replacement for his first nominee Carleton Ching.
The Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawai`i proposes to use Magnetotelluric Surveys (MT) to analysis rock formations in the area mauka of, and mostly north of, Keahole Airport.
The Hualalai West Rift Zone MT Survey Points would analyze land owned by Kamehameha Schools, GKK Makalei LLC, Palamanui, Palani Ranch, Queen Liliuokalani Trust, and State lands at Pu`u Wa`awa`a including land leased by Franklin Botehlo and Hualalai.
The BLNR meeting starts at 9 a.m. and frequently lasts all day. There are 29 items on the agenda. The items are normally taken out of order, depending upon who has signed up to testify and whether the Board wants to quickly dispose of or delay items.
read ... Geothermal-based Electricity may expand beyond Puna rift zone
Growing concerns about Oahu's "Tent Cities"
KITV: Kohou street in Kalihi has become one of the most notorious homeless areas on Oahu.
"It's a war," said Javan Kaiama, owner of the Pau Hana Lounge.
Kaiama says the homeless problem is bad for business.
"It's getting harder. we've lost 80% of our customer base," said Kaiama.
Businesses along side the Kapalama canal are at the breaking point.
"We're upset, we're frustrated, we're tired, and we're doing our best and I don't know it's frustrating," said Kaiama.
In February, Kalihi businesses met with the city and state to try to find answers. They say many of the people who live out on these streets cause problems.
"Nothing has changed and it's hurting our businesses," said Kaiama.
The city's doing what it can. It enforces it's stored property ordinance every week here, but the crowd keeps coming back.
"These guys are getting very comfortable there's really no consequence for them. They're really comfortable living here so they've kind of taken over the street," said Kaiama.
read ... Tent Cities
Star-Adv: City Must build Tent City on Sand Island
SA: ...The delay was particularly ill-timed, coming just before the sit-lie ordinance took effect when the city needed somewhere for the displaced homeless to go. That problem eased somewhat when room was found in existing shelters, and Housing First got under way.
The city administration has until June 30 to commit the $750,000 allotted for the Sand Island project. Up until now officials have not disclosed what they plan to do. State health officials have concluded in recent weeks that the Sand Island site could be used safely as a transition shelter site, but it's unclear whether that's the best option available.
What Gary Nakata, director of the city Department of Community Services, would say is that the city will use the funds for transitional shelter purposes. It's crucial that the commitment be kept, and with structures that can provide a measure of security and basic comfort. Many are families now eking out an existence in tents wedged along fences in Kakaako, along a canal in Kapalama or any number of other unacceptable places. They cannot remain on the streets indefinitely; the longer the delays, the bigger and more deeply rooted their encampments become.
Any transitional site must keep order while maintaining a sense of community and dignity for those who are moved off the streets. In many of the more successful transitional projects in other cities, residents are involved in governance of their homes, however temporary. Lessons could be learned from them.
read ... Another Tent City
Another ex-shelter official charged in theft
SA: A second former employee of a nonprofit organization that runs a transitional shelter in Kalaeloa for homeless people has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The state attorney general's office filed felony theft charges Monday against former Waianae Community Outreach Executive Director Sophina Placencia. A state judge set bail at $50,000.
On March 17 former program director Laura Pitolo was indicted by an Oahu grand jury on six counts of felony theft for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from WCO and the state between March 2007 and July 2010. Pitolo posted $50,000 bail March 20 and is scheduled to appear in state court Friday.
The charges filed Monday accuse Placencia of stealing about $200,000 from WCO and the state between December 2007 and June 2013 by using the organization's money to make unauthorized ATM withdrawals and debit transactions, write unauthorized checks to herself and her mother and make unauthorized purchases of cashier's checks for herself.
The unauthorized purchases included trips to the mainland and neighbor islands, meals at restaurants and nightclubs, and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The state is listed as a plaintiff because WCO received state money to run the transitional shelter.
It was Placencia who first reported to police that Pitolo had stolen money from the organization. That was in July 2010, two months after Placencia said the WCO fired Pitolo....
read ... Another One
More than 250 Hawaii nonprofits compete for 5% Chance at state grants
PBN: More than 250 local nonprofits are competing for grants-in-aid funding from the state Legislature this session.
Combined, the organizations are requesting about $185 million for fiscal year 2016. Last year, about $10 million was distributed to a select few. (10/185=5.4%)
Each nonprofit used its allotted three minutes to request funding during a hearing last Friday that lasted about nine hours, with just one break for lunch.
read ... GIA Hearing
State office building vacant for 12 years finally getting fixed
HNN: The Princess Victoria Kamamalu Building, at the corner of King and Richards streets, was built in 1957 and needed renovations in 2003 when 300 state employees moved out.
It's been empty so long a tree has grown in front of its main sign and another tree has sprouted on the roof.
"I think we've been working to get this building up and operational for over 12 years and we're excited to finally start construction," said Doug Murdock, the state comptroller who is director of the state's Department of Accounting and General Services, which oversees state facilities and purchasing.
In 2005, the state set aside $12.6 million for renovations to the building but when it discovered pervasive asbestos and deteriorated building systems, repair estimates more than doubled.
Removal of asbestos, as well as old air conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems cost about $1.4 million.
"The original funding that we had was good for removing asbestos and doing some other remediation work that we had to do to turn it into an empty shell as it is now," Murdock said.
But during the recession, the project languished without the money to complete it while the state explored selling or swapping the property.
"We've just within the past few years, gotten the full funding to rebuild the entire building," Murdock said.
Contractor Ralph S. Inouye Co. begins renovations costing $25 million March 30. Tentative plans call for employees from the state health and human services departments to relocate there in the fall of 2016, Murdock said.
"We spend a lot of money leasing offices for state workers and so by bringing them back into one of our own buildings, we will have a cost savings," Murdock said.
The state estimates it will save about $1.6 million in rent annually by putting the building back into operation. (12 x $1.6M = $19.2M)
read ... 12 years of Waste
Teaching assistant gets 10 years for sexually assaulting deaf student
SA: A state judge sentenced former Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind teaching assistant Alfie S. Lumabas to 10 years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student at the school.
State Circuit Judge Rom A. Trader declined the city prosecutor's request to impose restitution to pay for the girl's counseling because that expense is covered by a settlement to a separate federal lawsuit.
Lumabas, 38, agreed to serve a full 10-year prison term when he pleaded guilty in January to two reduced counts of second-degree sexual assault in a deal with the prosecutor. Ten years is the maximum penalty for second-degree sexual assault....
Lumabas is the only adult to be criminally prosecuted for sexual assaults at the school.
Some students have also been prosecuted as juveniles in state Family Court.
read ... Child Molester
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