UPW Sues to Block Maui Hospital Privatization
Wikileaks: Japan refused Obama Hiroshima Apology
This Day in History: Truman Announces Hiroshima Bombing
Is Your Name Part of a Criminal Enterprise?
HECO Uses Electric Vehicles to Introduce Time-of-Use Rates
Public Hearings Set for NextEra Merger
Cronies Try to Hide Marijuana License System to Grab Monopolies for Themselves
PBN: The process to determine Hawaii’s first medical marijuana dispensary license holders will likely be based on a point scale, state officials said Wednesday.
But just how transparent the application process will be has yet to be determined.
Hawaii Department of Health Director of Communications Janice Okubo told PBN that categories and criteria are being developed and will be announced toward the end of this year, before application forms are made public in January. License awardees will be announced in April.
“It is likely that the selection process will be similar to the state’s Request for Proposal process which typically uses a point-based system,” she said. “Categories and criteria are being developed for future announcement toward the end of this year.”
Criteria could include an evaluation of each applicant’s financial standing, security, ability to deliver patient care, testing of product, and more.
The new law requires applicants to have $1.2 million in the bank, but experts with experience on the Mainland predict start-up costs to ranging from $3 million to $7 million.
Hawaii Department of Health officials say they are consulting with the state Attorney General about whether or not applicant names will be made public, and if so, when.
In Nevada, where applicant names were not released, at least five companies that lost bids for the state’s first medical marijuana licenses filed lawsuits against the state, claiming the lack of transparency was unfair....
Hawaii attorney Stephen Pingree told PBN that, based on New York news reports, it would seem that lawyers soliciting disappointed applicants could file litigation.
“Several of my clients have raised the concern about how transparent the merit selection process with Hawaii DOH will be,” he said.
Reality: OHA Trustee to Use Trust Funds to Sell Marijuana?
read ... Hawaii medical marijuana dispensary licenses likely to be awarded on point scale
Strange Union: Activists, Tourism Industry Join Forces Against Agriculture, Telescopes
KE: Someone left this astute comment on a recent post that featured photographs of mostly white people blowing pu to protest global trade talks under way at a luxurious Kaanapali hotel:
Not that long ago, the protest would be about the resort in the background of that pu photo.
But now, thanks to the influence of the anti-GMO/anti-agriculture movement, tourism is the friend and farming is the enemy.
The latest offspring of the strange union between the anti-GMO/anti-ag/pro-tourism movement and some Hawaiian groups is Sunday's Aloha Aina Unity March.
According to its Facebook page:
The Aloha ‘Āina Unity March is to express political views regarding issues that are impacting the management and use of land and natural resources in Hawaii. At the forefront of these issues are the construction of TMT on Mauna Kea, regulation of pesticide use on agricultural lands in rural communities throughout the state [never mind the studies showing urban areas have the highest pesticide levels] and mismanagement of agricultural lands across the State.
By marching in Waikiki, the hub of the tourism industry, one goal we hope to achieve is to call attention to the fact that if our policy makers continue on this trend of over-development and exploitation of natural resources, Hawaii will undoubtedly lose its appeal as a picturesque tourist destination.
And maintaining and promoting Hawaii as “a picturesque tourist destination” is now compatible with the goals of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and the concept of aloha aina? When did that happen?
read ... Musings: Kapakahi Kine
Ilagan seeks Senate seat Occupied by Worthless Anti-GMO Nut Ruderman
WHT: Ilagan, 29, is getting an early start. Candidate filing for the 2016 elections doesn’t begin until Feb. 1, with the primary election set for Aug. 13, 2016....
Ruderman said he’s currently considering three options: running for re-election to a second four-year term for the Senate seat, running for Hawaii County mayor or running for County Council. He said he won’t be making a decision for another two or three months....
State Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, also a Puna Democrat, is also considering running for the Senate seat, but she hasn’t yet made a decision....
Ruderman has a balance of (a piddling) $5,138 as of July 30, according to reports filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission. He’s had two fundraisers in the district so far this year (but apparently he doesn't have much support).
Ruderman was formerly the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, but lost his chairmanship in a late-session leadership shuffle after losing favor with Gov. David Ige using his position to spread anti-GMO ignorance.
read ... Ilagan
Touring the Kauai Seed Fields
KE: ...My first stop was the glass-enclosed meeting room at Dow, which offers a gorgeous view of the ocean and Niihau. It's the kind of sweeping view you see in upscale places like South Kona or Upcountry Maui, the kind that would appeal to folks with big kala to spend on second homes if agriculture on the westside were to die....
HTH: Vote delayed on bill banning Hawaii County’s use of herbicide
read ... Touring the Kauai Seed Fields: Part I
Honolulu council expands ban after complaints about homeless
AP: The Honolulu City Council voted to expand a ban on sitting and lying on sidewalks in an ongoing struggle to deal with homelessness that followed complaints from tourists about too many transients living near the beach.
The council approved two bills Wednesday extending the ban to pedestrian malls and the banks of city-owned streams, even though some members acknowledged the restrictions are ineffective and just pushing people around.
read ... Sit-Lie
Caldwell Paid off with $500K from Usual Suspects, Martin Grubs up only $116K
CB: ...Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who’s up for re-election in 2016, was the clear frontrunner among all those vying for office, pulling down nearly $500,000 in eight months, according to Campaign Spending Commission data.
That’s more than four times as much as his presumptive challenger, Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernie Martin, who raised over $116,000 in the same span, making him one of the top fundraisers in the state....
SA: Council approves aid for businesses hurt by rail
read ... Bought and Paid for
Rate Hikes Coming as State Air Pollution Law Kicks in
SA: ...One of Hawaii island’s largest power suppliers and one of the state’s two oil refineries say they can’t meet legal requirements for reducing air pollution as the state moves forward on an eight-year-old law that requires Hawaii to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
Act 234, signed into law by former Gov. Linda Lingle, affects about two dozen facilities, which are required to reduce emissions by 16 percent.
Hamakua Energy Partners, which supplies up to 30 percent of Hawaii island’s electricity needs, says that there aren’t any cost-effective solutions to reducing emissions at its petroleum-burning plant in Honokaa and that its electricity is too important to the island to cut production.
Meanwhile, Chevron says that the state emission rules are unfair as they relate to its Kapolei refinery because emissions at the facility haven’t increased since 1990....
Five companies, including Hawaiian Electric Co., Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co., Kalaeloa Partners, the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative and Hu Honua, all filed plans that laid out strategies for meeting the state reduction targets, which include adopting more renewables, implementing energy efficiency measures and possibly switching to natural gas.
AES, the state’s only coal plant, and Hawaii Independent Energy, the state’s other oil refinery — both of which operate on Oahu — are expected to file their plans with the Health Department later this year after being granted extensions.
Paul Karaffa, environmental coordinator for AES, told the Star-Advertiser that the company expects to meet or exceed the emission requirements through burning alternative fuels. The company, which supplies about one-fifth of Oahu’s electricity, has been experimenting with burning recycled fuel wood....
Reality: Clean Energy Fail: While Most States Clean Up, Hawaii CO2 Emissions Rise Since '08
read ... Rate Hikes Coming
Saipan has no water, electricity in aftermath of powerful Typhoon Soudelor
AP: Residents of Saipan were without water and electricity and are rationing gasoline four days after Typhoon Soudelor hit the most populated island in the U.S. territory of the Northern Marianas.
The typhoon hit Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on Sunday, knocking out electricity on the 48-square-mile island. About 50,000 people live on the commonwealth's four populated islands, with most of them living on Saipan, which took the brunt of the storm.
Nearby Tinian got some damage, while Rota was spared, said Gregorio Kilili Camcacho Sablan, the commonwealth's delegate to U.S. Congress. As for Pagan, "No idea," he said. "I have no way to contact Pagan."
Ten generators were being shipped from Guam to power water pumps in Saipan, but the harbor was closed Thursday because of a listing boat that was half underwater, Sablan said. Restoring power could take a month or two, he said.
"I haven't seen a storm like this in 20 years," Sablan said. "Unfortunately, the resources we have are hardly enough to get things up."
The storm battered the island with wind speeds between 100 mph and 120 mph when it hit Sunday night....
read ... Saipan
Former charter school principal accused of stealing $100,000 pleads guilty
KHON: ...Piontek was arrested in Santa Monica, Calif., in October 2013 after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to second-degree theft for using school money to pay for work on his apartment.
As part of a plea deal, he’ll have to pay restitution of about $16,000.
He also pleaded no contest to several first- and second-degree theft charges that involved improper use of school credit and debit cards.
Piontek will be sentenced in February.
First-degree theft carries a maximum 10 years in prison, while second-degree theft carries a maximum of five years....
HNN: Hot Classrooms a Real Headache at Campbell HS
read ... Guilty
Hit and Run Suspect with 10 Priors on Lam After Being 'Released Pending Investigation'
HNN: Former Honolulu Prosecuting attorney Peter Carlisle questions why she was released pending investigation after the latest arrest especially since it was her eleventh arrest.
"She's been taught over and over again that there's no consequences for her driving when she's not supposed to," says Carlisle.
All the previous crimes were for driving without a license and insurance and failing to appear in court.
"Get the car away from her, put her in jail for enough time," says Carlisle.
Andrade is now considered a fugitive.
I noticed she remains active on her Facebook page, her latest post, just days ago, August 3rd. It's full of expletives but she does appear to be saying 'goodbye' to loved ones.
read ... Soft on Crime
Overcrowding riles MCCC inmates
MN: "It's no secret that all of our jails are grossly overcrowded and have been overcrowded for several years . . . At all jails statewide, double-bunked cells house three and often four inmates per cell. This leaves one and often two inmates sleeping on the floor per cell. Everyone is afforded a mattress to sleep on," said Toni Schwartz, public information officer for the Hawaii Department of Public Safety, in an email....
cramped quarters have become the norm at MCCC, which last week had 499 inmates. Operational capacity is 301, Schwartz said.
She said having three inmates to a cell has been common since 2000. In early 2013, the population started fluctuating with short periods of four people to a cell, but normally there are three in a cell. Cells at Maui Community Correctional Center are 13 feet by 8 feet....
In Hawaii's four prisons and and four jails, there are around 4,100 inmates, the state confirmed. But its facilities were designed for only around 2,500.
Overcrowding also is a problem at Oahu Community Correctional Center. Last week, OCCC housed nearly 1,250 inmates in a jail designed for 600....
read ... Overcrowding
Maui County might acquire power firm, it informs NextEra
SA: Maui County said it may acquire Maui Electric Co. through condemnation, a process that would allow the government to take over private property for the public benefit.
The county said “yes” when asked by NextEra Energy Inc., “Does the County of Maui agree that it may seek to acquire Maui Electric, through condemnation or otherwise, regardless of whether Maui Electric is owned by Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., Hawaiian Electric Holdings, Inc., or another corporate entity”?
read ... Acquire
HECO Dumps Chevron, Issues RFP for Oil Supply
PBN: Hawaiian Electric Co. has chosen to seek competitive bids for oil to power its electricity-generating power plants in Hawaii, on Oahu and the Neighbor Islands, starting in 2017, according to public documents.
The state’s largest utility said in its “fuels master plan” report that it will go this route on Oahu instead of seeking an extension of its current fuels contract with Chevron.
read ... Bye bye Chevron
HPD will destroy 2,300 perfectly good guns worth $500K
HNN: The city of Honolulu will destroy $500,000 worth of old police guns instead of selling them to other law enforcement agencies or Honolulu police officers.
HPD has replaced more than 2,300 of its old handguns with new lighter, cheaper guns. Many police officers said those old guns still have value and should not be thrown away but sold or donated to be re-used instead.
Since 1990, Honolulu police officers have used Smith & Wesson 9 millimeter handguns and the city has replaced them with lighter and easier-to-use Glock 17s that cost about half as much as the Smith & Wessons.
Hawaii News Now has learned that the city plans to destroy about 2,300 of the old Smith & Wessons in the next few weeks, including 200 of them that are brand new and still in their boxes.
read ... $500K
Guillermo retains tropical storm strength, could pass over Oahu, Kauai
NOAA: ...Tropical Storm Guillermo remained a tropical storm late Thursday morning on a path that could take it over or just north of Oahu and Kauai Thursday night into Friday.
It's current path should take it 60 miles north of Maui late Thursday, 20 miles north of Oahu Thursday night and near Kauai Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Hilda formed overnight in the East Pacific and was expected to become a hurricane Friday. It's path, similar to Guillermo, takes it close to Hawaii as early as next week....
read ... Guillermo
UH Students: Polygamy is Next
KL: The Polyamory Society defines “polyamory” as the “philosophy and practice of loving multiple people simultaneously.” In any controversy on conjugal arrangements, the effects on children inevitably come up and one can expect to see polyamorous families challenged on such grounds. However, there is no need for another moral panic. Author Benedict Smith described to Vice how normal his polyamorous family and his early life were, as his parents and their partners held outings together and collectively protected the children.
read ... There is no good reason to forbid polygamy
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