Hawaii Biotech Receives Contract To Develop Dengue Vaccine–Anti-GMO Activist Gabbard Supports
Akana: OHA Employees ‘Suspiciously’ Placed at Top of Na’i Aupuni Ballot
CATO: US Constitution Still Applies to Nai Aupuni
“Green McCarthyism”--A leading solar advocacy group is drawing criticism from its own industry
Employment Opportunities with the Hawaii State Legislature
New Program Helps Hawaii’s Young Male Victims of Sex Trafficking
VIDEO: Things you need to know about medical marijuana dispensaries
Am Samoa: New Embarrassments for Faleomavaega sister
Does Transit-Oriented Development Need the Transit?
Feds Scoop up $10M from Hawaii Criminal, Civil Actions
Census Bureau Releases New ACS Data for Hawaii
Its Official: Hawaii Obamacare Exchange Finally Closed
SA: …end officially has come for Hawaii’s troubled Obamacare health insurance exchange….
(“We told you so.”—Signed, Editor)
read … Hawaii Rejects Obama’s Signature Achievement
The End for Telescope Construction in Hawaii?
SA: It is hugely disappointing that the Thirty Meter Telescope’s permission to start construction atop Mauna Kea has been revoked, a significant blow that will set the $1.4 billion project back years, if it is to be built here at all.
It’s now up to the TMT global consortium to make the crucial decision of whether to proceed — again — down the state’s regulatory road at the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
We hope that it does, in the interest of stellar science that will benefit humankind — and on a more humble, relatable level, for the academic and economic benefits to the state.
Hawaii officials, meanwhile, must now redouble efforts to repair an already tarnished reputation as a reliable place to do business….
TMT lenses and components are in production off-island, and TMT officials previously indicated the project would proceed regardless of major court delay. But Henry Yang, TMT board chairman, was noncommittal in his post-ruling statement, saying, “We are assessing our next steps on the way forward.”
Should TMT decide to proceed here, there is no doubt the permit process will be as arduous as the first go-round, perhaps more so, given the solidarity and social-media savvy shown by those keeping vigil atop Mauna Kea….
When it comes to big-thinking, prestigious ventures, Hawaii has a bad knack for bumbling proposals that make sense….
read … Dead
Telescope opponents: Construction equipment must be removed
AP: Opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope want construction equipment and vehicles removed from Mauna Kea now that the Hawaii Supreme Court has invalidated the project's permit….
"They have no permit. It's been vacated," said Kealoha Pisciotta, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the permit. "They absolutely, immediately have to remove all their stuff."
But the state attorney general's office said Thursday the equipment can remain because the project has a sublease with the University of Hawaii for a portion of the Big Island mountain. "As long as TMT does not engage in activities that constitute a land use in the conservation district, TMT would not require a permit or be subject to fines," said a statement from attorney general spokesman Joshua Wisch.
Storing large equipment on the mountain is not consistent with conservation district use, said Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman, the attorney representing the permit challengers. He said he's ready to take legal action to ensure the equipment is removed.
read … Remove
Will Rent-Seekers Find Way to Shut Down Haleakala Telescope?
MN: …in December 2013, the high court ruled that the state Board of Land and Natural Resources erred when it issued a conservation district use permit for the $300 million Advanced Technology Solar Telescope atop Haleakala in 2010. The court found that the board unlawfully approved the permit without first holding a required contested case hearing requested by Native Hawaiian group Kilakila 'o Haleakala.
But days after the court ruling, telescope officials found a loophole that allowed them to continue construction….
Reality: Telescope: For OHA, it’s all About the Rent Money
read … according to Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. attorney, ‘anything is possible’
A very busy time for court rulings on Hawaiian issues
ILind: First was the decision by Circuit Court Judge Jeannette Castagnetti, who ruled that the state must provide millions of additional dollars annually to adequately fund the operations of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Her ruling essentially monetized a 2012 decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court, which had found that “the State has failed, by any reasonable measure to provide sufficient funds to DHHL.” …
Then came the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted an injunction preventing votes from being counted or election results certified until the 9th Circuit Court issues a ruling in the case, a challenge brought by several opponents of the Na’i Aupuni Native Hawaiian election process.
Inversecondemnation.com, a legal blog by Honolulu attorney Robert Thomas, commented… The case has also been discussed by the Election Law blog, and the Supreme Court of the United States Blog….
And then there was the TMT bombshell dropped by the Hawaii Supreme Court….
SA: Osorio Sour Grapes
read … Busy
HART Plan to Open Partial rail System for Propaganda Purposes
CB: …with Honolulu’s rail project at least a year behind schedule, currently $1.4 billion over the original cost estimates, and the City Council peering over HART’s shoulder amid intensifying public debate, officials appear committed to their plan for limited commuter service when the rails reach Aloha Stadium.
As a result, the contract to build and operate the train system with Ansaldo — recently sold and soon to be renamed Hitachi Rail Italy — includes intermediate operating periods where limited service would be provided on sections of the project where construction has been completed.
HART Executive Director and CEO Dan Grabauskas says that plan still makes sense, even under current circumstances, because it will give people the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the system. It might also benefit those living in Central and West Oahu who want to avoid getting in their cars or boarding a bus.
“If we’re done and could operate I think there will be some pressure to open,” Grabauskas said. (For instance: If we purposefully break the zipperlane a few more time, we would get a similar effect.) “The experience of other places that have been in that position is that the public says, ‘Can we get on board? We want to try it. We want to start using it.’ But that will be up to the mayor, the City Council and our board of directors.”
read … Manufacturing Consent
Caldwell Admin Caught Lying about Failed Trash Pickups
KHON: …When we first started asking questions about missed pickups a month ago, the city told us staffing was the problem and said it needed to hire more drivers.
But on Wednesday, the city confirmed it recently issued a reminder about weight rules, and drivers tell us that reminder makes it harder to finish a route in a day.
A nearly two-hour meeting between the union and the city was held Thursday in response to those delayed pickups.
United Public Workers state director told Always Investigating he asked for the meeting, and said the new weight reminders were responsible for the pickup problems….
The city says they set that limit, about 17,000 pounds, several years ago, but acknowledged Thursday they only started cracking down a month ago.
“There is no doubt that when this adjustment to a weight standard was imposed and not really having gone in the past created some alarm among some of the members,” said UPW state director Dayton Nakanelua.
That resulted in some bins being left behind as drivers said the extra stops to dump lighter loads caused delays.
When Always Investigating asked if it was an intentional work slowdown, both sides responded with an adamant “no.”
Drivers, however, say the trucks can and have accommodated far more like 20,000 or 22,000 pounds of trash without breaking the law. They say they feel their limits are being set arbitrarily too low to stretch out the hours they have to work in a day….
We checked court citation records to see how many city trucks were ticketed for being overweight. In 2012, there was one. The same thing happened in 2014. So far this year, there have been seven.
We also found out it’s not just city trucks getting cited. There have been 664 citations issued on Oahu this year for overweight trucks….
read … City, union hammer out trash pickup solutions during hours-long meeting
1500 Homeless Moved into Housing Every Year—And its not enough
SA: It’s a housing navigation center. … Permanent housing is always the end goal. We definitely need more — assess what we need, assess the types and the amount of housing that is needed.
What we’re able to do right now is leverage a lot of existing inventory throughout the community, to get into that type of housing first, while the city is able to catch up on development.
We house, on average, 1,500 to 1,700 people a year, just at IHS alone, with that strategy in mind, just using existing inventory. That’s why the end goal has to be self-sufficiency, to make sure they can retain their units.…
So this is not housing. It’s a housing navigation center that gets them ready for it.
read … IHS community relations director helps homeless
$1000/plate: Yet Another Caldwell Fundraiser
CB: …A campaign fundraiser was held Wednesday night at Waikiki Business Plaza, where the donation suggestion was $1,000.
It is Caldwell’s 29th fundraiser since April 2013.
It follows a fundraiser held last month at a Washington, D.C., hotel (the Fairmont in Georgetown, says Google Maps) that asked for contributions ranging from $500 to $4,000.
Ernie Martin, the Honolulu City Council chairman who is rumored to be weighing a Caldwell challenge, has held only three fundraisers this year….
read … $1000 / plate
Mental evaluation ordered for former Maui police officer charged with exposing himself
MN: Court proceedings have been suspended for a former Maui Police Department officer charged with sexually exposing himself in Pukalani parking lots and driving under the influence of alcohol, while he undergoes a mental examination.
A court-appointed psychologist or psychiatrist is to examine John Salomon, 39, of Pukalani to evaluate whether he is mentally fit to proceed with his court cases. Another part of the evaluation is whether, at the time of the alleged offenses, he was suffering from a mental disease, disorder or defect that would affect his ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the law at the time….
read … Mental
Dengue Count Hits 136—Biotech Vaccine Contract Signed—No anti-Vaxxers in Sight
Monsanto ‘Roundup' Cases Proceed in Calif. Courts
BNA: The most recent complaint, filed by former coffee farmer Christine Sheppard, alleges her use of Roundup caused her to develop non–Hodgkins lymphoma. (Sheppard v. Monsanto Co., C.D. Cal., No. 15-cv-08632, filed, 11/5/15).
“Ms. Sheppard is a coffee farmer who previously owned and worked a coffee farm in Hawaii,” her counsel, Timothy Litzenburg, of the Miller Firm in Orange, Va., told Bloomberg BNA Nov. 30. “She used Roundup on that farm for many years and was forced to give up the farm after developing non-Hodgkins lymphoma,” Litzenburg said in an e-mail.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Nov. 5, stems from “the plight of farmers, landscapers and gardeners who suffer from lymphoma as a result of their many years of exposure to a product that Monsanto touted as non-toxic,” Litzenburg said
read … Correlation is not Causation
Desperate: Old Boys Still Rely on Inouye to Defend Jones Act
PBN: This week the Hawaii Shippers Council said it was hopeful that a new resolution to reform the Jones Act will be introduced in the Hawaii state Legislature's new session, but the proposal will be faced with a difficulties as there are strong crony-controlled counter arguments, some of which were presented nine years ago by the late Sen. Daniel Inouye.
HJ: Jones’ing for Change
read … How Sen. Daniel Inouye answered the Hawaii Shippers Council’s Jones Act complaints 9 years ago
Native Hawaiians Take out $4.2B in Mortgages
ICT: Continuing a trend in recent years, mortgage dollars going to Native Hawaiians was higher than money loaned to Indians. According to the data $4.2 billion was originated to Hawaiians, and another $450 million purchased. Combined, Indian and Native Hawaiians had $8.5 billion in mortgage loans and investments. (HMDA groups Alaska Natives in with Indians, and combines Natives of Pacific islands controlled by the U.S. (most notably Guam and American Samoa) with Native Hawaiians….
Wells Fargo and Quicken Loans were one and two for lending to Native Hawaiians last year. Wells’ volume was $282 million, while Quicken Loans’ was $202 million. Third was Bank of America at copy60 million. Bank of Hawaii cracked the top 25 lenders, with $32 million. In all, 1,592 lenders extended home loan finance to Native Hawaiians last year.
read … Mortgage
NextEra News
Muslim Shooter came from Pakistan in 2014—Obama says, Lets invite some more
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