Will Courts Defend Free Speech -- Or Forced Speech To Promote A Political Agenda?
Sen McCain Introduces Bill to Exempt Puerto Rico from Jones Act
Judiciary: Collaborative Effort to Reduce Truancy Launched
DBEDT Community Forums on Electric Utility Ownership Models
Hawaii to Feds: Let us use Medicaid to house the homeless
MH: …Hawaii has asked the CMS to help it care for chronically homeless people more efficiently by addressing a major social determinant of health: housing.
The state's waiver asks for federal reimbursement for Hawaii's efforts to help homeless Medicaid recipients find and maintain housing. Both states and providers are looking for new ways to address social issues that undermine patients' health and care plans.
Hawaii wants to use federal Medicaid funds to appoint state employees to help people find housing and provide moving assistance to those beneficiaries, according to a pending waiver application now under CMS review. The state has one of the highest homeless populations in the country. (“Appoint state employees” does not equal “pay rent”.)
Hawaii also wants to be reimbursed for providing tenant support services, such as conflict management training between enrollees and landlords….
(50 years ago we closed the lunatic asylums Instead of the promised community-based outpatient treatment, we are now enlisting landlords as psychologists.)
"Having a home or reliable location to find a complicated patient with multiple comorbidities allows for outreach including home health services or case management," Miscovich said…..
The CMS will accepts comments on the waiver request through Oct. 17….
Meanwhile: Missed deadlines leads the city to lose millions in federal housing funds
read … HGEA Positions
How each of the HPD Chief finalists were ranked after their assessments
HNN: …Each candidate was assigned a number, so that their identity and gender would not be known, but Hawaii News Now obtained the names and their corresponding scores. Former federal agent Tommy Aiu was listed as the candidate with the highest total amount of points.
Here are the full rankings:
- Tommy Aiu, former federal agent 66.682
- Kurt Kendro, retired HPD Major 60.639
- Mark Lomax, retired Pennsylvania State Police Major 57.226
- Paul Putzulu, retired HPD Acting Chief 57.150
- Susan Ballard, HPD Major 56.710
- Kevin Lima, retired HPD Assistant Chief 56.519
- Jim Lowery, Arlington Police Assistant Chief 55.730
The formula for these scores and the dossiers for each finalist will be sent to the Honolulu Police commission for review. The candidates will go through background checks, psychological and physical exams over the next few weeks….
Big Q: What do you think of the seven finalists for Honolulu police chief?
read … Number
War on Agriculture: Kauai Anti-GMOs intend to Force EIS on All Farm Operations
KGI: …What does their claim that they believe in “supporting the local communities” mean to the Hartung Brothers? Will it mean being ready to abide by local laws that call for an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement on the lands they cultivate? Syngenta and the (state) Department of Land and Natural Resources are facing a lawsuit from a hui of Kauai-based plaintiffs who object to the exemptions to the EA/EIS requirement granted by the state agency in conjunction with the leasing of particular parcels of land to Syngenta….
Meanwhile: Omidyar Wins by Losing: Kauai Court Ruling Forces Farms to File EIS
read … Mob Rule
Resolution asks for Legislature to also be governed by state’s open meetings statutes
HTH: What’s good for county government is good for state government too, one council member says.
If Council Chairwoman Valerie Poindexter has her way, Hawaii County will be the third county in the state to send a non-binding resolution to the state Legislature asking that body to also be governed by the state Sunshine Law, requiring open meetings.
Resolution 295 is scheduled to come before the council Committee on Governmental Relations and Economic Development at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Hilo council chambers. The public can also participate via videoconference at the West Hawaii Civic Center, Pahoa council office, Waimea council office, Naalehu state office building and the old Kohala courthouse.
Holding a state legislative body to public meeting laws is more common than not in the United States.
In fact, 32 states require their state legislatures to follow the Sunshine Law compared with 15 that do not and three that have laws on the books that are not enforced, according to the 2011 Open Government Guide by the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press….
Maui and Kauai county councils unanimously passed similar resolutions in early September….
read … Open Meetings
Calls for mental health reform after rash of Halawa suicides
HNN: …O’Malley, whose father says was bipolar and heard voices in his head, had bounced around between Hawaii's mental health and prison systems over the years. He ended up in Halawa as part of a six-year sentence for robbing a cab driver with a fake gun.
O’Malley blames prison officials for not providing his son access to the mental health services he needed while incarcerated. Now, he says he wants prison officials to invest more in mental health services.
Prison officials declined to discuss O'Malley's case, which is ongoing….
read … Deceased inmate's father calls for reform after rash of Halawa suicides
City Wastes a lot of Time Storing Junk so Worthless that Homeless People Don’t Want it
HNN: …"A lot of property is collected, but very few people retrieve it, because most of the time it's property people don't really want or need," said Marc Alexander.
But many homeless people Hawaii News Now spoke to this week say they've lost valuable items during the sweeps.
(skip several paras of unverifiable tweeker stories)
Hawaii News Now reviewed several notices upon which city workers have documented the items they've collected. Bedding, tents and clothing are the most common items listed, but we also found laptops (most homeless are so poor they can only afford two or three laptops), multiple wheelchairs, bikes (might be yours), pieces of jewelry (gold & diamonds are big fashion accessories), tools (might be yours), a purse, electronics and several suitcases filled with unknown items (should’ve checked)….
(people are often leery of claiming stolen goods from the authorities)
Alexander say on average there are between 200 and 300 empty shelter beds every night….
read … Worthless Junk
Oahu Dope Pushers Expect 25,000 Users
HNN: …"We expect the market is going to grow more people, as they see that it's a safe place to buy lab-tested cannabis, that more people will get their 329 card. Like you said, there's about 6,000 patients and we expect that to grow to 20,000-25,000 in the next few years," Brian Goldstein, CEO and Founder of Noa Botanical said.
The Department of Health issues around 1,200 medical cannabis cards each month.
MW: Pono Life Sciences Maui to begin sales of cannabis
read … More Users
Fire department fined over Marco Polo blaze
SA: …The state has cited the Honolulu Fire Department for not following proper safety procedures and exposing firefighters to asbestos in the fatal Marco Polo condominium fire.
The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division, part of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, fined the fire department $7,000 on Thursday after determining it “failed to reduce the level of exposure” and “ensure prompt decontamination procedures” following the largest high-rise blaze in Honolulu history.
The citation said that only one company properly bagged its contaminated protective firefighting gear and equipment at the scene, while the rest did not do so until returning to their stations — some even waiting until the end of their shifts the next morning. As a result, the fire trucks and stations may be contaminated with asbestos and other hazardous materials, HIOSH said….
SA: Fire Department works on safety issues after citation
read … Fined
Solar Farm Stripped of Panels Again and Again
HNN: …The officers stopped the van and reportedly discovered 35 solar panels inside. A spokesperson from NRG Direct, which is building a solar farm in the area, confirmed that it was their panels that had been taken.
It's not the first time solar panels have been taken from the farm, which is still under construction, the spokesperson says. ….
read … Solar
Arkansas Calls for Jones Act Repeal
Arkansas Online: After every hurricane the law has to be waived. Temporarily. It apparently takes a national disaster to see the problems with a 1920s protectionist law.
Puerto Rico begged for a waiver to the law as soon as Hurricane Maria passed on so it could get gasoline and jet fuel and food and water and utility poles to the island double-time. The Trump administration, to its credit, granted the waiver. The same as it did after hurricanes Harvey and Irma damaged Texas and Florida.
"Puerto Rico can't borrow funds and they are required to use American shipping only, which is the most expensive in the world," said U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.). "In their hour of need, Washington can help by suspending the Jones Act."
Washington could help even more if Congress would pass a law to repeal the act completely. Which is something that a senator named John McCain has been trying to do for years. Or as the senior senator and heroic curmudgeon from Arizona put it: "It is unacceptable to force the people of Puerto Rico to pay at least twice as much for food, clean drinking water, supplies and infrastructure due to Jones Act requirements as they work to recover from this disaster."
Is it any more acceptable to make them pay so much more when there isn't a disaster? Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska would benefit year-round if this thing just went the way of Prohibition, another relic from the 1920s that couldn't be repealed fast enough.
cc: Arkansas' congressional delegation
read … Jonesing for a change
Trump and Pence Coming to Hawaii
Todays Child Molesters in Hawaii Education
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