State Inspects 90% Fewer Scales, 78% Fewer Gas Pumps Since 2010
House GOP: "Senate bills would increase taxes and fees"
Hawaii Republican Assembly: "You Can Stop Bad Ideas"
SHPD Pilot Project to Monitor Big Island Archaeological Sites
Honolulu Rail and the Uniform Relocation Act
Governor Announces Nominations to Land Board, Water Commission
After Waiving $18M, City Again Begins Collecting Solar Inspection Fees
Hawaii Construction Forecast: Construction Upswing Picks Up Speed
Hawaii's Good Friday Holiday - What's Up With That?
Hirono Announces State Office Staff Appointments
Abercrombie Turns 5 Percent of Prisoners Loose—First Kidnapping Reported
CB: Hawaii's prison population has dropped 5 percent since July 2012, a figure that includes a 12 percent reduction in prisoners housed in Arizona. (And this scheme has resulted in one reported kidnapping and assault, see next story.)
That's because, officials say, the state's criminal justice system has implemented a risk assessment program for offenders within three days of their admission, increased the number of re-paroles and taken steps toward a statewide data collection program to track offenders as they move through the system.
Credit all that to "justice reinvestment," a data-driven approach to cutting corrections spending and directing the savings toward decreasing recidivism and increasing public safety.
The progress report was delivered Thursday to the public safety committees of the state Senate and House of Representatives.
"We are on the right path, we've got a ways to go, but there is light at the end of the tunnel," said Will Espero, chairman of Senate Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs….
As of 2011, almost one-third of Hawaii's 6,073 inmates were imprisoned on the mainland; the figure has since dropped to around 1,700, with nearly 200 inmates having returned since July 2012.
As of this January, Hawaii's prison population stood at 5,738. Despite the 5 percent drop, however, the average prison population still exceeds the state's capacity (3,327) by 80 percent.
read … Soft on Crime
Doubling Number of inmates on furlough – Plan is Expected to bring more escapes
HNN: A state Public Safety official told Hawaii News Now Monday that the public should expect more prison inmates to walk away from their work furlough programs since the program has more than doubled in recent months.
Police arrested inmate Leslie Dabis, 38, Friday night, after he was accused of assaulting and kidnapping his ex-girlfriend in Kapolei and assaulting the man she was with earlier that day.
Less than six months away from possible parole, Dabis had walked away from a prison work furlough program on Jan. 14.
Otani said prisons officials didn't consider Dabis dangerous, because he was in prison for dealing drugs, auto theft and driving without a license, but no violent offense.
About 216 male inmates are enrolled in work furlough programs on Oahu, and in the last fiscal year, just seven of them or about three percent "walked away" or "escaped" for a significant period of time, prisons officials said.
The number of Oahu inmates in furlough programs has doubled since November to alleviate prison overcrowding, Otani said.
read … Justice Reinvestment
Absentee Voting Fraud Remains Legal as Clayton Hee Kills ‘Romy Cachola Bill’
CB: State senators shelved a bill Thursday that was aimed at preserving the integrity of absentee voting, an option that has become increasingly popular in Hawaii.
House Bill 1027 would have prohibited employers, unions and political candidates from helping voters complete their absentee ballots. It also would have required absentee voters to sign a letter saying they completed their ballot without the influence of others.
Senate Judiciary and Labor Chair Clayton Hee said the law would be “unenforceable.” (Translation: He does this all the time and wants it to remain legal.) He did not elaborate and the other committee members quietly went along with his recommendation to defer the bill. (Because they are afraid of the Hee.)
read … Absentee Voting: Romy Cachola Bill ‘Unenforceable’
PBN: Teacher Evaluations are Fake if no Firings
PBN: …a critical opportunity will have been missed if evaluations don’t lead to the removal of some current educators….
…the price of peace is going to be $320 million over a four-year period, and a growing economy appears to be able to absorb that expense better now than at any time since the Great Recession. In addition, the HSTA apparently will have a seat at the table when teacher evaluations are drawn up, though it’s not clear what that will mean….
Even if the contract is ratified, the two sides have to work out the details about teacher evaluations, and already we know that teachers currently under contract will not face any job-security consequences if they get poor evaluations. Starting in July 2015, only teachers with at least a “satisfactory” rating would be eligible for pay increases, but their jobs would not be threatened.
True reform will take even longer if administrators and the Department of Education aren’t given the most effective tools during this process for rewarding our state’s best teachers and helping those who shouldn’t be in the classroom transition to other opportunities.
When those changes take place, we can truly start to focus on educational reforms that will help today’s students be better prepared for the jobs that tomorrow holds. If that doesn’t happen, our economy will never be able to move to the tech-oriented, entrepreneur-driven culture that will ensure a prosperous future for Hawaii.
read … Fake Evaluations
Cut blogs from press law, state urges
SA: The state attorney general's office urged state senators Thursday to remove bloggers from a law that protects journalists from revealing confidential sources, arguing that the provision is too broad and untested.
Deputy Attorney General Deirdre Marie-Iha said no other state has gone as far as Hawaii's media shield law in protecting nontraditional journalists. She asked senators whether the law was intended to cover, for example, someone who had never participated in journalism but uses Facebook to comment on a public scandal and is provided information from confidential sources to post.
"Removing this provision would make it so it was better tied to, we think, people who are truly akin to a professional journalist," Marie-Iha told the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee.
The attorney general's office also wants to delete a provision in the shield law that protects all unpublished information collected by journalists from disclosure. Marie-Iha said the law should protect only unpublished information that could lead to the identity of confidential sources.
In addition, the state wants to make clear that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to compel information necessary for a fair trial.
News media interests were already alarmed by changes approved by the House that would expand exceptions to the shield law. The House, however, did not adopt the recommendations by the attorney general, which, some in the news media fear, would further gut the law if embraced by the Senate….
Jeff Portnoy, an attorney representing the Hawaii Shield Law Coalition, which includes the Star-Advertiser, asked senators to reject the House changes and the recommendations by the attorney general and simply make the law permanent.
"I urge you, based upon five years of history, not to tamper with a bill that has worked perfectly in our jurisdiction and is recognized as one of the best in the country," he said.
Hawaii's shield law is considered a model mostly because of the protection for nontraditional journalists such as bloggers who operate independent websites. Forty states and the District of Columbia have shield laws that offer varying degrees of protection for journalists against the compelled disclosure of confidential sources or other information in court.
"This is probably one of the most forward-thinking laws in the nation," Stirling Morita, president of the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii chapter and a night city editor at the Star-Advertiser, said of the protection for bloggers.
Blog: “A Web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis”
read … Cut Blogs
Star-Adv: Don't raise film industry tax credit
SA Editorial: Continuing the existing levels of tax credits is a reasonable economic perk, but Hawaii should resist the urge to sell our state short by being overly generous with expanded film production tax credits.
The Legislature has recognized the industry competition since 1997, when it enacted an income tax credit of 4 percent for costs of making a motion picture or television show and 7.25 percent for related hotel room tax.
Seven years ago, legislators upped the credit to 15 percent on Oahu and 20 percent on neighbor islands, which doesn't expire until 2016, and they are considering an increase of the incentive by 5 percentage points, retroactive for the past two years. That's a lot. (Retroactive incentives!)
Wednesday, in light of a clearer budgetary picture, Ige rightfully said that there may not be enough money for items such as expanding film tax credits.
"My guess is if there are collective bargaining contracts that are presented at about the 3 percent (increase) level, that we would have to reduce the budget further than what the Senate has right now," he told reporters.
The Senate's budget draft calls for spending $6 billion in fiscal 2014, and $6.2 billion in fiscal 2015. It is smaller than the governor's proposed budget, but more than that of the House. But when lawmakers begin conference committees in April to hash out difference on the budget and myriad other funding matters, some ideas will be much easier to dismiss than others.
read … Money for Movie Moguls
School Lands Development Scheme Heads for Secret Conference Committee
CB: Lawmakers will … have to decide how strong they want the language to be about requiring community involvement in the development of the projects.
The House version requires the board to “integrate a community engagement process” in its redevelopment activities, whereas the Senate bill says the board shall "foster community participation.”
Cheri Nakamura, the director of the Hui for Excellence in Education, called on lawmakers this week to adopt the stronger House language. She said community engagement should be a required component.
“The good news is we all realize there can be no sale of lands,” Takumi said. “The House version has a clearer community involvement piece. But the Senate has language around that too to basically say, ‘This is not PLDC. You’re not exempt from anything. This is not about selling land.’”
Concerns over the Public Land Development Corporation have come up in the hearings on the school lands legislation, as well as other efforts to let the state make money off public land through private partnerships.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday deferred until Monday its decision on a House bill to repeal the PLDC, an agency created two years ago that came under fire this session for its broad environmental exemptions.
But minutes earlier, the committee passed House Bill 70, which creates a public-private partnership authority on a pilot program basis. The so-called PPPA would operate within the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism under an appointed board of directors.
The projects proposed in the legislation include a film production facility on Maui, a main-street project in Wahiawa and one county-initiated project.
Sen. Russell Ruderman, who voted against HB 70 along with Sen. Laura Thielen, said he couldn’t support creating another development agency given the Legislature’s troubled past with the PLDC and plan to move forward with a bill to develop school lands.
(Don’t worry. Conference committee meetings are closed to the public and you can always trust Hawaii legislators to do the right thing when the public is not looking.)
read … Developers Salivate as Bill Heads for Conference Committee
Lawmakers endorse extended foster care
SA: A bill that would allow foster care youth to voluntarily remain in the system until they turn 21 made it through its final committee vote Thursday and is headed to a House-Senate conference hearing.
The measure has garnered wide support from the state and social service advocates, and is modeled after "best practice" legislation now adopted by or under consideration in at least 16 other states.
In emotional testimony to the House Finance Committee on Thursday, former foster youth described the major obstacles they faced after "aging out" of the system at 18.
Tiffany Tuilata, 24, said she turned 18 "while on the run" and found herself homeless with no support and no idea how to take care of herself.
"This bill touches me so deeply," she told lawmakers, adding that when she was 18 she thought she could take over the world. "Unfortunately, it didn't play out so well….”
read … Foster Care
Borreca Deeply Disappointed that GOP Will Not Embrace Gay Marriage
Borreca: With only eight Republicans in the state Legislature, including just one GOP senator, Hawaii Republicans and opportunity are rarely mentioned together.
David Chang, Hawaii Republican Party chairman, is trying to find the right spark to change that.
“I was impressed with the report; we are not wallowing in self-pity,” Chang said in an interview. “They were brutally honest: We are not seen as a party that cares about people; we are branded as wealthy angry people.”
Chang said the issue now is to show that “we care about everybody and understand different cultures. We care about the American people.”
The report warns, “If our party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.”
In Hawaii, Chang said, the party faces voters who are told by Democrats, “Vote for me because I am not a Republican” — and that, Chang fears, is enough to win.
So, he reasoned, if mainland Republicans get a better reputation and “work on the brand,” it will trickle down to the Hawaii GOP.
While there is a discussion of ways to rebrand the GOP by taking a more active role on immigration reform and speaking up against corporate malfeasance, there are many other concerns of interest to voters.
After everyone has been branded and rebranded enough to make Hawaii politics sound like a cattle drive, will local Republicans really pull the trigger?
Will they change positions on issues — gay marriage, for instance?
Chang discounted the need….
read … Out of all the issues it comes down to only one
Arizona Judge Not Fooled by Hawaii Transsexual Marriage
SA: An Arizona judge refused to grant a divorce for a transgender Arizona man (sic), formerly from Hawaii, who gave birth to three children after beginning (pretending) to change his sex from female. (Clue for those who flunked biology: What part of “No Y Chromosome” do you not understand?)
Maricopa County Family Court Judge Douglas Gerlach ruled today that Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriages prevents Thomas Beatie’s 9-year union from being recognized as valid. (But the Supreme Court could change all this.)
Thomas Beatie, formerly Tracy Lehuanani Lagondino, was born a woman and later underwent a double-mastectomy, and began testosterone hormone therapy and psychological treatment to (pretend to) become a man, but he (sic) retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children.
Gerlach said he had no jurisdiction to approve a divorce because there’s insufficient evidence that Beatie was a man when he married Nancy Beatie in Hawaii. He said the Beaties never provided records to fully explain what Thomas Beatie actually had done and not done to become a man….
A separate ruling issued Friday by Gerlach sets guidelines on how the Beaties will co-parent their three children and grants them joint authority in making legal decisions. Thomas Beatie is required to pay nearly $240 a month to Nancy Beatie for child support, but she won’t get alimony because the marriage was declared invalid.
SA: Married M-F Transsexual Heads up Oahu Burial Council
read … Completely Typical and Average Gay Marriage
Running Scared: Schatz To Kick Off Re-Election Campaign
CB: Still more than a year before his November, 2014 special election, Sen. Brian Schatz is planning to kick-off his campaign on Saturday.
The Schatz for Hawaii campaign will host its first organizational meeting for grassroots supporters on Saturday, March 30th from 9 am to 11 am in the Farrington High School cafeteria….
The event comes while perhaps his stiffest possible opponent, Re. Colleen Hanabusa, is still deciding whether to enter the race. A leaked Hanabusa poll shows her with a wide lead over Schatz if she were to run. However, Schatz has begun picking up endorsements, including from the national League of Conservation Voters this week.
read … Running Scared?
200 Airmen and B-52s Deploying From N. Dakota to Guam
AP: Nearly 200 airmen and 6 B-52s from the Minot Air Force Base are deploying to Guam tomorrow. The deployment comes days after North Korea`s leaders threatened air bases in Guam and Hawaii. Tensions have been escalating in Asia.
The Air Force Global Strike Command provides support to the U.S. Pacific Commands` continuous bomber presence in the region.
ILind: US Bombers Make N Korea Paranoid
read ... Defense
Severe Turbulence Rocks Solar Industry
Marco Mangelsdorf: The story of the rise and collapse Suntech Power is particularly striking on a personal level for me. In 2004 I was part of a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored group to China that visited with local renewable energy representatives in and around Beijing, Shanghai and Inner Mongolia. One of the visits we had was with Dr. Shi Zhengrong, president of what was then a small three-year-old PV manufacturer in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, not far from Shanghai. Suntech Power (STP), which was to go public on the New York Stock Exchange the following year, was going to be hugely profitable Dr. Shi boldly told us with more than a hint of cockiness. And sure enough, after STP started trading on the NYSE in late 2005, Suntech did become just that for Dr. Shi as he became a multibillionaire and one of the richest men in China over night.
By 2010 and through 2011, Suntech became the largest PV manufacturer in the world with a presence in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America. Now, in the spring of 2013, Suntech sits at the edge of the bankruptcy abyss.
From the company website: “Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd….announced that on March 18, 2013, a group of eight Chinese banks filed a petition for insolvency and restructuring of its Chinese subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd in the Wuxi Municipal Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province, China. Wuxi Suntech today notified the Court that it will not file an objection against the petition.”
Saddled by huge debts, declining sales, an apparently fraudulent bond guarantee and inner turmoil in the top ranks, Suntech’s ultimate fate cannot be precisely determined at this time. But one thing seems certain: while Suntech Power may be the biggest modco to fail to-date, it definitely won’t be the last.
read … Severe Turbulence Rocks Solar Industry
Little Interest In GMO Labeling Study Resolution
CB: Senate Concurrent Resolution 34, which calls for study of the impacts of GMO labeling, easily passed the Agricultural and Commerce and Consumer Protection committees.
There was little testimony.
“Gee, what a difference several days makes,” said Sen. Clarence Nishihara, who led last Thursday’s packed and passionate hearing of House Bill 174, the GMO labeling bill that was shelved in favor of the study….
The Hawaii Farm Bureau, the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association and seed crop business Pioneer testified in support of SCR 34. The measure now heads to Ways and Means.
read … Mob Not Instructed to Show Up
Racist Anti-GMO Activist Attacks Farmer
CB: …the confrontation — which erupted early Thursday afternoon during the annual Ag Day celebration — involved Dean Okimoto of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, Shin Ho of Ho Farms, GMO opponent Jessica ‘Go Back to Japan’ Mitchell and members of Babes Against Biotech.
UPDATE: According to Nomi Carmona, head of the Babes, Okimoto was the aggressor in the incident. The group has uploaded a one-sided video to YouTube….
…witnesses, however, say Mitchell and the Babes were the aggressive party, and that Okimoto was trying to defend Ho.
UPDATE: A phone message to Okimoto was not immediately returned, but Civil Beat did speak with him around 3:30 p.m. He said security asked him if he wanted to file charges against the GMO opponents, but he said he declined.
“But these people are getting entirely out of hand,” he said. “They want this kind of attention.”
Ho explained that the confrontation came in several stages. She said it was the anti-GMO people that were the aggressive party, yelling and screaming at the farmers, while Ho was trying to have a civil engagement with them.
Ho said Okimoto tried to intervene to help Ho and to block the video camera. At some point somebody pushed someone, and that someone pushed back.
read … Go Back to Japan
Anti-GMO Protesters Terrorize Farmers, Destroy ‘Aina
CB: Many years ago, the papaya business, which is primarily centered in the Puna district on the Big Island, was drastically afflicted with a problem: the Papaya Ring Spot Virus. This virus caused discoloration and mutations on the fruit, which made it inedible. The virus could spread quickly, and the damage this one disease was causing for the papaya industry was immense.
Papaya is one of the only plants that are not imported into our islands, and this virus could have ended that sustainability. However, a strain of papaya was created that was immune to this pathogen, and the industry returned strong. While the farmers were now safe from the disease, they now had a new fear: agricultural terrorism.
Several papaya farms have been attacked in the past decades leading to thousands of dollars in damage. Some theories of who could have done the damage range from competitors to protesters of GE crops.
Is it not ironic that some of the people who believe that GE crops are destroying the aina are the ones who are actually destroying it themselves?
read … Ag Terror
HB31: Senate President Could Still Save Bus Riders from Homelessness Industry harassment
DN: HB31, the bill that would have criminalized falling asleep gratuitous obstruction of at a bus stop, was eviscerated by the Senate. But they did not “kill” the bill, they just took all the language out of it that the House wanted….
The remaining language has to do with “alarming” the public, not sleeping….
…the House has just disagreed with the Senate version, which means that the bill goes to conference committee. All that wording could be simply put back in place….
So what happens next is entirely up to the leadership in each house.
If the Senate president really wants to kill the bill, she has only to decline to appoint conferees….
read … Homelessness Industry
TheBus Privatized to Save Teamsters from HGEA, UPW
SA: City Council members raised questions Thursday about what some called the city's "complex" and "convoluted" relationship with the nonprofit firm that has run TheBus for more than two decades — and why other such companies can't competitively bid to manage the public bus system….
The contract with OTS "has no end, no start — it goes on and on. … It was a strange contract to me," Kobayashi said Thursday at a Council Transportation Committee meeting discussing her competitive-bid proposal, Bill 9.
Kobayashi asked for an explanation of what benefit OTS provides if the city pays for its buses and drivers and handles bus route scheduling. The city anticipates spending nearly $232 million on bus and Handi-Van services in the 2014 fiscal year.
OTS manages those transportation services for the city with its 1,850 employees — most of whom are Teamsters, OTS President and General Manager Roger Morton said Thursday.
However, the contract calls for the city to pay OTS only $448,000, to cover the salaries of Morton and one other top OTS manager, Morton said. The relationship between the city and OTS confused several Council members. "It's very difficult and convoluted. I acknowledge that," Morton said.
OTS serves as a necessary "buffer" between the city and the Teamsters, said Ed Hirata, an OTS board member who served as director for the state Department of Transportation and later for the city Department of Transportation Services.
Without OTS all of its Teamsters employees "would have to transfer to one of the 13 (state-recognized public employee) union contractors. That was the main purpose for the contract," Hirata said Thursday. Morton said that interpretation was based on state and federal laws.
The previous bus operator for the city, MTL Inc., was formed in 1970 to negotiate with the Teamsters, Department of Transportation Services Director Michael Formby said Thursday. OTS was launched in 1991 as a successor to MTL after MTL faced several high-profile corruption cases in the mid-1980s.
read … Saving the Teamsters
Honolulu Council Moves Kawamoto Bill, Limited-Service Hotels
SA: The maximum fine the city could issue for an overgrown, trashy yard would go up to $5,000 a day from the current $1,000 a day. The measure is widely known as the "Kawamoto Bill"….
Also advancing out of the committee Wednesday was a bill allowing for "limited-service" hotels in business districts in Central and West Oahu.
Bill 75 (2012) is supported by University of Hawaii-West Oahu officials and some labor unions, who say no-frills accommodations are badly needed by business-class travelers, sports teams and families on a budget.
It is opposed by Local 5, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, which argues that limited-service hotels do not provide the same number or types of jobs as full-service hotels.
Council Zoning and Planning Chairman Ikaika Anderson said in support of the bill, "In this particular case, I strongly believe it is much better to provide a certain number of jobs than to provide no jobs at all."
read … Honolulu Council
Could Maui form a municipal utility?
PBN: The island of Maui is considering the formation of a municipal utility or nonprofit cooperative, and Molokai already has begun to look into forming a rural electric co-op similar to the model used by Kauai. Larry Ellison, meanwhile, has said he’d like more renewable energy to be deployed on Lanai, but has been vague about how that may happen or what that could mean for grid service on the Pineapple Isle.
Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa referred questions about Maui’s energy future to county Energy Commissioner Doug McLeod, who said Arakawa has told Maui Electric Co., a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Co., that his preference is to continue to work with it. But he could not rule out the possibility of trying to form a municipal utility such as the one being created in Boulder, Colo., if MECO doesn’t upgrade its facilities so that more of the county’s residents can add solar, and Maui Electric can use more wind power.
Maui Electric Co. has been talking with Arakawa about the county’s energy future, MECO President Sharon Suzuki told PBN through a spokesman. But much of that conversation has centered on a waste-to-energy facility and whether MECO would be interested in buying power from that source, she said.
MECO has tried to assure the mayor that it wants to work with him and county officials to “negotiate a contract” for Public Utilities Commission approval. (Translation: Talk of Municipal Utility is a contract negotiation tactic.)
read … Municipal Utility
Price rises for Honolulu Seawater A/C project
PBN: Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning LLC, which wants to bring a revolutionary air-conditioning system to buildings in downtown Honolulu, has increased the anticipated cost of the project by $30 million because of delays.
Even so, the company is undeterred. It expects to announce a second wave of customers, including the U.S. General Services Administration and at least four other undisclosed properties, within the next 30 days.
So far, only five prospects, including Hawaiian Electric Co. and First Hawaiian Bank, have signed up for the system.
There are 104 buildings in downtown Honolulu that could utilize the Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning LLC. However, it only has the capacity to serve a little more than two dozen buildings.
Meanwhile, four contracts for what is now an anticipated $280 million project have been awarded….
At least three energy-efficiency experts told PBN that one of the reasons Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning hasn’t been able to attract a critical mass of customers is the issue of expensive chiller systems, which typically last about 20 years.
In cases where a building owner’s chiller system is at or near that 20-year mark, it would need to purchase a new system or make the decision to go with Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning.
Since there have been delays, some owners have chosen to get new chillers….
The effort… originally was scheduled to break ground in 2008 …..
Meanwhile: Company With Ties to Abercrombie, DelaCruz Seeks $200M from Legislature
read … The First of Many
Publicly Funded Elections Bill Clears Senate Money Committee
CB: The Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee last week hobbled a bill to reform Hawaii’s publicly funded election system, limiting it to House races instead of the full Legislature.
The Ways and Means Committee on Thursday picked up House Bill 1481 and ushered it forward to a vote before the full Senate….
He said under the very improbable situation in which two candidates in every Senate and House race maxed out their allowed spending, it would cost $5 million annually. For just the House, the cost is estimated at $2.5 million. But more realistically, he said it will probably cost closer to $750,000 annually.
read … Publicly Funded Elections
Hawaii Senate committee approves open data bill
HNN: The Senate Ways and Means Committee approved the bill Thursday with amendments.
The bill would require state departments to make reasonable efforts to make sure all data sets are available online.
The state won't be liable for incomplete or inaccurate data. But the bill would require departments to conduct quarterly progress reports to ensure that progress is being made.
Hawaii rates third worst in the nation for providing online access to government spending data, according to a report by U.S. PIRG….
Related: USPIRG Flunks Hawaii on Tax Credit Secrecy
read … Open Data
Solar Panels: Electrocution Hazard for Firefighters
KITV: The rise in solar power in Hawaii is requiring firefighters to learn new ways to battle flames. On Thursday, Honolulu became the first metropolitan department in the nation to hold solar panel training for its entire force.
As you save energy, firefighters need to learn ways to save your house without getting electrocuted. Firefighters said the solar panels on your roof create a mini-power plant.
"When we are operating and shooting water in the house we can now create an electrical hazard from the conductivity of the water causing a shock to the firefighter inside," said Capt. Terry Seelig with the Honolulu Fire Department.
Even if firefighters shut off the main electrical unit in your house the solar panels still produce electricity.
"Since solar modules are so efficient at producing electricity we are limited on shutting them down," said Capt. Matt Paiss with Energy Response Solutions.
read … Solar Panel and Fire
Koko Head Shooting Range Hours Extended
Question: Is Mayor Kirk Caldwell going to increase the days and hours of operation at the Koko Head Shooting Complex? Currently, weekday hours are only Wednesday to Friday from noon to 3 p.m. This is woefully inadequate. With only three hours of operation, one shooting bench will serve only one shooter for the whole three hours of operation. Some of us come from as far away as Makaha, Kahuku and elsewhere, only to find that no benches open until closing time.
Answer: The good news this Good Friday: You’ll not only have an extra one hour to shoot on weekdays and two more hours on weekends, but the shooting range also will be open on holidays. The new schedule takes effect Wednesday.
read … Koko Head
Former Filipino Chamber President Charged in Ponzi Scheme
HNN: According to the criminal charges, Pascua lured dozens of people to invest in bogus rock concerts and celebrity events by promising returns of 20 to 50 percent.
Pascua told investors that he arranging concerts in Las Vegas and Honolulu for Beyoncé, Britney Spears and other big-name stars, the FBI said….
According to the FBI, the bulk of the money went to pay for lavish parties that Pascua held at Las Vegas night clubs….
Many of the victims include fellow Army reserve members, friends in the local music scene and several Waikiki residents, the FBI said.
Pascua, a former Kaneohe resident who now lives in Arizona, did not return calls. He is scheduled to appear in Honolulu Federal Court in May, where he is expected to plead guilty.
HR: Jason Pascua - Army Reservist, Political Candidate - Indicted After Allegedly Scamming $1.4 Million from 29 Hawaii Families
read … Ponzi Scheme?
Possible Downtown WalMart Plan Praised
KHON: "I think it's convenient for a lot of people who work around here, office supplies, and stuff," downtown worker Aubrey Tokioka said.
"Any time you have a big or a good business down here, it brings in the legitimate people and the criminals tend to go elsewhere," said Lynne Mausow, Downtown Neighborhood Board.
The store is about 85,000 square feet, which would be on the smaller side for a Walmart. But it would be enough to bring in plenty of clothing, electronics, as well as groceries.
Retail Analyst Stephany Sofos says Walmart would work better in this location than Macy's because Walmart has common everyday stuff that everybody needs. It would also be convenient for the 40,000 workers and 20,000 residents in the area.
"The history of Walmart shows that people come to Walmart to shop. You love them or you hate them, but they come and everybody shops at Walmart and they're going to be an asset for the working people of Honolulu," Sofos said.
As for driving out the mom and pop shops, Sofos says the big box retailer will actually help smaller stores by bringing more foot traffic to the area. As for car traffic, Sofos says the effect will be minimal.
"It will actually help traffic, I think, because you're not driving on the road to get to your retail store. It's right there downstairs from where you're working," Sofos said.
read … Wal-Mart Coming?
Hawaii County Council Drops Marijuana Decriminalization Reso
WHT: Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille backed away Thursday from a resolution in support of a state bill that would decriminalize possessing small amounts of marijuana, but not before getting some of the discussion she said she set out to hear….
Although marijuana-related measures often bring out dozens of testifiers, only a handful came out Thursday morning. A majority of the testifiers spoke out against the measure.
Emily Galaher, of Honokaa, told council members about her experiences in Colorado.
“(Marijuana) dispensaries are in absolutely every single corner in Boulder and Denver,” Galaher said. “I wish I was exaggerating, but I am not. Solicitation on the streets is huge, people handing out fliers. It’s in the faces of everyone on the streets.”
Inebriation from marijuana is mainstream in those cities, she said, while sobriety has become the counterculture. That’s not something she wants to see in Hawaii, she said.
read … No Support for Dope
Marijuana, Meth: Drug Dealers Charged in Hilo Have 50 Priors
HTH: Blanco was one of seven people evicted last May from a home on West Kawailani Street near the Hilo Municipal Golf Course that prosecutors described as a “drug house.” Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura granted a temporary injunction ordering Blanco and others to stay away from the property for 60 days under the state’s so-called “nuisance abatement” law. The house was owned by relatives of Blanco.
According to court records, Blanco has 30 prior criminal convictions. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2003 on a drug conviction and to 142 days in jail in 2007 on an assault charge….
A separate eight-count indictment accuses 62-year-old Karen Ann Sagerdahl and/or 54-year-old Allan L. Schenker, both of Keaau, of numerous marijuana-related offenses, and Schenker of two methamphetamine-related charges.
According to police, on Aug. 17, 2011, officers executed a search warrant on a 39th Avenue home in Orchidland Estates subdivision and seized 711 marijuana plants, 36 starter plants or “clones,” 9.1 pounds of dried marijuana and numerous items of drug paraphernalia…. (They’re medical officer. You can trust me. I’ve got convictions.)
According to court records, Sagerdahl has 20 criminal convictions but none for felonies. Court records indicate that Schenker has 18 criminal convictions and was sentenced in 1994 to five years in prison for third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.
read … Three indicted in meth, marijuana cases
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