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Tuesday, June 11, 2013
June 11, 2013 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:58 PM :: 4308 Views

Kamehameha: The Founding of the Hawaiian Kingdom

Thanks to Pensions, Hawaii Retiree Income Tops Nation

Feds Approve Hawaii Health Connector

Hawaii Congressional Delegation: How They Voted June 10, 2013

Jones Act Adds 30% To Price of Paradise

Hawaii Unemployment Figures Skewed by Large Number of Part-Time Jobs

Act221 Finale: $400M Solar factory built with Hawaii Tax Dollars produces nothing, may be dismantled for scrap

AP: An estimated $400 million polysilicon plant in eastern Idaho now has only eight workers, all security guards, after its last engineer exited last month amid dwindling hopes the facility will ever produce materials for solar panels....

"Why should a big company go into a joint venture when they can wait and buy it in bankruptcy?" Gibbs said.

In Pocatello, Gibbs said, the problems with contractors and others escalated during his tenure.

"It was always, ‘When are we going to get paid?'" he said.

If the idle Pocatello plant is sold in a federal bankruptcy proceeding, Gibbs sees some hope it will eventually operate, though he concedes that it may have to be retrofitted to produce something else. Another possibility: Its gleaming new equipment could eventually be dismantled and sold in pieces, to help satisfy liens against the company filed by contractors that helped build it.

If that happens, Gibbs predicts, they'll get little of what they were originally promised.

"Hoku never made money," Gibbs said. "And you can't borrow money forever."

read ... Idaho solar factory built by isle firm produces nothing

2 investigations examining nonprofit’s handling of federal funds

KITV: Last week, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said Managing Director Ember Shinn and Corporation Counsel Donna Leong were heading up an internal review of Opportunities and Resources Inc, also known as ORI. The investigation is being augmented by private investigator Steve Goodenow of the Hawaii Investigative Group, LLC, although the cost of the contract has not been made public.  

KITV4 also confirmed the Honolulu Ethics Commission has launched its own investigation into the matter, after being notified by members of Caldwell's cabinet.

2011: Resignation call after Audit reveals “ward heeler’s slush fund” overseen by Honolulu Councilman

Read ... Two Investigations

Hawaii Delegation Postures Against Spying

SA: National Security Administration surveillance programs recently revealed by the media are "troubling" and "unacceptable" and deserve a thorough investigation to determine whether they were an abuse of government power, members of Hawaii's all-Demo­cratic congressional delegation said Monday.

read ... An entire article in which the word "Obama" does not appear even once

Democrat Manufacturing Fake Scandal in Effort to Dump Maui's Republican Mayor

MN: "The mayor cannot unilaterally decide to demolish the building and plan construction of new buildings because he thinks it's a better idea," Hokama said. "He must follow the charter's well-established legislative process. Sweeping the problem under the rug would send the wrong message and, frankly, it would call into question the council's integrity."

On Monday afternoon, county spokesman Rod Antone responded by saying: "Councilman Hokama's press release refers to a meeting that took place on May 31, which was covered thoroughly by a Maui News story the next day. We are not quite sure why he decided to issue the press release today but maybe he was upset at two Letters to the Editor that appeared in today's Opinion section of The Maui News, saying this investigation is a waste of time. It sounds like it is responding to what members of the public said, not us."

According to Hokama, approximately $780,000 appropriated for rehabilitation of the Old Wailuku Post Office building was expended to prepare a conceptual plan that includes construction of a multistory building and parking garage at the Old Wailuku Post Office site, renovations of the existing Kalana O Maui and Kalana Pukui buildings and construction of a new multistory building on the Kaohu Street side of the Kalana O Maui building.

read ... 2014 Election Preparation

Interim UH presidents seem to do pretty well

SA: ...it seems the permanent picks of the recent past were the ones who had all the problems. Remember Evan Dobelle? And Greenwood's tenure hasn't been a walk in the park, according to her critics.

It seems to work out better when the regents hire a temp and then beg him to stay. Anyway, that's what happened with David McClain, who got fairly good reviews. Maybe he's still around and can be persuaded again.

AP: New state law strips some power from university head

read ... Interim UH presidents seem to do pretty well

PUC Promises HECO a Microscope and a Big Stick

CB: the “Commission's Observations and Perspectives” are hidden in gentle and opaque language in Appendix C of a 156-page docket. (Docket No. 2011-0092

Documents: www.IRPIE.com

read ... PUC Promises

Hawaii Teacher: Where is Education's Steve Jobs?

CB: Imagine if a Steve Jobs or Bill Gates of education existed today — an innovative, visionary genius who could create a system for administration and curricula that was comprehensive, substantive, effective, and powerfully engaging.

Would they find a network of leaders in Hawaii capable of encouraging their growth and of incorporating their ideas? Or would they be stymied, constrained, and forced to leave education and move toward a field that valued and adopted their ideas and talents?

This is what is happening every year, over and over, in our education system in Hawaii. We have a 56-percent teacher turnover every 5 years. I have, in recent years, watched colleagues with incredible abilities and potential leave the state or the profession because they felt undervalued and unrecognized.

People who want to become administrative leaders in Hawaii's schools don't get the job thanks to raw talent or intellectual ability. It is about having the right number of years of teaching experience to apply. And there seems to be skepticism toward people who choose a field that allows them to grow.

read ... Hawaii Teacher: Where is Education's Steve Jobs?

Tropical flower growers hope to benefit from GMO boon

HTH: Much of the research, which is still largely in its early stages, focuses on anthurium.

Scientists say genetic engineering could be used to both develop strains resistant to a bacterial blight that devastated Big Island growers in the 1980s and introduce new colors to the plant’s palette, such as blue and purple.

Field trials for the projects are at least a few years away, they say, but the research is giving growers enough to get excited about.

read ... Tropical flower growers hope to benefit from GMO boon

Councilmember Offers $40M Bribe for Anti-GMO Vote

WHT: The councilwoman introduced Bill 79, which would prohibit genetically modified crop growth, with a few exceptions, such as one for the island’s established papaya industry.

Wille said she’s heard rumors of Monsanto, one of the largest producers of genetically modified seeds, asking a Hawaii Island ranch for a 1,400-acre GMO corn test. But she’s also had Japanese investors talk with her about their desire to buy “noncontaminated beef.”

There are “people coming in willing to put in a $40 million slaughterhouse if we can guarantee a supply of noncontaminated beef,” she said, adding that could be a major economic boost.

read ... Wille touts GMO ban to Kona farmers

Editor wants Weekly to rise again

SA: Mindy Pennybacker said she's looking at turning the Weekly into a nonprofit entity with help from the Nation Institute. She is also looking for investors and considering raising money through an online funding platform such as Kickstarter.

She said the editors and writers of the Weekly support restarting the alternative newspaper....

She said people can contact the Weekly through its Facebook page until the end of this month and get on an email list to receive updates on its progress at newhonweekly@gmail.com

ILind: Is the Weekly coming back soon?

read ... Weakly

Parents Without Partners Nears End?

SA: Parents Without Partners is an international, nonprofit and nonsectarian group founded for single parents — whether separated, divorced, widowed or never married — and their children. Its mission is to offer an environment of support and friendship and the exchange of parenting techniques.

The Hawaii chapter has been in existence since the 1950s, according to group members. Though membership peaked at more than 500 in the late '70s and early '80s, when Johnston joined, it has since declined to just about 15 today. Membership fees are $40 a year.

Without additional funding or an increase in membership, the local chapter of Parents Without Partners is in danger of disbanding, according to President Jennifer Gruver, a single mother of six. Members are trying to keep the group going at least until the end of the year.

read ... Lack of Partners

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