Early Voting Begins Monday July 30--Find Your Polling Place
DoE Spends $3M/yr Suing Disabled Children, Forces Closure of Loveland Academy
Featured on Glen Beck: Wallbuilders’ David Barton to speak at Maui, Oahu events
Alumni, Students Denounce UHPA Smear Campaign
Case: Featherweight Hirono Can’t be the Solution When She’s Part of the Problem
Rail, RTTT, Obamacare, 'Green' Energy: The Ulterior Motive
With Profits Threatened, Star-Advertiser Suddenly Does Investigative Journalism
Many have wondered whether Star-Advertiser editors are craven or venal. Well the case has been settled: They’re venal. After years of ignoring scandal after scandal, today’s edition of the Star-Advertiser makes them look like an investigative journalism powerhouse. Why? A new law threatens an end to the SA’s lucrative multi-million dollar monopoly on legal advertising. So the SA’s editors have unleashed the bloodhounds intent on sniffing out every piece of dirt imaginable to impugn the reputation of their online or weekly legal advertising competition. Here is the result:
Funny, just a month ago, this same ‘news’ paper was warning politicians NOT to talk about pay to play. Suddenly they are the biiiig investigators. How transparent.
CB Poll: Gabbard 49-29 over Hannemann
CB: The 31-year-old first-term Honolulu City Council member has opened up a decisive 49 percent to 29 percent lead over the more experienced Hannemann with many early votes already cast and the Aug. 11 primary just days away, according to The Civil Beat Poll.
Six months ago, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser- and Hawaii News Now-sponsored Hawaii Poll showed Hannemann with an early 65-20 lead. Even recent Hawaii Poll results released just last week still said Hannemann had a "healthy margin," leading Gabbard 43-33.
Civil Beat surveyed 577 likely 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary voters — nearly all of whom had either already voted or said they were definitely going to vote — between Tuesday (July 31) and Thursday (Aug. 2).1 The results have a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percent. Former Office of Hawaiian Affairs chief advocate Esther Kiaaina secured 8 percent and Big Island lawyer Bob Marx 7 percent. That leaves 7 percent who said they wouldn't vote for any of the candidates or were undecided….
The poll was conducted by Civil Beat working with Merriman River Group, a full-service consulting organization specializing in opinion research, election management, and communications.
(If they are wrong, that will be the end of Merriman’s credibility in Hawaii.)
Related: To Stop Mufi, Mrs Abercrombie Joins the Chris Butler Cult
read … Chris Butler is Happy
Hannemann: CB Poll Oversamples Haoles
Among the 577 people they asked:
- · 51% were Caucasian, compared to roughly 28% of the likely Democratic voting population overall
- · Only 17% were Japanese, compared to roughly 28% of the likely Democratic voting population overall
- · Only 10% were Hawaiian, compared to roughly 18% of the likely Democratic voting population overall
- · Only 5% were Filipino, compared to roughly 15% of the likely Democratic voting population overall
- · Similarly, only 8% of their respondents were under the age of 40, another statistic which doesn’t match the likely Democratic electorate.
read … Pierre Omidyar Joins Butler Cult?
Cayetano Donates to Ed Case Campaign
CB: Cayetano donated $500 to Ed Case’s campaign on July 11, according to a recent Federal Elections Commission campaign finance report.
While this probably isn’t enough to sway the vote, it’s fascinating considering Case’s primary opponent is U.S. Congresswoman Mazie Hirono.
She was Cayetano’s Lt. governor for eight years, while he led the state from 1994 to 2002.
As We Predicted: Pay to Play: Will Cayetano Retaliate Against Hirono?
read … Payback for Mazie’s Indiscretion
Civil Beats Enviros Who Stray from Sierra Club Rail Line
CB: Did you know that Ben Cayetano is a supporter of the environment?
Sure, the Sierra Club, the top environmental organization in Hawaii, didn't endorse him for Honolulu mayor. It doesn't back Peter Carlisle or Kirk Caldwell, either.
None of the candidates are sufficiently capable of both "keeping the country, country" and understanding "the urgency of developing the modern infrastructure," as a club member stated.
Just days after the Sierra Club's announcement last month, however, a group calling itself the Hawaii Environmental Coalition endorsed Cayetano for mayor.
The coalition is self-described as "environmental advocates" working "in concert with environmentally-involved citizens who are deeply alarmed by threats to Oahu's natural resources."
Politics can make for strange bedfellows.
When's the last time liberal types like Amy Agbayani, Lyla Berg, Scott Foster, Tom Coffman, Marsha Joyner and Lynn Marie Sager shared the same views on something with conservative types like Sam Slom, Randy Roth, Cliff Slater and Adrienne King?
The Hawaii Environmental Coalition is so ad-hoc that it doesn't have a website.
Google the name and the top three hits will direct you to electric vehicle charging stations and Malia Zimmerman's Hawaii Reporter, which ran a story on the coalition. The story is titled — drum roll, please — "Hawaii Environmental Coalition Backs Cayetano for Mayor."
Instead, the coalition has made a lame attempt to give Ben some green cred.
(But Sierra Club is not making a ‘lame attempt’ to give rail ‘green cred’?)
read … Punishment for Heretics
Churches revisit suit over civil union rites
SA: The Lighthouse Outreach Center Assembly of God and Emmanuel Temple, the House of Praise, contend they should not be forced to allow same-sex civil union ceremonies on their premises.
They say the exemption is not broad enough.
The two Christian churches and the state had agreed to put the case on hold to give the state Legislature a chance to amend the law.
The Legislature passed, and Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed last month, an amendment that generally exempts churches that restrict marriage ceremonies to their members.
But churches that operate wedding businesses open to members of the public on their properties would not fall under the exemption.
Shawn Luiz, a lawyer for Emmanuel Temple and Lighthouse Outreach Center, which oppose same-sex civil unions, said his clients should be unconditionally exempt under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
read … Civil Unions
SA: Aina Koa Pono “Depend on ratepayers for exorbitant or indefinite subsidies”
SA: Hawaii has become a playing field for developing feedstocks for a biofuel supply chain, while HECO is moving forward on using it in place of oil in its power plants. Environmentalists prefer that biofuel replace gasoline in both aviation and ground vehicle engines, …
HECO prefers to use biofuel as a replacement of oil in its power plants. It has a 20-year contract to use biofuel crops from Kauai in its Farrington Highway plant. Nearby at Campbell Industrial Park, it operates what may be the only power plant fueled entirely by biodiesel. And it is seeking approval of a 20-year contract with a company that would convert plants and crops into a liquid fuel to replace fossil fuel at its Hawaiian Electric Light Co. power plant near Kailua-Kona on Hawaii island.
As new energy options develop, the focus must be on projects and strategic plans that are justifiable to consumers and cost-attritioned, not ones that depend on ratepayers for exorbitant or indefinite subsidies.
The Abercrombie administration agrees with environmentalists that biofuel should be used directly to power transportation rather than replace oil in power plants….
That use of biofuel is being argued in Congress. The Republican-controlled House voted last month to block domestic development of biofuel production for use in submarines and Navy destroyers. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved such a halt to the program, which would involve spending $24 $26 a gallon for biofuel, four six times what is spent for traditional marine and jet fuel.
However, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye's Appropriations Committee late last week approved legislation that would provide funding for the Navy's proposed military biofuels program….
In the end, solar, wind and geothermal should replace over-reliance on monopolistic power plants while biofuel is fed into engines….
Related: RIMPAC Biofuel Contractors Soak Navy for $26/gallon, AKP Demands $1/month from Oahu, Big Isle Ratepayers
read … A falling out amongst thieves
DoE: After Somebody Gets a Contract, AP Courses Soar
SA: The number of Hawaii public school students taking Advanced Placement courses has increased by more than 50 percent over the past five years, and officials are looking to continue that growth by attracting more low-income students to the rigorous classes.
With a three-year, $1.9 million federal grant, the Department of Education is beefing up training for AP teachers and offering extra help for students at 24 high schools that serve low-income communities….
The new services for students (contracts) include "brain camps" that give potential AP participants instruction on the types of study habits that the tough courses require. Students at the 24 high schools have also had Saturday prep sessions, where they can take full mock tests.
Anna Viggiano, a DOE educational specialist, said the mission is to attract more low-income students to AP courses while also making sure there are "safety nets" for them so they don't fall through the cracks….
Data on how students performed on the exams last school year have not yet been released. In the 2010-11 school year, 41 percent of exams taken by Hawaii public school students were scored at 3 or better, compared with 42 percent the year before. Students who score a 3 or above can get college credit for courses at many universities. The top score is 5. (Sorry, DoE can’t change the AP tests nor can they control the testing environment. But give them time and suddenly that 41% will soar instead of drop!)
Among the 24 schools the DOE is working with on the grant is Farrington High, which hadn't had an AP program before the 2011-12 school year. (In other words, the DoE doesn’t do its job unless somebody comes up with a contract.) The school's first two AP courses, language arts and calculus, attracted about 25 students each, the school said.
In language arts, 10 students passed the exam to earn college credit. In calculus, six did.
Farrington added biology and social studies to its AP lineup this year. (Contracts baby!)
read … Its all about the money
JACL to Abercrombie: Lay off the Micronesian Bashing
At the 43rd national convention for the Japanese American Citizens League National Council, the JACL adopted resolutions in support of Micronesians receiving federal benefits:
A resolution affirming JACL’s support of access to Medicaid coverage for Micronesians in Hawaii. The resolution requests Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Hawaii Attorney General David Louie to withdraw the appeal of Korab v. McManaman currently before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
A resolution affirming JACL’s support of restoration of federal health benefits for Micronesians living in the U.S. pursuant to the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2012 (S. 2474)
Nov 2, 2010: Abercrombie admits responsibility for costing Hawaii millions under Compact of Free Association
read … Japanese American Citizens League Supports Micronesian Benefits
GE vs Sales tax analysis pits rate vs. base
LVRJ: Would you rather pay the 6.85 percent state sales tax rate in Nevada or the 4 percent rate in Hawaii?
Any school kid who studies his arithmetic would pick Hawaii. But the correct answer is Nevada.
That's because in Nevada sales taxes are levied on only 37.4 percent of the potential items and products that could be taxed. In Hawaii, taxes are levied on almost everything - 99.2 percent of the potential taxable items.
This information comes from "The Disappearing Retail Sales Tax," a report completed earlier this year by Indiana University professor John Mikesell.
The Tax Foundation, a national group, released a study last week noting Nevada's sales tax rate is eighth highest in the country, just a shade behind California's leading 7.25 percent….
Only in Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wyoming and North Dakota are more than half of items taxed.
read … Sales tax analysis pits rate vs. base
The Economics of Recycling in Hawaii
HM: …Part of the calculation is the cost of putting waste into a landfill, but those costs are hard to pin down. Honolulu charges private companies $81 in tipping fees to dump a ton of waste in its landfill, and there are often other fees, but those do not represent the real cost of landfills to taxpayers. Those costs include site selection, stakeholder involvement, development, construction, permitting, ongoing maintenance, disaster management, methane capture, closure and other costs that aren’t all reflected in the tipping fee. There are other ways to get rid of trash, but a recent attempt to ship Honolulu County’s waste to Oregon cost $99 a ton and doesn’t seem like a long-term solution.
Recycling itself has limitations: Unless the materials can be economically recycled in Hawaii, they must be shipped at least 2,500 miles to Asia or the mainland, which adds costs and carbon footprint. Nonetheless, shipping Oahu’s lower-value recyclables, such as waste paper, across the ocean for recycling has substantial global environmental benefits, according to a 2005 study commissioned by the Honolulu Department of Environmental Services’ Refuse Division. The global benefits would include an overall net reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions and a net energy benefit of 330,000 megawatt/hours a year, versus a net energy benefit of 49,000 MWh for processing that waste into energy at H-Power (both figures are compared against a baseline of putting those materials in a landfill).
However, shipping materials overseas to recycling centers has only nominal economic benefit for the Islands, while recycling them locally, either as materials or through conversion to energy, clearly creates more economic activity in Hawaii. The Refuse Division’s 2005 study found that if you looked at the life cycle of materials, sending Oahu’s waste paper and other low-value materials to H-Power would result in $4.8 million in direct wages, 211 total jobs and $823,000 in reduced energy-production costs a year. On the other hand, recycling those same materials on Oahu would create 235 total jobs, but lower direct wages of about $4.1 million. The study provided incentive for Honolulu to invest in a local recycling infrastructure that has an ongoing financial return for Hawaii, and to send the bulk of those low-value recyclables to H-Power.
read … The Economics of Recycling in Hawaii
63% of Honolulu Water Pipes Over 40 years Old
SA: Much of the blame for Oahu's fragile pipes rests with the age of the system.
More than 47 percent of water pipelines are more than 40 years old. More than 15 percent of the pipelines are more than 70 years old.
Another seven miles of pipe are about a century old, board spokesman Kurt Tsue said.
BUT EVEN relatively new subdivisions, such as Royal Kunia, have leaking pipes regularly because of decades of pesticide use from the old plantation era that can ruin modern-day, freshwater PVC, Takaesu said. (Pesticides in fresh water supply pipes?)
read … No mention of how many pipes are leased to Al Hee
Old Boy Dreams Harnessed to State Land and Power Corp.
DDLC: Competition happens with cities of all sizes. Density is key factor for larger cities to be competitive. Bigger cities diversify the workforce. Poor planning in big cities leads to congestion and other infrastructure issues resulting in impediments to their competitiveness. Proper planning in dense urban cores contributes to higher productivity. Compare efficient density design to inefficient urban sprawl and you will see a far better performing economy in denser areas.
All of these ideas support Honolulu becoming a global leader:
- center of diplomacy, “The Geneva of the Pacific”
- center of technology, “The Silicon Valley of the Pacific”
- center for film, culture and arts, “The Hollywood of the Pacific”
We must all rethink how we pursue and encourage proper development and more importantly redevelopment.
(BTW: Hollywood and Silicon Valley are already on the Pacific. And Geneva benefitted from 400 years of Swiss neutrality. All Honolulu lacks is a railroad? Nuts!)
read … Don’t these guys ever get any new talking points?
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