August 15, 2012 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

In 2006 the city estimated it would pay about $70 million to buy about 215 full and partial properties along the rail route. Today that cost jumped to $222 million and you might be surprised to see properties the city paid more than a million dollars for.

"Thank you chair, keep it secret. Mahalo chair for just acknowledging you want to keep it secret. Mahalo," said Honolulu City Councilman Tom Berg, during a Budget Committee meeting July 26.

Before Councilman Berg made (an alleged) outburst he was trying to make a valid point. Why is the city paying so much for properties in the way of rail? Take houses in the Banana Patch area of Pearl City for example. A house at 96-137 Kamehameha Highway was built in 1950 has seen better days but it is on almost an acre of land. The city values it at $392,000. Zillow says it's worth $600,000. HART paid the owners more than a million dollars.

Another property at 96-149 Kamehameha Highway is valued at $477,000. The city bought for $558,000. The small home is falling apart and appears to be in disrepair.

The property at 96-157 Kamehameha Highway includes 3.5 acres in the Banana Patch. It is valued at $456,000 according to the city. It was bought for more than $1.2 million.

"How do you get those inflated numbers that Hart is now coming across? Because it is three times over the value," said Councilman Berg.

In 2006 the city projected spending a total of $70 million acquiring properties. Steve Sofos, a leading realtor in Hawaii, says it's typical government to low ball early to make a project look good….

It still doesn't add up to Councilman Berg who says sometimes he has to make a scene in order to make a point.

"If I have to sacrifice my reputation or character to save the taxpayer money it's no loss to me. It's on their behalf," said Berg.

To see the list of 16 properties acquired so far and how much the city paid for them click here.

How the Star-Adv Covers this story: Councilman Berg's behavior prompts chairman to cut committee assignments

read … What they were trying to keep secret

Shapiro: Hirono Using Mufi’s ‘I look like you’ Playbook

Shapiro: Hirono stuck doggedly to her Mama Strategy of emphasizing above all else her upbringing as the daughter of a poor immigrant mother from Japan who came to Hawaii to escape an abusive marriage.

Invoking "our values" against a Caucasian opponent is out of the same playbook as Mufi Hannemann's infamous "I look like you, you look like me" line from the 2010 governor's race, but Hirono's campaign delivered the message with far more subtlety to avoid the backlash Hannemann got.

Expect more of the same against Lingle in the general election….

read … Mufi in Drag

Lazy Mazie: Dan Inouye Didn’t Get All Those Earmarks, I did!

Hirono Campaign: Since being elected to Congress, Hirono has consistently worked with individuals, organizations, community leaders and elected officials in Hawaii to secure federal resources for local and state programs and projects. She has repeatedly ranked among the top members of Congress to advocate for federal funding in Washington, DC for Hawaii. For example, Hirono fought for nearly $150 million in federal funding for local and state programs and projects in 2010, ‘ranking [her] 1st out of 435 representatives.’ [OpenSecrets.org, Earmarks (Fiscal Year 2010)].

The Hill: First Lingle general-election ad Points Out opponent Hirono has 'zero' accomplishments

read … IdidIdidIdid

While Mazie Snoozed, Don Young Rounded Up Democrat Votes for Native Hawaiian Programs

CB: Hirono says that she had to battle Democratic Party leadership to pass the Young-Hirono amendment. A Democratic Party leader, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, criticized the amendment as a "special favor." But the congressional record reveals that her criticism was targeted at Rep. Don Young. While Hirono made remarks in support of the legislation, it was Young who stood up to DeLauro, according to the record.

read … Alaska Republican has to take up the slack for Hawaii

Maui Chamber of Commerce Endorsement? Hirono Doesn’t Even Try

MN: Since the event serve as a venue for the COMPAC endorsement process, organizers say Hirono cannot be endorsed due to her non participation. Only Linda Lingle will be considered for endorsement, organizers said.

read … Lingle Would Go

Depledge: Democrats Must Use Lingle’s Focus on Congress to make Race about Ryan

SA: Lingle has derisively labeled U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, her Democratic opponent, as one of the "12 percenters," a reference to the national job approval rating for Congress in a July poll by CBS News and The . Gallup released a new survey on Tuesday that put the job approval rating for Congress at 10 percent, tying the record low Gallup found in February.

Railing against a dysfunctional Congress may help Lingle appeal to independents and to moderate Democrats, the groups she needs to draw away from Hirono in November. The strategy has far less risk in Hawaii than blaming the political gridlock in Washington on Obama, who had a 63 percent job approval rating in the islands during the first six months of the year, according to Gallup, higher than any other state and second only to the District of Columbia.

The downside is that while most voters are disappointed with Congress, they generally like their own representative. Hirono had a 59 percent favorability rating in the latest Hawaii Poll in July, while Lingle was at 49 percent. A potentially greater risk, however, is that Republicans have held the U.S. House for the past two years, and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's choice for vice president — has been the architect of the GOP budget.

read … Its all about Ryan Ryan Ryan

25 Polling Places Open Late? Nago Suddenly “Doesn’t know where that number came from”

SA: Nago met Tuesday with Kawauchi and other county clerks in Hilo for a standard post-primary briefing. He said Kawauchi provided a "bird's-eye view" of what happened on Hawaii island Saturday but did not present sufficient detail.

"We had a meeting, and she gave us nothing in detail, so we've got to go get the information ourselves," he said.

Nago said his office will interview precinct chairmen to determine how many precincts opened late as well as other information he had hoped to receive from Kawauchi. He said he would not wait for her to conduct such a review. "She hasn't given us anything of substance anyway," he said.

Kawauchi reported voter registration poll books were not being delivered properly, cellphones issued to each polling place were not programmed to be able to speed-dial the control center if problems arose, and the sealed precinct cans containing poll books and record books were not picked up until the night before the election, he said.

"Basically, she didn't plan properly, and a lot of things got magnified and compounded," he said.

Nago said Kawauchi initially reported three polling places opened late, then roughly at noon reported 11 did.

He said that based on information that has surfaced so far, "upwards of 25" precincts on Hawaii Island might have opened late, but "we don't know where that number came from." That number may have come from the governor's proclamation Saturday extending voting hours by 90 minutes at all Hawaii County polling places.

KITV: Hawaii County Clerk at the center of elections inquiry

read … On Behalf of his Crony Dwayne Yoshina and Dwayne’s Fired Girlfriend

Hawaii's Voter ID Law Apparently … No Big Deal

HM: One of the hottest issues in national news is the furor over voter ID laws. Fifteen states require voters to show a photo ID before they're given a a ballot. Legislators in some of the no-ID-required states are trying to pass voter ID laws.
The way this plays out these days is that Republicans call for voter ID laws to prevent fraud, then Democrats denounce them as racists who are trying to block minorities from voting.
So, I went to vote in Hawaii's primary election on Saturday and was reminded that Hawaii is one of those states that requires voters to show a photo ID. The Office of Elections is quite clear on what kind of ID is acceptable to vote or even to register to vote in the first place.
And all of this in a state that is a bastion of the Democratic Party and where large numbers of apparently not-disenfranchised minorities manage to vote just fine.

read … Hawaii's Voter ID Law Apparently … No Big Deal

Gabbard weighs giving up Council seat before election

SA: Congressional candidate Tulsi Gabbard said she will decide by next week whether to resign her City Council seat in time for a successor to be elected at the general election, a move that would likely save the city as much as $150,000.

"I'm looking at my options now and my decision will be whatever is best for taxpayers. I hope to make the decision by next week at the latest," Gabbard said in a statement in response to a Star-Advertiser question….

Under the law, if a Council member resigns 30 to 180 days before a primary or general election, a special election to fill the remainder of the term would be held in conjunction with the next regular election, Takahashi said.

read … Giving up Council seat before election

A`ama Crabs Gather for ‘Unity Rally’

KGI: Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said this was a time to look at the a‘ama crab syndrome, in which captured crabs climb over each other to escape. Instead of working to pull people down, people should work it out so they can work for the people, he said.

Said Steven Nishimura, the Kaua‘i coordinator. “It’s been a rigorous primary election, but it’s not over yet. We have two candidates for the office of prosecuting attorney from the same party. I don’t think that has happened before. There is a lot more excitement remaining.”

“This was the lowest turnout, at 39.2 percent of all registered voters,” Inouye said.

read … Sad Crabs in a Bucket

Bureaucrats Give Queens Permission to Buy HMC-West

SA: The state has approved the sale of Hawaii Medical Center-West to the Queen's Medical Center for $73.2 million, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the reopening of West Oahu's only acute-care hospital.

The State Health Planning and Development Agency, which regulates health care projects and acquisitions, approved on Tuesday Queen's application to purchase and reopen the shuttered Ewa hospital in August 2013.

"There is a public need," the agency said in its decision, adding that "the cost of the proposal will not be unreasonable."

read … One Unnecessary Step of Many

REP. PINE URGES THE QUEEN'S MEDICAL CENTER TO EXPEDITE OPENING OF EMERGENCY ROOM AT FORMER HMC-WEST FACILITY

NR: State Representative Kymberly Marcos Pine is calling on The Queen's Medical Center to immediately reopen the emergency room of the closed Hawaii Medical Center-West facility following the announcement of the hospital's approved purchase. In January, Rep. Pine took part in a legislative hearing chaired by Sen. Josh Green regarding the hospital closure, during which Hawaii Pacific Health pledged that should it have the opportunity to buy the hospital, it would move to open the emergency room immediately. Rep. Pine is urging The Queen's Medical Center to make the same pledge.

"We welcome Queen's to our community," said Rep. Pine. "It is great news for the Leeward Coast that the process is moving forward to restore medical care to the facility, especially emergency services. But for the sake of our residents, I ask that the new owners do everything in their power to expedite the process. We simply can't afford another year of compromised emergency services."

The entire facility is scheduled to reopen in August 2013.

Japan, Hawaii Governments Work Together to Jack Up Electric Rates, Funnel Money to Green Energy Scammers

CB: As of this spring, all 50 of Japan’s nuclear reactors, which provided about one-third of the country’s electricity, were down, said Kurt Tong, a deputy chief for the U.S. State Department, during a keynote speech at the Honolulu conference. Tong has served in U.S. embassies in Tokyo, Manila, Beijing and Seoul.

To compensate, Japan has been importing increasing amounts of low sulfur fuel oil to use in its generators — the competition has caused electricity prices in Hawaii to spike, reaching record highs earlier this year. (see next story)

As a result, Japan is moving more aggressively toward implementing renewable energy, which currently only makes up 10 percent of its energy portfolio, said Tong — about 8 percent comes from hydroelectric.

“I think Hawaii plays an absolutely central role in this,” he said.

In an interview with Civil Beat, Schatz talked about Japan's changing political climate when it comes to renewables

read … Hand in Glove

HECO Hangs Up on Customers Calling about Soaring Electric Bills

HNN: Some Hawaiian Electric Company customers are outraged over trying for hours, days and sometimes weeks to reach HECO by phone.

One Oahu resident, Choo May, said she was forced to take a bus, lugging her heavy belongings, to show up at the billing office in person. She said she spent hours on the phone, in vain, to find out why her recent bill increased so drastically.

Angry at the lack of customer service and frustrated with HECO's phone system, she went out of her way for answers. "It's so inconvenient. I was carrying a lot of things, I took a bus which took me one hour to get here and that's not fair to us," she complained.

May suggests HECO handle its call backlog like other utility companies with automated systems that take the waiting customer's phone number, estimate wait time and call them back. "They didn't pick up the phone and I waited for one hour. When someone finally answered, I was disconnected," May said in frustration.

HECO admits there's a major problem at its customer call center, after changing to a new computer billing system back in May. Corporate Spokesperson Peter Rosegg told Hawaii News Now that HECO is sorry and embarrassed by the fiasco. He said training customer service representatives to use the new software has proven more difficult than expected.

Rosegg advised customers to continue paying their bills….

read … Hawaiian Electric Company customers report phone fiasco

SA: Donovan Payoff Looks Like Freitas Job Switch

SA: The supposed clearance of wrongdoing at this stage is puzzling, since what has been billed as a thorough investigation assigned by UH to the Cades Schutte law firm of Honolulu "is not complete; it has not been turned in, submitted and accepted," according to university spokeswoman Lynn Waters.

If Donovan was both innocent and splendid, why wasn't he returned to his job as athletic director?

His contract in that job began in 2008 and was to expire March 23, so UH was under no obligation to keep him on the employment rolls beyond then.

The decision to slightly reduce Donovan's salary and create a new lucrative position for him to fill is being described as a "compromise."

How this arrangement serves the interests outside of this tight circle, though, is dubious. Donovan is said to have wanted his job back and UH was not willing to give it. In dollars, Donovan clearly won.

Speculation is that Rockne Freitas, UH vice president for student affairs and university community relations, is eying the job of athletic director, for which he applied twice before. A former all-pro football player, Freitas has served in that role since Donovan's paid leave began and the job is believed to be his if he wants it, according to the Star-Advertiser's Ferd Lewis.

Indeed, it looks more and more like a job switch between Donovan and Freitas. Still, Apple says the university "probably" will hire a search firm to solicit applicants for athletic director. If the lines are drawn as they seem, that would be yet another waste of money.

Undoubtedly, there is worthwhile work being done at various levels of the University of Hawaii deserving of funds and support. But the alarming regularity in which upper-level administrators bungle their jobs then get rewarded for going away or enriched for hanging on — remember Evan Dobelle and Greg McMackin? — is revealing an institution that seems to care more about its cronies than its students.

KHON: Students, faculty want answers in concert blunder, new Donovan job

read … Bad judgment reigns at UH

Honolulu City Council taking up commercial beach activities ban again

KHON: Councilman Ikaika Anderson introduced Bill 11 and will look for the necessary votes to override the mayor's veto during a meeting Wednesday morning.

Six out of nine the city council members need to vote in favor of the override.

If that happens, Bill 11 will become law.

CB: Honolulu Vetoes Don't Stand Test of Time

read … Ban all business

NHLC Sues to Block Haleiwa Hotel Deal

CB: The contentious deal — which will be decided by auction between former state senator and local developer D.G. “Andy” Anderson and Kamehameha Schools — has come under intense scrutiny in recent months. The most vocal critics are members of the Save Haleiwa Beach Park Coalition, which sued the city last month in an attempt to block the sale.

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation filed the new lawsuit on Monday on behalf of Bryan Amona and Gabriel Kahaulelio, Native Hawaiians who frequent the park

read … No surprise here

Tesoro eyes West Coast empire with BP refinery deal

Reuters: The purchase of the 266,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) plant could garner close scrutiny from regulators aiming to prevent any one company from gaining too much control over how much gasoline, diesel fuel and other products are made in a state.

California is the country's largest gasoline market, and its drivers routinely pay some of the highest pump prices due to boutique blending requirements that prevent the state from importing large quantities of fuel.

"We're going to look seriously at it," said Lynda Gledhill, spokeswoman for California Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose agency will comb through the deal alongside the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. An FTC spokesman declined to comment.

Greg Goff, Tesoro's president and chief executive officer, expressed no regulatory concerns in a conference call with analysts on Monday.

"We will work our way through the regulatory approval process," Goff said.

Tesoro's grip in a U.S.-defined petroleum supply zone that includes five western states, Alaska and Hawaii would rise to 25.35 percent from 17.66 percent of the region's 3.12 million bpd of refining capacity with the purchase of BP's Carson refinery.

That amount would fall to 20.1 percent if Tesoro sells its Hawaii refinery as planned.

read … More Pressure to Sell Hawaii

Poll: Californians Favor GMO Labeling

SA: A recent statewide poll by Pepperdine University and the California Business Roundtable showed the Yes campaign had a commanding lead with 69.4 percent of respondents in support. Opponents accounted for only 21.8 percent with 8.9 percent undecided. The Internet poll of 873 likely voters was released Aug. 2.

(Coming to Hawaii next)

read … Tool for Hypesters

Justice Kennedy Defends Ninth Circuit’s Maui Conference

WSJ: The legislative branch has been in the Ninth Circuit’s face about a three-day taxpayer-funded conference in Maui, with a potential tab of $1 million. Judges, lawyers and academics convening in Hawaii, in this economy?

Republican Sens. Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking members of the Budget and Judiciary committees, respectively, wrote angry letters, condemning what they saw as excess.

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, the leader of the Ninth Circuit, offered a desultory apology. The conference was planned two years ago, when the country’s current fiscal problems were impossible to divine, he wrote, unconvincingly, in a letter to the senators.

These circuit conferences — it’s not just the Ninth; the other circuits meet regularly, too — are sanctioned by law, and they have real agendas that include real work sessions. (We’ve been to one.) But they often unfold in places where, when the work is done, fun can be had without too much imagination. Maui, for instance. Is that wrong? Maybe. You tell us.

Now the conference is underway, despite the senators’ reservations. And one of the event’s biggest draws, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, began his address Tuesday with an impassioned defense of…circuit conferences.

read … Kennedy on Maui

Is Slavery and Human Trafficking legal in the United States?

ETN: In the old days, they used to keep slaves in place using chains and whips. These days, it's done through economic intimidation.
Did those responsible for for the largest human trafficking and slavery case in the United States get away without trial punishment?

read … Slavery

Shooting at Family Research Council HQ

FN: The suspect "made statements regarding their policies, and then opened fire with a gun striking a security guard," a source told Fox News. WJLA-TV7 reported the suspect was also shot. Sources also said the gunman may have been carrying a bag from Chick-fil-A, the embattled fast-food restaurant whose president came under fire from gay activists after he said he did not agree with same-sex marriage.

Sources told Fox New that after guard took away his gun, the suspect said, "Don't shoot me, it was not about you, it was what this place stands for."

Authorities were treating the attack as a case of domestic terrorism

Read … Chick-fil-a

Examiner Editorial: To protect ethanol, Obama seeks to inflate meat prices

WE: Campaigning in Missouri Valley, Iowa, yesterday, President Obama announced yet another government spending program -- this time designed to inflate meat prices in Midwest swing states. "Today the Department of Agriculture announced that it will buy up to $100 million worth of pork products, $50 million worth of chicken, and $20 million worth of lamb and farm-raised catfish," Obama explained to reporters in front of a drought-stricken cornfield.

"Prices are low, farmers and ranchers need help, so it makes sense," Obama explained. "It makes sense for farmers who get to sell more of their product, and it makes sense for taxpayers who will save money because we're getting food we would have bought anyway at a better price."

None of this makes sense. In fact, Obama's move only harms American consumers while protecting a corrupt federal program.

A drought is currently driving down corn production. The shortage of feed is forcing livestock producers to slaughter animals early, putting downward pressure on meat prices in the short run and guaranteeing shortages and higher prices next year. But nature is not the biggest factor in this crisis -- the government is. Specifically, the federal government's ethanol mandate, which requires that 13.2 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be produced in 2012.

Thanks to the ethanol mandate, more than 40 percent of the nation's corn crop now goes into the production of a useless fuel that hardly anyone would buy if the government didn't require it.

read … Higher Prices to Protect Biofool Scammers

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