Other Questionable Subsidies Provided by Highway Users

Feds: Some 'Preferred Pharmacy' Plans Cost More

Acts 225, 226 Protect Pharmacy Choice, Patient Privacy

TheBus: Financial 'Black Hole' Faces Ethics Inquiry

SA: The information originally came from an anonymous complaint and was sent to DTS within the past two months, Formby said Friday....

The Ethics Commission has "received a number of complaints at the highest level" regarding OTS, and that the complaints involved "misuse of resources for somebody's benefit," said Charles Totto, the commission's executive director and legal counsel....

OTS spends public dollars to "fulfill a vital public service," Totto said during a recent Council meeting, arguing for more stringent oversight. "It's a black hole. No one really knows what's going on."

OTS took over TheBus in 1991 after scandal engulfed OTS' predecessor, Mass Transit Lines. Officials there had used MTL employees to do repairs on their personal vehicles and homes, and a lengthy 1990 investigation by the city prosecutor found at least 38 areas of wrongdoing at MTL. It led to six MTL officials being charged with conspiracy and thefts related to the bus company. All of them pleaded guilty or no contest.

In 1987, as an MTL employee, Morton helped spark an internal investigation against one of the MTL executives eventually charged in the matter, Erwin Paschoal. Morton reported to the company president that he had seen an MTL car parked in front of Paschoal's home. Paschoal went on trial for theft and pleaded guilty in Circuit Court. He was sentenced to five years' probation and a $5,000 fine.

(Just as ethics complaints were used as a power play in 1987-91 they are a power play today.  Who is the power player? HART? HGEA? UPW?  Teamsters beware.)

read ... Black Hole

Star-Adv: HECO's Secret Deal a "hopeful start"

SA: Reducing utility costs is one primary focus of the plan, and officials believe success will hang on several initiatives, including:

... HECO is seeking PUC permission to negotiate, outside the ordinary request-for-proposals process, on five proposed contracts for solar and wind energy adding 64 megawatts of generating capacity to Oahu's grid.

The proponents of these projects, whose identities haven't yet been disclosed, (translation, the usual suspects) have committed to selling HECO electricity at a rate averaging just under 16 cents an hour, a savings of about one-third from oil-generated power rates, according to the announcement last month.  (Why not just dump the scams that are above $0.16 and keep the rest?  What are they hiding?)

The devil will be in the details on such an approach.... (No kidding!)

read ... HECO 5-year plan outlines hopeful start

Hoku Business Plan: "Go Public and Pay the Executives"

GT: Hoku started out as a fuel cell membrane and materials company, went public in 2005 on little revenue, and then pivoted to becoming a solar polysilicon manufacturer. The company also tried its hand at solar installation in home-state Hawaii with $1.6 million in 2013 revenue....

The firm never really had a technological differentiation in silicon manufacturing or in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)  fuel cells. Nor did it seem to have a strategic business plan, other than to go public and pay its executives.

read ... Death of a Scam

National studies stick state's foibles in unflattering light

Shapiro: New studies found yet more ways to rank Hawaii's state government as one of the nation's most futless as we "flASHback" on the week's news that amused and confused:

» Hawaii ranked as the fourth-worst state for public pension fund liability at $7,923 per capita, but the governor and Legislature say their plan will clear the debt in 30 years if certain assumptions are met. The main assumptions are that either the fund's portfolio returns 7.75 percent a year or we all drown from global warming by then.

» Another study said Hawaii spends the most on highway maintenance of nearly any state yet suffers some of the nation's worst roads, leading the author to observe: "If I were a resident of Hawaii, I'd be asking, ‘What did you do with my money?'" It was spent on paving the road to hell with political ambitions.

» A public campaign financing initiative credited with bringing new blood into Hawaii island County Council elections died when state legislators ended funding for the pilot project. That's our Legislature's rallying cry: If it ain't broke, break it.

read ... Hawaii #1 for Futlessness

AARP Challenges Hawaii Health Connector on Transparency

SA: AARP Hawaii believes the next 90 days are critical for the success of the Connector and must reflect a fully transparent process that responds to consumers....

AARP Hawaii encourages the Connector to further engage residents in the outreach and enrollment processes. We believe that involving consumers and advocates as the website evolves provides a win-win situation for everyone. Individuals and small businesses get the opportunity to see what is coming in October...

AARP encourages the Connector to circulate information about organizations and individuals who have been contracted to provide in-person assistance. People also need to know what protections are in place for consumers....

Hawaii consumers deserve a transparent Connector, where everyone can be a part of establishing a program that provides affordable, quality and accessible health coverage.....

March 21, 2013: AARP: Health Connector Transparency Legislation Did Not Pass "AARP opposes the appropriation of State funds for the operation of the Connector in 2015"

read ... Transparency

Saipan: Hirono's COFA Plan Worse Than Status Quo

ST: Gov. Eloy S. Inos supports congressional efforts to open up Medicaid eligibility to migrants from the Freely Associated States, but he wants it done the right way to prevent negative impacts on the CNMI’s limited finances, particularly by amending Section 4415 of S. 744, the sweeping immigration bill that the U.S. Senate recently passed.

Inos expressed his concerns in a three-page, July 3 letter to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP).

The letter came shortly after Inos and Sablan met on Capital Hill last week to discuss Medicaid coverage and other measures in Congress that affect the CNMI and other territories.

Section 4415, introduced as an amendment by Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee markup on S. 744, removes the present cap on federal Medicaid payments to the U.S. territories for so-called COFA migrants. However, it retains the current matching requirement of 45 percent territorial and 55 percent federal funds.

In the long run, this could leave the CNMI “worse off as a result of Section 4415” if passed in its current form, Inos said.

read ... Hirono Thoughtless

Access to health care is the top issue facing Hawaii Island, assessment finds

WHT: “On the neighbor islands, especially for the Big Island and West Hawaii, the No. 1 issue is access to health care,” said George Greene, president and chief executive officer of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, which collaborated with the Healthy Communities Institute to conduct the statewide study on Hawaii’s health-care needs.

Because many health services are based on Oahu, Hawaii County suffers from limited access to various types of care, including primary, mental and specialized care, the State of Hawaii Community Health Needs Assessment reads. The assessment, released Wednesday, was compiled by the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and the Healthy Communities Institute.

The island’s geography exacerbates the issue by making transportation and the availability of care sometimes difficult to provide.

While data shows there is a lack of both primary care and specialty care available on the island; the shortage is especially severe in Puna, Ka’u and Waikoloa, according to the report. In the realm of mental health care, the island is facing a shortage in providers as well as a lack of substance abuse and mental health treatment options.

read ... About Oahu's Future

Small health care businesses face trying times these days

SA: What is true about American health care is that beginning with the formation of Medicare in 1965, the country doctor has disappeared while resources and control have shifted progressively to big health care organizations, leaving small health care businesses under threat. The same is true for pharmacies. My grandfather operated a pharmacy in Tucson from the mid-1940s until 1966. Shortly, after selling the store and retiring, independent pharmacies nationwide were either acquired or put out of business en masse by large chains.

The strengthening economy, in concert with the crisis and opportunity of health care reform, has capital from the mainland eyeing Hawaii. Today the giants are stirring. Bruce Anderson's abrupt departure as CEO of Hawaii Health Systems Corp., which manages Hawaii's public hospitals, reportedly resulted from differences of opinion on Banner Health's proposal to privatize selected facilities. Banner Health is based in Phoenix and operates 23 hospitals on the mainland.

Today private medical practices in Hawaii are faced with an unremitting onslaught of challenges, most having to do with the edicts of large organizations both public and private.

Providers are working to catch their breath after paying big dollars to large companies to shift to electronic health records. Concurrently they are also working to fulfill the requirements of HMSA and Medicare. The requirements are loaded with carrots and sticks, but, typically, resources needed for implementation exceed returns. Getting paid by carriers for services rendered in good faith remains as arduous as it ever was....

read ... Trying Times

Best Comment:  Well Ian, if you are really interested in the legal aspects, then lets look at what you left out of your Chermerinsky excerpt:

Even if police have a reasonable belief that the property has been abandoned, there is no justification for summarily destroying it. The police should be required to keep it for a period of time to allow it to be claimed. As Judge Wardlaw noted: “As we have repeatedly made clear, ‘[t]he government may not take property like a thief in the night….”

The Honolulu ordinance differs from the Los Angeles ordinance in that Honolulu is storing the property to allow for it to be claimed.

This is why the ACLU hasn’t been able to immediately shut down the operation.

read ... Desperation

Kona Residents Organized to Protest Development as soon as they Move In

WHT: Mac McInnis hadn’t lived in his Kona Orchards home a week before a neighbor stopped by to ask him to come testify against a rezoning project down the road.

Not one to just stand up and say he was opposed to something without a good reason, McInnis began digging into the Hualalai Partners’ proposed development on just less than 15 acres off Hualalai Road.

Three years later, McInnis has detailed documents outlining both the path that led to what one former county planning director called a “fragmented approach” to development and strong opinions on how Hawaii County could improve its Planned Unit Development process.

The Hawaii County Council Planning Committee will hear two bills proposing reforms to that process at a 9:15 a.m. Tuesday hearing in Hilo.

read ... Community Organizing

The Will of the People is Against Gay Marriage

SA: Vox populi is what needs to be heard in Hawaii, as well, he said: Any proposal to legalize same-sex marriage here should be put to a vote through another constitutional amendment.

"We have a Democratic Legislature, and governor," he said. "The only way we can defeat this is to express the will of the people. … especially when we have a governor who favors same-sex marriage."...

Jim Hochberg is the attorney representing the Hawaii Family Forum in the case for the defense of Hawaii's marriage statute. He doesn't think much of importance has changed nationally where the legal case for traditional marriage is concerned.

"The only thing that changed is that a majority of the Supreme Court became lawless in that DOMA decision," he said.

And in Hawaii, Hochberg said, there is still no constitutional basis for same-sex marriage. An effort by the Legislature to legalize it is sure to draw a challenge, he added.

"I would be looking for a licensed solemnizer to challenge it, you betcha," he said.

read ... Only the People Can Save Us

Hawaii Gay Marriage Case Could be Used to Invent Gay Marriage Nationwide

AP: In the fight over gay marriage, Kennedy's words also figured in an earlier example. He insisted in June 2003 that his opinion overturning state sodomy laws had nothing to do with governments' recognition of same-sex marriage. Five months later, language from his opinion showed up in the second paragraph of a state court ruling that made Massachusetts the first state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

In the June 26 decision in U.S. v. Windsor, Kennedy said the provision denying federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples relegates those marriages to second-class status, and "it humiliates tens of thousands of (other people's) children now being raised by same-sex couples."

He framed his argument with reference to states' "historic and essential authority to define the marital relation."

But it doesn't take too much creativity many more lies to reframe his opinion to challenge state bans on same-sex marriage, said Jon Davidson, legal director of the gay rights group Lambda Legal.

"It's stigmatizing and it's harmful to people and particularly harmful to children when their parents' (sic!) relationship is treated as inferior by the government. Those points are points we will be making in all of our marriage cases," Davidson said.  (Translation: The claim of a biological parent is inferior to that of a homosexual.)

SA: Gays Invent two more potential cases against Hawaii Civil Unions

SA: Transsexual Prostitute Advocate fights Feminists, Claims 'Sex Workers' Want to Prostitute Themselves

read ... Gay marriage ruling already in use in other cases

Borreca, Golojuch Can't Figure Abercrombie Out

Borreca: Last week, Abercrombie said it was too soon to say if he would act to bring the Legislature back to the state Capitol.

Pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the strange Hawaii case challenging Hawaii laws reserving marriage for heterosexual couples.

The twist in that case is that while the state, through the state Health Department which gives out marriage licenses, is defending the case, Abercrombie favors the right of same-sex couples to marry. So the state has two legal teams arguing both sides of the case on appeal.

"Other groups and individuals have reached out to the governor; he has received a lot of communication asking him to call a special session. We hope that he does do what is right; asking LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) couples to wait until January is unfair, cruel and leaves them vulnerable," said (convicted thief) Michael ('Bitchbear') Golojuch Jr., chairman of the LGBT Caucus of the state Democratic Party.

Asked what he thought of Abercrombie's hesitant reaction, Golojuch would only say his group is "less than enthusiastic."

There is the argument that the U.S. Supreme Court decision clearly said that marriage is a state, not a federal, issue — so it is up to the states to write the law. Souki said Hawaii has already made that decision: the 1998 constitutional amendment specifically gave the decision of who can marry whom to the Legislature and the Legislature has already said that a man and a woman are the only ones who can marry.  (Translation: There's nothing new here.)

This is not operating in a Hawaii-only vacuum.

Those for and against gay marriage know that adding Hawaii to the column of same-sex marriage states would be a big deal. So if the Legislature or Abercrombie do not cause a special session to happen, it certainly will be an issue for the new Legislature in January.  (Translation, Legislators fearful of voter backlash, might do the right thing and defend the nuclear family.)

Already once this year, mainland pro-gay marriage groups came to Hawaii trying to push for rewriting the state marriage law.

"We told mainland groups they need to back off, this is a local effort. If they have polling data and such we would accept that, but this needs to be, is and will be a Hawaii-based effort to pass marriage equality," Golojuch said in an interview.

More pressure in the form of money and lobbying from pro- and anti-gay groups will make for a confused improved session in January.

read ... Gay Panic

Gays Seeking Control of Other People's Children Work to Amend Divorce Laws

HP: Jason Dottley, a Los Angeles pop singer and actor, would like to see. He filed for divorce in April 2012 from his husband, Del Shores, a film director and playwright. Dottley and Shores married in 2008, a brief time of marriage equality in California.

"People at the courthouse didn't know how to handle the divorce," says Dottley, noting that extra paperwork aimed at same-sex couples dragged the process out for a full year.

At least Dottley and Shores split in a state that had recognized gay marriage. For couples who wed and then move to one of the 37 states that don't recognize it, gay marriage can become something of a trap.

Divorces, unless they go through appeals and work their way up to a higher court, are always worked out in the state in which a couple lives. So if a state doesn't recognize gay marriage, a gay couple can't divorce there. At least one member of the couple will generally need to move.

That has led to feelings of desperation on the part of cash-strapped couples or those geographically tied because of children, careers and homes.

"I have heard of couples who have filed for divorce by using their first initials on the forms, so the court won't realize they're a same-sex couple and the divorce will be granted, and then when the court does realize it, they take it back, and they're married again," says Carolyn Satenberg, a family law attorney in New York City whose primary focus is on matrimonial issues related to same-sex couples.

"If a couple has been married or together for a long period of time, a gay divorce usually costs double what it does for a heterosexual marriage," says Satenberg. "Having kids triples the cost."

read ... Gay Divorce

JULY 7: Hawaii Annexed by USA

Profile America — Sunday, July 7th. On this date 115 years ago, the U.S. began absorbing an island paradise en route to making it a treasured part of the nation, as President William McKinley signed a resolution annexing Hawaii.  A short time later, Congress made Hawaii an incorporated territory of the U.S., which it remained until achieving statehood in 1959.  For most Americans on the mainland, Hawaii is the ultimate vacation, with its lovely scenery and average annual temperature of around 72 degrees.  Tourism, defense, and raising sugar cane and pineapples are the mainstays of the economy.  Almost 1.4 million people call Hawaii home — about half of them Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.  You can find more facts about America's people, places and economy from the American Community Survey at www.census.gov.

Read ... Census Bureau

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