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Hawaii Reapportionment: ‘Supreme Court Will be Interested’
Honolulu rail line neither feasible nor prudent, judges’ letter says
July 22 Deadline for Rail EIS Comments
Rusty Humphries Headlines HIRA Fundraiser
Gay Activists 'Trans-form' First Graders, Aim for Women's Restroom
Bob Jones Column, MidWeek: Star-Advertiser reader from Moiliili probably touched many sensitive social-issue nerves with a recent letter to the editor, saying, “I believe one should use a restroom matching his/her genitalia.”
You’ve probably read about the Coy Mathis case. A Colorado first-grader born a boy but identifying as a girl won a civil rights board OK to use the girls’ restroom at school. (His parents should be convicted of child abuse, but instead the media is cheering them on.)
The school district objected and said, “As Coy grows older and his male genitals develop along with the rest of his body, some parents and students are likely to become uncomfortable with his continued use of the girls’ restroom.”...in Coy Mathis’s case, he has a passport and state ID card showing him as female. (Yep. The 'politically correct' State of Colorado is cheering them on too. Next stop Hawaii.)
(Phony) Studies about sex and children (purport to) show some as young as 3 with signs of gender identity disorder. They are not intersex. They do not have a physical disorder or malformation of their sexual organs. The gender issue exists entirely in wiring and chemistry of their brains. (WRONG. The ‘gender issue’ is sick, attention-seeking parents willing to sacrifice their children by steering them in a trannsexual direction for the 15 minutes of fame offered by the politically correct media.)
(Quick Mental Health Exam: Are you are OK with this?)
read ... They Like 'em Young
Trask's Geothermal Group Defaults on $1.25M Loan
GH: To the outside observer, it always seemed Eastland Group’s geothermal partner Hawaiian-based IDG brought little to the table apart from its relationship with the Maori landowners of a geothermal energy resource in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
However, the opportunity to get in at the early stages of geothermal development in Hawaii — a potentially large market due to the state’s untapped geothermal resources and its reliance on fossil fuels for power — does appear to be a good one.
EGL’s option to invest seems to have come at the price of a $1.25 million loan to fund or part-fund IDG’s involvement in the project. ($1.25M NZD = approx. $1M USD) There was enough uncertainty over its repayment that it was written off last year
Good Enough for OHA: CNHA Questions OHA Geothermal 'Investment'
read ... Geothermal bid is bolstered by its native credentials
Green Energy Scammers Shift focus to Maui after Collapse of Lanai Windfarm Deal
CB: State regulators have instructed Hawaiian Electric Co. to strike all references to undersea cables and the proposed Lanai wind farm from the utility’s long-awaited request for large-scale renewable energy projects that will serve Oahu....
Commissioners also will investigate separately whether a cable between Maui and Oahu is in best interest of residents.
The commission noted that there could be cost benefits for ratepayers in connecting the two island grids, but they need more information to decide whether moving forward with a cable is good policy.
Energy developers have been scoping out wind and solar projects that can be sited on Maui and brought to Oahu via undersea cables.
The commission is seeking additional information from cable developers and the utility about permitting and infrastructure requirements. After the review, which Morita said will take at least several months, the PUC will decide whether or not the utility should seek a bid for a cable system.
Meanwhile, the search for renewable energy projects for Oahu will proceed. HECO will need to amend the request for proposals, now about 900 pages long, and resubmit it to state regulators for approval.
SA: PUC investigation into whether Hawaiian Electric's plan for an interisland undersea transmission cable is in the public interest
PBN: Saunders explains why Ellison didn’t keep rights to Lanai wind farm
read ... Big Cable
Caldwell Proposes 10 Tax Hike Bills--Hearing 9am Weds
SA: KEY PROPOSALS
Mayor Kirk Caldwell has introduced 10 bills changing the way the city collects real property taxes. Testimony on the measures will be taken by the City Council Budget Committee at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Honolulu Hale, second floor meeting room. Among the bills generating the most buzz:
Bill 37: Adds bed-and-breakfast establishments and transient vacation units to the hotel and resort classification, creating a new hotel, resort and transient tax class. Transient vacation units and bed and breakfasts would be taxed at a higher rate.
Bill 41: Re-creates a property tax classification strictly for residential, multifamily properties. There is currently just one residential class; single-family and multifamily properties were previously split.
Bill 42: Creates a new “residential A” property tax class for homes with assessed values of $1 million or more and do not have owner-occupants. Both Caldwell and key Council members say they are willing to tinker with the actual threshold dollar amount.
Bill 43: Creates a new time-share property class for time-share properties. They are currently grouped in the hotel and resort class. Maui County already has a time-share class, which is taxed at a rate higher than hotels and resorts or any other properties....
Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi on Thursday promised that all 10 bills will get a fair airing before her committee when it meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday July 17.
read ... Tax Increase
County finally seeks Food Basket donation accounting
WHT: In addition to the $200,000 from the county disaster and emergency fund, the County Council had pledged another $75,000 from the legislative auditor’s account.
The money was to be spent only on food....
The Food Basket in April moved into a new $420,000 building it had purchased in Hilo, twice the size of its previous building.
In a March 22 letter to Kenoi inviting him to a private grand opening ceremony, Young stated, “through the generous support of private foundations and individuals, local businesses and individuals in the public sector such as yourself, we have made the dream of upgrading our Hilo facility a reality.”
read ... Profitable Nonprofit
SHOPO 'Standard of Conduct' $2/hr
SA: For more than a decade, officers have been receiving $1 for every hour that they work, essentially as compensation for being required by HPD policy to be on call and adhere to the department's standard of conduct 24 hours a day.
That differential goes to $2 an hour for most officers this fiscal year under the new contract, then climbs each year to a high of $3.80 an hour by July 1, 2016, Caldwell's report said. Higher-ranking officers get $2.20 an hour this year, then $4 an hour starting in 2016.
Officers are also getting semiannual base salary increases that add up to about a 16.8 percent increase over four years. They are also getting an additional $500 annual allowance if they are required to carry a firearm.
read ... Standard of Conduct
Agent: Deedy Followed Procedure
HNN: Deedy approaches Elderts' table, leans over and appears to show Elderts something in his hands. Aiu said agents are trained to verbally identify themselves and to flash their badge and credentials.
"If we're going to interject ourselves in a situation that calls for some type of law enforcement activity you must identify yourself," he said.
The video shows commotion with people stepping between Deedy and Elderts who is now on his feet. Deedy appears to lift his shirt exposing his holster, then lets his shirt fall. The situation quickly becomes volatile.
"There is a use of force continuum that we must adhere to, and it ranges from physical presence, verbal orders, all the way up to use of deadly force," Aiu said.
Elderts and Deedy clash, Deedy falls backward then gets to his feet. He simultaneously extends his left arm toward an advancing Elderts while reaching his right hand toward his hip.
"He's creating space between himself and Kollin," Aiu said. "What he's doing at that point is protecting his weapon, 'blading' himself, keeping his weapon far away from the other individual."
Aiu said a moment later it appears Elderts grabs for Deedy's gun.
read ... Deedy
IRS' role in health reform doesn't inspire confidence
SA: By Jan. 1 the law requires every American to have signed up for health insurance or face a financial penalty. Will it happen? According to a June Gallup poll, 43 percent of Americans don't even know about it.
The bigger question is whether the IRS will come through to pull it off. To do so, the scheme will first need funding. President Barack Obama's 2014 budget proposal includes a 9 percent increase in IRS spending, bringing the agency's appropriations to approximately $13 billion for the next fiscal year. The problem is that last Wednesday a House subcommittee approved a bill that would cut the IRS budget by nearly one-quarter, dropping it to $9 billion for 2014, a level not seen since 2001.
Partisan squabbling aside, assuming the funding is approved, can the IRS effectively collaborate with state exchanges to subsidize health care? Well, what is the government's track record? ...
Beginning in October, the IRS is supposed to become an active partner in determining credits for health insurance. It is the underserved, and in most cases less educated Americans, who will depend upon the IRS to be accurate and timely. I'm concerned.
read ... Ira Zunin
AARP Challenges Hawaii Health Connector Communications, Transparency
KITV: "Our big concern now is how will people know that these things are going to happen or know what's coming?" said Gerry Silva, president of Hawaii AARP.
Read ... Hawaii Health Connector
Smokers Quickly Outsmart Council, Mayor
SA: Some people opposed to a smoking ban at city-operated beaches and parks say a bill approved by the City Council this week has a loophole that allows them to light up in state waters along the shoreline.
The City Council on Wednesday passed two smoking bans — one at bus stops and another at city parks. Both would take effect Jan. 1 if Mayor Kirk Caldwell signs them into law as he has stated he will do.
David "Kawika" Crowley, who is against the smoking ban at beach parks, said he has been working with others to plan a "Great Ala Moana Beach Smokeout" in January, with hundreds of people smoking as they stand in state waters.
The city owns 293 parks, including beach parks. But the state has jurisdiction over Hawaii waters up to the shoreline....
read ... Legislature to Act Next?
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