Privatizing Marriage Is Unjust to Children
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted July 15, 2013
New Business Immediately Attacked by DLNR
DOE Audit: Hawaii Public Schools Overstate Enrollment Numbers
CB: The investigation was conducted last August and included a sample of 450 students from 107 public schools, most of whom had already been flagged for frequent absences. It found that in nearly half of the instances — 45 percent — students were included in official enrollment counts when they shouldn’t have been. (The audit did not include charter schools.)
Enrollment numbers determine how much money schools receive for employees, equipment and other expenses calculated through a formula that determines how discretionary money is distributed across schools.
“There’s no incentive for schools to get it right,” said Board of Education Chairman Don Horner at a meeting last month.
The audit concluded that a range of factors undermine the enrollment data, including a lack of accountability, school-level mismanagement and inconsistencies in data collection policies.
This past school year, the department allocated $4,000 per student to schools, amounting to roughly $730 million in so-called Weighted Student Formula funding.
But schools could be understating early enrollment projections and then overstating actual counts, first creating for a shrunken student formula budget and then distorting how that budget gets broken down by school.
“The real question is, how do you divide it up?” Horner said in June. “The money isn’t really following the child.”...
The audit highlights five problem areas, four of which it says require immediate action from officials because they’re likely to take a toll on the department’s finances. The problems, according to the audit, could distort financial statements, damage the DOE’s public image — even lead to legal trouble.
Link: Personnel, hiring, payroll review
read ... DoE Faking it
Gays Expelling 11 Legislators Termed Unconstitutional
SA: Some state House and Senate Democrats have asserted legislative immunity against accusations they violated the Democratic Party of Hawaii's platform on equal rights by proposing a constitutional amendment on traditional marriage.
The lawmakers say they were acting within their official legislative duties when they introduced or co-sponsored bills last session that would let voters decide whether marriage should be reserved for heterosexual couples.
Complaints against 11 House and Senate Democrats were filed in February by convicted thief Michael 'Bitchbear' Golojuch Jr., chairman of the party's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender caucus. The complaints are scheduled to be heard by Oahu Democrats on Aug. 10 and, if upheld, could lead to censure, reprimand or the lawmakers' expulsion from the party.
But the state Constitution — in Article III, Section 7 — holds that no member of the Legislature shall be held to answer before any other tribunal for any statement made or action taken as part of their legislative functions.
"Bill introduction, regardless of the issue, is part of the democratic process and within the scope of a legislator's duties," state Rep. Sharon Har (D, Kapolei-Makakilo) said in a text message. "The complaint is simply a witch-hunt to bully and harass legislators who do not share the views of the complainant."
The lawmakers are Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, Sen. Mike Gabbard, House Vice Speaker John Mizuno and Reps. Sharon Har, Henry Aquino, Karen Awana, Ty Cullen, Ken Ito, Calvin Say, K. Mark Takai and Clift Tsuji.
read ... Legislative immunity blocks gay rights complaints, lawmakers say
Low income again tied to lack of medical care
SA: The report found low-income residents to be disproportionately affected by heart-related illnesses and concluded that socioeconomically disadvantaged residents who are limited to affordable-housing options face an increased risk for asthma and lack access to safe environments for physical activity.
"The number of Hawaii residents living in poverty and facing greater health challenges is likely underestimated because federal definitions of poverty do not adjust for the high cost of living in the state," it said.
The report also found that people with disabilities in Hawaii are more likely to live in poverty than the general population, "which puts them at further disadvantage to accessing needed care and services."
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders were found to have the state's highest:
- Teen birthrate.
- Proportion of infants born to mothers with less than 12 years of education.
- Death rates for breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
"Cancer screening for women has not met national targets, and colon cancer screening has decreased in recent years," the report said. "Additionally, the concentration of cancer treatment centers on Oahu makes it costly for cancer patients on neighboring islands to access care."
Diabetes is highest among Native Hawaiians, at 11.4 percent, followed by Filipinos at 10.1 percent.
LINK: Reports
read ... Low income again tied to lack of medical care
Nat'l Parks Service: Ewa Development Plan 'Violates Sacred Ground' Stars and Stripes: Earlier this year a Navy-sanctioned 20-acre solar photovoltaic farm was completed near the field, and now the Honolulu City Council is poised to pass a long-term development “guidance plan” that could give a developer the go-ahead to build roads through the heart of the former battlefield, Bond said....
Martinez said he’s seen a copy of a map showing the projected roads.
“I was quite concerned that the portion of the airfield where the Marines died and where the battle took place was going to be violated with a road going right through it,” Martinez said.
“There is this disturbing reticence of recognizing what is the best thing for Ewa Field that has been going on now for nearly five years,” said Martinez, who described the field as “sacred ground.”
While Martinez’s employer, the U.S. National Park Service, manages most of the military historical sites associated with the Dec. 7 attack, it has only served as an adviser in regard to Ewa Field. The Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program last year awarded a $54,000 grant to the local non-profit Ewa Plains Programs, which is intended to “document the extent of the battlefield on and around” Ewa Field, according to the ABPP’s website. The documentation “will lead to greater awareness of the site and aid in future preservation efforts.”
If the property were designated a National Historic Landmark or listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it would fall under the provision of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires the controlling agency to “minimize harm” to the landmark in any planning or actions, according to the Park Service’s website....
The Navy did not respond to questions about potential roads over the airfield or what steps it might take to seek landmark designation.
“To be honest with you,” Martinez said, “I’ve been quite baffled that more people have not stepped up and said, ‘We have to preserve this ground because Americans died there.’”
read ... Ewa Field
Taxes are Latest Excuse for Gay Marriage
HNN: One of the attorneys at the event discussed their impacts on taxes for gay couples.
He predicts that the IRS will say by September that it will not allow same-sex couples to file a federal join tax return.
"The news is not good there. It's a reason why our legislature should pass marriage law and give us marriage. And it will be clear if Hawaii has marriage anybody why has a marriage in Hawaii will get all federal rights and benefits," tax attorney Lee Yarbrough said.
read ... Its Always About Money
Star-Adv: Rail tunnel isn't worth the cost (but Rail is)
SA: Hawaii's federal judges expressed security concerns nearly five years ago about the elevated rail system being near the Prince Kuhio Federal Building and nearby courthouse. Now, Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway has urged local and federal transit officials in a July 8 letter — in an echo of those rail-route objections — to consider a "more prudent and feasible route." Such a change as suggested by the judge would be overly expensive and impractical.
Atomic Monkey: JUSTICE IS BLIND, BUT DON’T BLOCK THEIR VIEW
read ... Rail tunnel isn't worth the cost
Flood Insurance Rates Could Jump for Thousands of Homeowners in Hawaii
CB: More than 13,000 Hawaii property owners — including businesses, owners of vacation homes, and those whose properties have had major problems with flooding could see their annual federal flood insurance premiums climb by 25 percent before the end of the year.
Thousands of other property owners may also face huge increases, according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman.
Nationally, the rate hikes are sparking concern. The increases were passed by Congress last year to prop up a federal flood insurance program that’s billions of dollars in debt and that makes big payouts every time a major storm hits.
read ... Insurance
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