Auditor: DoE Rigged Billion Dollar Solar Contract to Favor Chevron
US News: No Nationally Ranked Specialties in Hawaii Hospitals
UH Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) Contract Extended
DoE Bus ‘Reduction’ Starts by Adding Routes
Schatz is a Wimp, Should Run for Neighborhood Board
Shapiro: Among the annoying contrivances of modern political campaigning are the endless email blasts from candidates begging for expressions of support and monetary donations.
Such as U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz's recent mass email blasting "Washington Republicans" for a stalemate that resulted in higher interest rates on student loans.
Three times in the 347-word missive there appeared a bright blue clickable link urging, "Take action now. Sign our petition calling on Washington Republicans to stop holding our students hostage."
Two things bothered me about this:
1. It was disingenuous to place all the blame on the GOP. The bill to cut rates died after Democratic leaders refused a vote on a bipartisan compromise, and several Democrats then voted with Republicans to kill the main bill.
2. U.S. senators have some of the most powerful jobs on Earth. The good ones lead. They act. They don't circulate petitions begging others to act.
If wimpy petitions are all you've got, run for the neighborhood board.
read ... Wimp
Star-Adv Joins Push for Tax Hikes
SA: Staffers for Ann Kobayashi, who chairs the City Council’s budget panel, are drawing up a chart that lists the 10 proposed reforms to the Honolulu property tax code, as well as a list of city services that this revenue supports....
Beyond the exemptions, the Council is considering some other revenue drivers:
>> Bill 37 would assess vacation rentals the same rate as hotels. This seems problematic on two counts. For one, these accommodations should have their own category, not bear the same tax burden as full-scale tourist accommodations.
But no change of the sort should happen until the city finally decides how to bring the currently illegal rental houses and bed-and-breakfast units into a regulatory scheme. A new tax on the permitted accommodations would unfairly penalize them while the ones doing business under the table would get off scot-free.
>> Bill 41 would categorize multifamily units separately and tax them higher than single-family homes.
The Council will need to consider whether this would ultimately penalize renters, who surely would be passed the extra cost.
>> Bills 42 and 43 offer some good potential for revenue production. Respectively, they would create a higher-tax class for investor owners of the most expensive properties and for time shares. People who have the income to support second residences, as most of these homes are, can afford to pay a higher toll.
read ... Reassess some property taxes..
Congressional Horserace Ian Lind Pushes Inouye Letter Conspiracy Theory
ILind: One person who questions the authenticity of the letter is longtime University of Hawaii political scientist Manfred Henningsen.
In an essay he has circulated privately and unsuccessfully submitted for publication, Henningsen described the scene at the time of Inouye’s death as reminiscent of “a grand Shakespearean design ... a plot involving the most powerful politician in recent Hawai’i history attempting to retain his influence beyond his death.” Henningsen laid out a basic timeline....
Inouye was “clear of mind, clear of thought,” Sabas said. “His issues were breathing issues, but he was totally able to say what he wanted to have done. He was very strong about wanting to make his views known to the governor.”
“I couldn’t dissuade him,” Sabas said.
Sabas said she was with Inouye the day before he died and took notes on what he wanted to say. She then drafted the letter and sent it electronically to their Honolulu office, where it was printed, machine-signed, and picked up by Dods and Watanabe.
Asked how a letter marked “private” became known to reporters so soon after the senator died, Sabas said simply, “I don’t know. I don’t know what happened after that."
PDF: Henningsen Commentary
read ... Conspiracy
Petition for Recall of Legislators
CB: Kamuela community activist Karen Cobeen is "totally frustrated" with her elected officials.
She says they are not listening to their constituents on issues like GMO labeling, geothermal development, raising the minimum wage, privatization of state hospitals and lack of government transparency, to name just a few topics that have made recent headlines.
Referring to "horrendous" office holders, Cobeen said, "This is not the plantation any more. They are dictating down to the voters like they are uneducated children. Somebody's got to do something about this."
That "somebody" turns out to be Cobeen herself.
She is coordinating an online petition that seeks to amend the constitution to create a legal framework to recall Hawaii elected officials.
read ... Aloha Malama Solomon
Mainland Group Doubles Down in Attack on Democrats Closed Primary Suit
IV: On Sunday, IndependentVoting.org placed an advertisement in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser drawing attention to the lawsuit and enlisting Democrats, Republicans and independents who favor open primaries to sign a letter urging the Democratic Party of Hawaii to back down. The letter begins: We, the undersigned, ask that you withdraw your federal lawsuit seeking to enact closed primaries here in Hawaii. We are independents, Democrats and Republicans who believe that all voters must be able to participate in the process if our democracy is to work effectively…
The Associated Press wrote an article about it which was picked up nationally and quotes from my colleague Jackie Salit: “The lawsuit would narrow the democratic process and goes against Hawaii’s spirit of openness and inclusiveness.” While there have been similar attempts by Republicans, “this is the first time in recent history that a state Democratic Party has taken this action.” ...
...This is the first time that a state Democratic Party organization has filed suit seeking to bar independents from voting in primaries....
WRONG. What part of 'California Dems v Jones' do these geniuses not understand?
read ... Democratic Faction Seeks to Close Hawaii Primary Elections
New billing system means not all customers are paying equally for water
KHON: Every time Oahu residents get their water-sewer bill, you have to pay a billing charge of $7.70. It used to be about every 60 days, now it’s every month.
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply says that helps to cover current and future costs of its new customer care and billing system, meter maintenance, and staffing.
Maui and Kauai also have access to this new billing system, but they’re not paying extra fees for it.
“How is it effecting all of our bills here on the island of Oahu?,” City Councilmember Ann Kobayashi said.
Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi has been fielding a lot of questions from residents in her area about the increased billing fee per month.
“Is ours doubled because we are taking on the neighbor island processing their bills, is that why ours is doubling we want answers,” Kobayashi said.
The Board of Water Supply says Oahu does charge the 2 other counties to access the system and for IT support.
Kauai pays about thirty-one cents per bill rendered, Maui thirty-three cents per bill rendered.
read ... Water Bill
Six Hawaii Co Councilmembers Opted Out of Furloughs
HTH: While almost the entire county government, from Mayor Billy Kenoi to legislative clerical staff, took furloughs or pay cuts last fiscal year to help balance a tight county budget, six incoming County Council members opted out.
The resulting $7,755 budget overrun was made up by delaying the hiring of a legal specialist for the council, Council Chairman J Yoshimoto said.
Furloughs ended June 30, after four years...
But six freshman council members — Hamakua Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter, Puna Councilmen Greggor Ilagan and Zendo Kern, Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha, North Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff and Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille — did not sign up for the voluntary program when they took office in December, according to County Clerk Stewart Maeda
read ... Furloughs for Thee, but not for Me
New $20M city parking garage sits almost empty
HNN: Eight months after it opened, a new multi-million dollar city parking garage sits virtually empty in spite of a city employees' parking crunch near City Hall, Hawaii News Now has learned.
The city spent $20 million building the five-story garage on top of part of a bus transit center off King Street, just a few blocks from Honolulu Hale.
The garage opened last November with about 400 parking spots that will eventually serve a joint city and state traffic management center that is planned to be built on a neighboring parcel.
In the meantime, the new parking structure is virtually empty. Hawaii News Now found just seven cars parked there at midday.
read ... Building Empty Buildings
HPD Officers Conspire to Get Drunk Lieutenant His License Back
HNN: A Honolulu Police Department officer is one step closer to getting his driver’s license back after being arrested for drunk driving.
HPD Lt. Colin Wong was arrested in Waikiki in March after other police officers say he crashed into a parked car near The Modern Hotel. Lt. Wong was off-duty at the time.
Since then, the 27-year veteran and member of the department’s SWAT team has been on restricted duty.
An Administrative Driver’s License Revocation hearing was set for Tuesday. However, this was the second time the arresting officer did not show up. Officials say the arresting officer was sick.
Based on the arresting officer’s no-show, Lt. Wong’s lawyer is asking the court to give Wong back his driver’s license.
read ... How to Get Back off Restricted Duty
Unfair advantage, insider information considered in state ethics advisory
KITV: Two months ago, then regent Artemio Baxa had this to say about replacing outgoing UH President MRC Greenwood.
”Right in this very room, even among us the Board of Regents, there might just be some to qualify to be University of Hawaii president,” Baxa said....
The commission issued the advisory saying any member who wants to apply, needs to resign from the board first.
"The state ethics code prohibits an employee, from among other things, using his position to give himself an unwarranted advantage," it noted....
The advisory comes as the board has been grappling with filling a position for board secretary.
It's a position that has been vacant since last year, in part because of what some say was a potential conflict of interest, when then regent Michael Dahilig applied for the job before he stepped down from the board....
Read ... Insider Info
Grading system for Hawaii restaurants delayed
HNN: The hope was to have it up and running several months ago but it still hasn't even gone to the public comment phase.
"It's not really any clear reason why it's being held up. It's just it's going through the process and typically that's how long it takes. Everybody is kind of overloaded with work. Our AG, we have one Attorney General that is doing a lot of the environmental stuff so it's not just one person working with our rules so it takes a lot of effort with other people and agencies so it is taking a little awhile," said Peter Oshiro, State Department of Health Environmental Health Program Manager.
read ... Grading system for Hawaii restaurants delayed
GMO critics overlook facts about science, safety and pesticides
SA: Science can easily be misunderstood and misused in the debate over potential risks and benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops. Concerns over farm pesticide applications or corporate business practices may be valid, but they have nothing to do with the science of GM crops to protect yields, add nutrients, or reduce pesticide applications.
Critics of “Roundup Ready” corn or soybeans overlook the fact that these herbicide-resistant crops were developed to reduce pesticide use by allowing farmers to apply the single broad-spectrum weed killer Roundup (the same product we use in our yards), rather than multiple applications of “harder” herbicides.
Regarding labeling of supposed GM foods, processed grocery products like soybean or corn oil and corn syrup do not contain DNA. These are identical to oils and syrups refined from non-GM crops. So, labeling products containing them as “GM” or “non-GM” just doesn’t provide any useful information.
The recent commentary by Hector Valenzuela (“Controversy about GM crops has a silver lining,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, July 3) cited health concerns about a pesticide called Bt incorporated into cotton, corn, soy and potatoes. Bt is an insect-killing protein produced by naturally occurring bacteria in the soil. This natural pesticide has been used by organic farmers for decades
SA: Some anti-GMO Drivel from some Kid in England
read ... Wisdom
Aim to diagnose ‘financial sickness’ of housing agency
MN: Maui County will work with three Hawaii affordable housing experts to make recommendations on how to handle the more than $10 million owed to the county by the nonprofit agency that runs the low income housing project Hale Makana O Waiale in Wailuku.
read ... Aim to diagnose ‘financial sickness’ of housing agency
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