Hawaii Congressional Delegation: How They Voted July 22, 2013
Study: Cruise Ships Contribute $386M to Hawaii Economy
Rusty Humphries Speaks at HIRA Luncheon
George Zimmerman rescues victims trapped in burning overturned SUV
Trayvon Martin Rally: 14 Arrests after Protesters Attack People in SUVs
Modest life for families in Honolulu costs $78K
SA: A family of four must earn nearly $78,000 a year just to live modestly in Honolulu, a new study showed.
The 2013 Family Budget Calculator released by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, estimates a household with two adults and two children would need to earn more than triple the federal poverty level of $23,283 "to attain a secure yet modest living standard" in Honolulu.
"Therefore, a family would need to earn $54,537 more (than the poverty line) each year to reach a level of economic security," the authors of the study, Hilary Wething and Natalie Sabadish, wrote in an email to the Star-Advertiser.
That translates to $6,485 a month for housing, food, child care, transportation, health care and other necessities and taxes.
HNN: Hilo housing costs are highest in nation, research shows
EPI: What Families Need to Get By
read ... Cost of Living
Got an Exceptional Tree? Save $3000 on State Taxes
KGI: The Kauai County Council introduced a bill to fix a glitch on an “exceptional tree” designation for a coconut grove planted 103 years ago.
Despite the unanimous support, council members were wary the bill’s final approval may allow a generous tax deduction for a new Longs Drugs store being proposed on the protected Waipouli grove.
“I believe there is a state tax deduction of $3,000 per tree for maintenance that can be taken once every three years,” Councilman Gary Hooser said Wednesday. “So, for 100 trees, it adds up, I suppose.”
read ... Another Sneaky Tax Credit for Rich Progressives
Honolulu just outside top 10 in economic rankings
PBN: Honolulu is No. 12 on the July economic index compiled by On Numbers that measures economic vitality of the 102 major metropolitan areas in the United States.
Provo, Utah, topped the latest list by On Numbers, an affiliate of Pacific Business News, with a one-year private -sector job growth of 3.95 percent an overall score of 85.052.
Honolulu's overall score was 70.323, and the metro area's one-year private-sector job growth was 1.33 percent.
ILind: The eye of the beholder -- Honolulu’s average weekly earnings per worker was just $790.48, well below Seattle ($1,113.37), San Francisco ($1,095.03), and San Diego ($962.85). Take Honolulu’s cost of living into account and it’s clear that Hawaii workers enjoy a smaller share of the rewards of that “economic vitality.”
read ... More Details
Espero Launches Campaign by Groveling Before Gay Lords
HNN: The 52-year-old Espero is now in his third term in the state senate, representing the Ewa area of Oahu. He said he has looked at several issues on the federal level, including same-sex marriage. He said the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act changed his mind on the issue.
"I did vote 'no' on civil unions," he said. "However, my position today on same-sex marriage is that I do support same-sex marriage." Espero added that he would still work to see that churches could be exempt from having to perform those marriages.
read ... Espero Makes offering to Democrats' Bosses
Obama's Big Mouth Helps Alleged Homosexual Rapist Evade Justice at Pearl Harbor
SA: Two sexual assault courts-martial for Navy men at Pearl Harbor are now postponed because of a comment made by President Barack Obama.
The trial issues — related to a statement by Obama, the commander in chief, that sexual assault perpetrators should be dishonorably discharged — potentially amount to “unlawful command influence” and are part of a spate of military cases nationwide in which the defense is being raised.
The fear is that court-martial boards, aware of such statements from superiors, would be swayed to give the defendant less than a fair trial and that the public would view any convictions and discharges as the boards merely following orders.
In one of the Hawaii cases, Petty Officer 2nd Class Ernest Johnson, a crew member on the destroyer USS Russell, was scheduled to go on trial June 17 on charges that he sexually assaulted another male sailor who was asleep or intoxicated, according to court records. The alleged assault happened Sept. 9....
Meanwhile: DoD Report: 14,000 Military Personnel Victims of Homosexual Rapists
read ... More Rapists Walk thanks to Obama
Data show improvement in use of mental health system
SA: For Medicaid beneficiaries, adjusted for enrollment, emergency room (ER) visits increased 7.4 percent between 2009 and 2012 and hospital admissions increased 11.1 percent. Between 2006 and 2009, the increases were 18.4 percent and 16.3 percent, respectively.
However, the data indicate a persistent challenge for mental health care. ER visits and hospitalizations for mental health conditions are potentially preventable, and any increase is too much.
Because the provision of specialized behavioral health services is carved out of the state Department of Human Services' QUEST Expanded Access (QExA) program, any suggestion that this program caused worsened mental health from 2009 to 2012 is misleading.
In addition, the DHS did not reduce covered behavioral services during this period, and the few individuals who may have become uninsured as a result of the Medicaid eligibility reduction that aligned with the Affordable Care Act would have been eligible to receive services from the state Department of Health.
read ... McNamara and Fink
Priest hopes to widen understanding of Micronesians
SA: Fifty years ago, when Jesuit priest Francis X. Hezel arrived in Chuuk to teach at Xavier High School, the native New Yorker knew little of island life — not even the fact that bananas grow “upside down,” as he puts it.
Since then Hezel has lived in the Federated States of Micronesia and become an authority on the area, working as a high school principal, founder and director of the Micronesian Seminar and prolific author.
CB: What Should Hawaii Do For Micronesians?
read ... Man of God
Star-Adv: Jet Pack Must be regulated Because Humans Flop on Fishes
SA: Got to admit, those water-propelled jet packs (It is pack, not packs--there is only one in the state and only 6 in the entire USA) sound very cool....
Marine critters, on the other hand, might not be impressed. Big, lumpy humans stirring up all the sand and sediment, and then coming down for a landing on the reef? Possibly painful for the person but definitely hard on the fishes.
So it makes perfect sense that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is looking at these gizmos and other thrill craft for regulation.
read ... Mindless Justification for Mindless Bureaucracy
Revamped deals for school buses seen as Model for Entire State
SA: The state has transported its network of school buses miles in the right direction with a more efficient way of contracting for services and operating them, restoring service to about 1,000 students this school year.
Assuming the pilot project using new bus tracking systems and procurement protocols works as expected in the coming school year, state education officials should support their expansion statewide....
the revised system is ready for a test in the Pearl City-Aiea area, restoring rides for about half of the 2,000 students whose service was cut in the last budget. It was selected to go first largely because its population density enabled such savings to be realized and because numerous contracts there were about to lapse.
The remaining timetable also makes sense: the rest of Oahu will be converted in the 2014-15 school year, followed the next year by the neighbor island districts.
Hawaii's statewide school system, spread over several islands, presents efficiency challenges not faced in smaller mainland districts. But these revisions seem promising, and they underscore what's possible with closer supervision of contracts — a lesson that surely could be applied elsewhere in state government.
read ... Revamped deals for school buses seem promising
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