Hawaii DINOs Meet Idaho RINOs
HMSA, Kaiser Front Group Pays off 'Community Partners'
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted August 5, 2013
Papaya Nightmares: A Farmer Struggles Amid Hawaii's GMO Debate
CB: The fruit still clings to the branches on this 100-acre papaya farm because sales have plummeted in recent weeks, says the owner, Alberto Belmes, and the fruit is likely to rot where it is.
He thinks he knows why his papaya sales have been cut in half in a fortnight. The culprit seems to be Hawaii’s polemic debate about biotech crops that has once again reached a fevered pitch. (A papaya industry group confirmed the dip in recent sales and they also attribute it to bad publicity, although they don't yet have any concrete data.) The high-profile debate is stirring anxiety — and what local papaya farmers consider to be unsubstantiated fears — about the fruit that farmers like Belmes grow and sell.....
CB: Hawaii Snapshot — A Legendary Scientist and His Papaya Dreams
read ... Papaya Nightmares
UH Native Hawaiian UH VP Candidate Attacked due to Military Service
CB: George Kailiwai III has extensive experience in the defense industry, including several classified research projects, a national defense fellowship at Ohio State University’s Mershon Center and a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He currently serves as the director of resources and assessment at the United States Pacific Command....
“Many of us who teach at or who retired (The usual suspects) from the University of Hawaii have become greatly concerned over the years at the (always sought to obstruct) prospects for our sole Tier I institution of higher learning becoming an adjunct to the US military (ideologically diverse) and engaging in work that cannot be shared either with colleagues or, importantly, students, those to whom we have a fiduciary relationship in which (used to undermine America.) (W)e are ethically obliged to provide such knowledge as we possess in the name of ‘education,’” Professor Steve O’Harrow wrote in a June email to colleagues. (Edited to enhance accuracy.)
O’Harrow’s email focused on Kailiwai, the candidate who currently works at the USPACOM.
Translation: According to the usual suspects, UH should not allow the academic freedom to assist in the national defense.
read ... At UH, No Academic Freedom for Military Employees
We'd Like to Fight health costs with competition, but get HSMA and Kaiser Instead
SA: The time is drawing near for medical insurers to join the Affordable Care Act lineup, but the only ones who have signed up in Hawaii so far are the two that control 92 percent of the health insurance in the state.
Background: HMSA, Kaiser Will Monopolize State Health Exchange, 'Rate Shock' Predicted
read ... Fight health costs with competition
Publicity About Hawaii's Fly Homeless Home Program Attracts More Homeless AP: A provision allowing the state Department of Human Services to coordinate a voluntary "return-to-home" program is included in a new state law. The department said it doesn't have any plans to implement the program at this time, but publicity surrounding it has officials worried nonetheless.
"It's encouraging people on the mainland to take a chance in coming to Hawaii knowing they can be returned," said Marc Alexander, director of community relations and development for the Institute for Human Services, the largest homeless service provider in the state. His organization already helps some people return each year to the mainland.
People are attracted to Hawaii for its pleasant weather and aloha spirit, Alexander said. But they arrive and face the reality that living in paradise is very expensive. He said that he has seen people run through their vacation money and wind up "using nonprofit service providers almost like hostels."
read ... Concern About Hawaii's Fly Homeless Home Program
Problems of state’s historical preservation office trickle down to simple home renovations
ILind: We were surprised to learn that before we can do any remodeling of my parents’ small, plain old 1940-vintage house in old Kahala, we will first have to submit a floor plan of the existing house, a description of planned work, architectural drawings, photographs of the existing house and site, along with a Preservation Review Submittal Form, and wait for the review to be completed and approval granted.
That’s right. Try to improve an older house and bring it up to modern standards (not to mention modern building codes) and you get punished with more bureaucratic delays and red tape.
And I’m told that these applications then go to a single staff person charged with reviewing all such remodeling or renovation projects statewide. Significant delays are likely, or so I’ve been told.
read ... Problems
FBI informants allowed to commit crimes in Honolulu
ILind: Honolulu is on the list of more than 50 cities where the FBI reported “otherwise illegal activity” took place as part of its “confidential human source program” during the year.
The number of authorized criminal acts in each city is redacted in the version of the report disclosed by the FBI.
The report itself can be found here.
read ... Informants
Sovereignty Activists Try New Angle on Drivers License Scam
KITV: Anthony claimed he could not get a driver's license despite five requests to take the exam in Hawaiian. Each time his request was denied.
"I Ke'a Ke Kai Kanaka Olelo Hawaii. My name is Daniel Anthony. Does anyone here speak Hawaiian? I was laughed at, told I had to speak English, then told to leave," said Anthony.
His attorney, DesterKaiama, filed a motion to dismiss Anthony's traffic case of driving without a license. He claimed Hawaii's courts don't have jurisdiction over native Hawaiians because there was no treaty of annexation over a century ago. But Kaiama also adds, the current state constitution upholds the Hawaiian language.
"Because it is recognized in the constitution, the law does provide Anthony certain rights and protections," said Kaiama.
Read ... New Twist on Old Scam
Hanabusa, Schatz differ on Medicare drug rebates
SA: Drug companies were spared from mandatory rebates when Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit for seniors and the disabled, took effect in 2006.
read ... Hanabusa, Schatz differ on Medicare drug rebates
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