VIDEO: Pastor Wayne Cordiero Responds to Atheist Lawsuit
VIDEO: Kelii Akina and Mufi Hannemann on 'Building Leaders for Hawaii
Investors Submit Plan to Reorganize Hokulia Project
Preschool Vouchers: Backers Claim Only 52% Support Constitutional Amendment
Obamacare Could Cost Hawaii Millions for 'Cadillac' Healthcare Plans
CB: Under the Affordable Care Act, Hawaii could face millions of dollars in fines for the highest-grade health plans it offers public workers, adding to the already skyrocketing cost of health care for the state.
As in other parts of the country, the threat of the looming fines could place intense pressure on public employee unions to accept reductions in health benefits....
The anti-Cadillac provision will hit employers, including governments, with a 40 percent tax if the annual value of a health plan they offer surpasses $10,200 for individual protection or $27,500 for family coverage.
For example, an individual plan that costs the employer $11,200, would spur an Affordable Care Act tax of $400, according to Towers Watson, a global professional services company. If the company has 10,000 workers with that same coverage, the employer would have to pay $4 million, the firm said.
Hawaii's health care plans are still several years from reaching the threshold that would trigger the tax. The most expensive plan offered by the state, the Hawaii Medical Services 90/10 Plan, costs $5,394 for single coverage and $16,680 for a family plan, said Salaveria, who added that it is too early to tell when, or if, the plan might hit the threshold because there is no way to be sure of future inflation levels.
However, the trends don’t look good. Towers Watson estimated the average plan offered in the United States would hit the threshold by 2018 if the cost increases by a "moderate" average rate of 8 percent per year.
Salaveria said that if the HMSA 90/10 Plan grows by that rate, the family plan would subject Hawaii to the tax starting in 2020 and the individual plan in 2022....
Being subject to the tax would only further drive up Hawaii’s health care costs. State Budget Director Kalbert Young said that the amount the state pays for employee health benefits has gone up by between 8 percent and 12 percent per year over the last decade. Based on that, the state is budgeting $696.3 million for health care in fiscal year 2015, 10 percent higher than the $629.9 million set aside in fiscal year 2014....
Some unions, meanwhile, appear unaware of how the looming fines might affect their workers. Dee Okahara, spokeswoman for the Hawaii Government Employees Association, said the union doesn’t understand how the health care reform provision would affect its members. She declined to comment.
Background: Act 268 Hawaii Unfunded Liabilities Plan: Pot of Gold for Corrupt Union Leaders
read ... Obamacare
Obamacare widens Kaiser's second-quarter loss
SA: Kaiser Permanente Hawaii continued its losing streak in the second quarter, attributing an $820,000 loss to reinvestments in its facilities as well as expenses associated with implementing the federal health reform law known as Obamacare....
Kaiser's membership of roughly 222,000 has fallen by about 4,000 from a year ago, which has hurt the company's financial performance, said Gary Lee, a Honolulu-based principal with Mercer, a human resources and benefit plan consultant.
"In order to balance out the aging Kaiser membership, they need to attract and enroll younger, healthier Kaiser members," he said.
"And to do that, the goal should be increasing membership 5 percent per year, year-over-year. They've never achieved that goal in the last 10 or 15 years. That's the underlying problem to which you add reinvestment in facilities and Obamacare. It's their lack of enrollment."
read ... More Obamacare
Abercrombie Admin Drafting Gay Marriage Bill
SA: Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Sunday it is "very likely" there will be a special legislative session on gay marriage.
The governor, speaking to a Democratic Party of Hawaii gathering at Ward Warehouse, appealed for patience while his administration drafts a gay-marriage bill that can withstand a potential legal challenge from opponents.
"We're not necessarily going to agree on every aspect of how to move forward where justice and freedom and opportunity are concerned," the governor said. "But I think we can put together something that can achieve a solid majority, that will give us the opportunity to establish marriage equity in the state of Hawaii commensurate with the recent Supreme Court decisions, and will satisfy and resolve the issues that are presently before the appeals court on the mainland."
Asked by the Star-Advertiser afterward whether there will be a special session, Abercrombie said, "I think it's very likely."
Despite the governor's confidence, however, he cautioned that he is more concerned about drafting a legally sound bill than the timing of when a bill is passed into state law.
Blake Oshiro, the governor's deputy chief of staff, said he is working with the state attorney general's office on a draft and has been in discussions with state lawmakers. Oshiro said the administration wanted to avoid a repeat of the flawed civil unions law that was approved in 2011 and later had to be corrected....
House and Senate leaders have said they do not have the two-thirds' support required under the state Constitution to call themselves back into special session, leaving the decision up to Abercrombie. The Senate has the votes for gay marriage, Senate leaders have said, but the vote count is much closer in the House.
Abercrombie has been waiting for a clear expression from the House that there are sufficient votes for a gay-marriage bill. House sources have said privately that they believe they have a majority but want a cushion for a special session.
"The House votes are really close right now," said House Majority Leader Scott Saiki (D, Downtown-Kakaako-McCully). "We are looking forward to meeting with the governor to discuss the language and mechanics of a bill."...
Jo-Ann Adams, an attorney and gay rights activist. "This needs to be done. It creates a nice space between getting it done in a focused way and giving them time to then reorient and refocus on the rest of the government business. It gives some space for it to die down so people don't worry about any election repercussions, although we don't expect any."
Suppressing Fire: Atheists Sue Hawaii Churches, Demand $5.6M Cash
read ... Special session is expected
Broken Trust Gang finally Imposes Gay Unions on Hawaii
HFP: In the entire history of the human race there has never been gay marriage. Not on any continent or island, not in any tribe, kingdom, or republic. Not in any religion or irreligion. Marriage has always been between male and female until the Broken Trust Hawaii Supreme Court took a break from its primary function--facilitating the looting of Bishop Estate--and invented gay marriage out of thin air in 1993. Then they went back to looting for 6 more years until the IRS shut down their racket.
read ... Broken Trust Gang finally Imposes Gay Unions on Hawaii
Members of New Hope speak up about lawsuit against the church KITV: "We've volunteered a number of times at Farrington after-school activities and things to beautify the school so in a way we feel like we are giving back to the community," said New Hope member Joe Keller....
In a statement, New Hope pastor Wayne Cordeiro said, "... Our churches have always honored all agreements made with the Department of Education and its authorized agents for the use of public school facilities."
read ... Members of New Hope speak up about lawsuit against the church
Harbor plan leaves LNG out of mix at Kalaeloa
SA: A plan proposed more than 30 years ago to build a dedicated fuel pier at Kalaeloa Barbers Point Harbor is finally advancing (so typical) as part of the state's effort to meet the changing needs of Hawaii's fuel and energy markets.
The state Department of Transportation recently filed an environmental impact statement preparation notice for the project that will consolidate the handling of bulk fuel imports and exports at Piers 3 and 4 at Kalaeloa Barbers Point Harbor....
While the broadly worded document talks about the need to accommodate "new fuel supply requirements," it doesn't mention specific types of fuel, such as liquefied natural gas. The ability to ship in LNG would require the construction of a specialized import terminal that would be the first of its kind in Hawaii.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has stressed the need for Hawaii to begin importing LNG as a cheaper alternative to oil for electricity generation. And Hawaii Gas, the state's only gas utility, has launched a three-phase plan for using small-scale ships to bring in LNG for power generation by 2019.
The fact that LNG wasn't addressed in the 25-page EIS notice caught the attention of some in Hawaii's energy community, said Shasha Fesharaki, chief operating officer at energy consultancy Facts Global Energy.
"There was no specific mention of LNG in the document. Some parties we deal with reached out to us saying they were concerned," Fesharaki said. "There is some confusion out there."
Forbes: If You Remember 'Peak Oil' You're Laughing Now
read ... Keeping Electricity Expensive
Will the GMO Debate Consume Hawaii?
CB: ...a discussion over GMO foods although not reflected in the current bills is a good thing. People want to be able to weigh the impact of innovations; they don’t want quick but unsustainable fixes; and they want an independent regulatory system. But that’s not what’s on the table.
Why am I now in Hawaii? I’m the founder of the Genetic Literacy Project and fellow at the Center for Health and Risk Communication at George Mason University. We are a resource hub for journalists, policymakers and the public, financed through foundation support and with a policy of accepting no industry contributions. Our goal is a simple one: help us sort through the costs and benefits of biotechnology,
I am traveling with Karl Haro von Mogel, a young plant geneticist at the University of Wisconsin and a founder of Biology Fortified Inc., an independent nonprofit organization that promotes discussion of the nexus of biotechnology and sustainability.
We both believe that biotechnology and sustainable agriculture, which includes organic farming, are not natural enemies. Biotech focuses on improving the traits of the crops that we grow, while organic agriculture focuses mainly on farm management and our impact on the land. There’s no reason beyond ideology and politics why these two aspects of farming cannot work together to create a better agriculture for everyone.
But that’s now what’s going on here in Hawaii. After observing the discourse over these prospective initiatives, where the public appears to be sharply divided about GMOs, we thought we could play a role, however small, in encouraging genuine science-based dialogue.
What are the key issues? One thing we’ve heard on our few days here is the demand for “transparency.” Critics say that the federal government and the state are in cahoots, conspiring behind closed doors, to hide data that would show that GMOs or the chemicals used in the seed nurseries on the islands are dangerous to our health and the environment.
If you believe in that conspiracy theory, then stop reading; there’s really no hope for a conversation....
read ... Some Sense
What Have You Done With Pua Aiu?
CB: After a week, an email and three follow-up phone calls, Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources still won’t answer our questions about Pua Aiu's new position at the agency.
Aiu is the former head of the State Historic Preservation Division who resigned last month after a critical report by the National Park Service. Federal officials said that Aiu failed to understand administrative, operational and fiscal processes, was unable to recruit needed staff and had a “basic lack of communication, accountability and transparency to the public.”
At the time, William Aila, chair of DLNR, which oversees SHPD, said in a statement that “we take this report seriously, and given the importance of SHPD to the state, we need to change the leadership in order to move forward to implement the recommendations. So we’ve accepted Pua’s resignation."
What Aila didn’t mention at the time was that Aiu would be going to work in his office, apparently on SHPD-related business. DLNR has since acknowledged that this is the case, saying in a July 19 email to us that “Pua Aiu has been assigned to the Chairperson's office to work on special projects including the HART rail project.”
But the department won’t say what Aiu’s new title is, disclose her salary or address whether she is being paid out of SHPD’s budget.
read ... What Have You Done With Pua Aiu?
Boston Globe Unmasks Evan Dobelle
BG: The boosters at Westfield State University wanted to support their ambitious new president in his quest to make the former teachers college into an educational powerhouse. So the school’s private foundation gave Evan S. Dobelle a credit card to pay what were meant to be “generally small amounts” for fund-raising expenses, such as meals with donors.
Then, in the fall of 2008, they started getting Dobelle’s bills: $8,000 for a four-night stay at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok; $883 from the upscale clothing store Louis Boston; $10,000 for tickets to shows at Tanglewood; more than $4,000 for limousine rides.
By the time the Westfield State College Foundation closed Dobelle’s credit card two years later, records show he had run up more than $200,000 in credit card charges to the foundation, a private group that raises money for scholarships and educational programs. Dobelle also agreed to repay more than $20,000 in expenditures he originally charged to the foundation.
But Dobelle’s free spending continued, university records show. He started racking up charges on his executive assistant’s university credit card, incurring thousands in expenses in the name of Nanci Salvidio, including personal items such as $875 for a 2011 stay at a five-star London hotel that wasn’t repaid for more than a year, according to an expense report.
read ... Shocking, Just Shocking
8 Years Later Army May Finally Open Stryker Brigade Training Complex
SA: Sometime this year the Army for the first time may have unfettered use of a $42 million Battle Area Complex for Stryker armored vehicle training at Schofield Barracks, a project that started in 2005.
read ... 8 Years
Hawaii consumers rack up second-highest credit-card debt among U.S. states
PBN: The average credit card debt in Hawaii in July was $5,235, which was unchanged from June but 27 percent less than the average credit card balance of $7,142 in July 2012, according to Credit Karma.
Auto loan debt, on the other hand, rose 13 percent in July to $17,808, compared to $15,784 in July 2012, ranking Hawaii 40th in the nation. Michigan had the lowest auto loan debt at $13,767, while Wyoming was highest at $20,929.
Hawaii homeowners had the highest average mortgage balance among the 50 states at $299,783, which was 7 percent less than the average mortgage debt of $322,347 in July 2012. California was the second-highest state with an average mortgage debt of $299,085, while Washington, D.C., was the highest overall at $301,116. Nationally, the average mortgage was $162,300, while Mississippi¹s average mortgage debt was the lowest at $99,876.
Student loan debt in Hawaii last month was $25,755, a 5 percent decrease from $27,240 in July 2012. Hawaii was ranked 11th in the nation for student loan debt. Utah had the lowest student loan debt at $23,980, while Maryland was highest state at $32,374 and Washington, D.C., was the highest overall at $43,856.
Meanwhile, Hawaii consumers were tied with consumers in Washington, D.C., last month for the highest credit score at 666, which was a decline from 676 in July 2012....
read ... Debt
QUICK HITS: