HMSA 'Dumping' Thousands of Policies, Blames Obamacare
Molasses Mess: Abercrombie Deflects Blame for Lax Inspections
Can Small Business Lending Become Big Business for Hawaii Credit Unions?
Akana: OHA Should Consider Suing HCDA Over Kakaako
Legislative Briefing: Priorities for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Health
Hawaii Dems Primary is 'Personal and Ugly'
PR: The National Republican Senatorial Committee on Thursday engaged in some trash talk on Twitter about the Hawaii U.S. Senate race.
From the NRSC's Brad Dayspring:
Dems are going to regret laughing about Hawaii when they're spending millions there in September 2014 to hold the Senate seat.
Asked whether the NRSC has a candidate, Dayspring responded via email: "The Democratic primary is personal and ugly, voters deserve a choice."
read ... Laughing
Abercrombie Hollering, Impatient, Slaps at Windfarm Critics
Borreca: In the past, Abercrombie has mostly resorted to hollering about those who oppose his desire for an undersea cable.
This week, in something of a slap to those leaders who have gone before him, Abercrombie decried past Hawaii attempts to work the alternative energy angle.
"This time we are going to take full advantage and press forward relentlessly on our diverse resources such as geothermal, solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy and biomass," Abercrombie said.
Not mentioned by Abercrombie was the fact that the keystone of his own energy policy during his campaign was to be a new Hawaii Energy Authority....
The Abercrombie promise of a super energy office evaporated soon after his election and, instead, the Democratic governor worked to put his own nominees on the PUC....
During his speech, Abercrombie aimed at those who object to the neighbor island wind projects.
"Yes, we have to take points of view into account. But opinion that is merely opinion is not going to be good enough. It has to be science-based; it has to be reality-based in terms of the political nature of what is involved in global pricing right now where energy is concerned," Abercrombie said.
In the filing with the PUC, the state said: "There is no meaningful difference between a delay to that transformational process and opposition to it. Accordingly, urgency for action is a core strategy for furthering the State's energy policies."...
So far, Abercrombie has not shown any patience with critics.
If something as important, complex, expensive and controversial as the first of several envisioned power cables linking our state is to come about, much leadership will be required.
(OK, enough loud-mouthed ignorance. Skip to next article for some Wisdom.)
read ... Governor puts his bets down on interisland cable
How Renewable Portfolio Standards Can Subvert Your Economy
HP: A strange thing happened on our way to a "clean energy" future in the U.S.: we've been hijacked by private developers whose primary interest is cashing in on state and federal subsidies and the guaranteed payback of a hefty return on investment, spawned by each state's need to meet self-imposed renewable portfolio standards (RPS).
Sales propaganda aside, many of these developers could care less if their pet projects lower greenhouse gases or otherwise help the planet; they are simply capitalizing on the potential riches guaranteed by us, the rate and taxpayers.
Hawaii is the poster child for how a stiff RPS can spawn a developer frenzy, especially in the absence of a coherent, community-based energy policy.
Act 221 Scammers: ONR provides $30M for clean energy research
read ... Friends of Lanai
Lawsuit accuses biomass plant developers of fraud
HTH: A civil suit filed Monday in Delaware alleges that the owners of the Hu Honua Bioenergy plant currently under development in Pepeekeo attempted to defraud the former majority owner of the project by attempting to back out of an agreement to pay a sum of $5.5 million following state approval of a power purchase agreement with Hawaii Electric Light Company Inc....
At the time of the sale, Hu Honua Bioenergy was negotiating a power purchase agreement with HELCO. Once the agreement was complete, it was required to be submitted for approval to the state Public Utilities Commission before it could go into effect.
“PUC approval is necessary for the Project to begin operation,” the lawsuit reads. “PUC approval will dramatically increase its value.”
The suit claims that the project’s net worth was anticipated to approach $200 million after the approval....
The four individuals controlling HIPP — John Sylvia, Roger Berry, Virginia Foote, and Roger Preston — are alleged to have formed their own lending group called Grandis Ventures, which subsequently made a loan to HIPP. Months later, the lawsuit says, the various parties “orchestrated a default by HIPP and a transfer of HIPP’s interest in Island Bioenergy in lieu of foreclosure” in exchange for a total of $49.7 million.
“HIPP’s transfer of its interest in Island Bioenergy to the related Lending Group was a sham transaction designed to defraud (MMARV) of the $5.5 million payment while preserving the Individual Defendants’ economic interest in the Project,” the complaint states
read ... 'Green' Energy
Groups given more say on undersea cable issue
CB: In Tuesday's ruling the PUC granted intervenor status sought by NextEra Energy Hawaii LLC, Life of the Land, the Renewable Energy Action Coalition of Hawaii, I Aloha Molokai, Maui County, Hawaii Interisland Cable LLC, and First Wind Holdings LLC.
These entities will be able to make official information requests of the main parties and have access to redacted information after signing nondisclosure agreements.
"This is great news for us," said Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, a Honolulu-based environmental and community-action group. The group opposes the cable, a proposal supported by former Gov. Linda Lingle and now by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
"This gives us an opportunity to really investigate the cable. For the first time we can really understand all the aspects of the cable, technical, cultural, economic and environmental," Curtis said.
Estimates of the cost of an undersea transmission cable have varied widely over the years depending on its route and the source of the estimate. At one time a Lingle administration official estimated it would cost between $800 million and $1 billion to connect the islands of Maui County and Oahu. Since then state officials have been reluctant to provide cost estimates.
IAM: Molokai Clean Energy Initiative
read ... Interveners
OHA putting its mission at risk
SA: OHA's impressive $224.4 million in real estate holdings comprise 28,206 acres of leased and owned land. But, the state auditor found, its land-management infrastructure is "inadequate, unable to support its growing portfolio nor any future real estate involvements."
That's a huge red flag: Halt and fix the problem before proceeding....
With such a rich land portfolio, then, it's almost shocking to learn that OHA is, as the audit says, "without the policies, procedures and staff to help guide and support the increased real estate activity. OHA's board of trustees cannot ensure that its real estate acquisitions are based on a strong financial foundation."
Symptomatic of the deficiencies: OHA staff could not locate key land-related documents and had not produced an annual report about real estate activity and finances. An OHA administrator blamed high turnover and staff shortage in the land program....
The auditor also found OHA remiss in its grants programs, saying, "The office continues to lack policies and procedures to adequately monitor compliance and performance and ensure that grants achieve intended benefits for Hawaiians. In addition, grant outcomes are not consistently brought to the attention of trustees."
This area also needs shoring up to improve accountability of funds.
State law requires an audit of OHA at least every four years; this latest was the sixth. Pointedly, the audit noted that in 2007, OHA had adopted a document for land acquisition and policy that articulated its mission, vision, strategic goals, and priorities. But six years and more than $200 million later, OHA has not implemented many of the policies....
read ... OHA putting its mission at risk
Honolulu's water board still sending out Estimated Bills
SA: Q: But is this going to keep happening because of problems with the metering systems not being read?
A: What we're going to try to do is minimize the number that happens. ... Even under the old system, when we were bimonthly billing for residential customers, there's always some degree of estimated bills going out.
Q: How high a percentage?
A: In May probably over 16 percent of our bills were estimated.
Q: And now?
A: And now we've gotten it down to 4 to 5 percent ...
read ... Water Board
Gay Activist, AG Team up to Take $1.5M from Catholic School
SA: Randall S. Nishiyama, deputy attorney general, in a memo to Kim dated Sept. 3, said the grant violates Article X, Section 1, of the state Constitution, which "prohibits public funds from being appropriated for the support or benefit of any sectarian or nonsectarian private educational institution."
"Consequently, this grant violates Article X, Section 1, of the Hawaii State Constitution," he said.
Bernard Ho, Damien president, said Thursday that school officials were still gathering information on the attorney general's memo and the potential loss of funds.
"We really haven't discussed it internally yet," Ho said.
Damien is in the midst of raising $12 million for its campus master plan, which will include upgrades or new construction for classrooms, offices, athletic facilities and a conference room. The school is more than halfway to its goal, according to its website.
Among those who first questioned the grant was Carolyn Golojuch, an advocate for marriage equality , mother of 'Bitchbear', who raised the issue in an email letter to Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Aug. 28.
read ... Mama Bear
Will a New Mentoring Program Keep Hawaii Teachers on the Job?
CB: Funamura manages the mentoring and induction program for schools in the Kalihi, Diamond Head and Hawaii Kai areas. The program is part of a Hawaii Department of Education statewide initiative that aims to decrease turnover in a place where about 55 percent of beginning teachers leave their jobs within their first five years and to breathe new life into retention efforts that, in years past, were inconsistent and disorganized.
It also has the far-reaching goal of making educators more effective, officials say, because teachers are arguably the single most important factor in determining student success....
As part of the Hawaii program, the department places each new teacher, defined as the roughly 3,600 educators within their first three years on the job, with a mentor. A small percentage of the mentors — 35 of them — work in that role full-time, while the vast majority — more than 500 of them — are either teachers or other school staff who voluntarily mentor in addition to their other duties.
read ... Mentoring
Hawaii's Biggest Story Broken by Non-Journalists
CB: ... Broken Trust, a piece that revealed abuse of the multi-billion dollar charitable organization started by Bernie Pauahi Bishop, was the most earth-shattering news story in modern Hawaii, and that was, at its very core, user-generated content. The piece, which fundamentally changed the way Kamehameha Schools and Bishop Estate were run, was submitted to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 1997. "It was the story that rocked Hawaii," said the American Journalism Review in 2001.
Sure, these users were prominent members of the Hawaii community, including University of Hawaii law Professor Randall Roth, the late former federal Judge Samuel Pailthorpe King and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Walter Heen. But that doesn't change the fact that they weren't working journalists. Paired with former Gov. Ben Cayetano, Roth and Heen offer tremendous credibility to the anti-rail movement and the pending lawsuit against the project.
read ... Broken Trust
Horizontal Water Well Would Knock 15% off Kauai Electric Bill
KGI: The Department of Water will resume its discussion on the Kahili Horizontal Directionally-Drilled Well and Energy Savings Project during a special board meeting Tuesday....
“This is a huge energy savings project,” he said. “(It) reduces our operating cost by 15 percent for hundreds of years, and that’s a benefit to everybody on the island, not just the people in Lihue.”....
The electricity used by DOW for pumping and overall water treatment amounts to roughly $2.5 million annually in the Lihue-Kapaa system.
“We don’t have that cost with that high-level well,” Craddick said. “It’s pure water.”
The DOW has said the project would allow the department to collect the water already being used closer to the source, and that the cost of doing so would be made up in savings over the next 25 years.
For more information visit www.kauaiwater.org or http://kahili.oceanit.com.
read ... About the Excuses Kauai Professional Protesters make to Oppose this
Ford Uses 'Birther' Tactic in Hawaii Co Lawsuit
WHT: Hawaii County is asking a 3rd Circuit Court judge to allow it to intervene to help defend Bobby Jean Leithead Todd’s position as Environmental Management director after discovering that Councilwoman Brenda Ford’s petition challenging her relies on a relatively obscure legal premise that prevents the county from doing so.
Ford’s petition, “in the nature of quo warranto,” asks the court to compel Leithead Todd to come forward and justify her qualifications for her position. Quo warranto is most commonly used in Hawaii to challenge elected officials’ qualifications for office, if for example, they don’t live in their district. It also was tried unsuccessfully by the so-called “Birther” movement in challenging President Barack Obama’s birth certificate and citizenship and thus his qualification to be president.
Deputy Corporation Counsel Laureen Marten said the case law is clear from a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling on a Maui case that the county isn’t obligated to defend Leithead Todd in this type of action. But the county wants to be involved, she said, because “we have an interest in the outcome.”
read ... revenge and retaliation
Waipahu Coach Found Not Guilty
KHON: Erik Tamura, 37, was charged with three counts of third-degree sexual assault. But on Thursday, a jury decision cleared him of those charges.
His attorney says it came from an upset student-athlete who Tamura had stopped coaching.
“His life is really turned upside down and there’s really no clear winner because once you’re accused of this kind of thing, it’s very difficult to overcome, even when justice is served,” defense attorney Kenneth Shimozono said.
Tamura says he wants his job back.
read ... Revenge and Retaliation
Former House Candidate Gets Four Year Federal Sentence
SA: A federal judge sentenced a 39-year-old man this afternoon to a four-year prison term for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 30 victims of more than $1 million.
U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi also ordered Jason Pascua to pay $1 million in restitution to the victims.
Pascua, a state House candidate from Kaneohe in 2010 and a former president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, was ordered to surrender at a federal prison on Oct. 24....
HNN: Former isle business leader sentenced for Ponzi scheme
read ... A criminal who didn't make it to the Legislature
Former Prison Guard on Trial for Shooting Woman
HTH: Deputy Prosecutor Mike Kagami said in his opening statement that Amormino had been drinking and was angry when he drove from his Hawaiian Beaches home to the Auwae Road house where Shirshac lived with her ex-husband, Francis Makaiwi, with whom she had remained friends. Shirshac had earlier testified that Amormino sped into the driveway and got out of his pickup truck brandishing a handgun. She said that Amormino had repeatedly said “you’re not effing leaving me” before shooting her and attempting, unsuccessfully, to shoot Makaiwi, who was hiding in a bathroom inside the master bedroom.
read ... Puna
New company approved to sell health insurance in Hawaii
SA: Family Health Hawaii, a nonprofit mutual benefit society run by former state Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt, won conditional approval in March to establish a new insurance firm. On Wednesday the state gave the green light to Family Health to beginning coverage Oct. 1.
The average monthly premium for medical coverage for individuals will be $290, said Schmidt, the company's chief executive officer.
"There are lower rates and higher rates depending upon numerous factors, but I believe that the rates will be the lowest of any health insurer in Hawaii," he said, adding that the statewide average premium here is about $405 a month.
read ... Family Health Hawaii
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