Secret Chart Reveals HMSA Individual, Family Rates--$873 Per Person for Non-Smokers
Raising Debt Ceiling, Cutting Spending is Crux of Issue
US Commission on Civil Rights Seeks Nominees for Hawaii Advisory Committee
Grassroot: Poll Favors Limited, Accountable Government
Hawaii Democrats Finally Eliminate Old-Boys from Party
MN: For nearly 40 years, the Democratic Party could be divided into two distinct camps that have battled each other in bitter and ferocious primary elections. The first symbolic clash came during the 1970 gubernatorial primary between the incumbent, now-mythic John A. Burns, and his former lieutenant governor, Thomas Gill, equally legendary....
But something happened in 2006 when Ed Case challenged incumbent Daniel Akaka in a race for the U.S. Senate. At first glance it didn't seem all that different. Clearly, the incumbent was an establishment candidate. And Case was certainly an upstart.
However, Case was a moderate Blue Dog Democrat. This did not fit the classic Tom Gill candidate. Ironically, the activists, environmentalists and the others in the party who would normally support the upstart joined up with Akaka's backers.
The old dividing line within the party got blurrier when Neil Abercrombie squared off against Mufi Hannemann in the gubernatorial race. Could you call Abercrombie an upstart Gill candidate? Not in 2010. He was definitely an outsider liberal from New York in the 1970s when he ran for office. He has long been a proponent of green industry, gay rights and other progressive causes. But when he ran for governor, he had already served for many years on U.S. House committees overseeing the armed forces and was a quiet supporter of the military presence in the islands. Was Hannemann the establishment candidate? Not really. He may have had the support of big business and developers, but he was not a fixture in Hawaii politics like Abercrombie.
Now it seems that the next big primary is for the U.S. Senate, and again the lines are blurry for now. Sen. Brian Schatz is no upstart. Big labor and the establishment supported him in his race for the lieutenant governor in 2010. U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa is the challenger and is also supported by labor unions. In fact, like Gill, she was a labor lawyer. But unlike Gill, she's part of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats that advocate free trade and are pro-business.
These candidates are harder to pin down. Perhaps the Burns-Gill model is breaking down for good. The recent primaries have forged new alliances, new power brokers....
read ... Meet the New Bosses, Same as the Old Bosses?
Shapiro: Advocates of gay marriage need be generous in victory
Shapiro: In Hawaii, we still hear a few shrill warnings of immorality and destruction of the family, but many opponents see the writing on the wall and are focused on winning the strongest possible religious exemption to protect churches from having to participate in solemnizing marriages that are against their beliefs.
If gay marriage advocates are smart, they'll be generous in victory and join most of the 13 other states that have legalized same-sex marriage in providing a broad religious exemption.
Gay rights groups have a right to resent the intolerance shown by some churches in the marriage fight, but it would be a mistake to use their newfound political muscle to respond with similar intolerance toward constitutionally protected religious freedom.
"A majority of states recognize that same-sex marriage should not be a tool to dismantle people's religious beliefs," says Hawaii state Rep. Marcus Oshiro. "Tolerance … is a two-way street."
Of all the divisions that afflict our country, the religious divide is perhaps the most ominous, and from what we've learned in other troubled parts of the world, it has the most potential to become a shooting war if Americans can't learn to respect and accommodate our differences again.
Background: First Amendment: 14 Gay Marriage Laws vs Abercrombie
read ... Advocates of gay marriage need be generous in victory
House support for same-sex marriage in flux Over Religious Freedom
SA: A Star-Advertiser vote count, based on information from lawmakers and sources who have conducted their own internal surveys, puts support for gay marriage at 21 to 4 in the Senate. The vote count in the House is 27 to 17, with seven lawmakers undecided. Over the past several weeks, the newspaper's vote count in the House has fluctuated between 27 — just one more than the 26 votes needed for passage — to as high as 32 votes.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie took a political risk by calling the special session without an ironclad margin in the House. But several sources who have been privately counting votes believe the House will comfortably pass the bill if House leadership is able to answer concerns about the scope of a religious exemption for clergy and churches that do not want to host gay weddings.
Four of the seven House lawmakers who say they are undecided — Reps. Cindy Evans, Jo Jordan, Marcus Oshiro and Calvin Say — voted for civil unions in 2011. A fifth undecided lawmaker — Vice Speaker John Mizuno — voted against civil unions but says his opinion on gay marriage is evolving since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that legally married gay couples are entitled to federal benefits....
But some House lawmakers, who have to face voters every two years in districts where even small shifts in voting patterns can be meaningful, wonder whether enough of their constituents are ready for gay marriage.
The debate over a religious exemption in the bill has given some House Democrats political cover from talking about the underlying issue of whether gay couples should have the right to marry. That cover will likely be removed if gay-rights advocates in the party think House Democrats are using the religious exemption as a pretext to wriggle out of marriage equality.
Oshiro, the former House Finance Committee chairman, and Say, the former speaker, who were dethroned by a new House leadership coalition in January, have cited the religious exemption as the reason for their hesitation...their holding back has given others room for doubt....
Rep. K. Mark Takai (D, Halawa-Aiea-Newtown), who voted against civil unions in 2011, said last week that he had just started to read through emails from the public....
Rep. Justin Woodson (D, Kahului-Wailuku-Puunene), who was appointed by Abercrombie in January to fill a House vacancy, said he is undecided but would strongly prefer that voters resolve the issue through a constitutional amendment....
Wavering House Democrats may tune out some of the more extreme warnings from opponents about the threats to society from gay marriage. But the lawmakers are listening to concerns about protecting religious freedom.
Undoing the House majority may rest on whether opponents can show House Democrats they are on the wrong side of their constituents, not 10 or 20 years from now, but today.
Background: First Amendment: 14 Gay Marriage Laws vs Abercrombie
read ... In Flux
Kauai County Council takes up GMO, pesticide bill on Tuesday
SA: At the end of a 12-hour meeting by the county's Economic Development (Agriculture) Committee on Sept. 27, a diluted version of the bill was approved. It will be considered at a meeting set for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Council's chambers at the County Building in Lihue.
The committee voted 4-1 in favor of the amended bill, which targets the county's heaviest pesticide users.
The proposed regulations:
» Mandatory disclosure of pesticide use and the presence of GMOs. The bill's new version calls for users to submit weekly reports detailing information ranging from active ingredients to wind speed.
» Posting of signs in areas near pesticide application sites, as well as issuing pre-application "Good Neighbor" notices to property owners within 1,500 feet of operations.
» A 500-foot buffer zone around schools, hospitals and homes. The amended bill shortens the zone to 100 feet in other potentially sensitive areas, such as parks, public roadways, streams, rivers and shorelines.
» A county "environmental and public health impact study" addressing questions tied to large-scale commercial agriculture entities that use pesticides and GMOs. The amended bill scrapped a proposed moratorium on new GMO operations pending results of an environmental impact statement — prepared by Kauai County — and development of a permitting system.
The committee also amended the bill to take effect six months after its approval instead of upon the signing of the bill, if passed.
Most of the 10-page bill's other provisions were deleted but could be reintroduced before the seven-member Council.
Reality:
read ... Tuesday
Star-Adv: Original vision for Kakaako still best guide
SA: Nobody wants Honolulu to simply let buildings sprout wherever they may, extinguishing what's left of the island's beauty. And yet, judging by the recent community testimony on various plans for Kakaako, the Hawaii Community Development Authority is struggling to explain and execute the guiding vision for this area.
The agency holds court over some contentious issues in the region. There is an undeniable need for more housing on Oahu, but with relatively few exceptions, the land set aside for residential development is already built out. So few new homes are being built that the annual real-estate Parade of Homes showcase was canceled for the first time for lack of new models.
Efforts to constrain building outside the urban boundaries, coupled with a widespread fatigue from long commutes from the suburbs, mean that future homes inevitably will come through redevelopment of the city — what planners call "infill."
There are innumerable spots within urbanized Oahu where this infill is happening — the recent proposal for a mixed-use complex at the site of the old Kam Drive-In Theater is just one example — but the crown jewel for developers has got to be Kakaako....
If Oahu wants to "keep the country country" on the North Shore and other areas, more density in the urban core is needed. But if Kakaako is to become a well-planned Third City, HCDA needs to hew closely to its master plan.
read ... Original vision for Kakaako still best guide
Homeless 1-day tally is too low, study says
SA: The federally mandated one-day count, conducted by the state in January, found that 1,475 individuals were living on the street, on the beach or anywhere else the homeless are — other than in a shelter.
Results from the new independent study, however, show an undercount of between 587 and 875, putting the real number of Oahu street homeless well above 2,000 and as high as 2,350....
Nearly 14,000 people sought some form of homeless services across the state from July 2011 to June 2012, according to the University of Hawaii's latest Homeless Services Utilization report.
Based on this year's point-in-time count, held on Jan. 22, the state reported that the number of Oahu homeless living on streets instead of in shelters rose 11 percent over last year.
read ... Up 11%
Panel to receive input on home-based business bill
MN: The bill's three primary purposes are to:
* Establish home-based businesses as a permitted use in the residential and rural zoning districts, and as a special use in the agricultural zoning district.
* Establish standards and restrictions for the regulation of home-based businesses.
* Determine methods to minimize the impacts that home businesses will have on neighborhoods
read ... Panel to receive input on home-based business bill
Maui considers 2014 HSAC legislative package
MN: Proposals approved by all four county councils will be included in the final HSAC legislative package, which will be submitted to the Legislature before the legislative session begins on Jan. 15. The committee will review proposals submitted by the Hawaii and Kauai county councils and the Honolulu City Council.
The Honolulu City Council has proposed HSAC support legislation to require helmets be worn by all motorcycle and motorscooter drivers and their passengers and all moped drivers in the state regardless of their age. Currently, helmets are only required to be worn if the drivers or passengers are under 18.
The Kauai County Council has proposed a measure to allow the state and counties to continue to post warning signs and provide lifeguards at beach parks without the threat of being sued for conditions or events that are outside the government's control.
The Hawaii County Council has proposed HSAC endorse state appropriations for the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and a primary care training program at Hilo Medical Center.
Fiscal measures will also be considered, including a state bill to raise the annual cap on the counties' share of transient accommodations tax revenue. TAT revenue has long been a critical component of the counties' budgets, helping to provide local services and infrastructure that support the visitor industry.
To provide county representation on the boards of the statewide Employees' Retirement System and the Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund, one measure proposes that the mayors be allowed to appoint, with HSAC's approval, a member to each board.
Another proposal would require the Legislature to accept live oral testimony from Neighbor Island residents.
read ... HSAC Endorsements
Hawaii Co Building Inspections Used to Hasten Transfer of Naniloa to new Owner
HTH: Hawaii County is considering legal action against the Naniloa Volcanoes Resort, including closure of the troubled Banyan Drive hotel, after it failed a series of building inspections, Mayor Billy Kenoi said.
The inspections were done between April 24 and April 29 at the request of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources, Kenoi said, with follow-up inspections done last week.
A notice of violation issued May 9 to the hotel, which is going through bankruptcy and seeking a new owner, cited 24 violations of the building, electrical and plumbing codes. Among the violations are unpermitted alterations, electrical work and non-compliance with fire and safety regulations.
“We’re exploring all possible legal remedies to see what we can do to address these issues,” Kenoi said.
Asked if that includes closing the hotel, Kenoi said “absolutely.”
read ... Naniloa failed inspections
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