Abercrombie, Legislature Say: “The People Choose on Marriage”
Hawaii Student Veterans Make Case for In-State Tuition
Independent producers Contribute to High Electric Costs
SA: Residential electric rates rose on Oahu in October from September, tracking an increase in the cost of fuel and power bought from independent producers, Hawaiian Electric Co. reported Thursday.
Rates also increased in October on all other islands.
The bill for a typical household on Oahu using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month is $208.32 in October, $5.26 more than in September, according to HECO. The October rate is 33.2 cents a kilowatt-hour.
The rise in Oahu's electric rate was largely due to an increase in the price for low-sulfur fuel oil, which accounts for more than 50 percent of a customer's bill, a HECO spokesman said. (Because the independent producers are being paid on avoided cost?)
read ... About how much the Greens are Stealing from you
$1,000 Per Head Abercrombie Fundraiser Friday in NYC
CB: Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie will hold a campaign fundraiser at 140 Broadway in New York City today at 12:30 EST. The suggested donation is $1,000. (NY bankers love a Gov. who can raise taxes to pay them.)
(Taxpayers prolly picking up the tab for his r/t airfare & hotel based on his fake "gov't shutdown" meetings in DC.)
PR: New York, New York
read ... Now we know why he scheduled those phony meetings
The Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, H.R. 3133 Would Protect Religious Freedom
BR: The New Mexico high court, which already has issued an opinion favoring advocates for same-sex unions, will hear oral arguments Oct. 23 in response to a request from the state’s 33 country clerks, according to Reuters News Service. After judges ruled gay marriages should be permitted in two counties, the clerks asked the justices to determine whether same-sex marriage should be legal statewide.
In August, the New Mexico Supreme Court rejected the religious free exercise arguments of Jonathan and Elaine Huguenin, a Christian couple who operate a photography business. The justices ruled the Huguenins violated the state’s ban on sexual orientation discrimination by refusing to photograph a same-sex ceremony.
Hawaii’s legislators will determine whether to recognize gay marriage during a special session called for by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a proponent of its legalization....
The expanding legalization of gay marriage has resulted in the loss of freedom to exercise religious beliefs by business owners, including the Huguenins. The ERLC has endorsed new federal legislation to address an aspect of this growing problem. The Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, H.R. 3133, would prevent the federal government from denying tax exemption to, or withdrawing it from, individuals and institutions that define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Sept 20, 2013: US House: Bipartisan Marriage and Religious Freedom Act Introduced—60 Cosponsors (85 Cosponsors Now)
read ... State judges, legislators weigh gay marriage
Democrats, Transsexuals Plan 'Pride' Rally
PR: Gay rights advocates are planning a pride event on Oct. 27 at the state Capitol, the day before state lawmakers meet in special session to consider a gay marriage bill....
The event is sponsored by several groups, including the Democratic Party of Hawaii's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered caucus, Honolulu Pride, Hawaii United for Marriage, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii.
read ... Sex Makes a 'family'
Health Website Woes Widen as Insurers Get Wrong Data
WSJ: Insurers say the federal health-care marketplace is generating flawed data that is straining their ability to handle even the trickle of enrollees who have gotten through so far, in a sign that technological problems extend further than the website traffic and software issues already identified.
read ... Obamacare is the Crowning Glory
Kauai Anti-GMO Bill 2491 sent to mayor
KGI: Bill 2491 has made its way to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.’s desk.
County Legislative Assistant Jenelle Hughes confirmed the Office of the County Clerk had completed its revisions of the final draft, which was transmitted to the mayor’s office Thursday afternoon.
Carvalho has until Halloween — 10 working days from today — to sign, not sign or veto the bill....
The bill passed 6-1 early Wednesday morning, with Councilman Mel Rapozo as the lone dissenting vote. Councilwoman Nadine Nakamura, who voiced her approval of a deferral during the meeting, voted silent.
Bill 2491, which affects Kauai’s five heaviest users of restricted use pesticides, will go into effect nine months after it becomes law.
In his statement, Furfaro said the work is not finished.
“The discussion on these issues need to continue,” he said. “They need to be addressed by the state, who is responsible for proper enforcement and inspection of pesticide use.”
In an effort to fund such assistance, Furfaro submitted an appropriation bill of $555,000 for inclusion in the 2014 Kauai County Legislative Package.
read ... Bill 2491 sent to mayor
HART gets go-ahead to spend $1.56B on rail structures, land
SA: About 70 percent of the fiscal year 2015 budget — roughly a billion dollars — will go toward construction, including work on a Pearl Highlands parking structure and transit center, rail stations around the airport and the elevated track around the airport, Chinatown, downtown and Kakaako, as well as other projects.
The rest of the budget will go to land acquisition and relocation costs (nearly $139 million), contingency spending and other project expenses.
It is the largest single-year budget planned for the $5.26 billion project.
HART officials expect the budget to drop off considerably in the subsequent fiscal year — down to $269 million. Its budgets will shrink even further in the project's remaining years through 2020.
Between now and 2018, HART anticipates borrowing a total of $700 million, in increments of $100 million, for the years when the project's general excise tax and federal revenues won't keep pace with its accelerated spending
read ... Board approves largest budget yet
UH broaches construction freeze in Latest Scheme to Shift money from Kobayashi to Mitsunaga
SA: The University of Hawaii is considering halting new construction projects (Kobayashi/Inouye contracts) across the university system until it can rein in a repair and maintenance backlog that has ballooned to nearly a half-billion dollars (of Mitsunaga/Abercrombie contracts).
The idea was presented at Thursday's Board of Regents meeting by Regent Benjamin Kudo, who said an "interim self-imposed moratorium" on new construction would give the board breathing room to address the needed repairs.
"My concern was if we spent too much of our efforts to approve new projects, that it would somehow affect our ability to take care of the back of the house," Kudo said. "We've neglected too long to take care of our physical plant."
read ... Who will be frozen out?
UH agrees to hold off on center for Inouye
SA: Deferring to the wishes of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye's family and addressing transparency concerns, the University of Hawaii is slowing the process for pursuing a planned center to house his congressional papers and has dramatically cut the state funding it is initially requesting for the project.
The university's Board of Regents on Thursday approved seeking $5 million in state bond financing as a way to demonstrate UH's commitment to the project — a commitment that proponents said was needed to help in efforts to raise more private funds.
The UH administration had planned to ask the regents for the go-ahead to pursue an expedited plan for a proposed $27.5 million facility, including $15 million in state general obligation bonds and $10 million in federal funds.
Instead, the administration only asked for approval for the $5 million bond request and dropped the federal funds component.
Full Text: Inouye family testimony to the UH Board of Regents
read ... Inouye not to be Honored?
Hawaii's Public Records: Can We Talk About This?
CB: We need to find a way to make sure people are not priced out of those very important efforts.
The easiest fix, of course, is to follow the lead of other states that have dealt with this issue and recognize that these are the public's records, not the government's records.
Quit charging for the search, review and redaction process.
Set a consistent copying fee — perhaps 10 cents a page which is what the FedEx store on King Street charges.
Include a provision that discourages or screens "serial requesters" or frivolous searches.
Require the agencies to do a better job organizing records and separating private information
read ... Hawaii's Public Records: Can We Talk About This?
Former HPD Major gets piddling 8 months in prison
HNN: Calling his conduct "reprehensible" and "shocking," a federal judge today sentenced former Honolulu Police Department Major Carlton Nishimura to eight months in prison.
Federal prosecutors say Nishimura compromised a federal investigation into Hawaii's dominant prison gang, the United Samoa Organization or the "USO Family."
"He knew what he was doing, providing false information on his tax return and to the FBI on a very serious investigation into the USO federal task force," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Muehleck.
"That task force is still going. It just returned a an 18 defendant RICO conspiracy indictment. And that's what the court found shocking I'm sure."
Nishimura pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and to lying to the FBI. He also was indicted for drug possession and extortion -- for collecting payments from Chinatown gamblers -- but those charges were dropped in the plea deal. ...
A 31-year HPD veteran, Nishimura headed the Criminal Investigation Division, where he oversaw investigations of major crimes such as murders, robberies, thefts and assaults.... (How many were squelched? Misdirected? Hello?)
Gillmor criticized Nishimura for contacting a key witness in his case -- the wife of a USO gang member -- and for asking her to recant her federal grand jury testimony that implicated Nishimura....
Sept 2013: Feds Indict “USO Family” Prison gang
read ... Former HPD Major gets 8 months in prison
Dobelle Scores Paid Vacation as 'Punishment' for Latest Escapades
ML: An announcement was made around 12:30 a.m. Thursday after a marathon session of the Board of Trustees, who voted to place Dobelle on leave with pay.
The trustees had called the 2 p.m. Wednesday campus meeting at Horace Mann Hall to discuss whether to suspend Dobelle during their own investigation into his spending, including travel costs and credit card use.
The announcement was made by John F. Flynn III, chairman of the trustees, who said two votes were taken.
“First the board retained the professional services of (Boston legal firm) Fish and Richardson to conduct an investigation into the issues raised by the inspector general involving spending, employment and leadership at the university as well as the foundation," Flynn said. Westfield State Foundation is the fundraising arm of the school.
In addition, Flynn said, “The board unanimously voted to place Evan Dobelle on administrative leave with pay pending the investigation.”
read ... PAID Admin Leave
Hawaii Harbor Officials Tell Port Businesses to Provide Response Plans
CB: On Sept. 20, Hawaii Department of Transportation Director Glenn Okimoto sent a two-page letter to the nearly 50 business tenants who have pipeline easements on harbor property. (An easement is the right to cross or otherwise use someone else's land for a specified purpose.) Okimoto told the tenants they must provide documentation about pipeline inspections and spill response plans.
The department, which owns the harbor, had never before required that such information be submitted.
read ... Plan for Molasses
Protesters Trash Park Renaming Ceremony
MN: Mayor Alan Arakawa, who was at the dedication ceremony Thursday, said he was "irritated" by the handful of protesters.
"If they are so small-minded that they cannot accept someone who dedicated his life and who deserves to be respected, then they don't deserve the time of day," Arakawa told The Maui News at the dedication ceremony Thursday. "This is somebody who worked day in and day out for decades, his whole life, and they come out and disrespect that. That's not Hawaiian culture."
Arakawa called the display "showboating at its worst" and said he was "ashamed for" the near-dozen protesters who stood outside the park gates waving signs and shouting during the dedication. One sign read: "It's Waihee Valley, not Caldito Valley!" ...
The late Caldito, who died on July 25, 2011, at the age of 98, grew up in Waihee and went on to become the first Filipino-American to be elected to public office in the U.S.
read ... Protesters upset over name change for park
Borreca Disturbed by Lack of Explicit Suffering During 'Shutdown'
Borreca: On the surface, Hawaii this week skipped much of the trauma of the federal shutdown — but below decks, the state's budget, just climbing to a recovery, was about to split open....
SA: Another Screed about 'Extremist Republicans" Yawn
read ... Something very dull and predictable
Lifelong Criminal, Rewarded with $199K, Heads to Latest Trial
SA: Police said Kim on Sept. 23 entered the car of a 58-year-old man in Waipahu and tried to steal it. The man confronted the suspect, who then tried to flee, but the man held on to him until police arrived.
In August 1992, Kim, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, was a parole violator being sought by police when he took KGMB-TV cameraman Peter O'Callaghan hostage. Kim was sentenced to prison for up to 20 years but was eligible for parole after 12 years.
In 1999 Kim received $199,000 in a court settlement for mistreatment while in Halawa Correctional Facility.
Kim was arrested again in 2007 for failing a drug test while on parole. And last year he was arrested and convicted of misdemeanor car theft and served 30 days in jail.
read ... Soft on Crime
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