November 22, 2013 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Does he fear political ramifications? In short, no, because Hee felt he legislated according to what he felt was right. However, he said he received boxes of 2,000 signatures that said: "You vote yes, we vote no."

But will there be ramifications? It's possible, he said.

SB1 supporters in our audience asked the senator what they could do to help. Hee's answer: Vote.

"First thing is register to vote," Hee said. "Second thing is go get three, four, five other of your friends. Get them to register to vote. Look at those legislators who have similar passions and have voted the way you like them to vote. ... I happen to believe the 2014 elections, some people will be injured who voted for Senate Bill 1. It's going to take a lot of organizing."

read ... Ramifications

Borreca: Supreme Court needs A Crook

Borreca: Hawaii has had just two Native Hawaiians on the top court. The most influential justice on the court was the late Chief Justice William S. Richardson, whose name now graces the University of Hawaii law school. Richardson's water rights and beach access decisions have absolutely shaped how we live in Hawaii.

Others will argue also that Native Hawaiian Robert Klein's decision redefining customary and traditional rights of access also was a landmark.

It is too soon to know whether the nominees for Acoba's seat include any Native Hawaiian judges or lawyers. If they do, it would be for the better....

Jackie Young is a newly appointed member of the Judicial Selection Commission, which is charged with selecting four to six possible appointees for Gov. Neil Abercrombie to pick from. She declined to say if there are any Native Hawaiian candidates being considered.

Young, the former state affirmative action officer, does say that, "We have a very good list of applicants."

Klein's Work: How A&B Wins Big From Environmental Litigation
Richardson's Work: Richardson-era court authorized improper lobbying and campaign activities, rejected complaints about Bishop Estate appointments

read ... State's top court could use more Crooks

Star-Adv: OCCC Should be Moved to make Way for Transit-Oriented Development

SA: The RFI was issued Nov. 14, and early reaction has been predictable: Moving OCCC will be too expensive; it will be too hard to get inmates to court on time from out of town; nobody will want a new jail on their side of the island. Those are all valid concerns, and the question of where to relocate OCCC is paramount. But now is not the moment to stick with the status quo, especially with transit-oriented development such a high priority for the city. Redeveloping neighborhoods into places where folks can live, work and play is a major thrust of the TOD philosophy, and relocating OCCC would open up 16 acres of state land on which to help fulfill that vision.

Built in 1916, with neighbors that now include a school, a park and thriving small businesses, OCCC no longer properly serves the needs of its overall inmate population nor the surrounding community. Relocating OCCC presents an opportunity to also revitalize Kalihi, and that opportunity should not be squandered.

read ... profit-hungry TOD Developers

Insurance Exec: Access to Health Care Going to Get Worse

PBN: What is the biggest issue facing Hawaii right now? Is it different for Oahu and the Neighbor Islands?

To answer as a health-care question, I would say the biggest health-care issue that is going to get worse before it gets better is access to care. Physicians are retiring, reimbursements are dropping, requirements for physician practices are getting harder to comply with; we’ve already got a big issue on Neighbor Islands, particularly on the Big Island where access to care is hard. People have to fly into Oahu for care. That’s only going to get worse. We need to figure out how to get providers, physicians to practice in these rural, under-served areas, and they don’t have to be physicians. [They] can be physician assistants, nurse practitioners. But we need an incentive.

read ... Reg Baker

Geistling to MDs: Don't Like Health Reform? Tough

PBN: What is the role of Hawaii’s health-care professionals in this transformation, and is there any resistance?

One thing everyone needs to know is we’re not going to go back to the way the system was ... I think there is an age segment to this. The older providers are being asked to change the way they practice, and there is a new system being implemented next fall — it is international — where essentially there will be more codes for billing. So you have that, and changes with electronic health records, and so physicians are dealing with a lot of changes, and I do sympathize with them. But beyond the struggle, the system will be better.

read ... About Someone who must be fired

How Many Laws did Brower Break?

CB: How many laws did Brower actually break while on his wheel-bashing crusade against the homeless and their shopping carts?....

But we couldn’t help but wonder why he wasn’t arrested, or at the very least, fined. More importantly, what would have happened to some random citizen whacking shopping carts with a sledgehammer? Would they have gotten in trouble?

Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu said her agency never received any complaints about Brower. As a result, HPD was unable to determine if he broke any laws....

Local defense attorney Marcus Landsberg, however, wasn’t shy about pointing out the laws Brower might possibly have broken.

“It’s indisputable to me that he should be charged $250 per cart for illegal dumping,” Landsberg told us, citing Honolulu’s rules for leaving bulky items on the sidewalk.

Brower destroyed 30 shopping carts, and admits to leaving some behind for city workers to pick up. The rest he took to a recycling center, he says.

But Brower’s possible violations go beyond leaving mangled shopping carts on the side of the road.

Brower may well have committed criminal property damage, theft and terroristic threatening, a possible felony.

“The difference between misdemeanor and felony terroristic threatening is a weapon,” Landsberg said. “Clearly a sledgehammer is a weapon.”

read ... Brower is a criminal

Analysts: Mainland Democrats block Hanabusa, Funnel Money to Schatz

CB: At the end of the Oct. 15 quarterly filing period, Schatz reported having about $2 million in cash as compared with $771,000 for Hanabusa.

The main reason for Schatz's financial lead, political analysts tell Civil Beat, is that he has the backing of Democrats in Washington, particularly the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

"I think Schatz has been chosen, not just for the seat, but as the establishment candidate going forward, and the DSCC is behind him," said Nathan Gonzalez of Rothenberg Political Report . "That not only opens fundraiser doors for the senator, but it closes fundraiser doors for Hanabusa, making it more difficult for her to raise money. That is one thing the DSCC can do is tell some of their biggest donors, 'You need to get involved with Schatz.'"

Jennifer Duffy of the D.C.-based Cook Political Report also thinks it's been tough for Hanabusa to raise money from traditional Democratic donors.

"I suspect that Democrats in Washington are making it very hard for her to raise money here," she said. "That would not surprise me at all. It is fairly typical behavior in these situations."

The DSCC endorsement appears to be paying dividends.

Schatz has raised $2.7 million so far this election cycle, with about $430,000 coming from political action committees. Hanabusa has raised less than half that amount, $1.2 million in donations, with $194,000 in PAC money....

One thing that all four analysts agree on: Charles Djou will not defeat either Schatz or Hanabusa should he enter the Republican primary, as has been rumored.

"You never know, but, look, Republicans have in the back of their mind that 2014 will turn into a Senate wave election to protest Obamacare and so forth," said Sabato. "But the last place that is likely to show up is Hawaii, one of the two to three strongest states for Obama, because he is the favorite son. It's not impossible for Djou, he is a former congressman. But it would be the upset of upset elections.

read ... Why Hasn't Hanabusa Raised More Money For Hawaii Senate Campaign?

100 Homeless Students at Hilo Charter School

CB: A 6-year-old boy stands between his classmates in line to gear up for the daily after-school assembly. His brown bangs are crooked and freckles dot his nose and cheeks, which are marked with traces of his last meal. If his blue T-shirt of Batman, the resilient "Caped Crusader," is any indication, he may want to be a superhero.

And who could blame him. His arms and legs are raw with bug bites, some scabbing so badly they could leave scars. When he leaves school at the end of the day, Principal Daniel Caluya later told us, he doesn't go home because he doesn't really have one. As is the case for about 100 of the 130 kids at Na Wai Ola Public Charter School, the boy is homeless, according to Caluya, who cites data the school tracks as part of the federal MicKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

read ... Learning Hilo — The New Voyage

Solar Lease a Bad Deal for Home sellers

KHON: KHON2's Action Line has heard from consumers who have run into a darker side of solar. Here's why: The systems that can cost about $40,000 are not always owned outright by the seller.

"Anything that's material fact has to be disclosed from the seller to the buyer," Hamamoto said. "Obviously if you have a lease on the solar system that would be a material fact."

But some buyers tell KHON2 they were never told about solar's status until after closing, and now they're having to face the possibility of assuming lease payments and terms they say they'd never have agreed to.

"There absolutely are more and less favorable lease terms out there," Duda said...

read ... Work out solar details before buying, selling home

UH Scientist Exposes Dishonesty of Anti-GMO Arguments

CB: If you can’t attack the message, attack the messenger. The recent Civil Beat article by Dr. Hector Valenzuela brought to light a disturbing theme in the ongoing discussions about genetically modified crops - the implication that scientists who conduct research on crop genetics or have received funding to support their research are biased and cannot be trusted to make truthful statements about GM crops.

This unfounded and inaccurate accusation that research funding buys biased results has actually been stretched even further as essentially a blanket condemnation of all university agricultural scientists (ironically except for those making the accusation). For example, in a recent radio interview about the GMO controversy in Hawaii, it was noted that agricultural scientists at the University of Florida were guilty of a conflict of interest because a pesticide manufacturer had been acknowledged in an agricultural publication distributed by that university. There was no connection to the particular scientist being discussed, except that he was in the same college.

The implication that funded research equals biased research perpetuates a misunderstanding about how universities operate.

read ... Dr. Ken Grace

Parole Board Trims 85 Years off Killer Cop's Mandatory Minimum: Out in 2020

WHT: Kenneth Mathison’s sentence was reset Thursday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years, said Hawaii Department of Public Safety Paroles and Pardons Administrator Tommy Johnson. He will be eligible for parole on Nov. 7, 2020, he said....

Mathison remains incarcerated at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Ariz. He was sentenced in 1996 to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife with a concurrent 20-year prison term for her kidnapping.

At the 2009 hearing, the parole board set Mathison’s minimum prison terms at 90 years for the murder conviction and the full 20 years for the kidnapping conviction.

read ... Justice Reinvestment

Former Prison Guard sentenced to 25 Years

HTH: Joseph Amormino Sr., a retired Hawaii Community Correctional Center guard, pleaded guilty Sept. 19 to first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and two counts of terroristic threatening for the May 13, 2012, shooting of June Shirshac, a 57-year-old former greeter at the Hilo Walmart store, and a road rage incident on Highway 130 as Amormino drove from Hawaiian Beaches to the Auwae Road home, where Shirshac lives....

Prior to his plea deal with prosecutors, Amormino was charged with attempted murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole upon conviction.

The surprise guilty plea came three weeks into Amormino’s trial and immediately after Shirshac, who sustained gunshot wounds to both legs and her right hand and shoulder, spent three days on the witness stand. She was escorted in and out of the courtroom in a wheelchair.

read ... Next Stop, Parole Board

Kapolei Neighborhood Board to Hear Mokulele Proposal for Kalaeloa Flights

News Release: Neighborhood Board # 34 (Kapolei – Makakilo - Honokai Hale) will be hosting a presentation by Mokulele Airlines regarding a proposal to provide Inter-Island Passenger service out of Kalaeloa Airport. A question and answer session will follow. The community, local area elected officials, and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend. This is scheduled for Friday, November 22nd, 2013 at Kapolei High School (Teacher’s Lounge) from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. For additional information contact: D. Kalani Capelouto (Transportation Chair) at 808-778-2222

HART Parsons Brinckerhoff Contract up for Re-Bid

CB: The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is in the market for a new engineering firm to help oversee the city’s $5.26 billion rail project.

Up until now that company has been Parsons Brinckerhoff, which has $468.7 million worth of contracts on the project.

Parsons Brinckerhoff could still add to that tally should it win the latest bid for engineering services, but nothing is certain at this point....

Parsons Brinckerhoff’s involvement on rail has shrunk over the years from needing hundreds of workers to just around 50, Grabuaskas said. That’s because most of the previous work Parsons Brinckerhoff did can now be done by HART staffers.

"The general engineering consultant really acted as a proxy for our organization before there was an organization," Grabauskas said, referring to the fact that HART was formed in 2010 and Parsons Brinckerhoff had been working on the project well before then.

SA: Transit users could see combined bus-rail fare system

read ... Honolulu Rail Agency Seeking Engineer to Help with Oversight

Hawaii Illustrated Civil Rights Vision for JFK

SA: A state for less than four years, Hawaii was an example of how people of diverse ethnicities were able to live together and exercise their voting rights, without segregated schools and restaurants, without rules on buses.

"I have come here to speak to the mayors of the United States on a matter that concerns us all, and that is how the American people can live more happily and more securely together; and there is no place where it is more appropriately said and understood than this part of the United States here on this island," Kennedy said after landing at the airport.

"We are proud of this city and state and what it stands for."

In his speech before the mayors conference, Kennedy said local governments should follow nondiscriminatory practices in hiring and promotion as well as enact ordinances that spell out the rights of equal opportunity in housing and public accommodations.

Hawaii political historian Tom Coffman, who wrote about the rise of the Democratic Party in Hawaii in his book "Catch a Wave," said the state was a good place for Kennedy to promote civil rights legislation.

Coffman said the speech was timely because the mayors needed the civil rights bill to manage conflicts that could erupt into violence.

"Hawaii provided a mental image of diverse people getting along fairly well with one another … an alternate model (that) seemed to have an awakening effect," Coffman said.

read ... Civil Rights Vision

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