DoE Suspends Homosexual Sex Ed Program
Feds to Survey Housing Needs of DHHL Waitlisters
UHERO: The Confusing World of PV
UHERO: Water Trading to Control Hawaii Aquifers?
Kaiser hikes rates 9.2%, Thanks to Obamacare
SA: Kaiser Permanente Hawaii plans to boost rates by an average 9.2 percent for 11,000 individuals who were earlier notified their health insurance policies would be canceled at year's end because they did not meet the minimum requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act.
The state's largest health maintenance organization said it filed the proposed rate hike this week with the Insurance Division to cover higher projected medical expenses next year, costs associated with an aging population and taxes and fees related to the federal Affordable Care Act.
Earlier this week the Hawaii Medical Service Association said it plans to raise rates by an average 7.5 percent for 14,300 individuals in a similar situation.
read ... Kaiser to raise rates on reinstated policies
Activists Recycle Already-Joined Gay Couples to Make it Look Good Dec 2
MN: The Sheraton's event shows that major hotels realize the business potential of the gay wedding market, said Honolulu Pride Chairman convicted thief Michael 'Bitchbear' Golojuch Jr., (who's not getting married) one of the event's organizers. "If you don't reach out to us, you're turning away money," he said. "We support companies that support us." (Blackmail)
He said that since the governor signed the gay marriage bill, he's been noticing ads from the wedding industry targeting the gay community. But he has yet to see any marketing efforts from the state's tourism authority.... (Political target)
...donating the event space (no revenue there) is both the right thing to do and a good business move, said Kelly Sanders, area managing director for Starwood....
The Rev. Libby Kelson-Fulcher of Big Island wedding planning company Weddings A La Heart said she's planning a Dec. 26 beachfront wedding for a lesbian couple from Salem, Ore., and is working on booking other gay weddings for January. (One lesbian marriage = $217M in tourism revenue)
When Keola Akana and Ethan Wung are married at the Sheraton on Monday, it will be more than a year after their wedding. They threw a celebration for their civil union at an east Honolulu Episcopal church in July 2012. (Recycling the same activists because nobody wants gay marriage.)
KOHN: Only six same-sex couples to marry at Sheraton "The Wine Stop is donating (no revenue there) gift certificates and bottles of bubbly...'It is not from the champagne region, so you can't call it champagne, but it tastes very close to it and it tastes delicious.'" (What are they talking about? Trust me, you don't want to know.)
KGI: Caldwell's Thomas Park Gay Marriage Celebration 'to include bouncy house for children'
read ... Political Demonstration
After Kicking Children out of Kindergarten, Abercrombie Shortchanges Them on Preschool
SA: ...private preschools across the state are now grappling with whether they will have space for the late-born children and whether subsidies will entice parents to enroll their kids in another year of preschool as opposed to leaning on relatives or home-based programs, where early learning might not be the focus.
Programs such as the Waikiki Community Center Preschool, which enrolls numerous children from low-income families, could be among the hardest hit.
"I'm concerned that the additional cost could be beyond the scope of what most lower-income and middle-class families can afford," said Pamela Seelig, early-education director at Waikiki Community Center.
"Many preschools have enough room but not enough subsidies to cover these children," Seelig said. "Assistance has a big impact on preschool enrollment. In 2010, when the state dramatically cut subsidies, we saw our preschool enrollment drop by 50 percent."
At that time, Seelig said, parents who had been responsible for paying for 25 percent of their child's preschool costs were suddenly responsible for 90 percent.
"We have space for 74 kids, but I only have 35 right now," Seelig said. "We are trying to help parents with resources, but we just don't know what's going to be available."
Chuck Larson, Seagull Schools executive director, said the Preschool Open Doors program will not have enough funding to accommodate all families in need of assistance.
read ... Parents of late-born keiki face extra preschool costs
Reports on molasses spill in harbor remain unreleased
SA: It's been more than two months since 233,000 gallons of molasses leaked into Honolulu Harbor, killing thousands of fish and coral in those waters and Keehi Lagoon.
However, neither the company responsible for the disaster nor the state agency assessing the damage has released a reportto shed more light on the causes and scope of the spill.
It's not clear when those reports, from shipping company Matson Inc. and the Department of Land and Natural Resources, will be made public.
read ... Molasses
Insurance Agent Cons Elderly, Gets Jail
LHP: A Hawaii life insurance agent has been sent to prison for stealing about $40,000 from two elderly Oahu residents who used to be his clients. The agent first persuaded a 90-year-old man to buy a life insurance policy with a $9,900 premium. Then he repeated the scheme with an 88-year-old woman, driving her to a bank and helping her set up a bank account to transfer $28,850 to his own account. The agent was sentenced to 48 hours of prison time every week for three months, as well as to five years probation and 300 hours of community service.
read ... Elder Abuse
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