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Tuesday, December 10, 2013
December 10, 2013 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 2:42 PM :: 4545 Views

State Rep Denny Coffman Resigns

Sixth shipping executive goes to jail in Puerto Rico rate fixing case

Hawaii Health Exchange Vulnerable to Wi-Fi Attack

HI health exchange has signed up 574 people, for about $348,000 apiece

Tom Matsuda Officially Begins As Interim Executive Director

ACA: What to Expect for 2014

HAH: Hawaii Long Term Care Providers Improve Quality

Hawaii Praised for Stealing Less than Half of Tobacco Settlement Funds

Am Samoa: Faleomavaega back in action?

Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted December 9, 2013

Hale Kula Elementary to Mark 'Hour of Code' at Schoefield

VIDEO: Abercrombie v Gingrich on Crossfire

Retaliation for Investigation of Mayor's Gas Expenses Kauai Auditor sues county

KGI: The Kauai County Auditor filed a civil suit against the county alleging retaliation.

The complaint, filed by Ernesto Pasion against the County of Kauai, County Council Chair Jay Furfaro and others as defendants, was filed in 5th Circuit Court, a clerk confirmed on Monday.

It was filed by Pasion’s attorney Mark Bennett. The complaint is based on a County Council decision concerning Pasion, although details of the complaint are not yet public and a copy of the suit wasn’t available Monday....

At the county budget hearings in April, Pasion requested to restore a funded internal auditor position to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Ron Rawls, a certified public accountant who now works for the state of Hawaii.

But the $1.1 auditor’s budget that was recommended by the mayor and approved by the council didn’t include filling the position or give the department the ability to hire an outside auditor for projects, and was a $300,000 reduction from the year before.

The cuts came at time when the mayor’s administration was a primary auditee, Pasion said at the hearings. Only the council as a body has that power, he added.

Rawls was the auditor who conducted the initial investigation for the interim report on fuel use released in April 2012. It reported irregularities, with possible fraud, theft and abuse of manual and automatic tracking systems.

Whether Rawls’ departure is related to Pasion’s complaint is unclear. Rawls has filed a complaint with the county for damages arising from an alleged constructive discharge complaint in 2012....

Attorney David Minkin and Kiamalu Consulting concluded there was concern about the process of fuel purchases by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., but without apparent evidence of theft or fraud.

The information prompted the previous county prosecuting attorney to bring a 23-count indictment against a county employee. The charges were for falsifying business records related to the mayor’s use of county fuel in a privately-owned vehicle in 2009 and 2010.

According to information from the employee’s motion to dismiss the case, Pasion requested then Council Chair Bill “Kaipo” Asing to request approval for an independent auditor to conduct further investigation into the irregularities on Oct. 22, 2010. County Attorney Al Castillo responded with a memorandum “barring the County Council from approving the auditor's request for independent investigation” on Nov. 18, 2010.

read ... Auditor sues county 

Kauai County says EIS needed for Omidyar’s Hanalei resort

PBN: A $160 million resort on Kauai’s North Shore that has ties to eBay founder Pierre Omidyar will need an environmental impact statement before it moves ahead in the development process, the county said in an EIS preparation notice filed with the state.

The 120-room Hanalei Plantation Resort project, will include 86 luxury bungalow units McMansions and 34 home lots and is expected alleged to have a total economic benefit of $400 million to the Kauai economy, hopes to be fully entitled in 2016 (dream on, sucker) with a groundbreaking soon after that, according to Michelle Swartman, director of land and community development of project developer Ohana Real Estate Investors.

(Translation: Civil Beat is a giant greenwash operation for a luxury resort developer.)

read ... Resort Developer

Hawaii ERS Liability Rises $50M, Abercrombie Calls it Good News

SA: The state employees' retirement system is now expected to be fully funded one year earlier than anticipated.

Steps taken in the past three years by the pension plan's trustees, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the state Legislature helped increase the fund so as of June 30 it was at 60 percent of where it needs to be to pay all the pensions promised, according to an independent actuarial report by Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co., based in Dallas. That's up from 59.2 percent as of June, 30, 2012.

The retirement system is now expected to be 100 percent funded by June 30, 2041, rather than June 30, 2042, as was estimated last year, according to the actuary's report approved Monday by the ERS trustees.

However, the unfunded liability rose slightly to $8.49 billion at the end of fiscal 2013 from $8.44 billion a year earlier because of carryover investment losses from past years that are still being recognized.

read ... Retirement system projected to be fully funded a year ahead

500 expected at Office of Hawaiian Affairs meeting

AP: Former Sen. Daniel Akaka will be delivering the keynote address at an annual meeting on the state of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

About 500 people are expected to attend the meeting at Central Union Church in Honolulu on Tuesday.

Now What? End of the Akaka Tribe? OHA Trustees Shut Down Hawaiian Roll Commission

read ... OHA Meeting

Mainland Homosexuals to Keep Jackson v Abercrombie Alive to Stop McDermott

EOT: Courts in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Utah could all be the first to rule on marriage in a post-DOMA world.....

State Rep Bob McDermott’s lawsuit to end the marriages continues to be a concern. He’ll have a hearing in mid-January.

Meanwhile, there are some questions over another lawsuit, Jackson v. Abercrombie. That suit was filed months ago by equality organizers seeking to force the state to legalize marriage. Now that it’s actually happened, the court has asked the plaintiffs to either end the suit or prove why it should continue.

It’s unclear how the two lawsuits might affect each other, if at all. If McDermott is successful in stopping marriage equality, Jackson v. Abercrombie could be an effective means to re-instating it.

read ... EOT

Mayor: Council Reso Would Reneg on Affordable Housing deal

CB: The Honolulu City Council is looking to kill a $142 million business deal that would transfer 12 affordable housing complexes to the private sector.

City Council members approved the sale of the complexes last year after nearly a decade of trying to unload the property.

Now a new resolution that was introduced Friday aims to rescind that deal.

read ... Deal Killer?

Surf Nazis to March Against GMOs, Kamehameha School in Haleiwa

CB: Monsanto's Kam Schools 1000 ac Haleiwa lease is up for renewal in 2014.  The (misnamed) Hawaii GMO Justice Coalition and (Kauai thug) Dustin Barca, a well-known surfer and leader in the movement against genetically modified organisms, have organized a protest march for Sunday, Dec. 15, beginning at noon.

read ... Haleiwa, How Predictable

About Those ‘Functioning’ State Exchanges

NRO: As HealthCare.gov, the federal insurance exchange being used in 36 states, continues to face problems, things aren’t going as smoothly as we think in the states running their own marketplaces. First, the state of Massachusetts is starting to worry about its system. The Boston Globe reports....

read ... About Those ‘Functioning’ State Exchanges

PV installations lose brightness

SA: Installations of solar photovoltaic systems in Hawaii dropped for the third consecutive quarter, according to a report from the Solar Energy Industry Associated that attributed the decline to new utility guidelines for connecting to the grid and stricter rules for claiming renewable energy tax credits.

Homes and businesses installed a total of 24.7 megawatts of PV generating capacity in the third quarter, down 17 percent from 29.7 megawatts installed during the previous three-month period, the SEIA said in a report to be released today. Both residential and commercial installations declined.

PV system installations have fallen in every quarter since peaking at a record 53.6 megawatts of installed capacity in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the report.

read ... Time Running Out

TMT hearing set for Friday

HTH: Oral arguments begin Friday in the case of six petitioners challenging the state’s decision to grant a permit for the construction of the world’s largest telescopes on Mauna Kea.

“We trust the system and pray for justice money,” said Kealoha Pisciotta, president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, an organization of Native Hawaiians and one of the challengers of the Thirty Meter Telescope project.

Sandra Dawson, spokeswoman for California-based TMT project, is optimistic, as well.

“If the judge rules in our favor and they appeal again, without an injunction, we could still move forward,” she said.

Dawson said plans are in the works to start construction in the second quarter of 2014, pending a final decision of the TMT Board of Directors and a sub-lease granted by the University of Hawaii.

“We have technically given them a right of entry to do ground studies,” said Jerry Chang, director of University Relations for the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Reality: Telescope: The Shakedown begins

read ... TMT hearing set for Friday

Affordable housing residents face rent hike

KHON: Lorraine Soriano has lived at Kulana Nani for 35 years.

She's currently paying $930 a month for the three-bedroom apartment she shares with her daughter and two grandchildren, which includes electricity and water.

Starting in February, her rent will jump another $600 a month.

read ... The Rent is Going Up

Kuhio Park Management Company Seeks New Opportunities

MHN: Will the Michaels Organization be working in Hawaii again?

Brach: We are definitely looking for additional opportunities in Hawaii, and have just received notice of an award on a 300 brand new unit subdivision in East Kapolei, which is called Oahu’s “Second City.” We are working with HHFDC right now on finalizing the award and are excited to be able to provide much needed additional affordable housing to families living in Hawaii in the next few years.

read ... An Affordable Makeover in Hawaii

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