Want to Run as a Democrat? Sorry, You Just Missed the Deadline
Feds: Hawaii Health Connector Sign-up Count Inflated
Am Samoa: Talanei Perpetuating Faleomavaega Fraud?
Time to Ease the Tax Burden to Allow Economy to Prosper
Creating a Fairer State Tax System and Economy for All Families
Reimagining Housing in Hawaii
MMA Fighter to Lead Surf Nazis in Haleiwa Anti-GMO March
Duke Aiona not Saying 'No' to Gubernatorial run
Shapiro: Newsmakers say the darndest things, and it's time to review my favorite quotes from 2013:
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, making his case for re-election: "I promised energy and action as governor. That's a promise I'm keeping. I believe there's a new confidence in the air." I had no idea confidence smelled like cow pies....
Former Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona on his future plans: "I'm not saying ‘no' and I'm not saying ‘yes' to running for governor in 2014. That's not a political answer. That is an honest answer." Isn't it a shame there's a difference?
read ... Shapiro
Inevitable Defeat of Bus Ad Proposal Intended to Set Stage for GE Tax Hikes
SA: Honolulu commuters may be in for a bumpy ride if the City Council goes ahead with Mayor Kirk Caldwell's (fake) plan to sell advertising on the exterior of municipal buses. (Caldwell wants to be defeated on this.) Although the bill approved on first reading by the Council last week seeks to limit controversial messages, other transit systems have found that easier said than done. (etcetcetc)
(When bus ads are inevitable defeated, Caldwell will use the very predictable defeat as an excuse for tax hikes. He is proposing bus ads because he knows they will be defeated.)
SA: Outdoor ads common elsewhere, but Hawaii is anti-blight model
read ... Tax Hikes Coming
11% of Riders Vanish: Ansaldo Design not What HART Bargained For
SA: When local transit officials started planning Oahu's elevated rail project, they envisioned a flexible system that could run trains of two, three and four cars from the instant the rail line started operating — a way to adjust to growing ridership and periods of greater demand.
However, after awarding a $1.4 billion contract in 2011 to Ansaldo Honolulu JV to design, build, operate and maintain that system, the local agency overseeing the rail project realized that's not what Oahu would get.
Instead, Ansaldo designed a rail system that would run only two-car trains. The city could eventually add more cars to those trains — but to do so the system would face weeks of extensive "service interruptions," according to documents obtained by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Those documents, provided by a Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation consultant, show that HART and Ansaldo have locked horns over train configurations since at least August 2012....
the change to four-car trains hasn't resolved the dispute, and HART and Ansaldo remain miles apart on the cost of those changes.
HART estimates switching to four-car trains will save the city some $20 million, which it wants Ansaldo to apply as credit in its contract for not creating a more flexible rail system.
Ansaldo disputes it owes a credit, and in a Sept. 27 report it estimated the change to four-car trains would actually cost the city more money — $4.2 million, due to added design, production and labor and other costs....
The four-car trains would actually see 11 percent fewer new riders than if the system ran the two-car trains, said Mike Bogonovich, a systems engineer with HDR/InfraConsult.
Recently conducted ridership models from outgoing rail consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff show that 104,300 daily riders would use rail with a four-car train design in its opening year — compared to 117,000 daily riders on a two-car train design, according to several of Bogonovich's email exchanges with Parsons Brinckerhoff employees.
In 2030, the system would have 119,600 daily riders on four-car trains and 133,800 in two-car trains, those emails show.
read ... No Surprise Here
Public needs to give input on Kakaako waterfront
SA: Anthony Ching, HCDA executive director, said the Makai Area Conceptual Master Plan adopted in 2011 explicitly supports restaurant or commercial development in specified areas, and would maintain park land for park uses.
It's the precise type and scale of commercial activity that already is causing some raised eyebrows.
Among the proposals currently floated for the waterfront are a wedding chapel, an Italian seafood restaurant and a commercial electric light show. Arguably a light show could be spectacular in some other venue, but proposed for a portion of Kakaako Waterfront Park, it lacks the sense of place that most local residents hope to see in this prime location.
And while wedding chapels might represent a thriving sector of the visitor industry, Kakaako's most prized real estate really is better realized by activities that could be used by a wide range of visitors and residents, rather than niche enterprises.
Given the history of the area — remember D.G. "Andy" Anderson's proposal 15 years ago for a Ferris wheel, in more or less the same area? — people can be forgiven for feeling a bit nervous about all this.
read ... Public needs to give input on Kakaako waterfront
Rivere: KNSC not Involved in Saving Turtle Bay
SA: a working group created by the governor and supported by concurrent resolution of the Legislature has been negotiating with Turtle Bay on conservation easements for the undeveloped lands.
Conservation easements would result in the preservation of Kawela Bay and Kahuku Point for the benefit of future generations of residents and the environment, in perpetuity. Kawela Bay is known for its beauty, but the Kahuku Point area could be even more valuable as open space. This coastline, along with the neighboring James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, provides critical habitat for endangered birds and monk seals.
According to the working group's recently published report, "progress has been made in the state's negotiations with the Turtle Bay Resort." Negotiations are ongoing and the report recommends the governor target $40 million in the upcoming budget to assist in the conservation easements.
Keep the North Shore Country (KNSC) is not involved in the negotiations between the state and Turtle Bay, but is encouraged that a successful agreement is within reach. Whatever plan Turtle Bay chooses to follow, thorough environmental review remains essential.
read ... Turtle Bay should go back and do it right
Shipping costs climb, again
KGI: ...consumers in Hawaii — a state known for its high cost of living — will soon take another hit.
“Every year it’s the same thing,” said Joe McEvoy, manager of Kauai Lumber Inc. in Lawai.
Late last month, Matson announced that beginning Jan. 5 the cost of shipping containers to and from the islands would increase by an average of 5.5 percent. The very next day, on Nov. 27, Young Brothers announced its own 5.5 percent across-the-board rate increase, which kicked in Nov. 29.
The cost of shipping a container from the Mainland to Hawaii via Matson will go up by $225 — $175 plus a $50 terminal handling charge. Eastbound containers will increase by $110 — $85 plus a $25 handling charge.
“We basically do this every year,” said company spokesman Jeff Hull. “These are pretty much very predictable.”
The rate increase, Matson says, will translate to less than 3 cents for a 12-pack of canned beverages, 1 cent per head of lettuce, 10 cents per 20-pound bag of rice and 7 cents per 8-foot-long, 2x4 piece of lumber.
“It doesn’t seem like a lot but it adds up,” McEvoy said....
In the past decade, Matson says it has invested nearly $1 billion in four new container ships, fleet enhancements, equipment and more.
And earlier this month, the company announced it had signed a contract to build two new ships for its Hawaii service, at a price of $418 million.
read ... Shipping Costs
Lower cost of fuel eases electricity bills on Oahu
SA: Residential electrical rates on Oahu edged lower in December, reflecting a decline in fuel prices, according to Hawaiian Electric Co.
The bill for a typical household using 600 kilowatt-hours of a electricity a month is $206.20 in December, $1.96 less than in November, according to HECO. The December rate is 32.9 cents a kilowatt-hour.
Elsewhere in the state, electrical rates declined in Maui County and were unchanged on Kauai and Hawaii island.
Maui Electric Co. customers are paying 36.9 cents per kilowatt-hour in December, down from 37.6 cents a kilowatt-hour last month. Hawaii island's residential rate is 40.6 cents a kilowatt-hour in December, and on Kauai the rate is 41.2 cents a kilowatt-hour.
The decline in Oahu's rate was primarily due to a drop in the price for low-sulfur fuel oil, which accounts for more than 50 percent of a customer's bill, a HECO spokesman said.
HECO is paying $132.54 a barrel for LSFO in December, compared with $133.18 a barrel in November.
read ... Thanks to Fracking
Kona: Abercrombie Signs Anti-Aquarium Rules, bans Scuba Spearfishing
BIVN: Governor Neil Abercrombie ended months of anticipation today during a political event held at the Kona International Airport, signing into law a new set of rule changes governing the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area.
The new rules will affect 147 miles of Kona-side coast on the Big Island of Hawaii, from South Point to Upolo Point. The new law prohibits SCUBA spearfishing – a controversial part of the rules – and also regulates the take of certain marine species for aquariums, creates a “no-take” list for other marine species of importance, and closes a 1,500 foot section of Ka’ohe Bay to aquarium collecting.
The rules were passed by the Board of Land and Natural Resources but seemed to stall at the governor’s desk. Some who were involved in the creation of the rules feared Abercrombie would reject them. But on Saturday, the governor surprised the crowd that had gathered to recognize Kona’s outgoing State Representative Denny Coffman with the signing.
read ... Will this satisfy anti-aquarium nuts?
Shake Down: Activists flood Court Chambers for Telescope Hearing
HTH: Dozens of supporters for Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, a Native Hawaiian group challenging a Board of Land and Natural Resource decision to approve a construction permit to build one of the world’s largest telescopes at the top of Mauna Kea, flooded the Third Circuit Court in Hilo on Friday morning.
Dressed in traditional Hawaiian apparel while chanting and chatting, they made their way to Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura’s courtroom where legal counsel for both groups presented their oral arguments.
Judge Nakamura declared a recess following the oral arguments and did not make a decision on Friday.
The TMT project formed in 2003. Observatories and universities from Canada, Japan, China, India and the United States support the $1.3 billion initiative. The telescope is projected to begin operations in 2022.
TMT Manager of Hawaii Community Affairs Sandra Dawson previously told the Tribune-Herald that 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 sublease granted by UH.
Kealoha Pisciotta, president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, said that if the ruling is not in their favor, they intend to file another appeal. (Unless she gets $50M)
As Explained: Telescope: The Shakedown begins
read ... A mountain of challenges
Mentally Ill Man not in Asylum -- Shot dead by Police
SA: Honolulu police, responding to a dropped 3:10 a.m. 911 call, fatally shot a 43-year-old man in the back yard of his home in Waipahu.
Police Chief Louis Kealoha said arriving officers saw the man with a 12-foot metal pole with a six-inch blade attached to it threatening a family member in the back of the home at 94-962 Hiapo Street.
"The male, who witnesses say suffers from a mental disorder, had threatened a family member with the long blade," Kealoha said. "The male refused the officers' repeated orders to put the long blade down. Instead the male began advancing toward the officers while making cutting motions.
"One of the officers deployed his electric gun but it was ineffective, and the male continued his advance, A second officer fired multiple shots fatally striking the male several times."
As Explained: A New Moral Treatment: Humane institutionalization can help the mentally ill and protect society
read ... About Someone Who Would be Alive if he were in the State Hospital
Expecting Obamacare Influx, Bay Clinic Expands Rapidly
HTH: What began in 1983 at the Hilo Lagoon Center as a small women’s clinic with five staff members has grown into a health care network serving areas in East and South Hawaii, with nine different locations and 170 employees.
“I’m not sure how many patients they saw that first year, but we had approximately 20,000 patients and approximately 75,000 visits this year,” Bay Clinic Inc. CEO Harold Wallace said Wednesday. “We’ve definitely seen a lot of growth in the last 30 years.”
read ... About Where you'll be getting health care
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