Auditor: HART Paid $563K to Blogger who said Job was 'Obviously' to Help Pro-Rail Candidates
Hawaii Driving Ranks 48th for Drunk, 41st for Careless
FULL TEXT: Abercrombie Releases Supplemental Budget
Tim Lussier Appointed Hawaii State Director for Western Liberty Network
NOAA announces regulations to protect marine mammals during Navy training--Enviros Sue
As Hundreds of Hawaii Doctors Threaten to Quit, Obama Administration Delays EHR
Obama Vacation Circus Begins
Abercrombie Lards Budget, Sets up Ige to Strip Pork
WHT: A new pharmacy school building for the University of Hawaii at Hilo, a potable water well for the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority and several other Big Island projects are included in the supplemental budget released Monday by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
Abercrombie’s proposed operating budget asks for $11.8 billion for 2014 and $12.3 billion for 2015, a 2.37 percent increase. It socks away $100 million to a budget reserve fund and a hurricane relief fund during the fiscal year beginning July 1, raising Hawaii’s total reserves to more than $370 million, more than 5 percent of the state’s general fund revenues next fiscal year.
The goal is to build the reserves to 10 percent of general funds, following this year’s unprecedented $844 million surplus.
At the same time, the governor wants to float more bonds to pay for capital improvement projects. The budget includes $351.7 million in fiscal year 2015, a 90.8 percent increase.
The operating budget includes $283 million in new spending, including $183 million in new spending from the general fund.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman David Ige, who’s challenging Abercrombie’s re-election bid in next year’s Democratic primary, told West Hawaii Today that the Senate and House money committees are getting an early start to the budget evaluations. The combined committees plan to meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and again at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursday, to look at the state’s financial picture and proposed budget. The regular legislative session starts Jan. 15.
“We’re concerned with the spending,” Ige said.
read ... A Setup
Lawmakers to test zero-base budget plan on HCDA
SA: Leaders of the state House Finance Committee will experiment with zero-base budgeting, a concept that forces government spending to be justified annually, rather than presumed.
The strategy helps prioritize government spending by starting the budget discussion at zero. Seventeen states have tried some form of zero-base budgeting in recent years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, although no state uses it as a primary budgeting technique.
Rep. Sylvia Luke, chairwoman of the House Finance Committee, and Rep. Aaron Ling Johanson, the vice chairman, said they would test the idea with the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which is responsible for the redevelopment of Kakaako and Kalaeloa.
The HCDA, which is governed by an independent board, has an annual budget of about $1 million.
read ... Budget Cuts
Mufi has $257K Campaign Debt to Repay Himself: "Discussions are taking place regarding 2014"
CB: Hannemann at age 59 doesn’t appear ready to roll over. His friends say he is considering running for the 1st Congressional District seat to be vacated by Colleen Hanabusa in her bid for the Senate seat held byBrian Schatz.
In an email, Hannemann told me: “For the most part, I have been super busy enjoying my consulting and non-profit work both in and out of Hawaii. Nonetheless, discussions are taking place regarding 2014. At this point, however, I have no definitive plans to report.”
Hannemann was so taken aback by Gabbard’s strength he had to scramble toward the end of the race to pour personal money into his campaign. Federal Election Commission records show Hannemann still has outstanding personal loans of $257,265 from that race. (With another campaign, he could repay that loan.)
Public relations professional and political operative Keith Rollman, who has worked for Hannemann in the past, says, “if I were to give him advice I would tell him to be more like Frank Fasi and forget about what people say about you. When you try to be something other than yourself, it will always come back to bite you.”
read ... 5 Ways Mufi Could Lose
Developers of controversial Waikiki tower invested heavily in state, local officials
Ilind: Did you happen to see the Star-Advertiser story on Sunday which reported on community opposition to a developer’s proposed luxury high-rise next door to its Ritz-Carlton Waikiki Beach Residences on Kuhio Avenue (“Second tower in Waikiki plan raises furor“). The planned tower was described by PBN a week earlier (“Pacrep LLC plans another condo-hotel tower near Ritz-Carlton project in Waikiki“)....
The managing partner of developer PACREP LLC is identified as Jason Grosfeld, who was also a principal in developing the Trump Tower, as well as the Ritz-Carlson Waikiki Beach Residences.
That name may be familiar, because Jason Grosfeld, along with his family and business partners, have been investing big bucks not only in Waikiki, but also in Hawaii politicians at both the county and state levels, for years.
A quick check of recent campaign contributions shows Jason and Jenna Grosfeld each contributed $4,000–the maximum allowed–to Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s campaign on May 13, 2013. Two other executives of Grosfeld’s Irongate Capital each contributed $4,000 to the mayor on the same day.
Jason Grosfeld added $6,000 to Gov. Neil Abercrombie on June 21, 2013.
Jason Grosfeld also contributed $4,000 to Honolulu City Councilmember Ikaika Anderson on March 15, 2013, after giving Anderson another $2,000 in mid-2012.
And these are just the latest investments in island politics....
read ... Developers of controversial Waikiki tower invested heavily in state, local officials
AG raids charter school, seizing records, computers
HNN: Investigators from the state Attorney General's office raided the Myron B. Thompson Academy charter school Monday morning as part of a theft investigation.
Investigators hauled one banker's box after another filled with financial documents and computers from the charter school's offices on the second floor of the Richards Street YWCA in downtown Honolulu.
After about three hours, they'd filled the bed of a pickup truck with boxes of material seized under a search warrant.
Sources said Monday's raid was part of a theft investigation looking into whether teachers and staff here were paid for work they never showed up to do....
A 2011 state audit found questionable spending at the school, which has about 511 students who are taught online. Auditors found one example of part-time registrar who should have been paid $17,000 a year instead receiving a $55,000 salary, about 212 percent of the employee's base pay.
The state auditor also discovered a $17,000 contract paid to the catering company owned by the vice principal of Thompson Academy.
In 2010, a Honolulu Star-Advertiser investigation found principal Diana Oshiro hired her sister as vice-principal of the elementary school even though she worked full-time as a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant and was often absent from school.
The newspaper's investigation also found the principal hired three nephews, one of whom was the athletic director at Myron B. Thompson Academy even though the school had no sports teams. ...
Tom Hutton, executive director of the State Public Charter School Commission, said his organization is withholding $255,000 in funds for Myron B. Thompson Academy pending the outcome of the AG's criminal investigation and a separate probe by the state Ethics Commission.
read ... Myron B Thompson
Jones Act Leads to Higher Gasoline Prices
B: When large container ships filled with bicycles and sleeper sofas leave China for the U.S., they don’t stop in Hawaii to unload cargo bound for that state before continuing to Los Angeles or Seattle. Under a 93-year-old U.S. law, the Jones Act, only U.S.-made, U.S.-flagged ships can deliver goods between U.S. ports. If a Chinese ship stopped in Hawaii to drop-off cargo, and then picked up, say, a load of Hawaiian coffee, it could not unload that coffee in another U.S. port. Chinese-made goods to be sold in Hawaii are routinely unloaded on the West Coast, and then loaded back onto another U.S. ship for the 2,500 mile trip back to the island state....
Despite the complications the Jones Act creates, it’s fiercely guarded by the powerful labor unions, shipbuilders, and defense contractors that benefit from it. Without the act, many U.S. shipyards would have a hard time staying in business, unable to compete with cheap foreign labor. Even the cash-rich oil industry has been unsuccessful trying to persuade Congress to dial it back. As a member of President Gerald Ford’s Council of Economic Advisers, Paul MacAvoy helped begin deregulating most of the U.S. transportation industry, including airlines, trucking, and railroads. “We couldn’t get close to touching the shipping industry,” he says. “All you had to do was say ‘Jones Act’ in a crowded room and you’d get 100 die-hard supporters popping up.”
One member of Congress did try to rally support for a tweak to the law. After winning a special House election in May 2010, Republican Representative Charles Djou of Hawaii proposed an exemption to allow some foreign vessels to carry cargo between the U.S. and Hawaii. Djou couldn’t muster support for the bill. “It went nowhere,” he says. After less than six months in Washington, Djou lost his reelection bid to Colleen Hanabusa, a Democrat who enthusiastically supports the Jones Act.
(Corrects the specifics of the Jones Act in the first paragraph, as well as details of Charles Djou's proposed legislation.)
CB: Schatz still hyping Molasses Spill
read ... U.S. Law Restricting Foreign Ships Leads to Higher Gas Prices
Say no to higher fees to fly
KGI: A plane, for most of us, is our only way from Kauai to other islands. When we think it’s a good deal to pay $65 for the 25-minute flight to Honolulu, we know tickets costs are high. We join Gabbard in fighting fees that make flying even more expensive, especially between island. If anything, seems there should be a move to decrease flight costs for Hawaii residents to encourage them to visit other islands.
Doubling the Aviation Passenger Security fee would generate less than $17 million within the state of Hawaii out of a projected $317 million nationwide. Yet, the growth of the fee, as Gabbard notes, would impact residents who work and live on one of the six main islands in Hawaii. As an example, she points out the Honolulu-Kona segment offers fares as low as $67.42. There are already $11.68 in fees and taxes tacked on to that fare.
With no interisland railway, highway system, or ferry, (Did the Kauai paper just complain about not having a ferry?) our residents have no other choice
read ... No New Taxes
Resolve dispute at Cancer Center
SA: What's remarkable about this conflict is its intensity and scope. More than 20 complaints and grievances have been filed against Carbone since he took the post about four years ago.
Most recently, they have focused on a lack of transparency when decisions affecting faculty are made, distributing resources unfairly and creating a hostile work environment.
There's been significant turnover at the center, and Carbone's critics call for his removal from office.
Although the university won't confirm this, Carbone's opponents cited unattributed reports that the UH-Manoa chancellor tried to dismiss him, but was blocked by the UH Board of Regents and Carbone's supporters in the Legislature.
Repeated attempts by the Star-Advertiser to get Carbone's response have been fruitless so far. In the midst of that silence, the criticisms ring out loudly.
One specific example: In a lengthy letter to the regents, Lynne Wilkens, a faculty member and a principal investigator for a study known as the Multiethnic Cohort, said her research grant from the National Cancer Institute was endangered by the director. Another investigator post in the study, which deals with the incidence of cancer among ethnic groups in Hawaii and southern California, was reassigned by Carbone to someone without the necessary experience, Wilkens wrote.
Carbone's decision was reversed by the NCI, but the point is this episode did not strengthen relations with the federal funding institute.
read ... Resolve dispute at Cancer Center
Maui Councilmember Ellie Cochran Joins Surf Nazis' Anti-GMO March
EI: “For me the ua [rain] that came down upon is a blessing,” said Ellie Cochran, the Maui councilmember who introduced a GMO regulatory bill on her island two weeks ago. Water, said a clearly emotional Cochran, “cleanses” and “purifies” and that’s just what Hawai’i needs right now.
read ... Fools and Thugs
Jan 3 KIUC Members to Vote to tax Conspiracy Theorists
KGI: Should the costs of reading and servicing old electric meters — at an estimated $340,000 per year — be shared by the entire utility or remain with those who opt not to use the new smart meter technology?
During a special ballot election beginning Jan. 3, all members of the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative will have an opportunity to weigh-in on the issue.
Beforehand, however, the KIUC Board of Directors must settle on the ballot’s final language....
Best Comment: Gee, I wonder how that vote will turn out! You've lost, the co-op has embraced new technology, and you will have to pay for the privilege to keep the old. Why should the rest of us subsidize your ignorance?
read ... Vote Begins January 3
Where’s the Giving Spirit of Gary Hooser and Club?
HFD: Hawaii SEED even got a nice $10K check from Surfer Magazine to continue their misinformation campaign against farmers. It’s all about how to pit farmers against farmers and not about healing the farming community with Ritte and his group. I’ve never seen any Hawaii SEED give the needy food drive or help others event. They obviously have some money but aren’t about to give any of it to people who may benefit from it. You don’t see Hawaii SEED on the donation list for The Good Neighbor Campaign on the Star Advertiser. It’s not about sharing with others unfortunately, no matter what time of year it is.
The more you see what these people do, the more you see that it isn’t about giving for them. It’s all about taking away.
HFD: Listen to the Farmers, Representative Wooley
read ... Where’s the Giving Spirit of Gary Hooser and Club?
Suspects Admits Identity in Waikiki Homosexual Dismemberment Murder
CP: Gonzales' dismembered and decomposing body was found Sept. 15 in off Mililani Memorial Park Cemetery Road in the town of Waipio by a couple looking for recyclables.
Police released photos of the then-unidentified victim's tattoos, seeking the public's help in identifying him, and asked the Marshals Service for help, since Suitt was believed to live in the mainland United States, the newspaper reported.
Gonzales, who had an auto-theft conviction and several misdemeanor convictions on his criminal record....
read ... Man Arrested in Coronado Admits He's Suspect
What One Elderly Woman Said That Empowered a Community to Fix Honolulu's Dangerous Sidewalks
HPuffo: More elderly pedestrians are killed in Hawaii than anyplace else in the country. I've noticed our streets are dangerous because of a total systemic state of disrepair. This is a story of Honolulu's dangerous sidewalk infrastructure.
read ... What One Elderly Woman Said
Why Are the Numbers of Homeless Growing in the Land of Aloha
CB: It starts with us, and how we interact with the homeless on a daily basis. If we all take the time to show our love and care to the homeless that we walk past each day, we will get somewhere, rather than waiting who knows how long for the perfect organization to fit in with our schedules so we can help.
Looking at the issue of homelessness I personally cannot solve it. Though I can do my part by being a pipeline of love to those on the streets, whether it is through a smile, a conversation, bringing them a blanket that I don't use anymore, or getting them an 89 cent bagel from Safeway.
If we start by actively showing our love and care for those on the streets by meeting simple needs physically and emotionally, I believe we'll gain more ground....
read ... Because do-gooders feed them
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