Council on Revenues Knocks $478M Hole in Abercrombie Budget
Most Wanted: FBI Searching Big Island for Anti-Biotech Terror Bomber
Hawaii: Update on Second Amendment Legislation
Concrete Brutality: HART Rail Stations Revealed
HECO Begins Installing Smart Meters on Oahu
Interconnection Intersection - Marco Mangelsdorf
Lawsuit: Liberal Activist was Homosexual Child Molester preying on Native Hawaiian Boys --100s of Victims
HNN: Robert Browne was a well-known Honolulu psychiatrist who took part in the civil rights marches of the 1960s.
But a new lawsuit alleges that Browne was a sexual predator who preyed on Kamehameha Schools students during the 1970s.
"He masturbated them. His hands were on them all the time," said attorney Michael Green.
"I think there's probably hundreds."
Green represents nine former students, all men who are now in their 50s. Each tells the same story: that Browne fondled them after they were sent to him for counseling.
"It started with the magazines under the couch ... and there was rubbing and the touching. And eventually, the masturbating, which happened all of the time," Green said.
(Browne committed suicide in 1991 after being confronted by one of his victims.)
Meanwhile: Child molester back at work at Hawaii Legislature (Again)
KHON: Senate Bill 2687 would extend the statute of limitations even further.
read ... Another Homosexual Child Molester
Timeline: Illegal B&B Charges Part of Abercrombie's Calculated Plan to get Rid of Morita
IM: Hermina “Mina” Morita was elected to the State House in 1996. In her re-election campaign in 1998 the Honolulu Star Bulletin described her as “a staunch environmentalist and opponent of commercial boating in the Hanalei River.”...
In 2008 Hanalei River boatyard owner Mike Sheehan reportedly filed an “anonymous” complaint against Lance Laney and his wife Hermina Morita.
On August 20, 2013 Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed Patricia W. Sheehan, the ex-wife and current business partner of Mike Sheehan to the Hawaiian Homes Commission.
In October 2013 Honolulu attorney Les Iczkovitz, representing unnamed Hanalei residents, wrote a letter to Gov. Neil Abercrombie and DLNR Director William Aila, regarding whether Lance Laney and his wife Hermina Morita were engaged in illegal affairs....
In a December 16, 2013 letter, William Aila wrote a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Laney which outlined the state’s allegations.
Starting in December Mike Sheehan sent out email blasts accusing Morita and Laney of operating an “illegal B&B.” ...
On January 3, 2014 DLNR sent a certified letter to Laney and Morita in which they were notified of the violation.
In January rumors began to circulate about Morita not being reappointed to the Public Utilities Commission.
On January 22, 2014 Ililani Media, backed by four independent sources, broke the story that Governor Abercrombie had decided not to reappoint Hermina Morita to the Public Utilities Commission for a term ending in June 2020....
In early February Hermina Morita began to confide in people that the Governor had decided to give her the position of Director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC)....
“Word has it that Mina was offered the ‘soft landing’ of running the Office of Environmental Quality Control if she agreed to step down as PUC chair. But when Mina declined, Rep. Jessica Wooley was sent instead to the political version of Siberia and another way was found to tighten the screws on Mina,” according to KauaiEclectic blogger Joan Conrow.
On February 24, 2014 Babes Against Biotech announced on their Facebook page that Governor Abercrombie had decided to appoint State Representative Jessica Wooley to be head of the Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC)....
As KauaiEclectic pointed out, operating an illegal Transient Vacation Rental (TVR) unit was not a concern when Morita was first appointed PUC Chair, nor when the Governor named Mike Wilson to the Hawaii Supreme Court....
read ... Plan to Get Rid of Morita
Abercrombie: When the day comes when people don't want your picture, then you know you’re in trouble
CB: Only one reporter shows for Abercrombie-UHPA endorsement news conference....
DUFFY: Do you ever get used to this?
GOV: Oh, yes. Yeah. It's what you sign up for.
DUFFY: It's sort of like lecturing after awhile — second nature?
GOV: Yeah. Yeah. When the day comes when people don't want your picture, then you know you’re in trouble.
DUFFY: Ha-ha.
GOV: It's all right.
Need more? Here's the full press release.
read ... Nobody Wants Neil
Schatz to Skip First Two Senate Debates
CB: Schatz has agreed to five forums and debates on Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island with U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. But Hanabusa, Schatz’s opponent in the Senate Democratic primary, wants more.... The Hanabusa campaign said it has committed to three other forums, all on Oahu:
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March 18 — Ahupuaa O Nanakuli Homestead, Ka Waihona ka Naauao cafeteria, Nanakuli
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April 21 — Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, The Plaza Club
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Date TBD — Japanese Chamber of Commerce.
read ... Debates
Eco Terrorists are Exhibit 'A' in Case Against GMO Registry
SA: A Big Island papaya farmer whose lawsuit delayed a law on modified crops says he fears a backlash from activists....
Meanwhile: Most Wanted: FBI Searching Big Island for Anti-Biotech Terror Bomber
read ... Terrorism Target List
Council bill would raise taxes on residential vacation homes
SA: Council Chairman Ernie Martin, Bill 23's author, said creating the two new tax classes is a step toward tax equity and one of several measures designed to tackle the broader B&B/TVU issue. "Both endeavors are primarily business activities" but pay based on residential rates, he said.
Rates for B&Bs and TVUs are expected to fall between those of residential property owners, who currently pay at a rate of $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, and hotel/resort owners, who now pay $12.40 for every $1,000 of value.
Last year, after strong objections from the vacation rental owners, the Council rejected a plan that would have placed TVUs and B&Bs in the hotel/resort class.
Martin said he also intends to introduce companion legislation that would allow for new TVUs and B&Bs to operate legally and crack down on the large number of illegal vacation rental homes. The city imposed a moratorium on issuing new nonconforming use certificates for B&Bs and TVUs in 1986, a move that has not stopped what the city estimates to be thousands of illegal short-term rentals from operating.
Meanwhile: Zoning Board: Abercrombie's Supreme Court Pick Operating Illegal Enterprise for Over a Decade
read ... Another Tax Hike
Lawyers, Clients Should Fear Retaliation by Judges
SA: The proposition that lawyers should not personally fear retribution for speaking against a nominee is shockingly naive, but only part of the issue. It is the lawyer's clients that are at risk. Lawyers have ethical duties to represent the interests of their clients to the best of their abilities. Can one publicly speak out against a nominee upon whom one's clients are relying to dispense a fair ruling? Can we assure clients that there will be no consequences to them if we speak against a nomination? Can lawyers provide input without getting their client's consent if there is a risk that such input will be directly attributed to them?
read ... Retaliation
Waitlisted patients cost isle hospitals $62M a year
SA: The result is patients receiving care in an inappropriate setting and at a much higher cost, said George Greene, president and chief executive officer of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.
"The waitlist issue is a problem for most, if not all, hospitals in the state," he said. "Moving forward, the association will be part of the dialogue with key stakeholders to address these issues."
Major barriers to reducing the number of waitlisted patients include insufficient higher-level staff and specialty equipment in nursing homes and other facilities to meet complex patient needs; the high cost of medicines; and lack of community-based resources to support the mentally ill, HHIC said.
In 2011 there were 7,055 patients discharged after being waitlisted, an 11 percent increase from 2006, when hospitals reported an annual loss of $55.4 million. In the five years thereafter, the average annual loss was $64.6 million. The average age of patients was 70.
Background: Mental Health: Can Reform Solve Hawaii’s Homeless, Prison and Unfunded Liability Problems?
read ... $62M per Year
Hawaii's High Prices Scare Away Some Mainland Visitors
NBC: ...high prices may be putting a chill on the state’s tourism industry. The effects, say local promoters, include slowing growth, declining visitor spending and fewer opportunities for bargain-hunting travelers.
“There are fewer economy travelers than there used to be,” said John Lindelow, owner of Travel Hawaii in Kailua, on the east shore of Oahu, who cites higher hotel rates as a major cause. “They’re making it into a higher-end destination.”
Travelers from the mainland, in particular, are feeling the squeeze. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, 378,061 travelers arrived from the other 49 states in January, a drop of 4.4 percent from the year before.
Those visitors also spent less: $193.20 per person per day, down 5.2 percent from a year ago, which, in turn, contributed to an overall drop in tourist spending of 4.7 percent for the month, to $1.37 billion. That represents the fifth consecutive month of spending declines.
Tourism officials are concerned enough that they’ve lowered their forecast for total visitation for this year from 8.7 million visitors to 8.4 million....
read ... Hawaii's High Prices Scare Away Some Mainland Visitors
Abercrombie Admin Forcing Honolulu to Spend Billions More on Sewage System
CB: Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services says that it’s facing billions of dollars in improvements to three sewage treatment plants if new environmental requirements mandated by the state Department of Health are allowed to go into effect — and it’s planning to fight them.
Some of the requirements are “ridiculous,” Lori Kahikina, director of the city’s environmental services department told members of the City Council’s Budget Committee during a Tuesday hearing to review the department’s proposed fiscal year 2015 budget. "So we are working with the corporation counsel and corporation counsel will hire a private attorney to fight this.”
The department has set aside $100,000 for potential legal costs for the upcoming fiscal year.
The costs for sewage improvements would likely be passed on to Oahu ratepayers, city officials said....
The stricter state requirements would be in addition to a massive 2010 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that requires the city to upgrade its aging sewer lines and install secondary treatment facilities at Sand Island and Honouliuli. The federal requirements are expected to cost the city more than a billion dollars through 2035.
read ... Which Contractor Will benefit?
Tighten control of UH construction
SA: The audit of the development of the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex is a story of missed opportunities. The revitalization of Cooke Field should have been a moment of glory for the University of Hawaii-Manoa, capitalizing on the largest donation ever pledged to UH Athletics. Instead, the facility's construction is overdue and overbudget, and better management could have prevented many of the problems.
As the UH's Office of Internal Audit makes clear in its report on the matter, the UH Office of Facilities and Grounds should have run a much tighter ship to reduce the cost overruns and delays associated with the design and construction of the complex, which is at least $3 million overbudget and about a year behind schedule. Along with the higher costs to taxpayers, the delays temporarily got UH in hot water with the NCAA, given that completion of the complex is key to the university meeting Title IX gender-equity requirements in college sports.
Background: AG Decides to Claim Deficiencies, but no Criminal Activity in UH Project Management
read ... Tighten control of UH construction
Muslims Team up With Sovereignty Activist Leon Siu
PAK: At a sideline event at the UN in Geneva, the UN’s Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Professor Alfred de Zsyas expressed his personal support for the revitalisation of the role of self determination as a principal means of settling international disputes. He called for UN reform to bring about this change and also called for greater involvement of the International Court of Justice to adjudicate disputes.
He responded to a question on the rejection by some states of the right off self-determination to peoples within their own borders (citing India as an example) Prof de Zayas said such practices were unacceptable as they offended against the purpose and object of international law. Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl, Deputy Leader of the World Muslim Conference referred to the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir and said the denial of self-determination in the region - despite UN Resolutions calling for a plebiscite - has led to a traumatic situation where the people, through no fault of their own, have been subjected to oppression and the forcible denial of freedom. He called for the UN to set up locally-based civil society institutions to redress the democratic deficit and restore human rights and the rule of law. He presented the Independent Expert with his latest book entitled ‘Kashmir - Tormented Past and Bruised Present’.
Leon Kaulahao Siu, Minister of Froeign Affairs of the Kingdom of Hawaii, spoke of recent positive developments in bringing forward self-determination claims by indigenous peoples....
read ... Pakistan
Hawaii Republican lawmakers have little to show
AP: The bills in that package didn't exactly mirror Republican ideas that Democrats normally love to oppose. House Bill 1983 would have created a silver alert system, described in the bill as a sort of amber alert for older people with mental impairments who go missing. House Bill 1820 would have required that community navigators who help people sort through plans on the Hawaii health insurance exchange get licensed. House Bill 1819 provided money for mental health services for at-risk teenagers.
All died in committee before they could reach the floor for a vote.
"These are common-sense, practical things," Sen. Sam Slom, R-Kalama Valley and Hawaii Kai, said of the doomed package. "It's always interesting to me when the majority party cries for bipartisanship. It's always a one-way street. It's always for the minority party to vote for majority packages. But it doesn't work the other way."
The Republican bills that did emerge from the House likewise read as middle-of-the-road policy. For instance, Rep. Cynthia Thielen's House Bill 14, held over from 2013, would make kindergarten mandatory. It's waiting to be scheduled in the Senate Education committee. Rep. Aaron Ling Johanson's House Bill 2496 amends the appointment procedures for Hawaii Labor Relations Board.
Fukumoto's House Bill 2370 changed the proportion in which partial payment of taxes apply to interest, penalties and principal. "It's a pretty benign bill compared to some of the things we pass here," she said. It squeaked through the House, 25-24.
Hawaii Republicans face the same long odds as opposition parties in other uneven state legislatures, said Neal Milner, a University of Hawaii political science professor emeritus. What makes Hawaii especially harsh on its minority party, he said, are the relative discipline by the Democrats and a lack of a strong tea party or evangelical Christian base for Republicans to leverage.
"The Republican Party generally does not operate here as a loud, corrosive gadfly — let's call it mainland right-wing manner," Milner said. "There isn't the kind of spin machine or a right-wing media that is constantly churning out things. There isn't really an infrastructure here to generate that sort of opposition at all times. These folks in the Legislature are really out there alone."
read ... Hawaii Republican lawmakers have little to show
HELCO pauses geothermal expansion
HTH: In its response letter, HELCO said it agrees it is typical for a resource plan to precede an RFP for power generation.
“However, the Geothermal RFP is not a typical RFP to the extent that the ‘need’ being sought … is not the need for additional resource capacity,” the utility said. “Rather, the ‘need’ being sought … is the need to significantly reduce the cost of electricity to its customers while maintaining Hawaii Electric Light’s system reliability.”
HELCO started the geothermal RFP process in February 2013 and initially expected to make a selection among six bidders as early as last September.
In late December, it announced it considered none of the bids to meet its cost-of-power and technical requirements and was planning on requesting more information from bidders.
Once it restarts the process, HELCO said in its letter it intends to modify the RFP to include a best-and-final-offer phase and revise operational and technical requirements, in addition to other changes.
In a statement to the Tribune-Herald, HELCO President Jay Ignacio said, “We are seeking low cost energy that also ensures reliability and also is sensitive to community and environmental concerns. We believe we can get that through a geothermal facility. Completing the Power Supply Improvement Plan will give us an opportunity to clarify for the PUC, the Independent Observer, and bidders what we are seeking with the RFP.”
Background: Solomon Pushes for Approval of Mililani Trask's Overpriced Geothermal Contract
read ... Pause
Smart Meters are on Open Docket, Limiting Public Disclosure
IM: On March 11, 2014 the Chair of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee asked, “What's the major difference between the PUC's proposed draft and what's been moving so far?”
The PUC Chief of Policy and Research responded, “We've been working with the different drafters to draft a set of principles. I think there have been four proposed proposals. Those would be providing broad policy guidance to the commission. As we investigate and move forward in making decisions on issues related to grid modernization. I think there’s convergence on the general principles [and] a lot of discussion about the specifics of the language, and that's what we have been talking about through the various meetings. … We have one of the proceedings open, relating to this, the Reliability Standards Working Group, it’s an open docket and we can only say so much.”
The PUC Rules of Practice and Procedure (Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 6-61) strictly limits communication with PUC Commissioners and staff in open contested cases.
“No person, whether or not a party to or participant in an agency hearing, shall consult or communicate with any commissioner or hearings officer or any member of the commission staff on any issue of fact in a contested case proceeding before the commission, except as otherwise authorized in this section or by law. …All written and oral ex parte communications received by any commissioner or hearings officer, containing facts or contentions in a contested case proceeding, which may affect the decision in the proceeding …shall be immediately sent to all interested parties to the proceeding and made an official part of the record.”
CB: More Happy Talk from Blue Planet
read ... How to Keep the Public in the Dark
SB2857 Could Chase Electronics Out of Hawaii
AP: The bill (SB 2857) was heard in the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee on Tuesday. Its goal is to give residents on neighbor islands more options to recycle their old televisions, cell phones and a myriad of electronic devices.
"Many other states have moved forward with programs to make sure the electronics don't end up in landfills," said Rep. Chris Lee, the committee's chairman. "They all have some sort of recycling target."
There are electronics recycling programs on Oahu, but residents on other islands have fewer options. Many manufacturers have a mail-back program for electronics recycling, but most people don't want to spend $50 to mail in an oversized television for recycling, Lee said.
If it passes, manufacturers would report annually on product sales totals beginning in August, and those totals would be used to determine their mandatory recycling goal. Those that fall short of the goal would have to pay an unspecified fee.
The Consumer Electronics Association, which represents 2,100 companies worldwide, opposed the bill and said it's overly burdensome and costly to business. Having a strict weight requirement wouldn't work for manufacturers, because electronics are getting lighter by the day, making the weight requirement punishing, they said.
The group also opposed part of the bill that would require each manufacturer to provide a recycling facility on every island that has more than 1,000 inhabitants.
"That would require 50 manufacturers to establish 50 centers on every island, which doesn't make sense at all," said Mihoko Ito, who represents the Consumer Electronics Association. "You have to be careful what you do in that respect, because if you push the law too far, manufacturers won't comply."...
No vote was taken on the bill, which already passed in the Senate. It will be heard again in the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee on Thursday.
Read ... Dumb Legislation Dealing With Non-Existent Problem
Long-sought check in substitute teacher’s hands
MN: The Kula man who led the more than decade long fight by substitute teachers to obtain back pay received his partial settlement check in the mail Tuesday.
"It's a nice feeling," said David Garner on Tuesday during his lunch break from his job at Ali'i Kula Lavender. "It's a partial of what we were owed, cheated out of."
The more than $14 million won in a settlement by substitute teachers in the fall covers back pay for 2000 to 2005. It does not cover interest accrued, which is currently still in litigation. And the settlement does not cover the period from 1996 to 2000 because the statue of limitations for that period ran out for the lawsuit filed in 2002.
read ... Long Sought
Hawaii Superferries Transport Marines in Japan
DN: The [two recently-acquired] Hawaii Superferries [known as high-speed vessels, or HSVs] will not count. They do not have the capabilities of the JHSV, all they have are airline seats and you can put stuff on them. The JHSVs are specifically designed to support a company combat team. There are 104 racks, 312 airline bunks. They’re designed to transport an intact company combat team.
We will debate whether the HSVs should count as part of the high-speed vessel force that will be operating. But the JHSV and the HSV are not interchangeable.
So the universe of things we’re debating right now is how you count the PCs, the mine warfare vessels, the hospital ships and the Hawaii Superferries. The rest of the force will probably stay.
[NOTE: One of those Hawaii Superferries is being put into service in the Western Pacific to support Japan-based Marines, replacing a ship named WestPac Express. The Navy now has decided that the replacement ferry will count toward the battle force.]
read ... Superferry
NIMBY's Continue to Whine About Dairy Planned for Kauai
KGI: We are in an era of overuse, overextension, overrun, overpopulated and overpolluted in our world. When are we going to learn lessons from mistakes that have been made in the past elsewhere? Why do we keep forging ahead, pretending that our mistakes will not affect us down the road? Kauai is one of the most beautiful islands and, because of that, many people come to experience its natural beauty, slow pace and lack of “over civilization.” But part of keeping Kauai pristine is not bringing in industries that will affect everything that makes Kauai desirable. Who will want to come when we’ve polluted the rivers, land and ocean so much that those species we delight in will disappear? Why are we, the people of Kauai, never asked what our thoughts or ideas of progressive plans for our home should be?
We are always presented with projects that have already begun and been invested in, thus taking away our input and ability to participate in bringing industries that will benefit us, our visitors and our environment. The preservation of our land and environment is at stake here, and yet they’re being sold to the highest bidder. What can be done to change the direction of this endeavor? Find another location for a dairy? Find another use for that pristine land near Mahaulepu Beach and the Hyatt? I am writing this in great sadness because I love Kauai for its clean environment and beauty.
read ... NIMBYs
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