Prince Kuhio: The bridge from Kingdom to State
Hawaii to run out of cash reserves in 2016
Judge rules Thai workers were exploited, physically abused on Hawaii farms
Hawaii Disconnector? Only 350 Sign Up for Obamacare With One Week to Go
Study: Over 145,000 'Underinsured' in Hawaii
Forced to Burn All its Federal Money, Health Connector Puts out RFP
The Cost of Regulating Biotechnology and Genetically-Engineered Food
VIDEO: Sen Sam Slom and Mike Hansen on Jones Act
The 2014 Hawaii Medal of Honor Ceremony
'Land Power in the Pacific' Comes to Sheraton Waikiki
Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals Launches Honolulu Chapter
Obama Hawaii Vacation Cost $7.8M--Just for the Flights
Clayton Hee, HPD Agree: Police CAN Have 'Sexual Contact' With Prostitutes
KHON: On Tuesday, both sides had a closed-door meeting about the issue and walked out in agreement. Sen. Hee says it’s pretty clear what he and Honolulu Police would like to change about Hawaii’s prostitution law.
“HPD agrees that the sexual penetration language in the law that they are exempt from should no longer be an exemption for police officers,” Sen. Hee told KHON2.
Sen. Hee chairs the senate judiciary and labor committee, which will soon make a decision about any changes.
Maj. Jerry Inouye says HPD has never allowed police officers to have sex with prostitutes and that HPD only wanted to keep “the part that allows an officer to make a verbal agreement for sex for money because that’s the crux for most prostitution investigations.” (Yeah? Keep reading....)
Maj. Inouye also addressed the department’s absence at last Friday’s hearing, saying they have to be very careful about what they say publicly about policies when it comes to their undercover investigations. “We felt at that point, if I went to the hearing, I might be subjected to questions about our undercover polices that I might not be able to answer,” he said.
HPD and Sen. Hee also agree about a police exemption they want to remain in the law.
“There are other parts of the exemption that will remain and that includes sexual contact,” Sen. Hee said.
“Some people might think sexual contact might include touching some areas of the body that shouldn’t be touched. What would you say to that?” KHON2 asked.
“We have strict policy,” Maj. Inouye said.
Reason: Hawaii Cops Give Up on Sex With Hookers, Settle for Handjobs and Blowjobs
read ... Keeping those fringe benefits
Prosecutor: "A couple of HPD officers were notorious"
SA: HPD policies of secrecy in regard to internal affairs and disciplinary measures prevent the public from knowing how often officers cross sexual boundaries, defense attorneys and former prosecutors say, and they suspect it happens routinely.
"I think the public has the impression that police sleeping with prostitutes is a rare occurrence. If it were rare, why would they try to get an exemption? It's rampant, out of control," said Myles Breiner, a former Honolulu prosecutor who now works as a defense attorney. He estimates that almost all of the up to two dozen prostitutes that he defends annually have had sexual encounters with police.
Tim McGivern, who was a city prosecutor in the mid-1990s, said a couple of HPD officers were notorious.
"They would always get completely naked, and their reports would read something like, "‘The defendant then put the condom on my erect penis at which point I notified her I was a police officer and she was under an arrest,'" he said.
While McGivern said there was never any documentation that such encounters led to actual sex, some defense attorneys asserted that their clients told them that was the case. "The argument on the police side was that in order to maintain their cover, they had to take it to that extent. Legally speaking all you need is an agreement. If I say I will perform sex acts for you if you pay me, that's enough. So technically speaking they didn't have to take it that far," he said. "The creepy factor to me was significant. All of my colleagues at the time felt the same way. We talked about it and felt it was gross and unnecessary."
Jeff Hawk, a criminal defense attorney in Honolulu, said the alleged prostitutes whom he represents never have told him that male officers had sex with them, but they have said that some of them have disrobed.
"You never hear complaints about female officers using these techniques to go after johns. This is strictly limited to male officers," Hawk said. "In the past, some male officers have treated it as a perk of the job. How often does it happen? That depends on how hot the prostitute is. They aren't going to have sex with a toothless, homeless one."
Defense attorney William Harrison said state law has allowed police to have sex with prostitutes for many years, and as a result he's heard similar complaints from about a third of his clients.
"The Hawaii Supreme Court Case the state v. Tookes validated this procedure back in 1985," Harrison said. "The case held that police were having a civilian agent engage in sexual activity with the defendant, and the court said it did not violate due process or violate equal protection or shock the conscience."...
Hee's committee is expected to complete decision-making on House Bill 1926 during a hearing at 10 a.m. Friday in Room 16 of the state Capitol....
read ... An Article Entitled Police end fight over sex with prostitutes
Schatz Rides Wave of Wealthy White Retirees from Mainland
NPR: The blessing of the progressive wing of the state Democratic Party goes a long way, says Dylan Nonaka, the former executive director of the Hawaii GOP.
"My simple take on that is there's been a clear trend in Hawaii that in Democratic primaries, the thing that trumps all — age, gender, ethnicity — is ideology," says Nonaka. "I think Brian Schatz has picked up on that and is defining himself as the candidate more to the left."
In typically low turnout primaries, he notes, liberal activist groups will have huge sway in the outcome.
The state's changing electorate could also play a role in determining the outcome of the primary. While Japanese-Americans once had a firm grip on state politics, that population has been declining fairly rapidly over time, says Mark Mather, a demographer with the Population Reference Bureau. In the 2010 census, Filipinos became the state's largest single ethnic group.
"Around 1960, when Dan Inouye was starting his Senate career, about a third of Hawaiians were Japanese-Americans," he said. "Now it's 14 percent."
The white population, meanwhile, has held steady at about a quarter of the population — Nonaka points to the political influence of wealthy white retirees from the mainland.
Jan 2, 2014: WaPo: Schatz Represents Hawaii's new White Ruling Class
read ... Wealthy White Schatz
After Two Years Ignoring, State Reopens Complaint Against Coma Dentist
HNN: Several of Dr. John Stover's patients and former employees have come forward with new allegations and the State plans to reopen a complaint accusing Dr. Stover of abandoning a patient in the middle of a surgery over the bill.
Dr. John Stover's automated email reply says, "Safe, effective, personalized care. That is our promise to you."
But former patients beg to differ.
"He was very rough with me," said Herman Van Velzer, former patient.
Herman Van Velzer, 78, went in for eye lid surgery to help his vision. He says Dr. Stover started the procedure, cut his eyelids and abruptly stopped.
"Then he asked me, 'How are you going to be paying for this?' I mean what is that all about? I said what?" said Van Velzer.
He then says Dr. Stover became angry and abandoned him in the operating room.
"He just got up," claims Van Velzer. "I said wait, what do you want? And he kept on walking out."
His stepdaughter was in the waiting room and was in disbelief when her dad was brought out.
"He came out and his eyes were cut and bleeding and I was extremely alarmed," said Anna Matsui, Van Velzer's step-daughter.
They went to the emergency room. Then they eventually filed a formal complaint with the State. That was two years ago and were only told in January there was insufficient evidence to punish Dr. Stover.
"Nobody even came here to interview us or look at what evidence we have. To be told over the phone we don't have enough I think is false. It's very frustrating and disappointing," said Matsui....
Since we broke this story last week more than a dozen patients have contacted us accusing Dr. Stover of botching their procedures. Some say they were admitted to the emergency room because of too much anesthesia and others say they needed specialists to fix the work done by Dr. Stover.
We also learned Dr. Stover is not a current member of the Hawaii Dental Association or the American Dental Association..
read ... Could Have Prevented This
Government-owned Farmland: A Failure Since 1971
KGI: When the Kilauea Sugar Plantation was shuttered in 1971 after nearly 91 years in business, Malama Kauai co-founder Keone Kealoha said it didn’t take long for developers to eye the company’s former land for homes.
Through a land exchange that was eventually forged over time, Kealoha said a parcel of land in Kilauea was set aside for the cultivation of an agriculture park for the benefit of local farmers.
But even after several decades, that vision of a county-owned but community-maintained agricultural park has not come to fruition.
Local residents, Kealoha said, are still waiting.
And the undeveloped 75-acre lot for the park, located across the street from Kauai Christian Academy on Kilauea Lighthouse Road, is now being used as a dumping ground for abandoned cars and growing area for peanuts, bananas and avacados, according to a 2011 county-funded report.
read ... About 43 Years of Failure
SB2423: Schools Will be Allowed Charity Fundraisers (Again)
CB: A bill currently cruising through the Legislature would, in essence, give the Department of Education an exemption from the (atheist interpretation of the) State Ethics Code by granting broad authority for schools, administrators, and even individual teachers to use state time, equipment, and their authority over students to raise funds for favored (translation: not atheist approved) nonprofit organizations.
The purpose of Senate Bill 2423, with Sens. Jill Tokuda and Michelle Kidani, the chair and vice-chair respectively of the Senate Education Committee, among its primary introducers, sounds laudable — to allow schools to involve students in fundraising for good causes, which DOE says would further students' “civic involvement” and “character education.”
The bill breezed through the Senate, has already been approved by the House Committee on Education, and is now awaiting a hearing before House Finance, it’s last committee hurdle before final passage. (And the atheists are pissed.)
Reality: Atheist Ethics vs Santa: Teachers, Students Cannot 'Believe', 'Make a Wish'
read ... Push back Against Atheist Overreach
New Assessment: Smarter Balanced Nonsense?
WHT: Bob Hill, principal at Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School in Hilo, said Tuesday that he expects his students will take the exam in late April or early May, after the school’s regular round of Hawaii State Assessment testing.
Hill said he was looking forward to seeing how school proficiency scores will change once the new test begins to be used regularly.
“I hear it will require more of the students in constructing answers with writing. And then there will be a performance assessment happening in the classroom, where they have to complete some sort of problem within the classroom setting,” he said. “I haven’t seen it myself, but from what people are saying, it’s more demanding.”
Hill added that he thinks the new tests will do a better job of placing emphasis on all students.
“The good thing about it is it kind of makes all kids count. If you’re at a high level, you have to keep the high level. If you’re at a lower level, you’ll have to keep improving,” he said.
Steve Hirakami, principal at Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences, disagrees. As a public charter school, HAAS is required to take the assessment, but may use other assessments as it sees fit.
“It’s a nonsensical way of assessing kids,” he said. “It’s really summative. It’s a snapshot test. It measures success, but it’s not formative. You can’t use it to instruct.”
Hirakami said he prefers to use a student assessment by the Northwest Education Agency.
“We chose that through our school improvement plan years ago. This is our seventh year of using it, and it really helps us track student progress. It validates their parents, and gives you examples you can use.”
read ... Students try out new math, English assessment
Arne Duncan heads to Hawaii with gaggle of staffers
WaPo: On Saturday, he flies to Hawaii — the 50th state he has visited since becoming education secretary in 2009; his 49th state was Utah, in December. In Hawaii, he is scheduled to visit schools and check progress that state has made in spending $75 million in Race to the Top grant money.
read ... The Washington Post
SB2054: Insurers to Be Required to Cover Autism
CB: The Hawaii Legislature is poised to start requiring health insurers to provide medical coverage for children with autism.
Currently, Hawaii doesn't require health insurance providers to help with the costs of therapy and treatment for people who suffer from autism.
The measure, Senate Bill 2054, also known as “Luke’s Law,” would make Hawaii the 35th state to enact such a reform. Nine others are considering similar legislation.
After several years of pushing the bill in Hawaii's Legislature, advocates say they’re encouraged that the newest iteration of “Luke’s Law” is steadily advancing this session; it passed through the House consumer protection committee late last week and it will soon head to the finance committee.
The law is named after an autistic boy from the Big Island whose family’s long-drawn-out struggles to afford suitable health care and get him proper treatment at school has made him into a poster boy for the thousand or so children in Hawaii who are estimated to suffer from autism spectrum disorder.
read ... Health Care Insurers May Have to Cover Hawaii's Autistic Children
Obamacare reorders life for insurance commissioners
BP: “Our roles and responsibilities expanded significantly, more in terms of the health connector,” says Hawaii Commissioner of Insurance Gordon Ito. “We created a task force to start that process during the initial planning grant. We worked with the legislature. We already had health-rate review in Hawaii, but with the exchanges, we were really involved with the plan management.”
read ... Reordered
State Admits CATO Welfare Study is Correct
KHON: The Hawaii Dept. of Human Services admits Hawaii tops the nation when it comes to welfare benefits.
This is in response to a study by the Cato Institute that said a Hawaii mother of two children received $60,590 in benefits, more than any other state.
Background: Hawaii Leads Nation in Making Welfare More Attractive than Work, Hawaii Welfare Tops Nation at $29.13 per Hour
read ... State responds to controversial welfare study
Hawaii 29th Most Dependent on Federal Spending
WH: WalletHub sought to answer those questions by comparing the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of three key metrics: 1) Return on Taxes Paid to the Federal Government; 2) Federal Funding as a Percentage of State Revenue; and 3) Number of Federal Employees Per Capita.
read ... We're #29
State Board Members Resist Releasing Financial Disclosure Forms to Public
CB: Has the chair of the Hawaii Labor Relations Board made money advising United Public Workers?
How much stock do members of the Public Utilities Commission own in Hawaiian Electric?
It’s tough to answer these kinds of questions about potential conflicts of interest because the state won't release the financial disclosure statements of members of most boards and commissions.
But lawmakers are considering changing that. Senate Bill 2682 would require 16 of the most powerful boards and commissions in Hawaii to make their financial disclosure forms public for the first time.
read ... State Board Members Resist Releasing Financial Disclosure Forms to Public
OCCC employee's widow fights for benefits after death ruled 'homicide'
HNN: he widow of an Oahu Community Correctional Center social worker who died while intervening in a prisoners' fight nearly ten months ago said she and her family should be eligible for her husband's on-the-job death benefits because the Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide.
"You shouldn't have to fight for what's rightfully yours. When it was no cause of his. Somebody else caused this. It wasn't him. It wasn't his fault," said Amy Lee, whose late husband Malcolm Lee, Jr., 44, was a psychiatric social worker at OCCC.
The state's industrial injury report said Lee died May 31 after he suffered a fatal heart attack while he was "punched and kicked in his head and chest" by a female inmate at the prison as he helped guards break up a fight between two female prisoners.
read ... Homicide
Meth Head to Score $35K after Being Shot in Struggle With Sheriff Deputy
CB: If you’re going to smoke meth, steal a car and try to stab a cop, make sure the police shoot you before they slap on the cuffs.
That way you can get thousands of dollars from Hawaii taxpayers to pay your medical bills, buy more drugs and get a new Slim Jim.
House reps are set to hear a bill Thursday that includes a $35,000 settlement for a guy who claimed his civil rights were violated in a Feb. 19, 2011, incident near the Honolulu Airport.
Meanwhile: Months After Deedy Mistrial, Hawaii Residents Seek 'Reparations' for Elderts Family
read ... Enough to stay high for a year
Hawaii lawmakers hear about marijuana dangers
HNN: A group of anti-marijuana advocates tell Hawaii lawmakers that pharmaceutical companies will try to hook people on the drug if it's legalized.
They say states with more relaxed marijuana laws like California have marijuana dispensaries popping up next to schools and churches.
The group Project SAM spoke to lawmakers at a hearing on Tuesday.
read ... Project SAM
Anti-GMO Activists to Pay $5627 for Kauai Rally
KGI: Organizers of the Mana March say they will cut a check to the County of Kauai — $5,627 to be exact — to offset costs incurred during the anti-GMO, pro-Bill 2491 event in September.
Fern Rosenstiel, director of Ohana O Kauai, one of the organizations behind the protest and rally, said the money was raised through donations and that she will deliver a check in the next few days.
Related: Anti-GMO Activists Welch on Promise to Provide Pro-Bono Defense for Kauai County
read ... Mana March organizers to pay their tab
Hawaii County Opposes Federal Grab for Control of Kona Water
WHT: Hawaii Island’s water supply is their baby, and they don’t want the federal or state government taking over its care, members of the county Water Board said Tuesday.
In a unanimous vote, the Water Board agreed to draft a letter opposing a move by the National Park Service asking the state Commission on Water Resource Management to give the area served by the Keauhou Aquifer a state water management area designation.
The designation would require state permission for projects to draw water from an area including the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park and all of West Hawaii from Makalawena to Kealakekua....
The Park Service sees a trend of declining recharge to and increasing withdrawals from the aquifer. Updated data has been hard to come by for both sides, and is generally refuted by the opposing party.
“We believe the ‘precautionary principle’ dictates that prudent measures be taken today to protect the county’s public trust resources for current and future generations,” Duchesne added. (Quick IQ Test: Apply the 'precautionary principle' to itself.)
Peter Young, former chairman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources who is now owner and president of consulting firm Hookuleana LLC, has been one of the loudest opponents of the designation. Young represents the Queen Liliuokalani Trust and other large landowners.
Young told the Water Board to look at Maui, which was designated a water resource area in 2003 after a 20-year battle. Two of the former water permit holders are still embroiled in contested case hearings over getting their existing permits back, Young said.
“This is a big deal. It should be taken seriously,” Young said. “A federal agency wants a state agency to take water control over from a county agency.”
read ... Federal Power Grab
Detailed Gallup-Healthways Well-Being report hints to why Hawaii lost No. 1 slot
PBN: After Hawaii lost its No. 1 slot to North Dakota in the 2013 Gallup-Healthways State Well-Being Index, causing a bit of a community uproar since boasting the happiest state title for four consecutive years since 2009, a more detailed report shows why Hawaii dropped to No. 8.
The full report, released on Tuesday, digs deeper; it breaks down the rankings in five “quintiles,” with Hawaii’s overall score enough to keep it in the top rungs, but what appears to have brought Hawaii’s ranking down is placing 42nd in “workplace environment.”
Hawaii's four other rankings by domain were high — No. 15 in physical health, No. 9 in life evaluation, No. 7 in basic access to care, No. 4 in emotional health, and No. 2 in healthy behaviors. North Dakota, which ranked No. 29 for access to care and No. 27 for healthy behaviors, aced the work environment and physical health areas taking the No. 1 slots. in addition to scoring No. 2 for emotional health and No. 4 for life evaluation.
A declining "work environment" score, relating to wok atmosphere and workplace relationships, is not unique to Hawaii.
LINK: Gallup Healthways Detailed Report
read ... Workplace #42
Honolulu 6th Worst Parking in USA
NW: 6. Honolulu, Hawaii: It costs $42 a day and $230 a month to park in Honolulu. If you receive a ticket, you must respond to it within 21 days, either by paying or contesting the ticket in writing or in a hearing. In 2012, Honolulu added 340 smart meters, allowing drivers to pay with Visa or MasterCard in addition to paying with coins.
read ... We're #6!
Sovereignty Activists Make their Case to 'World Muslim Council'
SS: Leon Kaulahao, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Hawaii, spoke of recent positive developments in bringing forward self-determination claims by indigenous peoples. His own nation has submitted a claim to the International Court of Justice to review the annexation of Hawaii’s territory by the USA and he said that he is hopeful that the wrongs of colonization across the world would be righted by an increasingly aware international community....
Ambassador Ronald Barnes of the Alaskan nation moderated the Q & A session which followed these contributions and thanked the participants. The event was hosted by the World Muslim Council....
2011: Brookings: Muslims expel reformer from Manoa mosque, claim Arabs discovered Hawaii
read ... Sovereignty
Drug Addicts Take Over Restrooms at Hilton Waikiki
SA: Because of damage to toilets and fixtures by vandals, only one restroom is open at a time, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., "so that we can quickly exchange parts for the other," said Hilton Hawaii spokeswoman Cynthia Rankin.
"Unfortunately, there has been a growing problem with undesirable use of the restroom," she said. That includes, on occasion, the doors being locked for hours at a time with more than one person inside.
"Our cleaning professionals have reported finding blood, drug paraphernalia and clogging of the drains from paper towels and toilet paper," Rankin said.
On top of that, "Our team has been exposed to continual harassment and intimidation by people taking over the restrooms," she said.
"We now need to enlist our security team to come to the location in order for us to clean the facility three times per day. This has now become a safety issue."
Rankin said the Hilton is looking at "possible solutions" for people who legitimately would like to use the restroom.
"We do not want to continue to put our team or the general public in harm's way and may resort to shutting (the restrooms) permanently soon until a solution becomes available," she said.
SA: 'Hula' name of STD app is insensitive, critics say
read ... Waikiki
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