Plaintiff Speaks out After Big Win in Hawaii Concealed Carry Case
April 4, 2014: Election Commission Releases Updated Candidate List
Abercrombie Rants, Raves About Investigation of Hawaii Health Connector
PR: Abercrombie ranted: "Your letter is full of mistakes, misrepresentations, omissions and false assertions.
"Your letter omits important facts related to the Hawaii Health Connector (Connector) and takes information out of context, misrepresenting the status of the Connector with respect to system security and authority to connect to the Federal Data Services Hub. Because of your flawed assumptions and mistakes, you have predictably reached erroneous conclusions. With a little due diligence, you and your committee staffers could easily have avoided these errors.
"Instead your letter appears to be a classic case of `ready, fire, aim.'"
(He then broke out in a loud, but slightly off-key, rendition of "O Obamacare", sung to the tune of "O Canada".)
SA: Governor, 3 GOP congressmen at odds over Health Connector
Reality: Feds: Hawaii Health Connector Clients at 'High Risk' for Identity Theft
read ... 'ready, fire, aim.'
LA Times Looks at Prepaid, "A Health Care System Apart"
LAT: The state's trailblazing system and widespread insurance coverage mean its residents are some of the nation's healthiest. But that only underscores the disparities across the U.S....
Flashback: Health Insurance? No need: Abercrombie promises to dump Prepaid Health Care Act
read ... The Los Angeles Times
Mainland Millionaire Behind 'Clean Elections' Calls Hawaii Legislators 'Corrupt'
PR: Ben Cohen, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, and Makana joined activists at the state Capitol on Friday afternoon in calling for public financing of elections.
The activists want the state House and Senate to revive a bill that would provide public financing for state House candidates. The bill stalled in conference committee last session.
Kory Payne, of Voter Owned Hawaii, said the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission could bring more public attention to the influence of money in politics. The ruling lifted the cap on the amount donors can contribute in aggregate to federal candidates and political party committees.
Cohen is a liberal activist who launched the Stamp Stampede campaign against Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruling in 2010 that allowed corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on politics as long as the spending is not coordinated with candidates.
Cohen is also a wealthy philanthropist who sold Ben & Jerry's in 2000 to Unilever, a multinational corporation.
Cohen's method of persuasion to Hawaii lawmakers? He called them corrupt....
read ... Unilever
OHA, Legislators Join Global Cooling Believers
SA: State lawmakers need to stop and do a little crystal-ball-gazing before squandering one of urban Honolulu's most prized assets: the last remaining slice of public waterfront in the city.
The state Office of Hawaiian Affairs is pulling out all the stops to convince the Legislature it would be doing the right thing to pass Senate Bill 3122. The measure would exempt OHA from an 8-year-old ban on residential development on the makai portion of the Kakaako district, and allow for buildings 400 feet high, up from 200.
OHA appears to be gaining ground on this front, given that the bill has passed the Senate and, on Wednesday, got the critical approval of the House Finance Committee. Those at that hearing who contended — correctly — that this would put makai development on the wrong course will need to do some intense organizing and lobbying to stop the bill....
There is also the issue of rising sea levels. Several people made the sober, rational point that proceeding with residential development in the inundation zone — especially now, in full awareness of the dangers from climate change — would be irresponsible.
Reality: Rise of sea levels is 'the greatest lie ever told'
read ... Global Cooling
Larry Sabato on Djou Candidacy
CFP: The Democratic match-up will also be influenced by race and faction. Hanabusa was viewed as the late Sen. Daniel Inouye’s (D) preferred successor, but after Inouye’s death in December 2012, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) instead put Schatz, his lieutenant governor, in the seat. This decision has even complicated Abercrombie’s own gubernatorial reelection race as it upset some Asian-American Democrats, many of whom were close friends and allies of Inouye’s, creating a base of support for Abercrombie’s own primary opponent, state Sen. David Ige. Abercrombie and Schatz are white, while Ige and Hanabusa are Asian-American....With Djou running for the House seat that Hanabusa is vacating, Republicans won’t have a nominee to take advantage in the general election, even if the Democratic Party is deeply divided after the primary. This race moves from Likely Democratic to SAFE DEMOCRATIC. Despite Djou’s entry, the open HI-1 House district remains Safe Democratic for now.
BF: Women’s Group Dismisses Obama Endorsement In Key Senate Primary
read ... Safe Democratic
Hawaii DHS Returned Child to Abusive Mother Before Death
TO: By phone and email, the Hawaii resident shared his thoughts during the recent murder trial of the boy’s mother.
Zachary sustained a deadly beating in a Tigard homeless shelter, where he and his three siblings had lived with their mother and her boyfriend. He died days later at the age of 4.
This week, Washington County jurors convicted Zachary’s mother, 25-year-old Jessica Dutro, of murder. Her boyfriend, Brian Canady, pleaded guilty last month to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault.
Authorities said the pair committed a deadly assault on Zachary and watched as his health deteriorated, calling for help only when he was beyond saving. Emergency crews took the unresponsive child to a Portland hospital Aug. 14, 2012. He was taken off life support Aug. 16, 2012.
Boggess and Dutro had three children together: a daughter, born in 2005; Zachary, born in 2008; and another son, born in 2009. Dutro and Canady had a son together in 2011.
Doctors examined Zachary’s siblings after he arrived at the hospital, dying of traumatic injuries to his abdomen. All of the children, except for Dutro and Canady’s infant son, were diagnosed with child abuse.
Zachary’s siblings now live with Dutro’s family. His older sister, 8, testified at trial. She said she’s happy now living with her brothers and other relatives.
Back in Hawaii, Zachary and his older sister lived in foster care for more than a year after their mother was convicted of assaulting another child. The children were eventually returned to their parents.
Hawaii Co PD: Missing man: Boggess 06-02-11
read ... Father of Tigard murder victim, 4-year-old Zachary Dutro-Boggess
SB651 May Make Tobacco Smokers Homeless
KITV: Under the bill, all new leases and permits for public housing must state that smoking is prohibited. If a tenant violates the rule, he or she could be evicted.
Opponents say smokers shouldn't be thrown out on the street. Rep. Gene Ward says the bill lacks aloha.
The bill (SB 651) was already approved by the Senate. But because the House changed the bill, the chambers must agree on any changes before sending it to the governor for his approval.
Irony: HB1503: Prohibit Landlords from Evicting Marijuana Smokers
read ... Just Making More Housing Available for Marijuana Smokers
Caldwell Heads to DC to Discuss Rail, Homelessness
KHON: Mayor Caldwell will be joined by Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) President and CEO Dan Grabauskas and the chairs of the HART Board and the Honolulu City Council.
Mayor Caldwell is also scheduled to meet with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to discuss homelessness solutions.
Mayor Caldwell left Honolulu in the evening on April 4 and returns to Honolulu on April 11.
read ... Caldwell
Kauai councilman settles lawsuit over political retribution
SA: A Kauai councilman who sued the county over claims his civil rights were violated for going against political foes has agreed to settle the lawsuit for $290,000.
Councilman Timothy Bynum sued the county in 2012, saying he was unfairly charged with zoning violations at his home because he was critical of former Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho.
The settlement was scheduled to be put on the record during a hearing in federal court in Honolulu on Friday. Bynum's attorney, Margery Bronster, said the defendants' attorneys asked for it to be postponed so they could present the settlement to the county council. The settlement is listed on the agenda for the council's April 11 meeting.
The settlement was negotiated by the county's insurer, said Robert Katz, one of the attorneys representing the county.
According to court documents filed by Bronster, both sides agreed to settle the suit in February. The documents say the defendants must pay Bynum $290,000 by April 15.
read ... Kauai? Retribution? Redundant Statement.
Maui Council: TagumaWatch Case is About Cyber Harassment
MN: The Maui County Council voted Friday to grant the administration $50,000 to hire outside legal counsel to defend the county in a lawsuit filed by MAUIWatch Facebook page founder Neldon Mamuad, who members said may have engaged in "cyberbullying" against a police officer and fellow county employee.
Mamuad, a volunteer member of the county Liquor Commission and part-time assistant to Council Member Don Guzman, filed a lawsuit against the county last month. The suit alleges that Mamuad's First Amendment rights were violated when the county pressured him to stop work on the popular MAUIWatch Facebook page.
County officials have since said that they never ordered Mamuad to stop or shut down the MAUIWatch page, though they did ask him to change the name from the original TAGUMAWatch page after Maui police officer Keith Taguma filed a harassment complaint against Mamuad last summer. The page was renamed MAUIWatch in August.
"This member considers cyberbullying to be a very serious issue," Council Member Riki Hokama said Friday. "Mental abuse is just as serious as physical violence."
Council members said that so far the discussion has centered around whether or not Mamuad's First Amendment rights have been violated, though the root of the dispute stems from Mamuad's alleged cyberbullying of a fellow county employee.
Related: ACLU Sues Maui County over Employee’s Website
read ... Maui Watch
Neighbors Used to Seeing Escapees All the Time
KITV: Neighbors are used to it because in 2013 alone there have been four escapes. But residents said there's no clear warning when a juvenile escapes. They only hear the siren of schools going into lockdown. If the escapee is caught, neighbors are still left in the blue.
"I think we would all be more at ease if we knew if they caught them or if they let us know that they are not in the area somehow," said neighbor Charles Parks.
"All this time, maybe a lot of people are biting their nails, wondering, and that would be nice to have some kind of warning that everything is safe now," said neighbor Buddy Costa.
Residents said in the past they've seen escapees from the facility hiding in what neighbors call the "Banana Patch," or running past their homes.
It's not the first time for one of the boys, who ran from a doctor's appointment and now has a pending escape charge.
HNN: DHS Did not Notify Public of Juvenile Escapees
Read ... All The Time
Due to Homelessness, Honolulu Ambulances infested with bed bugs
HNN: more and more, city ambulances are becoming contaminated with bed bugs....
EMS also keeps a permanent data base of known bed bug infestations (at the camps of regular customers), so paramedics can take all of the necessary precautions before treating a patient. In addition, paramedics are trained to see the tell-tale signs of bed bug infestations.
"You can see some of their feces, some brown staining on (patients') mattress (and) on clothing," said Abuan. "If you look in the right places, for example, places that are dark, they kind of like that."
EMS never refuses to transport a patient to the hospital if bed bugs are present, but by the end of the month, paramedics will begin handing out pamphlets to patients known to have a bed bug infestation.
ABC National News: Honolulu Ambulances Have a Growing Bedbug Problem (That's great for tourism, eh?)
read ... An Article Which Doesn't Mention Homelessness Even Once
DLNR vs Waikiki Beachboys
SA: The Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation wants to eliminate the testing requirement for surf instructors and canoe captains and make businesses liable to ensure the competency of their staff. The state also intends to require a commercial use permit for all activity in state waters.
The permit application fee will be $10. Once approved for a permit, a business would have to pay the greater of $200 a month or 3 percent of gross receipts.
Some businesses have quietly supported the changes, which would be applied statewide. However, Ferreira and other members of the tight group of beachboys -- whose training harks back to the days before statehood when watermen worked the beaches fronting Waikiki hotels -- say the amendments imperil the public and mar the reputation of the iconic destination they helped build.
read ... Surf
Obama's Weakness on Crimea Causes Japan to Doubt American Commitments
AFP: US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday, April 5, vowed America would stand by its security commitments to Tokyo, after Russia's intervention in Ukraine raised concerns in a region plagued by its own territorial disputes.
Hagel, on a two-day visit to Japan as part of a tour of Asia, acknowledged Russia's annexation of Crimea had sparked worries among allies in the Pacific and elsewhere.
Japan is locked in a bitter dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea, and some analysts have warned that Russia's move in Ukraine could embolden Beijing or other powers to take unilateral action to settle territorial claims.
"It's a pretty predictable ... reaction, not just of nations in this area, in this region, but all over the world. It has to concern nations," Hagel told reporters before landing at Yokota Air Base in Japan.
HPR: Laughing at Obama, Iran picks Hostage Taker as UN Ambassador
read ... Obama is a Weakling. Weakness causes wars.
Waste Oil Recycling to Close on Maui--Due to Enviro Regs
PBN: Pacific Biodiesel Technologies recently closed its facility at the Central Maui Landfill after being open since 1996, its owner said Friday.
Robert King, president and founder of Pacific Biodiesel, said that the company was notified by the Maui County Department of Environmental Management last December that continuing the current operation would require multiple permits and extensive upgrades to comply with new county requirements.
“With just over two years left on our contract, we couldn’t justify the costly site improvements that were required to meet the county’s demands,” King said in a statement.
read ... Irony on Display
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