Peter Apo: OHA should abandon its role in nation building
Djou, Aiona Rally State GOP Convention
The Turtle Bay Gut and Replace Bill
Sledgehammer Tom Brower Taxpayer-Funded Survey: Should Homeless Shopping Carts be ‘Disposed’?
Follow the Money: The Mainland Anti-GMO SHAKA Movement
Shapiro: Take cue from Hawaiians and end enrollment effort
SA: The chaos created in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs by CEO Kamana'opono Crabbe has squashed what little credibility existed for the Native Hawaiian Roll, Kana'iolowalu.
It's time to halt this failed project before we dump potentially hundreds of millions in public resources into a settlement with Hawaiians that settles nothing.
Trustees plan an executive session Monday to ponder their options for dealing with Crabbe and salvaging the nation-building, but it's likely a hopeless cause after the recent drama -- especially since few Hawaiians took Kana'iolowalu seriously in the first place....
Eligible to participate are 518,000 Native Hawaiians in the United States identified by the 2010 census, about 290,000 of whom live in Hawaii.
After two years and a $4 million registration campaign, Waihee's commission signed up only 19,000 Hawaiians — 3.7 percent of those who are eligible.
This was an overwhelming "no" vote repudiating Kana'iolowalu, but Waihee and OHA pushed ahead by spending $3 million more and convincing the Legislature to add to the roll other lists of Hawaiians collected for different purposes, such as OHA's failed Kau Inoa initiative.
The current list of 125,000 represents fewer than a quarter of eligible Hawaiians, with the vast majority of the names transferred from the old lists rather than voluntary sign-ups for Kana'iolowalu.
Reasons Hawaiians cite for resisting Kana'iolowalu include concerns that it precludes any chance of real Hawaiian independence and has proceeded too fast without enough education.
Many consider it preposterous for Hawaiian sovereignty to be organized by the state from which Hawaiians seek to become sovereign; OHA, a state agency, isn't a trusted steward.
Kana'iolowalu can never produce a result that will be accepted as a settlement of Hawaiian claims.
Any accepted path forward must rise from the Hawaiian community, and the state and federal governments have no business trying to organize or control it.
read ... Shapiro
Waihee: This is Just a Blip on OHA's Radar Screen
... it's still unclear what impact Crabbe's "unauthorized" letter to Secretary of State John Kerry seeking an opinion on the legal status of the Hawaiian Kingdom will have on OHA's support for a campaign that aims to conduct formal nation-building through the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is just an internal OHA blip," said former Gov. John Waihee, chairman of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission....
Veteran independence warrior Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele said he, too, supports Crabbe. (sort of)
"As a high official of the state of Hawaii, someone finally had the balls to ask the hard question," he said.
At the same time, Kanahele doesn't want any delays to Kana'iolowalu. (And the $10,000 per meeting paychecks?)
"The reality is that a Hawaiian government is emerging, the Hawaiian people are uniting, wanting to learn and understand more about the overthrow and the political, economic, social and cultural aftermath," he said.
Roll Commissioner Robin Danner said she and her fellow commissioners are dedicated to completing their job and publishing the final roll this year.
"My hope is that the OHA trustees and their CEO will have the resolve to complete their commitment to those that enrolled as well," Danner said in a statement.
"Personally, as a Hawaiian, as a mother, a grandmother — I don't need to go back to move forward. Hawaiian sovereignty is about moving forward, about perpetuating our culture and language, about health and housing, about focusing a native government in a government-to-government relationship with the state, the feds, and any other government in the world to advance the well-being of our people. It's not complicated."
Blips: State Sues to Get Back $39M Looted from Graves by John Waihee
read ... Just a Blip
Star-Adv: Politics in the Way -- Hawaii needs waiver from ACA without delay
SA: Michael Gold, president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Medical Service Association, caused a stir last week when he asserted that it was time to largely pull the plug on the Connector, a lot sooner than the ACA would allow. There simply is not enough of an uninsured population to make the operation pencil out, either for the taxpayers who currently are supporting it or for the business and individual customers who ultimately will pick up the tab.
Gold advocates that the state pursue a waiver now, rather than waiting for 2017, when the law provides for state "innovation waivers." Private insurers have their own corporate interests at heart when they push to remove the "middle man," but Gold is right that the exchange is not a good fit.
And although an accelerated pursuit would be a heavy lift politically, the top-tier leaders of the state -- the governor and our congressional delegates -- must find a way to override the health exchange requirement, or at least to scale it back, for the public good....
State legislators say they inquired about a pre-2017 waiver and were rebuffed. There may be an aversion to pushing this point -- Hawaii is the president's home state. Seeking a waiver from his signature law during an election year will start a political narrative the Democratic leadership would find awkward.
But the public interest, not politics, has to be the overriding concern.
MN: Go After the Waiver
AP: State health insurers blame millions in losses on fees from health reform
read ... Hawaii needs waiver from ACA without delay
Gay marriage lights fire beneath new candidates
SA: For Hikida, it wasn't just that gay marriage was approved during a special session, or that the Legislature declined to put the issue before voters through a constitutional amendment. He believes it was an example of how ruling Democrats have lost touch with the people.
"I think it's just a small minority that's driving the direction of our state," he said.
Motivated by the gay-marriage debate, several religious conservatives are seeking state House and Senate seats as Republicans. While gay marriage provided the fuel, many of the candidates, like Hikida, do not have a single-issue focus — since the state's marriage equality law is unlikely to be reversed — and are concerned about the broader issues facing the state.
"They were motivated by that as a major issue. But they've seen the bigger failures of government and they want to do something about it," said Dylan Nonaka, a Republican consultant and a former executive director of the Hawaii Republican Party.
Political analysts have discounted gay marriage as an important factor in this year's elections, predicting that the intensity of the opposition during the special session will wane by the August primary and November general election. But analysts do believe it will be an issue in some campaigns, particularly for the state House, where small shifts in voting patterns can make a difference.
read ... Gay marriage lights fire beneath new candidates
Voter registration key to victory, leaders say
SA: Hawaii Republicans want to register 25,000 new Republican voters before the November election, hoping to expand the electorate and slowly weaken the Democratic Party's hold on state politics.
Pat Saiki, the chairwoman of the Hawaii Republican Party, urged delegates at the party's state convention on Saturday at the Koolau Ballrooms and Conference Center in Kaneohe to get involved in a grass-roots, precinct-level voter registration drive.
"Enough is enough, what do you think?" Saiki said of 60 years of Democratic dominance over state politics. "Enough is enough. This arrogance of power must be tempered with new ideas, new opinions, new hope.
"Our time must come. It has come. It is now."
Roughly 60 percent of voters who have participated in recent surveys for the Hawaii Poll say they usually vote for Democrats. Republicans, party leaders believe, need to grow the electorate to compete and be realistic about their count.
Miriam Hellreich, the party's Republican National Committeewoman, said voter turnout is low in Hawaii because many people have lost hope in their ability to make a difference. Party leaders found anecdotally, for example, that many of the people who came to the state Capitol to oppose gay marriage in a special session last year were not registered to vote.
"It's time for our voters to take a stand," Hellreich told delegates. "Republicans cannot win in Hawaii with the current pool of voters. It is critical that we register new voters who support our Republican candidates and make certain they vote.
"Voter registration is a direct path to victory in November."
read ... Voter Registration Key
Dems Exclude All CD1 Candidates--Except Kim
PR: The party settled on allowing only the top elected officials to address the convention from the podium and give reports on progress toward the party's platform. The only exceptions are state Sen. David Ige, who is challenging Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the primary, and state Sen. Clayton Hee, who is running against Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui in the primary.
So the speakers at the Sheraton Waikiki will be Abercrombie, Ige, Tsutsui, Hee, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, state Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, and House Speaker Joseph Souki
KOS: HI-1 Dueling TV ads among 3 frontrunners
read ... Not Worth Listening to?
Tokuda: Pre-kindergarten not a Voucher program
SA: While public pre-kindergarten is a big win, it is only the first phase of our efforts toward creating a high-quality early learning system in Hawaii. The next phases involve supporting and expanding the role of other providers, such as FCIL's, which provide family and caregiver support and education, and private, licensed community-based providers, like Rainbow Schools and KCAA Preschools of Hawaii.
For this to happen, voters must first approve the constitutional amendment that will appear on the November ballot. This ballot initiative is necessary to partner with our private providers and maximize the use of tax dollars to help more children, which every other state is able to do.
Concerns have been raised that the implementation plan for the constitutional amendment is not known, and that it could become a voucher program. House Bill 2276, which almost passed this legislative session, explicitly states that if established, the pre-kindergarten program would not be a voucher program.
read ... State-funded pre-kindergarten just the start
Secret NCAA Investigation of UH Athletic Program Launched in March
KHON: A late March NCAA inquiry was launched into Rainbow Warrior basketball assistant coach Brandyn Akana’s mistake on a document. (And we're just now telling you.)
Sources have told KHON2 that at least one former basketball player is being questioned by investigators regarding areas not involving Akana’s situation. (That means two separate investigations.)
Lassner will be chosen on June 2. The coverup just has to hold a few more days.
read ... NCAA Investigation
Akana: Disappointed, OHA Will Proceed with Kakaako Master Plan
RA: We were deeply disappointed with the state legislature this year when they failed to pass Senate Bill 3122, which would have allowed residential development on three of OHA’s Kaka‘ako Makai properties. SB3122 would have added significant value to our properties and provided much needed revenue for our Nation.
Because of opposition from the “Save Our Kakaako” groups, the State House, led by Representative Scott Saiki, killed our bill....It is tragic that when members of certain groups are allowed to influence decisions that will affect millions of people in a very negative way for many generations to come. Why is it that vocal minorities always seem to prevail over the majority of folks? In any case, OHA will now proceed with the development of a Master Plan for our Kakaako lands.
read ... OHA Trustee Rowena Akana
A muscular mind
SA: ...those who perceive the brain as a muscle and believe that intelligence expands with effort are more likely to seek out challenges and persevere through setbacks; Dweck calls this a "growth mindset." By contrast, people who consider intelligence an immutable inborn trait are more likely to resist assignments they fear will expose their weaknesses and are more likely to be crushed by failure; Dweck calls this a "fixed mindset."....
SA: Let us now praise the process
read ... A muscular mind
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