HTA: Visitor Spending Down 2.9%
Am Samoa: Faleomavaega Losing Touch With Reality
OHA now claims no meeting took place in Washington
Today in 1984: SCOTUS Upholds Hawaii Land Redistribution Eminent Domain Plan
HECO: LNG Will Save Ratepayers $500M/year
PBN: Hawaiian Electric expects a cost-savings of up to $500 million each year for its customers when it begins utilizing liquefied natural gas as a replacement fuel.
It also anticipates saving $900 million it would have to spend to upgrade its system to comply with upcoming environmental regulations if it stays on its current course with oil.
Do the math: $500M / 1.4M = $357 per person or $1428 for a family of four.
read ... Hawaiian Electric closing in on selecting a firm for LNG shipments
OHA asked to delay nation-building plan
HTH: Officials at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are asking for a six to nine month postponement of a Native Hawaiian convention to determine self-governance in order to educate the public and construct a parallel roll for those who refuse to sign onto a roll ordered by state government.
The OHA board of trustees, faced with 63 people wanting to testify, Thursday postponed a decision until its June 5 meeting. The current plan is to host an election of delegates this fall, followed by a spring convention.
Testifiers, many of whom flew to Oahu from Hawaii Island and other neighbor islands, were mixed on the best course of action. But most of those speaking during a daylong meeting frequently punctuated by audience outbursts and applause called for a return to a true Hawaiian kingdom, rather than seek federal recognition or a government-within-a-government status....
The Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, which set a goal of 200,000 Hawaiians joining the roll, has so far collected about 132,000, said Lei Kihoi, Hawaii Island’s representative on the commission. There are some 530,000 Hawaiian descendants in all, with about half living in the state, she said.
But many who spoke at the meeting said there are only 125,000 on the roll, even after the deadline was extended once before....
Native Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte said the process might work better if OHA stepped aside and let a Native Hawaiian group organize the roll and convention.
“I really think it’s time for the board to pass the baton now,” Ritte said. “Being a state agency, you can only do so much.”
At least one OHA trustee agreed. Oswald Stender looked around the packed boardroom and said a leadership group should be organized to determine “how you’d like to see this unfolding.”
“You should be doing this, not us,” Stender said.
Members of the self-proclaimed Hawaiian Kingdom urged fellow Hawaiians to settle for nothing less than a return to the monarchy. A recent notice by the U.S. Department of Interior that it will consider whether the federal government should develop a formal, administrative process to re-establish a government-to-government relationship with a future Native Hawaiian governing entity added fuel to the fire.
“There is no such thing as a nation within a nation. … To get state or federal recognition is moot,” said Stirling Ing. “We don’t need their permission. … We don’t need to beg or seek for recognition. We already exist as a nation.”
CB: CEO recommends extending process and creating a separate roll for those Native Hawaiians who disagree with the current process.
read ... OHA asked to delay nation-building plan
OHA CEO Presents Two Options to Roll
SA: OHA CEO Kamana'opono Crabbe also offered two alternative options for adding people to the list of those who would participate in the nation-building effort:
» Including those who have signed up for the OHA Registry Program, Na Mamo Oiwi Hawaii, which provides those who can prove their Hawaiian heritage with an official card that verifies ancestry.
» Starting a new registration process separate from OHA.
read ... Two Options?
Bill calls for $32M to be used to build housing for homeless
SA: City Council Chairman Ernie Martin wants to build permanent and temporary housing for the homeless by diverting $32 million from the $132 million pot that Mayor Kirk Caldwell set aside for road repaving.
The money would be in addition to about $18.9 million already being set aside from the city's Affordable Housing Fund for the homeless and others in need of shelter, Martin said Thursday.
Martin said language in his bill allows the $32 million to be used for a homeless relocation initiative aimed at acquiring, developing or renovating facilities for homeless families and individuals. It gives the administration the option of using the funds for emergency, transitional or permanent housing for the homeless.
City Managing Director Ember Shinn said the administration supports more funding for homelessness programs but doesn't like diverting money from road repaving.
Martin's plan will be taken up when the Council takes final votes on the city operating and capital improvement budgets Wednesday at Mission Memorial Auditorium, next to Honolulu Hale.
SA: De-Occupy Honolulu pleased with $1000 lawsuit settlement
read ... Bill calls for $32M to be used to build housing for homeless
Revenue forecast for Hawaii continues downward
SA: The council set the forecast for the fiscal year that ends in June at minus 0.4 percent, down from zero percent in March. State House budget analysts estimate that the lower forecast will cost the state $21.9 million this fiscal year and will also drop the revenue base going forward.
The council left the forecast at (a nutso) 5.5 percent growth for fiscal year 2015.
Meanwhile: US economy contracted in first quarter of 2014
read ... Revenue forecast for Hawaii continues downward
UH Regents: Next President Will Be Month to Month Forever
SA: The next University of Hawaii president will be an at-will appointment without the benefit of a multiyear contract that past UH presidents have enjoyed. The move signals a major shift for a university with a history of pricey -- and embarrassing -- contract buyouts.
The Board of Regents is scheduled to decide at a meeting Monday between hiring either David Lassner or Frank Wiercinski at a proposed $375,000 salary.
"There is no set term to the proposed presidential appointment at this time. It will be continuous and 'at will' upon a mutually determined start date," UHspokeswoman Lynne Waters said in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "It is our understanding that the new president will not have a 'defined contract' as the previous president did. However, this and other issues will likely be discussed in public at (Monday's) meeting."
Industry experts say an at-will term for a university president would be highly unusual and potentially troublesome, but some say it could prove beneficial for UH....
Jim Shon, director of the Hawaii Educational Policy Center, said an at-will appointment could be perceived as a vote of no confidence.
"In the current state of affairs, you'd want to assert your choice as an excellent choice. With the iffy-ness surrounding both candidates as to whether they're the right stuff, you're basically saying to them, 'You're walking on eggshells. We're watching your every move,'" said Shon, a longtime observer of the university and local politics. "It's a very conservative, timid, sort of mousy move that seems to be in response to what's been going on. The regents have been very strong in saying their process was valid, but this speaks the opposite."
He said the move could also hurt the university's reputation and ability to recruit faculty and researchers.
"It would invite perpetual sniping about the choice, which is already under a lot of criticism anyway," Shon said. "You have to wonder to what extent the best talent will want to come to the University of Hawaii if the leadership will turn over."
read ... Lassner Forever Interim
Video Features Abercrombie Breaking into Old Man's Home
Borreca: Former Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona's first spot (http://goo.gl/OeWsFF) shows that one of his strengths is his close-knit, photogenic family. His new 30-second spot is so warm and comforting, watching it is like spreading soft butter on hot toast.
Aiona's defining quote is, "Watching my family together puts life into perspective."
...Aiona is playing with the kids, the grandkids, working in his office and then recalling the difference he made being a sensitive, but firm, drug-fighting family court judge.
Using lots of tight, warmly lit face shots of Aiona and family, the commercial's effect is to calm viewers into accepting Aiona's slogan of "Trust, Respect and Balance."
... Gov. Neil Abercrombie (http://goo.gl/ JaVlpx) is driving straight for damage control.
The February Hawaii Poll shows that against challenger Sen. David Ige, Abercrombie's campaign is weakest with older voters and Americans of Japanese ancestry. The controversial and somewhat unpopular governor needs to polish his image with older AJAs, hoping they will forget that he started his governorship with plans to tax the pensions of seniors.
So here we go into a sweet local family's home, louver windows, but with a killer view. The daughter is worried because as her dad, Mr. Saito, ages, he needs help. We watch Mr. Saito polish the car, fiddle with his plants and then shakily climb the steps — you get the picture and are ready to identify with everybody.
Then suddenly, there's Abercrombie popping into the Saitos' living room (dressed as a burglar, Hes coming to steal some of Mr Saito's pension income)....
if you want a glimpse of the real Ige, the campaign offers you a sit down YouTube chat (http://goo.gl/FMlQ3y) with former Gov. Ben Cayetano at his most avuncular.
"The contrasts between David and Neil are so great, that even though David doesn't have the financial resources that the governor has, I think that he will prevail in this election," says Cayetano, who appears to be sitting among some hastily arranged orchids at Ige's campaign headquarters.
"He (Ige) doesn't lecture people. Unfortunately, Neil does," Cayetano says of his former friend, the governor....
read ... Call the Police!
Gabbard 60% Popular
CB: Sixty percent of registered voters statewide say they have a favorable opinion of the Democrat. Just 16 percent have a negative view, while 24 percent say they are unsure or don’t know enough to make a judgment.
PR: Dem Govs Assn Prepares to Burn Money in Hawaii
read ... Stardust Sprinkled
Anti-GMO Activism Behind Collapse of Progressivism at Democratic Convnetion
IM: I noticed a commentary by Ashley Lukens, director of the Center for Food Safety, demanding more transparency from the seed/chem companies. Awesome. And while you are it, could you please tell us more about the Rockefeller sisters who are the primary benefactors of your work, and what their agenda is in Hawaii?
Ashley's not the only talking out of both sides of her mouth. There's uber hypocrite Councilman Tim Bynum trying to take away ag tax rates from the seed companies because they aren't growing something that goes right into the mouth of the consumer. But he had no problem falsely signing a document that claimed his own house — with rental — was a farm dwelling and his land agricultural, though he produced absolutely nothing at all.
Speaking of hypocrites, I found it so fascinating that Surfrider wants to hold the seed companies to the highest possible standards, as in not even the faintest trace of pesticides leaving their land. Which is fine, the very best management practices should be required. But when I asked Dr. Carl Berg if they also intended to hold the state and taro farmers to the same standards, regarding their use of glyphosate (Roundup), which was also detected in waterways, I got this:
RUP [restricted use pesticides] and experimental pesticides are more dangerous than general use pesticides. Why not target those that use the most and the most toxic pesticides? While not ignoring everyone else?
Except, as I pointed out, they are ignoring everyone else, including the termite treatment companies, which actually use more RUPs than the seed companies, with no buffers, no disclosure, no nothing. What do they think happens to the poison gas when the tent is removed?
And when I asked why they weren't saying anything about the RUPs leaching off the golf courses — an issue that used to be an environmental concern, before Surfrider allied itself with the pro-tourism contingent — I got no response at all.
A friend who attended the recent state Democratic Convention was bummed that “the progressives still get suppressed.” Which, sadly, is exactly what I predicted would be the effect of allowing regressives like the “lil fisties” — and what woman so aptly termed “the pole dancers” — to dominate the supposedly progressive political arena, setting it back decades.
But do they learn? No, they run doomed-to-lose candidates like Dylan Hooser, Felicia Cowden and Dustin Barca. I loved Felicia's comment in The Garden Island about how KKCR listeners encouraged her to run. And soon she will discover just how small and empty the KKCR echo chamber really is.
read ... Musings: Stops and Starts
UPWs Sorry Record Makes it Kinda Hard to Sell Repatriation of Prisoners
SA Editorial: The administration of Gov. Neil Abercrombie has placed a priority on bringing its prison population back to Hawaii, where family mafia ties and union dues can be maintained and inmates at the end of their sentences can thus rejoin the community with fewer adjustment problems the proper organized crime connections. But in order to enable this these laudable goal(s), correcting all issues related to the staffing shortfalls at the prisons should be at the top of the priority list....Let's hope UPW and the city are indeed close to a settlement on the pilot project.
read ... UPW Its Own Worst Enemy
Victim Speaks out about Homosexual Child Molester
HNN: Patrick Martin described his former karate teacher as a "monster" who preyed on little boys.
The Kalihi resident said Michael Shimabukuro gave him alcohol, made him watch pornography, then fondled him and sodomized him. He was just 14.
"On a mainland trip, I was already intoxicated from the alcohol. I was lying on my back and I noticed my shorts were halfway down my legs," said Martin.
Shimabukuro was eventually convicted on three counts of sex assault and is now serving a five-year prison term.
A gifted martial arts student, Martin earned a black belt at the age of nine and competed in international tournaments. He says the assaults devastated him.
"My identity was kind of lost. But after treatment -- I had some problems with drug abuse -- I found myself again," he said.
Now 21, Martin is suing Shimabukuro and his family as well as a local karate federation and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, where some of the assaults occurred.
read ... Another Homosexual Child Molester Exposed
HSDC Gives Away Another $4.5M to Rich People
PBN: Hawaii has committed to giving $4.5 million to a startup venture between the state and California that will provide investment capital to help Isle technology companies grow in size, the Hawaii Strategic Development Corp. said Thursday.
The investment to Startup Capital Ventures II marks a significant milestone for the HI Growth Initiative, the state’s core initiative to drive economic growth by investing in Hawaii’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the state said.
Background: Tax Credit Scammers Find a New Home in HSDC
read ... Corporate Welfare
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