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Sunday, June 1, 2014
June 1, 2014 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 4:54 PM :: 4136 Views

Ige on Kakaako: ‘Too much, too fast’

The Hawaiian Tribe--Taxes

Moody's: US state debt growing at slowest pace in years--but Hawaii Still Tops

Am Samoa: Will Faleomavaega Join the Old Bulls Leaving Congress?

NIOSH: Distant Water Tuna Fleet Workers at High Risk

Caldwell: Accept $4M Tax Hike or I will Unleash Homeless on Waikiki

SA: A dedicated city team picks up three to 11 tons of items from sidewalks and parks on a weekly cycle. The city spends $500,000 per year on these enforcement action teams. They remove items that block passage and make public areas unsafe and unhealthy.

When we conduct these enforcements, we make sure that service providers have counseled any affected homeless individual on how to get help and go into a shelter.

Some say they can't see a difference, but imagine the tons of dirty bedding, tents and trash piling up every week if the city stopped this enforcement.

» The city is partnering with the Waikiki hotel and resort industry to get more restrooms opened around the clock, and to work with their hotel security staff to help clear the sidewalks and public areas.

The city also has proposed an increase in the hotel and resort property tax (50 cents per $1,000 valuation) that is expected to raise $4 million dedicated for homeless initiatives in Waikiki.

For example, we recently opened a new food kiosk under the trellises at Waikiki Beach, an area that had been taken over by homeless. It is now clean and clear for visitors and residents to enjoy once again.

However, we won't be able to continue projects such as this or the frequent sidewalk nuisance enforcement in Waikiki without a dedicated source of funding. (That's a threat.)

read ... About how the Homelessness Industry Works

Why Inouye steered clear of Hawaiian sovereignty

Borreca: For years, whenever former U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye was asked about Native Hawaiian sovereignty, Hawaii's most accomplished politician would deftly parry the query.

"The Hawaiians have to decide what they want and when they do, I will do what I can in Washington to get it," Inouye would answer....

Last week, OHA held a public hearing on the nation-building process and the OHA executive suggested the process would be best served with a six- to nine-month breather to mull over who would be carrying the bricks in this nation-building and what would be the resulting edifice.

But then, just like the joke, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help," the federal Interior Department heaved into the picture.

Grassroot Institute found several federal notices saying first that the Interior Department was considering a new plan.

"This rule would establish a process for identifying members of the Native Hawaiian community for the purpose of reorganizing that community as four political subdivisions or bands, organizing the bands into a confederation, and then acknowledging a government-to-government relationship with that single confederation as a tribe," read the first notice.

A later notice said: "The Secretary of the Interior is considering whether to propose an administrative rule that would facilitate the re-establishment of a government-to-government relationship with the Native Hawaiian community, to more effectively implement the special political and trust relationship that Congress has established between that community and the United States."

Conservative media like Fox News immediately leapt on their horses and rode off in all directions at once.

"President Barack Obama's administration has quietly suggested it is willing to create a two-tier, race-based legal system in Hawaii, where one set of taxes, spending and law enforcement will govern one race, and the second set of laws will govern every other race," Fox reported with more bluster than facts.

A spokeswoman for the Interior Department issued a cautionary statement saying nothing has happened, but it is "considering publishing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to help determine whether the Department should develop a formal, administrative process to re-establish a government-to-government relationship with a future Native Hawaiian governing entity."

And that is why Inouye was wise to wait for orders and not issue his own.

Background: Department of Interior Secretly Planning Native Hawaiian Recognition Since 2012

read ... Why Inouye steered clear of Hawaiian sovereignty

Closed Primary: Louie, Ohigashi Conspire to Keep Democratic Party in Control

SA: Closing Hawaii's open Democratic primary could all but eliminate competition from other political parties, which would be "bad for democracy," (ie bad for the one party system because candidates would leave the Democrats) the state warned in a new legal filing in federal appeals court.

The state argues that since Hawaii's electorate votes heavily Democratic, the winner of the Democratic primary, in many races, will likely take the general election.... (and that's the way we want to keep it)

Tony Gill, an attorney who filed the lawsuit on the party's behalf, lost a campaign for party chairman at the Democrats' state convention last weekend.

Stephanie Ohigashi, the new party chairwoman, said the party would wait and see how the appeals court rules.

"The lawsuit and everything, that's not my passion," she said. "That was Tony Gill."

read ... One Party System Saved

Star-Adv: Limiting preschool expansion to public schools is a path to mediocrity

SA: In the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is for it, while U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, his challenger, is opposed.

The HSTA, which wants state-funded preschools only in public schools, has endorsed Ige and Hanabusa.

Limiting preschool expansion to public schools is a path to mediocrity. The DOE's experiment with "junior kindergarten" proves that: Some schools managed wonderful programs despite limited resources, while others were severely lacking. The state needs a uniformly excellent system.

High-quality private preschools interested in doing business with the state would augment and enrich educational opportunities for Hawaii's youngest learners. We must include the best of both worlds in this early-ed vision, as other states do.

When the U.S. government provides Pell Grants to needy college students, those students are not required to attend public universities. The same logic applies at the other end of the spectrum.  (But not the K-12 middle, eh?)

Background: Ige's Dirty Deal With HSTA

read ... Amend state Constitution to support early education

HSTA Moves to Gut Teacher Evaluations

SA: Growing criticism over the state's rollout of its high-stakes teacher evaluations came to a head last week, with the Hawaii State Teachers Association filing a class-action grievance with the Department of Education over what it calls a "flawed implementation" of an evaluation system that lacks equity and transparency.

The grievance, filed Thursday on behalf of the union's 13,500 members, seeks to unlink "adverse personnel actions" from evaluation ratings, which are based in part on student surveys, test scores and classroom observations. The move was prompted by a contract deal recently awarded to principals that the HSTA says removed high-stakes evaluations for school leaders.

Under teachers' 2013-2017 labor contract, the state and teachers union agreed to annual performance-based evaluations, which starting next school year will tie ratings to pay raises, tenure and termination.

Separate from the grievance, HSTA's board of directors has requested to reopen the contract, which stipulates that only teachers rated as effective or highly effective will be eligible for pay increases in the year after the evaluation. An unsatisfactory rating will be cause for termination....

Under rules laid out in the HSTA contract, grievances are to be worked out between the union and the state within certain timeframes. If a settlement can't be reached, the union can request arbitration as a last resort, in which case the arbitrator would make a final, binding decision.

Related: HSTA Candidate Questionnaire Challenges Teacher Evaluations

read ... Precisely as predicted

Principals: Fire Matayoshi

SA: The recent survey of principals was not intended as a referendum to call for a change in leadership. But when you read the comments carefully, it is clear that the principals have lost faith in the system's state-wide leadership.

Now, we are calling for a change in DOE leadership because the system has failed to listen to its professionals, failed to be transparent and failed to focus on the actual needs of the children.

More fundamentally, we are calling for change because it is in the best interests of the students.

Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi's contract expires on June 30. We propose that her contract not be renewed and that the Board of Education begin the search for a successor who will turn the governance system right-side up.

read ... Stop Holding Us Accountable

Ansaldo Allegedly to begin Work on Honolulu Rail Cars

SA: The coming summer and fall months are prime time for construction of the $5.26 billion project, now clear of its myriad legal hurdles, in worksites from Reggio Calabria, Italy to multiple Oahu locations:

» The first completed segments are appearing now between the first stations in Kapolei and the Waipahu alignment, along Farrington Highway.

» Later this month in Italy, AnsaldoBreda, the rail car manufacturer, will start work on the aluminum outer shell of the train cars, later to be shipped to California for interior construction.

» And in July, an uncommon engineering project will begin to take shape: A stretch of the rail structure will be positioned above the H-1 freeway, the part of the alignment that then continues along Kamehameha, near Sam's Club.

SA: Keep track of the construction

read ... Rail Begins Jamming Traffic

Corporations Line Up to Cash in on Hawaii PUC Battery Mandate

MF: One company that may be a contender in submitting a proposal for the energy storage project is Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH ) . Asserting itself as one of the companies at the forefront of energy storage systems, the company cites 35 years of experience and the production of over 100,000 inverters and drives per year. Especially suited for Oahu's renewable energy needs, Parker Hannifin's Power Conversion Systems for energy storage is intended to provide support for wind and solar power.

The AES Corp. (NYSE: AES ) is another company that may show interest in Hawaiian Electric's project. A complete battery-based energy storage solution, the AES Advancion system is the latest offering from AES intended for utility and renewable energy developers. AES deployed the Advancion system last September at the Tait Energy Storage Array for Dayton Power and Light in Moraine, Ohio. With the putting of the 40 MW system in operation, AES brings its total U.S. energy storage in commercial operation at over 100 MW. Parker Hannifin is one of the first manufacturers to be named a certified supplier of the Advancion solution. The two companies have worked together before, partnering on the 64 MW Laurel Mountain Storage Array.

Background: Ordered by State: HECO to Waste Millions on Worthless Batteries

read ... Utility Rates Going Up

Use of pesticides and GMOs faces vote if petition is OK'd

SA: The Kauai County Council voted 6-1 Wednesday to accept the petition, with 4,400 signatures submitted by nonprofit organization Kaua‘i Rising. The signatures will be verified by the clerk's office.

Putting a charter amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot requires 2,037 signatures, or 5 percent of the 40,738 registered voters who cast ballots in the 2012 general election. If the number of valid signatures does not meet the requirement, Kauai Rising will have until June 27 to collect additional signatures, according to County Clerk Ricky Watanabe.

read ... Morons Against Monsanto

Maui News: Failure of Mental Health System Behind Mass Shootings

MN: We are not fond of guns. That said, it is more than sad that after the tragedy at University of California, Santa Barbara the focus seems to be on more gun laws.

In our view, that is somewhat akin to blaming cars for drunk driving. Yes, it would be harder to engage in massacres if it were tougher to buy guns, but the basic psychosis that is the root of the problem will remain.

We have mentally ill, dangerous people who are not being diagnosed and treated. Our current approach protects the potential patient to such an extent that society is constantly endangered. Schools and families need to be empowered to look for - and refer - troubled individuals.

Those who are a threat need to be institutionalized.

As Explained: Connecticut Shooting: Failure of Mental Health System

read ... The Maui News

State Short on Hurricane Shelter Spaces

WHT: A 2011 survey indicated about 35 percent of state residents said they would evacuate during a hurricane, Lutz said. That will put a lot of pressure on the state’s limited number of hurricane-certified locations.

read ... No Shelter

City doesn't keep track of disciplined Refuse drivers

SA: If a negligent municipal garbage truck driver causes a major accident, the city has the power to discipline the driver.

A demotion or termination are among the options.

But the city refuses or is unable to say how many drivers it disciplines each year, raising questions about a lack of public accountability in its system of managing poor-performing drivers.

SA: Drivers' carelessness caused injuries or deaths in about half a dozen cases, city data show

read ... No Discipline for UPW

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