Poll: Ige 48% - Abercrombie 37%
DoE Eases Teacher Evaluation Requirements
DoE Forms Principals Roundtable with HGEA
American Samoa Governor Puts Faleomavaega in His Place
Hawaii wind player gets comeuppance in Maine
HART completes 100th column along rail route
Poll: Tsutsui Beat Hee 41% to 29%
CB: Shan Tsutsui has a 12 percentage point lead over Clayton Hee in the Democratic lieutenant governor primary, according to a new Civil Beat Poll.
Tsutsui, the incumbent, has 41 percent of the vote while Hee, a state senator, has 29 percent. But 29 percent of likely Democratic primary voters are unsure who they’ll vote for.
Civil Beat surveyed 1,078 registered Hawaii voters statewide June 7-9 for the lieutenant governor’s race. Of those, 729 said they expected to vote Democrat in the Aug. 9 primary.
read ... Shan Tsutsui Ahead of Clayton Hee in Hawaii Lt. Gov. Race
Lecture on budget bills rebounds on Abercrombie
SA: "Sen. Ige can't add," said Kaneko. "As chair of the Senate money committee, he was responsible for the $46 million budget discrepancy. This is a significant error that could jeopardize the state's operations and expenditures."
It was a simple compare-and-contrast exercise, and one that Abercrombie hopes will show him the budget leader.
Fellow Democrats down in the Legislature, however, are not likely to help Abercrombie make a point at Ige's expense.
Luke, for instance, reacted to Abercrombie's news conference by saying the entire bond issue was complicated by Abercrombie's last-minute deal to buy a conservation easement for portions of the North Shore's Turtle Bay Resort.
"It's not as if the problem was just created by the Legislature. The problem was complicated because of the last-minute issue that came up with Turtle Bay," Luke said.
"And instead of just recognizing that, and trying to continue to work with the Legislature on how to resolve this issue, he goes and calls a press conference to pick a fight with his primary opponent, basically."
read ... Lecture on budget bills rebounds on Abercrombie
Hawaii Shippers’ Council president is making progress in his quest for a Jones Act exemption
SA: Michael Hansen isn't asking for much.
After all, as president of the Hawaii Shippers' Council, it's not like he's seeking repeal of the entire federal Jones Act, also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
He just wants a slim exemption from the federal maritime provision -- specifically from Section 27 of the Act, which regulates "transporta-
tion of merchandise between points in United States in other than domestic built or rebuilt and documented vessels."
Hansen believes that an exemption from that one provision of the Act would benefit Hawaii consumers significantly, by allowing the use of foreign-built vessels over a certain size to transport cargo on noncontiguous domestic routes, thereby lowering the cost of business here.
His years-long effort to attain such an exemption has led to alliances with groups in Guam, Alaska and Puerto Rico, where progress toward the goal has been made with varying degrees of success.
The Hawaii Shippers' Council, Hansen said, represents "basically cargo owners, people who are seeking to ship their merchandise in the domestic trade." It has about two dozen members, he said, with "most of them being mainland-based, because they're often the ones who, when they arrange to sell their goods in Hawaii, have to arrange for the freight."
Hansen himself has been in the shipping business almost his entire career, since after graduating from Punahou School 45 years ago, and attending Willamette University in Salem, Ore., for two years and then the University of Hawaii for about a year. His first job was with Hawaiian Tug & Barge, where he did barge repair, tug mechanical repair and supervised some cargo operations.
read ... Jones Act
Decoupling raises Oahu's June costs
SA: The combination of an annual rate adjustment that went into effect this month and higher fuel prices incurred by Hawaiian Electric Co. will increase the bill on Oahu for a typical household using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month to $216.08 from $210.28 in the previous month, Hawaiian Electric Co. said Thursday.
The bulk of the Oahu increase -- $4.89 for a typical household -- is the result of the state Public Utilities Commission approving May 30 an annual "sales decoupling tariff" adjustment requested by Hawaiian Electric Co., Hawaii Electric Light Co. on Hawaii island and Maui Electric Co.
That yearly decoupling adjustment is designed to compensate the utility for increased capital expenditures and declines in sales over the past year.
Decoupling, which began in 2011, is structured to encourage the development of renewable energy scams....
read ... Decoupling raises Oahu's June costs
Maui Memorial Stages Attack on Lahaina Hospital Proposal
WHT: “Where are they coming from?” Kaanapali resident Roger Ross asked Monday at the meeting attended by at least 100 at the Lahaina Civic Center. “It’s a serious question because there’s only a handful of specialists on this island, and most of them live on the other side because they’re on-call at Maui Memorial (Medical Center).”
Wesley Lo, Maui regional chief executive officer of Hawaii Health System Corp., which oversees Maui Memorial, said the new hospital could face high costs in employing salaried staff physicians. About a decade ago, he said, Maui Memorial didn’t employ physicians, and they were in practice for themselves.
Independents are retiring and younger doctors prefer to be paid by someone, he said. “We have to pay the salary and run the business for them,” Lo said.
Brian Hoyle, president of Newport Hospital Corp., the developer of the new 53,000-square-foot hospital, said it’s not focused on hiring specialists and that it’s premature to speculate on a budget for employing doctors.
read ... Residents question builders about west Maui hospital
Cayetano accepts apology from PRP
SA: The Pacific Resource Partnership, a consortium of union carpenters and private contractors that aimed a relentless barrage of negative advertising at former Gov. Ben Cayetano during his unsuccessful campaign for mayor in 2012, has agreed to apologize to Cayetano.
The message, which will be published Sunday in a half-page ad in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, settles a defamation lawsuit Cayetano brought against PRP in the weeks before his election loss.
The full text of the message was not available Thursday, and Cayetano and PRP were limited in what they could publicly discuss about the settlement, but the former governor said it does contain an apology.
"I'm satisfied and I'm pleased with the agreement," he said....
read ... Cayetano accepts apology from PRP
HECO: LNG Conversion on This Year's Agenda
PBN: The president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Co. and its subsidiaries, Maui Electric Co. and Hawaii Electric Light Co., says he has some unfinished business to attend to before he retires within the next year. It includes modernizing the state’s electrical grid and possibly integrating liquefied natural gas as a replacement fuel to run its power plants.
read ... LNG is on the way
Pain killer shortage has some Big Island patients feeling the pain
WHT: Physicians, pharmacists and other members of the East Hawaii Independent Physician Association (IPA) met Tuesday evening to discuss a recent trend in which area pharmacists have been limited in reordering supplies of controlled medications.
“It’s been since a couple years ago, it started in Florida and has been moving westerly,” said Dr. Richard Lee-Ching, president of the East Hawaii IPA.
The federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) began limiting the amount of opioids made available to suppliers in certain areas in an attempt to cut down on abuse and overdoses by patients, as well as overprescribing by doctors, he said.
“The feds started to put pressure on pharmaceutical companies. … But they have no concept of subtlety. … Instead of using laws they have at their disposal and going after the individual doctors that are over-prescribing, they’ve decided to make policy that’s tying everybody up in knots,” Lee-Ching said.
WHT: Senator: More must be done to curb drug abuse
read ... Pain killer shortage has some Big Island patients feeling the pain
Kauai Anti-Agriculture Activists Push Tax Hike Scheme
KGI: The Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, a trade group representing the agricultural seed industry in Hawaii, says the proposal singles out a subset of local agriculture and would send a negative signal to any industry that relies on innovation to create jobs and contribute to the local economy.
“Business sectors should not be targeted for discriminatory treatment,” HCIA wrote in testimony.
Kauai County Councilman Tim Bynum introduced Bill 2546 in May. He says the county code was written with the intention of giving tax breaks to those growing crops to be sold rather than for research and development. (Sure. Whatever excuse.)
CB: Kauai Bill Would Remove Tax Benefits for Crop Research
read ... Anti-Agriculture
Sovereignty Activists pester Intel Founders for Money
SFG: The recent ruling by a Hawaiʻi Circuit Court judge to allow the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea has not deterred Native Hawaiian activists and their supporters, opposed to what they see as “desecration” of a sacred as well as environmentally fragile place. The Mauna Kea Hui, as the protesters are collectively known, will be in force tomorrow morning when the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources considers granting a sublease to the massive new observatory, whose backers include California and Silicon Valley institutions.
The Mauna Kea Hui has also written an open letter (see below) to Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, whose Palo Alto nonprofit Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is one of the key funders for the proposed 18-story TMT. Caltech, the University of California and the University of Hawaiʻi also have a stake in the new complex, along with agencies in China, Japan, India and Canada.
Reality: Thirty Meter Telescope Selects Mauna Kea -- Let the looting begin!
read ... Gimme some Money
HPD SWAT Lieutenant found guilty of drunk driving
HNN: After multiple delays, trial got underway for Lt. Colin Wong, the Honolulu Police Lieutenant arrested in March last year for driving drunk. Wong sideswiped a car in the parking lot of the Modern Honolulu Hotel in Waikiki.
Several officers testified against Wong in court Thursday saying he was slurring his words, and lost his balance during his arrest.
read ... Finally
Tranny Calls Charter Schools Director 'Incompetent'
KHON: “(Tim Hutton) turns around and goes to the media and says insolvency and Halau Lokahi should just turn around and close our doors, I can’t believe it and this commission should hold him accountable,” said teacher (Mr.) Hina Wong-Kalu. “This is inept. That is incompetence at its finest.”
Flashback 2011: Charter school lessens debt, kin exit board "Halau Lokahi's 22-member staff includes Allbrett, two daughters, a son, a son-in-law and the son's girlfriend. Allbrett's son is a project manager, her son-in-law is a teacher and the others handle mostly administrative and clerical tasks. One daughter was also the treasurer of the local school board."
read ... Tranny Calls Charter Schools Director 'Incompetent'
$138K in scholarship funds delayed 9 days for 90 Hawaii athletes; some sleep in locker room
AP: About 90 Hawaii scholarship athletes were delayed nine days in receiving their summer funds, prompting some to sleep in a locker room while waiting for checks totaling about $138,000, university athletics officials said.
Hawaii athletic director Ben Jay told The Associated Press on Thursday that clerical problems delayed processing of the scholarship funds from both the athletic department and the university's financial aid department. He said the stipends have to be carefully processed to avoid paying wrong amounts — something that's not as easy as pulling out a checkbook.
"When it comes right down to it, we need to plan better," Jay said.
The delayed funds — covering about six weeks of expenses for students going to summer school and living off campus — were paid by June 6, Jay said. The problem affected about one-fourth of the 332 athletes in 21 programs who are on full or partial scholarships.
read ... Lassner is Doing Great! Just Great!
Commercial fishermen consider strike
HNN: Faced with soaring business expenses and soft wholesale fish prices, some struggling commercial fisherman are considering going on strike.
About thirty captains and owners of longline fishing vessels met Wednesday to discuss a potential stoppage.
"They're really thinking about going on strike to send a message," said "Jenny," who works for one of Hawaii's 2,600 fishing vessels.
"Everybody is going broke."...
Fisherman complain that the prices they get for the fish they sell at auction have remained virtually the same for years.
At the same time, fuel and other business expenses have soared.
"They've been getting bust up for so long ... That's why they're a little bit frustrated," said John Hernandez, owner of fish exporter John's Fresh Fish.
NCPA: Using Property Rights in Fishery Management
read ... Commercial fishermen consider strike
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