Tribe? Secret DoI Meetings in Hawaii
Experts fear Hawaii’s new voter registration law heightens fraud risk
After Win at UH Hilo, Free Speech Lawsuits Hit Campuses Nationwide
Now Playing in Honolulu – America: Imagine the World Without Her
Kapaa: Hundreds More Hawaiians Say No to Akaka Tribe
SA: Defiant and emotional testimony dominated yet another Department of Interior meeting Tuesday night as federal officials continued to gather opinions about whether the United States should pursue a formal relationship with a potential Native Hawaiian government.
As it did the night before in Waimea, the meeting featured passionate testimony connected to the grievances that have festered in the Hawaiian community since the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy.
Most of the dozens of attendees who testified Tuesday night said they strongly opposed the Interior Department moving forward with the proposal.
"We have been lied to about our legal and political rights," Reese said.
As in Waimea, a few testifiers spoke in favor of federal recognition, saying it would help protect the Hawaiian culture, programs and lands.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees and other Native Hawaiian leaders have lobbied for a government-to-government relationship with the U.S. for years. They say such recognition — which would be similar to a Native American tribe — is important to protect more than 120 federal programs and an annual $80 million U.S. allocation from a growing number of legal challenges.
Hawaii's congressional delegation tried to achieve recognition legislatively for at least a decade but failed. Now the Obama administration is trying to get the job done administratively — a process that could take up to two years.
But many of those who spoke Tuesday said no thanks....
Shane Cobb-Adams said Hawaiians who support federal recognition don't know their history and are instead addicted to the programs and money of America....
The Kapaa meeting was the ninth of 15 scheduled for the panel's two-week Hawaii tour. The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Keaukaha Elementary School in Hilo. Written comments will be accepted through Aug. 19.
KGI: Second day of Native Hawaiian meetings brings more opposition
read ... No no no no no
North Shore Windfarm Designed to Reopen Proceedings for AKP Biofuel Scam?
IM: The Public Utilities Commission must approve all utility contracts exceeding $2.5 million.
This includes the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) contract with Na Pua Makani for a proposed wind generation facility in Kahuku and the HECO-HELCO-Aina Koa Pono (AKP) contract for biofuel from a facility in Pahala.
The former is currently under review while the latter has been twice rejected.
But how are they linked?
read ... About your electric bills going up
Djou Debates at Japanese Cultural Center
SA: Five candidates for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District seat tried to distinguish themselves from each other on support for the tourism, military and construction industries at a forum at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii on Tuesday night....
Djou said he strongly supports President Barack Obama's "Pivot to the Pacific" initiative to shift more military and trade resources to the Pacific-Asian region, and he criticized Democrats for thwarting it.
He said he would advocate expanding the tourist visa allotment for China, "the fastest-growing market for international tourists."
All five candidates in attendance said they support continuing mortgage interest deductions and oppose any attempts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the entire state as a critical habitat.
State Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, whom polls show as the front-runner in the Democratic primary, was scheduled to attend but issued a news release Tuesday afternoon announcing that she had contracted food poisoning and could not attend.
read ... Republican Djou and four Democrats appear at a forum
Ige: Don't Abolish HCDA--yet
PR: Ige said he agrees with the idea to make Kakaako a live-work-play community but said Kakaako today is a failure of the state administration and Hawaii Community Development Authority. He said super luxury towers such as Waiea ($20 million-plus condo unit for sale there) does not represent Kakaako development done right. He would not turn HCDA over to the city, at least not in the short term, and believes it's prudent to let changes mandated by House Bill 1866 take effect.
read ... Kakaako
Hanabusa: Shinseki Should not Have Resigned from VA
SA: Hanabusa said it was unfortunate that President Barack Obama accepted Eric Shinseki's resignation as U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary and did not give him the same courtesy to fix problems at the VA that he gave Kathleen Sebelius as health and human services secretary to repair the federal health care reform law, "because I think someone like him understood, and understands, what the veterans were going through," she said of the Kauai-born Shinseki.
Schatz said the VA had failed veterans.
"We send men and women into hostilities, and we don't appropriate the funds to take care of them when they come home," he said. "This is a moral failure."
Schatz was critical of Hanabusa's proposal to expand the use of the U.S. Naval Hospital on Guam for veterans.
"We have 127,000 veterans across the Asia-Pacific region; 117,000 of them are in the state of Hawaii. I don't think we should be investing in facilities on Guam that are going to take time and money and resources away from the state of Hawaii," he said. "We should be investing in capacity at veterans centers on Kauai and across the state of Hawaii, not throughout the Asia-Pacific region."
Hanabusa pushed back: "I don't think Brian understands what Guam is all about," she said.
The congresswoman said the idea is to take advantage of an existing naval hospital that could help veterans.
read ... Still Defending Shinseki
Kauai: Schatz Panders to anti-GMO Lunatics
AP: On genetically modified foods, Hanabusa said the federal government still needs to study the issue while Schatz said counties should be allowed to pass their own laws.
Fewer than 200 people attended the debate, with Schatz and Hanabusa supporters sitting on opposite sides of the room at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall. The debate was organized by the Kauai Chamber of Commerce, broadcast on radio on Kauai and streamed live online.
The candidates planned to debate again Wednesday night on the Big Island.
CB: The First Debate: Sen. Brian Schatz Versus Rep. Colleen Hanabusa
read ... Schatz, Hanabusa talk relationships in 1st debate
Anti-GMO Luxury Realtor Says 'Let them eat temp jobs'
SA: The initiative was spearheaded by the nonprofit SHAKA Movement. SHAKA is an acronym for Sustainable Hawaiian Agriculture for the Keiki and the Aina.
"Are we always willing to trade off our health? Our lives? For low wages now?" said SHAKA official (and luxury real estate broker) Mark Sheehan in an email.
Sheehan said the seed companies should find temporary work for their workers if the initiative is passed and studies are mandated. If studies show that their crops and chemicals used are harmless, "then no problem." (Clue: Studies long ago showed GMOs are harmless. Is anti-GMO activism harmless?)
Opponents of the measure say pesticides used already are heavily regulated and that genetically modified crops have been a part of farming for years.
"The moratorium is making mountains out of molehills," Ken Findeisen of Hawaii Grower Products said Monday at a hearing held by the County Council's Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
read ... Rich Effete Snobs Against GMOs
Hooser Claims GMOs Cause Global Warming
SA: Best Comment -- "What's next? GMO is responsible for Oahu's traffic and the state's homeless problem, too?"
read ... Morons Hooser and Simon
Hawaii Congressional Delegates Whine About Hobby Lobby Decision
CB: Best Comment--"The decision by the court said that the companies did not have to pay for four types of contraceptives (morning after pills). They are going to pay for the other sixteen typs of contraceptives. That is what Hobby Lobby was willing to do from the beginning. Our reps. are only outraged because they see parts of the ACA going down the crapper and they can not handle it."
read ... Congressional Delegates Deplore Court Ruling on Hobby Lobby
Voter registration up as July 10 deadline approaches
HNN: More people have already registered to vote for the August 9 primary than for the last primary two years ago, elections officials said Tuesday, nine days before the voter registration deadline.
In the 2012, 687,500 people registered to vote statewide. This year, that number is up by nearly one percent to 692,557 as of June 30 with nine days left to sign up to vote....
City elections workers are preparing nearly 100,000 mail-in absentee ballots to be sent out to voters July 18.
They have a new $300,000 scanning and sorting machine to help process mail-in ballots that are increasing by about 15 percent each election year.
Meanwhile, state elections officials are still looking for 900 people to staff polling places statewide for the Aug. 9 primary.
While the state forecasts the need for 3,150 poll workers, as of Tuesday, it had signed up 2,250. That's about 900 people or 29 percent short.
The state’s Chief Election Officer Scott Nago said it’s been easier to recruit election workers from smaller, close-knit communities.
"The Honolulu area is more of a commuter or transient population.
read ... Registration Up
State Lines up 86 Units for Housing First, Homeless to be 'Assessed'
KITV: The plan is called Hale O Malama. It's a new effort to evaluate every single homeless person individually with a survey called the "vulnerability index."
"By having a common assessment tool, for the first time what we're able to do is sort people in their area of need so that we can do a much better jog of aligning the services they have with the needs of the person," said State Homeless Coordinator Colin Kippen.
They survey includes questions about the person's homeless history, social skills, mental wellness and physical wellness. After completing the evaluation, the survey will come up with a score determining the extent of the person's need.
"We are using Housing First to house those who are the most chronic and most medically vulnerable and, by doing that, we'll house them with units we have available and then provide them with intensive case management," said Kippen.
Once housed, more than two dozen agencies will team up together and provide the homeless exactly the resources he or she needs, whether it is substance, physical or mental health services.
"We meet with them once a week, if not more. A peer specialist makes sure they have food and make their medical appointments and things we help them get acclimated to that they may not have been used to doing on the street," said Darryl Vincent of U.S. Vets.
read ... Council on homelessness unveils new plan
By The Numbers: City Mismanagement of Affordable Housing
CB: The City Council is considering the adoption of Resolution 14-121, which would clarify the income mix for residents of Chinatown Gateway Plaza, Marin Tower and Harbor Village....
The original mix had no tenants below 60 percent AMI (area median income), today there are 309. The original mix had 157 tenants in the 60 percent to 80 percent AMI. Today there are 72. The original mix had 182 tenants in the 80 percent to 120 percent AMI. Today there are 49. The original mix had 184 tenants in the over 120 percent AMI. Today there are 61. The city administration is creating a ghetto, though some may say it already exists.
Without a mix of incomes the residents will not be able to afford goods and services from many of the businesses in the area — from attending shows at the Hawaii Theatre and purchasing clothing to eating at restaurants and patronizing art galleries.
Without that income, some of the businesses will fail. The businesses, most of which did not exist when the housing was built, depend on a mix of local residents walking from home and those who live elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the city is not renting out vacant units.
There are 15 vacancies in Chinatown Gateway Plaza, 8 in Harbor Village, and 8 in Marin Tower. Also in Chinatown is another city property with 23 vacancies. The 54 vacant units are costing city taxpayers as these units must be maintained but do not generate any income.
Additionally, the ground floor commercial space in Chinatown Gateway Plaza, which was previously occupied by the Small Business Development Center operations and restaurants, including Wendy’s, has been vacant for at least 18 months.
read ... Housing Policy Is Helping to Kill Chinatown
Hawaii will pay $81K for fall-prevention coordinator
HR: Hawaii seems compelled to pay someone — rather handsomely — to offer such ubiquitous and common-sense advice.
Of course, common sense and government are oftentimes mutually exclusive.
Hawaii taxpayers will spend $81,000 in 2015 on a new government position — fall prevention coordinator, who will teach Hawaii’s senior citizens, well, how not to fall.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, signed House Bill 2053, Relating to Aging, into law this week, which creates the new fall prevention and early detection coordinator position within the Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention branch.
The Department of Health already has a volunteer coordinator but thinks the full-time position will help Hawaii’s seniors remain healthy, productive and active and — get this — save taxpayers money in the long run.
read ... Stay Seated
New DoE Guidelines Call for Students to Participate in More Protests
CB: The Hawaii Department of Education is looking to adopt a new model for social studies classes that goes beyond tests and textbooks and aims to teach students how to be problem solvers and active citizens in their communities. (They can go to public meetings and act like everybody else there.)
The proposal appears to be getting broad support from teachers and other educators, some of whom testified before the state Board of Education on Tuesday urging members to implement the new guidelines, part of a national initiative by the Council of Chief State School Officers.
The educators described the new framework — also known as “C3,” short for College, Career and Civic Life — as a breath of fresh air, particularly as the state ramps up testing requirements for students in math and language arts. They also indicated that the program would help students think critically about current events (love Obama and hate Bush) and inspire them to make a difference in the world, (be politically correct) attributes that many teachers feared were going to be stamped out of classrooms three years ago when the DOE nearly slashed its social studies requirements.
The C3 Framework is meant to guide states as they upgrade their K-12 social studies standards, shifting the focus from testing and rigid content (translation: no knowledge needed to chant slogans) toward projects, research and interdisciplinary learning that revolves around open-ended inquiries (so open that brains fall out).
Last year, nearly 500 students from Campbell High School gathered at the state Capitol to rally lawmakers for air conditioning in their classrooms, an event that was meant to engage students in the democratic process, get them excited about their contributions to public policy, and achieve a practical goal. Teachers hope that sort of learning can be replicated as the state shifts its approach to social studies. (More protests. Don't worry, the AC thing is just a cover story to get this thru. They're going to get to the heavy stuff soon enuf.)
Rosanna Fukuda, an educational specialist with the DOE who’s helping spearhead the C3 initiative locally, emphasized that the new model doesn’t require any new materials. (Magic markers and poster board=Automatic 'A')
read ... Protest Something
Nepotistic Charter School Stole Dues Money from HSTA
KHON: When Allbrett was asked if it was a responsible thing to let the school go into the red for so many years in a row, she responded “We’re all taxpayers. The parents here are all taxpayers. So it’s not like taxpayers out there versus taxpayers in here. We are all taxpayers.”
“(The school) took out money from the teachers paychecks through the year, but the money was not given to the HSTA for the dues,” responded HSTA president Will Okabe by phone. “So where did the money go? When they took the money from the teachers to pay the union dues?”
Halau Lokahi will have a new governing board, and the Charter School Commission hopes to get those members selected by next week.
SA: Board, director resignations revive ailing charter school
read ... Stolen Money
Bill outlawing seclusion, restraint as student punishments to Become Law
HNN: House Bill 1796 prohibits the use of seclusion and physical restraint on students in public schools. State Rep. John Mizuno authored the bill after several Hawaii News Now investigations revealed special education students at Kipapa Elementary had been severely abused.
In early 2013, Hawaii News Now learned that the families of six disabled students had come forward with allegations of abuse by staffers at the Mililani School. Cell phone images of one student being held down by the neck were released, and a lawsuit alleged that another student was forced to eat food she had thrown up.
At the time of the allegations, the state said its own investigation had uncovered no evidence of abuse and that the women who made the initial claims were lying. Earlier this year, an administrative law judge ruled the students had been physically and emotionally abused by school staffers and suggested that the state had botched its investigation into the abuse.
read ... outlawing seclusion, restraint as student punishments
Kulani Prison Designed to Ease Escapes, Smuggling
KHON: The Hilo facility also plans to eventually hire 91 staff members, and that’s money that stays here.
Sakai said Kulani will now help bring home some of the inmates presently held in Arizona prisons. The first 25 inmates will move back in two weeks and 200 more will be moved in by year’s end.
The idea is to bring as many of them here who have family on the Big Island.
“Big Island residents will be able to come up here,” Sakai said. “It still will be a drive, but even if we have inmates from other islands, it’s going to be much easier for them to visit here than Arizona.”
There’s only one road that leads to Kulani and it’s surrounded by a forest. So Sakai said inmates escaping has never been a problem in years past.
As far as contraband, “it’s more of a challenge at a place like this because it’s open, as you folks can see. There’s no walls or fences,”
read ... No Walls, No Gates
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