Aiona Raises $360K, 99% from Hawaii
Report: After Obamacare, 28% of Hawaii is on Medicaid
The High Cost of Hawaii's Affordable Housing Shortfall
Hawaii’s Downward Spiral Of State Tax Collections Is Alarming
Unfunded liabilities leave HI taxpayers ‘drowning in debt,’ fiscal watchdog says
TRO Provides Insight into Assault, Arson Attack on Carroll Cox
Casino Connection
U.S. Senate Democrats introduce bill to counter Hobby Lobby decision
Video: Is Uber Super?
Report: 32% of Hawaii Rural Roads in Poor Condition
Meet the Republican Who Could Take Hawaii Away From Democrats
NJ: Abercrombie's unpopularity and a three-way general-election race have combined to open a rare, if narrow, path to a Republican gubernatorial win. Add to the mix that Aiona is a top-tier recruit and has high name ID across the state, and even some Democrats reluctantly acknowledge their problem.
"In the normal course of events, a Republican really shouldn't win," said one Democratic strategist. "But this is decidedly not the normal course of events."
While there's been little general-election polling in the governor's race, and polling in Hawaii is notoriously difficult to do, a June Honolulu Civil Beat matchup between the three candidates found Aiona with a 6-point lead over Abercrombie, 33 percent to 27 percent. Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, the independent candidate, trailed at 18 percent.
read ... Republican Winners
What the Hawaii Senate race tells us about the Democratic Party
WE: ...Schatz added that his son said he hoped a woman would run for president -- but there are other Democratic women, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who are thought to be potential contenders for the presidency. Warren has endorsed Schatz over Hanabusa.
...Hanabusa was less effusive in her praise, calling into question how Obama has handled crises abroad.
"There is no question President Obama is one of us," she said. However, she added: "Where I have parted with the president is the issue of Syria and Iraq. ... I believe that he has to explain to the people why he is potentially putting us into another war in Iraq, a sectarian civil war."
Medical marijuana is legal in Hawaii...Hanabusa suggested the federal government should put in place "a law or a policy not to interfere with whatever the state and its legislature and its people determine is in their own best interest."
But Schatz proposed only a national "conversation" about the merits of jail time for offenders, calling the current system "rigged against young men and women for nonviolent drug possession."
Meanwhile: Star-Adv Runs Fluff Piece on Schatz calls him "sharp, strategic thinker", LOL!
read ... Clinton, Obama, and Marijuana
Hanabusa Running Like a Loser
TH: While the congresswoman has Inouye’s blessing and the support of his political network, Schatz has been able to leverage his appointment into plum committee assignments and huge fundraising figures. Now, with one month to go until the primary, he appears to have the unlikely edge in the bitter race. Hanabusa and her allies insist the race is close and are looking to show that she’s the more serious and effective legislator ahead of the Aug. 9 Saturday primary.
But unfortunately for the congresswoman, there is little daylight between the two on policy, and her campaign tactics suggest she knows she needs to make up ground in the campaign. At a Monday night debate, she was the aggressor, looking to take Schatz down a peg and shake up the race.
Schatz has led in all recent public and private polling, which has varied from slim single-digit leads in some polls to solid leads around 20 points in others.
But in years past, pollsters have wildly missed the mark in the state, a history Hanabusa is banking on.
“The problem [with] people on the mainland is they don’t know how to read Hawaii and how to poll Hawaii, and those who’ve been around admit that Hawaii is very difficult,” she said. “I have always been behind in polls, but it’s never panned out that way [on Election Day].”
Reality: www.TheRealHanabusa.com
read ... Deathbed wish not enough in Hawaii
First Hawaiian Owner Guilty--Funneled Money to Iran
AP: BNP Paribas, France's largest bank and the parent of First Hawaiian Bank, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of violating U.S. economic sanctions by processing transactions for clients in blacklisted countries, a development that a Manhattan judge said should show that no financial institution is "immune from the rule of law."... The bank admitted processing billions of dollars in illegal transactions on behalf of clients in Sudan, Cuba and Iran.
read ... Guilty
18 Quit Boards, Abercrombie Replaces Ethics Chair
CB: The Hawaii State Ethics Commission will be without its longest-serving member and chair for the last two years when it meets July 23 to tackle the implementation of a public financial disclosure law that has so far prompted the resignations of 18 board members.
Leolani Abdul was denied her request to serve another four-year term on the commission.
Instead, Gov. Neil Abercrombie has appointed Melinda Wood, an academic and grants development specialist at the East-West Center, according to sources familiar with the decision. The governor has not yet publicly announced the appointments.
Abdul was unsure why Abercrombie didn’t appoint her again, but said it was “entirely possible” that it had something to do with her strong support of the disclosure law....
As of Wednesday, 18 people serving on seven boards had quit since the Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill 2682 in April.
More resignations are rumored to be forthcoming and one board, the Land Use Commission, is on pause because it no longer has enough members to legally meet.
read ... Retaliation on Ethics
Kauai Anti-GMO Activists too Stupid to Write Initiative
KGI: Kauai Rising’s proposed charter amendment aimed at regulating the island’s genetically modified crop industry may not be a charter amendment after all.
And whether it will end up on the November ballot is questionable.
In a legal opinion released Wednesday by the County Clerk’s Office, the Office of the County Attorney said the group’s petition — which has been revised and recirculated since being rejected by the clerk in light of a technical error — still does not meet the requirements of a charter amendment.
Instead, it is local legislation, an initiative, introduced or masked as an amendment, according to Deputy County Attorney Mona Clark.
Clark told the council that she was “very concerned” with the revised document, submitted on June 13.
“I was on vacation during the ensuing week and said, ‘What is being submitted is essentially an initiative with important legal consequences,’” she said. “The Kauai Rising group made a logistical decision, it appears, to submit something that was not a charter amendment as a charter amendment. It’s an unfortunate situation.”
read ... About a bunch of morons
Suddenly Everybody Says Vote for OHA
HM: ...Dante Carpenter, who has had a colorful, if not controversial, history with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. He has been the agency’s administrator, as well as one of its trustees. Like his wife, he believes that everyone should vote, and he agrees with the Rice v. Cayetano verdict. He knows rancher Harold Rice well, and says that Rice has always had respect for Native Hawaiians.
Carpenter adds that Rice knew that in the ancient Hawaiian Kingdom, everyone was considered a resident, regardless of their nationality. It was an inclusive, not exclusive, society. “I think everyone has a vested interest in the success of the Hawaiian (self-determination) situation being reconciled,” he said. After all, if Hawaiians achieve self-governance, they’ll still have to coexist with non-Hawaiians. “We’re a total body, we won’t be separate and distinct from each other.”
Don’t get us wrong. Not everyone agrees that non-Hawaiians should have a say in Hawaiian Affairs, and some Hawaiians are opposed to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs itself existing as a quasi-state agency, rather than an independent Hawaiian one.
For a few years after OHA’s elections were opened to everyone, it wasn’t hard to find people who would say—on the record—that it was a mistake for non-Native Hawaiians to vote in OHA contests. I was surprised to find (in nearly two weeks of reaching out to a variety of people) and talking to more than a half-dozen native Hawaiians who disagree on many other issues, they all agreed that non-Hawaiian voters should vote for OHA’s trustees (with more than one offering a reminder to actually do homework on the candidates first).
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, which has generally been opposed to Native Hawaiians receiving preferential treatment from the government, believes everyone should vote for OHA trustees. President and CEO Keli’i Akina explained why over email:
“As a native Hawaiian, I believe it is important for all registered voters, regardless of race, to participate in the election of OHA Trustees. This is the way to be culturally respectful because it honors the Hawaiian Kingdom practice that citizenship was not based upon race,” he wrote.
“From the time of Kamehameha the First to Queen Liliuokalani, leaders of multiple ethnicities were appointed to manage the Kingdom’s land and assets for the benefit of all. Hawaii was the first place in what is now the United States where citizenship and voting were based upon ‘the content of one’s heart, not the color of one’s skin.’”
Voting is a personal decision, which is why there’s a curtain at the voting booths. Before you close that curtain behind you, take a moment to consider which is more of a disservice: to vote for OHA trustees or to abstain?
IM: The U.S. Department of Interior and the Akaka Bill
read ... Vote for OHA
Council Advances Five Bills to Free the Homeless From the Streets
KITV: Five bills that would make it illegal to lie down on city sidewalks or urinate and defecate in public survived votes by the nine-member Honolulu City Council Wednesday....a sit-and-lie bill by Councilman Ron Menor would apply the only to commercial and business districts. Menor feels his bill (Bill 48) is a suitable compromise that would satisfy the mayor as well as colleagues on the council....
The council also passed Bill 42 on second reading, the mayor's proposal to ban lying down on sidewalks in the Waikiki Special District. The vote was 7-2, with council members Kymberly Pine and Harimoto voting no.
Bill 43, also introduced by the mayor, passed the council on second reading 9-0. The bill would make it illegal to urinate or defecate within the Waikiki Special District.
Bill 45, introduced by Anderson to prohibit lying down on sidewalks island-wide, passed second reading 7-2, with council members Harimoto and Joey Manahan voting against it.
Bill 46, again introduced by Anderson, would make it illegal to defecate or urinate in public anywhere on Oahu. That measure also passed 7-2, with council members Harimoto and Pine in opposition....
read ... Freeing the Homeless from the Streets
Council Moving to Scrap Sale of City-Owned Housing
SA: Honolulu City Council leaders say they now want to seriously consider scrapping plans to sell off the city's rental housing stock and instead resurrecting a full-fledged housing department that would oversee buildings and programs that assist the homeless and others who need affordable housing.
Council Chairman Ernie Martin and Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi made the remarks at Wednesday's Council meeting. At the time, they were discussing reasons why Council leadership decided to hold up final votes on measures giving the Caldwell administration the go-ahead to move forward with a new request for proposals for the purchase of long-term leases for up to 12 affordable rental housing properties.
read ... Doomed
Former OCCC inmate says guards sold drugs, cigarettes to inmates; slept on job
HNN: ..."And I personally witnessed drug dealings going on in there with guards to detainees or inmates," said the man who asked us to hide his identity because he fears retaliation from corrections officers and drug dealers.
He spent several months at OCCC three years ago awaiting trial on a theft charge and says he saw certain guards selling contraband of all types to prisoners, including cigarettes for $60 each, not per pack but per cigarette.
"What I have personally seen is I've seen ice (crystal methamphetamine) go through, cigarettes are a very hot commodity over there. Even things as simple as candy bars, cell phones, all sorts of things," the former inmate said.
Veteran OCCC guard Warren Ray Rivera, Jr. was arrested by federal authorities last month for selling crystal meth to an undercover DEA agent.
The former inmate said he saw Rivera dealing drugs with inmates three years ago, and "He was giving a cell phone to another detainee."
He also said some OCCC guards frequently slept on the job.
"You see the guard sleeping in the little guard cubicle in there and there's a camera that literally points right at the guard cubicle....
read ... Guards sold drugs, cigarettes to inmates; slept on job
Solar Scammers Victimize Consumers--'Rogue systems' continue to plague Hawaii
PBN: Hawaii’s solar photovoltaic industry, which was one of the fastest growing industries in the state before it was slowed by ongoing interconnection issues, is in a state of transition, and as a way to keep business flowing, some companies are installing “rogue systems,” the head of the industry’s trade group told PBN.
Leslie Cole-Brooks, executive director of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association, said that the industry has lost at least hundreds of jobs, and that to stay afloat, some PV companies are installing systems and turning them on without approval from the electric utility.
“They’re telling customers that they have pre-approved systems or that they don’t need approval,” she said in an exclusive interview with PBN. “[But] the customer is liable, so we have asked the utility several times to pursue it and turn the systems off.” ...
“The utility has the right to turn off systems,” she said. “It’s one of the things that has happened with the logjam of interconnection of systems. Customers are trying to lower their bills, companies are trying to stay in business and many others are worrying about our clean energy initiative. He we are not moving forward. Some companies are going around the rules and using the innocence and ignorance of consumers to their advantage.”
read ... 'Rogue systems' continue to plague Hawaii
Big Wind, Big Cable Dormant Until After Election
IM: On July 11, 2013 the Public Utilities Commission, on its own initiative, opened two investigative dockets.
Both dockets are now in a dormant stage and may remain that way until after the elections.
One docket (2013-0138) focused on whether Castle & Cooke Properties, Inc.'s Lanai Wind Project is still viable in light of the fact that Castle & CookeChairman, President and CEO billionaire David Murdock sold 98% of Lana`i to Oracle CEO and billionaire Larry Ellison....
The other docket (2013-0169) focused on whether an Oahu-Maui Inter-island Transmission System may be in the public interest....
read ... Dormant until the Voters Sleep
UH Regents to Reconsider Tuition Hikes
SA: This summer marked the end of the second year of a five-year tuition schedule that took effect with the 2012-13 academic year and that will eventually raise tuition by more than 30 percent.
Full-time undergraduate resident tuition at the flagship UH-Manoa campus will increase 7.6 percent to $9,840 a year in the fall, and is scheduled to go up by about 7.5 percent in each of the two years after that.
The regents want to revisit the increases as the university starts preparing next month for the state's upcoming biennium budget process, which will cover the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.
"The board will have to act to set the tuition rate for next year and the year after — the two years of the biennium — which right now is set at the 7 percent increase," John Morton, UH's longtime vice president for community colleges, said at a regents' Budget and Finance Committee meeting Wednesday.
"I don't think any of us, frankly, feel it's going to be 7 percent. Whether it's zero, whether it's 1 (percent) or it's 2 (percent) or it's 3 (percent), it has to be set," Morton said.
read ... UH officials told to plan for flat tuition
UH Still Hard-Pressed to Address Repair and Maintenance Backlog
CB: The backlog is estimated at more than $400 million, and this year the college has $54.6 million to spend to address it.
read ... UH Still Hard-Pressed to Address Repair and Maintenance Backlog
UH Competes with Stadium Authority over How Much to Waste on New TOD Stadium
KHON: Two weeks after Aloha Stadium Authority accepted a site study recommending that the state look into rebuilding a 35,000-seat multi-purpose stadium at its current location, the University of Hawaii has revealed plans of its own.
The university unveiled Wednesday renderings of a proposed 30,000-seat multi-purpose stadium to be built at an unnamed site at an estimated cost of $165 million and $190 million.
While the price tag may seem steep, it’s not too far off of the $120 million in estimated repairs suggested for Aloha Stadium to address high-priority health and safety improvements.
read ... Aloha, Stadium
Nursing Home Inspections: DoH Says it Will Dodge Federal Sanctions
SA: Back in summer 2013, the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) proactively informed the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that, because of unexpected staffing turnover and funding issues, the department could not meet the federal inspection requirements for nursing homes here.
Although those factors are not within the DOH's control, (Wow. Did he really just say that?) the department took ownership to formulate a plan of action with CMS. Quality assurance of nursing home services is a responsibility we take very seriously.
By being proactive in notifying and working with CMS, the department is confident there will be no sanctions against the state and no penalties levied by CMS, as DOH is well on the way to completing the priorities agreed upon by both agencies. As part of the plan jointly developed last year, the department and CMS identified 11 priority nursing homes on the neighbor islands for inspections.
To date, 10 of these priority inspections are complete, and the one remaining facility will be completed this month — ahead of the agreed-upon schedule.
June 29, 2014: Dept. of Health fails nursing home inspections
read ... A bunch of excuses and doubletalk
Auto Manufacturers Spread out Tab for Expensive Jones Act Shipping
CB: “It’s so counter-intuitive it surprises people,” said Dave Rolf, of the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association. “There’s uniform shipping so it’s the same cost to ship a car one mile from the factory as it is to ship it to Hawaii.”
That means a new Toyota should cost the same in Lihue as it does in Los Angeles, where the cost of living is far less than in Hawaii where Oahu’s median home price just touched $700,000.
Rolf says that the car company’s policy acts as a great price “equalizer” because it puts dealerships — no matter the location — on the same footing.
A dealer and its customers who are located 700 miles from a car factory shouldn’t have to pay more for a vehicle than the dealer who is just 70 miles away.
read ... GM, Ford, Toyota Pay for JA
Campaign News:
QUICK HITS: