Would You Be Shocked?
90% Reject Akaka Tribe, Feds May Quit
SA: The Interior Department will not pursue a rule creating an administrative mechanism for recognizing a future Native Hawaiian government if the consensus from written and oral testimony is against that path, an agency spokeswoman told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The feedback the department has received so far through written comments online and from two weeks of public meetings in Hawaii overwhelmingly rejects that route. But the department is continuing to accept written comments until Aug. 19 and also will hold a series of meetings from July 29 through Aug. 7 in Native American communities on the mainland to get more feedback.
If the current trend shifts and proponents of the administrative process voice their opinions in strong enough numbers by mid-August, that could affect the decision of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who ultimately makes the call.
As of Friday afternoon, however, the public testimony largely was against any Interior Department involvement.
Only about 10 percent of the roughly 260 comments posted online favored the rule-making approach, according to a Star-Advertiser review of the postings.
The comments mostly mirrored the overwhelming opposition the Interior panel encountered from hundreds of people during more than 45 hours of testimony at its 15 meetings statewide.
Related: How to Submit Your Comments on the Proposed Rule to Recognize a Native Hawaiian Government
read ... Deadline August 19
Same-sex marriage foes flex muscles in election
Borreca: "This is going to be a different type of election," says Garrett Hashimoto, state chairman of the Hawaii Christian Coalition.
"The special session is stirring up a lot of new voters. I feel there is a lot of excitement in the air."
Hashimoto is campaigning hard for Joan Hood in her primary contest against Thielen. Hood is the co-pastor of the Life Church of Kailua and says the gay marriage special session "proved that a majority of our current legislators are not interested in letting the people of Hawaii have a say in the most important decision that we face."
Thielen, who has represented Kailua in the Legislature since 1977, is walking her district and reports that voters are interested in much more than her vote in favor of same-sex marriage.
"There are major concerns about solar energy hook-ups, about the future of our economy and also crime in our neighborhood," reports Thielen.
In Kapolei, in the new community on the other side of the island, Democratic Rep. Sharon Har is facing two primary opponents, Nicole Ferguson, who just moved into the district and had to get permission from the Democratic Party to run; and Michael Golojuch Jr., who is chairman of the party's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Caucus.
With the same rebel streak as Thielen, who bucked her party and voted for same-sex marriage, Har crossed her party's line and voted against same-sex marriage.
"I support Sharon Har with all my heart. I feel that Sharon Har stepped up for us," reports Hashimoto.
As a caveat, Hashimoto adds that in the general election, the winning Democrat will face Suk Moses, the wife of former GOP Rep. Mark Moses and a strong conservative. Hashimoto says if Har wins her primary contest, the conservative Christian Coalition will pull back and not endorse either candidate.
Har reports that her own constituent survey found 70 percent opposition for same-sex marriage and figures she is on solid political footing.
read ... Same-sex marriage foes flex muscles in election
Abercrombie Chickens out of Debates
SA: Gov. Neil Abercrombie has backed out of three of the four AARP Hawaii debates with state Sen. David Ige before the Democratic primary.
Earlier this month, Abercrombie had agreed to AARP Hawaii debates in Maui, Hilo, Kona and Honolulu, a decision that surprised some political analysts, who questioned why the governor would give Ige, his largely unknown challenger, new opportunities to appear together before the election.
Political analysts were also curious why Abercrombie would agree to so many AARP Hawaii events, since both Ige and AARP Hawaii had successfully fought the governor's pension tax proposal in 2011 and Ige has made the pension tax an issue in the campaign.
The Abercrombie campaign, citing "scheduling difficulties," informed AARP Hawaii on Friday that the governor would appear only at the Kona event on July 29, the same day the candidates have a forum before the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce.
The only other debate set between the two before the primary is a Waimea Community Association forum on Hawaii island on July 23.
read ... Run Away Loser
Feds Won't Let HI Tech Scammers Give Money to Themselves--So they Take State Funds Instead
CB: In December 2013, Maui-based mbloom, an early-stage venture capital firm, secured $10 million in funding.
The Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation, or HSDC, committed $5 million to the fund, and Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners matched that commitment.
The firm that secured that money is managed by Arben Kryeziu, who lives in Maui, and Nick Bicanic, in Venice, California.
The HSDC investment is part of the Hi-Growth Initiative, a new investment program focused on “building an innovative ecosystem that supports entrepreneurial high growth.” ...
On Thursday, mbloom announced its first two investments. It will invest in Flikdate, a mobile phone-driven dating service, and Ozolio, a live webcam service. Each company received $500,000 in funding, with mbloom investing $350,000 in each and the rest coming from undisclosed third parties.
This is where things get interesting. Well, according to Hawaii business filings, Ozolio is owned by Kryeziu, and Flikdate is co-owned by Kryeziu and Bicanic.
So mbloom’s first two investments — partially paid for with public HSDC funds — are in companies owned by mbloom’s founding partners.
To complicate matters, according to Kryeziu, the investments did not include federal funds, only state funds, due to federal prohibitions on related-party transactions.
In effect, investors using federal funds via HSDC cannot invest directly in themselves — a limitation not applicable to HSDC’s state funds....
“There are procedures to deal with these conflicts,” said Karl Fooks, president of HSDC. (Translation: Giving taxpayers' money to ourselves is what we do here at HSDC.)
Both companies were reviewed by HSDC prior to mbloom investment. “We were aware of these companies prior to the formation of mbloom,” he said.
As Explained: Tax Credit Scammers Find a New Home in HSDC
read ... Incest is Best
Unions Suck Hospitals Dry
SA: Leahi and 11 other facilities are at a critical stage, having to reduce costs after the state Legislature cut the hospitals' $150 million budget request to $102 million for the fiscal year that began July 1. The shortfall is projected to grow to around $70 million the following year.
"There's a concern it's going to be even worse here, and at that point we may have to cut back some of the beds at long-term care," said Alice Hall, HHSC's acting president and chief executive officer. "The next thing we're going to have to do is look at cutting services and cutting employees. Everything's being evaluated."
HHSC relies on state money for 15 to 20 percent of its annual $650 million budget, with the bulk of the money coming from patients....
It recently announced plans to close its Kalaheo primary care clinic on Kauai's South Shore in September, citing inadequate funding and rising medical expenses. Hilo Medical Center announced earlier this month that it will eliminate 30 positions and is facing an estimated $9 million deficit this year. Maui Memorial Medical Center also plans to close its adolescent behavioral health unit to save more than $1 million annually.
HHSC hasn't been filling open positions that were budgeted and has laid off some non-civil-service employees, as well as temporary workers, and is delaying payments to vendors, Hall said. She didn't have a total number of layoffs, but said cost-cutting measures have reduced HHSC's projected cash-flow deficit to $34 million.
In cutting the $48 million from HHSC's budget request, the Legislature left unfunded union wage increases won through collective bargaining, Hall said. The hospitals now have to find money to pay for those increases, she said.
"The state says it can't afford us. We're in this sort of bind without having full control of labor costs," she said. "Our costs are going up while reimbursements are going down. The cycle has to change soon, or it will impact our ability to provide safety-net services to our communities."
Reality: Legislative Report: Convert HHSC to non-profit, dump civil service (full text)
read ... Tick Tock
Council Moving to Scrap Sale of City-Owned Housing
SA: The Council discovered that a number of the tenants were paying rent far below the minimum amount set by federal guidelines, (Hmmmm. Wonder who they are....) and a number of these properties are in disrepair and in need of major renovations. (Translation: We are incompetent to manage these properties.) As was stated to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser ("Council leaders rethink sale of housing," July 10), it may be time to re-evaluate the sale and think of a better system of managing these properties.
One idea the city should seriously consider is either re-establish a housing department or, as an introductory step, expand the mayor's existing Office of Housing, to maintain the city's housing inventory. (Because we are incompetent, who better than us to manage these properties!) The expanded office could further review the feasibility of the city's ability to manage the finances and renovations of the properties. It could also determine if more subsidized housing -- which only government is willing to provide -- is necessary to not only address homelessness but prevent it as well. (Ewa Villages here we come baby!)
SA: How affordable should city's apartments be?
read ... Council Moving to Scrap Sale of City-Owned Housing
Kauai County Officials Plot to Give Themselves Raises
KGI: Several County of Kauai department heads say they will seek pay raises for themselves and other higher-ranking employees.
They say the raises will bring the county’s salary scale up to par with other counties and match the worth of their growing responsibilities.
Those proposals, submitted to the county Cost Control Commissioners by the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Kauai Police Department and Department of Personnel Services, call for pay raises that, in some cases, represent the first increases paid out to top department personnel since 2009.
County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar said he is asking salary commissioners to raise the maximum salaries for First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Takata and the county’s nine deputy prosecuting attorneys. The pay for deputy prosecuting attorneys, according to county Salary Commission documents, is capped at $101,066 and has not been raised since 2009.
Takata, meanwhile, earns an annual salary of $105,660. His salary has not been raised since 2009, either.
The raises proposed by Kollar would bump Takata’s pay to $114,353 — an 8 percent increase — and slightly increase the maximum salary limit for deputy prosecuting attorneys by 3 percent to $104,585.
Kollar acknowledged he is seeking a 10 percent raise in his salary from $114,848 to $127,059.
read ... Scheming
Maui County Council Member Don Guzman Helped Mamuad Campaign on County Time
MN: A county Board of Ethics complaint has been filed against Maui County Council Member Don Guzman for allegedly conducting private business on county time by assisting former mayoral candidate Neldon Mamuad in his last-minute bid to file his papers to run for office last month.
Kahului resident Alan Fukuyama, Guzman's opponent in the last election, wrote a letter to the Board of Ethics on June 27 alleging Guzman is in violation of Section 10-4 of the Maui County Charter. It states that "no officer or employee of the county shall . . . use county property or personnel for other than public activity or purpose.''
In his letter, Fukuyama referred to a news report on June 25 in The Maui News that quoted Mamuad in a 2nd Circuit Court hearing on his candidacy status. Mamuad said Guzman notarized his political candidacy forms in the Kalana O Maui building during business hours.
Weirdness: Settlement Brings Free Speech Victory for MAUIWatch
read ... Squabbling
How to Keep Hawaiians Divided
FH: Keep them talking - means encourage a continuous series of ballots, consultations, and meetings (the more complex, frequent, drawn out and inconclusive, the better) and any other event which can give public emphasis to factionalism in the name of ending factionalism - and be sure to woo the participation of as many competing leaders as possible.
Keep them litigating - means keep the Hawaiians fighting on familiar turf, where the elite already owns most of the weapons. Lawsuits are costly, slow and opaque. The powers that be have more money and lawyers than the opposition. They write the laws and they name the judges. So discourage political action and encourage recourse to the courts, preferably to the state courts, which can tie things up for very long periods of time, even before embarking on the endless delays of federal appeal.
Buy off the leadership - does simply mean give them money, which could be seen as crude. Obviously it means hold out to various individuals or to the leaders of contending constituencies the vague promise of future power and position inside some sovereign entity that is eventually supposed to come about.
Another way of saying it is "Don't worry, if you can manage to stir up your supporters to keep on vying for leadership you will be rewarded some day with real power and money."
read ... Rewarded with Real Money
Voting machines checked for primary election
HNN: Elections officials and official observers have checked more than 700 pieces of equipment that will be used for the Aug. 9 Primary Election....
"I try to get to be governor and see if I can hack the system," said election observer Dave Harris. "And everywhere you look in this system, yes, it is very secure."
Elections officials also said they've taken steps to avoid a repeat of what happened to years ago when 24 Oahu polling sites ran out of paper ballots, which delayed the first printout of results for two hours.
"After last election we re-evaluated to make sure that our procedures were going to work," said Nago. "We implemented new procedures and basically we don't expect to run into what we did in the last election."
The tests were conducted and overseen by official observers, which include an independent group of representatives from the various political parties, along with civic and community groups.
"It should send the message that there is a lot of integrity in the whole process from start to finish," said official observer Cindy Vaillancourt.
read ... Voting machines checked for primary election
HNG Soldiers Return From Afghanistan
KHON: A welcome home ceremony was held Saturday afternoon at Wheeler Army Field for eight returning soldiers....
The soldiers are from Detachment 55.
Their role was to operate reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft.
Sgt. Drew Scobie of Kailua was also a part of their team.
Scobie died in January, when the surveillance aircraft he was on went down.
read ... Afghanistan
Hawaii National Guard soldier fighting for his life
KITV: "It was a shock when we got back from Afghanistan and Mr. Bagay was diagnosed with leukemia," said Maj. Byron Cadiz with the Hawaii National Guard.
During their year-long deployment, the Hawaii Guard unit was responsible for ferrying supplies, equipment and soldiers in and out of hostile territory. Warrnnee Bagay was one of the pilots of the Chinook helicopters.
"He's a great pilot and every time I flew with him I wouldn't worry about anything. I would always be safe," said Spc. Roselani Kaluhiwa, with the Hawaii National Guard.
Now soldiers in his unit are trying to return the favor. They are taking time as they adjust to civilian life to sign up to be a bone marrow donor.
"Mr. Bagay is a fighter. I believe he will beat this disease eventually. We're here to support him and to find a match," stated Cadiz.
read ... Bone Marrow Donor Needed
Pacific Islands Hit by Exodus
AP: While much of the world worries about how it will accommodate rapidly growing populations, some islands in the Pacific face the opposite dilemma: how to stop everybody from leaving.
The population decline on Niue, a lush coral atoll about the size of Baltimore, has been steady and relentless. In the 1960s, there were more than 5,000 people living here; today, there are fewer than 1,600. Fifteen times as many Niueans, some 24,000, now live across the ocean in New Zealand, 1,500 miles away....
Other Pacific islands face similar struggles. The CIA estimates the population of the Cook Islands is declining by 3 percent per year, a rate second only to war-torn Syria.
Tokelau and American Samoa are also losing significant numbers of people. Even on archipelagos like Samoa and Tonga where the population is steady, people are abandoning the outer islands and moving to the main towns, where they can find better jobs, education and health care.
read ... Population Decline
Greenwood goes without pension payments from state
SA: UH spokeswoman Lynne Waters said the university is not directly paying Greenwood "any special retirement, pension or benefit payments," either.
Greenwood was hired in August 2009 at an annual salary of $475,008. Four years later, in May 2013, she announced she was retiring from the presidency to spend more time with family and address health issues. She had close to two years remaining on her contract at the time.
The announcement came about a year after UH became mired in the so-called Wonder Blunder from a botched Stevie Wonder fundraising concert that eroded public confidence in the university's leadership.
The Board of Regents had approved her request for one year of unpaid leave for "personal reasons" from Sept. 1, 2013, to Aug. 31, after which time she was expected to return to a tenured faculty position at the John A. Burns School of Medicine with an annual salary of nearly $294,000.
Greenwood, an internationally recognized expert on nutrition, obesity and diabetes, had agreed to focus on establishing a diabetes center at the medical school.
But she announced instead last month that "after a period of rest and reflection," she had decided to stay on the mainland to pursue writing and policy interests.
read ... Strange News
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