Poll: Majority Oppose Federal Involvement in Native Hawaiian Recognition
Turtle Bay Deal Wins 2014 ‘Rusty Scalpel’ Award
DoE: Access Learning Program enhances teaching, learning
DoE guidelines for free and reduced-price meals released
Act 195 Stealing Hawaiian Assets
More Appointments Rushed for LUC, HHFDC
Obama, Pacific Islands Leave US Tuna Fleet 'without fishing access to the Pacific Ocean'
Federal Election Commission Investigating Hawaii Democratic Party
SA: The Federal Election Commission is auditing the Democratic Party of Hawaii after flagging multiple discrepancies with the party’s federal campaign finance reports during the 2012 election cycle.
The commission voted in September to undertake the probe, and auditors are still gathering information from the party, sources familiar with the process say. The commission determined after an internal review of the party’s reports that the party failed to meet threshold requirements for compliance with federal campaign finance law.
The FEC sent the party at least 16 letters in 2012 and 2013 raising questions about or identifying errors with the party’s 2012 disclosure reports, prompting the party to file a stream of amended reports through March.
As part of the audit, the FEC asked the party for source documents for campaign contributions, invoices for all spending activity, documentation for loans, copies of fundraising materials, scripts for phone banks, and contracts and invoices for all media advertising.
In the party’s year-end disclosure report for 2012, which was amended twice after an inquiry from the FEC, the party reported spending more than $895,250.
Jane Sugimura, the party’s former treasurer, was responsible for the 2012 reports. Dante Carpenter was the party’s chairman at the time.
Debi Hartmann was the party’s executive director. Brian Schatz — then the lieutenant governor, now a U.S. senator — and Andy Winer — then a Democratic strategist, now Schatz’s chief of staff — directed the party’s coordinated campaign and get-out-the-vote drive....
The FEC previously audited the party over disclosure reports from the 2002 election cycle, also when Sugimura was the party’s treasurer. The commission publicly issued its findings in 2004, concluding that the party had received prohibited contributions from political action committees, accepted contributions that exceeded limitations, and misstated or failed to properly disclose financial activity.
FEC: Links to Communications with Hawaii Democratic Party
FEC: 2004 Audit Report on Hawaii Democratic Party
read ... About the Latest Criminality
Phony Environmentalists: Sierra Club, Surfrider Back Resort Against Dairy Farm
KE: There's the irony of a resort that applies restricted use pesticides to its landscaping and links, thus creating a possible pathway for these toxins to enter the groundwater, using the ever-popular fear-mongering tactics to imply the dairy's waste will contaminate groundwater and cause fatal blood disorders in babies.
There's the irony of a golf course that applies fertilizer, with its nitrogens, to its ever-green oceanfront links claiming the dairy's nitrogens will harm waterways and fish.
There's the irony of a brightly-lit oceanfront resort directly in the flight path of Newell's shearwaters, a resort that sits on a once-wild coastline frequented by monk seals and turtles, claiming that it's worried about “harm to endangered species.”
There's the irony of a resort that took over Mahaulepu coastal land many of us hoped would be turned into a park using the National Park Service's rationale for making Mahaulepu into a park as ammunition in its lawsuit against the dairy.
There's the irony of a resort that uses tons of imported food fighting an agricultural use that is trying to increase local food production.
There's the irony of a law firm that argued the Hawaii Superferry did not need to conduct an environmental assessment now arguing that a dairy on ag land must conduct an EA.
There's the irony of groups like Sierra Club, Malama Mahaulepu and Surfrider — groups that used to oppose golf courses and resorts on ag land — aligning themselves with the tourist industry and against agriculture on ag land.
KGI: Dairy suit splits island
read ... Ironies Abound
Rail Grabs for $210M in Handivan, Bus Funds
CB: In 2012, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, the quasi-city agency in charge of rail, plugged some $210 million in anticipated Handi-Van and bus funds for the 2013 — 2018 fiscal years into the rail budget. The added funding stream assuaged federal officials’ concerns about the strength of rail’s financial plan and helped secure a $1.5 billion funding grant from the federal government.
Rail officials assured the Honolulu City Council at the time that it was unlikely that those funds would ever be used for rail and that the city could continue to depend on the funding — known as 5307 funds per their federal code — to maintain the bus and Handi-Van fleets.
Indeed, HART has elected not to use the funding for the past three fiscal years and the annual federal allocations have remained with the city to support bus and Handi-Van services.
But as rail construction accelerates and millions in unanticipated costs mount, past assurances that 5307 funding would continue to support the city’s Handi-Vans and buses looks increasingly uncertain.
“I can’t say that in fiscal year 2016, given the change orders and other things that have happened, that there won’t be a need for (5307 funds),” said Mike Formby, director of the city Department of Transportation Services and a HART board member. “And that is why we are working really hard to not delay but eliminate the need for them.”
Construction delays resulting from legal challenges and (rushing) contracts that were signed before the rail project had the federal go-ahead have added about $176 million to the cost.
Formby said Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration plans to submit a rail refinancing plan to the City Council this year that would remove a portion of the 5307 funds. Eventually, the goal is to remove all of the funds from the rail budget.
Formby said it was premature to comment on how the administration hopes to plug the funding hole (raise taxes, duh) that would arise from the 5307 funds being taken out of the rail budget....
And while HART declined to use the 5307 funds in the 2013 — 2015 fiscal years, its overall need for the funds hasn’t changed, according to HART correspondence. In fact, HART has extended its claim to the funding by three years — to fiscal year 2021.
“The current suspension of construction activities has reduced the project’s cash flow needs in FY 2015,” HART CEO Dan Grabauskas wrote in a letter to Formby in November 2013. “While the total amount of 5307 funds required for the project has not changed, HART intends to postpone the use of FTA section 5307 funs for another fiscal year. The change means that the project would need 5307 funds from FY 2016 through FY 2021 instead of FY 2015 through FY 2020.”
read ... About Caldwell's next Tax Hike Pitch
Faulty HTA data had broad effect
SA: The idea that a single employee contracted to provide visitor data for the Hawaii Tourism Authority could commit an error so large and for so long that the very health of the state's largest industry was misstated for months on end defies credibility.
That's what the HTA indicates happened, though, and, if accurate, the admission highlights a serious flaw in the agency's internal processes and fiscal oversight that must be immediately corrected.
The HTA has issued a revised set of visitor statistics — euphemistically describing the new information as "revalidated data" when it actually represents a huge correction that reverses the negative trend previously reported for Hawaii's tourism industry.
The sudden turnaround for a sector that had been reported as lagging last year's records — but now is on course to reach new heights — has important implications for far more than the individual airlines, hotels, restaurants and other retailers who depend on the tourist trade and can rely on their own internal statistics to tell them how business is doing.
Background: HTA: Tourism Data Faked Since 2013?
read ... Faulty HTA data had broad effect
DHS to Cabanilla: No Ticket Home for Homeless
CB: The department applauds the Waikiki Improvement Association and its member hotels, restaurants and other businesses for proposing to establish a privately funded Return to Home program for homeless individuals, Rosenfeld said.
“A Return to Home program is best supported by the community through private donations and individual charities, and not the State,” DHS Director Patricia McManaman said in a statement. “At this time the DHS has no plans to implement the Return to Home program established by the Legislature in 2013.”
Background: Homeless in Hawaii? Lawmaker wants to give you a free flight home
read ... No Ticket Home
Matson's Pricing Power may be 'Significant' in 2016
JOC: “We believe Matson has a distinct competitive advantage over weaker players," BB&T Capital Markets says. "Additionally, given a potential competitive shift in the Jones Act markets over the next several years, should (Matson) successfully capture market share opportunities, we believe the earnings power could be quite significant in 2016."
Horizon Lines, deploying four ships, is the second-largest company serving the Hawaiian market. Because of the Horizon’s debt issues, BB&T expects other market players, such as Matson, to benefit if Horizon is forced to stop service.
read ... Rates Going Up
Hawaii's top court affirms public trial access
SA: The Hawaii Supreme Court overwhelmingly reaffirmed the media's and public's right to monitor criminal court proceedings on Wednesday, in a case brought by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now.
The ruling also represented a rebuke of Circuit Court Judge Karen Ahn, who conducted five separate proceedings on Aug. 26, 2013 that were closed to the public during the first trial of federal agent Christopher Deedy.
Deedy is now standing trial a second time for the Nov. 5, 2011, shooting death of 23-year-old Kollin Elderts in a Waikiki McDonald's restaurant.
The state Supreme Court ruled that Ahn both improperly closed her court in 2013 and sealed transcripts of the discussions on the fifth day of jury deliberations that later resulted in a deadlocked jury deliberating Deedy's fate.
PDF: Supreme Court ruling Oahu Publications v. the Honorable Karen Anh
read ... Hawaii's top court affirms public trial access
Former Oahu charter school clerk sentenced for theft
WHT: The sentence followed Atisanoe entering a no contest plea to second-degree theft on Feb. 27 for stealing $19,750.38 from Ka Waihona O Ka Naauao Public Charter School between Jan. 6, 2010, and March 2, 2012, according to Louie.
At the time of the thefts, Atisanoe was employed as a clerk for the school and was responsible for collecting and depositing payments the school received from students and parents for meals, A+ program, excursions and activities related to the school. An internal audit conducted by the school determined that Atisanoe failed to deposit monies that were collected from students and parents into the proper school account, according to Louie.The investigation revealed that Atisanoe kept cash payments made to the school and used the cash to pay for her utility bills and credit cards.
read ... Former Oahu charter school clerk sentenced for theft
Double-Dipping Truckers Delivered Toxic Soil to Kapolei Development
HNN: Kapolei residents will get some answers on how truckloads of contaminated dirt from Radford High School wound up in their neighborhood.
State investigators told Hawaii News Now that they found high levels of lead and arsenic in the up to 50 tons of soil dumped next to D.R. Horton's Mehana residential project....
"The illicit activity occurred without D.R. Horton's knowledge, authorization, or consent," the developer said in a note to its residents....
It also may take action against the trucking companies that brought the soil in. They could face fines of up to $10,000 per day per violation.
read ... Paid to Haul and Paid to Deliver
Hawaii on Federal Conference Blacklist?
LVRJ: A bill that passed the House on Wednesday contains a message that federal agencies shouldn’t discriminate against Las Vegas or other resort cities when they plan conferences or meetings.
The annual bill that sets spending levels for a range of agencies contains a provision directing the White House budget office to “ensure that agencies are implementing policies regarding travel, event, meeting or conference locations based on the most efficient use of taxpayer funds.”
The wording was inserted by Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev. He said it was intended to stop a practice of federal agencies avoiding resort cities even when they might provide the best deal for Uncle Sam.
Lawmakers who represent popular destinations in Florida, Hawaii and Nevada say there has been evidence in some federal agencies of a resort city blacklist, formed by officials nervous about being associated with popular destinations.
Bureaucrat feet were said to have gotten even colder in the aftermath of the $823,000 General Services Administration regional conference at the M Resort in Henderson in October 2010.
read ... Bill sends message against resort blacklists
Schatz Complicit in Pension Tax Scheme?
WHT: Seniors living on a fixed income were contrast with lawmakers taking big pay raises in a debate between U.S. Senate hopefuls.
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa was cheery as she delivered punchy jabs Tuesday night, as if enjoying the fight. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz looked miffed at times, but retained a polite, even demeanor.
Hanabusa repeatedly accused Schatz of supporting a plan to tax Hawaii retirees’ pensions when he served as lieutenant governor in 2011, a proposal that was opposed by AARP, the group that hosted the televised debate and advocates for retirees.
“I’m just curious: What were you thinking?” Hanabusa asked.
read ... Anything that Abercrombie Touches Turns to ...
GMOs: Schatz Steps in the Gooey Stuff
MW: ...last week in the KITV debate Schatz stepped in the gooey stuff.
Are GMO foods safe? Should there be local laws restricting them? Hanabusa said science shows them to be safe and that local laws would create farming chaos.
Schatz didn’t mention safety but strongly supported local GMO laws. That means local laws trumping federal. And if that’s his belief, it puts him on the side of those also favoring local decision-making on abortion and who can marry. You can’t have half a loaf of federalism.
read ... Bob Jones
Ethnic Divisions Simmer Below Surface of Democratic Primary
NJ: "The whole basis of the Hanabusa campaign is, 'Inouye picked me,' " said one Democratic strategist. "This is also about one AJA picking another versus a haole governor picking a haole senator."
Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's former chief of staff who now supports Hanabusa's candidacy, said many Japanese-Americans took Abercrombie's decision as an "incredible insult."
These under-the-surface tensions are nothing new. The history of ethnic political divisions in Hawaii goes back to what's known as the Democratic Revolution of 1954, when Asian-American voters teamed up to take on the political power of Hawaii's white plantation owners. Young Japanese-American soldiers—including Inouye—returned home to Hawaii after World War II, went to college, and began running for office, culminating in the 1954 elections where Asian-American Democrats ousted many white Republican politicians.
As a result, all the Asian-American ethnic groups became closely associated with the Democratic Party—a trend that's still generally true today, and contributes to the Republican Party's difficulty in taking hold in Hawaiian politics....
"Hawaii is so different than any other state: It's the only state where we're all minorities," Ige told National Journal in an interview in his Honolulu campaign headquarters, adding that interracial marriage has meant more focus on "finding the best candidates" rather than voting based on ethnicity. Ige had just come from a debate with Abercrombie at the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce.
Despite the still-complicated ethnic politics of the Aloha State, candidates and consultants alike say that the right candidate can get elected today regardless of his or her ethnic background—and that ethnicity is now just a piece of a much bigger puzzle.
"I was a Jewish-American woman from the mainland," said former GOP Gov. Linda Lingle, who served two terms directly before Abercrombie took office. "[Ethnicity] is not an overwhelming deciding factor. Otherwise, I could have never been elected."
read ... Simmer?
KOS: Ige Campaign Part of Conspiracy
KOS: Inouye's hatchet man and former Chief of Staff has been using the late senator's machine to manipulate politics in Hawai'i.
By her own admission Jennifer Sabas created the "Deathbed Letter" supposedly from Inouye, robosigned and delivered to Governor Abercrombie a half hour after Inouye's death. In this letter, Sabas ordered Abercrombie to appoint Colleen Hanabusa to Inouye's position.
How coincidental that Sabas is now described as a "top Hanabusa campaign official." In fact, a source is telling us that Sabas pushed Hanabusa to abandon her House seat and challenge Democrat Senator Brian Schatz for the senate position in the 2014 election.
That would be the entire story - machinations to keep a powerful "fixer" and political insider in a job except that it appears that Sabas' meddling goes far beyond the Hanabusa campaign.
We're being told by a reliable confidential informant that Sabas is also behind David Ige's primary challenge to Governor Neil Abercrombie. And this isn't just revenge that Sabas' trick with her "deathbed letter" didn't work....
Speculation is that there is a behind-the-scenes agreement that Hanabusa will become Ige's Attorney General, Sabas will get a position, and Department of Land and Natural Resources Director (and respected Hawaiian) William Aila will be replaced with another Inouye insider.
Background: Neil Abercrombie Conspiracy Theory Claims Inouye Letter Conspiracy
read ... Paranoid Ramblings
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