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Sunday, July 27, 2014
July 27, 2014 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 5:53 PM :: 3453 Views

Did OHA Commit Federal Felony Testifying to Interior Department?

Who Can You Trust in the GMO Issue?

Kauai Diary Farm Changes Plan After Protests by Luxury Resorts, Sierra Club, and Surfrider

Inversion: Is it Fair to Vote with Your Feet?

UH Manoa's Apple to be Chopped?

HSTA Complains, But Teacher Turnover Drops as Reforms Kick in

SA: Widespread angst over sweeping education reforms led to speculation that the state might see an exodus of public school teachers this year due to burnout and poor morale, conditions made worse by pay levels that lag behind their mainland counterparts.

Teachers say this past school year was especially rough, with the Department of Education rolling out a complex new performance-based teacher evaluation system along with a more rigorous set of curriculum standards known as the Common Core, nationally crafted academic guidelines in math and English. And starting this fall, a teacher's evaluation rating will be tied to tenure, raises and termination, with ratings based in part on how well students perform on tests.

But despite that angst, the number of teachers leaving their classrooms is actually at its lowest point in five years, according to preliminary figures provided by the DOE.

A total of 876 of the roughly 13,500 public school teachers left their jobs over the course of the 2013-14 school year that just ended. Nearly two-thirds of those who left resigned and 40 percent retired. Sixteen were terminated.

The overall number of departures is down 15 percent from the 1,030 teachers who left during the 2012-13 school year. It's also fewer than the 1,111 teachers who separated from the DOE in 2011-12, the year Gov. Neil Abercrombie riled teachers when he unilaterally imposed a two-year contract that stuck them with pay cuts and a higher share of health insurance premiums.

In the 2009-10 school year, when the state implemented Furlough Fridays, 1,060 teachers left the profession, while 981 left the following school year.

read ... Fewer educators leave isle schools

Shapiro: Teachers Always Have Money to Buy Elections

Shapiro: » Mayor Kirk Caldwell endorsed Abercrombie, touting the cooperative air they've cultivated between Honolulu Hale and Washington Place. Seldom has city and state dysfunction been so much in sync.

» The Hawaii State Teachers Association is helping out a cash-poor Ige with TV ads bashing Abercrombie. Teachers complain they don't have money to buy school supplies, but they always seem to have money to buy elections.

» Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui turned down all invitations to debate his Democratic primary opponents. Avoiding engagement demonstrates his qualifications for a do-nothing job.

read ... Shapiro

Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative Update to Push Big Cable

IM: HCEI 2.0 will focus on “action over process” including an undersea transmission line and the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Mark Glick asserted that “when Gov. Neil Abercrombie established the state’s first energy policy directives in 2013, he dedicated the state to move beyond 40 percent of the state’s electricity to be generated from renewable energy by 2030.

The prime movers to get there are regulatory action, building a service-oriented 21st century utility, interconnection and innovation, and energy diversity. We call this next phase of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative HCEI 2.0, and we anticipate significant progress on this agenda over the next five to 10 years.”

"We expect to see an undersea transmission cable unifying the Oahu and Maui grids to greatly expand renewable penetration while lowering rates, enhancing grid stability and reducing curtailment of renewable energy. …

This requires a new utility model to support that vision and a sea change in services that utilities provide to its energy consumers.”

HCEI 2.0 will be rolled out at the Asia Pacific Resilience Innovation Summit and Expo (APRISE2014) being held in September at the Hawai`i Convention Center.

The summit is intended for the global the “business, technology and policy leadership.” Members of the public may attend the summit for $495.

read ... Big Cable

Rail Supporters Grapple for GE Tax Hike Extension

SA: Perspective is needed in the discussion for extending the rail surcharge, an extension that could lead to unintended consequences if used to fund operations and maintenance (O&M).

The surcharge -- an additional 0.5 percent on the general excise tax on Oahu -- specifically demonstrated a dedicated local funding source to the Federal Transit Administration, leading to federal approval of $1.5 billion for local rail development, about 28 percent of the estimated total cost.

Legislation creating the current alignment included yet-unfunded but system-enhancing extensions to West Kapolei, the University of Hawaii-Manoa and Waikiki (with rail obviously a better plan than circulator buses from Ala Moana). If the surcharge is directed toward O&M funding, Oahu may never see federal support for expansion.

read ... Hand in Your Pocket

Remaining contested case hearing requests for TMT sublease dismissed

HTH: The Thirty Meter Telescope cleared its last major hurdle Friday.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources dismissed the remaining contested case hearing requests for the $1.3 billion project’s sublease, allowing construction to begin on Mauna Kea....

The project is expected to be finished in 2022. The TMT is named after its 30-meter-wide primary mirror, and would be bigger than any existing optical telescope.

An appeal was filed in the state Intermediate Court of Appeals regarding a decision in Hilo Circuit Court to uphold the project’s conservation use permit. Dawson said that appeal does not impact construction, and a hearing has not been scheduled.

read ... On To Court

Hawaii #1 in Gas Prices, #4 in Gas Taxes

USA Today: 1. Hawaii -- No state has more expensive gasoline than Hawaii, where a gallon of gasoline costs $4.35 on average. Gas prices in Hawaii were well in excess of $4.00 per gallon during most of the past year. Hawaii's isolated location makes it reliant on oil shipped to the state from throughout the world. In addition, the state relies on petroleum to fuel much of its electricity needs, and as a result generally has the nation's highest household electricity rates. Gas taxes and fees also contribute to higher prices. Hawaiians pay an average of 48.5 cents per gallon in state and local taxes on gasoline, more than in all but three other states.

> Price per gallon: $4.35
> Number of refineries: 2 (17th highest)
> Tax per gallon: 48.5 cents (4th highest)

read ... We're Number 1

Occupy Given $1000, Told to Get Lost

DN: Although there is no admission of wrongdoing, the agreement calls for a payment of $1,000 to be divided among the individual plaintiffs and the return of their property held by the City, and allows for the possibility of payment of attorneys’ fees, subject to court approval and appeal.

While $1,000 is not a considerable sum, the attorneys put in many hours of work on this case, and at prevailing rates, their fees would greatly exceed the value of the settlement.

Who “won?” You figure it out. The repeated raids made little sense and cost taxpayers far more than the litigation.

Perhaps, now that the case has settled, since Thomas Square is a historic location, a brass plaque might be affixed to one of the planters explaining to future generations that this Honolulu “Stonehenge” was erected in frustration after a punitive, arguably illegal, and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to dislodge what was at that time likely the longest Occupy encampment still standing in the country.

LINK: Download: Settlement Agreement: (de) Occupy case against Honolulu city government from Disappeared News

read ... About the Homelessness Industry

Maui to consider plastic foam food container ban

SA: A Maui County Council committee will consider a bill that would ban disposable plastic foam food containers.

The Infrastructure and Environmental Management Committee is scheduled to consider the bill Monday. The bill would prohibit food establishments and vendors from using or selling polystyrene containers.

The containers are now widely used to serve plate lunches.

read ... Headless Chicken Running in Circles

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