POLL: Ige 36% - Aiona 35%
Aiona Commits to Eleven Gubernatorial Forums, Debates
Sabato: Party Label is Ige's Most Important Attribute
Hawaii Families Work Harder To Cope With Rising Costs
DLIR Retakes Occupational Safety Job from OSHA
Legislative Report Debunks Homeless Tent City
Jobs? Kakaako? Early Education? Ige Campaign Has Nothing for Abercrombie Supporters
Borreca: Democrats in the Sen. David Ige tribe are now moving to bring together the unions and financial interests allied with the majority Democratic Party.
On Monday, Ige held a rally at his University Avenue campaign headquarters to usher in the Abercrombie wing of the fractured party. The week before, there was a meeting with campaign coordinators and union representatives.
Even though Ige trounced incumbent Democrat Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the primary, Ige needs the money and union support linked to Abercrombie if he is to beat former GOP Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona and former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who is running as an Independent.
...for the campaign teams, getting together was not easy....
Randy Iwase...was a strong Abercrombie supporter and went to the Monday rally for Ige. (And he is the ONLY former Abercrombie supporter named in this article!)
"This election I was involved with was with a well-financed but unpopular governor, and we lost against someone with little money," Iwase said, adding that he knows Ige is going to need more campaign money to win.
"I hope David gets a boost in finances -- he's going to need it....
Iwase added that, "Coming together is a good, important and necessary step for the Ige campaign," but the reality is that this unity mission involves some tricky diplomacy.
In the past when Democrats fought it out in the primary, there were attempts at a negotiated settlement in terms of issues. So far there have been no indications that Ige will change his positions on the early childhood education state constitutional amendment or on Kakaako, so Abercrombie supporters will find no relief there.
More important, Minn acknowledged that Abercrombie heads up a government loaded with patronage jobs and powerful appointments.
"There has been no discussion of jobs; we are not talking about any jobs," Minn said.
read ... Not Giving Abercrombie's People Anything
AARP Survey: Seniors Rate Housing, Healthcare Top Issues
SA: An AARP survey of Honolulu residents 45 years and older rated housing and affordable home health care services as the greatest needs in the community.
The report is based on a mail survey of 7,500 Oahu residents, of which 607 useable surveys were returned for a response rate of 8.5 percent. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent and is available for public review at bit.ly/1lWIwmy.
AARP: Where Do the Candidates Stand on Key AARP Issues?
read ... Top Issues
Confidence of rail finishing on time drops, Federal risk report shows
HNN: This week the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (Hart) announced the 2017 opening date for the first ten miles will likely be delayed by a year. Now we've learned the Federal government has lost confidence Hart will finish the full route by the original projected date of March 2019.
The new Risk Refresh report says there is a 50 percent confidence level the project will be completed by December 2019.
"It's meant to hammer on us on schedule, scope and budget and figuring out ways to reduce that," said Dan Grabauskas, Hart CEO.
Grabauskas says the confidence level is all based on worst case scenarios coming true.
The report does say Hart could still finish on time but it "must implement strong schedule and contract management throughout the remainder of the project." The report also wants Hart to reduce costs and cut financing.
read ... 50-50
HART: Will Ansaldo Go Away?
Q: So, would the Ansaldo entity go away?
A: We don't know how that sale will be structured. We would assume that it would be structured by sale of stock, and if when you do a sale of stock, all of the assets, all of the liabilities, all of the responsibilities -- it just stays where it is. It's a new entity that assumes control over those assets, liabilities and responsibilities.
read ... We Don't Know
Framing the problem: Honolulu government does not understand Housing First
DN: Hawaii Appleseed has gone above and beyond the call in making information about poverty, homelessness and potential solutions available. Here is a tweet from this morning (click here for the report).
The article is not too long, informative, and easy reading. At the end are links and references for further reading.
As you read, note that Honolulu’s RFP for what it refers to as Housing First, includes practically none of the points raised by the article. One reference on interventions suggests that the community-based programs contemplated by Honolulu are often not enough.
DN: No community buy-in on city homeless camp plan
read ... Housing First
Caldwell's affordable-housing plan seen as a good first step by Council members
SA: Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell's ambitious plan to bump up Oahu's affordable-housing count by more than 4,000 in the next five years is already generating myriad questions and a lot of discussion from City Council members and homebuilders alike, just as he predicted.
The Islandwide Housing Strategic Plan seeks to encourage homebuilders to build more units geared toward families in lower income groups and keep prices low for longer periods. In exchange, they would be allowed to build fewer overall affordable units.
The plan is to be explained to the Council Zoning and Planning Committee on Friday, but Council members who have voiced concerns that even units designated as affordable are out of reach to many Oahu residents stood with Caldwell for taking a good first step at a press conference Thursday.
read ... Affordable?
Par Petroleum not closing Hawaii refinery--CEO
PBN: Par Petroleum CEO Will Monteleone said in an exclusive interview with PBN, that there are other alternatives that the company is looking into, including supplying the state’s shipping and air transportation industries as well as selling to Far East customers. Par Petroleum (Other OTC: PARR) purchased Tesoro Corp.’s Hawaii operations last year, including the state’s largest oil refinery.
“HECO is an important customer and we continue to supply them on the Neighbor Islands, and that’s an important relationship,” he said. “They have very ambitious goals and we intend to be there for a long time and we want to be part of that solution.” ...
“We have an entity that is well suited to make acquisitions in Hawaii,” Monteleone said. “There are numerous [opportunities] and we like the state.”
Meanwhile, Aloha Petroleum Ltd., Hawaii’s largest independent gasoline station owners and one of the biggest convenience store operators in the state, as one of its strategic options, is looking into selling the company, as first reported by PBN.
Monteleone, however, declined to say if Par Petroleum is interested or not.
“We don’t comment on prospective acquisitions,” he said. “It’s not our policy [to do so].”
read ... Still Open
Honolulu Council Pushes BioDiesel for The Bus
PB: On Sept. 10, the Honolulu City Council adopted a resolution requesting the development of a biodiesel initiative for the city’s existing mass transit diesel vehicles.
Introduced by Stanley Chang, Chair of the Committee on Public Works and Sustainability, resolution 14-169 passed through committee late last month for the full Council’s consideration....
The City and County of Honolulu have a commendable track record with biodiesel. Since 2004, the City has successfully integrated B20 biodiesel in a large segment of its municipal fleet, including waste collection trucks. In 2012, the city completed a pilot project with 20 of its fixed route buses. The adoption of resolution 14-169 will allow the Department of Transportation and the City to look to further the use of biodiesel in TheBus and TheHandi-Van fleets comprised of more than 650 vehicles.
read ... It Costs More
Judge Orders New Title for Anti-GMO Maui Voter Initiative
MTVN: “The ballot title “Maui: Voter Initiative: Genetically Engineered Organisms” is misleading, and should be corrected. Specifically, the title, “Genetically Engineered Organisms,” might cause a voter who is either in favor or against adoption of the initiative measure to cast a ballot contrary to their desires....
“In addition, the Maui Charter requires that the voters have at least 90 days prior to a general election to consider the ballot title and summary. The 90-day minimum provides the voters with sufficient time to review the ballot title and summary. Furthermore, in this case, the 90 days would afford voters with the opportunity to inform themselves about a very complicated initiative that, if passed, would have very serious consequences for Maui County. Under the Charter, once the County Council declines to adopt a proposed ordinance, County Clerk must “submit the proposed ordinance to the voters of the county at the next general election; provided that, if the next general election is scheduled to occur within ninety (90) days, the county clerk shall submit the proposed or referred ordinance to the voters of the county at the succeeding general election.” The County Clerk missed the deadline by nearly two weeks and in doing so deprived the voters of the time to properly review and consider the ballot title and question. Therefore, we are also asking the court to rule that the County Clerk can only submit the proposed ordinance to the voters of the county at “the succeeding general election,” which is scheduled for November 8, 2016.”
read ... Misleading
GMO: Where's the Middle Ground on Kauai?
KE: A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how Kauai got shucked and jived by Vandana Shiva, whose schtick was revealed by Michael Specter in the New Yorker. And like clockwork, Vandana responded with a 5,000 word rebuttal — published on the obscure Permaculture Research Institute website — in which she trashed Specter and his journalism in the very first paragraph.
In other words, Spector was right on target when he said it's a classic strategy of Shiva and others in the anti-GMO movement to attack and attempt to publicly discredit anyone who dares to disagree with their skewed version of the “truth.” I've experienced it countless times myself, most recently on Tim Bynum's Facebook post, when Lyn McNut, a card-carrying member of the KKCR echo chamber, left a comment: “Stop following Joan. No longer journalism.”
Yes, I magically went from a journalist that Lyn lauded to one no longer worth reading solely because I exposed the deception and bullshit of Gary Hooser, Tim Bynum and the Kauai anti-GMO movement. Now I see similar attacks being levied against Allan Parachini for speaking up. Doncha just love open minds and respect for different points of view?
Which leads me to a comment that Michael Salling left on one of my Facebook posts about the pesticide/GMO debate that is dividing our community:
Exactly what is the middle ground?
It's a good question, and one that should be discussed.
But how do you have such discussions when the anti side is so heavily populated by people like Lyn, who totally shut out anything that differs from their point of view? And folks like Dorothy “Lady Light” Kulick, who leaves newspaper comments urging people to do “WHATEVER IT TAKES” to stop biotech? Or vindictive fanatics like Malama Kauai's Megan Pittsley Fox, who tried to destroy Johnny Gordine's flower business by leaving disparaging reviews on Yelp after he urged the Council to “vote no” on 2491? Or groups like Maui's SHAKA Movement, which blithely promulgates bald-faced lies in their attempts to raise money?
Which leads me to Gary's latest scheme to publicly grandstand....
KGI: Community rallies to make Kauai bully free
read ... Kauai Eclectic
New video of fight between HPD Officer & girlfriend before violent attack
HNN: And a second Sargent under investigation in the case....
read ... New Video
Union: Hawaii cop should not be charged for accidental discharge
KHON: The president of SHOPO, the police officers’ union, says the officer who misfired his gun in a Target bathroom doesn’t deserve to be punished.
The shooting happened Saturday night in the bathroom of the Salt Lake Target store. The bullet ricocheted and hit the wall of the next stall, but nobody was hurt.
read ... No Charge?
Puna Will Finally Get Two New Access Roads
HNN: The following message was issued by Hawaii County Civil Defense Thursday, September 11: "The current assessment shows the surface lava flow has shifted towards the east and is moving in an east/northeast direction. The surface flow has advanced approximately 300 yards since yesterday. Presently the leading edge of the surface flow is located approximately 0.3 miles from the northwest or upper corner of the Wao Kele Forest Reserve and Kaohe homesteads boundary. Currently the flow does not pose and immediate threat to area communities however residents of the Kaohe Subdivision are advised to monitor the local radio broadcasts for further updates and for possible evacuation instructions if conditions change. Residents will be given adequate notice to safely evacuate should that be necessary. Personnel of the Civil Defense Office will be conducting door to door surveys and notification in the Kaohe Homesteads starting today. Residents in the subdivisions of Hawaiian Beaches and Hawaiian Paradise Park are advised that construction activities on the Railroad Avenue and Government Beach Road will be starting today and running continuously through the weekend and next week. These activities are to establish alternate road access in the event Highway 130 is affected by the lava flow. The public is reminded that the flow cannot be accessed and is not visible from any public areas. Access to the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision will be restricted and limited to subdivision residents only."
read ... Puna lava flow shifts back toward homes
Islamist Terror: Gabbard seeks suspension of visa-free travel for Europeans
PTI: Citing the presence of a large number of Islamist extremists in European countries, a Democratic lawmaker today sought an immediate suspension of visa-free travel to the US from countries like Britain, Germany and France.
"I urge the Administration to immediately suspend the Visa Waiver Programme for countries such as Great Britain, Germany and France, which have thousands of citizens fighting alongside Islamic extremist groups like ISIL, in the Middle East or around the world," Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard said.
Gabbard, a Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii, is the first ever Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress.
"As things presently stand, Islamic extremists holding British, German, French or other European passports can simply get on a plane and fly to America without a visa. This Visa Waiver Programme puts the American people in great danger," said Gabbard, who as an Army National Guard captain served two tours of duty in the Middle East.
read ... Too Many Muslims
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