Ige's Pihana: Which Came First the Crony or the Capitalist?
VIDEO: David Ige 2.0 Event Highlights Record Of Failed Policies
VIDEO: Ige Voted to Approve Furlough Fridays
Open Letter to Gubernatorial Candidates from Kaka'ako Coalition
Hawaii Is the 3rd Least Politically Engaged State
Pahoa: Lava Flow Speeds Up, Possible Evacuations Overnight
Poll: Ige 40% - Aiona 34%
CB: With just over one week until the Nov. 4 election, the state senator leads Republican Duke Aiona, a former lieutenant governor, 40 percent to 34 percent, according to a new Civil Beat Poll....
Only 11 percent of voters favor former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann, the Hawaii Independent Party candidate. Libertarian Jeff Davis is at 6 percent while 8 percent of voters are undecided.
“I think it’s a pretty clear trend,” said Matt Fitch, executive director of Merriman River Group, which conducted The Civil Beat Poll. “Slowly but steadily, Ige coming out of the primary has increased his margin and, in my opinion, it’s very hard to imagine him losing.”
Civil Beat surveyed 1,221 likely voters statewide Oct. 16-19. The poll, which sampled 70 percent landlines versus 30 percent cellphones, has a margin of error of 2.8 percent.
PDF: Oct. 2014 Civil Beat Poll Governor’s Race
read ... Poll Results
Public hospital status quo ‘unacceptable’
MN: If re-elected to office, incumbent Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran, 52, of Wailuku promises to continue to push for legislation that would allow the state's public hospitals, like Maui Memorial Medical Center, to enter into partnerships with private health care providers.
"The state displays growing resistance to indefinitely subsidizing Hawaii Health Systems Corporation financially, so the status quo is unacceptable," Keith-Agaran said in an email.
While some policymakers prefer partnering only with Hawaii-based providers like Queen's Medical Center or Hawaii Pacific Health, Keith-Agaran said he supports giving administrators the flexibility to also negotiate with Mainland-based nonprofit providers like Kaiser Permanente, which has already expressed interest in a possible partnership with Maui Memorial Medical Center.
A partnership does not mean "sell(ing) our hospitals" or "the kind of privatization you see on the Mainland," the lawmaker said.
"What we're looking for is someone who's going to come in on some kind of lease or some other kind of joint venture," he said.
read ... Unacceptable
NYT: Hawaii Health Exchange Struggling More than Most
NYT: ...Though many of the 14 state-run exchanges are fine, several remain question marks, including those in Maryland, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Vermont....
Although most state-based exchanges are operating quite well at this point, a few are struggling. In Maryland, where at least $40 million has been spent rebuilding the exchange using technology from Connecticut’s more successful version, tens of thousands of people who signed up for private coverage during the first enrollment period will have to re-enroll by mid-December if they want to keep their subsidy. The state will introduce its revamped website in phases, not opening it for general use until the fifth day of open enrollment.
In Massachusetts, where the state and federal government are spending at least $80 million to fix its website with new software, officials promise it will work this fall.
The future of troubled exchanges in Hawaii and Vermont is also in question. Vermont took its exchange offline last month to complete a number of repairs, although state officials say it will be working by Nov. 15. The Hawaii exchange, which just hired its third director, still has operational problems and is struggling more than most to stay afloat financially.
Mr. Schuyler said the Obama administration “is not going to give a state-based marketplace a green light unless they are completely confident it can make it.”
“They don’t want a similar situation to last year,” he added.
read ... The New York Times
Power bills Cut 10% Starting Nov 1 -- on Guam
GPDN: Ratepayers will see their power bills decrease by 10 percent, starting with meters read on Nov. 1.
The Consolidated Commission on Utilities last night approved a decrease in the fuel recovery charge portion of ratepayers' power bills in light of falling oil prices in the international market.
The next scheduled adjustment in the fuel cost wasn't supposed to happen until February, but the commission decided to change it now to provide relief for customers.
The lower oil prices will translate into a 10-percent drop in the cost of power, said Simon Sanchez, chairman of the Consolidated Commission on Utilities.
For a household that uses an average 1,000 kwh of power, that translates to a savings of $27.61 a month, said GPA spokesman Art Perez.
read ... Guam Shows the Way
Lingle Talks Clean Energy, Public Policy at Cornell
CS: Former Hawaiian governor and environmentalist Linda Lingle spoke Thursday about the need for political dexterity in pursuit of clean energy goals....
“I’m an optimist by nature,” Lingle said. “After all, I’m a Republican in Hawaii.” ...
In accomplishing these political goals, Lingle — who was a cofounder of the Bipartisan Policy Center Governors’ Council — said she has also become an outspoken advocate of bipartisan cooperation in an era of increasing polarization.
“It’s becoming disgraceful at the national level,” Lingle said. “We’re far too partisan. If there’s no compromise, nothing moves forward.”
While Lingle has moved on from her position as governor, she said she has continued her environmental quest by participating in the Energy Security Council and teaching a seminar at California State University, Northridge on public policy.
read ... Lingle
Cayetano wants complaint against PRP referred to prosecutor
HR: Former Gov. Ben Cayetano on Wednesday asked state Campaign Spending Commissioners to refer a complaint he filed against Pacific Resource Partnership to the Honolulu City Prosecutor for further investigation.
The commission staff recommended settling the complaint with a fine, but Cayetano convinced commissioners to reconsider.
read ... Prosecutor
Price Fixing: Matson Subpoenaed by Justice Department
HR: The company agreed to pay a $400,000 fine and direct another $600,000 to two charities that focus on the environment, including the University of Hawaii’s Waikiki Aquarium and Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii.
However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Puglisi did not accept all of the terms of its plea agreement Friday, saying he isn’t certain whether the donations are legal. Puglisi will look into the matter further, he said....
In a separate case, Matson was subpoenaed by the Justice Department’s antitrust division — the agency investigating pricing practices of ocean carriers — in April 2008 for documents and information relating to water carriage.
The subpoena was issued in connection with the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the pricing and other competitive practices of carriers operating in domestic trades, including Alaska, Hawaii and Guam.
read ... Matson
Abercrombie Spent the Most Per Vote, Mufi Second
CB: The Campaign Spending Commission crunched the numbers and determined that Gov. Neil Abercrombie spent just over $70 per vote. State Sen. David Ige, his opponent in the Democratic primary who won 67 percent to 32 percent, spent just $3.69 per vote.
Primary election activity through the primary shows former Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, the Republican candidate for governor, spent $10.27 per vote; former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, the Independent Party candidate, spent $23.23 per vote; and Libertarian Jeff Davis spent $1.96 per vote.
read ... Cost per Vote
New Hope’s Politics Has a Distinctly Evangelistic Flavor
CB: On a Sunday afternoon in early October, more than 700 people gathered at New Hope Leeward’s new Kapolei site...it was an election forum featuring three of the four candidates for governor: Republican Duke Aiona, Hawaii Independent Party contender Mufi Hannemann and Libertarian Jeff Davis. For 90 minutes, the candidates discussed topics of importance to the faith community — moral values, the local economy, school choice and, of course, same-sex marriage....
David Ige was notably absent, and Lwin emphasized in his opening remarks that the Democratic candidate had been invited. A spokeswoman for Ige’s campaign said later that he had commitments on Kauai.
By giving equal opportunity to each of the candidates — and crafting questions so as not to favor anyone — New Hope Leeward followed the rules for political activity by a tax-exempt organization. The church even had three attorneys at the forum to track the discussion and vet questions from the audience.
It was one of the most visible examples of the role that New Hope Leeward — and many of its counterparts comprising the larger church network known as the New Hope Christian Fellowship — is endeavoring to play in Hawaii politics.
read ... New Hope
Hormonal Hypochondria at Root of Anti-GMO Activism
SA: It didn't take long for Christina Smith and her family to start feeling ill after moving into their new Kihei home about a year ago. There were skin problems, eyes burning, lung irritation, allergic reactions and other "weird illnesses" they never experienced before, she said.
"My hormones are way out of whack," said Smith, a mother of two who plans workshops for a living. "I'm tired all the time. It's clear that I'm overtoxified."
read ... Toxic Hysteria
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