UH: Pono Choices Secretly Part of "Human Subject Research"
Leaving Trail of Destruction, Carbone Suddenly Quits UH Cancer Center
Hawaii political action committee under fire for non-disclosure
UH Report: 14,282 Homeless in Hawaii
Omidyar 'Assumes Ownership' of Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning
Aiona: Campaign Was a Victory for Religious Freedom
SA: "You know when God called me, all he said was, ‘You will run,'" Aiona told a We Believe worship service Thursday night at the Hawaii Prince Hotel. "He didn't say you were going to win.
"I just figured that one out," he said to laughter. "And I wonder — should've asked him." ...
Aiona said he and Ahu did not hide their Christian values during the campaign, and he urged the faithful to do the same in their public lives.
"Do not be afraid. Do not be ashamed of that," he said. "This is America. We talk about constitutional rights all the time. But how many of us quiver, how many of us fear, how many of us are afraid to live what we believe in and to pass that on?
"Well, I tell you what, all of you in this room are not afraid of that. And for that I am truly, truly appreciative and grateful for. And I thank you — again — for that."
But Aiona was critical of the political dominance of Democrats and what he suggested as a political slant in the news media. He said his campaign was about bringing balance to the political process.
"And we don't get that right now," he said. "We don't get that in government. And in many ways we don't get that in the media. We don't get that. We've got one newspaper that has an editorial board that is bent one way. How do you get fairness and balance?"
Ahu told the faithful that "I really believe that God took this campaign to exactly where he wanted us to be. I mean, we've said all along that this is not about elections, this is not about politics, this is about ministry."
Ahu showed a video clip of KITV's election night coverage, including a split screen shot of Aiona and Ahu dancing at the GOP's watch party at Dole Cannery while a staid Ige thanked Democrats at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.
"This entire campaign, and what we saw on election night, was a way that God wanted to show the world that when you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and savior, that even in the face of what the world would see as defeat, that there was victory," he said.
Ahu said he wanted to launch a campaign — "I care. I will." — that would partner with other organizations on issues such as deterring human trafficking and helping homeless children....
Aiona, who was a reluctant candidate for governor this year after losing in 2010, did not close off the possibility of a future campaign.
ILind: Aiona attributes electoral ambitions to a call from God
read ... Faith-fueled election was a victory, Aiona says
LNG Simplest Solution to Hawaii's CO2 Emissions
IM: The Hawaii Department of Health’s Environmental Health Administration released a report “Environmental Health Management Report” in 2012.
In 2010 Hawai`i emitted 16.57 million metric tons of CO2 equivalence (MMTCO2Eq). The three biggest sectors were energy (53%), ground transportation (19%) and marine transportation (13%).
The simple solution is to replace gasoline and bunker fuel (used by utility power plants) with liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Gasoline and bunker fuel burn dirty and thus increase our numbers.
read ... CO2
So Few Customers that Hawaii Health Connector CEO Can Call Them Personally
AP: A year ago, 41 percent of customers who tried to sign up during the initial days of open enrollment gave up. In the first week of open enrollment this year, just 2 percent gave up. Wait times to speak to a representative fell from an average of 1 minute and 15 seconds last year down to 20 seconds this year.
In addition, 22 new companies signed up to sell plans through the employer side of the exchange in the first week of open enrollment in 2014, compared with 35 companies in the previous year.
The Connector received some complaints from customers, and Kissel called them back personally, he said. Before the meeting began, he stepped outside to speak to a customer on his cell phone, and wound up sending a staff member to the customer’s home to help them enroll.
read ... Nobody Wants Obamacare
Thanksgiving? Honolulu, Hilo Groceries 160% of Average Price--Highest in USA
KGI: Hawaii was ranked the most expensive place in the nation to purchase turkeys and other Thanksgiving groceries, with another distant state, Alaska, coming in second....
Hilo and Honolulu were the top two most expensive markets out of 264 examined in the study. Kodiak, Alaska, took third place and Juneau, Alaska, took fifth place behind Truckee, California.
Most products have to be shipped to Hawaii and Alaska, the only two states apart from the continental Mainland.
read ... 160%
Judge Throws Police Chief’s Wife off Gambling Case
KHON: Lee said the original indictment was flawed in several ways because it was based on hearsay and testimony that lacked evidence.
He chastised former lead prosecutor Katherine Kealoha but said prosecutors will be allowed to get another chance.
“Given the nature, the amount of potential charges in this particular case, the court finds that this case warrants consideration,” Lee said. “There is a serious question whether or not these machines are legal or illegal, but clearly gambling is illegal in the state of Hawaii and therefore given the interest that the state has to prevent such illegal activity, given the magnitude of the case and yet balancing that against the rights of the defendant to be precluded from further harassment or further arrest or embarrassment, the court is going to order that again.”
The judge said Kealoha as well as the current lead prosecutor in the case, Jacob Delaplane, are no longer allowed to handle the case as they were in over their heads.
read ... To be reindicted
Michigan Lesbian Sues For Gay Marriage, Moves to Hawaii, Hired as Teacher
DN: ...In another brief filed this week, the ACLU notified the court that one of the two plaintiffs in the case, Kelly and Anne Callison, moved to Hawaii with their son.
“This move was prompted in significant part by the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the validity of their marriage,” read the brief filed Nov. 19. “Currently, their Michigan marriage is recognized by the public school district in Hawaii that now employs Anne, so Kelly is able to receive benefits through Anne’s employment.”....
read ... Another Import
Hired Days Ago, SPED Teacher Will be paid for Months While on Trial for Child Molestation
HNN: Hoshiyama, was a special ed teacher there and a student's mother reported the two having an inappropriate relationship.
(skip 5 paragraphs of excuses and stories)
Hoshiyama is a special ed teacher at Voyager Public Charter School (worked less than 2 weeks) in Makiki, she is on paid suspension pending the outcome of the criminal case. (A month's pay for every day?)
KHON: Shark expert serving time for child porn remains employed with state
read ... Your Tax Dollars at Work
Public workers convicted of felonies still receive pension
KHON: While each state has different laws dealing with pensions and crimes committed, in Hawaii those convicted of a felony who work for the city or state still receive their pension.
But it’s an issue that soon could come up in the next legislative session.
“This is certainly an issue that in light of the recent situation with the DLNR employee that is on the minds of many people,” said Senator Will Espero, who sits on the judiciary and labor committee.
The question is can a government employee still receive a pension if they’ve been convicted of a felony and the answer is yes.
“They will continue to receive that pension,” said Wesley Machida, the executive director for the state’s Employees’ Retirement System or ERS.
He says pensions have recently been a topic of discussion.
“As a result of a number of high profile cases that we’ve seen, it was thought that there should be a proposal or initiative,” said Machida.
So a bill was drafted that says if a city, county or state employee was convicted of a felony while on the the job they could lose their pension.
“Their benefit or the accruing of that benefit could be reduced, but the courts would determine that,” said Machida.
That proposed bill did not pass in the 2014 legislative session, but could be brought up again.
read ... Convicts
148 Graduates from Kauai Drug Court
KGI: Seven men, who turned their lives around after addictions led to felony charges, graduated as the 24th Kauai Drug Court class Friday in 5th Circuit Court.
Judge Kathleen Watanabe presided over the graduation and said the graduates joined 148 others who have successfully completed the program in its 11-year history.
read ... Graduates
Transit Oriented Development Designed to Force Families to Dump Cars so Developers Can Profit
HNN: He also says transit, walking and biking would help save people money. If two car households get rid of a car it would save $8,000 a year.
"The people of Hawaii are spending, the two car households are spending one out of four dollars of their income on mobility. Imagine what two car households could do if they downsize to one?" said Penalosa. "It's not only great for local families but the local economy. It's going to be good for the environment, for public health, for mobility, for creating a fantastic place."...
(It would also help developers make $$$ because they would be obligated to build less parking space.)
The Transit Oriented Development Symposium is Saturday November 22, 2014 at the Blaisdell Center from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm. Admission is free. For more information click here.
SA: Symposium will place focus on carless transit
read ... Experts tout benefits of transit oriented development
Defense Cuts: Will Republicans Do the Work that Hawaii's Useless Congressional Delegation Cannot?
SAS: While most major legislation has been stalled in Congress for four years, some budget analysts say they're optimistic that Republican leaders will at least try to reduce the $35 billion in automatic defense cuts slated for the fiscal year starting next October. The Pentagon says those reductions would affect popular programs and personnel.
The automatic cuts in the 2011 budget deal, known as sequestration, are a potential area for compromise because they're unpopular with both parties, and the deficit that triggered them has shrunk by two-thirds since 2009. Sequestration slashes $1.1 trillion in spending through 2021, divided equally between domestic and defense programs.
Hostilities in Ukraine, the beheadings of Americans in Syria and a bigger U.S. military footprint in Iraq also could sway lawmakers to support more Pentagon spending. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work recently asked Congress to "stop this madness."
read ... Republicans to Save Hawaii Again?
Lava Flow Costs County $14.5M
WHT: County officials still are tabulating numbers, but as of Oct. 31, the latest information available, the price tag was about $14.5 million, primarily because of construction costs for emergency access roads.
About $800,000 has been spent on miscellaneous expenditures, said Finance Director Nancy Crawford. She said the bulk of that expense was to re-fit the old Pahoa fire station, which was being used as a senior center, back for use as a fire station.
That gives the community a fire station on each side of Highway 130, in case that road gets blocked by lava.
A little less than $95,000 has been spent on overtime for county staff to deal with ongoing issues, Crawford said. That figure has been kept down with the help of the Hawaii National Guard and by having salaried administrative officials from all departments take shifts at the communication center and command post.
read ... Lava Flow
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