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Hawaii concealed carry law could change
HNN: A court case in California could dramatically re-shape Hawaii's law on carrying concealed firearms. Harvey Gerwig, head of the Hawaii Rifle Association, gives his definition of Hawaii's current concealed carry law.
"For all practical purposes, this is a no issue state. Not a maybe, not a shall issue state, and that's wrong".
In Hawaii, a person applying for a concealed carry permit must show reason to carry more than self defense. Southern California's used to be similar.
"You had to show them something, some extraordinary cause why you would carry a concealed firearm. That doesn't work with the Constitution" said Gerwig.
A three judge panel in the 9th Circuit court agreed. In the case of Peruta vs. San Diego, the judges' ruling loosened restrictions, making it easier to obtain concealed carry permits.
Now the Hawaii AG is wasting a lot of time by filing has since filed a non-party brief, asking for the case to be re-heard by a larger panel of judges, in hopes of the initial decision being reversed.
There is no timetable on the 9th Circuit court's decision whether to re-hear the case or not. However, if the initial decision is upheld, an appeal could come.
"I think there would certainly be strong attempts to take it up to the Supreme Court if that were to happen" said Lau.
Background: Hawaii Gun Rights at Stake as California AG Appeals Denial of Standing
read ... Hawaii concealed carry law could change
Omidyar & Civil Beat Spin Conspiracy Theories About Muslim Terror Attacks in France
CB: "...we have to say, we find some aspects of the Charlie Hebdo case, as it is currently being reported, more than a little puzzling...."
Omidyar tweets similar drivel >>> Pierre Omidyar @pierre: Mourning the Parisian Journalists Yet Noticing the Hypocrisy | Rabbi Michael Lerner http://ow.ly/H5Bfr
read ... Conspiracy Theorists
Lawyer to meet with FBI on "False and Manufactured Evidence' in chief's case
SA: Federal Public Defender Alexander Silvert, the lawyer of the man accused of stealing Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha's personal mailbox, says he is meeting with the FBI on Wednesday to discuss the Police Department's conduct in the case.
"We believe there was false and manufactured evidence in this case, and that's what we'll be discussing," Silvert said.
He said it will be his first meeting with the FBI and declined to discuss the case further because of the possible FBI investigation.
PDF: Puana Trial Transcript
read ... FBI Coming, Better Run
Meth-Dealing Cop Gets Sentence Reduced
SA: In December 2004 federal authorities arrested Cabbab in a sting operation. He was a 10-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department.
Cabbab was wearing a T-shirt with the letters "HPD" on it when he broke into a Makiki storage locker intending to steal what he believed was 18 to 20 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and to resell the drugs. His cohort turned out to be an informant.
In May 2005, Cabbab pleaded guilty to attempting to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway sentenced him in October 2005 to 168 months or 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
On Thursday, Mollway reduced Cabbab's sentence to 135 months.
Cabbab, 44, is in custody in USP Lompoc, a medium-security U.S. penitentiary in California.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons lists Cabbab's release date as Feb. 19, 2016. That date is based on his 168-month sentence minus up to 15 percent for good behavior. If he wins a sentence reduction Nov. 1, his release date would arrive three months and 18 days earlier than the 2016 release date.
read ... Just another day in the HPD
General: Downsizing Army Would Reverse Momentum in Pacific
HNN: In their annual update to Hawaii's government and commerce leaders, military commanders reiterated America's commitment to a strategic rebalance in the Pacific. But they also caution other Indo-Pacific nations are expanding their military power -- specifically China.
"We've got to remain protective in this region in order to address the challenges we see today and tomorrow," said Adm. Harry Harriss, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The Commanding General of Army forces in the Pacific hopes sequestration will be relieved. He believes downsizing troops in Hawaii could affect the Army's ability to meet its missions.
"So it would be, frankly, a reversal of the momentum that we've already established as an Army and the rest of the joint force as well here in the Pacific and in Hawaii," Gen. Vincent Brooks said.
In the Army's analysis, sequestration could remove thousands of soldiers and their family's from Schofield Barracks and Ft. Shafter.
"They're looking at 20,000 troop reduction, an additional 30,000 civilian reduction. So that's 50,000. That's five percent of Honolulu's population," Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii executive director Sherry Menor-McNamara said.
The Chamber's "Keep Hawaii's Heroes" petition drive needs 40,000 to present to Army officials when they visit on January 27 and 28.
read ... Military leaders address gains and potential losses
Hawaiian Electric shareholders to vote on NextEra Energy merger this spring
PBN: ...The shareholder vote is one of several requirements still needed to finalize the deal, which also includes regulatory approvals by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission....
The two companies have said that they expect the deal to close on Dec. 3.
NextEra Energy, in documents filed with federal regulators this week, revealed new details of how the acquisition transpired, as first reported by PBN.
Talks of a deal first began in May 2014, when Jim Robo, chairman and CEO of NextEra Energy, requested a meeting with Connie Lau, president and CEO of HECO parent, HEI....
IM: Community Involvement in Nextera's Energy of the Century Takeover
read ... First Step
Star Adv: State should not appeal court ruling in Child Abuse case
SA: A lawsuit over who is to blame for the death of an Oahu toddler has lasted far longer than the abused boy's short, painful life. Now that the state has lost an intermediate appeal in the case, it should accept the verdict and apply the lessons learned, rather than continuing to argue that the Department of Human Services bears no responsibility.
Brayden McVeigh was 14 months old when he died in 2009, shaken and beaten by his father, a Navy diver, who was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The boy's maternal grandmother sued the father and the state for wrongful death, asserting that the Department of Human Services failed to rescue the boy from a home it had documented as abusive and removed him from before.
A Circuit Court judge agreed, ruling in August 2013 that the state was negligent. DHS had removed the toddler from the home in 2008 after he suffered a traumatic arm fracture at the age of 5 weeks, but returned him to his parents, from foster care, six months later.
read ... Admit it
Economist: Affordable housing change will benefit county
MN: Economist Paul Brewbaker predicted that Maui's struggling housing construction industry will benefit from the Maui County Council's action last month to ease the county's affordable housing requirement for developers from 50 percent to between 20 to 25 percent.
In delivering his 2015 economic update to members of the Maui Chamber of Commerce on Friday afternoon at the King Kamehameha Golf Clubhouse, Brewbaker called the relaxation of the county's affordable housing requirement a "removal of an impediment."
The climate for more residential construction on Maui would be even greater if there were no affordable housing requirement, he added.
read ... Affordable
HI Tech Crowd Revitalizes UH OTTED to Line Pockets
PBN: William K. "Bill" Richardson says he has been grumbling for two decades about how the University of Hawaii hasn't done enough to commercialize its creative innovations.
Now, the entrepreneur and local venture capitalist has a chance to do something about it as the interim director of the university's Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development....
What needs fixing at UH, in many people's opinion, is a department that has gone without a director for a decade and has fallen far short of meeting its potential to generate income from great ideas....
Venture capitalist Barry Weinman, whom Richardson described as an "outspoken critic of OTTED," encouraged him to take the job, along with Central Pacific Bank CEO John Dean, and Oceanit Laboratories Inc. COO and UH regent Jan Sullivan.
Richardson, who is also a commercial law and finance attorney, brings company-building experience to OTTED, which oversees marketing, licensing, and protection of the university's intellectual property and technology.
Things seem to have to come full circle, as two of the companies Richardson invested in got their licenses through OTTED.
read ... HI Tech Again
Tax Cut for Hawaii? House Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban Internet Taxes Forever
NJ: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., on Friday reintroduced the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which would enact a permanent ban on federal, state, and local taxes on Internet access. Republican Reps. Tom Marino and Steve Chabot and Democratic Reps. Anna Eshoo and Steve Cohen are also sponsoring the legislation. Republican Sen. John Thune and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden have indicated they intend to reintroduce the permanent-ban proposal this year as well....
A ban on taxing Internet access has been on the books since President Clinton signed a bill into law in 1998, enacted in part to protect the growth of the then-nascent technology. It has been renewed four times since then....
A permanent ban on Internet access taxes would also end such fees currently in place for seven states that are exempt from the moratorium. Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin are allowed to exact access taxes because of a grandfather provision in the current law.
read ... No Taxes
Takai Appointed to House Armed Services Committee
PR: ...Takai, a lieutenant colonel in the Hawaii National Guard, said his top priorities would include "ensuring that Hawaii remains at the center of the defense rebalance, with adequate resources and funding."
He also plans to focus on the continued growth of Pearl Harbor as a Pacific hub, maintaining adequate support for communities affected by Department of Defense initiatives and environmental protection during training and operations....
read ... Appointed
UH seeks new Mauna Kea ‘master lease’
HTH: The University of Hawaii issued its first document exploring a new master lease for astronomy facilities on Mauna Kea.
The 160-page environmental impact statement preparation notice was published Thursday and explores its proposal for a new 65-year lease covering the Mauna Kea Science Reserve and Halepohaku mid-level facilities, and potential alternatives.
A formal EIS will follow, and comments will be accepted on the document until Feb. 6.
Thirteen observatories and telescopes exist on the mountain with another, the Thirty Meter Telescope, approved for construction.
According to the document, future development will be limited to existing sites.
“Under this and all other alternatives, astronomical and related facilities on Mauna Kea would be restricted to existing sublease areas,” the EIS preparation notice says. “No new sites would be developed.”
Telescopes still can be upgraded or replaced.
UH’s current master leases expire Dec. 31, 2033, for the 11,288-acre science reserve and in 2041 for Halepohaku.
It is seeking to terminate those leases with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and receive new 65-year agreements.
Existing subleases expire at the same time as the master lease.
“The new master lease would enable UH to enter into new subleases with those currently holding subleases or with new parties,” the document says. “When negotiating the lease rent for the new subleases, UH will seek sublease rent based on the sublessees’ share of the cost to manage the UH Management Area.”
Several telescopes have expressed a strong interest in extending their subleases, according to the document, including the Keck, Gemini and Subaru observatories.
Extending the sublease also is necessary for the $1.4 billion TMT project. The telescope, which saw protests on the mountain last year during a groundbreaking ceremony, is expected to see construction begin as early as this spring and be operational in 2022.
read ... Begin the Shake Down
UH on board with Obama’s community college plan
KHON: “Of course the devil’s in the details. Anything we can do to keep cost of college reasonable for students is a top priority,” said Meisenzahl.
If “America’s College Promise” goes through and Hawaii participates, it is up to the state to come up with 25 percent of the funding for free community college.
Click here for more information.
KITV: Local students respond to free community college proposal
read ... Freeeeeee
Monitoring is vital to stop prescription drug abuse
SA: ...The Center for Health Policy at the Fairbanks School of Public Health completed a survey of medical providers on awareness and impact of Indiana's PDMP. Of those who reported that they had changed their prescribing practices in the past year, more than 90 percent noted prescribing fewer controlled substances, and more than 50 percent said that PDMP data was the chief reason for this change.
The Hawaii Prescription Drug Monitoring Program currently monitors Schedule II-IV controlled substances dispensed in Hawaii. Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 329, Part VIII, Electronic Prescription Accountability System is the bill that mandates the Hawaii Narcotics Enforcement Division to maintain an electronic controlled substances prescription database to report dispensed prescriptions for all Schedule II-IV controlled substances under federal law....
read ... Ira Zunin
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