1959: Martin Luther King Jr Salutes Hawaii Statehood
OHA Introduces Legislative Package
254 Candidates file for Neighborhood Board Elections
Hawaii Escrow Companies: Federal 'Kickback' Rules Mean Realtors must do the Paperwork
Could SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage be a chance for Hawaii opponents?
HNN: ...courts have upheld same-sex marriage bans in five other states, leading the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the issue.
State Rep. Bob McDermott (R-Ewa, Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point) has gone before the state supreme court to overturn Hawaii's Marriage Equality Act. He maintains voters blocked same-sex marriages by approving a 1998 constitutional amendment.
"If the United States Supreme Court rules that marriage amendments, per se, are unconstitutional, then our case in Hawaii is done," he said.
McDermott said, however, that opponents still have a chance. If states are still allowed to define marriage, then his case can still move forward....
"It would only affect the states that were done by court order, and we're not one of those states," said convicted thief, Michael 'Bitchbear' Golojuch.
The Hawaii Supreme Court has held a hearing on McDermott's lawsuit, but hasn't issued a ruling. "People speculate they're waiting to see what the U.S. Supreme Court does, because the U.S. Supreme Court could moot out all my arguments," said McDermott....
NYTimes: Everybody we know wants a gay marriage, so those Republicans just need an exit plan
read ... SCOTUS
Hawaii Kolea Medicaid Eligibility System $144M for Years of Failure
SA: The state temporarily suspended its online Medicaid eligibility system over the weekend amid continuing problems with the technology that is set to cost taxpayers as much as $144 million.
The state Department of Human Services, which manages Medicaid in Hawaii, contracted information technology developer KPMG LLP in 2012 to build an online system intended to automate the Medicaid application process and determine eligibility in real time.
The system, known as Kolea, was launched Oct. 1, 2013, and more than a year later workers at 14 community health centers said it constantly freezes, frequently loses applicant information, doesn't update eligibility in a timely manner and is unable to upload documents required for verification.
"That whole system is going to be a huge money hog," said Sen. Roz Baker, (D, West Maui-South Maui). "I do not know what Kolea is designed to do and why we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, even if it's federal money, on a system that's not able to help us."
Lucrative technology contracts are prevalent across state departments. They often cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, are difficult to monitor and lead to trouble-plagued systems.
Problems at the state's Medicaid program, which provides medical coverage for the low-income population, are reminiscent of the difficulties encountered by the Hawaii Health Connector, the Obamacare health insurance program for those with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid.
The Connector was awarded $204 million in federal grants to build an online exchange that failed to open on time and frustrated users for months after it did launch. The Connector was built largely by contractor CGI Group Inc.
WT: Obamacare Penalty May come as a shock at Tax Time
read ... Health Insurance Tech Fails Again
Star-Adv: GE Tax, HHSC top Legislative Agenda for 2015
SA: Lawmakers will weigh whether to extend the general excise tax surcharge consumers pay on Oahu to fund rail-transit construction, whether to allow private companies to run financially strapped public hospitals, and how much money the University of Hawaii's beleaguered Cancer Center and Athletics Department deserve -- to name just a few pressing economic issues....
read ... Legislature could accomplish much
Rep Tokioka: Some Believe Kauai Should Close Hospital
KGI: Officials from the state’s public health care provider, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, say they will likely need more than a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money over the next two fiscal years to fully offset potentially crippling debts, ranging from new federal changes to collective bargaining raises.
Some officials, however, say they are not convinced the request should be approved.
“I don’t think they’re going to get that,” Rep. Daynette “Dee” Morikawa, D, Koloa-Niihau, said about the financial projections, which were released during a joint informational session Wednesday for the Senate Ways and Means Committee and House Finance Committee. “It’s going to be very interesting. I think, when those numbers came out to the budget committee, their jaws dropped.” ....
Rep. James “Jimmy” Kanane Tokioka, D, Omao-Wailua, said the funding request will have to be looked at hard.
“You need to break it down hospital by hospital by all the different facilities that we have,” he said. “I’ve supported all two (Samuel Mahelona Memorial and Kauai Veterans Memorial) hospitals since I’ve got into the Legislature and, is it important that we keep these hospitals open? In my mind, yes. But there are other people in the state of Hawaii who do not believe Kauai should have three hospitals.”
The best alternative, HHSC said, is to have the public health care system pursue more public partnerships, which would require approval from the Legislature.
“HHSC believes that the best alternative, in order for its communities to receive the health care they deserve at the minimum cost to the state of Hawaii, would be to find another health system which would engage HHSC in a public-private partnership,” HHSC officials wrote. “All regional boards and the corporate board support the exploration of the concept of public-private partnerships.”
read ... Close Hospitals to Save HGEA Job Trust?
Maui Council: Dope Up the People, Loosen Sunshine Law Requirements
MN: The Maui County Council has submitted a legislative package containing two state bills. One bill would allow the University of Hawaii Maui College to research industrial hemp, while the other bill would make council members more accessible to constituents.
A state law enacted last year approved a two-year industrial hemp research program, but only at a single testing site on Oahu. The council has noted the potential economic development benefits of this crop, and believes allowing demonstration projects in each county may yield better research results.
The council also seeks to amend a section in the state Sunshine Law to allow members of a county council to jointly attend and speak at community meetings where informational presentations are made. Under current interpretations of the law, Maui County council members - elected officials who represent all Maui County residents - can't freely attend such gatherings.
read ... Less Sunshine, More Dope
Calvin Say’s seat still in play—challengers ask for House review
DN: Even while the media have played scant attention, the challenge to Calvin Say’s seat in the state House continues. On Friday plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit transmitted a letter to Speaker of the House Joseph P. Souki through their attorney, Lance Collins, asking for the House to take up their challenge—a request which has been denied twice before....
PDF: Download Letter to House Speaker Joseph Souki 1-16-20150 re Say challenge
read ... Challengers ask for House review
Back to class for Hawaii's blended Home-schools
KITV: It was back to class this week for thousands of public school students, including some in Hawaii's blended schools.
Nine-year-old Kahale Winchester was in the classroom Wednesday, but he normally does most of his schoolwork at home.
"I get to tailor my son's education and therefore education has taken on a new meaning," said Kahale's mother, Jaylin Winchester.
After seeing her son struggle in a regular school setting, Jaylin Winchester initially decided to home-school Kahale.
"I really look for his engagement. I get to tailor things, edit his lessons in a way that really makes sense for him. That is something both my son and I have enjoyed," said Jaylin Winchester.
There are 5,385 home-schooled students in the state, a small number compared to the 180,895 public school students. But that larger number also includes the more than 1,000 students who attend the Hawaii Technology Academy, like Kahale.
HTA is a charter school that blends home-school lessons with traditional teachers in a classroom....
read ... Home School
Black Eye for Hawaii: Pro Golfer Robbed by Two Homeless Dudes
SA: Allenby, Keane said, was talking with two homeless men she knows, and she thought the men were helping him. She said the two men mentioned that Allenby had hit his head on a rock.
"They started arguing when I got up there, and I realized this wasn't well. I need to get him out of here," she recalled. She said the men were trying to rob him. "I just wanted him to get away, because I wasn't sure of the situation. They started arguing again.
"I just told him, ‘Walk with me,'" she added. "I was happy he trusted me."
She said the men continued to follow her and Allenby as they walked briskly down the block toward the Original Pancake House on Kapiolani Boulevard.
As they were walking away, Allenby remarked that all his belongings were gone, but he had a loose credit card in his pocket. As they followed, she said, she figured the men wanted Allenby to take money out of an ATM.
She said Allenby told her he would give them $500 for his wallet and phone back, and she went back to the men and presented the offer. The men told her they didn't have his phone, but to tell Allenby that they did have it and would give it back if he gave them the money.
She returned to Allenby and told him what they said and that he needed to get out of there....
read ... Homeless woman saves golfer's life
IHS: Mainland people looking to be homeless in Hawaii
KHON: “[The Institute for Human Services] receives probably, about on average, 100, 150 phone calls or email inquiries every year from people who are actually looking to be homeless here in Hawaii,” said Kimo Carvalho, Development and Community Relations Manager at the Institute for Human Services (IHS).
According to Carvalho, IHS discourages them from coming and tries to educate them about the realities of paradise. But some don’t realize it until they get here.
“The rent is really expensive. And the food’s really expensive. But I like it here. But everything’s really expensive,” said Lee Vogt, a homeless man originally from Ohio.
“A lot of people from the mainland, there also just stuck here...."
Rep. John Mizuno wants to pass a bill that would fund what’s called the Return-to-Home program. The pilot project would reunite homeless people with their families on the mainland. The legislature approved the program back in 2013, but funding fell through. Rep. Mizuno hopes this time around that will change, especially since it’s been done in other cities like New York and San Francisco.
(Handy tip: Return to home is a good idea. State funding is a bad idea. Let the private sector continue to do this on its own. Avoid the media storm.)
read ... Homeless Coming
Friends, patients, colleagues turn out in support of embattled doctor
HTH: More than 50 friends, patients and colleagues of Dr. Frederick Nitta lined Kamehameha Avenue in Hilo on Saturday, holding up signs and showing their support for the embattled obstetrician.
The doctor has practiced in Hilo for about 20 years and helped deliver “tens of thousands” of East Hawaii’s newborns in that time, by his own estimation. Now, he stands accused of overbilling Medicaid to the tune of about $1.2 million and faces the possibility of having to shut his practice down after the federal health care program stopped reimbursing him in September.
At issue are drug tests Nitta administers to his patients, but which the insurer maintains are not medically necessary. Nitta explained Saturday that he insists on testing pregnant women who come to him for up to 14 different substances in an effort to prevent them giving birth to babies impacted by drug and alcohol abuse.
HO: Physicians should screen employees against the OIG exclusion list
read ... Embattled
Industry warns of crippling impact of work stoppage at US ports
FT: ...Matt Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, said it would be “catastrophic” if the dispute — which has gone on for more than six months — led to a complete work stoppage in the already severely congested ports.
The North American Meat Institute, which represents meat and poultry producers, warned that its members faced $30m losses per week because of the disruption to exports. A full stoppage would only worsen the problems.
Numerous sectors of the US economy have suffered severe disruption because of congestion at the ports, which has held up containers to and from Asia. The Federal Reserve noted the dispute’s disruptive effect in a report on US economic activity on January 14.
The Pacific Maritime Association, representing employers, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, representing workers, have been in fruitless negotiations for eight months over a new labour contract at ports in California, Oregon and Washington. Workers have been without a contract since the previous six-year agreement expired on July 1....
read ... Crippling
Hawaii One of 11 States With no Judicial Elections
USAT: ...Thirty-nine states elect at least some of their judges, using one of three formats: partisan elections, non-partisan elections or uncontested retention elections. Only Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia appoint all judges.
Most states have imposed rules for fundraising and other partisan activities that critics say are too weak and candidates say are too strict. Those rules have been deemed legal by state courts, but federal courts are divided, forcing the Supreme Court to intervene. Williams-Yulee's case was brought by the Yale Law School's Supreme Court clinic....
read ... USA Today
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