Hawaii lawmakers file resolutions seeking Jones Act exemption
HB459 Amended: Parent's consent still needed for sex ed
608 Candidates Register for Neighborhood Board Elections
Hawaii Republicans Unveil New Logo at Lincoln Day Dinner
332 Pages of Secret Regs: ‘Net Neutrality’ and Censorship Go Hand in Hand
Surprise: Poorest Obamacare Enrollees Face $530 IRS Tax Bill
California Plastic Bag Ban Suspended as 800,000 Sign Repeal Ballot Petition
Hitachi Buying Honolulu Rail Contractor Ansaldo
Behind Closed Doors: Honolulu Rail Officials Planned Political Strategy in Executive Session
CB: Newly released records show top Honolulu rail officials were pumping state lawmakers for money before telling the public the project was over budget and facing a nearly $1 billion shortfall.
The documents describe what transpired during a Dec. 18 closed-door meeting between the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board of directors and city attorney Gary Takeuchi.
The discussion was part of an executive session held shortly after HART Executive Director and CEO Dan Grabauskas announced at the board meeting that rail was in financial trouble.
At the time, HART Board Member Don Horner said he wanted to “huddle up” and have a “pretty candid discussion” about the projections.
But Civil Beat obtained written minutes of the private meeting after challenging HART’s legal basis for secrecy to the Hawaii Office of Information Practices, which oversees the state’s Sunshine Law governing open meetings....
A Senate committee passed a bill Feb. 12 that would extend the GET surcharge another 25 years. The bill still must be heard by the Senate Ways and Means Committee if it is to move on....
PDF: HART Board minutes
read ... Behind Closed Doors
Rail a winner for Caldwell, at least in terms of cash
Borreca: Caldwell is enjoying 64 percent job performance approval, according to the January Hawaii Poll.
The good percentages are reflected in a big bank balance. Caldwell is reporting a campaign treasury of just more than $1 million.
The third reason Caldwell is beaming is his list of opponents, which right now totals zero.
There are rumored candidates, but so far no one is saying "Let me in the ring with him, I can take him out."
Caldwell's apparent political strength comes from what is likely to be one of the big issues of today's speech: rail.
Still, if there is anything to throw off the 2016 Caldwell coronation, it is rail. This issue is both the best thing to happen to Caldwell and a lousy issue for voter support.
Now with the city's rail plans over budget by maybe nearly a billion dollars, Caldwell can no longer brag that he is "doing rail the right way." Uncertain finances will now force Caldwell to adopt "Just do it" as his rail message.
read ... Rail a winner for Caldwell, at least in terms of cash
Watchdog group accuses Roll Commission of ignoring transparency
HNN: A lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii demands the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission release the list of Hawaiians signed up to vote in an upcoming convention that has not yet been set.
"Our concern is that the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission has been evasive in providing this information. One of it's fundamental responsibilities to the public is to be forthright and transparent," Grassroot Institute president Kelii Akina said.
He said twice the Commission turned down his request for a copy of the list.
"We owe it to the public, to the Native Hawaiian population, to look into this," he said....
Akina believes many Native Hawaiians who want off the Roll are being kept on it. "The list contains tens of thousands of names of Hawaiians who did not give permission for their names to be on the list," he said.
read ... Transparency
Pathetic Excuses: Rhoads Tries to Justify Ex-Part Communications With Say's Lawyer
SA: The group challenging Hawaii Rep. Calvin Say's qualifications is asking why the chairman of the special House committee investigating the matter shared evidence with Say's attorneys.
Rep. Karl Rhoads leads the panel that's investigating voters' claims that Say doesn't live in the district he represents. Using a voter registration database, Rhoads obtained information showing two of the six voters challenging Say's residency don't live in the district Say represents.
Rhoads said he shared that information with Say, and Say's attorneys submitted the information to Rhoads' committee as evidence discrediting the voters' claims.
That made Lance Collins, the attorney representing the voters, question whether Rhoads is properly handling the investigation.
"There's also a question about whether the committee is actually investigating, or if this is more along the lines of some kind of cover-up or whitewash or checking a box off to make sure it's done," Collins said.
Rhoads said the House hearings on Say's credentials are quasi-judicial, so he was following the principles of judicial proceedings.
"In a criminal proceeding, if the prosecution has information that exonerates the defendant, they have to provide it," Rhoads said. "And in that sense, we're trying to stick with the principle of fairness. He (Say) had a right to know that these two of the six petitioners did not qualify to challenge him under the rules Speaker (Joe) Souki put forward."
But Rhoads is in a position more similar to a judge, Collins said.
"If a judge comes into evidence that may be important to one side or the other ... they're supposed to give it to all parties, not just one party, and not to do it in secret," he said.
Collins said the two voters lived in Say's district since the complaint was initially filed, but they later moved. He questioned why the voters' full names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and birthdates were not redacted in Say's submissions to the Legislature, which later became public documents. Collins said in a letter to the House speaker that releasing that information qualifies as a misdemeanor....
Background: Rep Karl Rhoads Feeding Info to Calvin Say's Attorney while Chairing 'Special Committee'?
read ... Rhoads does opposition research on the Plaintiffs
Yanking autonomy won't cure UH ills
SA: Senate Bill 637, seeking to reverse a state constitutional provision for semi-autonomy of the University of Hawaii, should be received as a wakeup call by the UH Board of Regents and administrators, a signal of public dissatisfaction with the way they've been fulfilling the mission of higher education.
The measure should not be passed, however, because returning more of UH governance back to the Legislature will not deliver what's needed: a more efficient and accountable university system.
Nobody would question the notorious failures of recent years — the "Wonder Blunder" fundraiser scandal, athletics budget deficits, dysfunction at the UH Cancer Center and repair backlog of deteriorating facilities rise to the top of the list.
However, returning to the additional micromanaging layers of oversight by lawmakers, the system that was in place before 2000, merely leaves UH prey to even more political pressures. The Legislature itself has a less than stellar record where management of the university system is concerned.
read ... Yes, It Can Get Worse
Ige: Feds Are ‘Very Helpful’ When It Comes to Hawaii
CB: He continued: “It’s an opportunity to really meet and talk with other governors. I have found that many of the issues that we are dealing with are very similar and common to virtually every other state.”
The issues include efficiency and effectiveness of government, transparency, establishing strategic plans for departments and setting performance benchmarks, and attracting business and developing regulations.
Ige cited another common concern: The federal Affordable Care Act.
“The Health Connector is trying to talk to some of the states to learn how they are dealing with it, how they are adapting to what they are doing and finding ways to move forward,” Ige explained.
The governor’s meetings included several with Cabinet secretaries who represent departments of importance to Hawaii — Agriculture, Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, Labor, and still to come, Transportation....
“There are key federal funding streams that I know that the state of Hawaii has underperformed in — that we left federal funds on the table that we haven’t either applied or pursued that I am fully committed to pursuing,” he said....
“I am fully committed to Carleton Ching,” he said. “I approached him to ask him to serve. He did not approach me. I’m looking for experienced executives, (and) that is one of the most important departments and agencies in state government. I trust that Carleton understands that, if confirmed by the Senate, he will work for the people of Hawaii.”
Does the governor have a vote count of the 25-member Senate?
He smiled as he answered: “No, we’re not counting votes.”....
read ... Ige: Feds Are ‘Very Helpful’ When It Comes to Hawaii
DHHL Nominees Approved by Committee as Danner Sisters Whine
WHT: The Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs on Monday approved Jobie Masagatani to remain as the department’s director and chairwoman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, over the opposition of some key groups that represent Native Hawaiians. Masagatani has been serving in the role since 2012.
The panel also approved William Aila, who until recently was chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, to be her deputy director....
Opponents said Masagatani has been unwilling to work out differences with various stakeholder groups hand control over to the Danner sisters and their front groups....
“Our plea to you is that you look and really consider how much these people understand about the Hawaii Homes Commission Act,” said Danner operative Michelle Kauhane, president and CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. “We have seen little improvement or willingness on behalf of Ms. Masagatani to work together.”
Kauhane said she was hopeful that including Aila in the leadership would improve the department.
The department held about 180 community meetings over the last two years and only a fraction of those were required by law, Masagatani said. Bringing on Aila will help the department meet with other groups, she said.
“Those that might not appreciate my style of leadership or might not appreciate what I’m trying to accomplish and find that they’re better able to communicate with Mr. Aila, that’s actually great. That’s actually wonderful,” Masagatani said. “I think it’s going to help us make sure there’s open doors.”
CB: Carleton Ching: It’s Time to Start Over
read ... Danner Sisters Whine
Kauai Police Chief: "SB677 a Recipe for Cronyism and Corruption"
KGI: District 8 State Sen. Ron Kouchi, of Kauai said he is not in support of Senate Bill 677, which would grant the mayor authority to fire a police chief. He had no opinion on Senate Bill 389, which would require three of nine police commissioners to have experience in civil rights, women’s issues and law enforcement, and one appointed member from the State Commission on the Status of Women.
“We will see what comes out,” Kouchi said.
Kauai County Councilman Gary Hooser testified in support of SB 677. He said the blurred lines of administrative authority show there is a need for reform, or a lapse of leadership in public safety could result when officers are placed in the position of having to choose between the mayor and their chief.
“SB 677 is a credible effort to resolve an important element of this jurisdictional conundrum and I encourage the committee to support this effort and move forward this important conversation,” Hooser stated.
Kauai Chief of Police Darryl Perry testified as an individual, and not on behalf of the county, in opposing SB 677, “as a citizen and as someone who was directly impacted with what I know to be a misapplication of power.”
The bill advances ideology that violates the principal of an independent judicious oversight body to control unrestrained power, Perry said. The politicization of law enforcement is a recipe for cronyism and corruption, he said.
“At the very least, it violates the basic military and para-military principle of unity of command,” Perry said Monday.
MN: "The commissions were set up to keep politics out of that process."
read ... Cronyism, Corruption
Bill aims to tighten access at public housing properties
KHON: It’s a problem that’s happening at public housing properties across the island: people entering onto property who don’t belong there.
“What we have found over the years are is there’s people that come onto the public housing campus and the Hawaii Housing Public Authority does not have necessarily the ability to have them moved or asked to leave because it’s still considered a public property,” said Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, Human Services and Housing Committee Chairperson. But two bills at the state legislature hope to change that.
More information: Senate Bill 123 -- House Bill 767 HD1
read ... Access
Bill may halt noncompete clauses
SA: House Bill 1090 would prohibit technology companies from inserting "noncompete" language into their tech workers' contracts that would prevent those employees from working for anyone else in the same geographic area.
The House Economic Development and Business Committee last week unanimously approved the measure, which now advances to the House Consumer Protection Committee.
The Senate committees on Economic Development and Technology, and Commerce and Consumer Protection also last week advanced Senate Bill 1279, a similar measure that would prohibit noncompete clauses that are longer than a year....
The bill is opposed by Hawaiian Telcom and the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, which represents more than 1,000 businesses in the state.
The bill "is unnecessary and would undermine the development and growth of the technology sector in Hawaii," the chamber said in written testimony. "This bill removes the competitiveness in the technology sector, which relies heavily on information technology. Noncompete agreements are essential for technology companies to build and develop a business to compete globally."
read ... Noncompete
Hawaii Green Party Could be Removed from Ballot
WHT: Hawaii’s Green Party will have to step up its game if it wants to continue fielding candidates beyond the 2022 election, according to the state Office of Elections.
The office found the Green Party last year did not meet the voting threshold set in state law to continue qualifying as a political party after 10 years. State law requires a political party to qualify by having the requisite number of votes or by qualifying through a petition for three consecutive general elections to be deemed a political party through the following decade.
The party fell short in the 2014 general election when the only two Green Party candidates on the ballot, both running for state House, garnered a total of 3,072 votes, according to a spokeswoman in the state Elections Office. That’s just 1 percent of the total 80,081 votes cast in state House races.
The Green Party needed to accumulate 4 percent of all the state House votes to qualify.
Both candidates lost to Democratic incumbents. Green Party candidate Keiko Bonk lost to former House Speaker Calvin Say in the House District 20 race, and Cedric Gates lost to Democratic incumbent Rep. Jo Jordan in the District 44 race.
The Elections Office published a legal notice in area newspapers Sunday and also sent a letter to the Green Party officer on record, the spokeswoman said.
read ... For Taking Votes from Democrats
Ewa Field's historic area should grow, feds suggest
SA: The National Park Service is suggesting historic designation for a larger area of the Dec. 7, 1941, Ewa Field battlefield, which would help preserve the site and stave off development plans, said John Bond, a proponent of the measure.
Park service language goes beyond the "determination of eligibility" that the Navy — the landowner — found in recommending last year that about 81 acres of the old Marine Corps Air Station Ewa be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bond, an Ewa historian, said the battlefield recommendation now includes more of Ewa Field's original 1941 boundaries, for a total of about 150 acres. He said the Navy has expressed a willingness to sign off on the plan.
Bond predicts the area "will become West Oahu's key historic district (and) future visitor attraction, and will present a panorama of Ewa cultural history of all eras."
read ... Ewa Field
After 15 Years of Maui County Bureaucracy and Harassment, Molokai Veterans Center Needs One Last Signature
MN: More than a decade after Molokai veterans first began the process to build their own center, the Kaunakakai building is only one step away from being complete, veterans said Monday.
"We just waiting for one more signature from the county," Molokai Caring for Veterans Commander Samuel Makaiwi said after a Maui County Veterans Council meeting Monday afternoon.
The center awaits a wastewater approval from the county Department of Environmental Management before it can be deemed fully operational. Makaiwi did not know how soon the approval would be completed, but said that the county is expected to send someone from Maui to complete the inspection. He said he hopes to celebrate the grand opening of the center in March....
Plans to build a Molokai Veterans Center began in 2000, when former commander Larry Helm and a team of volunteers started planning for a space where they could hold regular meetings and Veterans Affairs clinics. Molokai Ranch donated about an acre for the center, but securing the building permits took more than seven years, Laub said.
The process ran into difficulty when the Molokai Planning Commission decided that the project needed two permits - one for the building and the other for the flagpole. The permit for the flagpole alone was held up two years when the county Department of Water Department director refused to grant the permit unless the waterline was expanded from 4 to 8 inches. The permit for the 3,000-square-foot building was held up for various other reasons, and it wasn't until Helm filed a complaint in 2010 against Maui County in U.S. District Court that the project was allowed to move forward, Laub said.
Several veterans who've lobbied for the project, including Helm, have died since construction began in 2006. Helm died in June 2013 after a battle with liver cancer. The Vietnam War veteran was 70 years old....
read ... Still Needs One More Signature
Grove Farm chose Hawaii Dairy Farms over Kauai hotel project, new book says
PBN: Grove Farm once planned to build resorts along Kauai's South Shore, but heavy community opposition nixed those plans, according to a new book about one of Hawaii's largest landowners.
Grove Farm, which is owned by AOL founder Steve Case, instead opted to partner with Ulupono Initiative, eBay founder Pierre Omdiyar's investment firm, on a dairy farm project near the existing Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort in Poipu.
The revelation was made in a recently published book titled "Grove Farm, Kauai: 150 Years of Stewardship and Innovation," by veteran Hawaii journalist and author Jan TenBruggencate.
TenBruggencate writes that Grove Farm wasn't initially planning to develop a commercial dairy on its Kauai land until Omidyar's Ulupono Initiative approached the Lihue-based company.
read ... Opposition
A new tool to “follow the money” at the legislature
ILind: he National Institute on Money in State Politics has produced an amazing new tool for tracking campaign contributions that may impact legislative decisions.
They call the database “My Legislature.” It’s available for all 50 states.
You can go directly to the Hawaii data for the 2015 legislative session, start at the beginning and choose a state.
ILind: Great resource on Hawaii open meetings and public record laws
read ... A new tool to “follow the money” at the legislature
Hawaii Most Expensive Marijuana in USA
E: SMOKING cannabis becomes legal today in Alaska, the latest state to lift its prohibition of the drug after Colorado and Washington, which took the plunge last year. Alaskans over 21 can now grow up to six of their own plants, share up to an ounce (28g) of harvested pot, and smoke as much as they like in private without breaking the law. Selling the stuff commercially will become legal next year, once the state authorities have hammered out a set of rules to regulate the business. Alaska’s 750,000 residents aren’t going to turn the pot business on its head. But two things about the state make it an interesting case study for weed-watchers.
One is that it currently has some of the most expensive marijuana in America. The price of pot is closely linked to proximity to Mexico, which has historically provided most of America’s cannabis. That is bad news for Alaskan tokers, who live a very long way from the Rio Grande. According to Narcotic News, a pharmacological journal, a pound of good marijuana costs between $2,500 and $4,000 in Alaska, making it the priciest place to get high after Hawaii (where a pound of mj costs $6,000 -$8,500). In El Paso, Texas, you can buy a pound of freshly imported Mexican stuff for as little as $200, though it probably won’t be as potent. (If these prices sound ridiculously cheap, remember that we are dealing with the wholesale market. By the time those pounds have been divided into ounces, and then eighths, prices are much higher.)
read ... What the Economist is Fixated on These Days
Hawaii Lowest Black Incarceration Rate in USA
WaPo: ...in every state, black people are more likely to be behind bars. If incarceration rates were equal, states would fall along the diagonal line at the very bottom of this chart. But in most states, the black incarceration rate is more than four times the white incarceration rate. In nearly half of states, it’s six times the white incarceration rate.
Just look at the scale: For non-Hispanic white people, the incarceration rate ranges from 172 per 100,000 (Minnesota) to 672 (Oklahoma). For black people, the incarceration rate ranges from 845 (Hawaii) to a whopping 3,787 (Wisconsin).
The ranges for black and white people don’t even overlap. That is to say, in Hawaii, where the black incarceration rate is the lowest in the country, black people are still more likely to be locked up than white people anywhere in the United States....
read ... Incarceration Rate
Bill would permanently allow concealed firearms for retired law enforcement
KHON: A program that allows retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed firearm is drawing controversy at the state Capitol.
The program is based on a federal law adopted in 2004. The federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, or LEOSA, allows for active and retired officers to carry a concealed firearm....
Click here to read SB473 in its entirety and follow its progress through the state Legislature.
NRA: SB473: Concealed Carry Gut and Replace
read ... Second Amendment
Hawaii E-Commerce Fraud Rate 1%
PW: When the range is 0.00 to 2.11 percent for the entirety of the 50 states, it quickly becomes clear that, in a statistical sense, there’s not a lot separating one state from another immediately. Indeed, there’s a huge jump from safest North Dakota to second-safest New Mexico—the percentage jumps from 0.00 to 0.36—but we’re still talking sub-percentage figures, and we’ll continue to talk sub-percentage for most of the study.
The third safest state, Rhode Island, has a fraud rate of 0.38 percent, and the top five is rounded out with the District of Columbia—tying Rhode Island at 0.38 percent—and Tennessee at 0.39 percent. But safety continues to be relatively static, as one needs to go down 27 states to find a risk measured in whole percentages, Hawaii at 1.00 percent even.
As for the least safe states—though even West Virginia’s 2.11 percent doesn’t seem like much—the top five is rounded out with Delaware at 2.08 percent, Minnesota at 2.02 percent, Arkansas at 1.80 percent and finally, Nevada at 1.63 percent.
read ... Is Your State Safe For E-Commerce?
Corrupt 'Food Bank' Gets Boost from Kauai Mayor
KE: Why is Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. encouraging Kauai County employees to contribute to an organization that defrauded the state and federal government, inflates the number of people it serves, has no public accountability and engages in business practices that cost it the support of the Kauai United Way?
You'd think he'd be keeping his distance from such dubious folks. Yet there he is, on the front page of The Garden Island, exhorting county workers to pungle up ever more for the Kauai Independent Food Bank:
We encourage 100 percent participation from all employees, and a challenge to each department to increase its contribution by 20 percent from last year.
I exposed and documented the many lies and misdeeds of the KIFB last October, and the mayor was aware of it well before then. So why does Bernard actively and publicly continue to support this sleazy nonprofit — and in his official capacity, while on the public dime, no less?
If county workers — and anyone else — truly want to help the many hungry folks on Kauai, they should be giving their food and money to the fully legit Hawaii Foodbank –Kauai Branch. Like Larry Bowman of Falko Partners did, donating $50,000 upon the recommendation of Shawn Smith.
Curiously, the mayor never showed for a scheduled photo session when HFB-Kauai conducted its county food drive last fall. So why does Bernard use his position to help a corrupt organization, but not a legitimate one?
read ... Musings: Why, Oh Why?
A New GSA Scandal Says ‘Aloha’?
NRO: A single General Services Administration region spent more than $61,000 on hotels in Hawaii last year, shelling out thousands of dollars at beachfront resorts, according to travel-card purchases reviewed by National Review.
The transactions reveal that Region 9 employees stayed in luxurious lodgings, including the Hilton Hawaii Waikiki Beach Resort, a hotel set on 22 oceanfront acres featuring five pools and 20 restaurants and bars, and the four-star oceanfront Moana Surfrider Spa and Resort.
Employees from Region 9, which serves Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, spent taxpayer money to dine at Ruth’s Chris Steak House and the Yard House, a high-end sports bar known for having more than 100 beer taps.
Employees also withdrew nearly $8,400 in cash advances in Hawaii from their GSA-issued travel cards.
read ... Your Tax Dollars at Work
Hawaii Diploma Mill Offers 'Reasonable Prices'
AFM: Thousands of miles away, in Honolulu, Hawaii, a reporter took a look at another institution certified by the IAO. The reporter went to the address listed online by “York University,” which is not connected to the Canadian university by the same name or to the University of York in the United Kingdom. The institution consists of a modest office the size of a small bedroom in a nondescript office building. A woman there, Richelle Kim, who also runs a photo booth rental company on the island, said the university had “reasonable prices.”
The website of York University is more forthcoming than others on IAO’s list. York clearly states that it is not accredited by any agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education, which means its students will not be eligible for federal financial aid.
read ... Diploma Mills
Scalia: Why Would a Treaty be Needed?
CB: Justice Scalia asked: Why a treaty would be needed? He said there is nothing in the constitution that prohibits Congress from annexing a foreign state through the means of a joint resolution. If the joint resolution is passed through both the U.S. House and Senate, and then signed by the president, “it went through a process.”
Justice Scalia then preceded to talk about how that same “process” was used to acquire the Philippines — which, he points out, “we gave back” — and Puerto Rico.
I asked him, “What happened in the case of Hawaii when it was annexed in 1898?”
His answer: “It’s the same thing.” He ended his response by commenting that “in terms of international law, well, there have been hundreds of years worth of problems there.”
read ... No need Treaty
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