Sex, Drugs and Birth Certificates: How They Voted
Call to Action: Stop Bad Legislation at First Crossover
Feds: Hawaii DoE a Model for Rest of Country
The Jones Act does not enhance our defense
Lose a Body Part? Hawaii Workers Comp Pays More Than Most
More Than Half of Obamacare Enrollments Come from Micronesians Forced to Transfer from Medicaid
SA: As of the Feb. 15 enrollment deadline, 13,356 residents had signed up for Obamacare, bringing the number of individuals who selected plans for 2015 to approximately 23,000, despite computer glitches that persisted at the start of open enrollment Nov. 15....
(What they didn't tell you: 7,700 of the 13,356 are Micronesians who only signed up because they were forced off of Medicaid.)
7700 / 13356 = 58%
Not Mentioned: Forced on to Obamacare: State Places 7,700 Lives at Risk to Save $20M
read ... L, DL, and Statistics
PRP Reports 30% of Carpenters Benched While HART Blames 'Red Hot' Construction Market for Inflated Rail Bids
(HART has been blaming the 'Red Hot Construction Market' for overpriced rail contacts. Now the truth is finally making its way into the local TV news.)
KHON: The value of private sector construction permits has skyrocketed to $2.8 billion. That value represents building activity in Hawaii. Still, experts say there are many unemployed workers in the industry.
Dan O’Sullivan has been building homes in Hawaii for 40 years. But lately, things have been a little rough.
“(Business has) been really slow for the last year and a half, probably off 20 percent,” O’Sullivan said.
O’Sullivan has eight people on his staff. When business was booming, he had more than double that amount.
He says despite the work happening around town, residential construction is down and he blames the economy and a lengthy permitting process.
In 1998, building permits for homes made up 65 percent of the value for all private sector projects in Hawaii. Last year, that number dropped to 52 percent.
That’s according to Pacific Resource Partnership, which represents the largest construction union in the state.
“Although in Kakaako and Waikiki, it may seen like a lot of construction, statewide, there hasn’t been the return of residential housing in particular,” said John White, executive director of PRP.
White said because residential construction has not completely rebounded, many workers remain on the bench.
According to PRP, about 30 percent of union carpenters are out of work statewide. In 2007, none of them were unemployed.
As we have Reported since 2012:
read ... Construction workers unemployed despite building boom
Testimony against Carlton Ching nomination running 9-1 Against
KITV: The confirmation of the directors and deputies of the Departments of Transportation and Hawaiian Homelands sailed through easily. No such luck with former Castle and Cooke executive Carlton Ching.
Close to 1000 people have sent in testimony.
At last count, it was running 9 to 1 against him. Sen. Lauren Thielen wants to give voice to the public's concerns.
She intends to begin posting the testimony online well before the Wednesday hearing.
ILind: Senator to add transparency to confirmation process
read ... 9-1 Against
Star-Adv: Kill bills that push secrecy
SA: Although it appears that some attempts have stalled this legislative session, several bills still require careful watching.
Senate Bill 1210, which would have relaxed the Sunshine Law requiring open meetings, was rightly deferred, and House Bill 287, which would have created a huge exemption in the Uniform Information Practices Act, which requires open access to government records, was amended to remove some of its worst elements.
But advocates know not to let down their guard, and are keeping a close eye on these and other measures that could, if enacted, erode the general public's involvement in the government they fund through their tax dollars. Loathsome provisions thought put to rest have been known to rise anew in the waning days of past legislative sessions....
The state Office of Information Practices (OIP), which promotes government transparency, has been monitoring 105 bills this legislative session that relate directly to OIP or the two open-government laws it administers.
Many won't survive the session, of course, as is true of any issue. And not all the bills are threatening. Some are simple housekeeping measures and others, if enacted, would boost government outreach and likely improve citizen engagement, such as Senate Bill 475, which would allow for the electronic posting of meeting notices under the Sunshine Law. But a troubling number do seek to chip away at the public's right to know, and those alarming attempts must not succeed....
Senate Bill 1210 purportedly was introduced because members of the Maui County Council wanted to be able to attend community meetings without violating the Sunshine Law, which prohibits unofficial or private meetings that more than two members of a government panel attend and at which they discuss official business.
But the Council can already do just that, thanks to a "limited meeting" provision approved last year that allows all members to jointly attend public community meetings, as long as they meet certain conditions, such as providing six days notice that they will be there.
read ... Secrecy
Legislators Voting to Require 100% renewables by 2040
AR: Committees in the Hawaii legislature this week voted to advance companion bills that would ramp up the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 100pc by 2040.
Committees in House and Senate recommended that the bills pass with amendments. In the House, the Finance Committee recommended the measure by a 15-0 vote and the Senate Commerce and Consumer protection committee passed the measure 4-0, with three senators not voting.
Senate bill 715 and House bill 623 would raise Hawaii's RPS goals to 70pc by 2030 and 100pc by 2040. The existing RPS is scheduled to climb to 40pc by 2030.
read ... 100% More Expensive
State House backs Say Unanimously in latest residency challenge
SA: The House voted unanimously Friday to approve its special committee's findings that Say resides in his 20th district - a rebuke to the latest challenge involving Say's residency. The challenge was the first of its kind to be considered by the House, according to the chamber's leaders.
Say (D, Palolo-Kaimuki-St. Louis Heights) left the chamber during the vote after he asked to be excused because the issue affected him personally....
Lance Collins, the attorney representing the voters who brought the challenge, has said that the group intends to keep fighting in court the matter of Say's residency "until he moves back or resigns."
read ... Unanimous
House passes bill raising smoking age to 21-- But Only for Tobacco
SA: In the House vote, only state Reps. Bob McDermott (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) and Takashi Ohno (D, Nuuanu-Liliha-Alewa Heights) voted against the measure.
McDermott described the bill as an example of what he calls "the mommy state." He served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an enlisted man and an officer, and "when you're out in the field, and you're in harm's way and you want to have a cigarette, by God, you should be allowed to have a cigarette. It's up to them."
"We ask these kids to fight for us and die for us, and tell them they can't have a cigarette?" McDermott asked. "That seems a little schizophrenic to me."
The bill was also opposed by several individuals. Justin Wolery argued in written testimony the bill would restrict the freedom of adults between the ages of 18 and 21 "for no apparent reason."
"Prohibition laws like this have been proven time after time to be ineffective at curtailing the targeted behavior," Wolery wrote.
Meanwhile: Marijuana for the Children
read ... Promoting Marijuana
Manslaughter Trial Reveals Illegal Gambling Room Located in City-Owned 'Marin Tower' Building
SA: A state judge found Alex Nguyen guilty Friday of manslaughter in the fatal beating of an illegal gambling house employee in a city-owned building four years ago.
Nguyen, 35, was on trial for murder for the April 2011 death of Duc Pham. He faces a 20-year prison term for manslaughter at sentencing in May.
Pham, 42, died from blunt force injuries to his head.
Three men who provided security for the Marin Tower game room testified that they struck Pham with their hands but that it was Nguyen who delivered the most serious blows with kicks and strikes using the metal base of a table and a metal chair, as well as swinging a heavy metal chain....
Tonga and Imoa testified that they beat Pham because they believed he stole $1,500 from the house. Once Pham admitted he stole the money, they stopped beating him, they said. They said Nguyen, who did not work at the game room, then stepped in a delivered a more vicious beating that left Pham unconscious.
The two men testified that after Nguyen left, they cleaned up Pham. They said they took Pham to the Queen's Medical Center a few hours later, after they noticed foam coming from his mouth.
Tonga told police at Queen's that they found Pham in the parking lot of Moanalua Community Park.
The men later told police that they transported Pham to the hospital from the illegal gambling room on Maunakea Street, where Pham had been beaten.
read ... Your Tax Dollars at Work
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