Elections Officer Scott Nago selected for Lava Tube Dishonor
Legislative Hearings: Sex, Drugs, Tranny Birth Certificates, and a Place to Hide from Mom
Who Needs Tax Hike? DLNR: Waikiki Erosion Caused by Weather Anomaly
Hawaii's Future: How 'Schedule Q' Makes Solar System Owners Pay for Electricity Again
Application Deadline to Serve on State Ethics and Campaign Spending Commissions Extended to March 31
Civil Beat chips away at the Hawaii home I grew up in
Proposed racetrack would obliterate WWII battlefield
Company Tied to OHA Chair Entertains Kauai Mayor, Councilmember in London England
KE: As the county works to balance its budget, it seemed reasonable to look at how much top elected officials are spending on travel. So I requested records for Prosecutor Justin Kollar, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and all the Councilmembers.
Let's start with Bernard. Since June 15, 2014, he has incurred costs of $8,637.21 for airfare, $382.20 on car rentals and $2,683.49 for per diem. Another $1,070 was spent on registration. Much of his travel has been inter-island, but he also has gone to Washington D.C. for a conference of mayors, the Philippines on a trade mission and London for a presentation on a waste to energy plan. Grand total for eight months: $12,772.90....
Ross Kagawa – Airfare, $1,933; per diem, $1359.86; car rental/parking, $217.01. He went to London for a meeting with British Airways....
Regarding that trip to London, I asked Ross what it was about:
I went on the trip with Mayor Carvalho to meet with representatives from British Airways and Pelatron to meet and discuss a proposal to solve our landfill problem regarding MRF and waste to energy. British Airways will be producing jet fuel from the waste in London, which currently sends their waste to Switzerland. Jet fuel is very similar to diesel, is my understanding. It is a very new technology that uses plasma arc to a higher level with practically no emissions and a much smaller end product called slag, unlike the large amount of emissions and ash that is the result of older technology like H-power.
They also have newer science that cleans the gasses to a higher level that produces more energy than current waste to energy plants produce. We have approximately 6.5 years left at Kekaha landfill. This project proposes to extend the life of Kekaha another 30 plus years. There are 7 other proposals that I will be spending time on, we don't have much of that left. The council, I'm certain will have full blown presentations before making this very important decision. The county did pay for the trip.
Former county spokeswoman Beth Tokioka provided this statement about the mayor's participation:
Mayor left for London from Washington DC (after the close of his annual US Conference of Mayor's meeting) on Thursday, January 22, and returned to Kaua'i on Sunday, January 25.
Earlier in January, the county concluded a request for information (RFI) process, where we solicited information from companies who could offer new technologies for solid waste disposal that would increase diversion from the landfill and create more sustainable solutions for waste management. Last year the County Engineer visited a waste conversion facility in Tennessee as part of our efforts to research alternative means of managing waste. Pelatron is one of the companies that responded to the RFI, along with the Tennessee company and six other respondents. We anticipate that other site visits will be made as part of our due diligence in evaluating the information received via the RFI.
Over the years we have learned - through our own experiences and from those recently on Maui and the Big Island - that innovative waste conversion technologies are very complex and must be thoroughly researched before any public funds are committed or contracts entered into.
The County is currently reviewing the RFI submittals and then will be evaluating what next steps are to be taken.
read ... Kauai Eclectic
100% renewable energy is not quite all that it's cracked up to be
IM: HB 623 will be heard today. HB 623 increases renewable portfolio standards (RPS) to 70 percent by December 31, 2035, and 100 percent by December 31, 2045. The bill will be heard today in the Senate Committee on Energy and the Environment....
As written today the law states that if the percentage of (rooftop solar and utility fossil fuel) are equal, then there is 100% renewable energy even if there is also up to 50% fossil fuel on the utility grid. ... (Translation: The purpose of the bill is to force HEI to accept more rooftop solar.)
The utility currently gets to count rooftop solar as an offset against its fossil fuel use!
read ... Anything for the Solar Scammers
Senate Split 12-12-1 on Ching DLNR Nomination
SA: The 25-member state Senate appeared deadlocked Monday over the confirmation of Carleton Ching to lead the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Some sources place the count at 12 to 12, with one senator's stance unknown and with a few senators likely to flip-flop before this week's expected vote....
State Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona) was an early opponent of Ige's nominee and said he received more than 1,000 phone calls, texts and emails last weekend, all opposed to the governor's choice.
"Only one individual, a conservative from Kona, asked me to support the nominee," Green said....
Political analyst and MidWeek columnist Dan Boylan said a vote likely will not be held on the Senate floor until Ige is assured that Ching will be confirmed.
"They're counting the votes right now," Boylan said. "You bet there's strong-arming going on. I'm not sure Ching would go forward if they weren't pretty certain they had the votes."
But based on years watching Ige as a senator, Boylan suspects there will be no political payback for those who vote against Ching.
"I don't think there will be damage to anybody," Boylan said.
"David appointed this guy," Boylan said. "He will not sell him out for political capital. He'll stick with the guy and go down with the guy if need be. David's boring. He's got no charisma. But he does believe in heart, and he believes in people being good people. Somewhere along the line he decided that Carleton Ching is a good guy."...
"This is transparency," Townsend said. "It makes it all the more transparent in the way private industry can influence this administration. Advocates for property development — people who view our natural resources as ‘a piece of dirt' — will have a direct line to the governor that other private citizens will not."
SA: UPDATE -- Ching Vote set for 11:30AM Wednesday
CB: Palace Intrigue and the Ching Confirmation Vote
PDF: Committee Report Recommends Rejection
read ... Split
SB287: Legislators Voting for All-Mail Elections
SA: Hawaii is edging closer to becoming an all-vote-by-mail state, thanks to the strong support of state Senate Democratic leaders.
Last week, Senate Bill 287 easily cleared the Senate and moved to the House.
Senate President Donna Kim said vote by mail legislation was one of her top bills this year. It appears to be getting support from both community groups and the government officials who would run the system....
Hawaii's Senate version of the vote-by-mail elections proposal would be phased in by county. Kauai would go next year, followed by Maui and the Big Island in 2018, with Oahu following in 2020....
Supporters also hope that vote by mail will help remedy Hawaii's low voter turnout, but so far the national statistics are fuzzy. It has helped in some big elections in Colorado, Washington and Oregon, but in some smaller elections, such as primary races, vote by mail has not been a factor.
The one concern here offered by both the League or Women Voters and Common Cause is that the new proposal does away with the recently enacted same-day voter registration law.
read ... Romy Cachola Plan
Schatz, Hirono Control Selection of Hawaii's Next Federal Judge
SA: U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono have appointed a judicial selection panel that will recommend Hawaii's next U.S. district judge.
A seat will become vacant in November with the retirement of Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway.
The Federal Judicial Selection Commission will be led by attorney Louise Ing, with Schatz appointees Nadine Ando, Keith W. Hunter and Emily Kawashima Waters and Hirono appointees Grant Chun, Patsy Saiki and Alan Van Etten....
Candidates for the seat are asked to submit a confidential cover letter, resume and a list of five representative cases worked on (with names of the presiding judge and other counsel who may be confidentially contacted) to the commission by April 3. Application materials and any questions should be directed to Ing at 1001 Bishop St., Suite 1800, Honolulu, HI 96813; or via email to usjsc@ahfi.com or us.judicial.selection@ahfi.com. Messages can be left at 441-6225.
read ... Guaranteed to Turn out Badly
Hawaii House panel passes bill for more affordable housing
AP: The bill calls for authorization of general obligation bonds for the rental housing trust fund, which provides low-interest loans or grants to qualified owners or developers of affordable housing.
Hashem suggested authorizing $100 million in bonds for the rental housing trust fund. The suggested dollar amounts were added to the committee's report instead of amendments to the bill. Hashem also suggested $20 million for the dwelling unit revolving fund, which can be used for housing and infrastructure development.
The bill, SB 120, also calls for development of micro apartment housing units, which would be 220-320 square feet and house up to two people. Units would have a closet, kitchen sink, cooking appliances, refrigerator and separate bathroom with a toilet and bathtub or shower. The committee suggested $15 million in bonds for the micro-units.
They also suggested $3 million for the state's Housing First program, which aims to move chronically homeless people directly into homes from streets and shelters without preconditions....
The committee also passed SB 477, which would authorize bonds for the development of more public housing units. The committee suggested $35 million for that bill in its report....
read ... Affordable
Conflict-of-Interest Bill Faces Uphill Battle in House
CB: A proposed law that would make it illegal for state employees to take any official action that might directly affect a business that their extended family has a financial interest in will have a tough time clearing the House.
Senate Bill 451, which cleared the Senate last week, has been referred to four committees in the House as of Monday.
It’s a triple referral that starts with the Legislative Management Committee, then goes to a joint hearing before Consumer Protection and Judiciary, and finally on to Finance.
read ... Uphill
Legislators Poised to ban Latex over Objection of Queens Hospital Surgeons, DoH
KHON: Hospitals and food establishments across the state may be in for a big change. That’s because there is a movement in the state legislature to ban the use of latex gloves....
The proposed bill will be discussed Wednesday in a House committee meeting.
read ... Latex Ban
How Kauai Pays for Union Contracts
KGI: Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. will admit that the County of Kauai was in a tough place last year.
Reserve funds were low. The county’s share of the transient accommodations taxes was capped for the third consecutive year.
And then there were the first round of increases in collective bargaining costs to hit the budget that year....
But the proposed $181.7 million budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year before the Kauai County Council, he said, is a little different.
No new positions are recommended. County departments have identified and agreed to cut $3.1 million in operating expenses. And close to $1.9 million in savings were found by eliminating positions, shifting duties among existing employees, or reducing funds for 20 vacant positions....
County budget officials in February estimated they would be facing about $8.2 million in new expenses mostly attributed to approved and pending collective bargaining increases. But about $5 million in personnel and operational savings, coupled with at least $2 million in increased real property tax revenues, helped to offset it....
read ... Expensive Contracts
Do Drugs? Hawaii County is Hiring!
On Monday, March 9 in federal court, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai’i and the law firm of Peiffer Rosca Wolf Abdullah Kane and Carr sued Hawai’i County on behalf of Kailua-Kona woman Rebekah Taylor-Failor.
Taylor-Failor, who is about to begin working for the County as a legal clerk, was asked, as all County employees are asked, to submit a urinalysis and a medical examination. She asked the court to allow her to begin her position without the urinalysis.
A Temporary Restraining Order was requested by the ACLU of Hawai’i and co-counsel Adam Wolf so that the County could not obtain the private information from Taylor-Failor’s bodily fluids. In the request, constitutional protections from suspicion-less searches were cited.
On Friday, March 13, the court granted Taylor-Failor her request. In the ruling, the Court stated that “the urinalysis would violate Taylor-Failor’s Fourth Amendment rights.”...
In the recent lawsuit, the Court ruled against the County, saying in its order that “the County has proffered no explanation as to why it is entitled to search Taylor-Failor’s urine before she may begin employment in her light duty, clerical, non-safety-sensitive position…Employment requirements cannot stand where they violate rights of a constitutional dimension.” ...
Today’s ruling is a historic step toward reforming pre-employment medical tests so that they comply with the constitution.”
read ... Your Tax Dollars at Work
HB348: Prohibition of Powdered Alcohol
HNN: Palcohol isn't for sale anywhere yet and the manufacturer, Lipsmark LLC, says it won't likely be available for a few months, but House Bill 348 would have banned powdered alcohol before it even gets released.
"Once you ring the bell and allow it in, then there will be a much more difficult time of regulating it later," said state Representative Della Au Belatti, the chair of the House Committee on Health and co-author of the bill.
The prohibition has support from the Department of Public Safety, which testified in part that "powdered alcohol like many other substances could be added to food, candy, and other food products to make these products intoxicating."
The Maui and Honolulu police departments also backed the ban. "The smuggling of alcohol into venues, drinking in public and underage drinking are already concerns to the HPD. Powdered alcohol would make detection and enforcement that much more challenging," submitted Lisa Mann, the acting major of the Waikiki district.
HTH: Hawaii County First to Restrict Vaping
read ... Prohibition
Unnecessarily Ridding Honolulu Hale of Asbestos Would Waste $50 million
SA: Removing asbestos and lead paint from the second-floor offices of the Honolulu City Council could cost taxpayers $50 million or more — and that's without any additional cosmetic work, the city buildings chief told the Council Budget Committee last week.
Facility Maintenance Director Ross Sasamura said the $50 million estimate factors in only the cost of the asbestos removal. Other improvements that the Council might want to make would cost extra.
"The funding requirement … will be significant, and it's going to be something that I think will have to be addressed," he said.
Commonly used in old-style tile flooring and insulation, asbestos should be considered a potential health hazard only when it crumbles, scientists contend. Workers typically wear protective gear when working with the carcinogen....
Clifford Lau, facilities chief in the city Department of Design and Construction, assured committee members that after testing air samples, "we got clear results, and it is safe for you folks to be in the building." When asbestos first became identified as a carcinogen and was subsequently banned, Lau said, city buildings were surveyed for friable, or loose, asbestos material that was sprayed onto ceilings.
"Actions were taken to encapsulate," Lau said. "As we go forth and renovate areas, we have been doing abatement and removed asbestos-containing materials as feasible (before) renovation work proceeds."
read ... Carcinogenic
Bombshell Coming? Caldwell Hires $1.2M Ala Moana Park Design Consultant
CB: Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is spending $1.2 million to hire consultants for a three-year plan to rejuvenate Honolulu’s deteriorating Ala Moana Beach Park....
I want to be optimistic about the plan. I want to believe the mayor when he says Oahu’s people will have the ultimate say when it comes to the revitalization of that park. I’m hopeful yet wary....
So were many of the other 350 citizens who showed up March 10 at McCoy Pavilion. Wary.
Ben Donsky of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures and Associates , a New York-based consulting firm the city has hired to help renew the park, repeatedly reassured the audience, “You guys will have the final say.”
Biederman is famous for setting up a private-public partnership to transform New York’s filthy, crime-ridden Bryant Park into one of the most popular parks in the city.
The mayor says everything is on the table for Ala Moana Beach Park. But that in itself is worrisome. It would be better if the mayor pointed out what is absolutely on the table as well as what is not on the table. People need a clearer idea of what could happen in the park so they don’t get hit with a bombshell at the end of the planning process....
read ... Bombshell
Honolulu the 14th-most termite-infested city
SA: Cities in California and Texas top the list, led by Los Angeles and San Francisco in the top two spots, and the Dallas-Fort Worth market in third place.
San Diego, Calif. and Houston, Texas, round out the top five, followed by Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (No. 6), Phoenix, Ariz. (No. 7), Atlanta, Ga. (8), Sacramento, Calif. (9) and at No. 10, Oklahoma City, Okla.
At No. 14, Honolulu follows Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (11), Boston, Mass. (12) and No. 13, Wash., D.C.
read ... We're No. 14!
The states where poor kids are most likely to graduate from high school
WaPo: The smallest difference between blacks and whites was in Hawaii, where blacks did somewhat better than their peers elsewhere and whites somewhat worse.
read ... The Washington Post
Hawaii Boys and Girls Club worker records kids supporting Convicted Killer Jodi Arias
KSAZ: In those videos, the teens express their love and affection for the convicted murderer.
Video taken by a worker at a Boys and Girls Club in Hawaii shows young people voicing their support for Arias, who they appear to be told was a victim of domestic violence.
The videos were then shared on the website JodiAriasIsInnocent.com
Then workers name is Jill Delos Santos, and her Facebook Page lists four different Jodi Arias Support Sites as likes. The director of the club told FOX 10 that he was aware Delos Santos shot the videos but was not aware how they were going to be used.
The person who shared the videos with FOX 10 said they were played for Jodi over her recent video visits; we don't know if any of the kids parents were aware they took part.
Wiki: Murder of Travis Alexander
read ... Killer Support
UH Manoa Rape Trial
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