Honolulu Auditor: Only 26% of Recommendations Satisfactorily Addressed
Auditor Releases National Citizen Survey of Honolulu Residents
Judge: EEOC Human Trafficking Case "Frivolous"
Caldwell Touts Community Participation in Ala Moana Park Planning
HB145 Tobacco Industry Tax Credit Gut and Replace
VIDEO: Update on the Jones Act Reform Efforts
Puerto Rico Seeks Exemptions from Jones Act After Horizon Quits Trade
Senate Faction Membership Lists
CB: ...The Opihis, Chess Club and Tokuda Factions
The Opihi faction is the biggest with nine members, led by Sen. Michelle Kidani. The group also includes Sens. Donovan Dela Cruz, Brickwood Galuteria, Lorraine Inouye, Gil Kahele, Ron Kouchi, Clarence Nishihara, Maile Shimabukuro and Glenn Wakai.
The Opihi faction takes its name from the notion of sticking together, much like the limpet that clings to rocks in rough surf.
Kidani and her group tried to replace Kim with Kouchi at the beginning of this session but the coup failed when two other factions united, the Chess Club and a smaller one led by Sen. Jill Tokuda.
The Chess Club is an old and evolving faction that until this year had Ige as a longtime member. It currently includes Sens. Roz Baker, Suzanne Chun Oakland, Will Espero, Josh Green, Les Ihara, Russell Ruderman and Laura Thielen. The top three running the group are Ihara, Baker and Chun Oakland.
Two freshmen senators, Gil Riviere and Breene Harimoto, seem aligned with this group at times, but some see them as independent. Sen. Brian Taniguchi, who chaired the Ways and Means Committee before Ige, is considered independent, as is Kim.
Tokuda’s faction only has four members, but it has wielded an oversized influence since the Senate reorganized in January.
Tokuda now chairs Ways and Means, which hears virtually every bill that has a dollar attached to it and many others of significance. Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran heads Judiciary and Labor, arguably the second-most influential committee. Sen. Kalani English became majority leader and Sen. Mike Gabbard chairs the Energy and Environment Committee.
Meanwhile, Opihi leader Kidani went from vice chair of Ways and Means, where she controlled the $2.3 billion capital improvement projects budget last session, to head the Education Committee....
Meanwhile, Sen. Sam Slom, the chamber’s lone Republican, operates as a faction of one....
read ... Factions in Senate
Judicial Selection Commission Removing 50% of Lingle Appointees
HNN: Several prominent attorneys are urging the state Judicial Selection Commission to reconsider its decision not to retain Circuit Judge Randal Lee.
"I can represent to you and your commission members that there is widespread concern among members of the bar and others about the manner in which Judge Lee's petition for retention has been handled," attorney Eric Seitz wrote in a letter to the commission on Friday.
"I urge in this instance that Judge Lee's application be considered in a manner that will establish public confidence in both the process and the result."
Attorney General Doug Chin echoed that sentiment.
"If that mechanism is possible, I would urge the people who are in control of that to make that happen," he said.
"Judge Randal Lee is a pillar in the community, someone who has handled some serious cases. It's very unfortunate that he won't be on the bench." ...
supporters said Lee took on many of the toughest cases. They also point to recent ratings issued by the Hawaii State Bar where attorneys gave him good ratings for his judicial management skills and his legal ability. Jurors, meanwhile, gave him very high ratings for his overall performance.
"The great majority of opinions I hear is that there's been a great injustice done to Judge Lee," said attorney William McCorriston.
Lee is the third Circuit judge rejected by the commission in the past year. Patrick Border was not renewed for a second term, after several attorneys accused him of erratic behavior on the bench.
Kona Judge Elizabeth Strance withdrew her retention application after the commission voted not to to approve her for a second term.
All three were appointed by Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. Three other Lingle nominees -- Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Alexa Fujise, Oahu Circuit Judge Rhonda Nishimura and Maui Circuit Richard Bissen -- were retained in the past year.
"So, if one of the reasons to be retained is whether or not the appointing authority was a Republican or a Democrat, that would be unconscionable and a shameful abuse of the selection commission's power and authority," said Peter Carlisle, former Honolulu Mayor and Prosecutor.
read ... Rejection
Star-Adv: PUC, Legislature Should Slow-Walk NextEra
SA: ...28 groups have been approved as intervenors in the NextEra case, able to ask questions about the proposed sale and otherwise have a close view of the proceedings.
The commission reasonably could have cleared fewer intervenors. However, even if there are overlapping constituencies on the roster of candidates, the fact that the PUC approved all of them signals the importance it places on a transparent and thorough process. That's a good thing.
Additionally, the state Legislature correctly echoes that concern, and lawmakers have weighed in with a pair of measures, House Resolutions 158 and House Concurrent Resolution 227, both of which will be heard at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in conference room 325.
Among other points, the resolutions call on the PUC to safeguard the public interest in reviewing the NextEra sale, ensuring reliability, reasonable rates, consumer choice and competition. These are worthwhile expressions of state policy, but they're also warning signs that the utility companies should heed.
The preamble cites public concerns that the company "has a history of opposing competition and leveraging political influence to favor the interests of the company's shareholders over the interests of ratepayers."
NextEra and HEI opposed 24 of the 28 intervenors and have pressed for an August deadline for their comments and for an end-of-the-year final decision.
However, perhaps hearing the alarm bells rung by the public, the companies haven't ruled out the possibility of a 2016 closing of the sale. If that's an opening, state officials should walk through it, and take the time needed for a full evaluation....
Between now and the point of decision, NextEra must overcome a clear sense of foreboding among the public the company wants to serve.
read ... NextEra is doomed
Josh Green: We are Passing Medical Marijuana So Children Can Get It
SA: Maria Eloisa Reyes attended the hearing with her son, who, because of a medical condition, has about 14 seizures per month despite taking several medications, she said. The seizures last as long as a half-hour. Reyes wants her son to try medical marijuana, and she has a degree in agriculture, but she doesn't believe she can grow the plant herself because she doesn't have legal access to the correct strain to help her son, she said.
"We tried a lot of things already, and we're out of options," Reyes said. "He is not a candidate for brain surgery. … We would like to try medical marijuana."
Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona), chairman of the Senate Health Committee, said, "You guys are very much the reason we are here today to pass this legislation."
read ... Keep the Kids Doped up
UH loses $850K in library vendor bankruptcy
HNN: The University of Hawaii at Manoa is expected to lose $850,000 after a vendor for its academic journals went bankrupt last fall. It's one of hundreds of universities and colleges across the country that suffered similar losses and had to scramble to reorganize journal subscriptions when the firm went out of business.
A company called Swets Information Services managed hard-copy and electronic subscriptions to 2,700 academic journals on the UH Manoa campus until it filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy in New Jersey last fall....
The loss at UH could have been a lot worse, because the university was preparing to pay the vendor more than $2 million for another year's worth of journals when it went bankrupt.
"We were getting ready, the contract was with procurement but it hadn't been executed when we were informed in October of the bankruptcy. So it could have been an additional $2.1 million that we were out," Herold said.
To make up for the $850,000 loss, Herold has delayed hiring 12 faculty and five staff positions. She also cut $100,000 from the book acquisition budget, a reduction of roughly 11 percent.
read ... Another $850K
Who Wants a Government Handout? Tons of Hawaii Nonprofits
CB: More than 250 Hawaii nonprofits and other groups are asking the Legislature for roughly $185 million in grants-in-aid this session.
Only a fraction of the applications will be approved and even then the governor may decide to withhold the money.
The odds didn’t stop many nonprofit leaders from taking advantage of an opportunity Friday to take their case directly to the heads of the Senate and House money committees.
To view the full list of applicants, how much money they are requesting and what they plan to use the grant for, visit the Capitol website here.
read ... Grants in Aid
New DHS Director: Top Priority is IT
SA: Rachael Wong was confirmed Friday by the state Senate as director of the Department of Human Services....
"Our top priority is moving forward with our plan to streamline what we're doing with IT, building on the technology that we've already put in place with our platforms, investing in our people here, moving quickly with what we're doing with MedQuest and our social services division, BESSD (Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division) and our public assistance," she said....
read ... Wong
Study the Need to Pay Hawaii Teachers More, Resolution States
CB: House Concurrent Resolution 90, which would ask the state to establish a minimum median salary for Hawaii DOE teachers. The resolution was passed by the House Committee on Labor and Public Employment, along with a couple other resolutions that also address teachers’ pay in Hawaii.
The average teacher’s salary in Hawaii was $55,930 in 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, teachers in New York made $75,250 on average, while teachers in Washington state made $61,210....
Currently, Honolulu teachers have the lowest median salary of the 60 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. when adjusted for the cost of living, according to the resolution proposed by Rep. Matt LoPresti of House District 41. Over half of all new-arriving teachers in Hawaii leave their jobs within the first five years, and many move to cities on the mainland so they can receive higher salaries, the resolution states.
read ... Teachers Pay
Insane Plan to Put Windfarm Off Diamond Head
PBN: A Danish developer is planning to develop a major offshore wind energy project, which would include more than 100 turbines, in federal waters in Hawaii off Oahu’s northwest and southern coasts, according to a published report.
The project would be the first floating offshore wind farm in the United States. Thus far, there are no offshore wind farms up and running in the U.S. (There's a reason for this)
Alpha Wind Energy has turned in a lease request to the U.S. Interior Department for two 51-turbine project, which total 408-megawatts, according to Rechargenews.com.
The proposed project off Oahu’s South Shore would be located 17 miles south of Diamond Head in depths of up to 700 meters and lease an area of about 12,000 acres, while the North Shore project would be located 12 miles northwest of Kaena Point in depths of up to 1,000 meters and lease an area of about 11,400 acres, according to the report.
Quick IQ Test: T or F? -- Salt Water and Dynamos Go Together Really Well
Related: Hawaii: The Place for "Really Crazy" Energy Ideas
read ... Insanity
Rail: Robert Thomas on Hawaii's Tough eminent domain laws
PBN: “People are very surprised at how much power the government has to really prosecute a condemnation case. There’s not a whole lot you can do about it to stop it.”
Thomas, educated at Columbia Law School and the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, specializes in eminent domain law, regulatory takings, water rights and voting rights. Along with partner Mark M. Murakami, he recently hosted public meetings to explain to landowners their rights as the City & Country of Honolulu’s rail project begins acquiring parcels in urban Honolulu....
Interestingly, when it comes to eminent domain law, a 1984 Hawaii case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court ended up affecting the entire country. This was Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, the suit that forced major landowners such as Bishop Estate to sell their private holdings to homeowners who wanted to purchase the fee interest in their homes. This case was cited by the majority in 2005’s Kelo v. the City of New London in which the Supreme Court upheld the right of the City of New London, Connecticut, to kick people out of their homes and turn the land over to private developers — a result that, to many observers, made it seem as if the government could now take any property it wanted....
What has been the impact of Kelo in Hawaii? Now, 10 years down the road, property lawyers feel we lost the battle in Kelo, but we may have won the war because something like 46 out of the 50 states passed some kind of limitation on the power of eminent domain after Kelo. Hawaii, unfortunately, was not one of them.
How so? As someone who helped draft some of the proposed bills in the two sessions that followed Kelo, saying let’s make our law more fair — we just got nowhere. My guess is the city was in there lobbying the same time we were. They knew the rail was on the way and frankly they didn’t want our eminent domain code to be updated to be more fair. I think that’s the reality of it, or the politics of it. [The law] hasn’t substantially changed since 1955.
read ... Eminent Domain
Legislators Keep Retailers on Defense
PBN: Imagine playing football or basketball and never getting the ball. Imagine playing baseball and spending all your time in the field.
Pretty hard to win a game.
That’s how Hawaii retailers are feeling these days as they assess the first half of the 2015 state legislative session. They’ve been playing defense for two months and their best bet is preventing the other guys from scoring.
“We are always reacting,” says Sheri Sakamoto, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii.
The problem, she says, is that legislators introduce bills that affect retailers without first asking for any input from the industry. The result is time spent — and wasted — chasing down bad legislation instead of working on productive measures.
The numbers back her up. Information provided by RMH shows this halftime score, following the crossover of bills between the House and Senate:
None of the bills that RMH supported survived the crossover.
Nine bills that RMH opposed are still alive.
Four bills that RMH is monitoring are still alive.
The RMH did see 15 bills that it opposed supposedly die before the crossover.
Another four that RMH was monitoring are technically dead.
read ... Anti-Business
HB1347: Door-to-Door Sign up for Foodstamps
SA: The challenge is to "try to get a grass-roots approach to try to dig out the people who are not applying although they are eligible for SNAP," Geminiani said. "What we need to do is get the effort started so we can show the progress and show the return on the investment that I think is guaranteed."
HB 1347 would allow DHS to contract for services to boost food stamp enrollment, and was approved by the state House earlier this month. It was also unanimously approved by the Senate Human Services and Housing Committee this week.
read ... Foodstamp Nation
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