Insider Deals: OHA, Kanaiolowalu Procurement Code Violations
Fences and Eradication: Petition Calls for Rejection of Suzanne Case
My Father Was Gay: Why I Oppose Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
Inside look at Monsanto’s Hawaii farm nursery
Secret Subcontractors: What Honolulu Rail Officials Aren’t Telling You
CB: Hundreds of contractors and consultants working on Honolulu’s $6 billion rail project are raking in tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, yet there’s little accounting of what they’re actually doing for the money.
It’s a glaring oversight that state lawmakers and city council members are struggling to reconcile before approving an extension of a half-percent General Excise Tax surcharge that could last anywhere from five to 25 years depending on what shakes out at the Capitol.
But even with calls for more transparency, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation has been reluctant to release information about how much these companies, which have been hired as subcontractors, are being paid....
Grabauskas’ assertions that he can’t get the information may not be accurate, according to a Civil Beat review of contract documents signed by HART and city officials, including the $1.55 billion grant agreement with the Federal Transit Administration....
In December 2013, Honolulu’s city auditor released a report on HART’s public relations contracting and criticized many of HART’s invoice oversight practices. HART disagreed with many of the audit’s findings, claiming its practices complied with contract provisions and federal requirements.
One persistent criticism in the audit was the fact that PR contractors did not provide invoices with detailed justification of the work performed, in many cases merely listing “for professional services.”
PDF: List of Rail Subcontractors
read ... Secret Subcontractors
OHA Illegally Refuses to Reveal Geothermal Investments, Losses
HTH: The Office of Hawaiian Affairs would have received a 5 percent stake in a 25-megawatt geothermal plant in exchange for a $1.25 million investment in the Huena Power Consortium, according to a due diligence report issued by Peninsula Real Estate Partners.
The document, which the Tribune-Herald received through an alternate source after OHA declined to disclose records related to the failed investment, offers some insight into a deal that the OHA Board of Trustees agreed to in a closed-door meeting two years ago.
Since then, officials with the state agency have declined to answer questions regarding the arrangement, which came with an upfront contribution of $600,000, and have recently criticized its business partner for mentioning it publicly.
“The board voted on the matter, and the information about it was leaked to the press, to you,” OHA board Chair Robert Lindsey said during a March 25 phone interview. “The source of information was illegal and breaches fiduciary duties.”
According to the report, OHA could have received $14 million over 30 years for the full investment. It had the option of purchasing a share of equity up to 50 percent.
That’s if Huena, a joint venture led by Honolulu-based Innovations Development Group, received the next geothermal contract with Hawaii Electric Light Co.
HELCO announced Feb. 24 that it instead selected Ormat Technologies, which owns Puna Geothermal Venture, to build the next power plant in Puna.
Mililani Trask, an IDG consultant, said the company plans to file a complaint against HELCO with the state Public Utilities Commission alleging that the utility’s selection process was flawed and rigged to benefit Ormat.
After previously stating she couldn’t comment on how much OHA invested, Trask confirmed Friday that its contribution to Huena was limited to the initial $600,000 disbursement....
OHA CEO Kamanaopono Crabbe and Lindsey said the agency will not provide additional funds to Huena.
The Tribune-Herald filed a records request with OHA in March seeking documents disclosing investment of funds, the due diligence report, executive session minutes and a record of the vote. OHA attorney Ernest Kimoto wrote that the office is either not required to release the documents or they are exempt from disclosure “as they are work product of legal counsel.” (Translation: Anything our shysters touch, we can keep from the public.)
Jeff Portnoy, a Honolulu attorney who specializes in First Amendment and open government issues, said OHA acted illegally by holding the vote behind closed doors.
He said that’s a violation of the state’s “sunshine law,” which requires decisions by public boards to be made before the public. Boards can go into a closed-door executive session for a handful of reasons, including to speak with legal counsel.
But votes are expected to occur in an open session. The only exception is if voting in public would “defeat the lawful purpose of holding the executive meeting,” according to the Office of Information Practices.
“A lot of state agencies would prefer to do everything in private,” Portnoy said. “… It’s not the way it works in a democracy.”
Additionally, he said OHA has no legal basis to decline to reveal how much it spent on the investment.
“Any time public money is spent, the public has an absolute right to the documents that reflect that expenditure,” Portnoy said.
Carlotta Amerino, OIP staff attorney, said in an email that some purchasing information relating to trade secrets, overhead costs or unit prices can be withheld, “but it is hard to see how the dollar amount invested by OHA in a geothermal venture would be entirely protected from disclosure.” ...
IDG consultant Cy Bridges wrote in a July 2013 column in Civil Beat titled “For Native Hawaiians, Supporting Geothermal Makes Cultural Sense.”
Lindsey said that disclosure about two years ago remains an issue for OHA. Trask said the agency never complained about it before.
“We have more concerns right now about breaches of confidentiality and how we tighten up our governance process on that to protect the interests of the board moving forward,” Lindsey said, after being asked for information on the investment. Kimoto said OHA doesn’t have a confidentiality agreement with Huena or IDG.
The closed-door vote was not an anomaly, according to OHA officials, who claimed the practice was cleared by OIP and state Ethics Commission. Traditionally, the “bulk of decisions” have been heard and made in executive session, at least when it comes to investment decisions and land acquisitions, Kimoto said.
CB: Could Hawaii Geothermal Plant Become a Windfall for Public?
read ... OHA remains tight-lipped on geothermal investment
Energy cooperative ready to take root on Hawaii island
SA: ...a cooperative could be the future for Big Island residents as well, if we were to have the opportunity to convert Hawaii Electric Light Company to a member-owned and member-controlled coop.
The Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative came into existence earlier this year in response to the proposed purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries by Florida-based NextEra Energy. HIEC, along with 27 others, is an intervenor on the HEI-NextEra merger docket before the Public Utilities Commission.
Now that the procedural schedule has been decided, information requests and testimonies will be flying as the commissioners, the consumer advocate and their staffs put together a body of knowledge and evidence that will allow a determination to be made on the fundamental question before them: Will NextEra's proposed acquisition of the largest corporation in the state be in the public's best interest?
While HIEC has taken the position of being neither for or against the purchase, there is the case to be made that it's in the best interest of Big Island residents to consider the establishment of an energy cooperative. The goals and potential benefits include:
» Local, democratic control over one of the most critical infrastructures and public institutions on the island, providing for direct ownership by the customers it serves, and direct election of the Board of Directors that govern the utility.
» Community-based and community-chosen priorities would serve as the basis for the coop to work for the sustainable development of the island through policies accepted and supported by its members.
» Potentially lower electricity costs through tax-exempt status, access to lower cost financing, elimination of a return-on-equity component in electric rate structures, promotion of education, markedly improved energy efficiency programs and the accelerated adoption of appropriate alternative technologies.
» Greater energy independence and sustainability through a comprehensive and integrated approach to all energy-consuming sectors on the island.
The fate of the merger will be determined in the months to come as the record is filled with facts, figures and testimony as the applicants and intervenors play out their strategies....
read ... Coop
Anti-Telescope Hysteria Still Spreading
NextEra: People won't want rooftop solar
IM: “NextEra executives were defensive about the accusation that they were opposed to PV, claiming that Florida residents were not putting up PV because electricity in Florida is so cheap (about 9.5 cents/KWH) and because they were afraid to put up panels because of hurricane threat.” ...
The NextEra people “knew next to nothing about Lana`i. It was all about how wonderful they were. To a man (and woman) the message was ‘we think rooftop solar should be a choice, but we don't believe people will make that choice once we take over.’"
Om Molokai the event was filmed by the community and has already posted it to Youtube. Less than one minute into the 2 hour 15 minute video the community asked to change the process from small groups to one large group. Several members moved a table out for the kūpuna to sit at....
NextEra’s Eric Gleason asserted, “We are the largest purchaser of natural gas in the utility industry in the U.S. I said before we were the largest purchaser of oil, now were the largest purchaser of natural gas. All the statistics I've seen says it`s good for the environment.”
CB: Maui Solar Contractors, Windfarm Operators whine About LNG
read ... NextEra
Suzanne Case: Ige's Wily Ways
KE: Gov. David Ige has proven himself a wily politician with his nomination of The Nature Conservancy's Suzanne Case to lead the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Because the pick has effectively driven a wedge between environmentalists and Native Hawaiians — the only coalition that would be likely to challenge him on anything. And local hunters and fishers are piling on, too, along with animal rights advocates.
While the “greens” love Suzanne and TNC's brand of upscale environmentalism, kanaka and hunters aren't so keen on TNC's zero-tolerance of game animals, which it exterminates as invasive species, sometimes through the use of snares that PETA has proclaimed inhumane.
Sharp lines are being drawn — even as Kauai Councilman Gary Hooser sent out an email effusing over Case's nomination, which he credited to an “intense grass-roots effort supported by a strong alliance of organizations representing diverse yet common interests” that prompted Ige to ditch Carleton Ching and appoint Case instead.
Civil Beat also bought into the hype that Ige had experienced a “come to Jesus” moment and miraculously seen the light, turning on a dime to replace a developers' lobbyist with the head of a major conservation organization. Its unquestioning editorial enthused:
“This Time, Ige Nails It. In his second attempt at picking a new Department of Land and Natural Resources chief, the governor taps an experienced conservation lawyer with deep local roots.” ...
They've launched a Move-On petition that proclaims “Protect our Hunting, Fishing, Diving & Surviving!” and calls for Suzanne Case's removal. With some 550 signatures at last check, it states:
We the residents of Hawaii depend on the animals that we're given to King Kamehameha so we the people could be self sustainable. Allowing Nature Conservancy Director Suzanne Case to head the Department of Land and Natural Resources will be a total disaster to our race and our culture. With Suzanne Case being the Chairperson of DLNR there will be no animals to harvest because of fences and eradication. People of Hawaii, one day the ships will stop coming and the only thing that we will have to eat is the animals in the forest, fish that swim in the sea, and the produce that that our farmers produce!!! Remove Nature Conservancy Director Suzanne Case NOW before its to late!
read ... Musings: Ige's Wily Ways
Unlike Mayor, Hawaii County Council controls pCard use
HTH: Hawaii County Council officials say there are strict procedures in place to prevent unauthorized use of county-issued credit cards, known as pCards.
A West Hawaii Today analysis of 26 months worth of pCard statements and reimbursement forms showed very few personal purchases on County Council members’ pCards, and relatively prompt reimbursement when purchases were inappropriately charged....
One of Kenoi’s top critics, Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille, has also canceled her pCard. Wille, the only council member to go on record criticizing Kenoi’s use of his card, had her card revoked earlier in March after she butted heads with County Clerk Stewart Maeda over some charges....
The high volume of pCard use in Hawaii County could present opportunities for saving money, according to county Legislative Auditor Bonnie Nims. Nims is currently auditing pCard use countywide, and expects to have her report complete this summer.
read ... PCard
Arakawa: Hawaii County Also Withheld OPEB
MN: On April 3, The Maui News reported, "all other counties in the state were able to take advantage of the EUTF's (Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund's) higher interest rates by increasing the amount they transferred into the fund from fiscal years 2010 to 2013, according to the report.
"Maui is the only county that did not send any money into the fund over that time."
That statement is incorrect. The County of Hawaii also did not send money to the EUTF from 2012 to 2013, for the same reasons that Maui County did not, because they received a letter from the state Department of Finance on Nov. 23, 2011, that the "EUTF Trust does not meet the criteria of a trust fund for OPEB contributions under GASB 43."
I realize that The Maui News stated this because the reporter assumed that the audit report held accurate information. Indeed, the report states that on Page 6 that the "City & County of Honolulu, County of Hawaii and County of Kauai in their sending sizable pre-payments to the EUTF between FY 2010 and FY 2013."
Obviously the audit was wrong, because we have an email from Hawaii County Comptroller Kay Oshiro that states that Hawaii County made no payment to the EUTF for FY 2012 and FY 2013.
This begs the question that if the Maui County auditor cannot be trusted to make a simple phone call to each county to find out what they did with their respective EUTF contributions, what else was he wrong about?
read ... Arakawa
SB64 preschool opportunities for at-risk children
SA: Last week, the House Finance Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 64 to save the current level of POD subsidies: $7.6 million total covering 1,287 children and their families. If nothing is done to restore current-level funds, more than 1,000 children will be affected in this current POD open enrollment, which is accepting applications for the next budget cycle. However, these children are just a small percentage of more than 5,000 children no longer eligible to go to kindergarten because of a change in the age requirement for registration made last year.
DHS data reveals that 47 percent of the children receiving POD subsidies in 2014 come from single-parent homes.
read ... SB64
Waikiki Homeless: 18 Contempt Warrants, Passing Around Vodka and Fighting
SA: On Monday police arrested three males on contempt of court warrants at the Kalakaua and Paokalani pavilion. Police picked up a 49-year-old man, who had three contempt warrants; a 28-year-old man, who had 18 contempt warrants; and a 39-year-old man with eight contempt warrants.
Howard said he's seen some improvement in the past few days. However, he said more needs to be done before he'll quit documenting the issues.
"My blog and YouTube site are not about embarrassing Hawaii to the world. I put them up to document what's going on, and I'll take them down when I see enough improvement, like seven days without an issue," Howard said Friday. "Right now, I'm sitting at Jamba Juice watching a group at the pavilion passing around a liter of vodka and fighting."
read ... Predators, not victims
Tighten rules that let prisoners on work furlough
SA: The current spree began April 5 when Isaiah Kaisa did not return from a job by an early-morning deadline. He turned himself in Monday; that same day, William Williams failed to return to the Laumaka Work Furlough Center at his scheduled 4:30 a.m. time; he was caught Tuesday in Kaneohe.
But also on Tuesday, Robert Gibson and Kalai Tavares were no-shows at 5 p.m. They ultimately were arrested in connection with allegedly kidnapping a man and three women; the investigation of that case also involves suspicion of second-degree robbery and impersonating a police officer.
Finally, Ikaika Nixon, 30, left at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday on a job-seeking pass but failed to return at 5 p.m., as scheduled. More than two days later, the convicted robber was still at large.
The public is justified in feeling appalled by this spectacle of a revolving door.
DPS spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said the overall numbers underscore the overall value of the program. In the period between March 1, 2014, and the present, a total of 355 OCCC inmates have cycled through the program, and 328 completed it successfully. Of the 27 "walk-offs," she said, all but three either were just late or were guilty of offenses that affected only themselves, such as drug use.
read ... Revolving Door
Advocates want Hawaii to ban sex trafficking
KHON: Anti-human trafficking advocates say Hawaii is the last state to ban sex trafficking and it’s time for change.
Legislators are considering Senate Bill 265 that would treat people forced into prostitution as “victims” instead of “criminals.” Still, some say it’s unnecessary.
There is currently no law in Hawaii that directly addresses sex trafficking. Pimps who traffic women are prosecuted under the “promoting prostitution” statute.
Some say these laws aren’t victim-centered, so this Senate bill would establish a sex trafficking ban in the state.
“If this bill doesn’t pass, we endure the embarrassment of having to be the last state and prolonging the status in nation to pass a sex trafficking law,” says Kathryn Xian, Executive Director with Pacific Alliance, an anti-human trafficking organization established in 2009.
Xian says Hawaii is a hub for sex trafficking and it’s about time the state establishes a ban.
Currently, johns (customers) and prostitutes are criminalized under the same law.
CB: Civil Beat Endorses Transsexual Birth Certificates
read ... Ban Sex Trafficking
Top firefighters sue Hawaii county claiming alleges wage inequities
WHT: Fourteen current and retired Hawaii County Fire Department battalion chiefs are suing the county, claiming their pay and benefits packages have not kept pace with counterparts and subordinates covered by the collective bargaining agreement.
read ... Lawsuit
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