Hawaii Congressional Delegation Dead Last in Clout
HSTA Contract Reopener Showers Teachers in Cash
Audit: DoE Bungles Federal Grants, Gives Teachers Excess Sick Leave, Vacation Time
UPDATE: Governor, Legislators Come to 'Understanding' on Maui Hospital Partnership Bill
Feds OK Pasha Acquisition of Horizon's Hawaii Business
Sen Murkowski: An Effort to Look at Jones Act, Energy Exports
London Times: Jones Act 'Key Bargaining Chip' in Trans-Atlantic Trade Negotiations
Chinese Communist 'Confucius Institute' a Threat to Academic Freedom at UH Manoa
Tiny Honolulu Rail Stations Limit Capacity of $300M per Mile System
Your Electric Bill is Higher than you Think
Ohana Policy Group Pushes Back Against Kindergarten Gay Sex Education
Anger at Kenoi: "What the hell else is this guy Cheating?"
KITV: Puna resident Gregory Smith expressed his anger at the mayor and asked whether Kenoi is hiding anything else.
"I'm very very, you know, very upset about this," said Smith. "It shakes and deteriorates the very basis of our culture and our society and business. What the hell else is this guy cheating?" ...
Other testifiers at the hearing called the mayor a bully and criticized council members for not speaking more forcefully about Kenoi's pCard abuse.
"Only one of you, Margaret Wille, dares utter a peep of criticism even when the mayor uses his county credit card at a hostess bar," said Waimea resident Matt Binder....
Councilwoman Margaret Wille,, who represents District 9, said she appreciated Kenoi's apology, but still questions whether he can effectively lead the county with the pCard scandal hanging over his head.
"He's missed a lot of things over the last couple weeks and I'm not sure whether he will be able to function in a full manner, but, I'm hopeful that he is able to," she said.
The county's legislative auditor is expected to release a report on the pCard program sometime in June. County officials repeatedly warned Kenoi to stop using his county-issued credit card for personal purchases, but the mayor apparently ignored those warnings.
Kenoi left fled the council hearing without addressing the media and walked back upstairs to his office.
SA: Only Councilman Greggor Ilagan, who represents Puna, talked about the implications of Kenoi's pCard spending.
read ... Anger
Resign Already: Hawaii County Residents Overcome Fear of Retaliation, Speak out Against Kenoi
HNN: A council briefing on the Hawaii County budget was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding embattled Mayor Billy Kenoi Wednesday morning.
Even before Kenoi could speak, an audience member shouted out, "Resign, resign already!"
"What the hell else is this guy, our mayor, doing with our money and our public trust," says Puna resident, Greg Smith.
Others called for the council to get rid of the pcard system altogether.
And many said that it is widely known that those who criticize the mayor are retaliated against. Something one council member, Margaret Wille, acknowledged.
"That's what I'm told, don't say anything, don't challenge him, he's intimidating," Wille said to Kenoi, "Take the bully out of Billy."
No other council members acknowledged the issue of retaliation.
The Attorney Generals Office and County Ethics Board are investigating Kenoi's pcard practices.
BIVN: VIDEO: Public Criticizes Mayor Kenoi At Committee Hearing
read ... Resign Already
Ashamed and Disappointed: "Mayor has intimidated you into being followers"
KHON: A council member reprimanded a man in the audience, who called out “Resign, resign!” as Kenoi made his way to the microphone....
Council member Margaret Wille, who said she was embarrassed for the county when the mayor first admitted his actions, noted the appearance of intimidation in the administration.
“That’s what I’m told. Don’t say anything, don’t challenge him, you know, he’s retaliatory, and it’s not good,” she said, adding that transparency is necessary to “take the bully out of Billy.”
“When the trust of the public is breached, it’s very difficult to get it back,” one resident said.
“He’s proven to be a bully and I’m frankly ashamed and disappointed in the council members,” another resident said.
“I think the mayor has intimidated you into being followers,” said another.
read ... Ashamed
When Will Kenoi Grow Up?
WHT: A subdued and outwardly contrite Mayor Billy Kenoi came before the County Council on Wednesday to talk about the budget, but first on his plate was a serving of humble pie....
Members of the public coming forward to testify were more likely to talk about the mayor’s pCard use than the budget itself. Several asked the county to be more open responding to the public’s questions and request for records.
“Don’t be afraid to give the information out to the public … not everyone’s out to stab you in the back,” said Puna resident Joyce Folena. “When the government is open and transparent and helpful, the public trusts the government.”
“When the trust of the public is breached, it’s very difficult to get it back,” said Richard Abbett of Ka‘u.
Puna resident Greg Smith also emphasized the trust issue.
“What the hell else is this guy cheating,” said Smith. “What the heck else is the mayor doing with our money and our public trust?”
“The mayor has too much power,” said Michelle Kerr, testifying from Waimea. “He’s proven to be a bully.”
Matt Binder of Waimea questioned why only one council member has spoken publicly about the mayor’s use of his pCard, even after it was revealed Kenoi used it at two hostess bars.
“I think the mayor has intimidated you into being followers,” said Binder....
Wille said she’s concerned about Kenoi trying to intimidate county employees and other officials....“Take the bully out of Billy,” Wille said. “We all hear, kids grow up.”
read ... Grow up
Senate Galuteria Hearing Follows Model Used on Convicted Felon, Racketeer
CB: A special Senate committee has adopted rules to govern its investigation into whether Sen. Brickwood Galuteria is qualified to serve in the Senate.
The committee met briefly Thursday morning and plans to hold another hearing on Monday at 10 a.m. in response to a complaint alleging that Galuteria doesn’t actually live in Kakaako, the district he represents....The city determined that the senator owes more than $7,200 in back taxes and fees.
According to the rules adopted Thursday, the Senate doesn’t need to hold a public hearing and can make a recommendation to Kim based on available documents and its own investigation. No deadline was set for the panel to make a decision....
Slom said the last time he remembers the Senate assembling a special committee was in the case of former Sen. James Aki in 1997. The Senate created a fact-finding committee to investigate Aki after he was charged with felony gambling and racketeering offenses.
PDF: RULES
read ... Not Qualified
Star-Adv: Follow through on privatizing Maui hospitals
SA: When Gov. David Ige moved Tuesday to intervene in the legislative process that was about to yield a long-needed hospital privatization law, eyebrows went up. And among advocates, brows furrowed with worry. Their concern is well-founded: Could this critical effort to keep the state-owned hospitals running fail once again?
After years of debate, the House was poised to pass the Senate's version of House Bill 1075. That measure would enable a private company, Hawaii Pacific Health, to partner with the state on the operation of three Maui County public hospitals, effectively transitioning them to private management.
If the governor wants to take the unusual step of jumping in at the 11th hour, that had better produce a result benefiting the taxpayers above all, not just something to mollify the bill's union opponents.
The bottom line is that this bill must pass this session, in a form that will allow Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital and Lanai Community Hospital to survive for the long term....
He has said the delay would enable the better crafting of a template that could guide similar privatization partnerships for the HHSC's facilities statewide. But it seems more reasonable that developing a statewide framework would come over time as the pilot project in the Maui Region plays out. That process needs more time than the brief period spent in conference-committee reviews — it can start right after the Legislature adjourns.
The one saving grace for Ige's intervention this week would be if the deal becomes more secure from legal challenges as a result, lowering the risk that private competitors of HPH would demand a chance to bid.
In fact, Wesley Machida, state director of budget and finance, has suggested as much. Machida has said that the governor may consult with lawmakers on whether the state procurement law obligates the state to conduct a competitive bidding process to select the company to operate the hospitals....
UPDATE: Governor, Legislators Come to 'Understanding' on Maui Hospital Partnership Bill
read ... Follow Through
Lawmakers consider $5 million infusion for Hawaii Health Connector
SA: Jeff Kissel, CEO of the Hawaii Health Connector, had wanted to issue $28 million in state-backed bonds or loans, but that proposal fizzled after the Department of Budget and Finance expressed concerns about backing the exchange.
“It would have been the first time for a nonstate agency that we would guarantee whatever was issued, so there would be a lot of issues,” said Wes Machida, director of finance. “We would prefer the general fund subsidy at this point.”
Now lawmakers are considering a $5 million cash infusion from the state’s general fund, said Rep. Angus McKelvey, co-chairman of the conference committee working out the details on SB 1028.
“There’s no way that Budget and Finance could come up with a mechanism at this point in time, so we’re better off to just go back to what we did last year, which is a general fund appropriation,” McKelvey said.
The state approved $1.5 million in general funds to keep the exchange going last year....
Lawmakers discussed the bills related to the sustainability of the exchange in a conference committee Thursday and deferred further action until Monday morning.
read ... $5M Wasted
HGEA Contracts offer 4 percent raises even as Existing Contracts Drain General Fund
SA: The proposed two-year deals for state and county workers are being voted on this week...A spokeswoman for the Hawaii Government Employees Association declined to provide details on the proposed settlements until the voting is complete....
A spokeswoman for Gov. David Ige declined to comment on the proposed settlements, saying "it is premature to comment at this time because negotiations are ongoing."
No estimate of the projected cost of the new HGEA agreements was available Wednesday, but similar recent agreements have proven costly for the state.
About 1,700 nurses represented by the HGEA earlier this month ratified a new contract with comparable raises of 4 percent per year, and that agreement is expected to cost the state an extra $33.7 million over the next two years, according to the state Department of Human Resources Development.
Comparable raises of about 4 percent were also approved for about 4,000 University of Hawaii faculty members by former Gov. Neil Abercrombie last year, and that agreement is expected to cost the state another $60.89 million over the next two years, according to lawmakers.
HGEA still has additional units negotiating new contracts this year, including Unit 8 with about 2,400 members from the university's technical and professional staff, and Unit 14 with about 750 members, including state law enforcement officers and county water safety officers.
Meanwhile, the Hawaii State Teachers Association is also negotiating for additional compensation for its 13,000 members.
And ... HSTA Contract Reopener Showers Teachers in Cash
read ... Raises
Protesters occupy OHA ahead of Board of Trustees meeting
KHON: The board is scheduled to meet at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the OHA board room. Mauna Kea is not on the agenda.
read ... Protesters
Thirty Meter Telescope May be Affected by Haleakala Case Before Supreme Court
CB: ...the ultimate fate of the TMT, may be decided in the short term by the outcome of the pending lawsuit brought by some project opponents, which is now on appeal to the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals, and a somewhat parallel case before the Hawaii Supreme Court....
In 2011, the land board voted to give the TMT a conditional approval, then initiated a contested case hearing process in which supporters and opponents mustered their facts and presented the testimony of expert witnesses. The record compiled in the contested case is huge, spanning thousands of pages of arguments, testimony, and exhibits.
Two years later, when the board ruled in favor of the TMT and let the project proceed, opponents went to court, represented by Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman. They lost the first round in May 2014, when Third Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura sided with the state and the university. Opponents of the TMT have appealed that decision to the Intermediate Court of Appeals....
Some of these broad legal issues may be resolved by the Hawaii Supreme Court in the case involving the Haleakala solar telescope. Oral arguments in that case were were held before the Supreme Court on April 2, and a recording of the session is available online at the Judiciary’s website. Many of the same issues that are central to Mauna Kea were debated before the court, including the key questions of how cumulative impacts of development within a conservation district should be addressed, and whether economic benefits can be considered to mitigate damage to environmental and cultural resources within a conservation district....
read ... Ongoing Lawsuit
Adrenalin-addicted activists to the latest cause celebre
KE: ...a new and bigger insanity has gripped the state: People are up in arms, absolutely indignant that a university would try to construct a telescope atop Mauna Kea.
First, the fight against building telescopes on Mauna Kea is not new. It's been going on for decades, with the most recent battle against the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) spanning at least seven years. What's new are the Johnny-come-latelies, the anti-GMO protestors who, having failed to achieve anything in the political arena, are turning their attention to TMT in hopes of building an alliance with the Hawaiian community.
And that's where the two comments find a nexus: Why is it that the fight to protect Mauna Kea has gotten more attention, more interest, more recruits, more social media coverage — particularly among non-Hawaiians — than the ongoing fight against homelessness in Honolulu?
Especially since homelessness affects a disproportionate number of Native Hawaiians....
...why is that non-Hawaiians are quick to take offense at the prospect of another telescope atop Mauna Kea, while remaining mum about the hordes of Hawaiians living houseless in their own homeland? Aren't they, as fellow human beings, the indigenous inhabitants of this archipelago, also sacred, like the summit of the highest mountain?
Why is it that students from Kawaikini Charter School and Kauai Community College are protesting TMT, but saying nothing about the mass of tourists traipsing through Ke'e, or Princeville's attempt to co-opt the heaiu there? Why aren't folks taking to the streets to rage against the ice epidemic that is stealing the sacred souls — and thus the culture — of so many Native Hawaiians?
Or to take it one step further, why is it that a telescope on Mauna Kea has ignited the passions of people locally and around the globe, but the horrors of the Kailua-Kona tourist trap, the gentrification of South Kona and North and South Kohala, the ongoing "economic genocide" — to borrow a phrase from the late Peter Nakamura — is a great big ho-hum?
Perhaps it has something to do with social media, where it's easy to garner likes, shares and #We are Mauna Kea supportive selfies for a simplistic message like “Hawaiians fight to protect their sacred land.” But more complicated concepts, like homelessness, and the gentrification and high cost of living that causes both it and the mass out-migration of kanaka to Las Vegas and elsewhere, aren't easily minimized to Internet memes.
It's easy to attract social media devotees and adrenalin-addicted activists to the latest cause celebre. But using that as gauge falsely inflates the size and power of the movement. I've heard the TMT fight likened to Arab Spring, which is actually a pretty apt comparison. While Arab Spring was a big success on social media, it was a big dud in terms of enacting real and meaningful political change....
what I don't understand is the selective attention paid to certain issues — especially among non-Hawaiians — while others of equal importance are ignored. Shouldn't these struggles, which share a common root, produce similar sufferings, be addressed as the complex, inter-related whole that they are, rather than reduced to a bumper sticker slogan, a street march or a selfie?
KGI: Kauai 3rd Graders Used to Protest Telescope
read ... Musings: Nexus
Anti-GMO Wooley to be Unemployed June 30?
CB: There’s been no word on whether Jessica Wooley will be asked to stay on as head of the Office of Environmental Quality Control. Her term is set to end June 30.
She leads a small office with big responsibilities — namely, implementing the laws and rules regarding environmental impact statements. This is a comprehensive review that covers environmental, social, economic and cultural impacts of certain projects, such as those using land classified as a conservation district, within a shoreline area or within a historic site.
Abercrombie appointed Wooley in March 2014. The Senate confirmed her in a 17-8 vote, split in part over her support for labeling genetically modified food.
As Wooley awaits a decision on whether she’ll be asked to serve another term, a key board she sits on as an ex-officio member, the Environmental Council, has struggled to meet due to so many empty seats.
Only nine of the council’s 15 seats are currently filled and five members’ terms are set to end June 30. The April meeting was canceled because the council lacked the eight members needed to make quorum; there’s concern this will happen more frequently in the coming months.
The council advises the governor, all state agencies and the Legislature on environmental issues. The council’s 2014 annual report, released this month, says its role is to provide information on the state of the environment and identify priorities, especially for decision-makers.
Ige has only submitted one name to the Senate for confirmation, Robert Parsons, who easily cleared a committee hurdle last week and is on track to serve on the council.
read ... Your Tax Dollars at Work
Children's Nonprofit Terrified by Invasion of Homeless Heroin Addicts
SA: Judy Lind, executive director of the Kukui Children's Foundation, said her nonprofit owns and operates the Kukui Center. She said she supports the bill, which would put the center in a new area with sit-lie restrictions. Since the sit-lie ban took effect in downtown-Chinatown, a greater number of homeless have moved into the Kukui area and the foundation's property has been vandalized in two months as many times as the previous six years, she said.
"We have lost the use of our outdoor seating area for meeting with clients due to the theft of equipment," Lind said. "Even more concerning is the first-ever incident of a man found unconscious in a first-floor locked bathroom with needles, most likely from a heroin overdose."....
Councilman Joey Manahan said he's seen an alarmingly steep increase in the number of homeless who live around Kapalama Canal, which is part of the area he represents.
Some have grown so used to living there that "I've seen kids getting picked up by school buses there to go to school," Manahan said. "That's not OK, and I really fear for their safety out there."
Meanwhile, interactions between the campers and neighboring business owners "have become more and more unfriendly," he said.
Elefante, one of the two Council members who oppose the bill, said all the sit-lie laws have done is push the homeless into other areas of Oahu.
"It continues to move people around," he said. "Since we passed legislation … last year, I, personally now see more and more homeless folks coming into the suburban areas such as Pearl City, Aiea and Waipahu." ....
KITV: Expanded sit-lie bill advances in city council
Precisely as Predicted: Homeless tent cities: Seattle’s decade-long nightmare coming to Honolulu?
read ... Homeless
Kitesurfer Harassed by Police, Prosecutors working for Krilua NIMBYs
CB: ...In February, Don Farley was helping a group of kitesurfers launch their contraptions off the beach at Kailua Bay park. He was cited by police for illegal commercial activity, which is prohibited at the park.
You can read the Community Voice Don wrote for us about the whole experience here but suffice it to say that the retired Pearl Harbor shipyard project manager was not happy that he had to spend hundreds of dollars to fight the ticket in court.
That day in court came Tuesday and, probably to no one’s surprise, the case against Don was dismissed....
read ... Price of NIMBYs
Enviros Upset because H-Power Recycling Stifles Brainwashing Opportunity
CB: ...the newest boiler at H-POWER is what’s known as a “mass burn” facility. That means there’s no effort at separating waste before burning it. The temperatures are high enough that it will torch just about anything. The key here is to consider the type of consumer behavior this engenders: if most of the trash is thrown together for burning, what’s the incentive for separating the waste stream into various components to make better use of some of its elements?
read ... Propaganda of the Deed Lost with HPower
HCDA rule could cancel developer's plan for affordable rentals
HNN: Under The Howard Hughes Corporation's plan, the corner of Ward Avenue and Halekauwila Street will be the site for a 424-unit, 43-story condominium called 988 Halekauwila. The developer originally intended the building to include 125 affordable units for sale.
"What we're asking for is the ability to satisfy our reserved housing requirements with for-rent units as opposed to for-sale units," Hughes Corporation senior vice president Dave Striph said.
Under Hughes' offer, the 375 rental apartments would meet state requirements for workforce housing for the developer's two Kakaako projects presently under construction and Phase 1 of its Kakaako Master Plan.
"Not only are we providing more units much earlier, but also to a lower income group," Striph said.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority's rule requires the rental units to remain affordable for 15 years. Now some on HCDA's board think it should be for 30 years.
"The one thing you don't want to have is after 15 years this goes on the market and now you've lost this affordable housing in Kakaako," HCDA vice chairman Steve Scott said.
Striph said building 988 Halekauwila will cost Hughes $85 million to $100 million in cash equity. He said Hughes can justify absorbing below market returns for 15 years but not 30.
"If the HCDA board forces us to do 30 years, we'll go back to re-evaluating and probably go to a for-sale project," he said.
read ... Affordable?
Rail, Eminent Domain, And Who's Going To Pay
IC: Compare these two reports, filed just over a month apart, about California's "high speed" rail system, now underway in the Central Valley:
And here's a report on an aging mass transit system, BART (there are lessons here for HART, Honolulu's fledgling municipal rail transit authority):
read ... Eminent
Only Two Politicians Poll Above 50%
CB: We surveyed 780 registered voters April 7-9, asking their opinion of U.S. Reps. Mark Takai and Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, Gov. David Ige, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and President Barack Obama.
Gabbard was the only one more popular than the nation’s commander in chief, garnering a 64 percent approval rating to his 60 percent....
Caldwell was the next most popular with 52 percent of Hawaii voters surveyed having a positive opinion of the mayor.
The mayor did better on Oahu, with 54 percent approval, than the neighbor islands, 46 percent. But voters who had a negative opinion of him were also higher on Oahu at 33 percent compared to just 14 percent on the neighbor islands....
Ige, now almost five months into his first term, had a 49 percent approval rating statewide with 22 percent having a negative opinion and 29 percent saying they were unsure.
Schatz and Hirono surveyed similarly with 46 percent positive and 32 percent negative for Schatz, 48 percent positive and 36 percent negative for Hirono.
Just 16 percent of Hawaii voters had a negative opinion of Takai, but 40 percent were unsure, reflecting his relative short time in office as a new congressman. Forty-four percent had a positive opinion of the former state lawmaker from Pearl City.
Looking at the poll results by island, Oahu is generally less happy with their elected officials than the neighbor islands.
A whopping 70 percent of voters surveyed on Maui, Kauai and Big Island have a positive opinion of Obama, compared to 55 percent on Oahu.
Schatz polled 9 percent higher on the neighbor islands and Hirono did 19 percent better in approval ratings.
Ige’s numbers were relatively steady when looking by island (just 4 percent better on neighbor islands)....
When it comes to income, only Hirono and Caldwell had the most support coming from the poorest voters. Obama, Ige, Schatz, Gabbard and Takai all received the most positive opinions from those earning $100,000 or more....
LINK: Poll Results
read ... Hawaii Leaders Popular With Voters
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