Relativity Media: E + mc = 0
Ige to hear Testimony on Maui Memorial Partnership Plan Tuesday
Kelii Akina vs Kanaiolowalu: Next Steps
HTA "Will Continue to Monitor the Jones Act"
Video: New Allies for Jones Act Reform
Friends of NRA Events Set for Kauai, Kona, Kaneohe
Parallel Reality of Anti-Cane Burning Activists
Hawaii Foster Care Class Action Lawsuit
Hawaii Praised for Cancer-Fighting Public Policies
Hilda Cat 3 -- Projected Hilo Landfall as Tropical Storm
Randy Perreira: I am such a Pathetic Union Boss that many of My Members Could Qualify for Welfare
Star-Adv column by HGEA Pres Randy Perreira: ...While no one goes into a career in the public sector expecting to become wealthy, it is shameful that a segment of government workers in Hawaii make less than $15 an hour. (So says the guy who purports to 'represent' them.)
Additionally, many of those in public service pay as much as approximately 40 percent of their medical insurance premiums. The average premium for single coverage is about $200 per month; a family plan is approximately $650 per month. For those employees who earn $15 an hour, their one week's salary, before taxes, would go to pay for the family medical plan. That doesn't leave much for rent or mortgage payments, food and utilities. (Question: How can the unions be so politically powerful and at the same time do such a pathetic job of representing their own members?)
It is a sad and ironic fact that some of these public employees whose job is to help others obtain public assistance can actually qualify for public assistance themselves. (And ironic that Perreira doesn't see the irony in this column.)
Best Comment: "Let's not fool anyone. The lowest paid public employee already makes more than $15/hour when you consider the lifetime tax free pension & health benefits they accrue plus the most liberal vacation and sick leave benefits in the country they enjoy. Wait until the private sector employees are on parity with public employees before further feathering their nests."
Reality: HGEA Boss Admits Private Sector Unions Give Hospital Workers Better Contract than HGEA
read ... Randy Perreira
New direction for Maui region hospitals
MN: We're on the cusp of a public-private partnership for Maui Memorial Medical Center (MMMC) as proposals are being submitted this summer....
As HB1075 was considered this past legislative session, the MRHS had to take steps to stop the losses and bleeding at MMMC. The board voted in March to cut $28 million in services and positions at MMMC for the upcoming fiscal year. Suddenly, the community better understood the desperate condition the hospital was in and the realities we faced and rallied to "Save Our Hospital."
Thankfully, enabling legislation was passed, which Gov. David Ige signed into law in June. This allowed the MRHS to enter into a public-private partnership with a private, not-for-profit hospital company that is licensed to conduct hospital operations in Hawaii.
While MRHS had been working with Hawaii Pacific Health to be the private side of the partnership, the legislation opened the process up and sought proposals for the public-private partnership, with a required notice of invitation for statement of interest from qualified hospital companies to be published. This notice is available on the MMMC's home page at www.mauimemorialmedical.org....
Related: Ige to hear Testimony on Maui Memorial Partnership Plan Tuesday
read ... New Direction?
Ian Lind: Ige Admin in Private Meetings on Mauna Kea Situation?
ILind: Just because Ige and team are quiet and “Appearing” incompetent, and “appeasing” the protesters does Not mean this is what is really happening. There are private meetings taking place… Are any of the commenters here at those meetings?….UH NO they are Not / / / / they are here to comment and speculate on what they are seeing. Do commenters really think there is NO Discussion? How Stupid of some. What we are all seeing is actually Opposite as what is really going on. I have talked with someone who knows what is really happening and let’s just say the &%#@ will hit the fan pretty soon and the fan will be on HIGH and the &%#@ will Not be distributed evenly.. Ok now everyone who KNOWS EVERYTHING step up and refute my words.. Does anyone here know what went on in Kona on Aug. 03 and 04 Bet Not.. Please....
read ... Mauna Kea stalemate raises questions
Poll: Oahu residents believe the homeless problem is worsening
SA: Oahu residents overwhelmingly believe the island’s homeless problem has gotten worse over the past year and is hurting both the overall economy and their own quality of life, according to a new Hawaii Poll....
The Hawaii Poll was conducted by Ward Research Inc. for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now, and surveyed 408 residents across Oahu between July 24-29. It had a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.
According to the results, 73 percent of Oahu residents said they believe the island’s homeless problem has gotten worse over the past 12 months.
By comparison, a February 2014 Ward Research survey of registered voters found that 58 percent of respondents said they believed the homeless problem had gotten worse in the preceding 12 months....
PDF: Homeless in Hawaii Poll Questions 3,4 & 5
read ... Oahu residents believe the homeless problem is worsening
State Orders Homeless Tweekers out from under Airport Viaduct
KITV: Once they got the warning, some of the homeless began pulling out their belongings from under the freeway. Much of it now lines Kilihau Street in Mapunapuna....
"They move it on the sidewalk because they think it’s safe in that there-- something about the city/state ordinance where the sidewalk is a safe place," said Mike Bird, whose workplace Pacific Diving Industries is across from the freeway encampment.
Bird and co-worker Brad York have traveled the world as commercial divers, but are amazed at how the encampment has grown.
"I walk by from time to time. It's pretty nuts. They have, like, a full on city down there. It is a lot like Southeast Asia and Central America with the type of makeshift shelters that they have set up. Some of it is pretty impressive too," said York.
Impressive -- like a makeshift dock complete with a floating solar panel. The camper is tucked out of sight.
But the homeless estimate there are about a hundred people who have settled into the area. They have created a giant mound of trash just outside the fence at the city's Keehi transfer center....
Some homeless say they have moved their things to an area they believe is federal land and will not be cleared out next week.
There are camps on the banks of the stream hidden deep in the mangroves. Scores of stripped mopeds (perhaps one of them yours) litter the area.
read ... Homeless warned of Monday sweep
Rail Wrecking Waipahu Businesses
SA: ...In Waipahu, where construction of the guideway along Farrington Highway has begun, businesses and residents say they are feeling a strain due to traffic congestion and lane closures.
Businesses in the Waipahu Professional Center on Farrington Highway have reported a decline in revenue since the loss of left-turn access into their lot, said Jared Watumull, vice president of Watumull Properties Corp., which manages the center of 15 tenants.
Watumull said HART could have done a better job of notifying his company of the closure, adding that customers are deterred from driving to the property due to the multiple lane closures along Farrington Highway.
“We’re not against it (rail). I feel that once everything’s done, it’s going to bring great value to our property,” Watumull said. “I’m looking forward to that day but hopefully I don’t lose every tenant.”...
SA: Be creative in helping businesses hurt by rail
read ... Rail Wreck
Kewalo Basin Development Scheme: Fancy restaurants, wedding venue, parking structures
SA: Eventually, the free public parking would be a thing of the past, making it harder for ordinary working people to access the ocean.
The plans include buildings up to 45 feet high, fancy restaurants, a wedding venue and parking structures (see bit.ly/1Uu7LJY and www.dbedt.hawaii.gov/hcda).
read ... Friends of Kewalos
Legislators Work towards All Mail-In Voting
Shapiro: Today’s voter apathy is blamed mostly on Hawaii’s one-party rule and the big special-interest money in politics, which leave many eligible voters feeling their ballots don’t matter.
There’s no question local Democrats thrive in the low-turnout environment, holding every major federal, state and county elected office, as well as super majorities in both houses of the Legislature....
Allowing permanent absentee voter status has dramatically increased mail-in voting, and registration is easier with online and Election-Day sign-ups and driver’s licensing bureaus offering voter registration.
A bill for all-mail-in voting, modeled on Oregon’s law that boosted participation there, stalled in the Legislature this year but likely will be resurrected.
When finishing work on this bill, Hawaii lawmakers should also consider Oregon’s latest innovation: automatic voter registration and mailing of ballots to everybody of voting age issued a driver’s license or state ID.
It ends registration hassles for most eligible voters once and for all, and valid voter ID is built in.
Critics claim it opens the door to abuse, but they said the same thing about mail-in voting and it hasn’t happened. (Uhhhh... see link)
Reality: Vote by Mail Fraud: Romy Cachola Barged In, Wanted Ballots
read ... Romy Cachola Plan
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