Hawaii Republican Presidential Caucus Set for Tuesday March 8, 2016
Supreme Court to take up case involving alleged retaliation by powerful state senator
Governor Touts 13 Kakaako homeless moved to shelter--but 6 Return to Street after One Night
Honolulu Gun Destruction Reveals Radical Gun Control Agenda
Drillers Unleash 'Super-Size' Natural Gas Output
Deadline to File as Candidate for 'Aha is September 15
Former top UH budget exec qualifies for retirement nine months after being replaced
HNN: ...The University of Hawaii's top budget official has stayed on the UH payroll nine months after he was replaced, allowing him to qualify for retirement benefits.
The move is generating criticism from one state senator who said it's another example of a golden parachute for a departing UH executive for which taxpayers will pay dearly.
Howard Todo was UH's vice president for budget and finance since 2005, earning $279,000 a year. But in January of this year, the university replaced Todo with Kalbert Young, who had been the state budget director.
Since then Todo has remained on the UH payroll, working out of the second floor at Bachman Hall in a new position as an administrative program officer, at an annual salary rate of $145,000 but working half time, according to UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl.
"I think people should realize that Howard Todo could have easily stayed here, hit his ten-year mark, and given us two weeks’ notice and left,” Meisenzahl said.
Todo is being allowed to keeping working at UH through next month, allowing him to hit 10 years of service this fall, meaning he'll qualify for about $55,000 a year in pension and receive half of his retirement health benefits covered for life.
"When they try to get rid of these people, then they try to give them a golden parachute and allow them to retire,” said State Sen. Donna Kim. “Not only are they paid a high salary, but now the state of Hawaii and the taxpayers have to pay for these people's retirement for the rest of their lives." ...
Kim questioned exactly what Todo is doing in the new position. “I’m told he’s never around,” she said....
read ... Golden Parachute
Maui Gives State Utility Regulators an Earful on NextEra Deal
CB: More than 200 people filled an elementary school cafeteria Friday evening to take three-minute turns telling the state Public Utilities Commission what they think about the proposed $4.3 billion sale of Hawaiian Electric Industries to NextEra Energy....
...the impacts of selling one of the oldest companies in Hawaii (a bastion of the old-boy system!) to an enormous energy firm based in Florida, was clearly not lost on the community....
Most of those who testified during the nearly three-hour “public listening session,” as the PUC billed it, came out against the deal....
But there were a significant number of supporters too, making the case that NextEra can bring more expertise in renewables, increased buying power and other ways to potentially save customers money....
The next listening session is Saturday morning on Lanai and the sessions wrap up Oct. 27 on Oahu.
Then the process, which started in January, gets decidedly more serious. As Iwase described it, the “trial-like evidentiary hearing” starts Nov. 30 at Blaisdell Arena (good place for a circus).
read ... Maui Gives State Utility Regulators an Earful on NextEra Deal
NextEra Energy underestimated challenges in Hawaii during HECO sale process, exec says
PBN: “I think we felt we had some understanding of how to do things the right way in Hawaii,” Eric Gleason, president of NextEra Energy Hawaii LLC, told PBN. “I personally feel that we did not fully appreciate how challenging the history has been when Mainland companies come here and we realize that ultimately, if the merger is approved and the companies come together, a few years down the road, we need to get to a point where people say, ‘NextEra came here to Hawaii, and that was actually good for Hawaii.’ We realize that’s going to take a lot of hard work and not going to happen by itself.”
“One of the things that was very apparent early on, besides people being passionate about energy, is that there’s a skepticism about major infrastructure projects and around Mainland companies,” Gleason said. “We figured that out rather quickly and tried to understand some of the things that have gone wrong and some of the things that have gone right on other people’s big infrastructure projects. I think we underestimated the challenge.”
The first of several public listening sessions being spearheaded by the PUC is scheduled for Friday evening on Maui.
Evidentiary hearings will follow these public meetings.
The PUC is expected to make a decision on the acquisition by June 2016. (And the only people who haven't figured out what that decision will be are at NextEra.)
70% 'NO' -- Have NextEra Energy’s 50 additional commitments changed your stance on that company’s purchase of Hawaiian Electric Co?
read ... Another Sucker from the Mainland
DoT to Waste $2M Studying 'Water Recycling at Airports'
PBN: The Hawaii State Department of Transportation, through its Airports Division, is looking to undergo a $2 million water recycling study at airports across the state, according to public records.
The feasibility study would include looking into the re-use of water, including water scalping technology at Honolulu International Airport, Kahului airport on Maui, Hilo International Airport (big water shortage at Hilo!) and Kona International Airport at Keahole, both on the Big Island, according to a request for proposals released by the state.
The process of water scalping involves the extraction of usable water from a sewer network. (Hire Caldwell for this.)
read ... Study how to justify more useless projects
Hawaii County 'Ethics' Commission to Pretend to Question Kenoi Crony
WHT: ...Hawaii County Council Chairman Dru Kanuha will be back before the county Board of Ethics on Wednesday, this time on a complaint that he accepted gifts from lobbyists trying to influence official action.
Kanuha accepted $536 worth of airfare from the Honolulu-based Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii on Sept. 11 and Nov. 10, according to the gift disclosure he filed June 30 with the Ethics Board.
One flight was for Kanuha to attend a “policy stakeholder meeting,” and the other for a legislative aide to attend a three-day leadership training session, according to Kanuha’s gift disclosure.
Kanuha’s bill, banning electronic cigarettes anywhere conventional tobacco cigarettes are banned, was introduced Oct. 14 and passed Dec. 17. It was the second bill in as many years that Kanuha sponsored on behalf of the coalition. The other one, in 2013, raised the tobacco purchasing age from 18 to 21.
The coalition’s three members lobbying the County Council on the bills didn’t register as lobbyists until Dec. 3, 10 and 11....
read ... Hana hou for Kanuha at Ethics Board
Kakaako Homeless Refuse Shelter, 51 Empty Beds in Waipahu Available
HNN: Time is running out for homeless people living in Kakaako to find a new place to sleep. 13 of them arrived on city bus at a Waipahu shelter on Thursday, ahead of next week's sidewalk cleanup.
"They got ahead of the curve and came out and hopefully, their experience here will convince them that this is the way to go," said William Hummel of the Lighthouse Emergency Shelter.
"We saw them come in, get processed, and there was lots of room in the sanctuary for them to find space," said Walter Chang, who moved into the shelter three weeks ago.
Only 7 of the Kakaako homeless, however, returned to the facility after the first night.
"Some folks come and they don't like the rules. Some folks come and are happy to get what we offer," Hummel said.
Under a contract with the state, the shelter receives $13 per person per night to provide dinner and a place to sleep for 85 people, according to Hummel. At one point, up to 160 people stayed there, but the population dropped significantly about a year ago. Before the latest group arrived on Thursday, only 27 clients were staying at the facility.
(85-27-13+6 = 51 empty beds)
read ... Some Kakaako homeless move to Waipahu shelter
Criminal With Lengthy Rap Sheet Violated TRO Got Probation Before Home Invasion
KHON: Kea Davis Milo is doing better and continues to recover after she was brutally beaten inside her own home....
In February 2015, Parks violated an order of protection that was issued in January.
KHON2 spoke to the man who filed that temporary restraining order. He didn’t want to be identified, but court documents show he felt threatened by Parks, and was afraid for his safety and the safety of his neighbors.
In the court filing, he wrote, “one day (he) may come into my house and kill me.”
According to court documents, Parks violated that protection order and on June 26, was sentenced to two years probation and eight days in jail with credit for time served.
Former Honolulu prosecutor Peter Carlisle says penalties should be increased.
KHON: State hospital assault being investigated by police
read ... Soft on Crime
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