Who is running for the 'Aha? Candidate List Secret until too late
Media Monopoly Grabs for Tourism Market
Hawaii: $10,137 State, Local Bond Debt Per Capita
Keli'i Akina: Silent Majority of Native Hawaiians Reject 'Aha
SA: ...I'm very proud of my Hawaiian heritage, and I'm very involved with helping to craft the future for Native Hawaiians as individuals and as a people.
But I think it's important to realize that we are not a tribe or a single mass of people who think the same way. There's tremendous diversity among Native Hawaiians. We are Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians. We are people who believe in a future sovereign nation of Hawaiians and people who don't believe in that.
So my major concern is when a small group of people uses government resources to represent Hawaiians as one entity. That's simply not the case.
There's a growing stereotype today of Native Hawaiians as being in opposition to all things American or all things dealing with technological progress. That's a false stereotype. The truth is that Native Hawaiians can be found along the entire range of positions onthe key issues in Hawaii today.
Actually I believe that there is a silent majority of Native Hawaiians who are very glad for our relationship with the United States, and at the same time very proud of our cultural heritage as Hawaiians. And I think that the numbers bear out, when we pay close attention to efforts such as the Native Hawaiian Roll.
Q: How is that?
A: Millions of dollars over a four-year period were spent trying to create a tribal list of Native Hawaiians. At this stage, clearly more than 85 percent of Native Hawaiians have chosen not to be part of this.
Q: Is that because they chose not to, or could it be it was failure of their outreach programs or whatever?
A: (Laughs) The outreach programs have spent more money and put more energy and engaged more public relations efforts than any voter registration drive in the history of Hawaii.
They originally targeted more than 500,000 Native Hawaiians across the nation, according to census data, which now shows that figure is 560,000. When little more than 40,000 signed up, the Native Hawaiian Roll decided to go to prior lists of Hawaiians and dumped them, by the tens of thousands, in order to achieve the numbers that they have today. Currently they state approximately 95,000 Native Hawaiians have been certified. Just taking that figure itself, you're clearly dealing with a minority of Hawaiians, and a minority of all people in the state of Hawaii....
read ... Keli'i Akina
AG Chin Takes on Kenoi, Ciber, Legislators
Borreca: ...in his first year as AG, with Gov. David Ige's blessing, Chin already has a set of priorities.
"Unquestionably I have reached out to the Campaign Spending Commission, I have also reached out to the Ethics Commission and the Office of Consumer Protection," Chin said.
Chin told the offices, "We want to be here for you, whatever cases you have that you think we ought to take a look at or investigate, we want to offer our resources."
So far that has meant an AG criminal investigation into the spending practices of Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi, the misdemeanor conviction of a state representative for improperly filing a campaign spending report, and a lawsuit detailing alleged politically connected lobbyists using "inappropriate political influence" in the previous Democratic administration.
The lawsuit filed against Ciber, Inc., a software company doing nearly $14 million in business with the state's Transportation Department, is noteworthy because it mentions John Radcliffe, one of the state's most influential lobbyists, who helped raise funds and influenced policy for the Neil Abercrombie administration. Also mentioned is Bruce Coppa, Abercrombie's former chief of staff, who after Abercrombie's defeat joined Radcliffe's lobbying firm, Capitol Consultants. Neither Coppa nor Radcliffe are named as defendants in the legal action.
Chin explained that in the case of investigating Kenoi using county-issued credit cards for nights at Honolulu hostess bars, it started as an offer to help the Hilo prosecutors with legal expertise.
As the question of conflict of interest arose, the AG just took over the investigation. It is still not clear what will become of the AG's probe, but Chin described it as "an active investigation."
"I can't tell you when or if we are going to come forward with any charges, but we are looking at it." ...
Chin's final big ongoing case is in conjunction with the Campaign Spending Commission. Already, state Rep. James Tokioka, a Kauai Democrat, entered a plea agreement in state court for "Failure to file a complete and accurate candidate committee report."
In the past, forgetful or sloppy bookkeeping netted fines from the commission, but hardly ever were cases turned over for criminal prosecution....
Resisting the entrenched powers would mean taking off the "Ainokea" bumper stickers and replacing them with something saying, "Follow the rules, because I don't care who you are."
read ... Attorney general pursues justice, wherever it leads
Honolulu Rail Contractor Entertains Rail Consultant Who Oversees Him
CB: ...A high-ranking consultant who oversees construction on Honolulu’s $6 billion rail project is under a city ethics investigation for a sailing excursion he took with his family to watch fireworks along the coast of Oahu on New Year’s Eve.
Tom LeBeau is the deputy director of construction for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, and a consultant for HDR Inc., whose companies have more than $87 million worth of rail contracts for consulting services. (HDR bought InfraConsult which has the HART contract to oversee the other contractors.)
According to an anonymous complaint filed with the Honolulu Ethics Commission, LeBeau and his family spent Dec. 31, 2014, on a sailboat owned by Tim Mackin, who works for Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
Kiewit has more than $1 billion in construction contracts to help build the city’s 20-mile commuter rail line.
The complaint, which was obtained by Civil Beat, includes photos and Facebook postings that appear to show LeBeau on a boat with Mackin. It also states that LeBeau is responsible for oversight of Kiewit, and questions whether he can remain unbiased “while accepting favors in the form of coastal sails.”
“If this were a City employee, they would be in violation of ethics rules,” the complaint says. “Why is an HDR employee under contract to the city not being held to the same standard?”
2012: Sweetener: Did InfraConsult Push $1.9M Change Order for HDR?
read ... Honolulu Rail Consultant Under Ethics Probe
A wrong that is entrenched is unlikely to be made right
SA: ...The Symphony high-rise condo coming up next to the Blaisdell is a tower of highly reflective, almost-mirror glass that keeps being built despite complaints, public meetings and bureaucratic hand-wringing over the fact that the glass doesn't meet rules for development in the area.
What are the chances that the glass is going to come down or be changed out?
About as good as the chances that City Council rail revotes will somehow undo the rail project.
This malignant tendency to let bygones be bygones and, worse, to throw good money after bad, led directly to the Ciber Inc. mess. When it was clear the company hired to put in a new computer system for the state Highways Division wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, the state's only course of action was to give it more money. Of course, it sounds like there was more than passivity and conflict-avoidance in that case.
This inaction is how the Kakaako homeless camp became a homeless camp....
read ... A wrong that is entrenched is unlikely to be made right
Lanai ILWU Backs NextEra Merger
CB: ...There was only one person (at the PUC hearing) who fully supported the NextEra takeover, and she said that “NextEra has expertise throughout Canada and the U.S. — what will we do without them? We don’t have the expertise here in our state, so just let NextEra do what it wants to do!!”
This NextEra supporter rates a special shout-out, not only for her interesting comments on the State of Hawaii’s perceived deficiencies in the expertise area, but because she organized the far more interesting special session with NextEra’s President, Eric Gleason, three days before the PUC arrived on Sept. 5. She even emailed invitees a CV of Gleason and offered refreshments. The PUC did not.
I was not invited, but I went anyway.
I was elated to see more than 50 individuals appear at the ILWU hall on Wednesday, Sept. 2. “This is great!” I thought. Look at all these people interested in who’s going to provide their electricity! But straight away one young woman asked me, “Aunty, do you know why we are here?”
Soon after, another asked me, “Is this the meeting about the hospital sale?”
Being quick on the uptake, I then started asking others why they thought they were in the ILWU hall at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday. I soon learned that most of the attendees were being paid for their time, having been told to attend a “mandatory” meeting that morning when they clocked in for work....
read ... Lanai
NextEra: HEI is not Local
HTH: ...“There’s definitely concern about (off-island ownership). We understand it. We understand it better now than we did when we started down this path,” he said. “Talking to people around the state, it’s obvious the history of mainland companies coming here and acquiring local companies is not great. Pretty awful. From the examples I’ve heard, it’s hard to find people that have good examples. We realize — not just for getting the merger approved but ultimately for being successful — that we have to break new ground.”
Gleason also took issue with the idea the Hawaiian Electric companies are locally owned and a takeover by NextEra would put control in the hands of people off-island.
“What does it mean to be local? Is HEI local? Is HELCO local? … How much less local does it become by virtue of a change in ownership?” he asked. “Let me give you some background. … I’m not in any way trying to take away from the points that have been made. I think they’re important. But today, HEI is 75 percent held by shareholders that are not in Hawaii. Those are the shareholders that select the board who selects the management who runs the company. Today, we’ve got a great team here at HELCO, but most of the senior management team at the Hawaiian Electric companies are in Oahu.”
PBN: Be careful what you wish for
read ... NextEra realizes merger not easy
Council to consider toothless resolution reprimanding Kenoi
HTH: Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille wants the council to reprimand Mayor Billy Kenoi for inappropriate use of his county credit card, and she put a resolution on Wednesday’s council agenda to do just that.
While the County Council has no authority over the mayor, Wille said the local legislative body should make it clear it doesn’t condone Kenoi’s misuse of his purchasing card, known as a pCard.
“Remaining neutral on this matter may give the impression that the County Council is willing to overlook the mayor’s use of the pCard for personal purchases,” Wille says in Resolution 272.
The resolution concludes it “hereby reprimands Mayor William P. Kenoi for misusing his pCard.”
read ... Toothless
200 Criminals Run Chop Shops under airport viaduct
KITV: There are chops shops operating under the freeway out of sight. They have been there for months.
Stripped mopeds are strewn everywhere amongst growing piles of rubbish buzzing with flies and roaches. Stray dogs can also be seen running around.
The state estimates there are about 200 people living under the viaduct and along the stream. Officials say many of them have been there for years.
According to the state homeless coordinator, the illegal campers were put on notice this week.
"On Monday, the Department of Transportation along with the state sheriffs and homeless service providers are going to do a cleaning of homeless under the freeway, so they did give advance notice to those in the area," said Scott Morishige.
Officials have been saying homeless sweeps won’t happen unless there are places for people to go, and when pressed, Morishige says the state has identified that there are available beds for singles and couples in emergency shelters now.
HNN: Homeless Dude Busted for Stealing Kamehameha Spear
read ... Predators not Victims
Mauna Kea: DLNR vs OHA
CSM: “All of a sudden we saw the DLNR trucks coming and parking and they all came out and just took us,” Kuuipo Freitas, one of the eight arrested while in prayer, told Big Island News.
Another state agency asked the DLNR to cease enforcement and arrests. “It is our understanding that the individuals were arrested this morning while they were in the act of pule, or prayer,” said a statement from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a public agency charged with protecting the rights of native Hawaiians. “Native Hawaiians have constitutionally protected rights to reasonably engage in traditional and customary practices, and regulations cannot eliminate the exercise of these rights.”
HTH: Mauna Kea telescopes spot another galaxy
read ... The Christian Science Monitor
Protesters Expect to be Double-Crossed by OHA
HTH: ...Trustee Robert Lindsey, who chairs the OHA board of trustees and represents Hawaii Island, said he expects “vigorous discourse” about how to proceed.
“In our position, or in my position as chair of the board, I have to be sure that I stay balanced and I stay in the center of all the perspectives that people bring to the table,” he said.
They were joined by trustees Carmen Hulu Lindsey, Dan Ahuna and Colette Machado.
During the meeting at the camp, Machado said she is against building the TMT on Mauna Kea and apologized for not voting for a resolution that would have opposed the $1.4 billion project.
“I come today to ask for your forgiveness,” she told the protesters. “And, there will be a time soon, I think, to revisit withdrawing our support for this. That way, it’sgoing to be more clear that we’re showing our colors, that we’re not going to be walking the fence.”
Several protesters addressed the OHA officials and spoke passionately for protecting a mountain they consider sacred.
“I feel in our heart and our soul this is our time,” said Earl DeLeon.
“Enough of the tears, enough of the arrests, enough of the suffering,” he said. “We have suffered enough as a people.”
Bronson Kobayashi, a protester who was arrested during both police sweeps, said he will wait to see what OHA does before deciding whether the meeting was a success.
“I’m always skeptical because you never know how it comes out,” he said. “I like to see what happens after the meeting.”
read ... Always Skeptical
McKinley HS Students, Faculty, Alumni Reject Rename Demand
KITV: ...“Two words come to mind: pride and tradition,” said Sam Cantiberos, football coach.
“Would it matter if they changed the name? Hell yeah,” said Kaitlynne Kitaura, student.
“Honolulu High School is Honolulu High School, but we are not known as Honolulu High School. We are known as McKinley High School,” said Alvin Nip, teacher....
“A lot of alumni know this school as McKinley High School and they have so much memories here, so if you change that name, it would…like a lot of people would be affected by it,” said Kitaura.
read ... Rejected
Parents, keiki rally for cooler classrooms in light of record-breaking heat
KHON: The Department of Education will soon have more guidelines for staff, parents, and teachers to handle the heat.
A spokesperson says it could happen as soon as Friday morning.
In the meantime, two rallies were held Thursday fronting the DOE building on Punchbowl Street to support teachers and students who work in “unbearable” conditions.
Their message was clear: Give keiki air conditioning, especially in this record-breaking heat.
read ... Cooler
How Honolulu paychecks stack up
PBN: Analysis finds winners and losers in local average pay....
read ... Winners and Losers
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