Reason: Conversion Therapy Is Bad, but Banning It Is a Form of Unacceptable Censorship
The Drama of the Jones Act Follies
HB1686: New standard for involuntarily commitment to psychiatric facility
Sex, Drugs, Gambling and Suicide on Legislative Agenda
Fact Sheet: Nelson v Hawaiian Homes Commission
VIDEO: How a Bill Becomes a Law
Advocates for Abused and Neglected Children Needed on Oahu
Hi Tech Scammers: Tax Real Companies to Line our Pockets
PBN: Two Hawaii officials disagreed about whether Hawaii’s innovation sector should get its own dedicated source of funding at a panel discussion on Thursday.
At a panel discussion hosted by the Hawaii Venture Capital Association on Thursday, Luis Salaveria, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said in the legislature this year, “there is going to be much discussion and debate about finding that nexus and source of dedicated funding [for the innovation sector]...if we were to do a long term commitment [of funding] that really makes a statement to the entrepreneurial community that the state is serious about growing our economy.”
At the moment DBEDT gets $9 million out of the state's $13 billion budget, according to Senator Senator Glenn Wakai. He said that he believes the DBEDT needs a dedicated source of funding, possibly a portion of the corporate income tax.
SS: Spike in tech salaries adds to IT recruiting woes for government
read … More Corporate Welfare for Rich Phonies
Vote by Mail on the move at Legislature
SA: Hawaii lawmakers seem comfortable with the idea, with both the House and Senate approving bills last year to establish statewide mail-in balloting. The bills died in the last days of the 2015 session when lawmakers failed to provide funding to cover the startup costs for the new system.
Elections officials are now proposing a system in which ballots would be mailed to each registered voter, and those voters would then return their completed ballots by mail. To be counted, the ballots would have to be received by election officials by 6 p.m. on Election Day.
For voters accustomed to absentee voting at walk-in sites in the 10 days before Election Day, that process would continue in each county, Nago said. On Election Day at least one polling place would be open in each county to serve people who did not receive their ballots by mail for any reason, Nago said.
Startup costs for the mail-in program would be about $350,000 statewide to purchase mail sorters and some other equipment and materials, Nago said.
If the bill passes, the first county to shift over to the new system would be Kauai, which under the Office of Elections proposal would change to the all-mail system in 2018. Maui and Hawaii island would change to mail-in balloting in 2020, followed by Oahu in 2022….
House Republican Leader Beth Fukumoto Chang also supports the idea, and said she wants to see a system similar to the Oregon model, where data are publicly available before Election Day showing who voted and who hasn’t voted yet.
That allows people to check to see whether their friends voted and contact friends who didn’t to urge them to turn in their ballots, said Fukumoto Chang (R, Mililani-Mililani Mauka-Waipio Acres).
“You can find your friend on Facebook, you can find your friend on Twitter, and you can remind them to vote,” she said. “I think it’s got potential to really increase voter turnout, especially in a state like Hawaii.”
Reality: Vote by Mail Fraud: Romy Cachola Barged In, Wanted Ballots
read … Vote by Mail
No Joke: University of Hawaii seeks revenue bond authority again from Legislature
PBN: The University of Hawaii System is seeking legislative approval to issue $100 million in revenue bonds over the next six years to cover its deferred maintenance backlog, which exceeds $500 million.
Senate Bill 2942 and its companion, House Bill 2413, would authorize the university to issue up to $100 million in revenue bonds until 2022 to cover capital improvement projects across the 10-campus system.
read … No Joke
Lawmakers consider UH salary cap
SA: The governor’s pay, which is set by a salary commission, is $149,556, according to Gov. David Ige’s office. It will increase to $152,544 on July 1, under an approved salary increase.
At least seven UH executives earn more than twice the governor’s current salary, including the deans of UH Manoa’s medical school ($522,384), law school ($406,128) and business college ($384,120). UH President David Lassner is paid $375,000. In all, 32 executives earn a base salary above $200,000, following raises approved last fall.
House Bill 1685 and Senate Bill 2768 would subject proposed salaries for executive and managerial posts that are double the governor’s salary or higher to disapproval by the Legislature before taking effect, according to Choy, who said he might consider lowering the threshold amount….
KL: Title IX Office Doubles Staff Hopes for Even More Sexism Complaints
read … Salary Cap
HB1713: Reverse Ethics Ruling on Teacher Travel
SA: …A legislative committee approved a bill Friday that would allow public school teachers in Hawaii to travel for free as chaperones on educational trips for students, despite opposition from the state Ethics Commission.
The bill would offer an exemption from the state Ethics Code to state employees — including teachers — who take part in extracurricular service that is related to their jobs. They would be allowed to receive “detached remuneration,” including free travel, under certain conditions.
Rep. Roy Takumi (D, Pearl City-Pearl Harbor) and House Judiciary Chairman Karl Rhoads (D, Chinatown-Iwilei-Kalihi) introduced House Bill 1713 in response to a controversial opinion issued by the Ethics Commission last year that led to the cancellation of numerous field trips, from band performances to tours of the nation’s capital.
The commission advised teachers not to accept free airline tickets, lodging and other benefits as chaperones on educational trips that they organize and promote in conjunction with tour companies. Doing so, it said, was a conflict of interest because they were acting as a representative of the tour company as well as a state employee. It also would violate the law prohibiting state employees from accepting costly gifts, attorneys said.
HB1713: Text, Status
read … HB1713
10 Years Later—Sudden ‘Urgency’ on State Mental Hospital
SA: …More than 10 years ago, the Health Department commissioned a master plan to revamp the campus, the only public psychiatric hospital in the state. But it was neither funded nor implemented — and over that time, the facility has seen an alarmingly sharp increase in the number of court-committed patients, as well as hundreds of reported assaults by patients against workers.
Security problems have been compounded by staff lapses — the most recent occurred last weekend, allowing a dangerous patient to escape into the community before being recaptured Tuesday in Waikiki.
That escape speaks as much to hospital staff’s lax attention to security as it does to the deficient facilities. The former must be addressed by firmer management: a tightening of internal procedures and disciplinary consequences for those involved. The latter problem — the one of facilities — should be tackled via the revamped master plan.
Unveiled last fall, the revised master plan was rightfully heralded for its focus on separating high-risk patients from the rest of the population, as well as for increasing the facility’s overall capacity.
This month, though, simmering frustration over the Health Department’s long timeframe boiled over, with House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke scolding Ige’s administration for its “ridiculous” schedule of seven or eight years to rebuild the hospital….
read … 10 Years Later
Once again, State promises change after losing more millions in another inmate-related settlement
KHON: …Changes are being promised for Hawaii’s correctional system after a mishap that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
It’s a story we’ve been following since we learned $7.2 million will be paid to Aaron Persin.
He lost his legs and sued the state, alleging he did not receive proper medical attention at Oahu Community Correctional Center.
This is not the first time the Department of Public Safety has had to pay for an inmate for something that happened behind bars.
KHON2 wanted to know what the department is doing to change its practices so others won’t suffer the same fate and taxpayers won’t have to foot the bill.
While officials promised change, they wouldn’t offer specifics, so we turned to the attorney general and lawmakers for answers.
read … Giving Millions to Criminals
Usual Suspects Propose State Allow Homeless Tent Cities to Remain
HNN: There are several state-owned properties where homeless enforcement actions are rare.
And some lawmakers are trying to change that.
They're considering a bill that would make it illegal to sit or lie on state property, similar to a city ordinance that does the same.
Under the state proposal, tents, blankets, towels, sleeping bags and chairs, along with any form of camping, would be illegal.
Encampments like the ones at Waianae Boat Harbor and the Mauka Gateway Park could potentially be swept without notice, under the proposal.
"What I'm trying to do is clear up the confusion," said the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Isaac Choy.
Choy said the bill is aimed at closing existing loopholes.
"It doesn't matter who does the sweeps," he said. "But when they do the sweeps they just going to a particular area and get the job done without question of whether it's city or state land."
Kathryn Xian, executive director of the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery and a homeless advocate, said another measure aimed at moving the homeless from place to place won't solve anything.
(Translation: We progressives need to keep the homeless on the streets so we can use them to make you feel guilty. Ironically it is our policy of ‘sex drugs and rock n roll’ --especially drugs-- which made homelessness into the problem it is today—but who is going to blame us?)
Reality for those who can handle it: Homeless tent cities: Seattle’s decade-long nightmare coming to Honolulu?
read … Homeless Tent Cities
Dengue: Ige Still Inactive after Gabbard Demands Fever Emergency
WHT: Gov. David Ige didn’t budge Friday afternoon after U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, called for him to declare a state of emergency in response to Hawaii Island’s ongoing dengue fever outbreak.
Spokeswoman Cindy McMillan told the Tribune-Herald he “continues to work with the county to stamp out the fever,” but that no additional measures were planned at the time.
Ige’s response, or lack thereof, came a few hours after Gabbard issued a statement Friday criticizing his response to the outbreak and calling on him to dedicate more resources to the effort to slow the spread of the mosquito-borne virus.
“The dengue fever outbreak on the Big Island continues to worsen. We cannot afford to wait any longer for the aggressive action necessary to combat the spread of this serious disease,” she said in the statement. “An emergency proclamation from the governor is long overdue. There have already been 242 confirmed cases of dengue fever on Hawaii Island, creating a public health emergency affecting our residents and visitors, and Hawaii Island’s economy. They deserve our state’s full attention and resources to do what it takes to put an end to this outbreak, and prevent it from becoming endemic and spreading to other parts of the island and state.”
The congresswoman requested that Ige deploy state resources, including the Hawaii National Guard, to assist with mosquito abatement, public information and providing “completely free testing for those with suspected symptoms of this incurable disease.”
She also called for the governor to appoint a “Dengue Czar,” who would oversee and coordinate response efforts by various agencies and the public.
read … Fever Pitch
Intelligent Person Forced to Quit Pesticide ‘Fact-Finding’ Group
KE: The Kauai Joint Fact-Finding Group on pesticides has lost a key member, with Roy Yamakawa quitting the appointed panel over disputed methodology.
Roy declined to comment and deferred questions to mediator Peter Adler, whose ACCORD group is overseeing the process.
“Roy had differences of opinion on the methods by which we are working to complete the last legs of the effort,” Peter replied in an email confirming Roy's departure.
Roy, now retired from his positions as Kauai extension agent and county administrator for the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Ag, had an understanding of pesticide use and local ag unmatched on the JFFG. And since a majority of panelists hold anti-GMO sentiments, his departure exacerbates that imbalance…..
The JFF report was due out in early January. But it was lacking its crucial health section and the county and state, which are financing the $100,000 exercise, reportedly refused to accept the incomplete document. The health section reportedly is being vetted by an epidemiologist, and the state Attorney General's office is also reviewing the report.
Meanwhile, I've learned that a study on glyphosate in honey — recently submitted to the JFFG — was financed by Surfrider. The advocacy group has joined Earthjustice, Center for Food Safety, Pesticide Action Network and the county in appealing a judge's ruling that overturned Bill 2491/Ordinance 960, a hotly contested pesticide/GMO regulatory measure….
Recently, the anti-GMO group US Right to Know made a huge stink about how Monsanto and other agrichemical companies were supposedly corrupting the scientific process simply by giving scientists money to conduct educational outreach programs. …
read … Imbalance
District-Based Kauai Council Charter Amendment Popular
KGI: A little more than 70 percent of those who responded to the Charter Review Commission’s online districting survey said they wanted some kind of change in Kauai’s voting system for the county council. (District-based voting will allow Kauai’s lunatic fringe a better chance of controlling the council)
The survey, which ran from Dec. 4 to Dec. 30, was conducted in conjunction with the county’s information and technology department, using the software surveymonkey.com.
About 500 people took the survey, which was a pleasant surprise for the Charter Review Commission, according to Allan Parachini, who was selected as the Commission’s new chairman on Jan 25….
read … Districting
Military? Voting is our right and responsibility
HAW: …If you’re new to Schofield Barracks or Fort Shafter and aren’t registered to vote, or if you’re required to update your information with your local election officials, then complete an SF 76, a Federal Post Card Application Form, and mail or email it to your home residence in order to receive your absentee ballot.
If you’re separating from the Army and heading back home, complete a Voter Registration Application and mail/email it to your local election official. The form is available through the Schofield Barracks Installation Voting Assistance Office.
Remember, voting it is our right and responsibility. Let’s vote, America!
Schofield Barracks Installation Voting Assistance Office: Stop by the garrison IVAO, in the Soldiers Support Center, Bldg. 750, Rm. 102, weekdays (except Thursdays), 8 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, call 655-5546 or visit www.fvap.gov.
read … Voting is our right and responsibility
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