Who’s Running: Candidates Pulling Papers as of April 15, 2016
Shadow Boxing with Jones Act Strawmen
Handgun Ban: Northern Mariana Islands Flout Court Ruling
Second Crossover—Bills Head for Conference Committee
Haseko Bills before Honolulu Council
Planned Parenthood Resolution Passes Last Committee
Begging for a Piece of the Hotel Room Tax Pie
Shady Dealings
DLIR: Construction Industry’s 12.1 Percent Projected Growth Leads Expansion
Billy Kenoi Held up as Role Model for Teens
WHT: …LEI — which stands for leadership, exploration and inspiration — is hosted by ClimbHI in partnership with Hawaii County and the Big Island Visitors Bureau and is sponsored by the Hawaii Tourism Authority with the goal of exposing high school students to potential careers in the local visitor industry.
But several students who attended the leadership forum, as well as those who organized it, said they didn’t think the embattled mayor’s legal troubles ran counter to the message the forum intended to deliver.
“I thought it was really touching,” Dawstin Hoopai, a student at Kohala High School, said about Kenoi’s speech, which headlined the more than two-hour opening banquet. “Even though he is in trouble, what he said is true. You can’t take him wrong for what he said.” …
President of ClimbHI Julie Morikowa said the conference, which this year will serve 800 students across four Hawaiian islands, left the decision up to Kenoi as to whether he would honor his commitment to speak to the students.
“It was not really a concern,” Morikowa said about Kenoi’s presence at the event in light of his recent legal troubles. “The program is bigger than all of us, and it is bigger than any individual. This really would not be possible without the county. There really was not a consideration on what he has done in his past.” …
“Sometimes you fall down, sometimes you get hurt,” Kenoi said. (And sometimes you get caught stealing, but hey.) “You can not cry. You just got to get up. You got to dust yourself off. You got to keep going. Then you are going to trip again. It is OK. Just get up again, dust yourself off and keep going.” ….
Although the students were unable to speak with the mayor one-on-one, several commented that his message was the most powerful of the day.
Shyla Nobriga, a sophomore at Lapahoehoe High School, said the mayor’s appearance didn’t seem out of place at all.
“It was just a surprise,” Nobriga said. “I didn’t think it was strange or anything. But he gave a great speech.”
Anona Napoleola, a junior at Honakaa High School who has aspirations of one day becoming a chef, agreed.
“Listening to Billy Kenoi talk about dreams was my favorite part,” she said.
HTH: Shoreline rock wall illegal? Friend of Kenoi receives pass on permitting
read … Amoral Role Model
Caldwell should be blamed for sugarcoating rail costs
Shapiro: After accepting Don Horner’s resignation from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, Mayor Kirk Caldwell piously lectured about the city’s runaway rail costs: “I want real numbers, not sugarcoated numbers.”
His outrage is eight years too late.
In rail’s early days, before HART existed, Caldwell served as former Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s managing director and self-described “primary point person” on rail.
That’s when the grossly unrealistic cost projections and construction timetables were set, aimed more at selling rail to a wary public than reflecting its true cost.
That’s when construction contracts were foolishly signed years before the city was ready to build, and the city made the costly mistake of illegally segmenting rail’s archaeological survey.
How much better off would we be today if Caldwell had demanded “real numbers” then instead of participating in pervasive sugarcoating that even federal overseers questioned? ….
His main visibility on rail was last year as HART’s frontman in lobbying the Legislature to extend the half-cent rail excise tax to cover a $1.3 billion deficit.
House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke accused Caldwell of misrepresenting key numbers.
Now with an election looming, he’s running for cover by scapegoating Horner, whom he just reappointed to HART last year….
read … Caldwell should be blamed for sugarcoating rail costs
Dirty: Ernie Martin Faces off Against Voters Who Aren’t Fooled by Homeless Tent Cities
SA: “(I) got a lot of feedback from the community, especially several neighborhood board members in Waikiki who were absolutely against it,” Ozawa said last week following a Waikiki Neighborhood Board meeting….
Ozawa, Council Chairman Ernie Martin and Councilman Joey Manahan last month endorsed Seattle- style public showers and tent cities across Oahu….
Although Ozawa no longer supports having facilities in his district, Martin said last week that he still plans to be the first of nine Council members to embrace either a city-sanctioned tent city — he prefers the term “temporary encampment” — or a so-called “hygiene center” or “urban rest stop” for homeless people in his district, which encompasses 40 percent of the island from Mililani Mauka to Kahaluu.
“That’s my goal, man,” Martin said. “They better race me to it. You’ve got to lead by example. It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and pass judgment. You’ve gotta be willing to get your hands dirty.” …
Martin’s idea for a tent city also would be based on the model of a Seattle nonprofit group that uses a mix of camping tents and 120-square-foot “tiny houses” that are supposed to rotate to different locations every few years….
Manahan also wants both a tent city and a hygiene center in his district, possibly in Kalihi, Iwilei or Mapunapuna. And he wants them to be as close together as reasonable so homeless people can take advantage of both facilities.
“I’m very much in favor of both,” Manahan said. “Let’s do it and let’s do it right.”
Caldwell’s staff has consulted Manahan to discuss possible locations for a hygiene center, a gesture that Manahan said he appreciated.
The staff members told Manahan they are in negotiations over buying a potential location in his district but could not be specific because a deal has not been reached….
read … Dirty
Rep Chris Lee, Solar Contractors Behind Blank Geothermal Bill
SA: …Following more than two months of debate over a bill that would overturn a Hawaii County law banning nighttime geothermal drilling and assert the state’s regulatory authority over future geothermal development, Senate Bill 2535 is now headed toward a final negotiation session between House and Senate members — devoid of content….
Sen. Lorraine Inouye, who introduced the bill, said that it was “unfortunate” that the bill came out of the House blank. She hopes to have a previous Senate version of the bill reinserted during conference committee.
Inouye (D, Waikoloa-Waimea-North Hilo) said the Senate measure would overturn the county law, while also clarifying that the state controls most aspects of geothermal development and regulation. She stressed that the county would retain zoning authority.
Rep. Chris Lee, chairman of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, is the lawmaker who stripped the contents of the bill before it was sent to the full House for a vote. He said he did it in the hopes that supporters and opponents of the measure would work out their differences without legislative intervention. (Or maybe he just wants to give more money to his solar contractor campaign contributors by squelching geothermal.) …
In December 2012, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi signed a bill into law that bans geothermal drilling between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. within a mile of a residence.
At the time, there were efforts underway to develop more geothermal energy on Hawaii island. But those efforts have sputtered and PGV remains the state’s only geothermal operator.
The company operates six wells in Pahoa, all within a mile of homes, and plans to begin around-the-clock drilling at one of its wells in the coming days. PGV officials contend that the county law doesn’t apply to them because they received permits for drilling before the ordinance was enacted. They’ve backed SB 2535, which could short-circuit Puna Pono Alliance’s lawsuit.
Company officials say the litigation threatens the safety of its drilling operations.
“For us to stop involuntarily, severely compromises safety — that is our No. 1 position on this and that is the truth,” said Michael Kaleikini, Puna Geothermal’s senior director for Hawaii affairs. “It is our No. 1 concern. To have to stop the drilling process involuntarily, every day, will compromise safety.”
He said halting drilling could increase the chances of groundwater contamination or a well blowout, especially as workers drill deeper.
“If you have a pressure kick or a gas release, the folks that are going to experience it first are the workers who are at ground zero,” he said, noting that releases could also put the nearby community at risk….
Sen. Russell Ruderman, who has opposed the bill (in order to pander to the lunatic anti-geo protesters), expressed skepticism about PGV’s safety argument. He said the company may want to drill continuously because it is cheaper. (And he wants electricity to be more expensive.)
read … Blank bill obscures the future of energy on Big Isle
Green Energy Schemers Upset over Cool Schools Plan
SA: …In an effort to put the GEMS money to work, Senate Bill 3126 would allow the use of $100 million as loans to the state Department of Education, while Senate Bill 2738 would allow $50 million to be used in a rebate program for people purchasing energy storage systems.
Ulupono Initiative applauds the initiative to use $100 million of funds as loans to the Department of Education to provide air conditioning to the schools, so our keiki can have an environment conducive to learning.
On the other hand, the proposed $50 million to provide rebates for energy storage could have severe unintended consequences.
The GEMS law, as passed during the 2013 legislative session as Act 211 and codified in HRS 196, unequivocally states that the purpose of the funds are loans, not grants or rebates, to be repaid back to the GEMS program.
The bond legal documents and the PUC’s order clearly state the purpose of the funds to be loans.
A “bait and switch” approach to financial markets where we apply for funds for one reason and use them for another is going to damage our state’s reputation with the investment community….
House Bill 2291, which is working its way through the Legislature, would reallocate the Renewable Energy Investment Tax Credit between solar and energy storage so that both (green energy schemers) could prosper. This is a better way to achieve our state’s policy objectives.
The Legislature should reconsider the practice of raiding special funds, in this case the precious GEMS program that holds so much potential to help Hawaii reach its energy goals.
read … Gimme My Gems
Geothermal energy from Kona, Maui, Oahu?
PBN: …Colton Ching, vice president of energy delivery for Hawaiian Electric, told PBN that the Kaupo district on the southeastern shore of Maui could be an area with geothermal resource potential.
“Research has been done to look at the viability of geothermal in that area,” he said. “We want to keep our options open, so we included geothermal as one of the options for us to consider on Maui.” …
An expansion of geothermal energy on the Big Island also is something Hawaiian Electric is still considering.
Ormat recently pulled out of its contract to develop a 25-megawatt geothermal energy plant on the Big Island.
But the state’s largest utility sees value in a project on the west side of the island, which would create physical diversity, as the current geothermal project resides on the island’s east side.
Oahu also has been looked at as a potential place to have geothermal energy resources.
In 2013, the head of the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes further investigated the possibilities of geothermal energy on Hawaii’s most populated island….
read … Possibility
There’s nothing simple about Airbnb’s proposal
Borreca: The latest version of the bill taxing Airbnb, House Bill 1850, would require Airbnb to collect the “transient accommodations” taxes while making sure that Airbnb listings not be in violation of any state or county land use law….
read … Simple
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