Much Ado About Nothing – The Hawaii Legislature Edition
FBI, TSA, HPD: Counterterrorism in Hawaii
‘ESSA Team’ Begins Writing ‘Blueprint for Public Education in Hawaii’
Mainland Gay Activist Set to Defeat Labor Leader, Take Over Hawaii Democratic Party?
SA: Hawaii’s Democratic Party is about to turn the page; it appears a new generation is slipping in.
Since the death of Hawaii’s ultimate senior senator, Daniel K. Inouye, the state’s dominant but somewhat disorganized political party has been drifting. Stephanie Ohigashi stepped in as party chairwoman two years ago, but the longtime Maui Democrat was never seen as a permanent new leader.
Now this month, the Democrats will gather at their state convention to select a new party chairman. (Hawaii Construction Alliance official) Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and (Iowa gay activist) Jacce Mikulanec, the top two candidates, are both minor leaders about to become major leaders in the party.
Mikulanec, 39, is a legislative veteran who worked as an aide to Brian Schatz when he was lieutenant governor and Blake Oshiro when he was in the state House. He is now a lobbyist for the Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA)….
Dos Santos-Tam, 28, is executive director of the Hawaii Construction Alliance and benefits from having a close working relationship with many of the state’s private sector unions.
“The party needs a strong foundation or it will not continue to succeed,” Dos Santos-Tam said….
read … New Democratic leadership will need to unite factions
Morita: Ratepayers will Pay Billions More for ‘Renewables’
SA: Hawaii’s 100 percent renewable goal will not happen quickly and it will not be cheap, requiring billions of dollars in infrastructure investments.
For more than 35 percent of Hawaii’s residents, those of us over age 50, this energy system transformation is unlikely to be completed in our lifetimes unless there are major technology and cost breakthroughs.
This transformation is a multi-decade endeavor that must survive beyond political election cycles, requiring (a one-party system)….
Recently, this effort has finally come to fruition but, unfortunately, all will be for naught if the biggest decision before the PUC — the NextEra-Hawaiian Electric merger application — becomes a decision of just doing the governor’s bidding rather than the decision of a capable and independent regulator. (Translation: The PUC has a 2-1 Abercrombie majority until June 30. Will the NextEra decision be made before June 30? Will Abercrombie’s minions vote 2-1 in favor of NextEra?)
Whether it’s a go or no go, a timely PUC decision before the June 3 walk-away date would allow all parties to move on rather than being held captive to further political drama.
read … Morita
Rail consultants brushed off issue over utility lines—Nobody at HART Smart Enough to question them
SA: …Years before utility line clearances posed the “most significant risk” to Honolulu rail, key project consultants downplayed Hawaiian Electric Co.’s warnings of a potential problem and stated that the plans they were developing should be OK, a Honolulu Star-Advertiser review of rail records shows.
“Please do not share this email with HECO,” Hank Wei, a Parsons Brinckerhoff consultant working on the rail project, wrote to a team of rail engineers in 2009 after HECO informed them its workers would need clearances of 50 feet to safely access high-voltage power lines.
Wei said he believed shorter clearances of 20 feet between the rail guideway’s edge and the nearest power lines would work instead, according to documents provided by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. “We are currently working with HECO to clarify HECO’s maintenance clearance requirement,” he wrote.
“I think we’re okay and will proceed,” Barry Muranaka, another rail consultant with the firm AECOM, emailed to Wei….
(Translation: HART found somebody to blame.)
The next correspondence from HECO that they were able to find on the clearances went to HART’s utilities manager four years later, in 2013, after construction had already started, they said….
However, HECO says it always kept HART and its consultants informed of its requirements, including through “dozens” of written messages between 2009 and 2012 when HART says the city was in the dark. The company says it always made clear it would require additional clearance space for its workers to maintain the transmission lines — not just the minimum national standards that rail officials were using…. (Translation: HECO is making it up as they go along in order to milk rail for money.)
Rail officials have estimated it will cost an additional $120 million to address HECO’s clearance concerns, but that estimate dates back to October. HART’s board chairwoman, Colleen Hanabusa, says the costs are sure to rise.
The island’s electric company says it will need 50-foot clearances for workers to safely access its 138-kilovolt transmission lines that run along the guideway. It has flagged at least 74 poles along the rail route with clearances that don’t meet that standard, ranging from 8 to 46 feet, records show.
HECO further needs clearances of 40 feet for its 46 kV lines and 30 feet for its 12 kV lines, it says….
read … Brush off
Frights and horrors abound as Caldwell and Hanabusa Look in Mirror
Shapiro: >> It was a rough month for the city’s $6.7 billion rail project, with hints of more cost overruns, a scathing financial audit, the resignation of its chairman and pressure on its CEO to follow suit. As Bob Dylan foretold, “It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry.”
>> Mayor Kirk Caldwell lectured the rail agency that it must tell the truth “no matter how unpopular it is.” A cry was heard around Oahu: “You first, Mr. Mayor.”
>> New rail chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa criticized CEO Daniel Grabauskas’ rant at city auditors, saying, “Just because you disagree is not the reason to throw a fit.” This from a politician who unsuccessfully sued the governor for vetoing her $75 million Ko Olina aquarium, the city for refusing her demand to close its landfill and the state for not stopping an election she was losing….
read … Frights and horrors abound as legislators go about work
Harbor privatization, body cameras killed by Legislators
WHT: A bill that could have led to the privatization of Honokohau Harbor lost out despite support from the agency that oversees the facility. The bill could pave the way for Honokohau serving as a model for other small boat harbors around the state. The harbor’s current steward, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, supports opening harbors to public-private partnerships statewide, saying DLNR resources could be better directed to resource protection in nearshore waters.
“I’m disappointed but the sentiment in the House was that privatization or a public-private partnership needed more discussion and oversight,” the bill’s sponsor, Kona Rep. Nicole Lowen reported in a text message just after the bill died.…. (Translation: HGEA and UPW killed it.)
A bill to require police to wear body cameras during investigations and enforcement work was also deferred Friday evening. The bill, co-sponsored by District 4 Sen. Lorraine Inouye, would have required the state to pay for half of the cost of the program — an estimated $1.35 million in state funds. Supporters touted the benefit of having an objective witness via the lens, but law enforcement opposed the bill, saying its provisions for storing and releasing footage would be expensive to implement.
Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos sent out a substantial message in its struggle to keep a large solar energy developer from setting up shop in the neighborhood. But the community would have to have been disappointed Friday. A bill sponsored by Naalehu Rep. Richard Creagan intended to fire a shot across the bow of potential developers by requiring a special permit for solar projects larger than 25 kilowatts on certain agricultural lands…. Under House Bill 2636, the county would have been in the driver’s seat for issuing special permits for big solar projects, opening up a public process and giving residents input they currently don’t have….
However, Senate Ways and Means and House Finance committees couldn’t agree to pass the bill out….
the state Department of Transportation is being tasked with studying the feasibility of running a ferry between the islands, under a bill that also contributes $50,000 in state money toward the study.
Law enforcement agencies will be forced to test 500 rape evidence kits under a bill that provides $500,000 to that cause….
read … Kabuki
AZA: No Evidence That Anybody at Zoo Knows What They are Doing—Elephants tested for lead after Eating Battery
SA: When Honolulu Zoo visitors peer through a fence at what should be a new reptile and amphibian complex, they see a dirt lot full of rebar and empty machinery.
At the hippo viewing area, with its green water and flooded walkway, they find a sign saying the exhibit is temporarily closed. It has been closed since 2014, following the unexpected death of one of the two endangered hippos.
The 42-acre zoo is a tangle of construction, closed exhibits, broken pavement, dirty bathrooms, overgrown landscaping and dog-eared signage.
Observers say that’s because years of internal feuding, political wrangling and unstable operations have taken their toll. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums recently pulled the zoo’s accreditation, which could result in the loss of some animals and hamper access to grant money. AZA inspectors said safety is compromised because of inadequate staffing — the zoo was down 15 out of 75 full-time positions going into the inspection, and employees missed 470 days of work in 2014 alone due to on-the-job accidents.
“The zoo is much politicized and seems to be a victim of inconsistent leadership at all levels,” inspectors said in their report. They also cited an “inadequate rallying of resources and efforts in an attempt to look good for each AZA inspection.” ….
An entry in the elephant profiles submitted by the zoo indicated both of the elephants were being tested for lead after probably consuming a battery.
“There is no evidence that anyone on staff had a true understanding of the elephant standards,” inspectors said….
SA: Keepers relayed their concerns about threats to animals’ health
read … Zoo
Kauai: $100M Vehicle Weight Tax Considered
KGI: …A bill that would raise the vehicle weight tax to fund road repairs will be considered by the Kauai County Council Wednesday.
Bill No. 2613 was introduced by Councilmember JoAnn Yukimura.
“Faced with an estimated $100 million to perform necessary road work, funding is being sought from the users of the roads,” the bill reads.
The proposed bill will increase the weight tax by 1 cent for non-commercial vehicles, to 3 cents. (That’s a 50% hike.) For commercial vehicles, the bill proposes the weight tax be increased by 2 cents, to 5 cents. (That’s a 67% hike.)
“As proposed, (the bill) is projected to generate approximately $100 million, which is necessary to address road repair,” said a memo from Yukimura. ($100M / 60,000 residents = $1667 per resident.)
read … Taxing Yukimura
Vermont’s Obamacare Disaster to be Dismantled by Same Company Which Dismantled Hawaii’s Obamacare Disaster?
VD: …Internal documents also show that Vermont is considering Speridian for a no-bid contract because the company is a “proven vendor.” Hawaii used Speridian to remove OneGate software from the state’s dysfunctional health exchange in order to set up an integrated eligibility system.
The public information officer for the Hawaii Department of Human Services said that Speridian was a subcontractor for a company called KPMG, not the main contractor on the project. A Hawaii spokesperson was not available for an interview this week….
read … Vermont Digger
Going Through Motions with Doomed Telescope Hearing Officer
SA: …UH-Hilo is applying for the project’s conservation district use permit on behalf of the TMT International Observatory Board.
The Mauna Kea Hui petitioners contend her membership, at minimum, offers the appearance that she is partial to the telescope project and should therefore be disqualified.
In her disclosure, filed Monday, Amano concedes that it was correct for the opponents to raise the issue as she and her husband have maintained a family membership since April 2008. But in the end she dismisses the reality of the claim.
“On balance, I do not believe any reasonable person would consider my passive family membership of ‘Imiloa likely to affect my impartiality as a hearings officer in this case,” Amano wrote.
Project opponents remained unswayed.
“With all due respect to Judge Amano, the petitioners stand by their objections,” Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman said in an email to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Wurdeman said his clients contend one can’t be a neutral arbiter while being a multiyear dues-paying member of one of the parties in the proceedings….