April 6, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

Hawaii Daily News Read

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

April 6, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 12:22 PM :: 10658 Views

Win or lose, Inouye to back Hanabusa in September Primary

(The Star-Bulletin is doing all it can to spin this on behalf of Inouye, but there is no escaping the reality that Inouye is being sabotaged by Obama.)

Inouye concluded that the winner of the special election should not be considered the favorite to win either the primary election or the general election to represent Hawaii for the next two years. "Only a fool would make that statement," said Inouye

(Even if Case wins, expect to see Hanabusa challenging him in the Dem Primary. Dan is telling the Obama admin to take a hike, but they are not obeying….)

REALITY: Dan? Who’s Dan? National Dems sabotage Hanabusa to help Case

read more

Proposed Hawaii Barrel Tax Hike Just Another Money Grab

What a temptation it is to be able to say “I told you so” but then again, that usually is not a polite thing to say without hurting the feelings of those who were mistaken.

But in this case it underscores the fact that usually you can’t trust some elected officials to give their word and truly mean it. Such is the case of the proposed barrel tax on every drum of petroleum product that is imported into the state. The environmentalists touted the proposal as a way to make Hawaii independent of fossil fuels and to get the farmers to kick in, they also promised that the funds would be used to insure that Hawaii’s food supplies are going to be clean and safe to eat.

But surprise, lawmakers are now not only raising it by a dollar per barrel, but they are thinking of raising it by a dollar fifty cents per barrel and taking some of the money to help balance the state general fund budget. So much for commitment to sustainability, energy independence, and going “green.” The current nickel per barrel was just that toe in the door that now has mushroomed into “real” money.

(It’s over. After Climategate nobody buys the enviro-lies about raising the price of gas to save the planet. We’re not fooled.)

SB: 2 policies could change Hawaii's energy game (Enviros still trying to peddle barrel tax hike.)

EXPLAINED: Advertiser sides with “sustainability” billionaires ... (Wanted $100/barrel, even $125/barrel.)

Isle GOP's platform drops some language on Hawaiians

The platform committee, meeting Saturday, adopted a brief document that lists five GOP principles: liberty, limited government, individual responsibility, fiscal accountability and equality of opportunity.

Its chairman, Ryan Markham, said the committee might flesh out those terms in later meetings.

The more detailed 2008 platform said Hawaii Republicans advocate "encouraging Hawaiians to support initiatives leading to implementation of Hawaiian self-determination by popular vote of the Hawaiian people."

Some Republicans and others interpreted that language as supportive of the Akaka Bill, committee member Eric Ryan said in a statement.

Because that provision has now been dropped, the state GOP is "no longer officially 'pro-Akaka Bill,'" he added.

However, the platform still needs to be formally approved at the state GOP convention in mid-May.

Advertiser peddles Latest DoE scam: “Hawaii wants struggling schools to innovate”

Under a concept called Zones for School Innovation, the state wants to give administrators at struggling schools extraordinary authority to change the length of the school day and year, to overhaul teaching methods and to measure the effectiveness of teachers and financially reward those who boost student achievement.

Education officials are quick to point out that much of the planning for such change is still to come.

"A lot of that stuff is yet to be developed. We have to do a lot of that work through collective bargaining for teachers and principals," said Ronn Nozoe, acting deputy superintendent with the state Department of Education.

(This is the latest DoE scam aimed at preventing legislative approval of a Constitutional Amendment abolishing the Board of Education or creating an appointed BoE.)

EXACTLY AS PREDICTED: Hamamoto's DoE resignation: To block Lingle's constitutional amendment

ADV: Time for big concessions to end furlough stalemate (More commentary on RTTT)

How can administrators credibly go after Race for the Top money when they don't even know how many days they'll have in the school year?

(They don’t have to appear ‘credible’ to the Obama Admin—and they aren’t--they just have to maintain the illusion of credibility to observers here in Hawaii. THE DoE/BoE/HSTA DON’T WANT RTTT & THE ACCOUNTABILITY THAT COMES WITH IT. THEY ARE TRYING TO LOSE.)

EXPLAINED:

New computing could save Hawaii DoE millions

Let's apply this to the state Department of Education. Suppose it spends $25 million on IT and $40 million on electricity. Assume half (nighttime/weekend usage) of that electricity is for servers, air conditioners for servers, computers, printers, copiers and electronic devices that schools don't shut off when they go home. Power-management software will turn those off, cutting electricity use. GreenIt estimates that among the 30,000 PCs in our 170 schools, DOE's program could save it up to $2.5 million annually. Further, with cloud computing, servers aren't there to use energy, generating an additional $20 million in savings.

Suppose the DOE switches to cloud computing before the next school year starts and the governor uses her emergency powers to cancel IT contracts, saving $20 million. Together with electricity savings, there's $40 million to send teachers back in the classrooms without raising taxes.

(But, but, but … If they did this, the DoE wouldn’t be able to give contracts to IBM, SUN and other corps. represented by former DoE bureaucrats.)

Many of Hawaii housing project's residents back mandatory curfew

But if some KVH residents had their way, the curfew would be permanent.

Moana Hampton, a 25-year resident of Kalihi Valley Homes, told the elected officials that she feels safer at night with the curfew in place.

"It's just temporary, but you can hear a pin drop in the night," Hampton said. "Usually, I'm scared to even walk out because of the hoodlums and their booze and you name it. It's like you're in prison."

Robert Manning, who has lived there for 20 years, agreed and supported a permanent curfew.

"We've been living in bondage for the past 20 years. The gangs, they keep us in our apartments worse than this curfew," Manning said. "Everybody here wants this curfew. Only someone who has something to hide doesn't."

Tobacco fund grab to feed HGEA: Hawaii abuse prevention program in peril

Child welfare advocates are rallying to save the remnants of Healthy Start, a nationally recognized child-abuse prevention program whose state funding shrank from $15 million two years ago to $1.3 million this fiscal year and which is now in danger of being eliminated altogether.

Legislators said this week there is no funding for Healthy Start in draft budgets under consideration for fiscal year 2011, which starts July 1, because the money probably wouldn't be released given the state's ongoing budget crisis. This fiscal year, about $3 million from the tobacco settlement fund was diverted from the Healthy Start program to help balance the budget.

That left the program with about $1.3 million.

Honolulu's tab for hosting APEC at least $28M and rising

Still, if Hawai'i can host the event for even $50 million, it will be far cheaper than most APEC meetings in recent years.

Yokohama, Japan, plans to spend nearly $200 million hosting this year's summit, which eclipses the $71 million Singapore spent to hold the event in 2009.

SB: Marshallese due nuke-test damages despite legal ruling

The compact created an independent Nuclear Claims Tribunal, and the U.S. put $150 million into its trust fund in 1986. Congress took $45.75 million of it to award compensation. Recognizing the amounts were inadequate, the tribunal decided upon awards of $385.9 million to the people of Enewetak in 2000 and $563.3 million to those of Bikini a year later. However, only $1 million of that ended up being paid to residents of Enewetak and $2.3 million to those of Bikini.

Many Hawaii care homes lack liability insurance

The state does not require operators of residential care homes to carry commercial liability insurance, exposing yet another gap in the safety net for vulnerable seniors in Hawai'i's long-term-care system.

Some industry officials believe as many as half the roughly 500 licensed care homes in Hawai'i don't carry liability insurance, though no one has reliable data on that.

The percentage probably is much greater among Hawai'i's unlicensed care homes, which industry leaders estimate number anywhere from a few dozen to close to 500.

Hawaii Business Climate, Legislature, Worsening State's Doctor Shortage

Doctors are leaving Hawaii because of the high malpractice insurance rates, low insurance reimbursement rates, and the high cost of living. A number of doctors also have stopped providing potentially life-saving, yet higher-risk treatments because of the probability of being sued.

Hawaii ranks number 16 in the nation in medical liability climate with a grade of C+ as reported in a 2009 study from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), which takes into account legal atmosphere, insurance availability and tort reform.

Hawaii Teachers’ Union Incites Teachers to Blame Governor for Furloughs

HSTA members: 4,391 are elementary school teachers, 3,595 are secondary teachers, 42 special school teachers and 1,831 are special education teachers for a total of 9,859 classroom teachers out of 13,500 members who are eligible to vote.

Appeals court affirms ruling denying furlough Friday injunction

To allow the stay-put provisions to apply in this instance would be essentially to give the parents of disabled children veto power over a state’s decisions regarding the management of its schools. The IDEA did not intend to strip administrative powers away from local school boards and give them to parents of individual children, and we do not read it as doing so.

Full Text: Federal appeals decision on Furloughs

Economists Issue Letter Opposing Proposed 25 Percent General Excise Tax Hike

The letter says: "We, the undersigned Hawaii economists, oppose the 25% neighbor island, 22% Oahu, increase of the general excise tax as proposed in this session of the state legislature. An increase in this tax is counterproductive to meaningful economic growth, job creation, and maintenance of a positive standard of living for individuals and businesses in the islands."

Police say HPP man wanted on multiple meth charges

This guy’s got 9 felonies, but he is still out on the street…thanks to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Sherlock said the delay in taking the current case to the grand jury was due to legal precedent set in the 2003 Honolulu Circuit Court case, Hawaii vs. Akau.—upheld by the Hawaii “Supreme” Court in 2008.

Maui: Trial of accused spy set to begin

Noshir Gowadia has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts, including conspiracy, violating the arms export control act and money laundering. The indictment accuses Gowadia of helping China design a cruise missile with stealth capabilities.

The trial comes some 4 1/4 years after Gowadia's arrest and more than three years after his trial was originally scheduled to be held. The 66-year-old Ha'ikū resident has been in federal prison since his October 2005 arrest because a judge ruled he was a flight risk.

Treatment for atrial fibrillation done on Maui and only a few other places in U.S.

MMMC and HCCC are nearly bankrupt, but they have grafted a rare, high tech surgical procedure onto their dying organization. Similar to how the NK dictatorship builds missiles and bombs while its people starve.

Housing market picks up

Kauai condo sales nearly triple

Big Island home sales jump 40 percent