Hawaii’s nonsensical resistance to borders shows as insanity
As Predicted, Matson Strike Avoided
Are you confused about the status of the $250,000 HART special audit?
Ige: Public Schools Now Offer Better Education Than Private Schools
HTH: …Ige also touched on a heavy investment in public education, despite having $800 million less to spend in this year’s budget than initial projections indicated.
He specifically noted early college options as a priority.
“The private schools can’t do what we do in early college,” Ige said. “For us to give our students in every high school across the state the ability to take college level courses at the same time they’re earning high school credit really saves you and me a lot of money … and most importantly, they’ll be able to graduate two years ahead of the curve.” …
2014: When Ige and his wife chose a school for their own children, they chose Punahou
read … Governor, chamber members discuss economy
Matayoshi: ‘A change of direction that I don't really know about’
KITV: …the federal race for the top took a lot of her time but says some of its initiatives have been really helpful, including real time data and mentoring of new teachers.
Last October, Matayoshi's tenure suddenly had an end date. The Board of Education said it would not renew her contract beyond June 30.
Despite receiving a positive annual performance review.
"There's some things you can't control and things that people say about me that I don't hear, or a change of direction that I don't really know about, I can't one try to find out but I can't do anything if I don't know," Matayoshi said.
Christina Kishimoto takes over as school superintendent August 1.
Island News asked Matayoshi if she was surprised at the outcome of the search for a new superintendent?
"I was a little bit, but in that I know the board chair and others had expressed a desire, an intent to have local candidates and so there wasn't a local candidate in the final two and that was a surprise," she said.
Matayoshi has met with Kishimoto, and believes she is open and listens, asks smart questions and is practical and strong….
Matayoshi is also one of three finalist for Kamehameha Schools trustee…..
Related: Sex, Lies, and Repetitious Badgering: Meet Hawaii’s New Superintendent of Schools
read … Kathryn Matayoshi reflects on her seven years of serving Hawaii's keiki
$347M Just to Cover the Raises
SA: State lawmakers earmarked funds for settlements and arbitration decisions that provide pay raises and additional fringe benefits for public workers that will cost the state $102 million in the fiscal year that begins today and $239 million in the year that begins July 1, 2018, according to state Director of Finance Wesley Machida….
Lawmakers last year authorized privatization of Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital &Clinic and Lanai Community Hospital, and the state reached an agreement last year to have Kaiser Permanente operate all three.
Lawmakers included language in the new state budget that takes effect today to provide more than $33 million in operating subsidies, $6 million in subsidies for construction projects and as much as $10 million in extra “working capital” to Kaiser Permanente as it takes over the operations of the three hospitals today.
The state has also budgeted $30.6 million for one-time severance payments to many of the 1,400 Maui County hospital workers who will lose their state jobs in the turnover of the facilities. Most (97%) of those workers are expected to be quickly (have already been) rehired by Kaiser to work in the same hospitals….
read … HGEA is Not Worth It
Rate Hike Coming: HECO to Burn Another $205M Accommodating Solar
SA: Hawaiian Electric Co. submitted a draft of plans Friday with state regulators to make $205 million in upgrades to its grid over the next six years.
In the filing submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission, HECO said it plans to add sensors, automated control systems and upgraded inverters as well as smart meters in specific neighborhoods where there are high numbers of private rooftop solar systems.
HECO said these upgrades will increase reliability of service as well as help add more solar onto the grids across its three service territories….
CB: HECO’s $205 Million Grid Plan Aims For Two-Way Flow Of Solar Power
News Release: Hawaiian Electric Companies’ plan for upgrading power grids can help integrate more private rooftop solar
read … HECO proposes $205M in upgrades to its grid
New laws mean some city fees to rise next month
KHON: …the city is raising the fee by $11 for players who don’t have a city golf ID card.
No word yet on higher ticket prices to get into Honolulu Zoo, but who gets the final say is changing.
From now on, it will be up to the director of the city Department of Enterprise Services to set admission fees for military, non-residents, and group rates.
Kamaaina rates will stay the same at $4 for children and $8 for adults.
Property tax rates for Honolulu residents will remain the same, except for those who own Residential A property, which are homes assessed at over $1 million without a homeowners exemption.
We checked water and sewer and found that those rates will stay the same come July 1.
Other fee hikes, like parking meter fees and the motor vehicle weight tax, will begin in 2018….
read … New laws mean some city fees to rise next month
Caregivers: New Law Creates Liability for Hospitals
HNN: …They say caregivers are now part of the patient care team and entitled to vital health information….
Under the new law, Bemis would have been the designated caregiver and more informed upon admission and discharge.
There are three parts to the new law.
Identification - The patient has the opportunity to designate a family caregiver when they are admitted to the hospital.
Notification - The family caregiver must be notified if their loved one is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another facility.
Instruction - Hospitals must offer family caregivers instruction on medical tasks they will need to perform at home.
The law also entitles people to vital information on how to care for their family member in the hospital and how to take care of them once they are discharged," said Barbara Kim Stanton, AARP state director.
The law impacts 154,000 family caregivers in the islands. Some hospitals already designate a family caregiver, but the new law ensures that happens.
read … Hawaii's new CARE Act ensures family caregivers get vital health info
Hospital Subsidizes Urgent Care to Reduce Unnecessary Emergency Room Visits
HTH: …Puna Community Medical Center announced a new affiliation with Hilo Medical Center that will bring more health care to Pahoa.
Leaders of the two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding that “will lend health care expertise and financial support to the conveniently located walk-in medical clinic that provides urgent care services to Pahoa and the surrounding Puna community.”
“We’ve already leased the space to make it available for expansion,” said Dan Brinkman, CEO of the East Hawaii Region of Hawaii Health System Corporation, referring to two additional storefronts within the Pahoa strip mall where the clinic is located.
Hilo Medical Center has the resources to subsidize “some of their care” at the Puna clinic, he said.
Hospital officials hope the partnership will reduce the number of unnecessary emergency room visits at Hilo Medical Center.
Thirty-one percent of the hospital’s emergency department patients treated in 2015 were from Puna. Of the 14,620 Puna patients, 4,671 “had minor health issues that could have been cared for adequately at Puna Community Medical Center.”
It’s three to four times more expensive to treat patients at the ER than at the clinic, Brinkman said….
read …. Healthy partnership in Pahoa: Hilo Medical Center’s pact with Puna clinic aimed at reducing ER visits
Census: State Population Grows 0.8% per Year
MN: …People identifying themselves as minorities made up 77.9 percent of Hawaii’s population, the study reported. By county, the City and County of Honolulu had the highest minority population at 81.4 percent, followed by Kauai County at 70.4 percent and Hawaii County at 69.8 percent.
People reporting themselves as white (alone or in combination) made up 43.3 percent of the state’s total population. The county breakdown showed Hawaii County had the largest white population, by percentage, at 56.5 percent, followed by Maui and Kauai counties, both at 51.7 percent, and Honolulu with 38.7 percent.
Asians (alone or in combination) accounted for 57 percent of the state’s population. Honolulu had the highest percentage, 61.3 percent, followed by Kauai at 51.3 percent, Maui at 47.8 percent and Hawaii at 45.1 percent.
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders (alone or in combination) were 26.7 percent of the islands’ population. Hawaii County had the largest share of Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders at 35.1 percent, followed by Maui County at 28.4 percent, Kauai at 26 percent and Honolulu at 24.7 percent.
The state’s mixed race population stood at 23.7 percent.
The state’s overall population grew 5 percent from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2016, according to the study. And, there was an average growth rate of 0.8 percent annually.
Meanwhile, the elderly population — those 65 years old and older — rose 25 percent in the same time period…
read … Minority majority dominates population in isles
Judge Orders Release Of City Prosecutor’s Employment Records
CB: …Such documents are widely considered to be public records under Hawaii law. But last month Kealoha filed a lawsuit to prevent the city from releasing the documents to Civil Beat. She is under federal investigation for alleged public corruption, along with her husband, former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha.
Her attorney, Kevin Sumida, said that providing such documents — which included her resume, cover letter and details about her vacation benefits and sick leave — would be a violation of her constitutional right to privacy.
On Friday, Circuit Court Judge Dean Ochiai found that Sumida’s argument didn’t pass legal muster and told the city to provide the documents to Civil Beat immediately.
The documents did not contain records of any disciplinary action taken against Kealoha.….
read … Release
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