Hawaii among worst states for economic freedom
200th Anniversary of Henry ‘Opukaha‘ia
Bloomberg: The Jones Act costs all Americans too much
Hawaii: Worst Place to Pay off Student Loans
State launches Kupuna Caregivers Program
Lesbian Cuckold to pay Child Support? — Hawaii Supreme Court to Decide
AP: …A (cuckolded) woman wants to sever her parental rights to a child her ex-wife gave birth to and is appealing a family court ruling denying that request to the Hawaii Supreme Court, which is set to hear arguments Thursday….
The couple, who are not identified in the confidential family court case, married in Washington, D.C., in 2013 and moved to Hawaii because of military orders for the woman seeking to end her parental rights….
While the woman was deployed between January and September 2015, her wife got pregnant through an (in person?) sperm donor. The woman filed for divorce in October 2015, and the child was born while it was pending….
The family court denied her petition because it found that Hawaii's Uniform Parentage Act and Marriage Equality Act presumes that a legal spouse of a woman who gives birth to a baby is the parent of that child, regardless of the spouse's gender….
There are a handful of similar cases nationwide, but the Hawaii dispute is likely the first involving a same-sex married couple with a child support case before a state's highest court, she said….
Most same-sex parental rights cases involve a spouse who didn't give birth to a child and wants custody, Sakimura said.
"It doesn't happen that often in the same-sex parenting world, but there are few cases where they are trying to avoid child support," she said.
In such cases, conception is a key question, Sakimura said.
"Did the spouse consent to the procedure and know about it? And that is what triggers them being a parent," she said…. (Parent is a state of mind.)
"This is unusual in that biology is being used as a shield to evade parental obligation," Lambda Legal attorney Peter Renn said. "Equal rights come with equal responsibility." (Biology is just an excuse.)
Arguments are being held in a high school auditorium because the case is being used to teach students about (how gays control the) courts….
(Better idea: Make the sperm donor pay child support.)
(Really Obvious Question: If the cuckolded lesbian has to pay child support, what happens when this precedent is imposed on heterosexual couples?)
read … Will Hawaii Supreme Court Make Cuckolded Lesbian Pay?
Latest Ethics Bust Reminds us how Hawaii Really Works
SA: There’s a message in the recent move by the Hawaii State Ethics Commission to fine George Szigeti, Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO, and it’s not directed only at him or even the agency he heads….
The commission assessed a total topping $12,000 in administrative penalties against Szigeti and three other tourism officials to settle a case concerning code violations for accepting and soliciting travel upgrades for business trips. This involved travel on Japan Air Lines, a carrier with which the authority conducts a great deal of business.
Under state rules, coach class must be used for business trips. There was also the failure to disclose these gifts as the law requires.
In addition to Szigeti, the case included Randy Baldemor, HTA chief operating officer; Jadie Goo, director of marketing for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia; and David Uchiyama, former vice president of brand management for HTA.
The HTA is anything but alone in ethical missteps. Last year, Jadine Urasaki, formerly a state Department of Transportation deputy director, settled a $13,000 fine for her actions on a dozen contracts with a consulting firm where her husband worked.
The state has a responsibility to maintain a level playing field, as much as possible, for everyone with whom it does business. It is the reason there’s a procurement law regulating how contracts are awarded.
If there’s room to cut around these laws by taking personal gifts under the table, it puts the lie to procurement fairness.
read … Officials’ ethics lapses must stop
Campaign Spending: Arakawa to be fined $1000?
HNN: The state's Campaign Spending Commission wants to fine Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa $1,000 and wants him to pay back $8,000 to his campaign for excess donations to multiple charitable organizations….
In its complaint, the commission alleged that Arakawa's wife, Ann "knew about the limitations placed upon a candidate's donations to nonprofits and that she wanted Ms. Celiz' (of the American Cancer Society's Wailuku office) response to the commission "to be clear and say 'advertising'... not 'contribution or donation.'"…
A final ruling was expected Wednesday in the case, but the mayor's attorneys said they needed two more months for several non-profits to report back and commissioners agreed.
MN: Arakawa hit with amended campaign spending complaint
read … Not Profitable
Oahu property taxes to soar 6.9%
SA: …The worst news is for residential property owners in the North Shore and Kaaawa-to-Kahuku regions, who are seeing their estimated values go up 12.1 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively, from this year….
Across Oahu, the valuations for residential properties are going up 6.1 percent for the 2018-2019 tax year….
That’s less than the 6.9 percent increase being seen across all tax classification categories including hotel and resort properties (up 16.5 percent), commercial properties (up 7.5 percent) and industrial properties (up 8.9 percent). The total assessed value for the island’s taxable property now stands at $258.03 billion, up from $241.33 billion the prior year.
The city Real Property Assessment Division will send out approximately 300,000 assessment notices to property owners Friday. Another 13,500 property owners who signed up for electronic notices will receive their information via email.
The notices are not bills, but city officials stress that property owners should study them to see if they want to appeal their assessments. The deadline to appeal is Jan. 15….
Big Q: What’s your reaction to rising residential property taxes on Oahu? -- 81% Negative
read … Oahu property values rise and taxes may, too
Hawaii County Pays out $13.8M in Overtime
HTH: Hawaii County is on track to pare almost half a million dollars off overtime expenses this year compared to last year.
But overtime for county employees, most notably in the police and fire departments, still accounts for millions of dollars, according to an analysis of data provided by the county Finance Department.
In all, employee overtime for 19 county departments is expected this year to cost about $13.8 million of the $490 million budget, compared to $14.3 million last year.
Fire Department employees get the most overtime, a projected $6.8 million this year. That’s followed by the Police Department, accounting for about $4.4 million. The amounts reflect a slight decrease from last year…….
The balance between workload and the need for overtime is of interest to the county legislative auditor, who’s added it to her planned audits.
“We will evaluate internal controls; identify opportunities to better control overtime expenditures. We may also assess whether it is less expensive to pay overtime or fill new positions,” said Legislative Auditor Bonnie Nims in her 2017-18 audit plan.
She said Wednesday the audit is in extremely preliminary stages and it will be some time before it’s undertaken.
The Department of Environmental Management, plagued with vacancies in key positions, spent about $1.6 million in overtime, the same as last year.
read … Progress made cutting OT: County projects nearly $500,000 reduction but still on track to pay out about $13.8 million
Gasoline Ban: Weasel Words Allow Continued use of Fossil Fuels
IM: …“We remain open to any renewable fuel—electric, hydrogen, renewable gas, renewable diesel, or others that best performs in each application.’
Life of the Land noted that the list was strange. Two of the four items listed had modifiers (renewable gas, renewable diesel), and two did not have modifiers (electric, hydrogen). Most hydrogen in the U.S. is made from fossil fuel. The state law mandating 100% renewable electricity by 2045 can be achieved while still using fossil fuel to generate renewable energy.
Related: Hawaii Mayors commit to Ban Gasoline, Diesel Vehicles by 2045
read … Four Hawai`i Mayors Focus on Renewable Transportation Future
Poll: Legalized Marijuana Loses 55-36
CB:A new Civil Beat poll shows a clear generational divide when it comes to legalizing recreational marijuana use.
Sixty-one percent of registered voters 50 and older don’t want the state to permit recreational use of marijuana, while just 33 percent favor the idea.
But exactly 50 percent of voters younger than 50 support it, while 38 percent oppose it….
Overall, 55 percent of respondents oppose legalizing pot while 36 percent support it. Only 6 percent said it doesn’t matter and just 3 percent said they are unsure….
Four measures were introduced in the House during the 2017 session and went nowhere. It was the same story for eight in the Senate.
The proposals included legislation to:
- decriminalize possession of 1 ounce or less of pot;
- allow possession and distribution of marijuana for personal use, so long as the amount did not exceed 1 ounce and was used for private, personal or recreational purposes by people 21 years of age and above;
- authorize counties to adopt ordinances to legalize marijuana cultivation, possession, sale, transfer and use, for persons over 21;
- require the Legislative Reference Bureau to study “various effects” that the legalization of pot has had on other states; and
- require the Department of Public Safety to reassess the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug under state law and to report its findings to the Legislature.
All five of those proposals carry over to the 2018 session that begins in January.
The Legislature did pass a bill last session that reclassified drug paraphernalia possession and delivery offenses from felonies to violations subject to a fine of no more than $500.
CB: Legislators May See Another Heavy Load Of Medical Marijuana Measures
read … Not so dopey
Soft on Crime: 15 Priors by Age 29—out on streets does it again
SA: Police are looking for a 29-year-old convicted felon wanted on a retake warrant for parole violation.
Michael Kahalehoe, who has 15 prior convictions, is known to frequent the Kapolei, Makakilo and Ewa areas.
He is 5 feet 9, 230 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He has convictions for auto theft, firearm and drug charges.…
read … Soft on Crime
Meth Addicts Attempting to Re-take Pearl City Bike Path
KHON: …In August and September, the city cleared more than 80,000 pounds of trash and dozens of tents from the Pearl Harbor Bike Path.
While dozens of people were moved into shelters, bicyclists say some are already returning, and are worried the problem could repeat itself.
For cyclists traveling along the Pearl Harbor Bike Path, views that were once lined with tents are now clear.
“I think there are a few tents just before the Best Buy parking lot, so they’re coming back, and there’s no evidence of enforcement, so they know they can just move in,” he said….
According to an email sent to Swedeen by Elefante’s office, HPD will be back out on the trail the week of Dec. 25.
For cyclists who ride the trail daily, the hope is that the encampments once seen all along the trial aren’t allowed to come back.
“It would be nice whenever they do a sweep anywhere, and especially here, because a lot of the areas are out of sight, but if they would just come back on a periodic basis and keep the camps moving,” Swedeen said. “There’s no cure for this, but if we just let them settle in, we’re going to have these expensive cleanups.” …
KHON: Tweeker Abandons three children to homelessness
read … Nip in Bud
Kauai: Homeless Dude Charged in Multiple Rapes, Kidnapping
HNN: Kauai police are calling a homeless man captured in connection with two separate sex assaults on the south shore over the weekend a serial rapist.
Detectives say that Jesse Korn targeted women living at a public housing complex in Koloa.
The 26-year-old is suspected in the attacks of as many as three women. Investigators say all of the incidents happened within hours of each other.
Officers say just after 2 a.m. Sunday, Korn broke into an apartment at the Kawailehua complex and sexually assaulted the woman inside.
"He wasn't in that unit that long. I would say less than a half hour. From there he went on to the second victim," KPD Assistant Chief Bryson Ponce said.
But this time, investigators say, after allegedly breaking into a second unit Korn held the victim hostage, raping her repeatedly for more than two hours.
"While the officers were investigating that first sexual assault, he was committing a rape on the second victim," Ponce said.
read … Just Another Homeless Person
Hawaii’s GMO and hybrid seed industry goes through another transition
JC: Hawaii’s GMO and hybrid seed industry is going through another merger-linked transition, with DowDuPont shuttering operations on Molokai and expanding them on Kauai….
Anti-GMO activists have complained that seed company operations are taking up too much agricultural land, even as thousands of acres of farmland remain fallow throughout Hawaii. Moving some operations indoors should also pre-empt activists’ undocumented claims that pesticide drift from field applications is harming people and the environment.
All parent seed operations will be consolidated at the facility in Waialua, Oahu. Field operations at Kunia, Oahu, will end in 2018, with the facilities there scheduled to close in 2019.
The Agriculture Division of DowDuPont was formed by the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont on Sept. 1. Earlier this year, Syngenta sold its Hawaii operations to Hartung Brothers, a Wisconsin-based family-owned business. Last year, Beck Hybrids, another family-owned company, bought the former BASF seed research facilities on Kauai.
Monsanto, meanwhile, still has operations on Molokai and Maui.
The 50-year-old seed industry is the most valuable sector of Hawaii’s dwindling agricultural economy. The Islands are favored for parent seed production because they provide a year-round growing climate….
KGI: DowDuPont to expand research activities, increase staffing
SA: DowDuPont consolidating Hawaii seed business
read … Transition
Former Sen Akaka Hospitalized for Two Weeks
HNN: Former Sen. Daniel Akaka is recovering in a Honolulu hospital after battling a leg infection.
His daughter tells Hawaii News Now he was admitted two weeks ago with a sore on his leg that was infected….
His daughter Millannie Akaka said, "He's in stable condition, it's just a matter of getting the leg healing percentages up. We're still waiting for the doctors to say its okay for him to leave." ….
read … Akaka
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