Deal for Senate Seat? Gabbard Endorses Hanabusa for Governor
Freddy Rice: Hawaiian Patriot?
What A Nuclear Missile Attack On Hawaii Would Look Like
Ige Couldn't Remember Twitter Password as False Missile Alert Wreaked Havoc on State
Most Educated States--Hawaii Ranks 17th
Hawaii Residents Most Indebted in Nation
Honolulu does not have enough money to pay its bills
10 Bills: House Republicans Introduce Caucus Package
Hawaii 2nd-Fewest Car Repair Shops per Capita
EPA Shuts 19 Illegal Cesspools, $500K Fines
Against Affordable Housing, Council Springs into Action -- Ban on ‘monster’ homes put on fast track
KHON: The Honolulu City Council wants to fast track a temporary ban on “monster” homes.
But could this hurt multi-generational families looking to expand their homes? ….
On Tuesday, city council members made revisions to a proposal that would place a two-year ban on applications for “new large detached dwellings” that residents from Kaimuki to Kaneohe say are invading their neighborhoods….
Tyler Dos Santos Tam, Hawaii Construction Alliance executive director, said, “At the end of the day, it’s very clear these homes are taxing our neighborhoods.”…
Members of a city council committee agreed to consider a “monster home” any dwelling over 3,500 square feet, though council members Trevor Ozawa and Kymberly Pine were concerned it could affect multi-generational families.
“Let’s make sure we don’t end up tying up people actually trying to add on a little bit to their house,” said Ozawa.
While he understood his fellow council members’ concerns, Anderson added, “That said, there is a safety valve in the bill. Then they would have option of coming before city council, making the case for their building permit.”…
The bill would also limit these homes to two wet bars, one laundry room, increased setbacks for yards, and mandatory parking plans. Four or more parking spaces will require vehicles exit in a forward matter, and limit tandem parking to two stacked parking stalls.
Anderson says he wants to pass the proposal to law as soon as possible, and hopes to have it done by Feb. 13.
If it passes, the proposal would immediately take effect….
read … ban on ‘monster’ homes put on fast track at Honolulu Hale
Kauai’s Crackdown On Airbnbs Is Backfiring
CB:…the experience of Kauai shows that bringing charges against alleged scofflaws is just the first step in a process that can take years to resolve.
The Garden Isle has taken an aggressive stand against short-term rentals, but is now mired in dozens of contested cases, said county Planning Director Michael Dahilig. Some still-active cases date back to 2015…..
Kauai’s fights over vacation rentals appear rooted in a law dating back to 2008. That’s when Kauai adopted ordinances allowing short-term rentals only in “visitor designated areas,” although about 450 properties operating outside the zones were grandfathered in, Dahilig said….
read … Kauai’s Crackdown On Airbnbs Is Backfiring
Rail officials still don't know how to get the route to UH Manoa
HNN: …Officials with the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) say they are focused on building the 20-mile rail system from West Oahu to Ala Moana, and they don't have the ability to develop plans for extensions of the rail line.
"The goal for us at the present moment is to locate the Ala Moana station in such a way so we're not precluding options to get out of that station. So we don't essentially want to be dead-ended at Ala Moana," said Abbey Mayer, HART's Director of Planning, Permitting, and Right-of-Way.
But some councilmembers argue in 2008, the voters were promised a different rail route.
"When the people voted on this whole project, it was with knowledge that the train would go all the way to UH. Now it's just like this forgotten thing," said Honolulu City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi.
When pushed by city councilmembers Tuesday in a planning committee hearing, HART gave several ideas to get the rail line to UH, including one that would require passengers to get off the train at the Ala Moana station.
"It would be a transfer to Ala Moana to a new system. So an elevator ride up 8 or 9 stories and then a transfer to a new system," said Mayer.
HART says it prefers UH passengers not having to change trains, and that there are several options that could provide a one-seat ride.
"When we leave Ala Moana station, we could go straight down Kona Street, we could veer right into Ala Moana Center, or we could veer left," Mayer said.
But if the guideway veered left from Ala Moana station to get to UH, councilmembers worry it could kill a development project that is expected to provide about 310 affordable housing units.
"This whole thing is so unfair to a developer who wants to put up affordable housing," said Kobayashi. …
read … Rail officials still don't know how to get the route to UH Manoa
Is Honolulu Rail Agency Too Quick To Condemn Property?
CB: As rail work heads into Honolulu’s urban core, more landowners are venting their frustrations over how the city acquires the property it needs to build the elevated transit line.
The issue flared up again Tuesday, when City Council members weighed whether to advance condemnation proceedings on 26 parcels stretching from Iwilei to Ala Moana.
The problem, say some property owners, is that their negotiations with the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, which oversees rail land acquisition, aren’t done. In some cases, the land-purchase talks have barely started because HART officials haven’t provided updated appraisals….
HART is “deciding to file a lawsuit against the landowners to take the property before the city even knows what the value of that property is,” said Mark Murakami, an attorney for local real estate holders Howard Hughes Corp. and Victoria Ward Ltd.
Murakami not only argued that the condemnation moves by HART are premature, but also that they violate the federal land-acquisition process the city agreed to follow when it accepted federal dollars for rail. The negotiations must reach an impasse first before the agency can take that step, he said.
Another landowner facing rail condemnation, Servco Pacific, has seen its negotiations with HART restart five times “from square one” since 2014 because of turnover at the agency and its real estate consultants, according to Casey Ching, who serves as the automotive company’s vice president for corporate properties.
Ching said the constant start-and-stop has left Servco with significant legal-, architectural- and design-related costs….
read … Is Honolulu Rail Agency Too Quick To Condemn Property?
State Owns 1,900 Acres near rail line
SA: Ideas and objectives for making better use of roughly 1,900 acres owned by the state near 21 planned city rail stations on Oahu have been laid out in a new report by a council formed a little over a year ago.
The report by the Hawaii Interagency Council for Transit-Oriented Development was produced to guide and facilitate state land development that can revitalize neighborhoods, increase affordable housing and improve accessibility to public facilities and services in connection with the rail line.
“This state effort is really the culmination of about four or five years of discussing TOD and what to do with state lands,” said Leo Asuncion, council co-chairman and director of the state Office of Planning. “It gives us a game plan.”….
More than 30 TOD projects are identified in the report, including some that have not been publicized previously, as well as some, such as Aloha Stadium, 690 Pohukaina and Mayor Wright Homes, that have long been planned and discussed.
One of the biggest opportunities for building many new affordable homes near rail stations lies with the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.
Several opportunities the agency is exploring are listed in the report, including Hale Laulima, a 36-unit townhouse complex on 4 acres near the planned Pearl Highlands rail station being considered for redevelopment with 700 to 1,000 homes.
Another HPHA project in the report is Puuwai Momi, a 260-unit townhouse complex near Aloha Stadium. The agency proposes redeveloping the 11.5-acre site with 600 to 1,200 homes.
In Kalihi HPHA has two townhouse complexes, Kamehameha Homes and Kaahumanu Homes, where it envisions increasing the number of homes to between 1,500 and 2,300 from 373.
And in Waipahu the agency owns 221 senior housing units at projects named Hoolulu and Kamalu where 1,000 new homes are being considered, the report said.
Other agencies with big redevelopment opportunities include the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the University of Hawaii, which own vast areas on the Ewa plain to be serviced by rail.
DHHL also owns 5 acres near a planned Kapalama rail station with existing office, warehouse and retail uses. This site, which includes part of City Square Shopping Center, is being planned for 516 residential units and retail. The agency also envisions developing modern warehouse space on 14 acres in the Shafter Flats area.
At Honolulu Community College, UH is looking at adding student and faculty housing. Asuncion also said UH officials are thinking about whether students could hop on the train to move between Honolulu, Leeward and West Oahu campuses for different classes…..
SA: State should act to advance TOD
read … Redevelopment opportunities abound for state land near rail line
Amid pushback against homeless sweeps, state digs in its heels
HNN: A newly-released memo from Partners in Care, a consortium of service providers, is sparking a renewed debate over whether forcing homeless encampments out actually convinces homeless people to seek shelter.
"Where do folks go? If there is no place for them to go (uh..except a shelter…) does it really make sense for us to be moving them around," said Gavin Thornton, the consortium's advocacy chairman….
Thornton believes a break from sweeps could be key in getting an upper hand on the crisis.
"It's really important that we allow people to develop some stability in their lives," he said. "Even if they're homeless, that stability is the most likely way they're going to get out of a bad situation."….
(Editor’s Note: There can be only one explanation: Thornton is supporting Hanabusa and trying to make the homeless crisis even worse to undermine Ige.)
"I think it's about balance," Morishige said. "Making sure you balance public safety with the needs of people experiencing homelessness."
Morishige said enforcement efforts are designed to help — not hurt — people living on the street.
"If somebody decides they want to go into housing, that they want to take the outreach worker up on going to shelter we are providing people that opportunity for people to do that," he said. "We're also not just throwing their items away. There is a process to store items to make sure homeless people can get those items back."
Morshige also said that encampments left unchecked can lead to serious health and safety concerns.
He pointed to an encampment in Kakaako, which had grown to more than 300 people in 2015….
the executive director of Mayor's Office of Housing defended its sweeps:
The city is committed to long term solutions for addressing homelessness, including Housing First, support services, and affordable housing. At the same time we are concerned about the health and safety of persons experiencing homelessness and the general public. Our policy of compassionate disruption was crafted with considerations from many homeless service providers, government agencies, and the community. The policy seeks to balance encouraging those experiencing homelessness to seek assistance and permanent housing options, while ensuring that public areas are fully available to the public. Furthermore, as members of the Executive Branch of the City and County of Honolulu, we are mandated to enforce the laws of our island. The stored property ordinance and park closure hours are some of those laws.
read … Amid pushback against homeless sweeps, state digs in its heels
Lahaina Homeless Tent City a Front for Commercial Campground?
MN: A proposed campground in Lahaina for homeless people received a special use permit from the Maui Planning Commission on Tuesday, triggering tearful hugs among supporters who have been trying to push the project forward for almost three years.
Commission members voted 5-0 to approve the special use permit and recommend passage of a conditional permit, which the Maui County Council has the final say on.
Almost 40 people testified Tuesday, most in favor. Supporters said it was a creative solution that could help families get back on their feet, while opponents thought it was only a “Band-Aid” on a much bigger problem.
Even county officials were split — the Planning Department supports the campground, while the Department of Housing and Human Concerns has reservations…..
Spearheaded by the nonprofit Ho’omoana Foundation, the Kauaula Campground would take up 7.9 acres of a 22.7-acre parcel bordered by Hokiokio Place and the Lahaina bypass. The camp itself would cover 2 acres, with 6 acres reserved for a farm and garden. Ho’omoana would start with eight pods (a small space with a tent and secure storage box) and a maximum of 26 campers. If the one-year pilot project goes well, Ho’omoana would request more pods; the eventual vision is 26 pods and up to 80 campers….
Neighbors, however, have raised concerns over safety and problems with homeless people already living in the area. Scott Naganuma, general manager of the Puamana Community Association, said that the stream next to the campground is littered with discarded furniture, food waste and syringes.
Others were concerned about future growth on the land due to the fact that developer Peter Martin is president of the foundation and owns 51 percent of the 22-acre parcel….
Ho’omoana has made several changes to its original proposal in response to concerns, including moving the camp away from the streambed, eliminating commercial camping for the first year and prioritizing women, children and West Maui residents….
(In one year, the homeless tent city will be dismantled because of community complaints. The commercial campground will remain approved. See how this works?)
read … West side campground for homeless moves forward
After Year of Chaos Big Island Water Board Rewards Bosses with Giant Raise
WHT: Manager-Chief Engineer Keith Okamoto and Deputy Kawika Uyehara of the Hawaii County Department of Water Supply both received pay raises after what was arguably the department’s most tumultuous year in recent memory.
DWS spokesperson Kaiulani Matsumoto confirmed the Hawaii County Water Board at its first meeting of the year Tuesday approved 8 percent raises for each man, which were retroactively applied to take effect as of Jan. 1….
Water Board Chairman Craig Takamine said Okamoto earned around $121,000 last year, while Uyehara pulled down roughly $110,000….
Customers in North Kona spent 362 consecutive days under a mandatory water usage restriction from January 2017-January 2018, which at its most modest called for a 25 percent consumption reduction and at its harshest called for a halt on all non-commercial irrigation, limiting residential water use to basic necessities of life and hygiene only.
The restriction was downgraded to a 10 percent voluntary conservation on Jan. 9.
Perhaps a low point for DWS came in October, when Okamoto declined to inform the public that two deep wells fell offline only days before the Ironman World Championship, which draws tens of thousands of visitors to Kailua-Kona. The failures brought the number of offline wells up from two to four. It was a decision Mayor Harry Kim said publicly he didn’t support.
The department didn’t disclose the information on the two well malfunctions for almost a month, doing so only after a West Hawaii Today inquiry on the matter….
WHT: After raise, DWS official still third-highest paid of four similar positions
read … Water Board awards top DWS officials with raises
Coco Palms occupiers have 5 days to leave
KGI: District Court Judge Michael Soong ruled in favor of development company Coco Palms Hui on Tuesday and ousted a group that has claimed interest in a plot of land in Wailua for nearly a year.
The Native Hawaiian occupiers have five days — until 6 p.m. Sunday — to leave the land….
KGI: Coco Palms at defining moment
read … Coco Palms occupiers have 5 days to leave
Health care reform driven by health plans, not physicians
SA: At the “2018 Hawaii State of Reform” health policy conference on Jan. 10, I saw only a handful of physicians in the audience of about 300, but plenty of participants representing health plans and their contractors and subcontractors. The conference featured updates on our physician workforce shortage, and the effects of homelessness and social determinants on health.
The only policy solutions offered were new payment models that reward “value,” not volume, and shift insurance risk onto doctors and hospitals. I did not hear anything about the adverse effects of new payment models on physicians, or on the rapidly worsening problems we are seeing with access to care due to physicians leaving practice or refusing new patients with Medicare and Medicaid (MedQUEST).
For psychiatry, the latest workforce data shows an adequate number of psychiatrists on Oahu. However, I recently retired from the private practice of psychiatry, and we could find only two Oahu private- practice psychiatrists still accepting MedQUEST or Medicare patients, and both are completely overloaded…..
SA: Micromanaging medical care contributes to physician burnout
read … Health care reform driven by health plans, not physicians
State Hospital Claims fence could run up to $24M
SA: …The estimate is based on enclosing the sprawling campus — the state’s only psychiatric facility for patients who are criminal suspects — with a perimeter fence that is 12 feet high, with the uppermost 6 feet to be made of nonclimbable material, and topped with barbed wire, officials said.
Some lawmakers said the price tag seemed more aligned with building a border security wall.
State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said while the City Council’s requirement seems reasonable, the pricing estimate from the Health Department is questionable. He noted that the Department of Accounting and General Services handles the Health Department’s capital improvements program and would be better equipped to provide an estimate for the project….
State Sen. Jill Tokuda, whose district includes Kaneohe, said she doubts fencing alone will ensure safety and security….
KITV: Safety fence to cost $17 Million
read … State Hospital fence could run up to $24M
Three Bills Would Make it Easier to Game Workers Comp System
CB:The Hawaii Legislature will consider three new bills this session intended to break down obstacles for workers seeking compensation for their injuries on the job, the subject of “Waiting in Pain,” a Civil Beat investigation published in December.
House Bill 1694 would require both sides in a workers’ comp dispute to agree on a doctor to examine an injured worker, a break from the current law that allows insurance companies to decide. The reports are often used to deny treatment to injured workers.
House Bill 1640 would compel insurers to pay claims for workers not covered by prepaid health plans while the company investigates. Under current practice, insurers may deny claims while they’re being investigated.
And House Bill 2202 would clarify that doctors examining injured workers owe the same duty of care as to a traditional patient. Some doctors now tell injured workers that they are not establishing a treating relationship….
read … Three Bills Aim To Clear Obstacles For Injured Workers
Hawaii lawmakers seek clarity for medical marijuana patients, businesses
PBN: Hawaii lawmakers have introduced a bill that they hope will provide clarity for the state’s medical cannabis businesses and patients in the wake of recent policies passed by the federal government regarding the drug.
Sen. Will Espero, D-Ewa, introduced Senate Bill 2217 on Friday, which (purports to clarify) that Hawaii's medical cannabis program does not violate federal law….
Hirono…called on her colleagues in Congress to support H.R. 1227, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, which would decriminalize marijuana by removing it from the federal controlled substances list, treating it the same as alcohol and tobacco.
read … Hawaii lawmakers seek clarity for medical marijuana patients, businesses
Big Brother on America's Fishing Boats
MM: …The plague on the commercial fishing industry isn't "overfishing," as environmental extremists and government officials claim. The real threats to Northeastern groundfishermen are self-perpetuating bureaucrats, armed with outdated junk science, who've manufactured a crisis that endangers a way of life older than the colonies themselves.
Hardworking crews and captains have the deepest stake in responsible fisheries management — it's their past, present, and future — but federal paper-pushers monitor them ruthlessly like registered sex offenders.
Generations of schoolchildren have been brainwashed into believing that our seas have been depleted by greedy commercial fishermen. In the 1960s and 1970s, it is true, foreign factory trawlers from Russia and Japan pillaged coastal groundfish stocks. But after the domestic fishing industry regained control of our waters, stocks rebounded.
Reality, however, did not fit the agenda of scare-mongering environmentalists and regulators who need a perpetual crisis to justify their existence. To cure a manufactured "shortage" of bottom-dwelling groundfish, Washington micromanagers created a permanent thicket of regional fishery management councils, designated fishing zones, annual catch limits, individual catch limits and "observers" mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act….
read … Michelle Malkin
HB1952: Stop Child Molesters Lawyers From Playing Delaying Games
KITV: …A family who has waited nearly three years for justice in a child sexual assault case is turning to Hawaii lawmakers for help.
They worked with several lawmakers on HB 1952.
Island News spoke with the victim's mother who agreed to be identified as Maria. We chose not to show Maria's face to protect her daughter's identity.
"She really wants to see this over with, but we are just trying to keep busy as much as we can, and not have this dwell over her childhood," said Maria.
Maria said her daughter was just 6-years-old when she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a man in his 50's. She asked Island News to withhold the man's name, but told us the incident was reported in 2015.
"Every three months, we're thinking, 'okay, this is going to be it,'" said Maria, "but three months comes and it's not our turn, the defense asks for another delay."
Maria's daughter is now 9-years-old, but the man accused of assaulting her still hasn't gone to trial.
Records show the trial has been delayed at least 12 times in less than three years. …
HB1952: Text, Status
read … Child sexual assault victim's family fights for right to speedy trial
DLNR's drone use may have violated federal rules
HNN: A drone that flew over a large crowd at the Onipaa Kakou event at Iolani Palace last week is now the subject of a federal investigation
The drone belongs to the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, and was being operated by a state employee.
The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into the use of drone which was seen flying over the crowd of thousands — which is a violation of federal aviation rules.
Rule 107.39 prohibits flying an unmanned aircraft over people for safety reasons….
videos online show this may not be the first time a state land department drone has violated the same rule.
Video the agency posted last year shows a similar situation. It was taken on March 15, 2017 and shows a homeless camp along the slopes of Diamond Head State Park. The drone is directly above a group of people in the video. Days later, the state swept the homeless from the area.
DLNR says it spent about $2,000 dollars for the Model DJI Inspire 1 and in a statement described the use of the taxpayer funded aircraft:
"The drone was purchased primarily for resource management purposes, particularly for providing high-res aerial photographic recording and mapping of archaeological sites and other park features. It has also been deployed for post wildfire evaluation, for monitoring of illegal campsites in closed areas, to provide scenic imagery for our webpage and media releases, and occasionally to document special events in the Parks, such as the First Day Hike at Kaiwi."
read … DLNR's drone use may have violated federal rules
1,800-plus Aulani workers to get $1,000 bonuses and Free Tuition Thanks to Republicans
SA: Walt Disney Co. is giving $1,000 bonuses to 125,000 employees and spending $50 million to create a new higher-education program for workers, the company said Tuesday.
The one-time cash bonuses are for full- and part-time nonexecutive employees in the United States who have been with the company since Jan. 1. More than 1,800 employees at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, will receive the bonuses.
The new education initiative, designed to cover tuition costs for hourly employees, will receive $25 million in annual funding going forward, Disney said in a statement….
More than 3,900 Walmart employees in Hawaii are going to share in a $1.5 million one-time cash bonus, a spokesman for the company said Monday.
The amount of the bonus will be based on length of service, with employees with at least 20 years qualifying for $1,000. It will be given to all eligible full- and part-time hourly workers. The average works out to about $385 a person.
In addition, Walmart is expanding its parental and maternity leave policy, providing full-time hourly associates in the U.S. with 10 weeks of paid maternity leave and six weeks of paid parental leave. Salaried associates also will receive six weeks of paid parental leave.
The retailer said earlier this month that changes to its compensation and benefits policy will affect more than a million hourly workers in the U.S. The company employs 1.5 million people in the U.S.
Walmart also said it is boosting its starting salary for U.S. workers to $11 an hour starting next month. The company had raised its starting wage to $9 an hour in 2015, and said workers could go up to $10 an hour after completing an entry-level training program.
Walmart also will provide financial assistance to associates adopting a child. The adoption benefit, available to both full-time hourly and salaried associates, will total $5,000 per child and may be used for expenses such as adoption agency fees, translation fees and legal or court costs.
Verizon Communications Inc. said it will give employees 50 shares of stock each, a $380 million bonus that the company said is the result of federal tax reform.
The share grant, which will vest over two years, will be available to all of the company’s employees, with the exception of about 2,500 senior executives, a Verizon spokesman said Tuesday. Part-time employees will get 25 shares.
With the stock currently trading at about $53, the award amounts to more than $2,600 per worker. Verizon employed 155,400 workers at the end of the fourth quarter with about 153,000 eligible for the grant, the company said….
read … Thank a Republican
Regressive Leftism Emerges from Lack of Competence
SA: …democracy in Hawaii (and elsewhere) requires strong citizen input and high-caliber public engagement if the decisions our leaders make are to become effective and broadly accepted.
With this as background, over 125 people in Hawaii gathered at the East-West Center on Dec. 1 to examine the state of public participation in our community and search for improvements to it. The conference, “Public Participation in a Polarized Era: The Good, The Bad, The Future,” probed what is and isn’t working well.
Most important, it provided a platform for diverse individuals from the public, private and nonprofit sectors to share ideas and float recommendations. A 20-minute summary video can be viewed here.
Several dozen ideas and suggestions from participants can be found online at the conference website. As organizers, we grouped them into five categories: 1) reforming government systems and rules; 2) improving participation strategies and designs; 3) enhancing our public conversations; 4) broadening access and participation; and 5) increasing the competence of leaders and participants….
we have identified a “short list” of initiatives either culled from, or inspired by, the ideas of conference attendees. We and other colleagues plan to act on some of these and invite others to create and lead initiatives of their own.
Ten Initiatives For Public Participation
- Re-examine Hawaii’s Sunshine Law to determine problems and issues that may be hampering good governance and policymaking.
- Write a set of best practices for how to effectively interact with government agencies, and make the information widely available to those agencies and to the public.
- Develop a public involvement newsletter with case studies, skills, tips, articles and best practices.
- Train and certify citizen moderators to better manage online dialogues.
- Expand the peer-learning networks of practitioners of community facilitation.
- Create a Hawaii “citizen’s guide” for participants in public meetings to learn about how regulatory processes work and how to be more effective as participants.
- Develop a set of specific methods for informing people who are not at the table about discussions that affect them and create a way to solicit their opinions.
- Create written templates for designing participatory processes that address how to: select participants; conduct communications processes; and further improve decision-making that leads to actions.
- Create model Rules of Engagement for use in public meetings to encourage more civility.
- Initiate a Hawaii “Citizen Review Panel” process to strengthen voter education for future county ballot initiatives or charter amendments, or possibly for highly-contentious legislative issues (e.g., Death with Dignity, etc.) such as was done by the Oregon’s Citizen Initiative Review Commission.
Alexis de Tocqueville, a French diplomat and keen observer of the American democratic experiment in the 1800s, said, “Our greatness lies not in being more enlightened than others, but in our ability to repair our faults.”
read … Public Participation More Vital Than Ever In Polarized Times
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