FCC: Employee Who Sent False Hawaii Nuke Alert Is ‘Refusing To Cooperate’
Ward: Release HI-EMA Missile Alert Tapes
Hawaii’s False Missile Alarm Exposed Critical Weaknesses. Here’s What Must Be Done.
Judiciary Drops arrest warrant over refusal to speak English
SB2003: Hawaii Senate urged to drop ornamental fish ban
Hawaii 2nd Most Unionized State
DoE to Display Classroom Temperatures Online
Ethics: DoE Ass't Sup't Pursues UH Degree While on the Job
Hawaii Cigarette Taxes 5th Highest in USA
Agreement to Fund Government Delays Three Health Care-Related Taxes
Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump Team up to cut off aid to Muslim Pakistan
UH Hyperbaric Treatment Center reopens
Hawaii Hotels Set New Annual Records in 2017
SB3090: Take Mauna Kea Away from UH—Authorize Payoffs for OHA
CB: A coalition of state senators has introduced a bill to dramatically change the management of Mauna Kea, the dormant Hawaii Island volcano that is a sacred place to some Native Hawaiians and one of the world’s premier sites for astronomy.
Senate Bill 3090 would create the Mauna Kea Management Authority to manage the mountain’s summit, which is now overseen by the University of Hawaii….
“Although significant changes have occurred on Mauna Kea since the 1998 audit, negative experiences over the past fifty years have eroded public confidence and demonstrated the critical need for fresh leadership centered on a new organizational structure, management system, and procedures,” the bill says.
“Accordingly,” it adds, “the legislature finds that there is a clear need for one entity to serve as a single focal point of management, responsibility, communication, and enforcement regarding Mauna Kea.”
Specifically, the measure would establish the Mauna Kea Management Authority; limit the number of telescopes that could be authorized on Mauna Kea; authorize the renegotiation of leases and subleases pertaining to Mauna Kea, and require that revenue derived from activities on Mauna Kea be shared with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
The bill also would exclude Mauna Kea from the definition of “public lands,” and provide free access to Mauna Kea for traditional cultural purposes.
The bill came after Big Island Sen. Kai Kahele held several meetings with a variety of interested parties, said Sen. Brickwood Galuteria, another supporter of the measure….
read … Should UH Still Manage The Mauna Kea Summit?
Enviro Court: Judge Orders BLNR to Reconsider Shutting Down Hawaii Fishing Fleet
AP: An environmental court judge is reversing a decision that denied a Native Hawaiian fisherman’s petition to stop Hawaii officials from issuing commercial fishing licenses to those who aren’t legally admitted into the United States.
The judge earlier this week issued a written order sending (professional activist) Malama Chun’s petition back to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Chun appealed after the board denied his petition. He filed his petition last year in response to an Associated Press investigation that found hundreds of foreign fishermen confined to boats and some living in subpar conditions. Hawaii grants the foreign fishermen licenses to fish, but they aren’t allowed to enter the country.
The board said Chun didn’t show how not issuing the licenses would address his concerns about overfishing and cultural practices….
read … Judge sends fishing license petition back to land board
HB1801 Stop Faking Green Energy Goals — Gets Deferred, Of Course
CB: Lawmakers are trying again (pretending) to close a loophole in Hawaii’s “100 percent renewable energy by 2045” policy that allows the state to meet that goal even if half of the electricity being consumed comes from oil-burning power plants. (LOL!)
Gov. David Ige asked lawmakers in 2016 to reconsider a tabled bill to amend the first-of-its-kind law, saying “the current method is flawed and results in the misrepresentation of the state’s renewable energy process.” It died in conference committee.
A new bill, House Bill 1801, seeks to simultaneously fix the old electricity formula and set similar renewable standards for gas utilities. Gas is not currently regulated by the law.
(HB1801 is triple-referred.)
HB 1801 had its first hearing Thursday in the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, but was deferred until Feb. 2. State agencies and utilities will try to work on the language and figure out “whether or not there’s a path forward,” said Rep. Chris Lee, committee chair. (Translation: He has no idea how Hawaii could ever be powered 100% by hippie solar projects.)
The bill is primarily a housekeeping measure, he said, and not a top priority. (LOLROTF!)
HB1801: Text, Status
read … Hawaii May Plug Loopholes In Its 100% Renewable Energy Goal
Hawaii Alt-Energy Future: If you want lower rates, you must accept more blackouts
IM: …Demand Response programs offer compensation to utility customers who use their on-site energy efficiency and renewable energy systems to help the utility maintain a stable and reliable grid.
Third-party aggregators may aggregate individual customers Distributed Energy Resources (DER) to support grid operations.
Customers with rooftop solar and/or energy storage systems may become part of a broad, two-way, effort to balance the grid.
Several utility programs will be offered: Time-of Use (TOU) rates, Real-Time Pricing (RTP), Critical Peak Incentives (CPI), Day-Ahead Load Shifting (DALS), Fast Frequency Response (FFR) programs that compensate customers for providing load-reducing response following utility generation failure, Regulating Reserve (RR) programs that help the Companies to balance their electric grids, and Replacement Reserve programs that compensate customers for providing load-reduction in place of the Companies starting fast-start generator…..
“The HECO Companies' Revised DR Portfolio creates the economic and technical means by which customers can use their own equipment and behavior to have role in the management of the electricity grid. Ultimately, the Companies' DR initiatives will result in more flexible and reliable grid while at the same time empowering customers with expanded energy options and economic opportunity.”
“The Companies intend to accomplish this by working with participating customers to control, either directly or indirectly, customers' equipment in way that impacts their net demand for electricity. These changes in demand, which can be achieved in many ways, from manipulating the operation of water heaters or air conditioners or altering charge or dispatch schedules of behind-the-meter storage and electric vehicles (EVs), help manage the grid's supply-demand balance and improve response to contingency events.”
“Increasingly, the rise in levels of renewable energy resources, while contributing to the supply-side of the equation, create more dynamic situation from utility system operations perspective, due to the inherent variability of these resources. Leveraging flexible and manageable demand-side resources helps to manage system operations.”….
read … Hawai`i Utility Customers Will Be Compensated for Grid Supporting Activities
Why Hawaii needs an independent airport authority, and what it will take to get there
PBN: Establishing an airport corporation would transfer the operations of the state’s airports from DOT to an independent agency dedicated to managing and improving Hawaii’s airports.
This process begins at the Legislature, where Senate Bill 2530 was introduced this week. According to the bill, the responsibility for Hawaii’s airport planning is currently divided among a number of state agencies, including the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Department of Budget and Finance, Department of Human Resources Development, Board of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Health with respect to environmental concerns, and Office of Hawaiian Affairswith respect to ceded land issues, among others.
“Distributed responsibility and involvement by multiple agencies, which sometimes have conflicting goals and priorities, results in inefficiency, delayed decision-making, and reduced effectiveness,” the bill, which was introduced by Sen. Lorraine Inouye, reads.
Hawaii, Maryland and Alaska are the only remaining states without independent airport authorities, and none of these state’s airports are included in the Skytrax Airport Top 100 rankings.
In the past 25 years, 13 major US airport operators have made the switch to an independent authority model.
read … What it will Take
Hilo Wants an Independent Authority, Too
HTH: …One piece of legislation, Senate Bill 2972, would divert 25 percent of revenue the state gets from its land leases in the area to support the county’s redevelopment efforts. The state also would contribute $250,000 to craft a master plan if the county matches it, Kahele said….
House Bill 2641 and SB 3058 follow a different route.
They outline a process for state-led redevelopment districts for public lands. Members of the redevelopment districts would be appointed by the governor, with the chairperson of the board and Land and Natural Resources and a county planning director serving as ex-officio members.
The bills also would allow land leases for hotels and other uses to be extended if the lessee makes substantial improvements.
read … Banyan bills introduced: Options on table to revitalize area
Lottery? This Time the Homeless are the Excuse
HNN: …"If we could collect $50, $60, $70 million and focus that on homeless services, that would be great for our entire state," Mizuno said.
But critics say legal gambling in any form will only make Hawaii's social problems worse.
"If we want to create social ills and homelessness, this is probably a good bill," said state Rep. Gene Ward, a Republican….
read … Could the lottery help solve the homeless crisis? One lawmaker thinks so
Lawsuit against parents of ‘Peter Boy,’ state faces issue of time
KHON: …The siblings are suing their parents and the state, claiming Child Protective Services didn’t do enough to protect their brother.
The attorney general’s office requested transcripts from Peter Kema’s plea agreement in 2017. A spokeswoman says it’s part of its due diligence in litigating the lawsuit.
But there’s a roadblock, “and that is the question of time. What is the time period in which this claim needed to be filed?” said Rosenberg.
The wrongful death statute of limitations runs out after two years.
It’s been more than 20 years since Peter Boy disappeared, though his father only admitted to killing him in 2017….
PDF: Click here to read the lawsuit in its entirety.
read … Lawsuit against parents of ‘Peter Boy,’ state faces issue of time
Hawaiian language spoken during Coco Palms trial
KGI: During opening arguments at the Coco Palms civil trial that recently wrapped up in Judge Michael Soong’s District courtroom, defendant Kamu “Charles” Hepa gave a commanding oration defending his right to sacred land in Wailua in the Hawaiian language.
The court, Soong told him halfway through his speech, couldn’t understand what he was saying because it wasn’t in English. Soong gave him the option to continue in English, or continue in Hawaiian. Hepa continued in Hawaiian….
After the first day’s proceedings and with much consternation from those observing the trial, Soong denied the defendants right to a translator.
Having an interpreter was their right, the defendants argued.
Hepa indicated he would speak in the Hawaiian language throughout the trial, with or without an interpreter.
At the next appearance, Soong told the defendants that they would be permitted to use an interpreter.
That interpreter was well-known activist Kumu Hina.
Addressing Soong at one hearing, Hina said she was having difficulty translating because of the cultural differences of the Hawaiian language and the legal language of the courts.
Another hearing was rescheduled for the following day when Hina said she missed her plane from Oahu that morning.
During the trial, every word of English was translated into the Hawaiian language and every word of Hawaiian that was spoken was translated into English….
read … Hawaiian language spoken during Coco Palms trial
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