Survey--Hawaii 4th Most Child Care Centers Per Capita
Former Cocaine Dealer’s Wife Elected to Honolulu Council
SA: …Ige should have an asset in his lieutenant governor running mate — Josh Green, who bested Jill Tokuda by a mere 3 percentage points, 31.4 percent to 28.6 percent. Near the end of Saturday night, Ige and Green struck the right, unified notes, focusing on homelessness and health-care concerns such as opioid abuse. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what Republican Marissa Kerns, a business owner who emerged as Tupola’s running mate after squeaking past Steve Lipscomb, will bring to the ticket.
Also noteworthy on primary-election night: Hawaii’s propensity to re-elect incumbents got a welcome shakeup, with deserving newcomers snagging wins. In Senate District 12, Kakaako community activist Sharon Moriwaki unseated Brickwood Galuteria, and educator Amy Perruso defeated Lei Learmont in House District 46 (Wahiawa). Other surprises included Big Island incumbent Rep. Cindy Evans’ loss to David Tarnas, a former legislator; and political neophyte Lisa Kitagawa besting former lawmakers Jessica Wooley and Kika Bukoski for the open Kahaluu-Ahuimanu House seat.
Voters’ willingness to invest in new names and fresh outlooks extended even to the City Council, where newcomer Heidi Tsuneyoshi (wife of convicted cocaine dealer Chad Tsuneyoshi) handily beat veteran politician Robert “Bobby” Bunda with 53.5 percent of the vote to win the North Shore seat outright; impressive considering Bunda’s name recognition. Also averting a Council general-election runoff was Makiki incumbent Carol Fukunaga, who won 52.6 percent of the vote despite being targeted by late-hour negative ads….
read … Pause for Ige, Tupola to hone ideas
Hatred and Hysteria—How to Win an Election in ‘Conscious’ Puna
HTH: Ashley Kierkiewicz, a 32-year-old Hawaiian Paradise Park resident won the seat representing a portion of Puna over one-term Councilwoman Eileen O’Hara. The margin of victory was 2,545 votes to 1,674 votes, or 60.3 percent to 39.7 percent…
… The 66-year-old O’Hara said that she’s “relieved” the election is over, and accused Kierkiewicz’s supporters of running “a very nasty campaign.”
“I’m not pointing fingers at Miss Ashley, but in a campaign, the candidate sets the tone,” O’Hara said. “And for some reason, her supporters didn’t follow that positive, aloha-driven message she seems to think she put out.”
O’Hara said the bad blood started May 9, six days after the Kilauea volcano lower East Rift Zone started, with an accusation she was trying to shut down Pu‘uhonua O Puna, aka “the Hub,” a community volunteer clearinghouse run by Puna businessman Ikaika Marzo where Kierkiewicz volunteered.
“Then the accusation was that I called the … health inspector and not once, but three times tried to shut them down,” O’Hara said. “According to Ikaika’s video, (the inspector’s) name was Dale. I don’t even know Dale. … I have no idea why this all started. I called all the associated people, including Ikaika, and told them it isn’t real, it didn’t happen. But they never recalled it; they kept making that charge, over and over and over again.
“It went from there to attacking my staff, attacking my family. It was not pretty. And it was not a part of the aloha-driven campaign for those of us that lived it.”
A Facebook live video almost 22 minutes long was posted by Marzo on Friday night. In it, he referred numerous times to “this person” and the individual’s alleged efforts to hamstring the Hub.
Kierkiewicz said her involvement with the Hub “wasn’t political at all.”
“I made a conscious decision to put the campaign on the side for a couple of months when the lava started flowing. And when I was there, my hair was up in a bun and I was Ashley,” she said. “If anyone recognized that I was running for office I would acknowledge that but quickly ask them to … set a time to talk politics outside of ‘the Hub’ because I was there to volunteer.
“But I think the lava flow, with our response as a community to act and to serve, I think it shows what the incumbent and I are made of and what we would be doing in those kinds of situations. And my initial reaction was, ‘How are we going to work together as a community and get folks the thing that they needed.’”
O’Hara also accused Kierkiewicz’s supporters of taking down or destroying “about a thousand dollars worth of campaign materials (and) yard signs over the past few months” following posts on the Ashley 4 Puna Facebook page showing defaced campaign signs, including one showing her face with a bold, black, spray-painted caption saying “Only da strong survive.”
“I tried to tell them that I didn’t have anything to do with it, but it unleashed a response,” O’Hara said. “And every week I was losing two to four banners … and all kind of yard signs disappeared. You can tell it was done with prejudice … just ripped up and shredded, things like that.”
O’Hara said the acrimony escalated until Kierkiewicz’s “T-shirted supporters would heckle” at public forums, prompting pleas for decorum from moderators.
“That was an unpleasant experience,” O’Hara said. “But she won, and that’s fine, because … I feel relieved that (supporters, staff and family are) not going to be the target of so much hatred. “ ….
read … Lord of the Flies
Steve Bannon’s Favorite Gets ‘Resounding Show of Support’ From Hawaii Voters
KGI: …U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said she was grateful for the “resounding show of support” she received in the primaries, and that she and her team are looking forward to November….
HNN: “Bannon arranged a meeting between then President-elect Trump and Gabbard, saying Trump was excited to work with her”
read … More Russian than Trump
Josh Green Says Politically Incorrect Thing About Tranny
CB: …Green was less effective than Abercrombie in delivering jokes at the expense of opponents.
Of primary opponent Kim Coco Iwamoto, who is transgender, Green said he “tried to learn to walk in her shoes, but that didn’t work naturally for me.” Of opponent Will Espero, he expressed the hope that he and his fellow state senator — who has predicted that recreational use of marijuana will soon be legalized in Hawaii — would “do a doobie together sometime shortly.”
Some in the audience laughed and clapped. Others squirmed….
read … As always, winners and losers came together in the same room just hours after the primary for the biennial Unity Breakfast.
Voter Turnout 38.6% -- Second-Lowest Ever
HNN: …With a few high-profile races on the ballot, exactly 286,041 people ensured their voices were heard by casting their votes, according to the final printout by the State Office of Elections.
But out of a total of 741,007 registered voters, that's still a measly 38.6 percent voter turnout.
The good news is that's a 3.8 percent jump in voter turnout from the 2016 primary election.
In that year, there was a total of 726,940 registered voters. Exactly 252,725 of them actually voted, resulting in a 34.8 percent turnout rate, records show.
But both 2016 and 2018 numbers were down from primary elections in 2010, 2012 and 2014, where turnout rates sat at just over 40 percent.
Taking a closer look at this year's numbers, the amount of absentee ballots mailed in rose to 179,078, or 24.2 percent. Precinct turnout was over 72,000 ballots lower at 106,963, or 14.4 percent.
Of those voters, 247,825 registered as Democrats and 32,587 were registered as Republican. All remaining selected other parties.
The bad news is Hawaii is still at the bottom of the list when it comes to voter turnout nationwide…..
To check your registration status, go to the Office of Elections website here. And as a reminder, the General Election is scheduled for Nov. 6….
KHON: Early-voting trends weigh on future of all-mail ballots
read … The numbers are out: How many registered Hawaii voters actually voted?
Ige won in 2 out every 3 state House districts
SA: …When asked about her future plans after the breakfast, Hanabusa replied, “They say never say never, but right now, I’ll tell you, I have no intentions of running again.”
She said it is time to make room for the next generation of Democratic leaders. “I do want to make room for others who should take this on,” Hanabusa said. “We need for them to step up, and we need for them to feel that they’re welcome, and that’s the problem I think we have with most of the millennials, is they don’t feel that they have a place.”
Generally, Hanabusa fared better on the neighbor islands, according to a rough, unscientific survey of the precinct data provided by the Office of Elections. She won more votes in eight of the 16 non-Oahu House districts, including five of seven Big Island districts and two of five Maui districts.
Ige narrowly lost the House district that includes Pahoa and the nearby areas most affected by the ongoing eruption of Kilauea Volcano, despite the state’s response to the eruption being generally seen as a factor that worked in Ige’s favor, and despite Hawaii island Mayor Harry Kim endorsing Ige in televised ads, saying the governor “came through” for his island in the crisis.
On Oahu, Hanabusa did better than Ige in three districts in Chinatown-Kalihi, four districts in Waipahu-Ewa Beach and two districts along the Leeward Coast that she calls home.
Ige far outpaced Hanabusa in the Aiea-Pearl City region that is his home base, East Honolulu districts from Hawaii Kai to Manoa, and Kailua-Kaneohe. Hanabusa failed to win any of the districts in those areas….
read … Ige won in 2 out every 3 state House districts
Social Worker: Homeless Child Molesters are a Real Threat
CB: …This is a response to the Aug. 9 Community Voice entitled “Sense And Nonsense About Sex Offender Registries,” written following a news report that 28 men on the Sex Offender Registry identified the beach as their home….
First, the authors state that many on the sex offender registries have committed ” lesser” crimes (e.g., exhibitionism, statutory rape, fondling), in addition to forcible rape. However in the process of plea bargaining, sex offenders are often convicted of lesser crimes than those they actually committed, in exchange for avoiding a trial.
This is especially likely in the case of sex crimes against children, because children are likely to be re-traumatized by having to face their perpetrators in court….
Second, the authors imply that, due to inaccurate statistics, the actual number of sex offenders is probably lower than the number reported. However both victims and perpetrators of rape typically under-report these crimes. Only 15-40 percent of rape victims make reports to police, and statistics seriously under-estimate the number of sexual predators. Hence if 28 known sex offenders reported the beach as their residence, we know there are many more who remain undetected.
Even if the data over-estimated the number of sex offenders living on Hawaii’s beaches by 20 percent this still means that there are 22 known sex offenders living on the beach. Is this not a cause for concern, if not alarm?
The authors made the statement that treatment of sex offenders is successful. In any diagnostic category (e.g., schizophrenia, depression) only a percentage of actual sufferers are treated, and of that number only a percentage are treated “successfully.”
The number of sex offenders who completely recover is quite low, partly because few are motivated to change. In addition, clinical “success” is often defined as reduced occurrence. If “successfully treated” sex offenders re-offend less frequently, this still places the community at considerable risk.
The authors have argued that harsh living conditions and deprivation are likely to increase the urge to re-offend. If 28 convicted sex offenders are now living on the beach, it can be assumed that they are homeless. Is this not a state of deprivation? ….
read … Complete and Total Debunk
Suicide Squad Complains About ‘Restrictive’ Hawaii Assisted Suicide Law
HA: …the Hawaii OCOCA breaks with convention by establishing the most restrictive set of safeguards for MAID in the United States, and perhaps the world. In this respect, it may herald a broader policy shift with important and troubling implications for patient access….
read … Medical Aid In Dying In Hawaii: Appropriate Safeguards Or Unmanageable Obstacles?
Ige Will Use Early Education as Argument for HSTA Property Tax Hike on Renters
CB: …creating a fully staffed, enduring early-childhood education workforce with teachers who are skilled, highly qualified and fairly compensated is key to building the strong-rooted foundation that Hawaii needs….
Our state’s current educational workforce is ominous and reports about the 2016-’17 school year reveal:
- 852 teachers quit, a 61 percent increase since 2010
- 1,011 unlicensed teachers don’t meet state standards, a 63 percent increase from 2011
- unlicensed teachers who don’t meet state standards are employed as “emergency hires” to teach our kids
- Hawaii ranks as the worst in the U.S. for lowest teacher salary as adjusted for the cost of living.
This situation for the educational workforce is even more severe for early childhood educators.
Working with our Legislature to secure more funding for this investment in Hawaii’s children is also essential….
Pay attention to legislation that offers solutions for early-education funding, workforce development and classroom space….
read … A Column by Ige’s Office on Early Education
Soldier from Hawaii killed in Afghanistan after IED explosion
HNN: …A highly-decorated Green Beret from Hawaii died Sunday, five days after an IED exploded near him while he was conducting combat patrols in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense and Army Times reported.
Staff Sgt. Reymund Rarogal Transfiguracion, 36, of Waikoloa, was killed after an improvised explosive device went off in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Transfiguracion was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, military officials said….
The Army Times said Transfiguracion first enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2001, and was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2006.
He transferred to the active Army in 2008, and deployed to Iraq a third time, the Army Times said.
After undergoing new training, he was assigned to 1st Special Forces Group.
Transfiguracion's awards include the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts and the Meritorious Service Medal….
read … Soldier from Hawaii killed in Afghanistan after IED explosion
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